In order to gain more power, demons search for fragments of the legendary demon Sukuna to consume them.
One day, Yuuji Itadori, who just lost his grandfather, learns of this as he saves his school friends from being consumed by demons after they break the seal on one of the body parts of Sukuna that was at their school.
In order to stand a chance, he eats it, revealing himself as a rare vessel that can utilize and control the curse of Sukuna, meaning when he dies, Sukuna’s curse dies with him.
Shounen anime aren’t uncommon, but Jujutsu Kaisen sets itself apart from so many similar anime series by embracing horror and generally just having characters that you can’t get enough of. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like Jujutsu Kaisen, then head on down below.
Anime Like Jujutsu Kaisen
For Fans of Demon Fighting
Demon Slayer
After the death of his father, Tanjirou has taken up the role of the man of the home, supporting his mother and five siblings. However, after selling charcoal in town, he returns to tragedy.
All his family was brutally slaughtered, save for one of his sisters. Unfortunately, she has been attacked by a demon and mingled their blood, turning her into a demon as well.
However, she still shows signs of humanity, thrusting Tanjirou onto a quest to find a way to change his sister back and preserve what is left of his family.
Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer are part of the new wave of shounen anime that are still shounen battlers in every way, but put a little more emphasis on horror and heavier emotions.
That aside, both Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen are about normal kids who have their world turned upside down by demons, and end up joining an organization who goes around slaughtering them. However, the main character, while strong, is also full of empathy that makes for, not just exciting and visually interesting fights, but excellent character stories as well.
Twin Star Exorcists
Parallel to our world is Magano where the Kegare dwell. Exorcists are sent in to deal with these monsters and cleanse impurities.
One day, a talented young exorcist named Benio is returning to Tokyo in order to meet with the Exorcists Union. On the road, she meets a young exorcist named Rokuro. After seeing some kids being plagued by Kegare, Benio rushes in and drags Rokuro with her. There, she discovers he has skill to rival her own, but refuses to fight.
Being paired up by the head exorcist, they are lauded as the Twin Star Exorcists and prophesied as the future parents of the reincarnation of the Abe no Seimei, who will cleanse the world of Kegare.
Both Twin Star Exorcist and Jujutsu Kaisen follow what are essentially exorcists. They fight spirits that threaten humanity with specific, very exorcist-like techniques and generally pursue similar arc-based shounen battler plots.
However, Twin Star Exorcist has an extra hook about the main characters being destined to have a kid that will save the world. So it is more of an action romance compared to Jujutsu Kaisen and its constant shunning of any sort of romantic relationship.
While both series enjoy moments of action split with moments of comedy, Twin Star Exorcists is a bit less mature about things. Jujutsu Kaisen is notable for being a darker shounen series with more mature stories, and Twin Star Exorcists is definitely not that.
D Gray Man
After three years training with one of their prestigious Generals that saved him as a kid, Allen Walker is finally ready to join the Black Order, an organization of exorcists that fight Akuma and their leader, the Millennium Earl.
With their Innocence weapons, Allen and his fellow exorcist embark on a journey to stop the Earl’s plot of ultimate destruction.
Both Jujutsu Kaisen and D Gray Man follow a main character that joins an organization of exorcists that are dispatched to deal with demons throughout the world. Furthermore, both series feature characters that often get their abilities from a specific source. The sorcerers in Jujutsu Kaisen have their curse power and techniques while everyone gets an ability from innocence in D Gray Man.
As is typical with shounen, both series follow somewhat “special” main characters that are new to the organization where they form friendships and rivalries. However, D Gray Man is of an older school of shounen where it focuses more on the battles than diligent character building.
Black Clover
After being abandoned at the same church, Asta and Yuno grew up together. Together they also grew up aiming for the same title – The Wizard King, the strongest wizard in the kingdom.
However, it soon became apparent that while Yuno has skill with magic, Asta couldn’t use it at all. This all changed when they were attacked and Asta was given a strange grimoire that granted him the ability to nullify magic.
After being abandoned at the same church, Asta and Yuno grew up together. Together they also grew up aiming for the same title – The Wizard King, the strongest wizard in the kingdom. However, it soon became apparent that while Yuno has skill with magic, Asta couldn’t use it at all. This all changed when they were attacked and Asta was given a strange grimoire that granted him the ability to nullify magic.
