Arguably the most well-known and influential dark fantasy title in anime and manga, Kentaro Miura’s Berserk is the genre’s pinnacle of excellence. A gritty, horrifying, and emotionally rich epic in which the hero perseveres against never-ending suffering, it set the medium’s standard for dark fantasy stories despite being incomplete and never receiving a fully realized anime adaptation.
Dark fantasy might be a prolific genre, yet Berserk, in its brilliance and astounding quality, remains one of a kind. However, it’s hardly the only worthwhile anime series fans of the genre celebrate. From dreary takes on classic sword and sorcery epics to grim yet spectacular urban fantasy masterpieces, these anime are perfect for Berserk fans willing to explore anime’s dark side.
Claymore Is a Haunting Sword & Sorcery Fantasy With an Excellent Female Lead
The medieval-inspired fantasy world of Claymore is plagued by the horrifying threat of Yoma, monstrous shapeshifters hostile to humans. Deciding to fight fire with fire, an enigmatic group known simply as the Organization created Claymores – female half-Yoma hybrids who fight on the side of humanity, with Clare, the series’ main heroine, being the lowest-ranked Claymore.
Like Berserk, Claymore follows its protagonist’s grueling and violent quest for vengeance, which leads her down many dark, treacherous paths. Despite primarily focusing on action, Claymore also doesn’t lack emotional depth, and commonly includes flashbacks to deepen the audience’s understanding of various characters. Unfortunately, Claymore’s story was not fully adapted in the anime – a regrettable fate it shares with Berserk.
Devilman Crybaby Modernizes One of Anime’s Most Iconic Apocalyptic Tales
Many modern anime fans underestimate just how influential the original Devilman by Go Nagai was. In fact, it served as a direct inspiration for Berserk, and the similarities between the two series can even be seen in the classic’s modern reimagining, Masaaki Yuasa’s Devilman Crybaby. Devilman Crybaby begins with Akira Fudo, a timid teenager, merging with a sinister demon, creating the titular Devilman, who fights to protect humanity.
Yet, the series swiftly turns morbid, culminating in humanity’s agonizing downfall that Akira is powerless to stop. Aside from gore and extremity, Devilman Crybaby shares far more obvious parallels with Berserk, such as the arc from friendship to betrayal that unfolds between Guts and Griffith, as well as Akira and Ryo, and the apocalyptic finale of Devilman Crybaby resembling Berserk’s Eclipse.
Chainsaw Man’s Characters Have to Survive in a Brutal World Where Fears Come to Life
While Chainsaw Man’s Denji didn’t have quite as harsh an upbringing as Guts, life still didn’t treat him fairly when he lived as an impoverished, debt-ridden Devil Hunter in a brutal dark fantasy world where humanity’s worst fears manifest as grotesque monsters. And while turning into Chainsaw Man and joining the Devil-fighting Public Safety bureau did save Denji from starving to death, it was only the beginning of his horror-struck journey.
While differing from Berserk in tone and setting, Chainsaw Man similarly puts its heroes into oppressive and hopeless situations to explore the deepest, darkest aspects of their psyche. However, in the anime, the worst things that await Denji on his path as Chainsaw Man are yet to come.
Hellsing Ultimate Is a Masterwork of Gory Supernatural Horror
A renowned classic of dark anime, Hellsing Ultimate has a rather perplexing but infinitely exciting premise. The title of the series comes from the Hellsing Organization, a secret group that, with the help of its strongest asset, the original vampire Alucard, protects England from supernatural horrors – and a Nazi battalion consisting of artificial vampires.
Revered for its over-the-top action, atmospheric gothic aesthetics, and the appeal of its crazed, overpowered protagonist, Hellsing Ultimate is extremely similar in tone to Berserk, particularly in how it combines gruesome violence with subtle thematic depth. However, it doesn’t feature quite as much tragedy and swaps the classic fantasy setting for a more contemporary ambience of 20th-century Europe.
Fate/Zero Excels at Spectacular Action & Thematic Depth
An urban fantasy battle royal where mages summon spirits of historical heroes to fight for the mythical Holy Grail, Fate/Zero is one of the bleakest entries in the famous, expansive Fate series. On the surface, Fate/Zero is a fantastic action spectacle, featuring cinematic animation from studio Ufotable and high-stakes battles in which survival is never a guarantee.
