Spies are a very real part of the world, yet they're not something a person tends to see or hear about every day: they wouldn't be very good at their job if they were. This sense of enigma feeds into the common imagination and gives stories about spies and secret agents a powerful draw. While they may not be the most popular anime subject-matter, spies have nonetheless provided some of the most interesting, action packed and enjoyable stories in anime.

Thanks to the recent success of Spy x Family, spies and secret agents have snuck back into the subconscious of anime fans everywhere. Though there has certainly been a resurgence of interest in espionage anime, it is not a subject which is necessarily new. After all, spies are trained to be the most elusive, cunning individuals in the World. It should come of no surprise then, that some of the best spy anime are actually hidden in plain sight.

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15 009-1 Takes Place In A World Where The Cold War Never Ended

Mylene Hoffman is a young woman living in a world where the Cold War never ended. Fighting for the West, she's had her body cybernetically enhanced, all for the sake of becoming a perfect secret agent. As the peace between the West and East gradually breaks down, Mylene and her fellow agents are sent on missions of greater importance.

009-1 Began As a Manga

• Demographic: Seinen
• Adaptation: Manga
• MyAnimeList Score: 6.21

009-1 is based on a late '60s manga from legendary creator Shotaro Ishinomori. While Mylene often feels like a cyborg James Bond, the story instead focuses on the people affected by a world constantly at war.

14 Spy Classroom Challenges A Group Of Girls To An Impossible Mission

After the weapons of overt war became too dangerous to rely on, humanity turned to spycraft. In Spy Classroom, children are just as likely to study spycraft as anything else. A young girl named Lily is excited about the potential to graduate and become a top-notch spy. Her only real chance though is to join a new group known as Lamplight. She later learns Lamplight is a collection of hopeless lady spies, but there's one thing working in their favor: Lamplight is being trained by the top spy in the country.

Spy Classroom Originated from a Light Novel

• Adaptation: Light Novel
• MyAnimeList Score: 6.38

​​​​Spy Classroom is exactly what it looks like: cute girls doing spy things, cutely. The series knows how ridiculous its being, and invites the viewer to have fun with the concept with low-stakes spy drama early on. Later arcs manage to build into more serious stories, but without ever breaking the core concept of the series.

13 Release the Spyce Asks Young Girls To Balance High-School Life With The Life Of A Spy

• Demographic: Seinen
• Adaptation: Original
• MyAnimeList Score: 6.94

When Momo Minamoto witnesses a group of strange figures moving in the distance, it's the first step to her learning the truth about her city. In reality, it's the battleground for two powerful groups: The Moryo Corporation, and the Tsukikage, an organization of ninja spies fighting against them. After seeing them, Momo is offered a chance to join the Tsukikage, and takes them up on the offer so she can do more good in the world.

Release the Spyce is one of those anime that's better than it should be from its description. Despite an absurd premise, Lay-duce provides a well-animated series with some pretty cool fight scenes. The women of Tsukikage gain superpowers for a time after ingesting certain spices, but there is a catch: once they become adults, the spice no longer works. This adds an extra element to the series, as viewers are never sure when one of the girls will no longer be able to work with her friends.

12 Princess Principal Shows Women Who Operate As Spies For The Commonwealth

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Princess Principal takes place in a steampunk world where society gained advanced technology thanks to the discovery of a new element called Cavorite. With this change, the City of London was divided into two sides, separated by a massive wall. Rather than open war, The Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Albion do battle with one another through the use of spies. One such spy group comes from the Queen's Mayfair Academy, with aims of replacing the Kingdom's princess with their lead spy, Ange le Carre.

Princess Principal Inspired a Manga Adaptation

• Demographic: Seinen
• Adaptation: Original
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.68

Upon first glance, people might think Princess Principal is another cute girls doing cute things type of show. Yet the series actually takes its characters and setting completely seriously, pulling viewers into its twisted world. A world where trust is in short supply, and betrayal is common. Even the protagonists have a more grey morality than one might expect at first glance, though it's necessary for them to survive in their world.

