The Best Anime Like Gantz

Ranker Anime
Updated March 1, 2024 30.6K views 27 items
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1.6K votes
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Looking for more anime like Gantz? On the darker side of anime there are very specific series that are sure to wrench your gut. Gantz is certainly one of those series, as we follow the story of Kei Kurono whose death has lead him to a horrific game that certainly could be akin to hell itself. If you're a fan of more horror, gore, or thriller elements in your shows, these Gantz recommendations will surely provide you with your next great anime to watch.

Shows like Future Diary or Deadman Wonderland are great Gantz recommendations and have much of the same elements put into play. Main characters are thrown into a horrific situation where it's life or death; at least Kei was already dead, but reliving your demise sounds like a horrible way to spend the afterlife. These characters could probably agree as they fight to survive and witness some of the most traumatic instances never before thought possible. But there is a spectrum to a series like Gantz where characters are often trapped with no way out. Sword Art Online is a great example of a key element being used while not being incredibly violent. 

Vote up the best anime like Gantz you'd most recommend to other fans of this incredible series!

Latest additions: Bloodivores
Over 400 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of Best Anime Like Gantz
  • Parasyte: The Maxim
    1
    Action, Sci-Fi, Horror
    137 votes
    A teenager and an alien parasite work together to survive their unique circumstances.
  • Btooom!
    2
    Action, Survival, Sci-fi
    112 votes
    A gamer must fight for his life after he wakes up in a real-life version of an online game.
  • Inuyashiki
    3
    Action, Sci-Fi, Seinen
    100 votes
    Inuyashiki (Fuji TV, 2017), also known as Inuyashiki: Last Hero, is a Japanese sci-fi anime series based on the manga by Hiroya Oku. A middle-aged office worker encounters aliens and is gifted with alien technology and limitless powers.
  • Deadman Wonderland
    4
    Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
    93 votes
    Scapegoated for a massacre, Ganta gets sent to a unique private prison, Deadman Wonderland.
  • Elfen Lied
    6
    95 votes
    Elfen Lied is a 2002 Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Lynn Okamoto. Rejected by humans, teenage mutant girl Lucy seeks revenge against those who wronged her.
  • Akame ga Kill!
    7
    Action, Adventure, Drama
    63 votes
    The adventures of Tatsumi as he heads to the Imperial Capital to try to raise money for his village.
  • Future Diary
    8
    Action, Mystery, Psychological
    84 votes
    A boy becomes caught up in a deadly game after his cell phone diary begins predicting the future.
  • Terra Formars
    9
    Horror, Sci-fi, Action
    55 votes
    Crew members are injected with various forms DNA to combat giant humanoid cockroaches on Mars.
  • Higurashi When They Cry
    10
    Mystery, Supernatural, Suspense
    35 votes
    Higurashi When They Cry (Chiba TV, 2006) is a supernatural mystery anime series based on the dojin soft visual novel series produced by 07th Expansion from Passione animation studio. During June 1983 in a fictional rural village called Hinamizawa, Keiichi Maebara moves to this rural village and befriends his new classmates Rena Ryugu, Mion Sonozaki, Rika Furude, and Satoko Hojo.
  • Psycho-Pass
    11
    Action, Sci-Fi
    59 votes
    The adventures of Inspector Akane Tsunemori.
  • Black Lagoon
    12
    Action, Crime, Seinen
    48 votes
    A team of mercenaries smuggles goods around Southeast Asia.
  • Attack on Titan
    13
    Action, Military, Mystery
    116 votes
    Three friends join the Survey Corps to try to take their world back from the Titans.
  • Death Note
    14
    Mystery, Police, Psychological
    91 votes
    A high-school student discovers a supernatural notebook that grants its user the ability to kill.
  • Claymore
    15
    Dark Fantasy, Adventure, Action
    48 votes
    The hybrid warrior Clare and her comrades fight to protect their land from shapeshifting demons.
  • Another
    17
    Mystery, Horror, Supernatural
    55 votes
    Kouichi Sakakibara and Mei Misaki investigate strange and gruesome deaths at their school.
  • Tokko
    18
    15 votes
    A man joins an elite investigation team to avenge his parents' deaths.
  • Bokurano: Ours
    19
    Bokurano: Ours is a Japanese science fiction manga by Mohiro Kitoh that was serialized in the monthly manga magazine Ikki from 2003 to 2009; 11 tankōbon have been published by Shogakukan. It is about a group of middle-school students who unwillingly assume the task of piloting a giant mecha named Zearth in a series of battles against mechas from parallel worlds, where the survival of Earth is dependent on their continuing to win at the cost of the life of the pilot of each battle. The series has been adapted as an anime television series directed by Hiroyuki Morita and produced by Gonzo that aired in 2007, and a light novel series called Bokura no: Alternative with an alternative story by Renji Ōki and character designs by Kitoh himself. The manga is licensed in English by Viz Media, which began serializing it in the online English version of Ikki on July 23, 2009; the first print volume was published in February 2010.
  • Angel Beats!
    21
    Action, Comedy, Drama
    27 votes
    In a realm within the afterlife, a band of teens fight to keep from being taken to the next level.
  • Speed Grapher
    22
    Former war photographer Saiga becomes entangled in a secret society and a girl with special powers.
  • Red Garden
    23
    9 votes
    Four dead girls search for the truth behind their deaths.
  • Bus Gamer
    24
    15 votes
    Bus Gamer is a short-lived Japanese manga series created by Kazuya Minekura. It only exists as a single volume 'Pilot Edition' due to difficulties in serialization. The manga has been licensed for North American distribution by Tokyopop. The series follows the story of three young men hired by a mysterious company to participate in a business game, in which companies gamble against each other for corporate secrets. It has also produced a drama CD featuring the voices of Kenichi Suzumura, Junichi Suwabe, and Hiroki Takahashi. An anime adaptation of the manga premiered on the Japanese television network KBS Kyoto between March 14 and March 28, 2008, airing a total of three episodes. It is directed by Naoyuki Kuzuya, produced by Frontier Works, and animated by Studio Izena. The characters are voiced by the same voice actors in the drama CD.
  • Devil Survivor 2: The Animation is a 2013 Japanese anime series based on the Nintendo DS video game, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 by Atlus. The series was directed by Seiji Kishi, with series composition by Makoto Uezu. One Sunday afternoon, Hibiki Kuze and Daichi Shijima receive macabre videos from the Nicaea website which predict their deaths mere seconds before they are involved in a gruesome train accident.
  • Sword Art Online
    26
    Action, Game, Adventure
    65 votes
    Players of online role-playing games become embroiled in a series of life-threatening conspiracies.
  • Bloodivores
    27
    Action, Fantasy
    0 votes
    After a strange pandemic of insomnia, a sub-species called, "bloodivores" are born.