The X-Men are some of the most popular characters in all of Marvel comics lore. Between their many comic adaptations, film adaptations, cartoons, merchandise, and more, you can tell they are an extremely prevalent and important asset to the comics world. One reason people are so drawn to the X-Men series is because of their mature and topical themes.
If you're a fan of the mutants, you might be looking for some other series out there that have similar themes to the world of the X-Men. We're taking a look at ten anime series you should definitely check out if you enjoy the X-Men in any capacity.
10 Fate/Zero
Fate/Zero is one of the more popular anime series and there is plenty of content including the manga, light novels, and the anime if you get truly integrated into the world. The series takes place during the Fourth Holy Grail War. The war is a content in which seven mages summon seven Heroic Spirits to compete for the Holy Grail.
If they are able to retrieve it, they will be granted a wish. Due to the stakes of the contest, there is plenty of corruption, cheating, and underhandedness at play. Some of the families are willing to win at any cost, whatever it takes.
9 Seraph of the End
Seraph of the End, also known as Owari no Seraph, is a dark fantasy series about a world that has come to an end due to a deadly virus. Only children under the age of thirteen are left behind. If you like X-Men for its take on gifted children, you might like the focus of this series on kids who are forced to learn how to survive in a world ravaged by a plague.
The series also has another big draw for people who like vampires, as they're a big part of the story. Vampires and other horrific entities emerge from the dark in this new world order.
8 Charlotte
Charlotte is about as close to the X-Men storyline as you can get. The series takes place in an alternate reality where a comet passes over Earth every 75 years. In that time, it spreads special dust onto the planet that causes certain children to develop superhuman abilities when they reach puberty. The protagonist is Yuu Otosaka.
He has the ability to possess other people for five seconds. But his gift is exposed by a girl who can make herself invisible and this forces him to get transferred to another school. At the academy, the council attempts to stop people from trying to exploit their abilities.
7 Code Geass
Code Geass is set in an alternate timeline and follows a former prince named Lelouch vi Britannia who obtains a superpower called Geass. He intends to use it to destroy an empire. The ability allows Lelouch to command anyone he wants into doing anything he needs them to, including dying on his behalf.
Lelouch wants to create a better world, and also find the murderers who took his mother's life. His path won't be an easy one as he will have to fight against the most powerful army in the world. Code Geass is a best-selling series and has received universal critical acclaim.
6 Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoul is another dark fantasy manga series about a world where ghouls, creatures that appear as normal humans but survive by eating human flesh, are living among the human population in secrecy. The ghouls are not dissimilar to mutants in X-Men, especially as they too are being hunted down by the government to be wiped out for good.
That said, ghouls are typically more evil than mutants, although there are evil mutants too. In Tokyo Ghoul there are also half-ghouls who are both human and ghoul. Some of them can even feed like a normal human. The main character is a half-ghoul as the result of a mysterious operation.
5 Darker Than Black
Ten years prior to the beginning of the Darker Than Black anime, a mysterious anomaly called Heaven's Gate appeared in South America. Then, in Tokyo, Hell's Gate appeared. People in possession of special abilities, known as Contractors, began to emerge around the same time and the stars in the sky were replaced with false stars.
The Contractors are not dissimilar to X-Men, with their special powers, each unique. They were kept a secret from the general population but were known to murder. The gaining of their abilities came with the loss of their humanity. An organization known as the Syndicate becomes a new superpower and a Contractor named Hei must try to uncover the secrets of the group before it's too late.
4 Akama ga Kill
Akame ga Kill is an adult anime series about Tatsumi, a young villager who travels to the Capital to raise money only to discover the area is rife with corruption. An assassin group called the Nigh Raid is recruiting and they recruit Tatsumi to join them against the corrupt Empire.
The Night Raid group consists of all-female assassins with a swordswoman named Akame as the main female protagonist and leader of the group. They also have a sniper, an armored warrior, a scissor-wielder, and more. The series is incredibly popular and has sold more than 3 million copies of the manga.
3 Hamatora
This is another series that deals with people discovering they have supernatural abilities. The series has been compared to X-Men multiple times because of its plot and the characters in the series, which are similar to some of the X-Men characters and abilities. It is a mixed-media project and contains multiple anime series, a film, and manga. The protagonist, Nice, runs a private investigation agency referred to as Hamatora.
They try to help people with abilities as they are trained in the Facultas Academy and when they graduate they typically are given enough to become very successful in life. But then a serial killer strikes with the intention of stealing brains of those with abilities and creating more. Nice must try to hunt them down before they build an army.
2 Elfen Lied
Elfen Lied is primarily about a mutated species of humans called the Diclonius, or the Diclonii species. For the most part, they appear as humans but the key difference is they have two horns protruding from their heads. In addition to the obvious outer appearance, Diclonii have the ability to use two invisible arms known as vectors which can slice, grab, and impact anything in their vicinity.
They typically kill people this way. Many Diclonii are violent and wish to wipe out the human race as revenge for being outcasted. The series protagonist, Lucy, was rejected and bullied by human beings and makes revenge her mission.
1 Boku no Hero Academia
This popular superhero anime is about Izuku Midoriya, a boy born without superpowers in a world where everyone has them. He has dreams of becoming a hero on his own somehow and so he becomes scouted by one of the best heroes around who invites Izuku to attend a high school for heroes in training.
In the series, people with abilities are known as Quirks. He has also been bullied by classmates for not having powers. But it is All Might that sees the potential in Izuku and gives him a new chance. But the League of Villains has plans to destroy all heroes.