Naruto Uzumaki’s journey from a novice shinobi to the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village is the stuff that icons are made of.Narutochronicles the eponymous character’s adventures across a whopping 770 episodes, which is still a feat to watch despite the series’ critical acclaim. Regardless,Narutoeasily highlights the hallmarks of shonen anime: a hero’s journey, friendship conquers all, and the value of hard work and perseverance.
Thankfully, viewers who find themselves wanting more anime actiondon’t necessarily have to watch another500+ episode series. In fact, some anime may carry just as much impact asNarutowhile packing everything into their own unique, condensed narratives. Let’s take a look at some greatanime likeNaruto.
Borutois not included because it is way too obvious of a recommendation.
Updated on July 31, 2025 by Mark Sammut:Now that Winter 2025 has been ongoing for a few weeks, this is the perfect time to highlight a fewanime similar to Naruto. To be honest, the season does not have too many series that fit the criteria, but these recommendations could help fill the void left by Team 7.
Winter 2025 Anime Naruto Fans Should Check Out
Winter 2025has arrived, and the season has left a mostly positive first impression. While seemingly a step down from Fall 2024 in terms of quality, the lineup still has plenty of great shows that should be able to satisfy all types of viewers. Romance, action, fantasy, isekai, comedy, and slice of life are all covered to an extent, and there is even a girl band anime. Naturally, asNarutoandBorutoare not part of Winter 2025, fans will need to look elsewhere to try and get their fill.
Aside fromI’m Living with an Otaku NEET Kunoichi!?, shinobi do not have a presence in Winter 2025, and that exception shares nothing else in common withNaruto. Still, the following shows might be able to scratch a similar itch.
Taken at face value,Kaiju No. 8andNarutohave little in common. The former is set in an alternate version of the modern day and features humans going up against massive monsters, aka kaiju. Still, despite these differences, there are enough elements to warrant a recommendation.Kaiju No. 8follows Kafka, a guy in his early 30s who dreamed of joiningJapan’s defense force; unfortunately, he never managed to pass the exam, forcing him into the disposal unit instead. However, he decides to reapply one last time before he ages out, and he has a secret that might give him an edge: he swallowed a small kaiju that gives him unique powers.
While technically the opposite of Naruto’s initial predicament in the Hidden Leaf Village, Kafka is nevertheless trying to gain control of a beast within him, all the while attempting to keep his kaiju form a secret since the defense force considers it to be a must-kill threat. Their personalities are also quite similar, with both characters being loud goofballs who are willing to fight against the odds even when they are underestimated (or feared). Similar toNaruto,Kaiju No. 8also focuses on teamwork, as the defense force’s strength lies in a unit’s coordination.
Also known asDanMachi,Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?is a long-running action animethat starts well and slowly becomes great. While not extremely similar toNaruto, Orario is nevertheless an immersive and, more importantly, unique fantasy setting. Rather than have different villages,DanMachi’s social structure revolves around Familias, which are essentially guilds formed around deities. Bell Cranel is the only member of the Hestia Familia, and he is considered to be a very weak and borderline useless adventurer. However, his heart, innocence, and positive nature steadily attract people to him, expanding his Familia in the process.
DanMachiis structured very differently thanNarutosince nearly every arc revolves around a female character, giving away the property’s light novel origins. That said, the anime blends action, adventure, tension, and comedy pretty darn well, all the while delivering fairly good animation. The anime takes a while to fully hit its stride, but season 4 is particularly fantastic.
Based on a seinen property,Bungo Stray Dogsbuilt on a mediocre opening season to become a fantastic supernatural action show. Seasons 4 and 5 were among2023’s best animeof any genre or demographic, and they warrant sitting through all the previous content (most of which is, in fact, quite good). Generally, the series focuses on the Armed Detective Agency, a specialized group that investigates cases involving people with unique powers (inspired by literary authors). Although that description fits most of the main arcs, it fails to highlight the anime’s character-driven nature, with each saga diving into a few key figures while also setting the stage for future players.
Besides its overall quality,Bungo Stray Dogsmight also hit the mark withNarutofans due to one of its protagonists: Atsushi Nakajima. An orphan who is cast out of his home due to his ability to transform into a weretiger (and inability to control it), Atsushi struggles consistently with self-worth and guilt, going on a series-long journey to achieve self-acceptance. Although not quite as charismatic as Naruto, he is still likable, and he is aided by a very strong roster of secondary characters, some of whom are pushed to the front during a couple of storylines.
In the land of Britannia, knights known as the Seven Deadly Sins are on a quest to redeem their name after being accused of plotting a coup against the Liones Kingdom. A series of events would have the Sins’ leader, Meliodas, reform the team and fight against his brother, Zeldris, and the Ten Commandments, his own group of Holy Knights.
What’s perhaps interesting aboutSeven Deadly Sinsishow each member of both the Seven Deadly Sins and the Ten Commandments have abilitiesuniquely tied to the Sins and Virtues they represent. The anime also boasts quite a new take on the idea of humans, demons, and other mythological creatures as they coexist in war-torn Britannia.
