Best Shonen Anime Like Fairy Tail

Fairy Tail is a fairly famous action anime. The series has everything a battle shonen fan could ever want: powerful protagonists who manage to clutch a win, quirky characters with unique abilities, a smidgen of romance, and, of course, the power of friendship.

Ever since the original show’s finale in 2019, though, a Natsu-sized hole has steadily formed in the hearts of many viewers. Luckily, a good deal of anime like Fairy Tail are available on streaming platforms like Crunchyroll, ones that are more than capable of providing laughs and wacky misadventures in abundance.

Updated on March 3, 2024 by Mark Sammut: The Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest sequel manga is set to receive an anime adaptation, so it should be only a matter of time before Natsu and friends return to animated form. In the meantime, fans can check out some anime like Fairy Tail

Rave Master

Hiro Mashima’s Pre-Fairy Tail Manga

Rave Master is an adventure anime and like Fairy Tail, has many quirky characters. Haru Glory is a sixteen-year-old boy living an ordinary life on Garage Island before accidentally fishing up Plue, a special guardian dog. Fairy Tail fans may recognize Plue as one of Lucy Heartfillia’s Celestial Spirits, as Rave Master is made by the same creator.

The first Rave Master, Shiba, then appears and tells Haru that he is his successor, and entrusts Plue and the Ten Commandments sword to him. Haru sets off on a quest to defeat the powerful Demon Card organization wreaking havoc on Garage Island and find the missing Rave stones to ensure they don’t fall into the wrong hands.

Edens Zero

More Than Just Fairy Tail In Space

Edens Zero focuses on Rebecca Bluegarden and her robotic cat companion, Happy. Made by Fairy Tail’s creator, anime fans may recognize Happy as Natsu’s cat companion. However, in Edens Zero, he has been reimagined as an alien cat android. Rebecca and Happy come across Shiki Granbell, the sole human on the robot-inhabited planet Granbell. The trio set out to explore the universe in search of Mother, the fabled goddess of the universe. Shiki acquires and pilots the spaceship called Edens Zero, and so begins their interstellar adventure.

While sharing many similarities with Fairy Tail, Edens Zero tells an overall darker story, particularly in season two. The main characters face significant setbacks that test their skills and relationships, more so than is typical in Fairy Tail. Otherwise, the shows are very close in terms of art style, fight sequences, and humor.

Gintama

An Epic Comedy With Great Action

Gintama features many eccentric characters and is known for its comedic value. It is set in a world where humanity has been conquered by an alien race called Amantano. The series specifically focuses on the eccentric samurai freelancer Gintoki Sakta, along with his two main companions, Shinpachi and an alien teenage girl named Kagura.

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Together, they run a business that takes on all sorts of cases, and chaos naturally ensues. As the story progresses, the hilarious trio band together with friends and enemies alike to stop an even greater foe, the immortal Utsuro, who wants to destroy the Earth. Gintama starts as a full-blown comedy but eventually transforms into a classic battle shonen with occasional gags.

KonoSuba: God’s Blessing On This Wonderful World!

A Dysfunctional Party

Comfortably among the funniest isekai anime of all time, KonoSuba is very different from Fairy Tail in many ways, while still delivering an experience that can scratch a similar itch. While prioritizing action, the shonen series loves a bit of banter and humor; consequently, anyone who wants something akin to the latter owes it to themselves to check KonoSuba.

The series follows Kazuma, a guy who is reincarnated into a new world alongside a rather arrogant goddess. After signing up for an adventurer guild, the two “heroes” eventually build a party consisting of lovable troublemakers. All these characters would fit into Fairy Tail, even if they might be slightly too chaotic even for that guild of misfits.

Magi

Magic & Adventure

Producing two full seasons, The Labyrinth of Magic and The Kingdom of Magic, and a spin-off, Adventure of Sinbad, Magi was a big deal for most of the 2010s. Nowadays, the anime has faded from the public consciousness, and a sequel does not seem to be on the cards despite there being a lot of manga content left to adapt. Even though the story is incomplete, Magi is nevertheless worth a watch, particularly for people who are yearning for a fantasy show that focuses heavily on magic.

