Abe no Seimei is a renowned onmyouji that serves the emperor and whose expertise is often sought for on various spiritual matters.
Despite his unpopularity in the court, the court noble Minamoto no Hiromasa seeks him out to help with a mysterious ox-less ox cart that has been appear around town and causing harm to those that get in its way.
While Seimei and Hiromasa get along contentiously at first, spiritual matters continue to pull them together. However, intrigue within the court and from outside onmyouji give rise to dark plots.
You see onmyouji on occasion in anime, but Onmyouji is one of the rare ones to follow an actual onmyouji from the Heian period when their practice was relevant. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like Onmyouji, head on down below.
Anime Like Onmyouji
For Fans of Spiritual Mysteries
Mononoke
Mononoke follows the story of a man simply known as the Medicine Seller.
However, it is not medicine he sells, but rather he travels feudal Japan ridding villages of malevolent spirits called mononoke.
Before he can kill each spirit he encounters, he must first learn its Form, Truth, and its Reason.
There actually aren’t too many onmyouji stories that are both not focused on action and set in the historical era in which onmyouji were common like Onmyouji exemplifies. However, Mononoke is the closest you can get.
While not specifically about onmyouji techniques, Mononoke presents a similar sort of story as Onmyouji does. It follows a solitary man who solves spiritual mysteries and problems. While sometimes these problems involve more drastic measures, often he has to learn the story of the situation before finding just the right way to deal with the issue.
Both series are steeped in learning the “why” of spiritual matters and not just brute-forcing through demons with magic.
Mushishi
In this world, there exist Mushi, spirits that often exist with no purpose. However, these Mushi can affect the physical world in countless forms from diseases to more pleasant phenomenon.
Why do these Mushi exist?
That is the question that Ginko the Mushi-shi, a researcher on the phenomenon, asks himself as he travels the land investigating Mushi-related incidents.
Unlike Onmyouji, which is often about Seimei getting pulled into various matters and exploring more personal character stories, Mushishi is only about the stories. The main character himself isn’t a problem solver, but an observer of phenomenon, both good and bad. That said, he does occasionally offer solutions to those afflicted.
Like Onmyouji, Mushishi offers episodic stories of spiritual beings interacting with the world. Mushi don’t have wills like demons in Onmyouji do, but they can affect the world in both good and bad ways all the same.
If you enjoyed the stories of the spirits in Onmyouji and less the stories of intrigue regarding the humans, Mushishi indulges that in its slow-moving, but ponderous journey.
In/Spectre
At a young age, Kotoko Iwanaga was abducted by yokai and asked to become their Goddess of Wisdom to act as a mediator between spiritual and human issues. She agreed and lost her right eye and left leg in the agreement.
Meanwhile, Kotoko meets Kuro Sakuragawa, a man who just broke up with his girlfriend after a kappa fled before him.
Kotoko makes her move to not only lock him down as a boyfriend, but to have him help her settle various disputes with spirits.
Both Onmyouji and In/Spectre follow people who deal with spirits and the phenomenon that they are causing. While Onmyouji and In/Spectre take place in different time periods, they usually solve these supernatural mysteries in a similar way – talking to those involved.
Onmyouji occasionally has Seimei use his onmyoudo magic when the situations get serious enough, but a good deal of the mysteries he is working on are talked through to a conclusion. In/Spectre has a bodyguard who does any physical fighting for her, but Kotoko is a mediator, not a fighter or even an onmyouji.
As In/Spectre is all about investigating supernatural mysteries, then talking them out – it is a particularly dialogue-dense series. However, like Onmyouji, it does feature interesting and occasionally touching character stories.
For Fans of Onmyouji-style Exorcists
Shounen Onmyouji
Although Masahiro is the grandson of the great onmyouji, Abe no Seimei, he lacks the sixth sense to even see spiritual beings.
Lacking perhaps the most necessarily basic ability for an onmyouji, Masahiro is forced to consider other career options. However, a mononoke appears before him and unlocks his true potential powers after fighting a demon.
With the help of this mysterious entity, Masahiro now begins his quest to become the greatest onmyouji!
Shounen Onmyouji follows what would be the grandson of Onmyouji’s main character, historically famous onmyouji, Abe no Seimei. As such, they practice the same sort of onmyoudo, just in different time periods.
While both series are about investigating spiritual matters, interacting with demons, and practicing traditional style onmyouji techniques, the biggest difference is that Shounen Onmyouji is more about fighting demons than anything else.
Onmyouji is often about the stories involving the demons and other spiritual matters while Shounen Onmyouji is exploring the story to leads up to the next fight.
Tokyo Ravens
Spiritual magic once helped Japan launch themselves into World War II, but the war was lost after an onmyouji caused the Great Spiritual Disaster that still plagues Tokyo to this day. As a result, the Onmyou Agency was established to combat the demons.
These days, spiritual powers have declined, and this is the case with Harutora, a young man tasked with protecting the reincarnation of the Great Disaster’s creator. However, when an an onmyouji attempts to recreate the Great Spiritual Disaster, he rises to the occasion to try and stop them.
While both Onmyouji and Tokyo Ravens are about practitioners of onmyouji techniques, they do have some key differences.
