20 Anime To Watch If You Like My Hero Academia
By now, My Hero Academia has six seasons and counting, and countless anime fans are heavily invested in the story of Izuku Midoriya and his hero friends. But even the most dedicated fans can find plenty of other, similar anime to watch in between weekly updates of My Hero Academia's current season. Most of them are also shonen action anime or perhaps seinen as well.
Update December 15th, 2022 by Louis Kemner: The world of superheroes and action anime keeps growing, so anime fans will want newer and more titles to watch in between episodes of their favorite show. Right now, My Hero Academia Season 6 is well underway, and anime fans impatient for more superhero action can try out even more top-tier anime like My Hero Academia to keep their anime-watching schedule filled.
20.One Punch Man Is Seinen-Style MHA
2 Seasons, 24 Episodes
One Punch Man tells the story of Saitama is bald super hero who is so strong he finishes off his enemies in just one punch. That may seem like a good thing for anyone seeking a stable career as a superhero, but Saitama is absolutely bored with it. He doesn’t care much about saving the world — he only wants to find a worthy opponent.
The fact that most people, including his fellow superheroes, aren’t aware of his enormous strength, as well as his indifference and inability to remember people’s names and faces, makes One Punch Man one of the most hilarious anime in the industry. Not even Lord Boros can stand up to Saitama's might, but he may try.
19Assassination Classroom Blends Schoolwork & Intense Action (Ansatsu Kyoushitsu)
2 Seasons, 47 Episodes
The characters in Assassination Classroom aren’t superheroes — they’re normal middle school students who are struggling not to fail in school. However, they’ve been tasked with assasiating a yellow octopus like creature who swears to destroy the earth in one year. This creature, later named Kuro-sensei, becomes their homeroom teacher and helps them improve their grades while teaching them how to assassinate him.
Assassination Classroom sounds rather straightforward, but there is more to it than that, as new fans will soon realize for themselves. The anime is hilarious, teaches fascinating life lessons, and really tugs at the viewer's heartstrings sometimes.
18.Hunter X Hunter Is A Shonen Must-Watch
1 Season, 148 Episodes
There are so many good things to be said about the 2011 Hunter x Hunter anime series. One of the best-written shows in the history of anime, Hunter X Hunter revolves around a young boy named Gon Freecss who goes on a journey to find his missing father, a renowned Hunter named Ging.
Right away, Gon takes the Hunter Exam, makes a few good friends like Killua Zoldyck, and meets many interesting villains along the way. The Nen combat system, which ranks among shonen anime's best, may also remind MHA fans of Quirks, ranging from hungry vacuum cleaners to stretchy gum and lightning.
17.Yu Yu Hakusho Features Yusuke, A Shonen Legend
4 Sesaons, 112 Episodes
Yu Yu Hakusho is a time-honored shonen adventure that blends school and supernatural action, just like My Hero Academia. The protagonist, Yusuke Urameshi, is a good-hearted punk student who is revived by the Spirit World after dying in a car accident in exchange for becoming the Spirit Detective.
Like Izuku, Yusuke is a tough, brave boy who will deliver fierce justice with his fists against a wide variety of deadly foes with spiritual powers. Yusuke's tough enemy turned friend Kazuma may remind fans of Bakugo, while the short, intense Hiei is like Shoto Todoroki minus the ice.
16.Tiger & Bunny Features More Professional Superheroes
1 Season, 25 Episodes
In Tiger & Bunny, being a superhero is an actual job, similar to Pro Heroes in My Hero Academia. Superheroes known as "NEXT" fight villains to gain hero points which they can use to appear on a reality TV show called HeroTV. Effectively, it’s not just about saving the world, it’s about profits as well.
The protagonist is a veteran hero named Wild Tiger who, after a series of failures in his career, gets paired up with an up-and-coming hero named Barnaby – like Deku and Bakugo, they don’t really get along. They must learn to fight as a team, however, if they intend to make it big as bonafide heroes.
15.Black Clover Features Fantastic Shonen Action
4 Seasons, 170 Episodes
One of the many things that fans like about My Hero Academia is the underdog story. Izuku Midoriya was weak and Quirkless, but is determined to be a hero and become the new symbol of peace no matter what. He does end up getting a Quirk eventually, although in a very unusual manner.
