20 Best Anime Like Bleach You Need to Watch
Bleach is one of the best anime of all time. Its original run had a total of 366 episodes (subdivided into narrative arcs). On March 21, 2020, during the manga’s 20th anniversary, Tite Kubo announced that the final arc, covering volumes 55 to 74 of the manga, titled Thousand Years Blood-War, would be adapted. The Bleach anime will return in October 2022. While we’re waiting for that, we are going to bring you a list of the 20 best anime like Bleach you need to see.
1. Jujutsu Kaisen
Original Run: October 3, 2020 – March 27, 2021
Number of Episodes: 24
Our list of best anime like Bleach starts off with Jujutsu Kaisen. The plot of Jujutsu Kaisen takes place in a world where plagues are created from the negative emotions of Humans. Thus, to protect places with a high concentration of these emotions such as schools or hospitals, these infrastructures have a relic, receptacle of a plague, because we can only fight against plagues with a more powerful plague.
These are invisible to human eyes except for a handful of people, for example, exorcists. The exorcist’s job is to eliminate the plagues and thus protect the people from them, but this is not without risks, because these plagues can be more or less powerful.
2. Blue Exorcist
Original Run: April 17, 2011 – March 25, 2017
Number of Episodes: 37 (+ 2 OVA)
The world of Blue Exorcist is made up of two dimensions that oppose each other like two faces of mirrors. The first is the world in which human beings live, Assiah. The other is the world of demons, Gehenna. Normally, travel and even any form of contact between the two is impossible. However, demons can pass into this world possessing everything that exists within it.
Satan is the god of demons, but there is one thing he does not have: a vessel in the human world powerful enough to contain him. To this end, he fathered Okumura Rin and Okumura Yukio (but only Rin inherited Satan’s powers, Yukio being too weak), his sons, from a human woman, but are the latter in line with his plans, or should they become something else?
After killing the guardian father Fujimoto, in an attempt that should have allowed Rin to return to the demon world, he gives him a dream: to become an exorcist to defeat the god of demons.
3. Demon Slayer
Original Release: April 6, 2019 – present
Number of Episodes: 34
The third entry on our list of best anime like Jujutsu Kaisen is Demon Slayer. In Taishō era Japan, Tanjirō is the eldest son of a family of coal merchants whose father has passed away. To meet her needs, he left to sell charcoal in town. Despite the difficulties of life, they manage to find little happiness in their daily life.
One day, due to rumors circulating about a man-eating demon hanging around after dark, he is unable to return home and ends up spending the night with a Good Samaritan in the city. Only, everything changes on his return when he finds his family massacred by a demon.
Nezuko, one of her younger sisters, is the only survivor but she has been transformed into a demon. She initially attacks Tanjirō, but she continues to show signs of human emotions and thoughts, which is when a demon slayer named Giyū Tomioka steps in.
While trying to eliminate Nezuko, Giyū realizes the bond between brother and sister Kamado, and decides to leave them by sheathing his sword. On Giyū’s advice, Tanjirō goes to his master Sakonji Urokodaki to train to become a demon slayer, in order to begin his journey to find an antidote that can make his little sister human again.
4. Akame ga Kill!
Original Run: July 7, 2014 – December 15, 2014
Number of Episodes: 24
Akame Ga Kill revolves around Tatsumi. Tatsumi is a fighter who leaves for the capital in search of a way to earn money to help his poor village. After being robbed by a woman and losing all of her money, Tatsumi is taken in by an aristocrat named Aria.
The following night, Aria’s mansion is attacked by a group of assassins known as the Night Raid. As Tatsumi attempts to defend Aria from assassin Akame, another member of the group ends the fight.
5. Darker than Black
Original Release: April 6, 2007 – September 29, 2007
Number of Episodes: 25
Darker than Black is our next anime like Bleach. Ten years ago, a mysterious area known as Hell’s Gate appeared in Tokyo, devastating the landscape and altering the sky. The celestial bodies disappeared, replaced by false stars. Shortly after, we discover the existence of human beings endowed with supernatural powers called “pactisants”.
