A really good Anime similar to Death Note, or as good or better than Death Note?

Recently watched death note and was hooked from the beginning. I’m trying to find another anime that is as good as it or better?

I’ve tried supposedly good anime’s but can’t really get into some of them, or maybe it’s taking too long to get good (Attack on Titan, Jujitsu Kaisan, etc).

Also what I liked about Death Note, is it didn’t seem to kiddish. Some anime’s aesthetic is just too kiddish for me to get into sometimes.

Any suggestions appreciated

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Local_Pickle_47172025-12-29 17:10

Psycho-Pass Season 1

Monster

Pluto

Prototype-Angel2025-12-29 17:45

Yes yes yes - if OP is looking for morally complex characters I’d give all these a go.

Ehero882025-12-29 18:25

Psycho pass season 1 peak, then drop off real hard, legit feel like watching Hollywood crime drama like csi and stuff with it coz of the quality, but yeah....the idea is great but it going nowhere after s1

Local_Pickle_47172025-12-29 18:42

S1 is the peak and S2 is the bottom of the pit, but aside from a fairly unremarkable Sinners of the System 1 movie, the rest of the series is quite good. I wouldn't count it all out after just S1. I just think S1 CAN stand on its own.

shmucky282025-12-29 17:12

Code Geass

bobbadouche2025-12-29 17:28

Code Geass is Death Note if it had Gundams lol. It's legit the closest thing to Death Note that I can think of.

shmucky282025-12-29 17:44

Exactly, i was surprised no one else had typed it when i initially responded to OP’s post

DagZeta2025-12-29 17:52

It's Death Note with robots and no L.

Ehero882025-12-29 18:23

Every of his villain that try to be L there cant keep up with lelouch, lelouch js cheat the F out of his power....🤣

Ehero882025-12-29 18:16

Lelouch is almost Raito but not going full evil mode, and know the boundaries + thank god for nunnally for that is her sister.
Compare to doing nothing, that sister of Raito....🤣

Also death note, code geass.... masterpiece that hard to replicate anymore

Kuramhan2025-12-29 21:22

Lelouch also has actual motives for killing people. Light gained the power to kill people and pretty much immediately started to look for a population he could justify using it on. Once he had that justification, then he just kept escalating it until he viewed himself as having a license to kill anyone in his way. But he never had any personal skin in the game. Light had no trauma or reason to despise criminals. The whole thing was academic to him.

Lelouch was actually screwed over by Britaina. Revenge is not a noble motive, but it is a very human one. He always had skin in the game. His life was always on the line. He went to extreme means and did a lot of morally gray shit. But he didn't just wake up one day and decide to play god. His humanity is real what distinguishes him from Light.

Affectionate_Pizza602025-12-29 17:14

Not as good as death note, but talentless nana felt kind of similar.

MidnightChimp2025-12-29 17:16

Frieren

Cowboy Bebop

Durarara

Grimgar

Steins Gate

Monogatari

Tokyo Ghoul

Fullmetal Alchemist

Charlotte

Project K

I would rate them personally as good Death Note, just in a different way

Lumpy_Percentage_3652025-12-29 17:17

Tomodachi game.

saiprasad21012025-12-29 17:18

The Blue Eye Samurai.
Streaming in Netflix app having 9 episodes.

SacaeGaming2025-12-29 17:56

Too bad half the episodes are people getting d down.

Hopefully season 2 relies less on sex scenes and lets me enjoy the rich animation and sound design.

Weird_Abrocoma78352025-12-29 17:19

The currently airing one would be apothecary diaries if you want good mystery that’s coming out right now.

However, back in the day code geass was the anime fighting deathnote for mystery and strategy

Aristhelios2025-12-29 17:19

Well the popular one people suggest after Death note is Code Geass.
If you want underrated ones then I'd say Summertime rendering or Pluto.
If you want grown up / seinen shows then Dororo or Heavenly Delusion.
If you r ok with slow burn then Monster or Stines;Gate

BushyRock772025-12-29 17:20

Monster and steins gate are really good
Monster might be a little too long (double the length of death note) but its psychological theme is so similar and amazingly well written
Give it a watch!

josalek2025-12-29 17:20

What I loved about Death Note was the "super-intelligence" and battle of wits. The 3 anime that have a similar level of genius are

1. Code Geass - (Better than Death Note in my opinion)
2. Vinland Saga - (Very different style and themes, but extremely good.)
3. Classroom of the Elite - (Another OP genius)

Bonus: Steins;Gate. This one is a bit slower, but the payoff is huge. If you like Time Travel, this is going to be absolutely epic!

lostinthesauce20042025-12-29 17:28

Thanks. I heard of steins gate, but can’t seem to find a dub version

josalek2025-12-29 17:45

DM me, I got you ☺️

SacaeGaming2025-12-29 17:55

My problem with death note IS that over-reliance on “super intelligence” while being so insanely predictable that I literally guessed the appearance of “2 versions of L for light to fight” literally 5 episodes into the show lmao.

Each plot felt easy to understand and simple to follow which HEAVILY detracts from any feelings that the characters may know more than me or be smarter, then to tell me they are elite WORLD level geniuses? It just comes off feeling cheap and inauthentic to me.

