Animes Similar To Gleipnir

The anime with one of the best-choreographed action scenes and smooth animations is Gleipnir. A mystery and ecchi anime at its core, the show isn’t afraid to put itself out there. If you’re a fan of the type of edginess mixed with emotions, this list is for you. We’ll be taking a deep dive into the best anime similar to Gleipnir.

Gleipnir gave us an innovative and interesting story of a guy named Shuuchi who has the mysterious ability to turn into a monster. When he saves a girl named Claire, he finds himself falling deeper into a thrilling world. A world filled with monsters and dangers. Claire, who somehow seems to know about his secret, seems to be connected with his own life, and he seems to be the missing link to the answers that Claire is searching for. The two head on a journey filled with many tests, and as they soon find out, they aren’t the only ones searching for answers. Now, without any further ado, let’s look at the animes that you should watch if you like Gleipnir-

10.  The Future Diary

Psychological thrillers Like Gleipnir, The Future Diary
The Future Diary
  • Episodes: 26
  • Studios: asread.
  • Genres: Action, Mystery, Psychological, Supernatural, Thriller, Shounen
  • Aired: Oct 9, 2011, to Apr 15, 2012

Yukiteru Amano is a lonesome high school kid who spends most of his time writing a diary on his phone. He has no friends except two imaginary ones- Deus Ex Machina, a God of time and space, and the God’s servant, Murmur. Yukiteru’s life is completely changed when Deus reveals that he is a real entity. He gives Yukiteru a “Random Diary” that shows him his future. However, he is also forced into a Battle Royale with 11 other contenders with powerful diaries of their own.

Yukiteru learns that the winner of the battle will be made the new God of time and space and begins his quest along with an obsessive stalker, Yuno. Yuno also has a diary but seems to have a deep urge to protect Yukiteru. However, as he gets to know her, Yukiteru sees a side of Yuno that is darker. What is her plan? The anime has a few filler episodes that you can find here.

If you liked to see the growth of a timid main character into a more fleshed-out character, as he goes on adventures with a crazy but smart heroine, Future Diary is great for you. It also has mature themes and a dark atmosphere like Gleipnir, and both are death games as well.

9. Darwin’s Game

Darwin's Game battle ryale anime like Gleipnir with weak main character
Darwin’s Game
  • Episodes: 11
  • Studios: Nexus
  • Genres: Action, Sci-Fi, Mystery, Super Power, Shounen
  • Aired: Jan 4, 2020, to Mar 21, 2020

This one’s a battle royale-type anime with a male protagonist who’s new to this deadly world and very soft. He teams up with a girl who is pretty crazy. Like Gleipnir, the main character slowly grows into a more capable and strong-willed fighter even in Darwin’s Game. We follow a high school student, Kaname, who downloads a mysterious game upon a friend’s recommendation. When he opens the app, a snake lurches of the screen and bites him, causing him to faint. Kaname wakes up in the school’s infirmary but finds that there are no bite marks on his body.

When he boards a train to go home, his curiosity gets the best of him, and he opens the app again. When he decides to participate in a battle, his opponent, wielding a knife, actually appears before him- ready to kill. What is this game, and will Kaname survive? 

8. Parasyte the maxim

anime like Gleipnir about monsters Parasyte the maxim
Parasyte the maxim
  • Episodes: 24
  • Studios: Madhouse
  • Genres: Action, Sci-Fi, Horror, Psychological, Drama, Seinen
  • Aired: Oct 9, 2014, to Mar 26, 2015

When mysterious parasitic aliens come into Earth, they quickly infect many humans and other organisms. One such parasite tries to latch onto a high school student, Shinichi. However, it isn’t able to reach his head and instead just infects his right hand. As a result, the parasite and host must team up, and the parasite must protect its host as if Shinichi dies, the parasite dies as well.