Today, a vast wall has been built to prevent anyone from approaching Hell’s Gate. Each false star corresponds to a contracting party, vibrates when it uses its power, and disappears if it dies. Pactisants are therefore generally designated using an identifier from an astronomical catalog. Many nations use pactisants as secret agents or assassins.
6. Tokyo Ghoul
Original Run: July 4, 2014 – December 25, 2018
Number of Episodes: 48 (+2 OVA episodes)
The story of Tokyo Ghoul revolves around the student Ken Kaneki, who falls in love with a young woman named Rize Kamishiro. After meeting her, she bites his shoulder in a secluded alley and reveals that she is a ghoul, which shocks Ken.
As Rizeis about to eat Ken, several large metal poles fall on her from the construction site of a building. Roze dies in the process, while Ken is rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries. After recovering, he is released from the hospital. On the day of his release, he finds out that he is no longer human. He looks in the mirror and shivers run down his spine because he now has one “red eye”.
He realizes that Rize’s organs were transplanted into him in the hospital. Since he now owns Rize’s organs, he is a so-called and very rarely occurring “half-ghoul”.
7. Soul Eater
Original Run: April 7, 2008 – March 30, 2009
Episodes: 51
Soul eater revolves around an eternal fight against Kishin. To fight the evil Kishin, which can “plunge the world into the abyss of madness”, Shinigami-sama creates The Academy is a place where Weapons and Overlords are trained together.
The former are the very weapons that will stop the death of the world; the second are those who will hold the weapon. The Scythe of Death will be obtained when the weapon eats 99 evil souls ready to become Kishin, and 1 witch soul, and therefore all overlords are actively competing in creating the Death Scythe.
The story takes place during the main events of the manga and anime, Maka and Soul at that time had not yet become known in the Academy and beyond.
8. Black Clover
Original Run: October 3, 2017 – March 30, 2021
Number of Episodes: 170
Black Clover follows Asta, a determined young boy who lives with his childhood friend, Yuno, in an orphanage in the Clover Kingdom. From a young age, Asta’s ambition was to become the most powerful magician in the kingdom, “Emperor-Mage”, which also inspired Yuno to want the same.
But unfortunately, Asta was born without any magical talent, while Yuno has spectacular predispositions. Asta and Yuno both vow to fight for the title of Emperor Mage. As their paths separate on the Knight-Mage route, their goal is still the same: to become the next Emperor-Mage.
9. Naruto
Original Run: October 3, 2002 – March 23, 2017
Number of Episodes: 720
Our next entry on the list of best anime like Bleach is Naruto. The story begins during Naruto’s adolescence, around the age of twelve. The orphan dunce and great prankster, he does all possible stupid things to get noticed. His dream: is to become the best Hokage in order to be recognized by the inhabitants of his village. Indeed, the nine-tailed fox demon sealed within him has fueled the fear and contempt of the other villagers, who, over time, no longer differentiate between Kyūbi and Naruto.
Despite this, Naruto trains hard in order to become genin, the first level among ninjas. After failing the genin exam 3 times, he finally manages to receive his Konoha forehead protector. He is then included in a team of three ninja apprentices, with Sakura Haruno and the talented Sasuke Uchiha who wants to avenge the people dear to him, by killing his brother Itachi Uchiha.
Shortly after, they meet their jōnin (upper-class ninja), the one who will take care of their training: the mysterious Kakashi Hatake. At first feared and despised by his peers, Naruto will gradually rise in power and gain the respect and affection of the villagers’ thanks, in particular, to the battles he will win against the most powerful enemies of Konoha.
10. One Piece
Original Run: October 20, 1999 – present
Number of Episodes: 1011
Twenty-two years after Gol D. Roger’s execution, the interest in the One Piece treasure is waning. Many have given up on it, some even wonder if it really exists. Although pirates are still a threat to the locals, the Navy has become more effective in countering their attacks on all four seas: East Blue, North Blue, West Blue, and South Blue.
However, this change did not deter Monkey D. Luffy, a young boy, from wanting to become the successor to the legendary Roger. He will thus set off on an adventure, giving himself the first objective of creating a crew in order to reach the Grand Line sea, where the fever of the “great wave of piracy” continues to rage, and where many big names in the piracy are in pursuit of the One Piece, supposed to be on the last island of this great sea, Laugh Tale.
