NoBadPicks

Anime Like Death Note

If you loved Death Note's Animation and Mystery storytelling, these anime deliver a similar experience — selected for art style, narrative depth, and emotional impact. Each includes where to stream it now.

Top Picks

Hell Girl
8.2

Hell Girl

2005

A supernatural system allows people to take revenge by having other people sent to Hell via the services of a mysterious entity and her assistants who implement this system. Revenge, injustice, hatred, and the nature of human emotions are common themes throughout the series.

ID: INVADED
7.1

ID: INVADED

2020

Sakaido is a genius detective who can track down any criminal. But when his daughter is murdered, revenge lands him on the other side of the law. Now in prison, he helps the police solve mysteries using a system that invades a person’s identity. Little by little, a trail of blood forms, and it all leads back to his daughter’s murderer.

Kemono Jihen
7.6

Kemono Jihen

2021

When a series of animal bodies that rot away after a single night begin appearing in a remote mountain village, Inugami, a detective from Tokyo who specializes in the occult, is called to investigate. While working the case, he befriends a strange boy who works in the field every day instead of going to school. Shunned by his peers and nicknamed “Dorotabo” after a yokai that lives in the mud, he helps Inugami uncover the truth behind the killings — but supernatural forces are at work, and while Dorotabo is just a nickname, it might not be the only thing about the boy that isn’t human.

B: The Beginning
7.6

B: The Beginning

2018

Genius investigator Keith Flick rejoins the royal police force just as serial killer "B" emerges. Mysterious youth Koku may be an ally, or a target.

Bungo Stray Dogs
8.3

Bungo Stray Dogs

2016

Stalked by a beastly white tiger, Atsushi Nakajima has no idea that the menace lives inside him—a power that catches the attention of the Armed Detective Agency. Using inhuman abilities to combat crime, this team takes Atsushi under the wing of their most eccentric member, Dazai. Together, they tear through mafia-muddled mysteries while enemies keep an eye on the tiger’s lofty bounty.

Soul Eater
7.8

Soul Eater

2008

Set in the Shinigami technical school for weapon meisters, the series revolves around 3 groups of each a weapon meister and a human weapon. Trying to make the latter a "Death Scythe" which is the highest title for a weapon and thus fit for use by the Shinigami, they must collect the souls of 99 evil humans and 1 witch. Maka & Soul Eater, Black Star & Tsubaki, and Death the Kid with Patty and Liz Thompson are the characters Soul Eater revolves around. Besides taking the time to gather souls, these students of Shibusen defend Death City from some of the most powerful of creatures while still attending school and trying to become stronger.

Paranoia Agent
7.9

Paranoia Agent

2004

Musashino, Tokyo. An elementary schooler repeatedly attacks people in the streets. Known only to the public as "Lil Slugger", none of the victims can recall the young boy's face and only three distinct details are left in their memories: golden inline skates, a baseball cap, and the weapon: a bent golden baseball bat. Detectives Ikari and Maniwa set out to track down the perpetrator and put an end to his crimes.

Tokyo Ghoul
8.3

Tokyo Ghoul

2014

Ken Kaneki, a bookworm college student, meets Rize, a girl his own age with whom he shares many interests.

More Anime Like Death Note

The Future Diary
7.6

The Future Diary

2011

Reality quickly unravels when antisocial Yukiteru is called into a death match against 11 other mentally scarred individuals. Each player has a prophetic device tuned to their personality, giving them control over their future—and the fate of their foes.

Darker than Black
7.6

Darker than Black

2007

Ten years ago, a mysterious spatial anomaly now known as "Heaven's Gate" appeared in South America, shortly followed by the opening of "Hell's Gate" in Tokyo altering the sky and wreaking havoc on the landscape. The real stars disappeared, replaced by false stars. During this time, people possessing various special abilities — called "Contractors" — emerged, each capable of different supernatural feats. Following the disastrous Heaven's War, the United States lost its dominant position as a superpower to a mysterious organization named the Syndicate. The story revolves around a Chinese contractor codenamed "Hei" as he undertakes various espionage and assassination missions in Tokyo.