OK,Wind Breakeris undeniably a very different beast thanNaruto, with the former taking place in modern times and featuring no fantasy elements except for teenagers who are ridiculously great martial artists. Still, fans of the shonen classic should check out the Spring 2024 release, and this recommendation goes beyond the fact they are both action-driven shows.
Similar to Naruto,Wind Breaker’s Sakurahas been an outcast for most of his life, a situation stemming from his somewhat unusual appearance and understandably prickly personality. Finding relief in fighting, Sakura heads to the worst town in Japan and enrolls at Furin High School, a place known for its violent delinquents. Also, similar to Naruto’s goal to become Hokage, Sakura aims to stand at the top of this school’s mountain. While he initially plans to go at it alone, he slowly comes to realize that he does not have to walk alone.
Wind Breakerpresents schools as gangs defined by unique ideologies. The anime only scratches the surface of this world’s potential, but the first season is very good. Most importantly, the fights are fantastic, delivering smooth animation while highlighting unique blends of martial arts.
Even if it never quite reached the same level of popularity asOne PieceorNaruto,Gintamawas nevertheless a staple of shonen jump for the best part of two decades. The anime also produced more than 300 episodes over the same time span, with most seasons garnering very positive receptions. Basically, anyone into battle shonen should read or watchGintama, but they should prepare themselves for a drastically different experience than most of its long-running contemporaries. During the first half of its run, the show primarily consists of standalone comedy episodes, with the occasional action arc thrown in for good measure. Eventually, the series begins to prioritize its main storyline, which can be frustrating if someone primarily enjoys its humor.
Regardless of someone’s genre preferences,Gintamaisbotha great comedy and a fantastic action anime. The former segments frequently parody other popular shonen properties, includingNaruto, and tend to go in very wild and unpredictable directions. When the focus shifts to drama and fights,Gintamadelivers some of the most brutal sequences in battle shonen.
Airing in 2008,Nabari no Ouis a ninja anime set in the modern era that features quite a unique roster of characters. From his teacher, Miharu learns that he inherited a powerful secret art that many ninja clans want to possess, which puts the teenager in grave danger. However, Miharu does not care all that much about his own safety or the people around him. One day, he is kidnapped by Yoite, a ninja who wants to use the protagonist’s power to erase his existence from the world. While they are not initially on the best of terms, Miharu and Yoite eventually grow to care about each other.
Nabari no Ou’s ninja-themed concepts are fairly run-of-the-mill, although they do lead to a couple of fun fights. The show’s strongest component is its characterization, particularly the presentation of Yoite and Miharu. The story explores its characters' loneliness, apathy, and isolation, and it handles these themes quite well.
Naruto Uzumaki isn’t the only protagonist to discover a horrific lineage that he manages to stop controlling his destiny. InBlue Exorcist,twins Rin and Yukio Okumuralearn that they are the sons of Satan, giving them traits of both humans and demons. After witnessing the death of their surrogate father, Rin uses the demon-slaying sword Kurikara and releases the full extent of his demonic heritage. Vowing to stop demons from hurting others, he enrolls in Cross Academy to become an Exorcist, a demon hunter.
Much to his surprise, Rin discovers that Yukio isn’t just an Exorcist by secret, but he is also veteran enough to become his teacher. Such begins Rin’s journey to accepting his demonic heritage but also maintaining his humanity despite seeing the horrors of the demons he’s fighting.Blue Exorcistboasts spectacular fights and abilities, somethingNarutofans will undoubtedly delight in seeing.
Taking after guilds of fantasy worlds,Fairy Tailtells the exploits of Dragon Slayer wizard Natsu Dragneel as he searches for his missing father. Accompanied by his companions from the Fairy Tail guild,Natsu meets and recruits other powerful wizards, each boasting unique forms of magic, and ends up fighting villain after villain who want to use their abilities to harm the world at large.
Similar toNaruto,Fairy Tailboasts hundreds of episodes. The anime has its fair share of epic battles, with wizards displaying the full brunt of their unique abilities – from ice and fire magic to armor-changing magic and even summoning creatures.
The 2000s produced quite a few battle shonen anime that have since been forgotten or relegated to minor footnotes in the industry’s storied history. While nowhere near as popular as the likes ofNarutoorBleach,KenIchi: The Mightiest Discipledeserves to be more than just a hazy memory, especially since themain series is readily available on YouTube. The definition of “weak,” Kenichi could not put up a fight to save his life, despite being part of his school’s karate club. However, this changes when he follows a female classmate to her family dojo and decides to become a member, setting him down the path to physical supremacy.
While touching upon some serious themes like bullying,KenIchi: The Mightiest Disciplegenerally maintains a silly tone that leans heavily into comedy and fanservice, the latter of which mostly revolve around Miu and Shigure, who are by far the show’s most recognizable characters. Still, the anime has quite a few great action sequences and takes its martial arts fairly seriously, going out of its way to chronicle Kenichi’s growth in detail. The 2006 series' scope is not quite as grand asNaruto’s, but they are fairly similar in other areas.