11. My Hero Academia
Original Run: April 3, 2016 – present
Number of Episodes: 113 (+ 5 OVA)
In a world where 80% of the world’s population has superpowers, here called “Quirks”, we follow the adventures of Izuku Midoriya, one of the few humans without Quirks. Despite this, Izuku still dreams of joining the super-heroic branch of the great Yuei academy and one day becoming one of the greatest heroes of his time.
One day, Izuku had the chance to meet his lifelong idol, All Might, the number 1 superhero. This one will bequeath to Izuku his Quirk, the One For All.
12. Fairy Tail
Original Run: October 12, 2009 – September 29, 2019
Number of Episodes: 328
The story of Fairy Tail focuses mainly on the missions carried out by one of the teams of the Fairy Tail guild, composed of Natsu Dragnir (fire dragon hunter), Lucy Heartfilia (constellationist), and Happy (an Exceed, blue cat that can be done appear wings, fly and speak), who will soon be joined by Erza Scarlett (knight mage) and Gray Fullbuster (Ice mage and later Ice demon hunter), two other members of the famous guild.
They are joined on the adventure by Carla (an Exceed white cat, like Happy), Wendy (Heavenly Dragon Slayer), and many more.
13. Hunter X Hunter
Original Release: October 16, 1999 – March 31, 2001 / October 2, 2011 – September 24, 2014
Number of Episodes: 62 / 148
Gon Freecss is twelve years old and dreams of becoming a hunter. Hunters are elite citizens authorized to do almost anything they wish on simple presentation of their membership card: they can thus acquire free of charge any object for sale on the funds of the association; requisition all vehicles, accommodation, and tools for their work; and are de facto entitled to exercise all trades in the world, being able to become bounty hunters, chefs, archaeologists, zoologists, vigilantes or consultants in various fields as well.
His father, Ging Freecss, whom he does not know directly, is considered one of the greatest hunters of his time. It is also to find him that Gon wants to become a hunter.
14. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Original Run: April 5, 2009 – July 4, 2010
Number of Episodes: 64 (+ 4 OVA)
Number 14 on our list of best anime like Bleach is Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. In the country of Amestris, a country where alchemy is elevated to the rank of universal science, two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, travel the country in search of the legendary philosopher’s stone. Their father left them and their mother, Trisha Elric, died a few years later of an illness, leaving her two young children behind.
Sometime later, the two brothers try to bring her back thanks to alchemy, defying the law which formally prohibits human transmutation. They will pay a heavy price. Edward, the eldest, will lose his left leg, his little brother his whole body. Ed will sacrifice his right arm by sealing the soul of his little brother Alphonse in armor.
Edward decides to enlist in the army at the age of 12 as a State Alchemist, passes the exam with flying colors, and obtains his alchemist name: Fullmetal. Helped by Edward’s state alchemist status, the two brothers will seek, at the risk of their lives, the stone that will give them back what they have lost, but the secret of the philosopher’s stone is well kept.
15. InuYasha
Original run: October 16, 2000 – September 13, 2004 / October 3, 2009 – March 29, 2010
Number of episodes: 167 + 26
Japan, at the time of countries at war, was known as Sengoku (before 1600). In these times, humans live alongside “Youkai” or “Mononoke” (also called “demons” or “monsters” or “spirits”). These have different powers and appearances and are very varied; however, most share the same thing in common: the envy of human flesh.
This is why they regularly attack the villages and why the humans are all afraid that one of them will attack theirs. Inu-Yasha is a hanyō, that is to say, a being half-demon, half-human.
One day, he attacks the village protecting the pearl of Shikon, then steals it and runs away. The Pearl of Shikon (her real name is Shikon No Tama) would possess unimaginable powers, including greatly increasing the powers of the demon who possesses it. Inu-Yasha, meanwhile, wants to use this power to transform into a full-fledged demon.
16. YūYū Hakusho
Original run: October 10, 1992 – December 17, 1994
Number of episodes: 112
Fourteen-year-old Yusuke Urameshi is the perfect thug: brawler and rebel. Yet one day he dies saving a little boy from an accident, but this child would have miraculously survived even if Yusuke hadn’t intervened. Not foreseen by the authorities of the kingdom of the dead, his sacrifice poses a problem.
