Summary
Monsters are the scourge of humanity. Whether they’re plotting world domination or feasting on human flesh for vital sustenance, it’s not hard to think of a good reason to hunt them down. Fiction is rich with monster-hunting heroes, but sometimes the task requires someone with a little more clout than Scooby and the Gang.
Thank goodness, then, for thebrave and powerful anime protagonistswhose combined efforts make up the defining chronicles of monster slaying that the medium has to offer. From elite soldiers to happenstance heroes; these are their stories, as told inthe best anime about monster hunters.
Tokyo Ghoulis something of a twist on monster hunting. The true horror of the series is arguably navigating the social dynamics of college life but with the added caveats of theeponymous ghouls who lurk around every cornerdisguised as humans.
Protagonist Ken Kaneki is more the hunted, after getting transformed into a half-ghoul at the start of the series. With the Commission of Counter Ghoul actively deploying agents, referred to as Doves, to hunt down ghouls, Kaneki must hide his abilities to survive. That’s not to say Kaneki doesn’t have to do battle with rival ghouls from time to time.
As Mr. Burns once sang: “Some men hunt for sport, others hunt for food.“Delicious in Dungeontakes a more lighthearted approach to the subject than most, as a band of likely fantasy heroes delves deep into a dungeon on a quest to save their fallen comrade.
After being bested by the fearsome red dragon, due in part to their empty stomachs, and now dangerously low on supplies, the group decide to slay and eat every monster they come across as they build up their strength for a rematch. A fortuitous encounter with a dwarf named Senshi provides the valuable insight they need to craft the most delicious meals from the parts they salvage, exploring their pallets as much as their surroundings.
Continuing with lighthearted themes,One Punch Manaims to satirize the medium, routinely poking fun at tropes and characters. Protagonist Saitama embarks on a moderate training regime and inadvertently becomes arguablythe most powerful being in all of anime.
After joining the Hero Association, an organization for registered superheroes, Saitama begins to rise up the ranks by protecting the world from frequent monster attacks. The monsters eventually band together to form a counter agency, the Monster Association, and combat ensues. As a sweeping parody, many famous monsters from across anime appear in some form, making it a catch-all for hunting the most notorious monsters around.
Berserkis a complex tale that some fans feel still hasn’t seen adefinitive anime adaptation of the source material. However, the 1997 series is often considered among the most popular anime by fans. It tells the saga of Guts, a lone warrior who joins a mercenary group called Band of the Hawk in a world inhabited by the Apostles of the God Hand, a race of inhuman monsters granted power by the demonkind sovereign.
The bulk of the monster hunting comes in the later 2016 installment after the Band of the Hawk is sacrificed in an ‘Eclipse’ ritual by a follower of the God Hand, and Guts pledges to hunt down the Apostles in search of vengeance. That monumental task is complicated further by the branding of a demonic mark Guts receives as a consequence of the Eclipse ritual, attracting demons who hunt him in return.
A cultural juggernaut within the anime community when it burst onto the scene in 2022,Chainsaw Manoffers an energetic gorefest, as the name might suggest. After all, a chainsaw is not usually a tool associated with subtlety.
After a near-fatal experience, protagonist Denji is reborn as a devil-human hybrid who can spawn chainsaws from his arms and face. Denji is quickly recruited by a government body to be deployed as an official devil hunter, resulting in numerous bloody and spectacular battles with monstrous creatures in a bid to rid the world of the devils for good.
One of the most popular anime series of all time,Bleachtranscends the medium and permeates mainstream culture alongside the likes ofNarutoandDragon Ball. A compulsory watch for any new anime fans, it centers around Ichigo Kurosaki, who has the ability to see spirits.
During an attack by one of the more vengeful spirits, Ichigo is saved by a shinigami, a god of death, and gains their powers in the process. It transforms the teen into a Soul Reaper, a collector of souls, who must now learn to use his newfound abilities to hunt down the malevolent spirits that prey on ordinary people.
In an effort to protect his friends, Yuji Itadori swallows the cursed finger of Sukuna and inadvertently becomes the host of the powerful demon. This is the intro toJujutsu Kaisen.To escape his predicament, Yuji enrolls in a prestigious institute and must learn the ways of the Jujutsu Sorcerers.
Fortunately, the possession also grants him unfettered access to the demon’s power, transforming Yuji into a powerful demon-hunting sorcerer as he sets out to track down Sukuna’s remaining fingers and break his curse.
This one is the name. Borrowing inspiration from classic samurai movies,Demon Slayeroffers a more cinematic experience of man vs. monster. The series is somewhat guilty of ‘fridging’ for those with more progressive inclinations, making use of the trope of the protagonist’s family being slaughtered with the added twist of his sister being transformed into a demon.
However, his sister, Nezuko, does still go on to play a significant role in the series, serving as more than just inspiration. Meanwhile, protagonist Tanjiro Kamado takes up the blade and trains to become a demon slayer in a quest to hunt down the demon who massacred his family and return his sister to normal.
The most recent series on the list but onewhose popularity has immediately skyrocketedwith anime fans.Dandadanis pretty off the wall, which adds to its unique charm, approaching its subject matter with more brevity and supplanting the typical demons and devils for ghosts and aliens.
When a bet gone wrong sees a duo of unlikely heroes imbued with psychic andparanormal powersrespectively, they team up to fight combinations of the two supernatural creatures. It’s fair to sayDandadanincludes some adult themes and has proved divisive among some in the anime community. The series' staying power remains to be seen, but it was white-hot in the year of its release.
Attack on Titanis a remarkable piece of fiction within or outside of anime. Focusing on the last bastions of mankind who have sealed themselves inside an enormous walled city to protect them from the titans, giant man-eating monsters who roam the Earth. The city is broken up into a class system separated by additional walls, with the poorest living near the outskirts, and the series begins with one of those outer walls falling for the first time.
After barely escaping the ensuing catastrophe, protagonist Eren Yeager and his friends enroll in a military branch of scouts with the mission to hunt titans and seek out a life beyond the walls. The central characters endure a brutal existence in a cruel world as their struggle towards freedom becomes further complicated, and the story expands well beyond expectations.
