Urban fantasy anime is a potentially broad category that can include any anime that is set in a city, and has some elements of fantasy or science fiction.
There are many fantasy anime series on offer, with literally thousands to choose from. Some may include a city setting now and then in the action, but a real urban landscape isn't really part of the story.
Often, viewing preferences depend on an anime fan's personality type, but urban fantasies also incorporate a wide range of other elements from slice of life to science fiction thrillers. There is truly something for everyone.
10 Steins;Gate (9.12)
Steins;Gate ran for 24 episodes on TV in 2011, based on the visual novel of the same name released two years earlier. Rintarou Okabe is a mad scientist who lives in an old building in the city of Akihabara.
He and his fellow science renegades stumble on a world-changing invention - the Phone Microwave that can send emails back in time to change events in the past. Set in 2010, the backdrop of Akihabara, Tokyo, and city life feature prominently in the anime.
9 Mob Psycho (8.86)
Middle schooler Shigeo Kageyama aka Mob lives in Seasoning City, an urban environment where there is a psychic business and the headquarters of the Psycho Helmet Cult, along with many middle and high schools.
Middle schools are named after condiments like Bean Sauce. Mob is a gifted psychic, but all his formidable mental powers won't win him any points with Takane Tsubomi, the girl he likes from school. Mob's growing awareness of his powers comes along with a need to control them.
8 Death Note (8.62)
Considered to be one of the most famous fantasy animes out there, Death Note is a dark urban fantasy set in Tokyo where Ryuk, a bored shinigami or death spirit, leaves a black notebook for a high school student by the name of Light Yagami just to see the fun that unfolds.
If Light knows someone's name and face, he can kill them by writing their name in the Notebook. It begins with good intentions that naturally get out of hand.
7 Fate/Zero Season 2/1 (8.60/8.36)
A dark fantasy, like Berserk, Fate/Zero takes place in Fuyuki City, Japan, which, while fictional, in some ways resembles the real world city of Kobe. In Fate/Grand Order it is revealed that the city is on the island of Kyushu.
Fate/Zero is set during the Fourth Holy Grail War, a decade before the events of Fate/Stay Night. Much of the series focuses on Kiritsugu Emiya, the mage killer brought in by the Einzbern family, and his inner conflicts, along with setting the scene for Fate/Stay Night.
6 Tenki no Ko (8.45)
Like many other anime series set in schools, in Tenki no Ko, high school student Hodaka Morishima lives in a Tokyo where the rains don’t ever seem to stop. Hodaka gets a job at a small publisher to eke out a living, and meets Hina Amano when he saves her from a frightening encounter with sinister dudes.
He discovers that Hina has the unusual power of being able to call out the sun with her prayers, and he decides to make her into the “sunshine girl” who can help the city.
5 Bakemonogatari (8.36)
Bakemonogatari is set in an unnamed urban environment, and interestingly, director Tatsuya Oishi uses real life footage and images occasionally, including those of city scenes. The settings are typically deserted for the story of Koyomi Araragi, a high school student who is bitten by a vampire.
He regains his mortality with some help, but still retains some vampire traits, and he embarks on a series of adventures trying to help people like him who have supernatural attacks and conditions.
4 Noragami (8.24)
Middle schooler Hiyori Iki saves Yato, a minor god who wants to make it big, and the encounter loosens her soul so it is able to leave her body. When she demands he make her whole again, Yato sees it as a chance to increase his clout in the world.
The unnamed city where the action takes place sometimes seems like a normal and realistic Japanese urban setting, but at other times, it's a dark place overrun with ghosts and supernatural elements.
3 Durarara!! (8.20)
Tokyo's downtown district of Ikebukuro is the setting for Durarara!!, or DRRR!! a fantasy anime with a backdrop of urban crime, and a supernatural star – the headless Black Rider who drives a motorcycle through the streets.
Mikado Ryuugamine wants the excitement of life in Tokyo, but has a run-in with the Black Rider on his first day there. Soon, he's mixed up with crazy characters and supernatural shenanigans n the city.
2 Kamisama Kiss Season 2/1 (Kamisama Hajimemashita) (8.17/8.05)
A combination of comedy, romance, and supernatural fantasy, Kamisama Kiss is set in the Old Town Warehouse District in Kawagoe City, Saitama prefecture, which has a historic feel.
Alone and homeless after her gambling indebted dad abandons her, Nanami Momozono unwittingly becomes a minor local deity after moving into a shrine. She has to learn how to navigate the ins and outs of godhood, as well as her feelings for Tomoe, the reluctant familiar who comes to realize he just can’t live without her.
1 Dorohedoro (8.12)
Like Fairy Tale, Dorohedoro builds a fantasy world, and in this case, a gritty urban environment where humans take refuge from murderous wizards and magicians in a place called The Hole. The level of detail in the depiction of the rundown city where Kaiman, who’s been cursed with a reptile (caiman) head by a magic-user, and his friends live.
One of the highlights is the Hungry Bug, a restaurant run by Nikaidou, Kaiman’s friend and fellow wizard hunter. The series blends dark horror and fantasy with manic comedic moments.