My Hero Academia is honestly one of the most popular anime of all time, and for a good reason. More than 100 episodes of action, humor, and character development. It’s one of the few shows that have such a large cast that all get their time to shine, and the show always stays interesting. But maybe 170 episodes isn’t enough, and you’re looking for more. So I put together a list of 10 anime that are similar to My Hero Academia. Some of these you likely already watched or know of, but maybe you’ll find something new to check out.
1. Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisen is probably the ones that’s the closest to My Hero Academia. It’s almost identical outside of the story and character differences. Though it does focus more on the flashy animation and insane fights than the other stuff. The story follows Yuji as he enters a dangerous world of cursed spirits after gaining incredible powers, forcing him to train alongside fellow sorcerers. Yuji is almost identical to Midoriya in every way. Other than the action, Jujutsu Kaisen combined humor, interesting characters, and supernatural elements.
2. Kaiju No. 8
Kaiju No. 8 is an easy recommendation for My Hero Academia fans thanks to its blend of action, humor, and inspiring characters striving to protect humanity. Kafka Hibino has no special abilities and his aging body made it hard for him to achieve his dream of fighting Kaiju. Then one day a parasite merged with him and he becomes part kaiju. It’s about an underdog protagonist who joins the ranks of the best soldiers who protect the world. The rest of the cast is full of memorable characters and there’s tons of great action.
3. Mob Psycho 100
Mob Psycho 100 offers a different take on the coming-of-age superhero formula, and it’s one of my favorite anime of all time. The world is being attacked by multiple superpowered and supernatural entities, and Shigeo Kageyama is the only one who can stop them because he’s one of the strongest espers in the world. But he’s still in middle school, so he struggles with not only having dangerous powers, but learning how to grow up too. There’s some insane fight sequences and some of the best character growth I’ve ever seen.
4. Black Clover
Black Clover is another one that starts off almost exactly like My Hero Academia. It follows Asta, a boy who’s born without magic. He eventually becomes very strong while also being an interesting character that’s easy to root for. There’s a handful of interesting characters surrounding him, and some awesome humor too. Black Clover is also a great watch if you just like fantasy anime in general.
5. Assassination Classroom
Assassination Classroom is very different but has many of the same qualities. The story follows a class of misfit students tasked with assassinating their supernatural teacher. The anime mixes action, humor, slice of life, and supernatural elements very well. Personally I don’t think any of the individual characters are all that great, but when you put them all together, the cast works very well together.
6. Fairy Tail
Fairy Tail was one of the first anime I watched that ai really enjoyed, and a lot of the stuff that makes it unique is also interchangeable with My Hero Academia to an extent. You just take the modern world with villains and a high school and swap it with a fantasy world with a guild hall and evil magic users. The show is really about the daily shenanigans of the guild while occasionally dealing with world ending events. There’s a lot of care put into every single guild member and the rest of the supporting cast. Plus there’s so much amazing humor and some awesome fights.
7. Fire Force
Fire Force follows Shinra Kusakabe, a young firefighter with the ability to ignite his feet. He joined the Special Fire Force Company 8 so that he could save people and discover what caused the fire that killed his family. The anime takes place in a world full of supernatural abilities, and it only gets more chaotic the more you watch. The anime features some great characters and lots of cool action.
8. Blue Exorcist
Blue Exorcist isn’t just similar to My Hero Academia, but also to Fire Force in a few ways. The series follows Rin Okumura, a teenager who discovers he is the son of Satan and enrolls in an academy to become an exorcist. There’s lots of action, interesting supporting characters, and a protagonist who’s incredibly determined to prove everyone wrong about him. The anime is very fun and full of character growth and humor. While I wasn’t personally crazy invested in later seasons, I think the first season is phenomenal.
9. Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun
Welcome to Demon School was the anime that got me to watch My Hero Academia after reading a similar list. It’s similar in nearly every way. Iruma is sold to a demon and attends an all demon school. He’s the only human there and has no abilities, but he gains some over time. There’s some action, but the show focuses more on humor and slice of life elements surrounding Iruma and his classmates. Like with My Hero Academia, this one gives ample time for every classmate and supporting character to shine. The humor is great, lots of great characters and music, and even the art style is similar.
10. Shy
Shy is almost beat for beat the same as My Hero Academia, and it’s likely that not many people heard of it. It takes place in a world where each country has it’s own official superhero to protect them. Teru Momijiyama is the Japanese hero, who also happens to be very shy. She deals with being a superhero, overcoming her own struggles, and putting a stop to the nefarious shenanigans of supervillains. It’s an interesting concept for an anime that’s been very under the radar over the past three years.