11 Master Keaton Features A Jack Of All Trades Traveling Across The World

Taichi Keaton is a man of many talents. In his past, he spent years both studying archeology and working in the British SAS. In his present, he splits his time between teaching and operating as an insurance investigator. Drawing from all his different disciplines, Keaton finds himself globe-hopping to settle issues that often pull him into dangerous situations that range from dealing with organized crime to murder.

Master Keaton Is Similar to James Bond

• Demographic: Seinen
• Adaptation: Manga
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.60

Master Keaton is an anime unlike any other, blending multiple genres effortlessly. It's partially a slice of life, as it deals with Keaton's family life and attempts to raise his daughter. However, it also contains mystery elements, delves into ancient history, and focuses on action thriller moments. It's a classic '90s anime series that nostalgic anime fans should make a point in checking out.

10 Ein Encounters The Ghosts Of Her Past In Phantom: Requiem For The Phantom

Based on the videogame Phantom of Inferno, the sense of mystery inherent in spy dramas gets taken to a new level in Phantom: Requiem For The Phantom. Instead of the main character, Zwei, working for a top-secret organization in full knowledge, Phantom takes the route of having that organization be so secret that Zwei doesn't even really know what it is himself.

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom was Inspired By a Video Game

• Adaptation: Visual Novel
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.94

Zwei has no choice but to begin training with a mysterious girl Ein, or be killed without hesitation. Phantom: Requiem For The Phantom's draw is that it lays out its characters as a blank slate without any knowledge other than their incredible covert and combat skills, and shows how human beings will inevitably search for meaning in their lives. Though Ein has all but shutdown and accepted her fate, Zwei's refusal to give up slowly inspires Ein to open up as well in this dark take on operatives and secret agents.

9 Joker Game Focuses On Pre-WW2 Spycraft

Joker Game is not the classic anime spy experience fans might expect. One of the aspects of the show that makes it interesting is its setting: the show takes place in a realistic 1937 Japan. Given the high-tension world issues taking place during this time, it's fitting that Joker Game is very much a political military drama, with spies taking center stage in the race to obtain information.

Joker Game Is Set in WWII Era Japan

• Demographic: Shonen
• Adaptation: Novel
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.03

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As the truth rolls in, it becomes clear that things may not be as they first appeared on the surface. Joker Game's very serious take on spies and politics has turned some anime fans off, but ultimately that's what makes it unique in the world of over-the-top supernatural anime concepts.

8 Shinobi no Ittoki Features Someone Who's Been Training Their Entire Life To Become A Shinobi

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Ittoki is a diligent student that follows an extremely strict schedule of extracurricular activities, as per the suggestion of his mother, with whom he has a particularly close bond. That's why, upon learning the truth about his mother and then rest of his family, Ittoki's more shocked than anyone.

Shinobi no Ittoki Was Licensed by Crunchyroll

• Adaptation: Original
• MyAnimeList Score: 6.08

In Shinobi no Ittoki, the Shinobi are more modern than ever. They're equipped with high-tech armor and weapons, combined with powerful Jutsu that makes them seemingly unstoppable. The Shinobi are the most classic form of secret agent in Japanese culture, and Shinobi no Ittoki brings them to life with a modern touch.

7 Lugh Is The World's Finest Assassin No Matter What World He Gets Reincarnated Into

While he starts his old life as an assassin, the world's finest to be exact, Lugh is reborn as a Goddess' double agent in The World's Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated As An Aristocrat. As to be expected of the greatest assassin reincarnated, Lugh is a prodigy who quickly proves his proficiency to his new family, who are also all assassins as well.

The World's Finest Assassin Is Born Reborn Into A Family of Assassins

• Demographic: Isekai
• Adaptation: Light Novel
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.35

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With Lugh's great skills from his past life, Aristocrat has some great combat scenes and covert action sequences. The series turns the highly over-saturated isekai genre on its head by making the archetypical "hero" the enemy whom the protagonist is reincarnated to kill. It might be a weirder isekai world, but that's what makes it so much more interesting to watch.

