10 Anime Like Parasyte if You’re Looking for Something Similar
Tokyo Ghoul
Ken Kaneki is a meek, book-loving college student when a chance encounter with a flesh eating ghoul turns his life on its head. Mortally wounded in his escape from the monster, he is saved by an experimental procedure wherein his organs are replaced with those of a ghoul. This saves his life, but also turns him into the very monster he feared, a deep hunger for human flesh now gnawing at him every moment and ghoul hunters hot on his trail.
Hunted, hungry and unsure of what to do next, Kaneki must set out to find answers to why this happened to him, how he’ll survive and whether humans and ghouls can live in harmony. It won’t be easy, but by the end, he may just be the person both ghouls and humans have waited for since they first learned of each other.
10 Anime Like Parasyte if You’re Looking for Something Similar
Inuyashiki
Life isn’t the best for Inuyashiki Ichiro, a middle-aged father with a dead end job, when a space ship collides with him on one fateful night. When he awakens though, he finds everything about him has taken a turn for the extraordinary. Now a cyborg with state of the art technology and weapons embedded within him, he can endure gunshots, fly and incapacitate evil-doers with lightning-fast bullets. With these new abilities, he decides to become a hero who can change the world for the better, and will always try to do what’s right.
Meanwhile, another individual, the unstable Shishigami Hiro, finds himself given the same powers after a run-in with crashed alien tech. Unlike Inuyashiki though, he desires to use these powers to become all powerful, and will crush anyone who gets in his way.
What follows is a tale of two people who react to sudden power in very different ways. Their goals and ambitions will set them on a collision course with one another, and their choices along the way could shape the fate of the world forever.
10 Anime Like Parasyte if You’re Looking for Something Similar
Akira
Following the destruction of Tokyo in 1988, the world descended into World War III and many years of conflict left society lawless and struggling to regain order. By 2019, chaos still reigns, and it’s this chaos that allows Shotaro Kaneda and Tetsuo Shima to enjoy free lives as members of a violent motorcycle gang.
This all changes, however, when Tetsuo encounters a strange young boy with psychokinetic powers and is taken away to a government testing facility. Desperate to help his longtime friend, Kaneda teams up with an anti-government faction to break into the facility and save Tetsuo. Unfortunately, this may not be what Tetsuo wants by the time he arrives, as the boy discovers slowly but surely that within him rests a psychic power unlike anything the world has ever seen.
10 Anime Like Parasyte if You’re Looking for Something Similar
Devilman Crybaby
Akira Fudo, a young man with a supernatural ability for empathy, is drawn into a violent slaughter when his old friend, Ryo Asuka, asks him for help uncovering a secret demon feeding ground within a popular club. Amid the slaughter, the ancient demon Amon is summoned and tries to possess Akira, but his spirit proves too strong and instead forces the demon king to heel. As a result, Akira is transformed into a half-human half-demon hybrid capable of fighting the dark beings running rampant in his town.
Still eager to help his friend and determined to save others like him, Akira sets out to put an end to the rising demon hoard, track down their leader and destroy them by any means necessary. Buckets of blood will be spilled and friendships tested before the end of this tragic tale is reached, but with some luck Akira’s kind heart may show humans and demons alike how to live in harmony.
10 Anime Like Parasyte if You’re Looking for Something Similar
Deadman Wonderland
Ganta Igarashi is a regular middle school student, finds his peaceful life irreparably changed when he is the sole survivor of his class’ violent slaughter. Authorities pin the murder on him even though he attests to the real killer’s identity: the “Red Man,” an individual soaked in blood and host to supernatural powers. As a result, he is sent to Deadman Wonderland, a holding facility for only the most dangerous and deranged criminals in the world.
Soon after he arrives though, Ganta discovers that his run-in with the Red Man left him with special powers that allow him to manipulate his blood as a weapon. He deduces that this is why he and many others have been brought to the prison, which in turn is revealed to be a devilish survival game where the richest in the world gamble on human lives.
With these new powers in hand, he sets out to discover the truth of what really happened, rescue his fellow wrongfully accused inmates and track down the Red Man to make him pay for the injustice brought against him.