The story itself is also just mid tbh, but the anime community STILL isn’t ready to talk about death note not actually being good yet.

Ehero882025-12-29 18:41

L is the one that is super intelligence, raito kind a dumb but have death note rules as advantage.
L know kira since the start, the really reason he play along slowly is to exposed the killing method.

The killing method exposed is what tone down the level of genius of it coz supernatural at play. Its like a curious case of paranormal so i dont think real world genius can solve the puzzle easily without much sacrifice.

It replicate what if it ever happen irl close enough, with a lil bit over the top when needed.

Also u js cant dismiss the 1st ever dedicated psychology war story experience ever to happen in shonen back then. Its super new idea and a masterpieces

SacaeGaming2025-12-29 18:47

If you think death note was a new idea or the 1st of anything in anime then I would assume you’re a new anime fan.

While the specific plot may be unique (they weren’t btw, death gods and men getting ahold of that power has been told hundreds of times in anime) but dedicated psychology war stories are literally some of the most popular in anime/manga and have been since the 80s.

Ehero882025-12-29 18:55

Im saying about it back then, also SHONEN MANGA dedicated and specifically, not other media.

If u dont know/familiar shonen manga/comic library back then. Im sorry u dont understand what i mean.

If u understand, name one of the psychology war dedicated shonen manga before death note and i check on it

SacaeGaming2025-12-29 18:59

I literally grew up with the OG shounen weekly in Japanese, I’m quite familiar given my long standing collection now.

Please don’t project that onto me just because I said it wasn’t an original idea (because it wasn’t) in the world of manga. Fun fact though, that trope wasn’t new to shounen either.

Ehero882025-12-29 19:07

And yet here we are in OP question thread asking for another alternative and most of us can only name the newer story after death note. I wonder.

Buttercrab692025-12-29 17:20

Platinum End

ElectricalCompany2602025-12-29 17:21

You mean an anime which also falls off in it´s second half and has a worse ending than the manga?

Sorry, but that´s exactly what Death Note is in many anime fan eyes.

There are surely many of them which fit in the same category.

lostinthesauce20042025-12-29 17:26

Yea I can see that. It got sort of repetitive, or it was like they ran out of ideas towards the end.

I didnt think the ending was too bad though

[deleted]2025-12-29 17:26

[deleted]

lostinthesauce20042025-12-29 17:29

Yea I watched a little bit of AoT, but couldn’t get into it. And the odd animation of the giants threw me off. Maybe I need to give it another try

lehtal2025-12-29 17:29

The Perfect Insider / Subete ga F ni Naru might also scratch the itch (although I remember enjoying the live action better).

roxylover9112025-12-29 17:30

CODE GEASS WATCH CODE GEASSSSSS

roxylover9112025-12-29 17:31

its js death note if light wasnt as immature and with a well written ending

SacaeGaming2025-12-29 17:52

Literally, I’ll take the liberator over the chip any day.

Ehero882025-12-29 18:30

How the cycle also continue on attack on titan, and eren pulling lelouch stun is what raito should aim, but raito js wanna be god is his demise.

They all end pretty badly but eren and lelouch win the final fight instead of losing like raito

ohrofl2025-12-29 19:17

I go my buddy to watch it by telling him it’s Death Note with gundams.

hero_signal2025-12-29 17:32

Code Geass,

InitialComplaint4282025-12-29 17:33

Code Geass

Nettysocks2025-12-29 17:36

If you’ve already seen Code Geass your looking for the show Hyouka!

It’s has the same MC being using their brain to solve complex problems, it’s basically just like watching Light Yagami if you were watching him in a school setting without the killing and violent premise.

It’s a top tier show that I would swear by, episode one is enough to get someone hooked

gojosensei5002025-12-29 17:38

Erased

The promised neverland

Psycho pass

Tomodachi game

Summertime rendering

Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers

kevwavvv2025-12-29 17:39

Monster if you’re down to watch a triple chase that somehow lasts like 74 episodes, full of “wait… WHAT” turns and quiet dread.

Gantz if you want more action and violence, very not-for-kids, messy, kinda dumb sometimes, but still weirdly deep.

MattMengistu2025-12-29 17:45

As a different one from what others said, Parasyte also gave me death note vibes

TheyCallMeAdonis2025-12-29 17:48

The first season of the promised neverland
it has the cat and mouse game with high stakes and psychological warfare

SacaeGaming2025-12-29 17:50

AoT and code geass are good watches after death note due to thematic similarities between the ideology of the MCs.

Evening-Strain-77842025-12-29 17:52

Code gease

UltraScouter92025-12-29 18:05

Monster

Ehero882025-12-29 18:20

LIAR GAME....is gonna be anime soon!

The live action drama also a masterpieces. Is psychology thriller fun ride same like death note, but no death involved.

Is a battle royale like squid game instead of death loser will live with a burden of debt. The series also a phenomenal back in the day.

PositiveSecret22822025-12-29 19:16

Monster

ohrofl2025-12-29 19:22

Code Geass like most people have mentioned but for some reason I want to say Durarara as well.

A short one I would recommend would be Death Parade!