With humanoid colossi attacking a walled city with secrets just as titanic and stakes taller than the monsters humanity faces, what’s not to love about Attack on Titan? But if you’re looking for more to watch after your Attack on Titan binge, whether it’s Kyojin or Kaiju, action or mystery, or an overall morally gray plot you’re craving, we’ve got you covered. While Attack on Titan has its own unique visceral reality, there are some other anime that have their own distinctive plots but evoke a similar feeling of danger, action, and mystery.
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Some characters take on personal stakes that carry colossal weight, some carry the weight of responsibility of the entirety of humanity on their shoulders. Whatever the case, if you’re looking to get hooked on the plots and character developments fathoms deeper than what a walled city could hold, look no further. From entrapment within the smaller walls of prison cells to cosmic horrors lying just outside the thin barriers of humanity, if you’ve finished and enjoyed Attack on Titan, these anime series are perfect to watch next.
Kaiju No. 8
When the hometown of Kafka Hibino and Mina Ashiro is laid to waste by one of the monsters known as Kaiju, they promise each other to become soldiers in the Defense Force when they grow up. But while Mina has attained their goal, Kafka’s adulthood has taken a different turn — cleaning up the Kaiju-sized mess the military leaves behind. Working alongside fellow janitorial coworker Reno Ichikawa, who also aspires to become a soldier, the two find themselves encountering a rogue Kaiju, ending up in the hospital after Kafka is injured rescuing Reno. But when Kafka gains the ability to transform into a humanoid Kaiju, the military dubbing him “Kaiju No. 8”, he uses his power to fight alongside Reno and Mina.
Childhood friends witness their hometown get destroyed by giant monsters, after which they make a pact to grow up into soldiers to fight them, and one of them gains the ability to transform into one of said monsters to aid in their battle. Any Attack on Titan fan would surely be interested in such a familiar premise, even if it takes a somewhat different tone.
Kaiju No. 8 can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
Deadman Wonderland
Ganta Igarashi, upon anticipating going on a school field trip to the prison amusement park called Deadman Wonderland where prisoners are used as amusement in brutal spectacles for patrons, is sent there himself after being framed by the “Red Man” for the massacre of his classmates. Now pitted against a special collar fit to kill him and sadistic, manipulative inmates with strange powers, Ganta must now fight his way through the prison’s Carnival Corpse death matches to survive. Though the other prisoners’ motives are questionable at best, one oddly cheerful inmate, Shiro, seems just as hellbent on helping him survive the games as Ganta endeavors to clear his name.
In a brutally unfair world, the prison walls of Deadman Wonderland can seem just as imposing as those of Attack on Titan named Maria, Rose, and Sheena. But while the walls of the city were made to keep the Titans out, the walls of Deadman Wonderland unfortunately trap Ganta in with the monstrous prisoners.
Deadman Wonderland can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
Demon Slayer
Although Tanjirou Kamado has taken up the role of supporting his family after the death of his father, they live a relatively peaceful life in the rural mountains as Tanjirou travels to the nearby village to make some coin. Late to return home after dark, Tanjirou takes refuge for the night at a stranger’s house, to which the man warns him of the demons that stalk the forests at night. With the inauspicious omen, Tanjirou returns home the next day only to find that his sister Nezuko is the sole survivor of the massacre of their family, but even then, she herself had been turned into a demon. Wanting to avenge his family and save what’s left of Nezuko’s humanity, Tanjiro joins the Demon Slayer Corps.
Driven by rage and revenge, both Tanjirou and Eren have a bit in common in their endeavors to destroy the monsters that took their families from them and defend their sisters. With a fair number of episodes itself, Demon Slayer is a great follow-up to watch after a good Attack on Titan binge.
Demon Slayer can be streamed on Netflix and Crunchyroll.
Knights of Sidonia
In the year 3394, the aliens known as Gauna pursue what’s left of humanity as they flee among the stars, having long ago deserted their destroyed home planet of Earth. When Nagate Tanikaze surfaces from the depths of the gargantuan spaceship in search of food and supplies, he’s dragged into the fight against the alien monsters. Now, not only is Tanikaze discovering the plights of fighting alongside his newfound soldier friends Shizuka Hoshijiro, Izana Shinatose, and Yuhata Midorikawa, but also what everyday life on the surface of the ship is like.
While many may be put off from the CGI style of animation, Knights of Sidonia is actually a fun little 24-episode, 2-season watch. Although humanity in Attack on Titan struggles in their walled corner of a yet-discovered mysterious world, civilization in Knights of Sidonia isn’t even granted the privilege of having a planet in their escape from monsters in space.
Knights of Sidonia can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
As Earth is attacked by strange celestial alien beings known as Angels, its up to the mysterious scientific organization NERV headed by Gendo Ikari to defend humanity through the use of Evangelion, giant piloted humanoid “robots”. When Gendo calls upon his abandoned son Shinji to become one of these pilots, Shinji faces a lot more at stake than defending humanity from giant monsters as the secrets behind NERV and Gendo’s ambitions are revealed.
