Best Anime Like Bakemonogatari
Do you know the Monogatari series? Or particularly Bakemonogatari? Here is a list of 15 anime like Bakemonogatari.
Hope you will enjoy these anime.
Bakemonogatari: Summary
Koyomi Araragi, a third-year high school student, manages to survive a vampire attack with the help of Meme Oshino, a strange man residing in an abandoned building. Though saved from vampirism and now human again, several side effects such as superhuman healing abilities and enhanced vision still remain. Regardless, Araragi tries to live the life of a normal student, with the help of his friend and the class president, Tsubasa Hanekawa.
When fellow classmate Hitagi Senjougahara falls down the stairs and is caught by Araragi, the boy realizes that the girl is unnaturally weightless. Despite Senjougahara’s protests, Araragi insists he help her, deciding to enlist the aid of Oshino, the very man who had once helped him with his own predicament.
Through several tales involving demons and gods, Bakemonogatari follows Araragi as he attempts to help those who suffer from supernatural maladies.
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Top 15 Anime Like Bakemonogatari
15. Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)
Similar to Bakemonogatari, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu follows a high school boy, Kyon, who has suddenly fallen in with the school’s mysterious but popular girl. Haruhi Suzumiya is a “normal” girl who wishes to find the extraordinary. She creates the “SOS Brigade” or club to hunt down the paranormal. What she does not know is the power she herself holds. A series of strange occurrences begin to befall Kyon showing him a side of the world that he never knew about, but one he cannot share with Haruhi or risk destroying everything.
With an uber tsundere main female character and plenty of paranormal intervention, both Bakemonogatari and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya toy with the same tropes and themes. The main male lead is forced to deal with a tsundere girl who is bent on controlling him. With quick banter and the constant threat of the paranormal, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a slightly more light-hearted version of Bakemonogatari. While Hitagi is a tsundra, or cold inside and out, Haruhi is just a tsundere.
14. Katanagatari
In an Edo-era Japan lush with a variety of sword-fighting styles, Shichika Yasuri practices the most unique one: Kyotouryuu, a technique in which the user’s own body is wielded as a blade. The enigmatic seventh head of the Kyotouryuu school, Shichika lives quietly in exile with his sister Nanami until one day—the wildly ambitious strategist Togame barges into their lives.
Togame brazenly requests that Shichika help in her mission to collect twelve unique swords, known as the “Deviant Blades,” for the shogunate. Shichika accepts, interested in the girl herself rather than petty politics, and thus sets out on a journey. Standing in their way are the fierce wielders of these legendary weapons as well as other power-hungry entities who seek to thwart Togame’s objective. In order to prevail against their enemies, the duo must become an unbreakable team as they forge ahead on a path of uncertainty and peril.
13. Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru
So exactly what’s going to happen when Hachiman Hikigaya, an isolated high school student with no friends, no interest in making any and a belief that everyone else’s supposedly great high school experiences are either delusions or outright lies, is coerced by a well meaning faculty member into joining the one member “Services Club” run by Yukino Yukinoshita, who’s smart, attractive and generally considers everyone in her school to be her complete inferior?
12. Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai
“Puberty syndrome – Abnormal experiences rumored on the internet to be caused by sensitivity and instability during adolescence. This year, Sakuta Azusagawa, a second-year student at a high school near Enoshima, meets several girls that are experiencing this “puberty syndrome.” For instance, he meets a wild bunny girl in the library. She turns out to be an actress on hiatus, Mai Sakurajima, who is also his senior at the school. For some reason, no one else can see this enchanting girl. How did she become invisible…?
11. Kyoukai no Kanata (Beyond the Boundary)
This story is set in a world where “youmu”, or creatures that are the manifestation of negative human emotions, can come to life and wreak havoc. Mirai Kuriyama is the sole survivor of her spirit warrior clan, set to destroy these youmu, but she has a dark secret of her own. Her blood is cursed to harm any who come in contact with it. Because of this, she has separated herself from others. It is soon after this she meets the half “youmu”, Akihito Kanbara. She comes to build friendships thanks to him and realizes that she is not alone.
