Anime That Do Dark Fantasy Better Than Jujutsu Kaisen

Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the best dark fantasy anime of the modern era. Gege Akutami has crafted a story that can make you uncomfortable in more ways than you think. It's one of those series where you are afraid for each one of your favorite characters. Seriously, there's no such thing as plot armor in Jujutsu Kaisen, except for Yuji, of course.

Of course, JJK is great, but that doesn't mean it's the best out there. There are several other anime series that do dark fantasy better than Jujutsu Kaisen. And well, here are some of the best ones.

Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor

This anime comes with a story that will hook everyone with a taste for a killer premise. While most of the modern dark fantasy anime feature a safe story with dark visuals to make you see the events instead of giving you a chance to feel the discomfort, Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor gets the upper hand. This one takes a risk by giving away a story that doesn't sugarcoat brutality, offering a saga filled with unsettling moments, and an evil entity that looks more dangerous than any single villain.

The anime is set in a world that looks flawless on the surface, with not everyone aware is an evil organization called Chronos. They are the manufacturers of monsters called Zoanoids, people who can transform into their normal selves or the deadly creatures at their will. One day, one of the Zoanoids escaped after stealing three Guyver units very crucial to Chronos. The Zoanoid ends up giving his life by activating a grenade. The Guyver units are scattered, and one of them is later discovered by two high schoolers named Shō Fukamachi and Tetsurō Segawa. The former also ends up merging with the unit, becoming a powerful Guyver, specifically called Guyver I. After learning about him, Chronos sends Zoanoids to capture Sho, either alive or dead.

Dororo

Unlike modern dark fantasy titles, Dororo doesn't rely heavily on a dark environment or just demons, but rather gives us a story that sees horrifying people and their incapability of making decisions. And that's what Dororo is all about: no glorified fantasy setting, a protagonist struggling to survive in a world that didn't want him to exist, and a father so cruel that he sacrificed his son to save his land and people. Jujutsu Kaisen indeed gave us several flashy fight sequences and stylish demons, but Dororo gifted us with a story to cherish even after we have finished watching it.

Dororo's story starts with a desperate warlord who trades his unborn baby's body parts to the demons in exchange for wealth and prosperity. His kid is born without skin, eyes, nose, mouth, or even a voice. The cruel man attempts to kill the infant, but he somehow survives. Thanks to the doctor who finds him and teaches him to survive in the harsh world. He also gives the boy a name: Hyakkimaru. Years pass, and Hyakkimaru grows into a warrior who would do anything to kill the demons and regain what was taken from him.

Claymore

Jujutsu Kaisen offers a polished dark fantasy story backed up by humor and goofy characters, while Claymore is more about rawness, a strong cast, and a saga that truly does justice to the genre. No flamboyant action or comedic breaks, just an anime series trying to show you what it means to exist in a world where emotional suffering is inevitable. While in JJK, characters lose themselves temporarily to gain the power-ups, Claymore sees the characters keep on losing their human side each time they level up.

Claymore takes place in a world where creatures called Yoma exist. These monsters can take the identity of a human and then attack and kill the prey whenever they get the chance. To fight these entities, a secret organization creates warriors known as Claymores. They are basically half-human and half-Yoma, so they are obviously well equipped to fight the monsters that consistently threaten the human world. However, the twist here is that whenever a Claymore uses too much of their power, the closer they get towards losing their humanity.

Bastard!!

Bastard!! is one of the anime series that traumatizes you by crossing every boundary that leads to the darkest zone. Jujutsu Kaisen, despite being a dark fantasy saga, has some sort of moral anchor, which is non-existent in Bastard!! Its brutality knows no limits, and it doesn't hesitate to overwhelm you with all the chaos and extreme darkness. JJK features the characters who know what is right and what is not, but Bastard!! lacks in this aspect, making the anime way more unsettling.

The series follows Dark Schneider, the former emperor of the Kingdom of Metallicana. He was too dangerous for the people around him, so the high priest sealed him away in a boy of a 15-year-old boy named Lucien Renlen. However, whenever the kingdom needed a savior, he was awakened inside the boy's body with the kiss of Yoko, the priest's daughter. Throughout the story, Dark Schneider is seen fighting one enemy after another and overwhelming everyone with his destructive powers.

Drifters

Drifters is one of the most chaotic anime out there that doesn't know where to stop. Unlike Jujutsu Kaisen, the dark fantasy anime doesn't allow the story or the characters to breathe. It gets messier with each passing episode. If you are someone who is on the lookout for intense drama, Drifters is waving at you. It isn't a polished tale of good vs evil, but it is an unpredictable story of violence, where no one really has a sense of right and wrong.

The anime starts with Shimazu Toyohisa, who is in the middle of a war; he knocks down the enemy, but not without getting brutally injured. As he tries to leave the battlefield, he finds himself in a strange hallway, from where he ends up getting transported to a different world. He meets several legendary warriors from different timelines. All of them, including Toyohisa is pulled to the mystical world to be a part of the group, Drifters, that is founded to fight another group called The Ends, which comes with the motivations to eradicate humanity.

Berserk

JJK is dark, and it is well-structured to offer relief to some extent, but we can't say the same for Berserk. The fantasy anime doesn't have any structure or moments of relief. If you are familiar with this story, you already know what it has to offer. However, for the uninitiated, Berserk is a series that doesn't leave any stone unturned to make you feel uncomfortable. The sufferings are constant, the world feels unfair, and unlike most modern hits, including JJK, Berserk doesn't balance out the darker elements with humor.

Berserk follows a man named Guts, who doesn't know anything other than survival, as that's what he has fought for since he was a kid. He was battling all alone until a powerful man named Griffith brought him into his group called Band of the Hawk. However, what initially looks like a story about a rise to fame soon transforms into a tragic tale no one saw coming.