While both Jujutsu Kaisen and Black Clover are technically about sorcerers, Jujutsu Kaisen is more exorcist-based while Black Clover is more fantasy mage-based when it comes to the abilities that they use.
Both Jujutsu Kaisen and Black Clover have their characters fighting some sort of demon in the world as well as the occasional other sorcerer, but both of these shounen anime are series that you enjoy more for the characters. They both feature diverse casts that are never not interesting.
Mob Psycho 100
Kageyama Shigeo, otherwise known as Mob, is a young psychic with a wide range of blossoming abilities. Despite having this incredible power, he just wants to become friends with Tsubomi, a girl in his class.
Due to negative reactions to his psychic abilities in the past, he now tries to keep them in check. In an effort to learn to better control his abilities, Mob becomes the apprentice to Reigen Arataka, who claims to be a psychic, but is actually a con artist that exploits Mob’s very real powers for money.
Someone told me once that Jujutsu Kaisen and Mob Psycho 100 have the same overall plot, and I thought that was just the stupidest thing I’d ever heard – until I thought about it.
Both series are essentially about teens dispatched around town by their cool albeit suspicious sensei to deal with the problems caused by various spirits.
While both Jujutsu Kaisen and Mob Psycho 100 are both easy to love because of the quality of animation they enjoy when it comes to the action scenes, they do often differ in tone. Jujutsu Kaisen enjoys a lot of fun moments of levity, but it also enjoys drama and horror as well. Mob Psycho 100 is more often a gag comedy, but surprisingly addictive when it comes to action.
For Fans of Having an Evil Thing Inside You
Naruto
Orphaned at a young age and ostracized by his village due to the nine-tailed fox demon that was sealed within him at birth, Naruto aims for the top. His dream is to eventually become the leader of his village, the Hokage.
However, first he must actually become a ninja and gain strength enough to rise to this pinnacle.
Both Jujutsu Kaisen and Naruto are shounen action anime that follow main characters with something sealed inside them that the whole world fears due to its power. Instead of losing themselves to the entity that talks shit inside of them, they start to harness their power to fight.
However, while Jujutsu Kaisen is very much a “good versus evil” sort of series while also introducing moral ambiguity in that, Naruto occasionally fights enemies that are doing bad things, but sometimes there are political motivations rather than moral ones.
Blue Exorcist
Humans and demons have always been separated by two different worlds, humans in Assiah and demons in Gehenna. The only way to travel between the worlds is by possession, which is how Satan, the ruler of Gehenna, wages his war.
One day, Rin discovers that he is actually the son of Satan, born for the specific purpose of being possessed by Satan. However, while his father wants him to help conquer the human world, Rin decides to become an exorcist to fight him instead.
Both Jujutsu Kaisen and Blue Exorcist are shounen anime about exorcists. Furthermore, they also follow teen boy that one day ingests some evil or discovers that they were born from it. Instead of embracing the evil entity that beckons to them, they join an organization that fights that thing instead, all while still utilizing the powers of evil.
However, while Jujutsu Kaisen is dark and mature, Blue Exorcist is more your standard shounen battler. It like a lot of flash and a packs a lot of intensity into the battles, but it isn’t quite as deep as Jujutsu Kaisen with its themes, characters, or presentation.
Parasyte
One night, sixteen-year-old Shinichi Izumi was peacefully sleeping when a race of parasitic aliens descended on Earth.
One parasite infects Shinichi, trying to get to his brain to take over his body, but ends up getting stuck in his right hand. Unable to relocate to the brain, the alien, named Migi, now has no choice but to learn to coexist with Shinichi in his body in order to stay alive.
Unfortunately, the other parasitic aliens are not so friendly with humans or to parasites that failed to complete their mission.
While Parasyte is about aliens and not demons, the main characters end up the same. The main characters in Jujutsu Kaisen and Parasyte are possessed by beings and end up having to co-exist and fight with them for their survival. Furthermore, those entities can manifest mouths and eyes on the main character’s body.
