The world of Shonen action anime is a rich and diverse one, and many classic action series have defined each decade of anime from the 1980s onward (if not earlier). Sometimes, stories revolve around a battle of warrior vs warrior, such as the venerated Dragon Ball franchise or One Piece, but another paradigm is the "monster hunter" genre. Many classic anime follow this model.

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In anime like these, the heroes are tasked with slaying wicked aliens, demons, spirits, and more. Titles such as Bleach, Demon Slayer, and D.Gray-Man fit this mold nicely. Now, the question stands: between Demon Slayer and D.Gray-Man, which is the better monster hunter anime, and why? There are all kinds of reasons to love both.

10 Demon Slayer: Historic Japanese Setting

Both of these anime take place in the past, with D.Gray-Man being set in the late 1800s and Demon Slayer situating itself in early 1900s Japan. But if you ask us, Demon Slayer is the one that makes the most of its setting.

Old and new blend in the series' first season, where country boy Tanjiro Kamado lives in a traditional Japanese setting but runs right into electricity, early cars, Western-style suits, and more once he sets foot in Tokyo. We have one foot in the samurai world, and the other in the 20th century. Neat!

9 D.Gray-Man: Goth Theme

We love the old-vs-new theme in Demon Slayer, don't get us wrong. But the old-school goth look of D.Gray-Man is also a real treat for the eyes. In this anime, it's always Halloween, and what holiday could possibly be more stylish?

We all love the image of an aristocratic vampire or a crow cawing on a moonlit tree branch in a cemetery, though this anime smartly adds some festive flair so things don't look too bleak, from the character costumes to the interior of buildings and the like. It's dark, but charming at the same time. That's not easy to pull off.

8 Demon Slayer: Family Tragedy

Tanjiro Kamado holding his sister, Nezuko, during the events of the Demon Slayer anime

What is Tanjiro Kamado's driving force? When we meet him, he's a hardworking older brother and a nice guy, but he's got zero interest in sword fighting or adventure. He's too down to earth for all that heroism nonsense.

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Until, that is, disaster strikes, and his family is slaughtered and his lone surviving sister becomes a demon herself. Now it's personal, and every day, Tanjiro sees Nezuko and sees both what he's trying to protect, and what he's trying to destroy. It can't be easy walking in his shoes.

7 D-Gray-Man: Accept Yourself For You

An Akuma glares at his opponent (D.Gray-Man)

Pictured is Alistair Crowley, one of the many allies and friends whom Allen Walker meets during his quest to slay the Akuma and restore peace to the world. Most anime have a theme of learning to love yourself, but in the world of monster hunter anime, D.Gray-Man is a front-runner.

In this anime, a timid and frightened woman named Miranda learns to control her time-rewinding Innocence power, and she bravely joins the heroes and becomes a self-confident lady at last. Meanwhile, Crowley learns to accept himself as a vampire, and he now fights to protect the innocent, not to abuse the local populace. It's inspiring to see.

6 Demon Slayer: Animation Style

This is an image from the manga, not the anime. The Demon Slayer manga looks nice and all that, but just wait until you see the animated version. An animated series of any kind is made or ruined by its animation quality, and Demon Slayer easily checks off this box.

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The visual style is strongly reminiscent of the manga, while offering crisp and smoothly animated visuals. On top of the excellent frame rate, this anime adaptation makes good use of advanced CGI and dramatic camera angles to give us truly cinematic action scenes.

5 D.Gray-Man: Surprise Attack

Now it's time to talk about the monsters themselves. Just what are these flying abominations, anyway? These are Akuma, the monsters that the villain of D.Gray-Man crafts out of people's souls. Level 1 Akuma like these can fire energy bullets from those cannons.

What's cool about these things is that they disguise themselves as a person, and they can erupt from that person's body without warning and attack. Allen was nearly killed this way on a crowded street, until Lavi stepped in. In fact, exorcists (the good guys) wear distinctive outfits on purpose to draw Akuma from hiding.

4 Demon Slayer: Creative Battles

This is Rui, a very powerful demon who is the best fighter of the "family' of spider demons he assembled in a forest. While D.Gray-Man has its share of cool battles, it's safe to say that Demon Slayer offers a little something extra.

Not only are these fight scenes well animated, but they're all unique and clever in execution. One demon liked to trap people in his house, then strike drums on his body to rotate a room and deliver remote claw attacks. Another demon lady used Temari balls and six arms to attack her foes. And of course, the spiders use venom and webs in battle to great effect. What a variety!

3 D.Gray-Man: Cooler Allies

Yu Kanda in D.Gray-Man

Pictured is Yu Kanda, one of the many exorcists whom Allen meets early in the events of D.Gray-Man. Yes, we love the Demon Slayer characters too, but D.Gray-Man is a little more generous with showing us powerful villains who fight by the hero's side.

Yu has some seriously scary sword techniques to offer, and Allen is in awe of what he can do. We see all this really early on, too. Meanwhile, Lavi uses a hammer with varying size and length to great effect, and Lenalee Lee is a dancer-like fighter with great skill and terrific kicks. We get all this right up front to show off just what the exorcists are capable of! Inosuke and Zenitsu haven't yet reached heights like this in the first season of Demon Slayer.

2 Demon Slayer: Colorful Palette And Design

Not only does this anime show off some incredible animation technology and a stylish early-1900s Japanese setting, but the characters have some stunning outfits and accessories to show off, making each one really stand out in any scene.

The show has some serious creative flair, from goofy-but-scary demon masks to Tanjiro's earrings to Nezuko's charming pink robes and Inosuke's trademark boar helmet. And that's just scratching the surface! Each of the nine Hashira is a festival of colorful design, and even the pale spider people have cool patterns on their robes and skin alike.

1 D.Gray-Man: Quirky Villain

Meet the Millennium Earl, the ultimate villain of D.Gray-Man. While both of these monster hunter anime series each have a fantastic villain, we think that the Millenium Earl's sheer style and design make him the cooler villain so far.

He is charming, evil, funny, creepy, colorful, and dark all at once, and you can never decide if he's a monster with a false exterior or a nice guy who somehow fell to darkness. He is the creator of all Akuma, and he fashions them out of people's souls... at the expense of their relatives! Oh, and he's pretty tough in combat, too. Good luck with this final boss, exorcists.

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