Black Clover's protagonist, Asta the swordsman, had a similar experience. He was born with no magical abilities but desires to be the Wizard King all the same. Asta, like Deku, is later granted some magnificent powers that enable him to take on the hardest of challenges to make his dream come true.
14.Mob Psycho 100's Star Is A Schoolboy With A Quirk
3 Seasons, 36+ Episodes
Like Deku, Mob Psycho 100's protagonist, Mob, is a kind-hearted dandere boy who has immense power that he has trouble controlling. But unlike Deku, Mob doesn’t want to be anything special — he just wants to live a normal life like everyone around him. So he works as an assistant to a self-proclaimed psychic to learn how to control his power.
Unfortunately for Mob, however, trouble likes to come after him, threatening to unleash the power he’s working hard to contain. Mob Psycho 100 gets its title from the fact that, after accumulating enough stress to reach 100%, Mob's psychic powers go into overdrive, or Plus Ultra.
13.Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
9 Seasons, 203 Episodes
Katekyo Hitman Reborn!'s main character, Tsuna, is remarkably similar to MHA's Izuku Midoriya. They are both weak physically and mentally, and they both have little confidence in their own strengths. But then they meet a man who unlocks their true potential and changes their world forever.
Unlike Izuku, who wants to get stronger, Tsuna isn’t interested in gaining power and doesn’t like fighting. He absolutely doesn’t want to become what his mentor wants him to be – a mafia boss. Although the plots heavily differ, both shows have likable characters, great fight scenes, and great humor.
12.Soul Eater Features Living Weapons
1 Season, 51 Episodes
In Soul Eater, teenage characters with supernatural abilities are taught in a school setting how to use their abilities to defeat evil villains. So while they’re not wearing costumes nor are they called superheroes, they do engage in thrilling battles to save the world.
Soul Eater is often comical and lighthearted but takes a serious turn when enemies appear. The characters also have very interesting personalities and abilities. Some of them turn into weapons that are wielded by their chosen partners to fight off enemies, with the main example being Soul Eater Evans, who morphs into a scythe that Maka Albarn wields in battle.
11.Blue Exorcist Combines Magic With School (Ao No Exorcist)
1 Season, 25 Episodes
As with My Hero Academia, the main characters in Blue Exorcist go to a specialized school to get stronger and learn how to defeat their enemies: Satan and his demonic empire. Called exorcists, these students are joined by the spawn of Satan himself, Rin, who swears he will kill Satan with his own hands
Rin was adopted by a priest when he was a baby and had no idea he was Satan’s son until the day his real father killed his foster father. This tragic event leads Rin to pursue a path of revenge, but not without making some friends and learning more important things along the way.
10.Little Witch Academia Is Halloween-Style MHA
1 Season, 25 Episodes
The similarities between the charming anime Little Witch Academia and My Hero Academia are many. The heroine is Akko, a 16-year-old girl who dreams to become a witch to help people and make the world a better place. She also adores the famed witch Shiny Chariot, who is a role model to girls everywhere.
Despite having no obvious magic powers of her own, Akko enrolls at the Luna Nova witch school to pursue her dream, and she makes many new friends, and a few enemies, along the way. Akko doesn't know it right away, but one of her Luna Nova teachers is, in fact, Shiny Chariot herself.
9.Naruto Is Key Shonen Series
26 Seasons, 720 Episodes
One of the classic "Big Three" of Shonen, along with One Piece and Bleach, Naruto is the story of an ostracized boy named Naruto Uzumaki. He recently graduated from ninja school, and his big dream is to become Hokage and become a great ninja everyone can adore and look up to. He starts from nothing and works his way up.
Naruto may not have "school life" elements to it, but Naruto and his friends are classic shonen heroes worthy of any heroic cape. The jutsu-based combat system also feels wonderfully similar to MHA's Quirk-based combat system, from the Rasengan to the Sharingan and the mind transfer jutsu.
8.Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Is Top-Tier Shonen Action
1 Season, 64 Episodes
The alchemist brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric are lovable rogues on a mission to repair their mangled bodies and atone for the grave sin of trying to revive the dead via alchemy. Along the way, they get wrapped up in a sinister and far-reaching plot to conquer the entire world, and the villain Father and his minions are the stuff of nightmares.
Shonen action fans love Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood for many reasons, and often regard it higher than MHA itself. This anime features colorful characters, deep philosophical themes, an excellent OST, and engaging action scenes based on alchemy and supernatural homunculi.
