As an anime genre, urban fantasy is one that captures viewers attention more than it’s recognized for. Plenty of iconic anime series’ can be defined as urban fantasy, though they tend to be more modern in tone. With so much to choose from, it can be hard to know where to start. Here are some urban fantasy titles that should be on every anime lovers watchlist.
8 Noragami
Noragami is a comedic urban fantasy anime with a lot of charm. Set broadly in Japan, Noragami follows a down-on-his-luck minor god called Yato, who seeks to gain fame, recognition and have at least one shrine dedicated to him.
Hiyori Iki, a normal middle school student, becomes not-so-normal after a bus accident causes her soul to frequently slip out of her body. Through her soul, she becomes aware of Yato and the spirit world - the ’near shore’, as it’s called in the anime. Along with Yukine, Yato’s spiritual sword, she begins a journey to fix her wayward soul.
7 Durarara!!
Durarara!! is a classic urban fantasy that follows Mikado Ryūgamine’s move to Ikebukuro to attend Raira Academy with Masaomi Kida, a friend that he’s not seen since he was young. It starts like that, anyway. The series quickly evolves into an action-packed urban fantasy told from the perspective of approximately eleven of the main characters!
After meeting some supporting characters, Mikado sees the ‘Black Rider’ of local legend, an Irish Dullahan who rides a horse-like motorcycle and is looking for her stolen head while working as a courier. Durarara!! does a fantastic job of blending the urban and fantasy elements of the genre, and is definitely worth checking out.
6 Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoul may have ended, but its legacy as one of the most popular urban fantasy anime series’ certainly lives on. Set in Tokyo, the show takes place in a world plagued by flesh-eating ghouls and the forces put in place to stop them.
College student Kaneki Ken’s life changes when his date turns out to be one of these flesh-eating ghouls herself. After he’s attacked and left for dead by her, he recieves an organ transplant using her organs, and becomes part ghoul himself. The series follows his attempts to continue living a normal life, and later his transformation into something much more sinister.
5 Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon is widely known as the most popular magical girl anime of all time. But it also has strong elements of urban fantasy, so much so that it can definitely be considered a contender for the genre. Sailor Moon also subverts the trend of urban fantasy being dark and gritty, as it’s brightly colored and (mostly) super lighthearted.
The series follows Usagi Tsukino, ordinary middle school girl turned Sailor Moon: Sailor Guardian of love and justice. Along with the other Sailor Scouts, Usagi stands up for what’s right and fights fantastical villains along the way.
4 Chainsaw Man
As one of the most popular series’ of the Fall 2022 anime season, Chainsaw Man is a perfect example of humorous urban fantasy. It manages to blend comedy, horror, and fantasy together, with meaningful themes, well-developed characters, and seriously cool stunts.
Chainsaw Man follows Denji, a destitute teenager turned titular ‘Chainsaw Man’. After his death, his demon dog Pochita merged with his body to help him achieve his dream of living a normal life. Unfortunately for Denji, he leads anything but a normal life. After being scouted by the Public Safety Bureau, Denji is roped into hunting demons just like himself.
3 Dorohedoro
Dorehedoro is about as urban fantasy as it gets. While it’s certainly not set in any recognizable place, it checks all the right boxes, and absolutely looks the part. Dorehedoro is a bizarre urban fantasy anime set in a city so miserable it’s just called ‘The Hole’.
The story follows the amnesiac, reptilian-headed Caiman and his best friend Nikaido, as they work together to recover his lost memories. As they do this, a clan of Sorcerers appears to be plucking people off the streets of ‘The Hole’ to use for strange experiments. Dorehedoro is absolutely one of the strangest anime out there, but it’s absolutely worth a watch.
2 Mob Psycho 100
Mob Psycho 100, now on its third season, is a popular urban fantasy anime starring Kageyama Shigeo, a.k.a. ‘Mob’, a powerful esper determined to live a normal life. Aside from his ESP, Mob is just an ordinary middle schooler that has trouble expressing himself, especially to his crush Tsubomi Takane.
His desires to live a normal life are not aided by his ‘mentor’, Reigen Arataka, who runs a sham exorcism business that occasionally requires the real, supernatural powers of Mob. Throughout the series, viewers watch as Mob battles false espers, evil spirits, and mysterious organizations.
1 Death Note
As one of the most iconic and well-known anime of all time, Death Note is an urban fantasy anime with dark overtones. The story follows Light Yagami, who starts the series as a high-schooler that finds a mysterious notebook - one with the power to kill.
Almost as soon as he acquires this notebook, he starts killing criminals with it, with the aim to become a god. Stumped by a series of seemingly impossible murders, the police work with mysterious super-detective ‘L’ in an attempt to solve the crime. Death Note is a complex and fascinating anime that is super easy to get into.
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