Tokyo Ravens is set in a modern world and features a more modernized and less traditional version of onmyoudo magic. Furthermore, like most series about exorcists, it also happens to be more action focused. However, while it lacks the “spiritual matter of the week” storytelling that Onmyouji often uses, it does pack in plenty of intrigue and good character stories that keep you invested.
For Fans of All Demons Have Human Stories
Midnight Occult Civil Servants
Miyako Arata is newly assigned to the Nighttime Regional Relations Department. Each ward of Tokyo has one of these offices that are dedicated to investigating the paranormal and occult-related activities in the area.
On his first night on the job, he is learning the ropes from his colleagues who are trying to ward off Tengu and Angels before a battle breaks out between them.
However, he also learns that, unlike his colleagues, he can understand what they are saying to each other. This allows Arata the ability to now mediate problems rather than turn immediately to violence.
Midnight Occult Civil Servants is another supernatural anime that wields a descendant of Abe no Seimei as the main character. While Onmyouji paints Abe no Seimei as self-isolating, but kind, Midnight Occult Civil Servants portrays him as someone who was and still is beloved by supernatural beings.
Like Onmyouji, Midnight Civil Servants is also about dealing with most supernatural matters – not through fighting – but by talking it out. However, as only the main character can communicate with the spiritual beings, it is essentially his special power whereas talking with demons is not something special in Onmyouji.
Both series present many demons as people who just have some sort of problem that needs to be understood rather than beings that need to be subdued with violence.
Natsume’s Book of Friends
For as long as he can remember, Takashi Natsume has been chased by spirits, but recently he discovered that the reason was because his deceased grandmother had passed on to him her “Book of Friends,” a book containing all the spirits she had brought under her control.
Now Natsume realizes that these spirits haunt him in hopes of gaining freedom. With few friends, no loving home, and constantly hunted by malicious spirits, Natsume looks for a place where he belongs.
Onmyouji explores a series of short supernatural stories that Abe no Seimei solves as the onmyouji to the emperor. As such, it details the darker sides of humans, and often explores the very human stories that turn people to demons or lead them to curses. Natsume’s Book of Friends is also about the human stories that yokai have, but a much softer affair.
Both Natsume and Seimei are loners who are isolated because of their abilities. However, they have the ability to connect to spiritual beings and help them. As they do so, they begin to make more meaningful connections in the world and experience the warmth of friendship.
That said, Onmyouji is focused on darker stories and intrigue, Natsume’s Book of Friends has some more serious moments, but it is often more of a supernatural slice of life anime. It is also much longer, which means there is quite the variety of characters and stories inside.
Raven of the Inner Palace
Within the imperial palace, the emperor lives with his consorts. One such woman is the Raven Consort, who does not perform night time duties and remains in solitude.
This Raven Consort, a title currently held by the young Liu Shouxue, is charged with handling spiritual matters brought to her – everything from finding lost items to sending on spirits. It is even said that she can perform curses.
After living her days often undisturbed, she is visited by the young emperor Xia Gaojun, whose visits become even more frequent as the pair bond and she assists him in unraveling the spiritual mysteries of the inner palace.
What Abe no Seimei does for the imperial court, Shouxue does for the imperial court. Both series are about spiritual masters who deal with curses, ghosts, demons, and anything supernatural going on near the emperor.
Both Onmyouji and Raven of the Inner Palace are about isolated spiritualists that handle various supernatural intrigues in the place using their magic. However, while Onmyouiji is occasionally about action using onmyoudo, Raven of the Inner Palace features only melancholy stories that are solved without too much need to fight.
Perhaps the biggest similarity between Onmyouji and Raven of the Inner Palace is the main characters. Both Seimei and Shouxue are isolated because their abilities and reputations that scare people away, but in between the supernatural intrigue, you watch them gain their first friends.
Hell Girl
It is said that those who hold a powerful grudge can access a particular website at midnight. By entering a name here, that person can be ferried straight to hell.
This is the tale of Ai Enma, the Hell Girl that carries out those orders.
Throughout Onmyouji, you learn that humans are really the real monsters and demons are just people who couldn’t let go of various desires. Hell Girl is another supernatural anime that shows you the both the terrible nature of humanity and the lengths we go to for our desires in tandem.
Both series explore various character stories, but while Onmyouji is often about dealing with the aftermath, Hell Girl is more melancholy in that the people involved are all doomed no matter what the outcome unless they choose to let go of their worst feelings.
The Morose Mononokean
After spending his first few days of school in the infirmary after a spirit attached itself to him, Ashiya asks for the help from the owner of a small tea shop called the Mononokean.
Though morose, this tea shop owner helps spirits wander from this world to the next.
Both Onmyouji and The Morose Mononokean are about a man who deals with spiritual matters and his normal assistant that ends up helping them after they meet. However, while Onmyouji is a serious and occasionally tense affair, The Morose Mononokean is more relaxed and occasionally comedic.
Regardless, if you enjoyed the dynamic between Hiromasa and Seimei, The Morose Mononokean offers that, just in a softer package. Both series also explore the various stories of demons and other beings as the main characters help them through their issues.
Do you have more anime recommendations like Onmyouji? Let fans know in the comments section below.
