6 Anime like Grimm [Recommendations]

If words like dragons, zombies, vampires, ghouls, werewolves, and any other mythical monsters excite you, then you’ve come to the right article. From the original works by NBC, comes Grimm, the mystery supernatural drama that showcases mythical creatures and monsters in real life.

Originally inspired by the classic Grimm Brothers’ Fairy Tales, the Grimm series brings all your favorite creatures you see in the nursery rhymes, fairy tales, folklore, and even legendary creatures in an action-packed mystery drama TV series.

The story takes place in Portland, Oregon, where the main protagonist Nick Burkhardt who works for the Portland Police Department discovers that he’s a descendant of an ancient family known as “Grimms”. The discovery subsequently awakened Nick’s unique ability to see creatures or monsters known as “Wesen” that takes form in human appearances. Follow Nick as he solves weird and mysterious crimes in Portland as both a detective as well as a Grimm. So without further ado, here’s 6 Animes like Grimm. Enjoy!


Similar Anime to Grimm

1. Bungou Stray Dogs

  • Episodes: 12
  • Aired: Apr 2016 to Ongoing

Bungou Stray Dogs features a character named Nakajima Atsushi who is an abandoned orphaned wandering about the city. After several turn of events, Atsushi becomes involved with Dazai Osamu and Kunikida Doppo, both of which are the members of the Armed Detective Agency on the mission to search for a man-eating tiger that has been ransacking warehouses and livestock. After helping the detectives with the case, somehow Atsushi’s involvement with the Armed Detective Agency doesn’t just end there. So be sure to stay tune for this awesome series to find out Atsushi’s fate!

Just like the Grimm series, the protagonists of this series, Dazai Osamu and Kunikida Doppo, works as detectives, and not exactly a normal one at that. Dazai and Kunikida, along with the others are members of the Armed Detective Agency. The Armed Detective Agency is an organization that harbors individuals possessing supernatural powers and abilities that can be used for combat. This means exciting and nerve-wracking battles between the Armed Detective Agency and the Port Mafia gang as well as investigating cases that are related to ability-users, much like the Grimm series with Nick investigating cases that are ‘Wesen’-related.


2. Bakemonogatari

  • Episodes: 15
  • Aired: Jul 2009 – Jun 2010

What if one day, you wake up and realize that you’re no longer human? You wake up with out-of-this-world and unexplainable things. Then at this point, you start to wonder whether if you can ever go back to your normal life. This is what happened to Koyomi Araragi. After barely surviving a vampire attack that almost ended his life, the effects of the vampirism still lingers as Koyomi gained supernatural abilities similar to a vampire such as enhanced vision and super-fast healing. Join Koyomi and his struggles to maintain his life as a normal high school student in Bakemonogatari!

Just like the Grimm series, as Nick struggles with his new-found abilities as a Grimm, Koyomi Araragi struggles with his new-found ability as a half-vampire. It illustrates how it can be a challenge for the characters to maintain a ‘double-life’ while keeping it a secret from everyone. Aside from the identity crisis, both protagonists have their fair share of involvement with the supernatural elements of their respective series; Nick with Wesen-related cases and Koyomi with monsters.

Bakemonogatari Trailer


3. Noragami

  • Episodes: 12
  • Aired: Jan 2014 to – Mar 2014

Noragami is an anime series that features Yato, a demi-god and his journey of becoming a famous and worshiped by many. So how do you get famous and gain a lot of followers? By taking on weird jobs, and receiving really small amounts of cash as payment. Although this might seem like the worst way to achieve that goal, nevertheless it didn’t discourage Yato. Luckily for him, he also happens to exterminate and slay monsters and spiritual beings. His teammates are Hiyori Iki and Yukine, and both are helping Yato in achieving his dreams.

Although the main protagonist of Noragami is a demi-god unlike the Grimm series’ Nick who is a human, the Noragami series had almost the same plot as Grimm, as the main character deals with supernatural beings and exterminates them for the good reasons. Noragami had all the essence of what makes Grimm a great series with the added comedy spice which makes Noragami an exciting as well as a funny series to watch, so be sure to check this anime out!



Any Anime Like Grimm?

4. Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume's Book of Friends)

  • Episodes: 13
  • Aired: Jul 2008 - Sep 2008

The story unfolds with Natsume Takashi, a boy born with the ability to see supernatural beings such as ghosts. As interesting as it may sound, at first Natsume hated the idea of having that troublesome ability, because he was constantly being chased by spirits. After discovering the “Book of Friends”, a book that was left by his late grandmother, Natsume soon realized that it was the main reason why he gets into so much trouble with spirit encounters. This was due to the fact that the book contained names of spirits that have been brought under control by his grandmother. Take a peek into Natsume’s life as he learns to slowly embrace his abilities as sort of a ghost whisperer.