7.Food Wars! Is My Hero Academia In The Kitchen
5 Seasons, 86 Episodes
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma is a culinary school anime where protagonist Soma Yukihira learns the ways of elite cuisine. Like Izuku, Soma is a total outsider at his school and isn't taken very seriously at first, but he soon proves himself to all his classmates and teachers.
Soma understands that love truly is the secret ingredient, and cooking for family and friends can beat any recipe in a cooking duel. Each student at Totsuki also has their own cooking style, from smoking meats to Italian or Chinese cuisine, which is their own version of Quirks.
6.JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Features Memorable Stand Battles
6 Seasons, 190 Episodes
In JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, anime fans meet the Joestar family's members who, through the generations, battle the forces of evil. In 1880s England, Jonathan Joestar faces off against the vampire overlord Dio Brando, and in the 1980s, Jotaro Kujo the tough tsundere battles Dio and his minions once again.
This series features stands, or physical avatars of a person's combat prowess, and stand battles have to be seen to be believed. They rank among the most creative and intense Shonen action sequences of all, and with their unique abilities, they are definitely JoJo's version of battle-honed Quirks.
5.Welcome To Demon School, Iruma-Kun! Features A Gentler Izuku Midoriya
3 Seasons, 54+ Episodes
Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-Kun! is the isekai My Hero Academia in many ways. Both series feature a kind, wholesome boy who ends up at a magical school where every student has supernatural gifts. Iruma Suzuki's classmates aren't just people with Quirks, though – they are demons.
Iruma is Babyls' sole human student, so he must carefully blend in and use the ring of gluttony, his own One For All, to survive. Iruma will also make plenty of lovable friends along the way, including the energetic Valac Clara, the lofty Asmodeus Alice, and even the student council president, Azazel Ameri.
4.Jujutsu Kaisen Stars A Sorcerer Student Named Yuji Itadori
1 Season, 24 Episodes
Jujutsu Kaisen is a dark but exciting shonen anime series that, just like My Hero Academia, blends the school life concept with fantasy action. The protagonist, Yuji Itadori, is a highly athletic high school student who ate one of Ryomen Sukuna's fingers, forcing him to become a sorcerer who must slay curses.
Yuji, like Izuku, is a melee fighter who obtained his powers overnight, but mastering those powers will be the real challenge. Thankfully, he has his mentor Satoru Gojo to protect and guide him while he learns the ways of sorcery at the Tokyo technical school for curse wielders like him.
3.Demon Slayer Is Dark Fantasy Action With A Message Of Hope
2 Seasons, 44 Episodes
Demon Slayer is one of the biggest shonen titles out there right now. Its anime took the anime community by storm with its stellar animation, heartfelt story, and its remarkable OST. Demon Slayer stars the compassionate swordsman hero Tanjiro Kamado, who slays demons for a living at bladepoint.
Tanjiro's quest is personal, since his little sister Nezuko became a demon and he must find a cure for her condition. In many ways, Tanjiro is like Izuku, a kind and hardworking boy who trained for over a year just to stand a chance in mortal combat against true villainy.
2.One Piece's Devil Fruits Are Similar To Quirks
20 Seasons, 1,044 Episodes
One Piece may intimidate new fans with its immense length, but for dedicated shonen anime fans, it is absolutely worth it. One Piece stars the classic shonen hero Monkey D. Luffy who aims to become the next Pirate King, and explore the world with a found family crew.
One Piece focuses more on exploration than MHA does, but they're both top-tier shonen action series with colorful characters and great humor. Also, the Devil Fruit combat system is quite similar to Quirks, with Devil Fruit users having elemental attacks, bodily modifications, and more.
1.The Misfit Of Demon King Academy Is An OP School Adventure
1 Season, 13 Episodes
The Misfit of Demon King Academy blends school life and action, like MHA, but in a totally different way. The protagonist, Anos Voldigoad, isn't an underdog like Izuku Midoriya. He is the vastly overpowered demon king, back from the dead in a new era.
Anos enrolls at a demon school named in his honor, and he doesn't like what he sees. Too many pureblood students bully the half-bloods, and arrogance and complacency are everywhere. The disguised demon king will have to set his classmates straight, one fantasy battle at a time.