What unites Fate/Zero and Berserk even more than the brutal action is the thematic depth of both series and the moral ambiguity of their characters. Fate/Zero is as much a literal war as it is an ideological one, and, similarly to Berserk, it doesn’t shy away from letting its characters exist outside the black and white constraints of villainy and heroism.
Dorohedoro Is a Hilarious & Unapologetically Brutal Take on Dark Fantasy
For fans who enjoy Berserk’s grittiness and brutality yet want something more comedic to lighten the mood after its onslaught of tragedy, Dorohedoro is the perfect pick. Set in the ghastly urban fantasy slums of the Hole, where human life is treated as completely expendable, Dorohedoro follows the kinetic adventures of Caiman, an amnesiac man with a reptilian head searching for his memories.
Dorohedoro is an unapologetically violent, gruesome series; yet, the tone of the show is that of an unhinged, no-holds-barred comedy, with surreal humor effortlessly coexisting with explicit gore. While undeniably a dark series, Dorohedoro leans into the bizarre and humorous aspects of brutal fantasy, with the underlying mysteries of its plot keeping fans engaged amidst the entertaining chaos.
Attack on Titan Is One of Dark Fantasy’s Most Riveting & Unpredictable Epics
One of the biggest hits in dark fantasy anime, Attack on Titan was directly inspired by Berserk, even if the similarities between the two series aren’t immediately obvious. Attack on Titan begins as a gritty survival series where humans strive fruitlessly to understand and defeat the man-eating Titans roaming outside their walled cities.
Later on, however, Attack on Titan turns into an even grimmer military drama, with the heroes no longer fighting mindless monsters but other people. Filled to the brim with top-notch action, riveting mysteries, and thought-provoking narrative developments, Attack on Titan is just the kind of terrifying yet endlessly alluring dark fantasy story Berserk fans would appreciate.
Vampire Hunter D Combines Stunning Gothic Aesthetics & Brilliant Science Fantasy Storytelling
The alluring setting of Vampire Hunter D largely resembles the monster-filled dark fantasy landscapes of series like Berserk. However, this tale of a dhampir traveling horrifying terrains and slaying his kin, in fact, takes place in the distant future, making Vampire Hunter D a science fantasy title that effortlessly blends folklore inspirations, fantasy, and science fiction.
In terms of visual execution, both Vampire Hunter D films are undeniably stunning, and their gothic ambiance mixed with evocative yet haunting animation creates an atmosphere many fans wish could have been present in an ideal adaptation of Berserk. And, despite not being even close to adapting the entire story, neither of the movies lacks substance, immersing viewers in an eloquent, compelling tale of threading the line between human and monstrous.
Made in Abyss Lulls Viewers Into a False Sense of Security
At first glance, Made in Abyss looks like an incredibly adorable show that couldn’t be more different from the grittiness of Berserk. However, its cutesy art style is extremely deceptive, as the actual story of Made in Abyss swiftly turns horrifying.
Living in a town surrounding a giant, mysterious Abyss that seemingly goes all the way down to the center of the Earth, young Riko, together with her robot companion Reg, embarks on a one-way trip down the pit to look for her mother. However, what awaits the explorers in the Abyss is not the typical lighthearted adventures but a spiral of horror, as they encounter various bloodthirsty monsters, face the cruelest aspects of humanity, and understand firsthand the terrifying fragility of human life.
Dororo Adapts One of Anime’s Greatest Dark Fantasy Classics
The 2019 version of Dororo most fans are familiar with is, in fact, just the latest adaptation of a classic 1967 dark fantasy manga by Osamu Tezuka. In it, fans can recognize many of the genre’s staples that permeate not just modern dark fantasy hits but also revered classics from later decades, like Berserk.
Dororo’s protagonist, like Guts, was cursed from birth – in Hyakkimaru’s case, quite literally, as his father traded his limbs and organs for the power and prosperity of his lands. After learning how to fight with prosthetic limbs, Hyakkimaru embarks on a quest to reclaim his lost body, which turns into a terrifying journey to uncover what it means to be human.