10 Anime Like Parasyte if You’re Looking for Something Similar
Claymore
On a remote island during medieval times, humans live in constant fear of creatures known as Yoma, shapeshifters who take the forms of the humans they eat to lure in their loved ones. Their only means of fighting back is through the Claymore, female warriors who enhance their killing abilities through the use of the demonic energies found in the Yoma.
One such Claymore, Claire, travels the land not only to kill Yoma, but to track down the former Claymore Priscilla. One of the most powerful Claymore to ever be seen, Priscilla was driven mad through her consumption of demonic energy and turned into a monster even more fearsome than the worst Yoma.
She has killed several Claymore over the years, and as one of the strongest remaining warriors aware of her existence, Claire sees it as her duty to bring Priscilla down once and for all, even if it comes at the cost of her humanity.
10 Anime Like Parasyte if You’re Looking for Something Similar
Strait Jacket
In an alternate version of reality, magic was proven real by 1899 and is now an integral part of modern life. This great power comes at a cost though; those who use it too often are inflicted with a curse which transforms them into deadly demons, able to rend and tear through normal humans with violent abandon. As a counter measure, individuals armed with magic weapons and armor hunt these demons for a living and use magic freely with the blessing of the government.
This system keeps the world in balance until demon attacks start to sky-rocket in the city of Tristan. All signs point to Oddman, a terrorist organization who uses demons to cause disorder, and before long it becomes too much for the government to keep up with.
With no other option, they turn to Leiot Steinberg, an astutely talented magic user armed with the same equipment as the government’s magic hunters. A rogue magic hunter, his abilities are powerful enough to defeat any demon and could eliminate Oddman in an instant. At the same time though, each use of his magic brings him a little closer to becoming a demon himself, which could create a new threat the likes of which the world has never seen.
10 Anime Like Parasyte if You’re Looking for Something Similar
Gantz
High school students Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato are shocked to discover that, despite being hit and killed by a train, both are alive and well in a room with a strange, black orb. This orb reveals to them that they’ve been selected to participate in a survival game with other individuals who suffered a sudden and traumatic death.
The rules of the game are simple: With each new round, they must survive to the end and help their team eliminate a monster that is on the hunt for them. If they succeed, they will be resurrected and return to their old lives as if nothing ever happened. If they fail though, they’ll suffer an agonizing death once again, and will be obliterated from existence unless they’re brought back into the game by one of their party members.
Determined to return to their friends and loved ones, the two team up with other individuals to overcome the game and earn their lives back. It soon becomes clear, however, that this game was never meant to help them, and in fact may put them through far more suffering than they can handle.
10 Anime Like Parasyte if You’re Looking for Something Similar
Gyo
For reasons that are unclear to the general populace, an intolerable stink has begun to emerge from the ocean and slink across the land. Soon after, it is accompanied by small, dead fish with mechanical limbs that clatter and crawl along the ground.
As the situation begins to worsen, the young college student Kaori and her friends find themselves trapped in a coastal town they came to for a holiday vacation. Soon surrounded by half-fish, half-machine abominations, they must devise a way to escape the town and reach safety, or otherwise become like the people unfortunate enough to be set upon by the devious undead marine life.
10 Anime Like Parasyte if You’re Looking for Something Similar
Kemonozume
Throughout society, flesh eating monsters known as Shokujinki hide within plain sight disguised as humans. Some are unaware of what they are, their true form revealed in times of extreme stress or tension. Others have lived for years, silently preying on humans in order to sate their hunger.
Toshihiko Momota, a skilled swordsman and hunter of Shokujinki, finds his way of life turned upside down when he falls in love with Yuka Kamitsuki, a Shokujinki who wants nothing more than to live a peaceful existence with him. Though their love is true, they’ll have to fight their way through all manner of challenges, whether its Shokujinki hunters out to eliminate what they see as a vicious monster or ravenous ogres out to continue their bloodlines.
What are some anime that remind you of Parasyte? Let us know in the comments section below, and check out some of our other recommendation lists for series like Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and Golden Kamuy.
Tokyo Ghoul
Hunted, hungry and unsure of what to do next, Kaneki must set out to find answers to why this happened to him, how he'll survive, and whether humans and ghouls can live in harmony. It won't be easy, but by the end, he may just be the person both ghouls and humans have waited for since they first learned of each other.
