When everyone's out to kill you, can you tell who's friend or foe?
“Your order, sir.”
Gracefully, you set the plate down before your esteemed guest. He’s wearing an exquisite grey suit that definitely costs more than a car. This restaurant has a very exclusive clientele, catering only to the mega-wealthy. You step back and smile politely at the man, asking him if there is anything else he requires, he shakes his head, and you dismiss yourself with a slight bow. You make your way back toward the kitchen, then past the kitchen, then out the back door.
You don’t even work there.
Grabbing a taxi, you ask the driver to head for the airport. The man’s actual waiter should be waking up soon, unsure how they ended up in the bathroom in just their underwear. The man himself should be dead within the hour. You send a text saying the job is done. After that, you have the driver pull over a few blocks from the airport. You’ll take a shuttle from there, discarding your phone in a nearby trashcan along the way.
Mission accomplished.
The life of a professional assassin is one filled with danger and excitement. Here in this list are 15 anime that toss you right in the middle of that seedy underworld.
15. Death Note
Death Note | OFFICIAL TRAILER
Not all assassins work for shady government organizations. Light Yagami, for instance, is on a personal crusade to rid the world of those he sees as undesirables. Armed with a magic notebook that allows him to kill anyone he sees fit, watch as he sets out to administer his own brand of justice to the world.
Magic death notebook + pampered teenager = not good times.
What would you do if you could kill anyone you wanted by writing down their name? That’s a scary thought, right? Most of us don’t like to see ourselves as people who would throw away a life so carelessly. But our boy Light goes from being horrified at the notebook's power to considering himself a literal god in a single day. Each of us is capable of both great good and great evil, and it's best not to dwell on the monsters that lurk inside us.
14. Fate/Zero
Fate/Zero Trailer
Kiritsugu Emiya is a hitman specializing in taking out magicians who have gone too far. Those who have dabbled in magics that should never be touched. Now he’s being forced to use those skills in a death game between wizards, and this time he might not be up to the task.
If you're looking to get into Fate, start here.
The Fate franchise is large and complex. But Fate/Zero is probably the best place to start if you want to get into the series. The story will grip you from beginning to end. With so many compelling characters, you won’t know who to root for with so many compelling characters. Unfortunately, the game can only have one winner. Meaning a lot of the characters, you’ll become attached to won’t be making it to the end.
13. Black Lagoon
Black Lagoon Episode 1: The Black Lagoon Trailer
While on a business trip to Southeast Asia, Japanese salaryman Rokuro Okajima is abducted by a group of pirates known as the Lagoon Company. Instead of negotiating with the pirates, his company abandons him, declaring him dead, lest he expose their smuggling operation that he was unknowingly participating in. With no other option, he joins the pirate crew, now going by Rock. He begins his new life in the crime-infested city of Roanapur.
This woman is limitless rage in human form.
This is the story of an everyman stuck in a city filled with violent criminals. Assassins, smugglers, gangsters, and all-around horrible people. Watch him try, and fail, to keep his innocence. As he slowly begins to adapt to his new environment and becomes desensitized to the brutal actions of his associates. Namely, Revy, the hot blooded killer that he begins to develop feelings for.
12. Basilisk
Basilisk Trailer
The uneasy truce between two rival ninja clans is broken when retired Warlord Ieyasu Tokugawa pits them against each other. This plunges both families back into a bloody war with each other. And in the center of it all are two young lovers, who thought they would finally be able to put their clan's feud to rest with their marriage but are now forced on opposite sides of a battle that seeks to rip their love apart.
Basically Japanese Romeo and Juliet.
This is a bloody action anime about doomed love. Two clans of ninja assassins use their unique skills to cut each other down until only one clan remains. It’s a great historical drama that puts a new spin on how the power of the Tokugawa Shogunate came to be. Of course, you want everyone to just get along, but you know that’s not possible. Both clans are too filled with bitterness over past wrongdoings to ever really make amends. So this conflict can only end in bloodshed.