Both series are great action anime, and while Parasyte is a more sci-fi anime, it has an equal love of body horror like Jujutsu Kaisen. It isn’t afraid to tell darker stories and show less pleasant fates.
Devilman Crybaby
Akira has always been a little weak and blends into the background, so when his childhood friend asks for help uncovering devils, he agrees. The pair head to Sabbath where many gather for debauchery and to be possessed by devils.
When the devils begin to wreck havoc in their new living hosts, Akira agrees to merge bodies with a devil in order to save his friend. Though he now has a voracious devil inside him, he still has the heart of a crybaby.
Both Devilman Crybaby and Jujutsu Kaisen follow normal students who let an evil entity inside of themselves. Instead of losing themselves completely, they sort of co-exist in the body and draw power from the thing inside them to fight demons.
That said, Devilman Crybaby is not a shounen battler. While Jujutsu Kaisen is a darker, more mature shounen story that embraces horror, Devilman Crybaby is more graphic in the violence and more sexual. In essence, the demons in Devilman Crybaby are the very sinful type of demons.
For Fans of Demons Created By Negative Emotions
Bleach
Ichigo Kurosaki is an average high school student except for his ability to see ghosts.
One night, his family is attacked by a Hollow, a corrupted spirit that devours souls. He and a Soul Reaper who appears named Rukia manage to fight it off. However, in the process, Rukia is injured, forcing her to share her powers with Ichigo in order to survive the battle.
From there, Ichigo must face down with Hollows and other Soul Reapers alike, not yet knowing what powerful enemies lurk out in the universe and what devastating powers lie within himself.
Both Bleach and Jujutsu Kaisen start out rather simply about a normal teen who discovers that spirits made evil by human emotion exist, hurt people, and are dispatched by an organization that works in the shadows. They then, just as quickly, accidentally become part of that organization by stealing power/eating a finger.
As both Jujutsu Kaisen and Bleach are shounen anime, they move onto bigger and stronger enemies that threaten the organization or the world, focusing less on the orignal small-fry spirits. However, while Jujutsu Kaisen is focused on a variety of curse powers, Bleach is all about sword abilities.
Noragami
There will be times where you may happen across an odd phone number written in red. If you call it, you will get in touch with a young man who introduces himself as the Yato God.
This Yato God is a minor deity and the self-proclaimed God of Delivery. He dreams of having millions of worshipers, but there isn’t a single shrine dedicated to his name. He spends his time doing odd jobs for spare yen until the day his weapon partner deserts him.
Just as things are looking down, he happens across a young school girl that saves him from a car accident by taking the hit for him. She survives, but her soul becomes loose. Together they set out to find a way to tighten her soul back up.
Both Jujutsu Kaisen and Noragami are shounen series, but don’t always feel like the standard shounen battler. They make the time for character drama instead just using battle for character growth. Furthermore, they also make plenty of time for some more comical moments.
Both series also deal with a trio of people that are dealing with enemies caused by the negative emotions of humans. However, that is not exclusively the enemy in Noragami.
Perhaps what these series most have in common is their ability to create complicated, but truly likable characters. Some are lovable, some or difficult to love but interesting, and some are cool, mysterious, and sort of silly. Jujutsu Kaisen brings it when it comes to action and the occasional moment of horror, but ultimately, it keeps you because of its characters, not unlike Noragami.
Chainsaw Man
After his father’s death left him with a pile of debt, Denji and his pet devil Pochita struggle to pay it off. However, after the yakuza kills him, Pochita fuses himself with Denji’s corpse and he awakens as a Chainsaw Devil.
Found by government devil hunters, Denji is brought in to hunt other devils on an experimental squad where he is finally able to pursue his simple teenage dreams of eating good food and spending time with a cute girl.
Both Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man are part of a newer wave of shounen anime where the content is a little darker, more graphically violent, and definitely embrace the horror of the situation. That said, they also happen to have near identical plots as well.
Both series follow young people who accidentally become infused with spirits or devils that manifest in the world from human emotions. They are then quickly recruited into an organization that is charged with dispatching the dangerous ones.
While both series are dark and violent, but also make some times for a lot of comedy, Chainsaw Man is a more sinister sort of series where even when they are joking around, you still feel the darkness. Jujutsu Kaisen tends to highlight the more emotional character drama by comparison as well.
