For as many mercenary characters as there are littered throughout gritty action anime, there are profoundly little anime that actually follow the lives of mercenaries. It is strange considering a mercenary character or group of mercenaries can follow any plot as long as a carrot of significant size is on the stick. One day they might be herding cows, the next day they might be assassinating a politician. Every day is a very new day when you are living the life of a mercenary.
From wandering swordsman to space-faring bounty hunters, here are a few anime recommendations specifically about mercenary bands that will take any job if the client is paying enough.
Best Mercenary Anime
Black Lagoon
Black Lagoon follows an average Japanese salaryman who, while on a business trip, learns just how disposable he is to his company after being kidnapped by a band of mercenaries. While kidnapped, he ends up forming a bond of sorts with those mercenaries. This means that as soon as he quits his job, he’s lined up a new business in joining them.
The series as a whole follows the team as they take on any number of jobs. Each job tests the stalwart, idealistic morality of the main character, until he slowly adopts the shades of grey that his comrades work in.
Jormungand
While the crew in Jormungand are arms dealers and not specifically mercenaries, the series does manage to have the characters end up in a variety of different situations. Much like you would hope for a group of mercenaries, all the characters, except perhaps their clever eccentric leader, are all very talented in modern combat.
Part of the charm of Jormungand is that the characters know what they do is pretty wrong, but still have no problem doing it for a paycheck. There are ideals at play in the series, but they aren’t typical black-and-white morality. In order for the leader of these mercenaries to accomplish her ultimate, idealistic goal, she sure if ready to sacrifice a whole lot of people for it.
Berserk
While this entry isn’t applicable to the entire series, Berserk’s first arc, the Golden Age arc – the one they seem dead set on remaking in anime form over a dozen times before moving on– follows the main character in his life as a mercenary. All he has to his name is his sword and he wanders from battlefield to battlefield before he ends up becoming part of an official mercenary band.
This arc of the series has the band fighting battles under the hire of a larger country. As they rise to great success in that war, it also has them rising in standing politically. While the main character Gutts treasures the bonds of brotherhood rather than his political standing, the leader of the mercenary company is a man of great ambition. Ever reaching, he becomes upset when Gutts decides to leave the mercenary band to find his own way.
Outlaw Star
It wasn’t long after humanity was able to achieve light speed travel before new space professions popped up like bounty hunter or pirate among the sea of stars. Outlaw Star takes a man whose business is taking any job on his small backwater planet and sees him crewed aboard a ship of outlaws by happenstance.
While Outlaw Star has a much grander plot at times, a good portion of the episodes in the anime are about the crew taking any job they can find in order to continue flying.
Gangsta
Unlike some crews on here that are a bit larger, Gangsta follows a two-man mercenary team. Nicholas and Worwick have known each other since they were young and after leaving Worwick’s wealthy family, they make their living as handymen that take on any job.
As they live in a gritty city rife with crime and corruption, there is no shortage of work. However, as the series goes on it begins to focus on the more super-powered individuals that dwell in the underbelly of the city, following the story that is brewing there.
Cowboy Bebop
Cowboy Bebop follows another set of mercenaries out among the stars. While the crew of the Bebop are specified as bounty hunters, they do any thing from hunting down criminals to wading through crap to get an old VCR in order to put food on the table.
Unlike similar series like Outlaw Star, the overall story of Cowboy Bebop is not a singular plotline. Instead it explores the character stories of each member as its plot. While much of the beginning and middle is them taking on various work, the end of the series is more focused on wrapping up those character plots.
Cyberpunk Edgerunners
The world of Cyberpunk makes it clear that if you aren’t climbing the corporate ladder, you are eeking out an existence on the fringes. When so many people live in poverty, any way to make money is the path you need to walk. Cyberpunk Edgerunners follows a kid who, after the sudden death of his mother, takes up with a group of cybernetically enhanced mercenaries.
The series shows them doing a number of jobs to make a buck, but eventually it focuses itself more on the effects of too much cybernetic modification and how eventually the humanity in you begins to give way to cyberpsychosis.
Desert Punk
This series takes place in a Japan that was, as part of a global nuclear catastrophe, turned into a barren desert wasteland. While many eek out a rough existence there, Desert Punk follows the titularly nicknamed main character who engages in a bunch of violent jobs by day and enjoys a number of lecherous pleasures by night.
While a mercenary should be a person of less strict morals, Desert Punk is really a scummier mercenary than most. He succeeds because of his keen mind, and his keen mind will always choose the best route for him rather than anyone else.
Vinland Saga
Vinland Saga takes place in a Viking-ravaged England with its plot often following the machinations of leaders at play there. However, the main character seeks vengeance, and then ultimately tries to find his place in the world once his desire for revenge crumbles beneath his feet. For much of the anime, he is following and serving in a small band of mercenaries that aren’t exactly serving the Viking army, but rather are getting their paycheck from plunder and occasionally using their skills advantageously in battle. Whatever side is winning is the side they are seeking employment from.
If you enjoy your mercenaries on a more medieval side and enjoy specifically clever and charismatic leaders, this is for you. While Askeladd, the man who runs the mercenary band, isn’t the main character of the series, he is an unforgettable leader who is as vicious as he is shrewd..
Space Dandy
Like Cowboy Bebop or Outlaw Star, Space Dandy features another stylish man in space who is willing to do anything for money. This series has his profession being a freelancer who registers new alien life, but like your standard mercenary, his work often leads him into any number of strange situations.
Unlike a number of these other series, Space Dandy remains one of the more light-hearted and comical mercenary series. There’s not such a grand plot to it, but rather a number of comical situations showing oddballs across the universe.
Do you know of more anime series featuring mercenaries prominently in their plot? Let fans know in the comments section below.