Bakemonogatari and Kyoukai no Kanata are series where the main characters are burdened with consequences of all the supernatural events and creatures around them. All of the events in both anime are similar as the main character finds himself dealing with various supernatural beings as well as struggling with his own paranormal abilities and immortality. The dialogue between the main characters reflects Bakemonogatari’s humor and style. There is also an overall mystery in both surrounding the main characters. Who are they, and what is their true nature?
10. xxxHOLiC
Kimihiro Watanuki can see spirits and other assorted supernatural creatures, which is quite a bothersome ability he strongly dislikes. On the way home one day, while plagued by some spirits, he is inexplicably compelled to enter a strange house. There, he encounters Yuuko, a mysterious woman who claims to be able to rid him of the ability to see and attract the troublesome creatures—for a price. She demands that he work at her “store” that grants wishes to people, and thus begins Watanuki’s adventures through weird and wonderful events.
9. Shinseiki Evangelion (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
You will never find a show with more emotional angst than Neon Genesis Evangelion. Evangelion is a dramatic mecha anime that revolves around the emotional young boy, Shinji. The world is under attack by aliens known as “Angels” and the only defense against them are giant Mecha called “Eva” piloted by children. The show revolves around Shinji and him dealing with the responsibilities of this task and the trials that go along with it. It is full of interpersonal conflict and angst between the characters as we see them try to save the Earth.
If while watching Bakemonogatari you fell in love with the weird atmosphere and the cinematic style of the anime, then definitely try out Evangelion. The stylistic choices by animators are very similar between the two shows. With script being used in the middle of a shot instead of images, or quick jumps to other points in the plot, these two shows will definitely confuse you if you aren’t paying close attention. The weird vibe you get definitely defines these two anime, and they are both classics in their own right.
8. The Tatami Galaxy
One autumn evening at a mysterious ramen stand behind the Shimogamo Shrine, a lonely third-year college student bumps into a man with an eggplant-shaped head who calls himself a god of matrimony. Meeting this man causes the student to reflect upon his past two years at college—two years bitterly spent trying to break up couples on campus with his only friend Ozu, a ghoulish-looking man seemingly set on making his life as miserable as possible. Resolving to make the most out of the rest of his college life, the student attempts to ask out the unsociable but kind-hearted underclassman Akashi, yet fails to follow through, prompting him to regret not living out his college life differently. As soon as this thought passes through his head, however, he is hurtled through time and space to the beginning of his years at college and given another chance to live his life.
Surreal, artistic, and mind-bending, Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei chronicles the misadventures of a young man on a journey to make friends, find love, and experience the rose-colored campus life he always dreamed of.
7. Mekakucity Actors
On the hot summer day of August 14, Shintarou Kisaragi is forced to leave his room for the first time in two years. While arguing with the cyber girl Ene who lives in his computer, Shintarou Kisaragi accidentally spills soda all over his keyboard. Though they try to find a replacement online, most stores are closed due to the Obon festival, leaving them with no other choice but to visit the local department store. Venturing outside makes Shintarou extremely anxious, but the thought of living without his computer is even worse. It’s just his luck that on the day he finally goes out, he’s caught in a terrifying hostage situation.
Luckily, a group of teenagers with mysterious eye powers, who call themselves the “Mekakushi Dan,” assist Shintarou in resolving the situation. As a result, he is forced to join their group, along with Ene. Their abilities seem to be like pieces of a puzzle, connecting one another, and as each member’s past is unveiled, the secret that ties them together is slowly brought to light.
6. Noragami
In times of need, if you look in the right place, you just may see a strange telephone number scrawled in red. If you call this number, you will hear a young man introduce himself as the Yato God.
Yato is a minor deity and a self-proclaimed “Delivery God,” who dreams of having millions of worshippers. Without a single shrine dedicated to his name, however, his goals are far from being realized. He spends his days doing odd jobs for five yen apiece, until his weapon partner becomes fed up with her useless master and deserts him.