The anime follows the troubles that this unlikely pair faces. It shows us how this coexistence affects Shinichi’s ordinary life and the challenges they face, as many hostile parasites think of them as a threat and wish to eradicate them. This anime is similar to Gleipnir because of the parallel growth of its main characters when a mysterious power is bestowed upon them.

7.  DARLING in the FRANXX

Mecha anime like Gleipnir DARLING in the FRANXX
DARLING in the FRANXX
  • Episodes: 24
  • Studios: A-1 Pictures, Trigger, CloverWorks
  • Genres: Action, Drama, Mecha, Romance, Sci-Fi
  • Aired: Jan 13, 2018, to Jul 7, 2018

Darling in the FRANXX tells the story of ten kids fighting with underground reptilian monsters called Klaxosaurs. Klaxosaurs are giant beasts that have attacked the Earth and brought humanity to near extinction. The surviving humans are forced to live in fortress cities called plantations. The only chance that humanity has against its monstrous foes are the Franxx, giant mecha robots. Moreover, the Franxx must be piloted in boy-girl pairs.

Feeling down on his luck and lacking self-esteem, Hiro hits rock bottom after failing an aptitude test. He isn’t the best at interacting with girls but dreams of piloting a Franxx. Just when it seems like he has failed, he encounters the infamous female pilot, Zero Two, called the “Partner Killer,” as most of her partners die after a few rides in her Franxx. However, Hiro is eager to accept this new hope in his dull life. With a new chance to prove himself, what will come next for Hiro as he learns to interact with his peculiar new pilot. It’s similar to Gleipnir in how the two main protagonists are connected closely by their past and form a bond through the duration of the respective shows. Each is growing in their own way.

6. Deadman Wonderland

Dark anime like gleipnir Deadman Wonderland
Deadman Wonderland
  • Episodes: 12
  • Studios: Manglobe
  • Genres: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Shounen, Supernatural
  • Aired: Apr 17, 2011, to Jul 3, 2011

Ganta Igarashi lived a pretty ordinary life as a high school student. However, in typical anime fashion, his life is turned upside down. A mysterious person dawned in red attacks Ganta’s entire class, leaving everyone dead…except Ganta. The “Red Man” flees the scene, and soon, Ganta being the sole survivor of this incident, is deemed to be a primary suspect. 

This is when he is sent to Deadman Wonderland, a unique prison where the convicts perform stunts for the amusement of onlookers. However, this fascinating prison is filled with malicious and sadistic criminals. If this wasn’t enough torture already, Ganta has to wear a collar that is slowly killing him. The only way to elongate his life is by winning the wild and deadly prison games. With no one to trust and no way to distinguish between friend and foe, how will Ganta survive, find the “Red Man,” and prove his innocence?

If Gleipnir is a supernatural-horror anime filled with ecchi, Deadman Wonderland is the same, except the ecchi is substituted with lots of sci-fi.

5. High School of the Dead

Zombie Apocalypse ecchi anime like Gleipnir, High School of the Dead
High School of the Dead
  • Episodes: 12
  • Studios: Madhouse
  • Genres: Action, Horror, Supernatural, Ecchi, Shounen
  • Aired: Jul 5, 2010, to Sep 20, 2010

The world is sent into chaos as people begin to turn mysteriously into zombies. A high school in Japan is also being terrorized. In the anime, we follow the adventures of Takashi Kimuro. After a lot of challenges, he’s able to make his way out of his school. However, the outside world isn’t forgiving either.

High School of The Dead is all about a dark plot with enough gore and ecchi to keep you occupied. The action scenes are plentiful and well animated. If you’re looking for something that has lots of fan service, this is an anime you should consider watching.

4. Killing Bites

Sci-fi and actions Anime Killing Bites like Gleipnir
Killing Bites
  • Episodes: 12
  • Studios: LIDENFILMS
  • Genres: Action, Ecchi, Sci-Fi, Seinen
  • Aired: Jan 13, 2018, to Mar 31, 2018

Yuuya Nomoto thinks he and his friends are out picking up girls. However, he soon realizes that he is helping them kidnap a high school girl, Hitomi Uzaki. On a shocking occurrence, she kills all of his friends, overpowering them easily. It turns out she is a human-animal hybrid created using gene therapy. Hitomi possesses ratel genes, giving her speed and fearlessness. Soon, Yuuya finds himself dragged into an entirely different, malicious world. 