Incorporating literary figures like Aladdin, Sinbad, and Alibaba, Magi blends humor, action, and drama to a satisfying degree. Similar to Fairy Tail, this shonen series emphasizes the bonds between its main characters, and their friendships serve as the story’s heart.

Reborn!

Underappreciated Battle Shonen Anime With Fire-Powered Protagonist

Popular for its time but somewhat forgotten in this day and age, Reborn! delivers 200 episodes of mostly awesome battle shonen goodness. The anime has a notoriously slow start that might put off a lot of people, but the first 20 episodes are not reflective of the rest of the series. Honestly, newcomers should watch the opening episode and then jump forward to the first major arc. A quiet and fragile teenager, Tsuna’s life is turned upside down when a hitman (baby) shows up and lets him know that he is the next leader of a mafia family. Also, he has fire-based powers that typically come with a notable personality change.

Reborn! and Fairy Tail share more in common than just fiery protagonists, as both shows center around found families who stick by each other through thick and thin. In Hiro Mashima’s manga, this camaraderie comes in the form of guilds; meanwhile, in Reborn!, Tsuna fills the Vongola Family with his friends or even former enemies.

Black Clover

Guilds & Squads

Black Clover is the perfect anime for comedy fans. The story revolves around two orphans named Asta and Yuno. They both decide they want the title of Wizard King and compete against each other. At 15, Yuno received the rare four-leaf clover grimoire, while Asta received nothing. Despite his lack of magic, Asta eventually gains the five-leaf clover grimoire. Asta and Yuno embark on an adventure to excel in their magical prowess and become the next Wizard King.

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Black Clover has a notoriously rough start due to some poor pacing and overwhelming voice acting; however, the show does eventually find its footing. Similar to Fairy Tail, the anime focuses a lot on emphasizing the camaraderie within a guild-style group, which are known as squads in Black Clover. The action is generally solid, and the characters get quite a bit of development throughout the series.

Blue Exorcist

A Demonic Flame

Blue Exorcist is a strange show. The 2011 season was huge and, generally, very good, but its latter half descended into filler territory as the anime caught up to the ongoing manga. Half a decade later, season 2 debuted and ignored its predecessor’s filler material, which was confusing to anime-only viewers. While relatively successful, the sequel was nowhere near as inescapable as the original series. In Winter 2024, the third season hit the scene to a fairly muted reception, despite the actual content being largely on par with its immediate predecessor.

Despite struggling to maintain momentum in the last decade, Blue Exorcist is still a top-tier battle shonen anime with a unique religion-based setting that helps set it apart from many of its contemporaries. While not featuring guilds like Fairy Tail, the story focuses heavily on the budding friendships between the students at True Cross Academy. The protagonist, Rin, happens to be the son of Satan, which also means he uses fire-based attacks.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba

Top-Tier Fight Sequences

Demon Slayer has taken the world by storm over the last few years, especially since the anime’s debut. It has tons of gore and action-packed scenes, as well as a touch of comedy, mixed together to create a recipe for an incredible shonen anime. Demons run Japan at night, devouring anyone unfortunate enough to cross their path. Tanjiro Kamado takes on the demons of the night as he tries to restore his little sister Nezuko’s humanity. With the help of a few fellow Demon Slayers and his Breathing-fighting Techniques, he begins to cleanse the world of the evil roaming in the dark.

By this point, Demon Slayer really needs no introduction as it is among the most popular anime of the last decade. While not quite as interested in crafting a sense of adventure as something like Fairy Tail, Demon Slayer‘s action is consistently brilliant, courtesy of ufotable’s smooth animation.

Hunter x Hunter

Battle Shonen, But Different

Most shonen anime typically feature a protagonist with dreams that seem almost insurmountable. This is the case with Gon Freecss from Hunter x Hunter. Growing up on a small island, the optimistic kid decides to leave his home in order to become a Hunter, allowing him to walk in his father’s footsteps. Once at the exam, Gon makes a few friends and one enemy who will play a huge part in shaping his future.

