Anime Like Vinland Saga: 17 Series to Watch Next

If Vinland Saga lives in a corner of your brain, Berserk is going to take up the whole room. Kentaro Miura‘s legendary manga (1989-2021, unfinished at his death) is the closest spiritual sibling to Vinland Saga. Guts is essentially Thorfinn turned up to eleven. A traumatized warrior whose entire existence revolves around revenge against a former friend who betrayed everyone he loved.

The 1997 anime adaptation is the canonical entry point, covering the Golden Age arc. The various film/anime adaptations after that range from good (the 2012-2013 Golden Age trilogy films) to widely disliked (the 2016-2017 CG continuation). The manga remains the best version of the story. Either way, this is the most direct recommendation for Vinland Saga fans.

Hiroaki Samura‘s acclaimed seinen manga got two anime adaptations: a 2008 series and a 2019 reboot from Studio Liden Films. The story follows Manji, an immortal samurai cursed to live forever until he kills a thousand evil men. He becomes the bodyguard of a young girl seeking revenge against her parents’ killers.

The protagonist’s relationship with mortality and violence parallels Thorfinn’s arc closely. Both characters use killing as both a tool and a curse. Both wrestle with whether their lifestyle has destroyed any chance at redemption. Worth seeking out for the philosophical depth alone.

The most natural Vinland Saga recommendation. Wit Studio animated the first three seasons of Attack on Titan before handing the final season off to MAPPA. Both shows share the same studio’s visual DNA: visceral fight choreography, brutal violence treated with weight, complex political worldbuilding.

Eren and Thorfinn aren’t identical, but they share key DNA: both are young men whose entire identity is built around vengeance against a specific killer, both descend into moral collapse as they pursue that revenge, both eventually have to face what their obsession has cost them. The 2009 manga by Hajime Isayama ended in 2021, and the anime concluded in 2023.

A 2007 animated film by Bones studio that probably has the best samurai sword choreography ever animated. The story follows No Name, a wandering ronin who reluctantly takes a job protecting a boy and his dog from Ming Dynasty Chinese assassins.

The film’s signature sword fight near the end is legendary among action animation fans. If you watched Vinland Saga primarily for the fight scenes, this 100-minute film delivers some of the most kinetic, satisfying swordplay in anime history.

A 2016 anime by Kohta Hirano (creator of Hellsing), Drifters yanks famous historical warriors out of their time periods and dumps them into a fantasy realm. The protagonist Shimazu Toyohisa fights alongside Oda Nobunaga, Nasu no Yoichi, and other figures pulled from various points in Japanese history.

It’s a wild premise played mostly straight, with the same gleeful violence that defined Hellsing. For Vinland Saga fans who like the medieval combat and historical warriors angle, Drifters delivers in spades. Hirano’s distinctive grim humor is an acquired taste, but it pairs well with anyone who enjoyed Vinland Saga’s bleaker moments.

Strong Recommendations for Different Notes

Based on Yoshiki Tanaka‘s long-running novel series (the same author behind Legend of the Galactic Heroes), Arslan Senki is set in a Persian-inspired medieval kingdom. Prince Arslan must reclaim his throne after a coup, growing from a sheltered teenager into a thoughtful military leader along the way.

If you watched Vinland Saga for the political intrigue, military strategy, and slow-burn protagonist development, Arslan Senki is a strong match. The 2015 Liden Films adaptation covers the early arcs well, though the source novels (and the ongoing Hiromu Arakawa manga) go much deeper.

Satoru Noda‘s acclaimed historical adventure manga (2014-2022) follows Sugimoto, a Russo-Japanese War veteran, and Asirpa, an Ainu girl, hunting for hidden Imperial gold across Hokkaido. The 2018 anime adaptation captures the manga’s distinctive blend of brutal violence, genuine cultural research (the show’s depiction of Ainu culture and food is meticulously researched), and absolute lunatic comedy.

For Vinland Saga fans, this hits the historical-setting, unlikely-partnership, and violent-survivors-with-PTSD notes hard. Both shows treat their historical settings with genuine respect.

The 2011-2012 Ufotable anime adapted from Gen Urobuchi‘s prequel novels to the Fate/stay night visual novel. Seven magi summon seven legendary historical figures (King Arthur, Alexander the Great, Lancelot, Gilgamesh, and others) to fight a tournament for the Holy Grail.

Urobuchi’s signature bleak philosophical writing pairs with Ufotable’s gorgeous fight animation to create something unique. The exploration of legendary warriors and what their values cost them resonates with Vinland Saga’s themes around violence and meaning. Fate/Zero is widely considered the best entry point to the Fate franchise.