Although Eren Yeager is resolved from a young age to fight against giant monsters that threaten mankind, Shinji Ikari isn’t so ambitious, instead facing his own inner qualms about such an endeavor and does so for more passive, selfish reasons. Even so, Neon Genesis Evangelion doesn’t lack fights against strange massive threats to humanity and conundrums on their origins.
Neon Genesis Evangelion can be streamed on Netflix.
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Deca-Dence
In the far future, lifeforms known as the Gadoll threaten the last bits of mankind, cornering them to hide within the giant mobile fortress Deca-Dence with the warriors, Gears, taking up arms on the upper floor and the rest of humanity seeking shelter within the lower levels in the Tank. While most Tankers are happy to offer support from behind the lines, Natsume bides her time cleaning armor on the repair team as she eagerly awaits enlistment from the Power into the Tanker soldiers to fight alongside the Gears. With the team led by the apathetic Kaburagi, he’s initially cold to the prosthetic-armed orphan Natsume, but, having his own secrets, eventually recognizes her potential and mentors her for a unique role in the corrupt system.
With humanity hiding away and on the brink of extinction, much like the civilians in Attack on Titan, Deca-Dence also explores a unique take on a questionable corporate societal system. With the Solid Quake corporation having acquired the rights to manage humanity, the exploitative system ultimately fails to provide true freedom or opportunity to the society.
Deca-Dence can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
NieR:Automata Ver1.1a
When humanity retreats to the Moon in a last-ditch effort to survive, their only resistance against the alien Machine Lifeforms that have taken over Earth are the man-made battle androids, the YoRHa soldiers, to fight. But as the YoRHa soldiers led by android YoRHa 2-gou B-gata, or 2B for short, make progress in taking back the earth, they also make progress in uncovering the truth behind the conflict, leading 2B to question her existence and how much she as a synthetic individual must ultimately suffer for the human race.
As Eren and the Survey Corps rage against the Titans and the secrets behind their origins, so too does 2B and the YoRHa soldiers rage against the Machines and their own secrets; Eren ultimately questioning what it truly means to be human, 2B in turn questioning what it means, well, to be.
NieR:Automata Ver1.1a can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
The Elric brothers, in their endeavor to bring their mother back from the dead, ignored the ban of human transmutation and ended up paying a hefty price. While trespassing the taboo cost Edward an arm and a leg, Alphonse lost his entire body. With their bio-mechanical engineer neighbor and friend Winry able to fit Edward with advanced automail prosthetic limbs, Alphonse had his soul bound to an entire suit of armor in Edward’s attempt to save him. Determined to restore their bodies, they set out to find the Philosopher’s Stone, an item said to allow an alchemist to defy the traditional laws of Equivalent Exchange, and become caught in the middle of a conspiracy along the way.
While this series doesn’t so much deal with fighting gargantuan monsters, it does, however, deal with secrets, mysteries, and conspiracies in a fantastical, action-packed setting. With a determined protagonist facing high stakes, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a classic not to be overlooked, not just by fans of Attack on Titan, but any anime fan.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood can be streamed on Netflix and Crunchyroll.
Vinland Saga
Thorfinn, born in his homeland of Iceland, had once received a bespoke piece of advice from his father: “You have no enemies, nobody does. There is nobody who it’s okay to hurt.” But when a man named Askeladd kills his father, Thorfinn takes up work as a mercenary, seeking revenge with death and war becoming the reality Thorfinn endures in his daily life. With constant war between England and the Danes, the Vikings actually enjoy making a living collecting the spoils and making names for themselves. Recalling tales from sailors he’d heard as a young lad, tales of a land warm and fertile and free of fighting, Thorfinn seeks the legendary Vinland.
Both Eren and Thorfinn endure harsh realities, constant war, and fights for survival, although Thorfinn eventually represents a certainly less violent answer to his world’s problems. Although the world in Attack on Titan contends with a more fantastical fight, the world in Vinland Saga is just as gritty in its action and drama. As an added bonus, fans may recall Vinland Saga and Attack on Titan had similar production developments, down to both being animated at first by WIT Studio before changing hands to MAPPA.
Vinland Saga can be streamed on Netflix, Amazon, and Crunchyroll.
Goblin Slayer
While Goblins cause their own serious problems and damage, they are still somehow seen as a non-threat, raiding towns to kidnap women of any species for breeding purposes while the problem goes ignored as adventurers turn their noses up at the low-level creatures in favor of larger bounties. When 15-year-old Priestess joins a team of eager rookies to fight some goblins, the inexperienced team is quickly overtaken by the “low-level” monsters. But when the Silver rank Goblin Slayer swoops in to rescue the Priestess and destroy the entire group of goblins, she decides to accompany him on his goblin-vanquishing endeavor. Along with the Priestess, High Elf, Dwarf, and Lizardman, the Goblin Slayer won’t rest until he puts an end to the overlooked, despicable creatures.
Some monsters are difficult to ignore when they’re miles tall and can destroy entire cities. And while others may be seen as unintimidating or not worth the effort, they can still cause catastrophic damage. But whether it’s Titans or goblins, they both wage their own traumatic battles against the protagonists.
Goblin Slayer can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
What satiates your cravings for series like Attack on Titan? Let us know down in the comments which of these anime you’ve enjoyed just as much!