Although this series’ main character is a bit different from the Grimm series in terms of how he acquired his said ability to make contact with supernatural beings, as Natsume was born with the ability while Nick had his ability awakened when he reached a certain age, both went through the similar struggles of trying to live a normal life. But even then, both protagonists from their respective series played a crucial role in using their abilities to do good things. Such traits can be seen on Natsume as he decides to go on a journey to find the spirits and release them of their names from the ‘Book of Friends’.

Natsume’s Book of Friends Season 1 & 2 – Official Trailer


5. Tokyo Ghoul

  • Episodes: 12
  • Aired: Jul 2014 - Sep 2014

This next anime takes place in Tokyo, the heart of Japan. Over the years, Tokyo has evolved into a dangerous city, as it was filled with the so-called ‘ghouls’ living in the midst of humanity even if they’re still not widely known. Originally living as a normal university student, Ken Kaneki is unaware that his fate will soon take a dark and nasty turn. Ken’s life quickly changed after he was viciously attacked by Rize Kamishiro, the very girl that he had asked out on a date who turned out to be a ghoul herself. Thanks to a miraculous construction collapse, Rize was killed by the collapsing pipes. Ken was then rushed to the hospital and in a desperate attempt to save his life, doctors made the decision to do an organ transplant from Rize’s body into Ken. Thanks to the transplant, Ken somehow becomes a one-eyed ghoul himself.

Just like the previous selection on this list, the similarities between the main characters from both series is to be acknowledged as Ken struggles with maintaining his life as half-ghoul and half-human. Just like Nick Burkhardt, Ken Kaneki makes best of his powers as he uses it to become a ghoul investigator and exterminates anyone who would threaten the peace of his place. This next series really defines the expression of being ‘gory’ as it highlights a lot of piercing attacks, impales and of course, lots and lots of blood which complements well with the Grimm series even though it’s not as violent as Tokyo Ghoul. In addition, this series does also have an uncanny resemblance to the movie ‘Blade’, but instead becoming vampires, the main character of the series becomes a ghoul.


6. Kekkai Sensen (Blood Blockade Battlefront)

  • Episodes: 12
  • Aired: Apr 2015 - Oct 2015

It all started three years ago when a Gate to another dimension opened out of nowhere in New York City, and creatures and monsters from the Otherworld began its invasion to Earth. Due to the mysterious fog that enveloped the former New York City, the city went through drastic changes to its culture and civilization as humans and monsters learn to live alongside each other. New York City was then known as Hellsalem’s Lot because the city also becomes a sort of warzone for its inhabitants.

The story features Leonardo Watch, a boy gifted with the ability of “All-Seeing Eyes of the Gods” who moved to Hellsalem’s Lot in hopes to uncover the mysteries behind the bizarre ability he was given. His investigation led him to Libra, a secret organization that is dedicated to preserving the balance between Earth and the Otherworld. He was then subsequently recruited by Libra and met quite a few of teammates along his journey of finding a cure for his sister.

What makes this anime so amazing is thanks to its awesome action-packed themed. The word ‘blood’ on the title was not just a mere expression, as the series was centered on the unique techniques that the characters use, which was derived from blood. Although the techniques and abilities in this series are considered more extravagant than the Grimm series, both series definitely brings excitement with their action essence of the series. Aside from those, protagonists from both series are also involved in a secret organization dedicated to keeping peace and order, Leonardo with Libra, and Nick with Grimm.

Kekkai Sensen official Trailer


Final Thoughts

So that’s it for the 6 Animes Like Grimm! Action, supernatural, drama are all combined in this awesome series. And of course, anime that made it onto the list all had the essence of those traits. So make sure to check them out! What’s your favorite resemblance of the Grimm series? Leave them in the comments below!

Grimm-dvd-300x427 6 Anime like Grimm [Recommendations]

Writer

Author: Winfrey Widjijanto

Hi! My name is Winfrey and I come from Indonesia. I’m currently residing in Jakarta to pursue my bachelor degree but I hope in the near future I get to travel to new places including Japan! Still in search of my passion though, but so far, music and writing seems to interest me the most. (Just starting out) Desperately trying to learn new things and striving to become a better person each passing day. Cheers from Jakarta!

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