Inuyashiki
Meanwhile, another individual, the unstable Shishigami Hiro, finds himself given the same powers after a run-in with crashed alien tech. Unlike Inuyashiki though, he desires to use these powers to become all powerful, and will crush anyone who gets in his way.
What follows is a tale of two people who react to sudden power in very different ways. Their goals and ambitions will set them on a collision course with one another, and their choices along the way could shape the fate of the world forever.
This all changes, however, when Tetsuo encounters a strange young boy with psychokinetic powers and is taken away to a government testing facility. Desperate to help his longtime friend, Kaneda teams up with an anti-government faction to break into the facility and save Tetsuo. Unfortunately, this may not be what Tetsuo wants by the time he arrives, as the boy discovers slowly but surely that within him rests a psychic power unlike anything the world has ever seen.
Still eager to help his friend and determined to save others like him, Akira sets out to put an end to the rising demon horde, track down their leader and destroy them by any means necessary. Buckets of blood will be spilled and friendships tested before the end of this tragic tale is reached, but with some luck, Akira's kind heart may show humans and demons alike how to live in harmony.
Deadman Wonderland
Soon after he arrives though, Ganta discovers that his run-in with the Red Man left him with special powers that allow him to manipulate his blood as a weapon. He deduces that this is why he and many others have been brought to the prison, which in turn is revealed to be a devilish survival game where the richest in the world gamble on human lives.
With these new powers in hand, he sets out to discover the truth of what really happened, rescue his fellow wrongfully accused inmates and track down the Red Man to make him pay for the injustice brought against him.
Claymore
One such Claymore, Claire, travels the land not only to kill Yoma, but to track down the former Claymore Priscilla. One of the most powerful Claymore to ever be seen, Priscilla was driven mad through her consumption of demonic energy and turned into a monster even more fearsome than the worst Yoma.
She has killed several Claymore over the years, and as one of the strongest remaining warriors aware of her existence, Claire sees it as her duty to bring Priscilla down once and for all, even if it comes at the cost of her humanity.
Strait Jacket
This system keeps the world in balance until demon attacks start to sky-rocket in the city of Tristan. All signs point to Oddman, a terrorist organization who uses demons to cause disorder, and before long it becomes too much for the government to keep up with.
With no other option, they turn to Leiot Steinberg, an astutely talented magic user armed with the same equipment as the government's magic hunters. A rogue magic hunter, his abilities are powerful enough to defeat any demon and could eliminate Oddman in an instant. At the same time though, each use of his magic brings him a little closer to becoming a demon himself, which could create a new threat the likes of which the world has never seen.
Gantz
The rules of the game are simple: With each new round, they must survive to the end and help their team eliminate a monster that is on the hunt for them. If they succeed, they will be resurrected and return to their old lives as if nothing ever happened. If they fail though, they'll suffer an agonizing death once again, and will be obliterated from existence unless they're brought back into the game by one of their party members.
Determined to return to their friends and loved ones, the two team up with other individuals to overcome the game and earn their lives back. It soon becomes clear, however, that this game was never meant to help them, and in fact may put them through far more suffering than they can handle.
Gyo
As the situation begins to worsen, the young college student, Kaori, and her friends find themselves trapped in a coastal town they came to for a holiday vacation. Soon surrounded by half-fish, half-machine abominations, they must devise a way to escape the town and reach safety, or otherwise become like the people unfortunate enough to be set upon by the devious undead marine life.
Kemonozume
Toshihiko Momota, a skilled swordsman and hunter of Shokujinki, finds his way of life turned upside down when he falls in love with Yuka Kamitsuki, a Shokujinki who wants nothing more than to live a peaceful existence with him. Though their love is true, they'll have to fight their way through all manner of challenges, whether its Shokujinki hunters out to eliminate what they see as a vicious monster or ravenous ogres out to continue their bloodlines.
What are some anime that remind you of Parasyte? Let us know in the comments section below, and check out some of our other recommendation lists for series like Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Golden Kamuy.
About the author
Keenan McCall
Keenan has been a nerd from an early age, watching anime and playing games for as long as I can remember. Since obtaining a bachelor's degree in journalism back in 2017, he has written thousands of articles covering gaming, animation, and entertainment topics galore.