Just as things seem to be looking grim for the god, his fortune changes when a middle school girl, Hiyori Iki, supposedly saves Yato from a car accident, taking the hit for him. Remarkably, she survives, but the event has caused her soul to become loose and hence able to leave her body. Hiyori demands that Yato return her to normal, but upon learning that he needs a new partner to do so, reluctantly agrees to help him find one. And with Hiyori’s help, Yato’s luck may finally be turning around.
5. Mononoke
The “Medicine Seller” is a deadly and mysterious master of the occult who travels across feudal Japan in search of malevolent spirits called “mononoke” to slay. When he locates one of these spirits, he cannot simply kill it; he must first learn its Form, its Truth, and its Reason in order to wield the mighty Exorcism Sword and fight against it. He must begin his strange exorcisms with intense psychological analysis and careful investigative work—an extremely dangerous step, as he must first confront and learn about the mononoke before he even has the means to defeat it.
The Medicine Seller’s journey leads him to an old-fashioned inn where Shino, a pregnant woman, has finally found a place to rest. The owner has reluctantly placed her in the last vacant room; however, as she settles in, it quickly becomes clear that the room is infested by a lethal band of mononoke, the Zashiki Warashi. With his hunter’s intuition, the Medicine Seller begins his investigation to discover the Form, the Truth, and the Reason before the Zashiki Warashi can kill again.
4. Kubikiri Cycle: Aoiro Savant to Zaregototsukai
The story revolves around the protagonist “I” and the murders and mysteries he encounters. He tries in vain to stay out of the story, but instead he always gets dragged into the center of everything. Even though it seems that he contributes a lot, he always finds out that whatever he did was meaningless in the end.
3. Fukigen na Mononokean (The Morose Mononokean)
Ashiya has been possessed by a “yokai” and spent his first week of high school in the infirmary because of it. As the “yokai” continues to steal his energy, Ashiya seeks help from the wandering spirit tea room “Mononokean”. Ashiya meets the sullen owner of “Mononokean”, Abeno, who guides spirits back to the underworld where they belong. In exchange for Abeno’s help, Ashiya is recruited as a part-timer at the Mononokean, ending his dreams of a normal high school experience. The two of them go on to help spirits and the humans who have interacted with them.
Similar to Noragami, Fukigen na Mononokean exemplifies the folklore and spiritual aspects of Bakemonogatari. If you are interested in an anime where you can see many different kinds of “youkai” and their dealings with humans, then this is the one for you. It definitely has a more slice of life vibe to it, but the relationship between the two main characters is similar to Bakemonogatari. You have one tsundere character, and one earnest character who only wants to help. This show will put you in a good mood while keeping the same supernatural themes of Bakemonogatari.
2. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Nozomu Itoshiki is a high school teacher that is so pessimistic that even small misfortunes can send him spiraling into a pit of despair. Surrounded by increasingly insane students, Nozomu’s unique brand of despair has its own way of affecting them, often in a positive manner.
There are two distinctive things about Bakemonogatari: the art style and the dialogue. Those are the same things that are distinct about Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei as well. In both shows, the art very much matches the tone of the show and the dialogue within is deep, insightful, and, at times, depressing.
1. Arakawa Under the Bridge
Kou Ichinomiya is the son of a wealthy businessman who holds firm belief in his elite status. He will not be indebted to anyone. But one day, after an encounter with mischievous children on Arakawa Bridge he falls into the river that runs underneath. Luckily for him, a passerby is there to save him—but now, he owes his life to this stranger!
Angered by this, Kou insists on paying her back, but this may just be the worst deal the arrogant businessman has ever made. The stranger—a stoic, tracksuit-wearing homeless girl known only as Nino—lives in a cardboard box under the bridge and wants only one thing: to fall in love. Asking Kou to be her boyfriend, he has no choice but to accept, forcing him to move out of his comfortable home and start a new life under the bridge!