Set during Prohibition, a man named Avilio returns to Lawless, a town famed for brewing illegal liquor, after the murder of his family by the mafia. A mysterious letter prompted him to return and infiltrate the Vanetti family to get his revenge. This anime tells the story of 91 days leading to the tragic end between Avilio and Nero Vanetti, the Don’s son.
Although done to death in other media, anime proves that it, too, can tell a very good and surprisingly subtle Mafia story. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like 91 Days, then head on down below.
Anime Like 91 Days
For Fans of Revenge and Betrayal
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens
The city of Fukuoka seems pretty normal, but it is awash in dangerous individuals. In the mix is Banba, a detective investigating hitman companies in the area and Lin, a hitman that is fed up with his lack of jobs. After being refused pay for a target that killed themselves, Lin is tasked with killing Banba, but instead asks him to team up.
Both series put the spotlight on organized crime, but Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens focuses specifically on hitmen (and a police officer) unraveling the intrigues going on around them. It is a tale motivated by revenge, technically, but not quite as stone cold as 91 Days.
Terror in Resonance
After a terrorist attack on a Japanese nuclear facility, the country was paralyzed to act. After six months of searching for the perpetrators, the public is shown a video of two boys known as Sphinx who take credit for a recent bomb attack. The pair are soon linked to the terrorist attack on the nuclear facility by police. Threatening more mayhem to come, it is up to the police to catch these terrorists. However, Sphinx has been very careful to never kill anyone with their attacks. Instead, they hope to use them to expose a secret government experiment and its cruelty.
While terrorism is distinctly different from Prohibition Era organized crime, both series are rather gripping in their display of characters that have been greatly wronged and the lengths they will go to in order to get their vengeance. They are both technically rather simple plots, but executed in a way that feels deeply intriguing.
Vinland Saga
Ravaging every land they touch, Vikings have become renowned for their thirst and talent for violence. Thorfinn, a son of a great Viking warrior, spends his childhood on the battlefield in order to reap his vengeance on his father’s murderer. A man who murdered his family in front of him, plucked him from his home, and now commands him in a band of warriors.
If you enjoyed the near emotionless nature that Avilio adopted and went about his life with as he pursued his vengeance, then Thorfinn is very much more of the same, just in a Viking-shaped wrapper. Both series follow young men that had their family slaughtered, then work very closely with the people who did it in hopes of getting revenge.
Gankutsuou – The Count of Monte Cristo
In the year 5053, French aristocrats Viscount Albert de Morcerf and Baron Franz d’Epinay attend Carnivale on the moon. While Franz wants to have fun, Albert is looking for something more fulfilling. However, after catching the eye of the Count of Monte Cristo at the opera, he finds more than he bargains for. Albert introduces him into French society, but the Count has vengeance on his mind as he seeks to ruin those that wronged him.
If you thought 91 Days was a masterful tale of perfectly woven revenge, then it is high time you enjoyed this similarly masterful revenge tale. Based on the book from classic literature, Gankutsuou takes a number of liberties with setting and character designs, but maintains the same intricate tale of revenge that made it a classic tale to begin with.
For Fans of Seedy Criminal Intrigue
Gangsta
Nicholas Brown and Worick Arcangelo work as handymen, mercenaries that will do anything for the right price. Working for the mob and police alike, they delve into the underbelly of the city, a place that was once haven for Twilights, people who were augmented by a special drug.
Both shows do very well highlighting the gritty everyday life of crime-oriented individuals. They also do well in having their own, but distinctly different intrigues that the series pursues. If you need more young Mafioso’s in your life, Gangsta isn’t quite the same, but it is similar enough to fill the void.
Black Lagoon
Average business man Rokurou Okajima found his life turned upside down when he was captured and held hostage by a mercenary group in Thailand called Black Lagoon. After learning how disposable his life was to his company, he decides to quit the salaryman life and join the very group of mercenaries that held him hostage. While he finds himself unexpectedly good at their various work, his ideals about the world vastly clash with those of his companions.
While the mercenary life is much different than a life in organized crime, there is much the same about it too. Both series emphasis the sort of brotherhood that is built in these activities and each can be intriguing. However, Black Lagoon does benefit from having a lot more action to it.
Banana Fish
During the Iraq War, a soldier named Griff goes insane and starts killing his own platoon. After being subdued, all he kept speaking was the words “banana fish”. Years later, Griff is taken care of by his brother Ash, a boy who ran away from home and was taken in by mob boss Papa Dino who abused him. Now, Ash seeks to unravel the mystery of this banana fish, a phrase that keeps mysteriously popping up in his life.
While not quite Prohibition Era crime, Banana Fish proves that organized crime doesn’t really change that much given time. While it isn’t quite the same story of revenge as 91 Days, it does provide an interesting tale to unravel which is kept interesting by the twists and turns throughout.
IWGP – Ikebukuro West Gate Park
Ikebukuro is a thriving commercial district by day, but the different gang activity at night can cause issues for those that live there. Makoto Majima works independently of any gang loyalty to solve various disputes in the neighborhood, often aided by the G-Boys, a strong gang led Makoto’s school friend Takashi Andou. However, when a rival gang known as the Red Angels starts to move in on the G-Boy’s turf, tensions rise between the two factions.
If inter-family politics was your jam in 91 Days, IWGP is more of that, but distinctly more Japanese color gangs instead of mafia. The series does well exploring all the various problems going on throughout the underworld.
For Fans of Prohibition Era Style
Baccano
In the early 1930s, the transcontinental train, Flying Pussyfoot, starts a legendary journey across the country that will leave behind a trail of blood. During this same period, the ambitious scientist Szilarf and his unwilling assistant Ennis investigate missing bottles of immortality elixir in New York. This can be traced back to 1711 where the alchemists creating this elixir learn the real price of being immortal. Among these mysterious events, a Mafia war heats up. Follow this intricate tale of alchemy, immortality, and survival as it weaves together many seemingly unrelated events.
If you enjoy your Prohibition Era stories, you have rather limited choice. You have 91 Days and Baccano, which are both set in that era in the States. However, while Baccano isn’t necessarily about criminals, it does a similarly good job of creating an enthralling and mature story like 91 Days.
Gungrave
Brandon Heat and Harry MacDowel grew up on the streets together and both turned to crime in order to get by. However, when their activities are noticed by the eyes of the expansive Millennion mafia syndicate, the pair find themselves brought under their wings and rising through the ranks. Things go well until one fateful day that changes it all. Years later, Brandon Heat is brought back from the dead to fight Millennion and its new leader, Harry MacDowel.
Not set in the same era specifically, Gungrave, at least the first half, still keeps that similar feeling. Both series tell the same sort of stories about rising up through a crime family, and Gungrave later becomes a revenge story as well.
Do you have more anime recommendations like 91 Days? Then let fans know in the comments section below.