This is why he is offered to come back to life, after having succeeded in proving that he is worthy of it. He then becomes a detective of the spirit world without knowing it and is endowed with powers that will help him in his various tasks, both in the human world and in that of the spirits.
Helped by Botan, the “ferryman of souls” who settled her case at the time of her “death”, of her friend Kuwabara, and under the direction of Enma junior, the son of the Dark King in charge of the examination of souls, he is tasked with finding three demons (Goki, Hiei, and Kurama) who have stolen three relics from the world of darkness: the sword of darkness, a mirror and the ball of Gaki.
17. CLAYMORE
Original Run: April 4, 2007 – September 26, 2007
Number of Episodes: 26
Claymores are half-human, half-demon warriors called upon by villagers to protect themselves from monsters such as demons. Feared and dreaded, they are distinguished by their silver eyes and the gigantic sword they carry on their backs, hence their names by humans of “silver-eyed witches” or “Claymore” (the name of the type of sword they use). Claire is one of them.
Called to a village to eliminate the demons that attack and devour the population, she kills the penultimate member, who has become a monster, of an already decimated family. The last survivor, Raki, finding himself alone, then decides to follow her in her bloodthirsty adventures, as a cook. He will gradually discover the secrets and the tragic destiny of these singular women.
18. Hellsing Ultimate
Original Run: October 10, 2001 – January 16, 2002
Number of Episodes: 13 (+10 OVA episodes)
The Royal Knights of Protestant Order are a noble house of London led by Abraham Van Helsing. For generations, he has been fighting against creatures that most ordinary people are unaware of like vampires, ghouls, and any non-human entity that is generally referred to as a “monster”.
The Order operates in great secrecy and has long been a paramilitary organization in the service of her Majesty. Leading the organization is Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, a direct descendant of the first Lord Hellsing. Still a teenager, she is forced to take control of the Order.
Her father Arthur, sick and close to his death, orders his daughter, should she feel threatened, to go down to the basement of the mansion, where there is something able to protect her.
19. Attack on Titan
Original Run: April 7, 2013 – ongoing
Number of Episodes: 70 (+8 OVA episodes and several movies)
The plot of Attack on Titan revolves around the young Eren Jäger, his adoptive sister Mikasa Ackermann and his best friend Armin Arlert, who live together with the rest of humanity in cities that are protected by huge walls from the attacks of the so-called Titans, gigantic humanoid beings who devour people for no apparent reason.
The walls that promised peace have existed for 107 years. But one day the Titans break through the outermost Wall Maria and the people are pushed back further. Eren’s mother dies and he and many other people flee behind the second wall, Wall Rose. Eren swears when his mother dies that he will wipe out the Titans.
20. BLOOD+ / BLOOD-C
Original Run: October 8, 2005 – September 30, 2011
Number of Episodes: 62 (+ 1 film)
Last but not least on our list of best anime like Bleach. BLOOD+ / BLOOD-C series is set over 30 years after the events of the feature film Blood: The Last Vampire – in 2005. The plot introduces lines related to modern intrigues, in which various organizations are involved, including, for example, the US Army, which wants to control vampires in order to use them for their own purposes.
Saya Otonashi lives in a city in Okinawa with her adoptive father, George Miyaguscu and two brothers, Kai and Rik. Saya does not remember the events of her past until she began living with a new foster family a year ago. For medical reasons, she needs blood transfusions from time to time.
With the exception of these features and an unusually large appetite, Saya lives like an ordinary high school student. However, Saya’s serene life comes to an end, on the day when she comes face to face with a vampire, a monster that kills people and drinks human blood.
From that moment on, a mysterious organization called the Red Shield and its agent David appear on the scene; David explains to Saya that she is the only one who is able to effectively fight these monsters since her blood is lethal to them.
Her duty is to rid the world of bats. From that moment, in addition to the members of the Red Shield, Saya’s friends and family members were drawn into the fight against bats. Together with them and her mysterious loyal servant named Hadji, she sets out on a long, risky journey to destroy bats and, along the way, learn about her past and true origins.