11. Assassination Classroom
Assassination Classroom - Official Trailer
Have you ever had a teacher you just wanted to strangle? Well, for these kids, that’s their job. Given their mission by the Japanese government, they are promised a life-changing amount of money if they can just kill their alien professor.
It's like Superman if he was a tentacle monster.
The draw of this show is how horribly outmatched these poor students are for the job that they’ve been given. Koro-sensei is an ultra-powerful, tentacled alien who casually avoids their attempts to kill him with barely any effort at all. How do you kill a being who has super speed, can regenerate, clone himself, and has a freaking invincible mode? Needless to say, these kids have their work cut out for them. The world’s counting on you, class 3-E, good luck!
10. Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Katekyo Hitman Reborn - Trailer
Middle school is hard enough when you’re just trying to pass your classes and figure out what kind of person you want to be. So when a strange infant hitman shows up at your door and says, “yeah, by the way, you’re next in line to be a mafia boss!” That can add a whole nother layer of stress to your plate, and that’s the life of our hero Tsunayoshi “Tsuna” Sawada.
He's gonna make you an offer you can't refuse.
So this is Dragon Ball meets The Godfather. Tsuna starts out weak-willed and timid. But thanks to Reborn’s training and the help of some new friends, he gradually grows in confidence. Establishing his own mafia family, complete with loyal subordinates. Tsuna takes his place as the 10th head of the Vongola family.
9. Baccano!
Trailer - Baccano! [HD]
So this anime is about a lot of things. A train robbery, Alchemists, trying to make an elixir of immortality, a mafia war, a girl searching for her brother, and more! The story is told in three different timelines with separate casts of characters, condensed into thirteen episodes, all telling one story, and yet it all works brilliantly.
These two are like the better version of Bonnie and Clyde.
Set mostly in 1930’s America, this show is filled with mobsters and hitmen. People say this story is complex because three main stories are being told out of order. But it’s really not. The editing of this anime is fantastic, with the layout of events being designed to pull you in more and more. Giving you the info you need to know at exactly the right time, and keeping you guessing until the very end.
8. Code:Breaker
Code:Breaker - Official Trailer
This anime follows our heroine Sakura Sakurakōji. One day while staring out the window on a bus, she witnesses a group of people being burned alive by blue fire. At the same time, a boy stands completely unharmed over them. The next day, she sees that the same boy has transferred to her school and learns that he is a unique assassin called a “Code: Breaker” that works for the Japanese government.
In which an unfortunate high school girl gets saddled with the job of reigning in this psycho.
While the premise might make you think this will be a dark romance anime, it’s actually not. Instead, this is a battle shonen anime with a female protagonist. Which is really quite rare. Initially published in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine. It was greenlit for an anime adaptation that ran in the fall of 2012.
7. Rurouni Kenshin
Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Official Teaser Trailer
Set in the latter half of the nineteenth century, the twilight years of the samurai. This anime follows former assassin Kenshin Himura as he tries to make a new life for himself and atone for the many murders he has committed. But he finds that’s easier said than done when enemies from his dark past reappear, threatening to destroy his peace and the new friends he’s come to love.
The peace-loving Assassin.
It’s cool that this anime gives us a look at what it was like during the last years of the samurai. As Japan transitioned into a modern nation and the use of guns became more widespread. There was no longer any use for the sword-bearing warrior class. And so, like the American cowboy, they faded into the pages of history. Only living on as fictional characters in stories like this anime.
6. Hunter X Hunter
Hunter X Hunter Set 1- Official Extended Trailer
In this anime, we follow our hero Gon. He sets off on a journey to become a licensed Hunter, basically a professional adventurer, like his father he hasn’t seen since he was a baby. Along the way, he makes a group of friends, most notably a boy named Killua, who comes from a family of assassins. Together they take on the Hunter exam and begin earning their reputation in this big world of adventure.