Karakuri Circus
8.2

Karakuri Circus

2018

Narumi Katou is a middle-aged man who suffers from the bizarre ZONAPHA Syndrome: a rare and inexplicable disease that causes its victims to endure severe seizures at random, with the only cure being to watch someone laugh. One day, during Narumi's part time job, a young boy with a giant suitcase fleeing from three adults runs into him. The boy introduces himself as Masaru Saiga, the new owner of the famous Saiga Enterprises following his father's recent death. However, other members of his family are trying to assassinate him and claim the fortune for themselves.

Detective Conan
8.0

Detective Conan

1996

The son of a world famous mystery writer, Jimmy Kudo, has achieved his own notoriety by assisting the local police as a student detective. He has always been able to solve the most difficult of criminal cases using his wits and power of reason.

Psycho-Pass
7.7

Psycho-Pass

2012

In the year 2113, people are given brain scans to determine how likely they are to commit a crime. Those who fail are apprehended, or even killed.

Umineko: When They Cry
7.0

Umineko: When They Cry

2009

As customary per year, the entire family is gathering on the island for a conference that discusses the current financial situations of each respective person. Because of the family head's poor health, this year involves the topic of the head of the family's inheritance and how it will be distributed. However, the family is unaware that the distribution of his wealth is the least of Ushiromiya Kinzo's concerns for this year's family conference. After being told that his end was approaching by his longtime friend and physician, Kinzo is desperate to meet his life's true love one last time: the Golden Witch, Beatrice. Having immersed himself in black magic for many of the later years in his life, Kinzo instigates a ceremony to revive his beloved upon his family's arrival on Rokkenjima.

Dimension W
6.7

Dimension W

2016

Humanity has found a way to achieve infinite energy by using coils to draw it from the fourth plane: dimension "W". With the production of coils having been monopolized by the New Tesla energy company, freelance collectors are hired to find and remove any illegal, unofficial coils. This is the story of collector Kyōma, who also happens to have a huge hatred towards coils. During one of his missions he stumbles upon a female android that perceives herself as being human, leading the two to enter an unlikely partnership.

Kindaichi Case Files
8.0

Kindaichi Case Files

1997

Kindaichi Hajime may look dumb, but he is one of the smartest you will ever see. He encounters mysteries after mysteries with his good friend, Miyuki, and he swears to solve them in the name of his grandfather, which was a great detective.

Dark Gathering
6.9

Dark Gathering

2023

The story centers on Keitarou Gentouga, who has the ability to be a spirit medium. In junior high school, he got someone else wrapped up in a spirit possession incident, and he has been a shut-in for more than two years. As he reintroduces himself to society as a private tutor, he meets a genius girl named Yayoi Houzuki. Yayoi is instantly able to tell that Keitarou has skill as a spirit medium, and she invites him to go with her to a haunted location. The two then start their journey capturing evil spirits.

Ghost Hunt
8.0

Ghost Hunt

2006

Telling ghost stories is a favorite past time of Mai Taniyama and her friends—that is, until she meets 17-year-old Kazuya Shibuya, the man sent by Shibuya Psychic Research Center to investigate paranormal activity at a supposedly haunted school. When Mai gets caught in a dangerous situation, she is rescued by Kazuya's assistant. Saving her lands the assistant incapacitated, and Kazuya demands that Mai become his assistant, instead...

Mushi-Shi
8.0

Mushi-Shi

2005

Ginko, a Mushi master, travels from place to place researching the Mushi and helping people who are suffering because of it.

Why These Anime Are Similar

These recommendations share core qualities with Death Note (2006): Animation and Mystery themes, comparable animation style, and similar narrative pacing. NoBadPicks uses TMDB collaborative filtering, genre matching, and AI analysis to surface anime most likely to resonate with fans of Death Note.

See full details for Death Note (2006)

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