Powerful Japanese business conglomerates are making use of these human hybrids to have deathmatches. The winner gains control of the entire economy. As Yuuya is forced into participating in these matches alongside Hitomi, as her investor, what will he do? This anime also has a weak male protagonist working alongside a powerful female. It’s rampant with ecchi fanservice and action scenes. If that’s what you’re looking for, make sure to check this anime out.

3. Dorohedoro

Dark anime like Gleipnir, Dorohedoro
Dorohedoro
  • Episodes: 12
  • Studios: MAPPA
  • Genres: Action, Comedy, Horror, Magic, Fantasy, Seinen
  • Aired: Jan 13, 2020, to Mar 30, 2020

Hole is a city where humans live dreadful, meaningless lives. Magic users from another dimension use these humans as guinea pigs for testing their skills. Leaving many dead or disfigured for life. Having accepted their defeat, the humans of this city have gotten used to this futile and dreadful way of living. 

However, one man seeks revenge. Kaiman’s face was morphed once by a magic user, leaving him with a reptilian face. Along with his closest ally. Nikaidou, the owner of a restaurant called Hungry Bug, Kaiman seeks the mysterious culprit who made him this way. Dorohedoro has a dark and horrifying effect to it, with very little predictability. Similar to Gleipnir, you can never tell what’s going to happen next.

2.  Dororo

dark adventure anime similat to Gleipnir, Dororo
Dororo
  • Episodes: 24
  • Studios: Tezuka Productions, MAPPA
  • Genres: Action, Adventure, Demons, Historical, Samurai, Shounen, Supernatural
  • Aired: Jan 7, 2019, to Jun 24, 2019

If you liked the horrific character design and animation in Gleipnir, Dororo is an anime you should check out. Its premise surrounds the life of a boy, Hyakkimaru, who was born without limbs, nose, eyes, ears, or even skin. He was the first child of a greedy samurai lord who prayed to 12 Demons to bring greatness to his kingdom.

The demons each took the baby’s body parts and spread all over Japan, wreaking havoc everywhere they went. Meanwhile, the boy’s mother leaves him afloat in a river out of mercy. The child floats away to a kind man who makes him prosthetics. Many years later, he lives his life without his senses, battling the demons, killing them to regain his body parts, and eventually confronting his father. On the journey, he meets an orphan boy, Dororo. The anime further explores the journey of the unlikely pair as they face the peril that lies ahead. Its similarity to Gleipnir lies in the journey of an unlikely pair.

1. Tokyo Ghoul

Dark shounen anime like Gleipnir Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoul
  • Episodes: 12
  • Studios: Studio Pierrot
  • Genres: Action, Mystery, Horror, Psychological, Supernatural, Drama, Seinen
  • Aired: Jul 4, 2014, to Sep 19, 2014

In this anime, we’re taken to a deadly reflection of Tokyo. The once-great city is reduced to fear when bloodthirsty savages called Ghouls attack. They possess the capability to live alongside humans, disguised as them. 

We follow a shy and bookish kid, Ken Kaneki, who has a crush on Rize Kamishiro, another avid reader. However, Rize has more to herself than she lets on. The story gives us a look at what it is like to live as a ghoul and what it means to be alive in this cruel Tokyo. 

Tokyo Ghoul, like Gleipnir, deals with the journey of the main character, who is trying to come to terms with his abilities and the fact that they’re monsters. The journeys of Ken and Kagaya are very similar.

Honorable Mentions

  • Cencoroll (a 30 min short film)
  • Danganronpa
  • Eden of The East
  • Tsugumomo
  • Plunderer
  • Ajin
  • Battle Game in 5 Seconds