A Master Assassin and his bone-headed best friend.
This series was created by Yoshihiro Togashi, the man who also made the hit series Yu Yu Hakusho and married the creator of Sailor Moon. The world of this anime is vast! This anime really does an excellent job at making you feel like the main character is just one small part of a wider world with many other things going on. The cast of characters in this series is enormous, and almost all of them get a moment to shine. Everything just feels so alive and lived in, I really can’t recommend this series enough.
5. Gunslinger Girl
Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino -Complete Series Trailer
This anime follows the exploits of Italy’s Social Welfare Agency. A peace-loving, feel-good charity group that’s all about bringing smiles to the faces of injured patients! Well no, actually, it’s a counter-terrorism organization. Staffed by little girl assassins, but that’s not really good for PR, so we stick with the first explanation instead.
The deadlliest little killers you never want to meet.
This is like a darker version of Marvel’s Black Widow. Basically, little girls who have no family and have gone through extreme trauma are taken by the government and then brainwashed into becoming the perfect assassins. They are selected by a handler, and he completely controls their routine and brainwashing. It’s all really quite creepy.
4. The Fruit of Grisaia
The Fruit of Grisaia Official Trailer
Tired of working as an assassin for the Japanese government, our protagonist Yuji Kazami transfers to Mihama Academy, where he hopes to experience life as a typical high school student. Unfortunately for him, Mihama isn’t your typical school. For one, it’s designed like a prison (aren’t they all?), and two, there are only five other students, all pretty girls with sad backstories, and our boy Yuji here just can’t help but get involved.
The guy who just can't help sticking his nose in other people's business.
Wait, five girls and one protagonist? Is this a harem anime? No, but you’re close. It’s based on a visual novel where each girl had her own romance route. But since this is an anime, Yuji will get involved in all the routes at once.
3. Akame ga Kill
Akame ga Kill! Official Trailer
In a medieval fantasy world, Tatsumi sets off on an adventure with his two best friends. They plan to gain fame and help out their poverty-stricken village. That is until his two friends are brutally tortured to death by a “kindly” noble family in the capital city. Seeking revenge, Tatsumi joins up with a group of assassins in order to kill all the corrupt officials within the kingdom.
Don't cut yourself on all that edge.
Hi, do you like edge? Like really edgy edge? Then this anime is right up your alley. With a plot that feels like it was written by a fourteen-year-old boy. This anime straddles the line between cool and cringe in a way you’ve probably never seen before.
2. The World's Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat
The World's Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat | OFFICIAL TRAILER
In this story, an old accomplished assassin finally meets the end after a long and successful career. But instead of dying, the old man is commissioned by a goddess to save another world.. Wanting a life where he doesn’t feel like a tool for others, the old assassin accepts her offer and is reborn as a noble aristocrat in a world of swords and sorcery.
He might look young, but he's probably older than your grandpa.
As you might have guessed from the ridiculously long title, this anime is based on a light novel. A newer entry in the ever-expanding young isekai genre. Where mundane men and women from our world are by some means chucked into a random fantasy setting. Where they gain incredible amounts of power that allow them to stand head and shoulders above even the strongest warriors of that universe. And our protagonist here is no different, being given many abilities upon reincarnating that make him completely overpowered.
1. Darker Than Black
Darker than Black - US Trailer [PV]
Set in a world like ours, but where supernatural feats are possible… for a price. Contractors are a special group of assassins kept secret from the general public. Our story follows one such contractor, codenamed Hei, who carries out his missions while posing as a foreign exchange student in Tokyo.
When you're about to be murdered by the cable guy.
This anime has one of the most interesting power systems in recent memory. Contractors are required to “pay a price” each time they use their ability in exchange for their supernatural powers. This comes in the form of an uncontrollable compulsion that the user must do. This can range from normal things like cooking, drawing, and drinking beer. To strange ones, such as self-harm, smelling an old sock (ew), and drinking children’s blood.