Fire Force
A phenomenon has started overtaking mankind – one where people spontaneously combust and turn into destructive fire demons called Infernals.
To fight these demons, special fire forces were established full of those with dedication and powers to control fire.
This is the story of Fire Force 8 and their newest recruit – Shinra, who aims to become a hero and discover the truth behind the Infernals.
You could say that Jujutsu Kaisen is kind of all about dark curse energy, and Fire Force is instead all about fire.
Both Jujutsu Kaisen and Fire Force are shounen anime where the primary enemies are creatures that are born from human emotions. However, it soon becomes apparent that there is something bigger going on with an interesting array of creative antagonists
While both series have really fluid and interesting animation, Fire Force excels in a palce you usually don’t notice – sound. You will not find better sounding fire anywhere in anime.
For Fans of Darker Shounen Stories
Hunter X Hunter
Twelve-year-old Gon Freecss is determined to become a world-class Hunter, a skilled individual that performs all manner of dangerous tasks, just like his long-absent father.
However, Gon finds that the path to achieving his goals is more challenging than he could have ever imagined, but in order to overcome it, Gon recruits some powerful friends.
While Jujutsu Kaisen shows its darkness pretty quick, Hunter X hunter is a shounen that has been deceiving people with its chipper image for years. Both series offer up shounen stories that can and will do horrific things to characters. While Jujutsu Kaisen really plays up the horror of that, Hunter X Hunter sometimes displays horror with a smiling face, which is equally as unnerving.
However, unlike Jujutsu Kaisen, you do have to get a decent way into Hunter X Hunter before the darkness really shows up.
Kemono Jihen
A boy nicknamed Dorotabo lives with his aunt in a rural Japanese inn after being abandoned by his parents. One day, a detective that specializes in the occult named Kohachi Inugami arrives from Tokyo.
He is there to investigate mysterious livestock deaths and takes an interest in Dorotabo. The boy ends up helping Inugami and discovers that he is only half human.
Possessing skill at dispatching beast-like entities known as Kemono, Inugami takes him back to work at his agency in Tokyo.
As they originally aired around the same time, the popularity of Jujutsu Kaisen kind of drowned out Kemono Jihen despite them having very similar plots.
Both series are supernatural shounen battlers where a kid is recruited into an organization that fights demons while also being part-demon themselves. From there, you watch them go into brutal battles while also learning and bonding with their peers.
However, as Kemono Jihen does follow younger characters, it isn’t quite as mature as Jujutsu Kaisen, but it certainly isn’t afraid of graphic violence and emphasizing the horror of a situation.
Hell’s Paradise
Betrayed by his ninja clan and sentenced to death for the many lives he took while working for them, Gabimaru the Hollow accepts his fate. However, every attempt at execution has failed, leading them to call in Sagiri, a member of the Yamada Asaemon Clan of imperial executioners.
While Sagiri can carry out the task, she instead offers Gabimaru a chance to receive a full pardon for his crimes. He, along with other criminals sentenced to death, will be sent to the dangerous island of Shinsekyo to obtain the elixir of life for the shogun. However, with all previous expedition teams never being heard from again, this mysterious island is a death sentence in and of itself.
While Hell’s Paradise is notably different in that it is a historical fiction shounen, both Hell’s Paradise and Jujutsu Kaisen enjoy their body horror when it comes to the enemies in the series. The things the characters fight are often horrific looking, and neither series shies away from doing horrific things to them either.
While both series are dark shounen battlers, Hell’s Paradise is a little more restrained than the arc-based Jujutsu Kaisen. Hell’s Paradise is focused on a singular goal instead of the more broad plot left open in Jujutsu Kaisen. As such, it always feels like the story is moving towards an ending unlike standard shounen where there is usually another enemy to fight.
Do you have more anime recommendations like Jujutsu Kaisen? Let fans know in the comments section below.
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Weirdos
I do like Jujutsu kaisen. For all those anime fans I am pretty sure yall know when ur fav anime ends and then u feel like ur nothing but dust and memory and suddenly u get pulled into another anime and u feel bright again.