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Although starting out like a relatively by-the-numbers battle shonen story, Hunter x Hunter eventually morphs into something a bit different. While still technically the protagonist, multiple arcs push Gon to the side, establishing that the boy is far from the strongest or most important person in this world.

The Law Of Ueki

Fun, Underrated Shonen Anime With Cool Powers

A slightly forgotten action shonen property, The Law of Ueki had a decent run during the mid-2000s. Although not as well known as Fairy Tail, let alone One Piece or Naruto, this anime has many of the same strengths as those shows, all the while still doing its own thing. The crux of the story is a battle royale that sees 100 participants pitting their chosen teenage fighters against each other. Each representative is granted a unique ability by their sponsor, with the protagonist, Kosuke, earning the power to create trees out of trash.

The Law of Ueki‘s premise sounds like a PG version of Fate, and that is not too far removed from reality. While somewhat repetitive, the anime has a good mix of action and humor. Kosuke is a charming enough lead, and the story throws a fun risk/reward twist as anyone who abuses their power loses a talent.

My Hero Academia

A World Of Heroes

My Hero Academia is set in a world where so-called “quirks,” aka superpowers, are common while being “ordinary”, and Quirkless is a rarity. Some use their powers for the greater good, while others turn to the dark side. Izuku Midoriya was Quirkless with the heart of a hero, and wanted to follow in his idol, All Might’s (giant) footsteps. All Might’s power, One-For-All, is transferable, and Midoriya becomes All Might’s prodigy as he trains at the UA High School for superheroes in training. He meets many quirky friends along the way, as the class 1-A band together against any villains they come across, working as a team.

With a colorful roster of characters and fairly powerful villains, My Hero Academia is an easy recommendation for battle shonen fans. The anime goes out of its way to emphasize the characters’ growth as both people and especially fighters, all the while diving into its society’s overreliance on heroes.

Naruto

Peas In A Pod

Naruto is almost too obvious of a recommendation for Fairy Tail fans. One of shonen’s Big Three, Masashi Kishimoto’s manga lasted for roughly 15 years and spawned an anime with more than 700 episodes. That is not even taking into account the sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, which is currently ongoing. Frankly, there is a lot of Naruto to consume, to the point that the mere thought of starting this journey can be exhausting. Still, overexposed as it has been over the last two decades, this story deserves all the attention it has received.

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Covering similar themes and character archetypes, Naruto and Fairy Tail are cut from the same cloth. Both shows start relatively small scale by focusing on a trio of characters, only to expand exponentially from that point until they reach enormous proportions. While not every arc is a masterpiece, at its best, Naruto compares favorably with any other battle shonen anime out there.

One Piece

The Ultimate Adventure Anime

Fairy Tail is regularly compared to One Piece, to the point that the former somewhat exists in the latter’s shadow. One Piece is arguably the most popular manga of the last two decades, and its anime is also well-liked. The story revolves around Monkey D. Luffy, who heads out on a grand sea-faring journey to find the eponymous treasure and become the new Pirate King. While that might be his “objective,” Luffy’s actual goal is to simply have fun alongside his crew.

Although not devoid of action, One Piece is first and foremost an adventure anime chock-full of humor, unforgettable characters, and fantastic world-building. With over a thousand episodes, Toei’s show is certainly a commitment, but One Piece generally maintains a high standard of quality.

The Seven Deadly Sins

A Kingdom’s Powerful But Disgraced Knights

Based on the manga of the same name, The Seven Deadly Sins focuses on the third princess of the Kingdom of Liones Elizabeth, and her adventures with the Seven Deadly Sins. The group consists of seven members (obviously): Meliodas, Ban, King, Diane, Gowther, Merlin, and Escanor, each possessing their own unique powers.

This is arguably the most similar anime to Fairy Tail. The Seven Deadly Sins are ridiculously strong in their own ways, with their individual strengths and weaknesses. The group’s strength is unparalleled and, when joined together, the power of their friendship allows them to prevail over great foes. Although the later arcs are not particularly strong, the show starts with a few good seasons.

Fairy Tail

Studio

A-1 Pictures, Satelight, Bridge, CloverWorks

Number of Episodes

328

Based On

Manga

Creator

Hiro Mashima, Masashi Sogo