If you’re tuned into the latest media trends and hits, chances are you’re more than slightly familiar with KPop Demon Hunters. The Netflix original film was a huge success, outperforming plenty of larger franchises and garnering a worldwide fanbase after its initial release. Combining aspects of supernatural demon-hunters, stylish idol groups, and plenty of emotionally charged dynamics, KPop Demon Hunters is a guidebook on all the things animated films can do right to ensure viewers are hooked.
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One of the biggest challenges a dedicated viewer can face after a show or movie they love ends is finding a similar series or film that evokes the same level of emotion, excitement, and hype. So many titles that share a genre don’t really have that much in common regarding themes, character arcs, or setting. KPop Demon Hunters has so many specific pop culture references throughout its vibrant, colorful run time that it’s difficult to really pinpoint shows that feel the same. This list will specifically be doing the heavy-lifting for you in that regard, with five anime series that are reminiscent of KPop Demon Hunters in one way or another.
5) The Apothecary Diaries
The Apothecary Diaries has garnered plenty of love from the anime community since it was released back in 2023. Since then, the show was renewed for a second season that aired earlier in 2025, with a third season scheduled for sometime next year. The show is characterized by its gorgeous, vivid art style and animation that makes every scene feel almost like a painting. Additionally, it combines mystery, drama, and romance genres into a plot set during a fictionalized time period based on imperial China.
The plot of The Apothecary Diaries is set in the Country of Li, specifically the royal court. Maomao, an apothecary working in a red-light district, is taken to court to serve the harem. Her brilliant work with medicine, specifically her knowledge of poisons, earns her the attention of various nobles and gets Maomao entangled in court politics and schemes. One of the best aspects of The Apothecary Diaries is the moments of lighthearted comedy that Maomao brings to the narrative without trying, giving levity to a storyline characterized by themes such as gender roles and social class.
4) Wonder Egg Priority
Wonder Egg Priority is one of the more modern additions to the magical girl genre. The anime was released in 2021 and had a single season containing 12 episodes. It was characterized by its exploration of the dark side of the genre, examining themes of mental health, trauma, suicide, and sacrifice. On top of these darker elements, Wonder Egg Priority focused on the close bonds between girls, something that makes it more than a little aligned with KPop Demon Hunters.
The story of Wonder Egg Priority starts with Ai Ohto, a depressed shut-in who is haunted by the sudden suicide of her best friend. Ai comes across a gachapon machine where she wins a Wonder Egg, a mysterious object that she manages to open in the seclusion of her dreams. In her sleep, Ai is taken to an alternate reality where she, along with a group of girls, is told to fight monsters born of trauma and depression to save other girls struggling in the real world. If Ai manages to save enough people, she’s told that her friend will be brought back to life.
3) Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Puella Magi Madoka Magica is one of the most well-known magical girl anime and revamped the genre with its unique interpretation of what it means to be a magical girl. The show originally aired back in 2011 and has since inspired a franchise of films, manga spin-offs, and video games. It’s known for the cutesy art style that contrasts with the show’s exploration of mental health, sacrifice, and the loss of innocence. Puella Magi Madoka Magica also emphasizes the importance of the bonds between the main group of girls and their entangled fates at the end of the series.
In Puella Magi Madoka Magica, the story begins with Madoka Kaname, a young middle-school student who is approached by a strange alien creature named Kyubey. She’s told that if she chooses to fight witches, she and her friends will be granted any one wish they desire. What Madoka doesn’t know is the price of fighting supernatural forces, or the fact that their inevitable sacrifices will essentially power the universe to keep it from imploding.
2) Demon Slayer
Demon Slayer has earned a spot as one of the top anime of the last decade, earning a widespread reputation as one of the highest-quality anime in recent years. The series has both a show and multiple theatrical films, both of which have been met with praise from fans. Besides its intensely smooth, gorgeous animation that Demon Slayer is known for, the series also navigates topics of redemption and forgiveness, good versus evil, and the bonds of family. While it might seem on the nose to compare it with KPop Demon Hunters, the anime’s pursuit of making a better world and finding the good in others is really what cements it as a similar work to the popular film.
It follows the journey of siblings Tanjiro and Nezuko, who live in the countryside of historic Japan with their family. One day, Tanjiro returns home to find his family slaughtered in their home, with Nezuko having been transformed into a demon by the creature that attacked her. As a result, Tanjiro must train to become a Demon Slayer and rise in the ranks, hoping to both avenge his family and cure his sister of her demonic nature before it’s too late.
1) Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is one of the best fantasy anime to release in the last decade, and has already captured the hearts of numerous anime fans. The show first aired in 2023 and has a long-awaited second season scheduled to debut next year. This series is recognized for its stunning visuals that feel straight out of a storybook, intensive world-building that submerges the reader in its setting, and complex characters who feel all too human. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End explores themes of time, the bonds of friendship, human connection, and self-discovery.
The plot of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is set after the big battle against the main foe, when Frieren’s band of adventurers must decide what to do next after they’ve vanquished the enemy. Deciding to go their separate ways, they promise to meet again in fifty years; this concept seems easy to Frieren, who is an Elfen mage, aging at a much slower rate than her human companions. This difference proves to be a problem as Frieren slowly travels the world, learning the reality of loss and how immortality means that while time might not be precious to her, it is to those she cares for.
Have you watched any of these anime series? Tell us which anime you would compare to Kpop Demon Hunters in the comments below.
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