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6 91 Days Features A Protagonist Who Will Do Whatever It Takes

In 91 Days, the show's protagonist, Angelo, becomes something like a spy in order to seek revenge on the mafia that murdered his family. Angelo goes undercover to earn the trust of the mafia, in hopes that he can get close enough to the Don to make him pay.

91 Days Has Crime and Mafia Action

• Adaptation: Original
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.83

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Revenge is never as simple as it seems, and 91 Days explores the humanity of its characters to emotional effect. Far from working with the high-tech, sophisticated gadgetry inherent in many popular spy series, Angelo's only tools to work with are his clever wit and his thirst for vengeance.

5 Darker Than Black Lives Up To Its Name

Darker Than Black goes fully supernatural with its spies, giving them superpowers, such as the main character, Hei, the ability to control electricity. Hei lives a double life as a student while accepting missions from the Syndicate.

Darker Than Black Is Full of Dark Personalities

• Adaptation: Original
• MyAnimeList Score: 8.06​​​​​​​

Like many series about spies and assassins, the Contractors in Darker Than Black often have a cold, emotionless demeanor that can only come after ample training and/or brainwashing. The name Contractor comes from the fact that every time they use their powers, they pay the price of their humanity. Even Hei has a very mysterious, dark personality that fits the show's title quite well.

4 Every Anime Fan Should See Ghost In The Shell

The original cyberpunk anime, Ghost in the Shell takes place in the not-so-distant future of 2029. GITS is equal parts intense action and emotionally charged story-telling that explores the struggles with identity faced by its protagonist, Major Motoko Kusanagi.

Ghost In The Shell Launched An Epic Franchise

• Demographic: Seinen
• Adaptation: Manga
• MyAnimeList Score: 8.27​​​​​​​

Ghost in the Shell has all the gun wielding, mission-based plot threads fans of spies and anime will love, along with a deep plot that was way ahead of its time. Ghost In The Shell has become one of the most notable names in anime, and it is a film that fans of the genre do not want to miss.

3 Golgo 13 Has Anime's Answer To James Bond

A mysterious, intelligent protagonist that's always a step ahead of his enemies, Golgo 13's Togo has everything audiences have come to expect from a spy series. And of course, there are the women as well. Along with his trusty M16, Togo never fails a mission.

Golgo 13 Has Been Around Since 1968

• Demographic: Seinen
• Adaptation: Manga
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.52

Fans of great spy television series will certainly find a lot to love in Golgo 13. The series never takes too much care to focus on its mysterious MC's backstory, instead focusing on the mission at hand, much like Togo himself would do.

2 Heavy Object Holds Weight In the Mecha Genre

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Heavy Object has a bit of everything: it is part mecha, part political drama, and part espionage suspense. There are also some comedic elements and even the occasional fan service for viewers that are into that sort of thing.

• Adaptation: Light Novel
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.25

Heavy Object has a cool mix of 3D and 2D animation, which adds dimension and a futuristic feel to the show without taking either too far. While it doesn't do much to revolutionize the genre, Heavy Object is still a really fun series that fans of spy, military or mecha anime will surely want to see.

1 Chisato And Takina Are Gunning For The Top Spot In Lycoris Recoil

• Demographic: Seinen

• Adaptation: Original

• MyAnimeList Score: 8.18

Lycoris Recoil was one of the most exciting shows of 2022. Chisato and Takina are two talented Lycoris who are as different from one another as friends can possibly be.

The Lycoris are secret agents that exist to defend the well-being of Japan's citizens. They work in the background without most people even noticing them, and have the capacity to stop crime in its tracks before it ever actually occurs. Lycoris Recoil is a mixture of awesome action sequences and slice-of-life moments that showcase the budding friendship between its two heroines as they struggle to find themselves in light of their complicated double lives.