A 2012 anime set in Japan’s Sengoku period (roughly 1467-1615), Brave 10 follows the Iga ninja Saizo Kirigakure who rescues a shrine maiden named Isanami from temple destruction. They join Sanada Yukimura’s mission to assemble the Sanada Ten Braves, a legendary group of ten warriors from Japanese folklore.

Twelve episodes of fast-paced ninja-and-samurai action with historical-fiction roots. Lighter in tone than Vinland Saga, but the historical Japanese setting and warrior ensemble cast give it the same flavor.

Shinichiro Watanabe‘s 2004-2005 series mixed Edo-period Japan with hip-hop aesthetics, lo-fi beats from Nujabes and Fat Jon, and some of the best stylized swordplay in anime. The story follows two duelists (the formal Jin and the freewheeling Mugen) escorting a young woman named Fuu on a quest to find a “samurai who smells of sunflowers.”

This is the same director who later made Cowboy Bebop, and it shows. Tonally lighter than Vinland Saga, but the character work and combat choreography are top-tier. Watch it for Mugen’s breakdance-influenced sword style alone.

A 2005 anime adapted from Futaro Yamada‘s novel The Kouga Ninja Scrolls. Two rival ninja clans (Kouga and Iga) are ordered to send ten warriors each into a death match to determine the Tokugawa shogunate’s heir. The lead warriors from each clan, Gennosuke and Oboro, happen to be in love.

It’s Romeo and Juliet with ninja warfare and tragic body horror. The 2005 anime is well-regarded, and there’s a 2018 sequel series The Last Generation that covers later events. Both shows share Vinland Saga’s willingness to follow tragic logic to its inevitable conclusion.

A 2007 dark fantasy anime based on Norihiro Yagi‘s manga. In a medieval world plagued by monstrous Yoma, a guild of half-Yoma, half-human female warriors (the Claymores) hunt the monsters with their massive titular swords. Clare is a half-trained warrior pursuing her own revenge while navigating a brutal hierarchical system.

The anime adaptation has a controversial ending that diverges significantly from the manga, but the first 20-something episodes are excellent. For Vinland Saga fans who want female-led dark medieval action, Claymore is the strongest match in that niche.

Different Tones, Still Worth Watching

Tatsuki Fujimoto‘s acclaimed shonen manga got a 2022 anime adaptation by MAPPA. The story follows Denji, a desperately poor young man who fuses with a chainsaw devil and becomes a government devil hunter. Brutal action, deep characters, and a willingness to make you genuinely sad about the cost of violence.

Tonally very different from Vinland Saga (modern setting, more comedic moments), but the shared interest in what extreme violence does to young people’s souls makes them strong companions. Plus, the 2022 anime adaptation has some of MAPPA’s best animation work.

A 2019-onward isekai anime based on Aneko Yusagi’s light novels. Naofumi Iwatani is summoned to a fantasy world as a “Shield Hero,” is immediately framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and has to rebuild his life and reputation from scratch in a world that betrayed him.

Much lighter than Vinland Saga overall (it’s still very much an isekai with fantasy tropes), but the early seasons share Vinland Saga’s interest in protagonists whose worldview has been shaped by betrayal and who must decide whether to give in to bitterness or push through it.

A 2023 anime based on Aka Akasaka (Kaguya-sama: Love Is War) and Mengo Yokoyari’s manga. Aqua Hoshino is reincarnated as the son of his murdered idol mother and commits his life to finding her killer. It’s a setting completely unlike Vinland Saga (the Japanese entertainment industry in the modern era), but the revenge-driven protagonist arc has clear parallels.

This is the recommendation for Vinland Saga fans who want the revenge-arc structure without the medieval violence. The opening “YOASOBI – Idol” became one of the biggest anime song hits of 2023.

Hideaki Sorachi‘s long-running shonen manga got 367 anime episodes plus several films across 2006-2018. The setting is an alternate Edo Japan where aliens (Amanto) have invaded and banned samurai swords. Gintoki Sakata, a lazy ex-samurai, runs an odd-jobs business while occasionally getting drawn into massive conflicts.

This is a tonal palate cleanser for Vinland Saga fans. Gintama is primarily a comedy, but when it gets serious (which happens in major arcs), it delivers some of the best samurai drama in anime. Worth working through the early episodes to get to the serious arcs.

The biggest tonal departure on this list. Yuki Urushibara‘s manga adaptation (2005-2006 anime, 2014 second season) follows Ginko, a wandering “mushi master” who studies and resolves conflicts between humans and supernatural spirits called mushi in an Edo-era Japan setting.

There’s no real action. Almost no violence. The pacing is glacial. But for Vinland Saga fans who connected with Thorfinn’s contemplative second-arc journey toward peace, Mushishi might be the most spiritually similar show on this list. It’s quiet, beautiful, and meditative in a way few other anime achieve.