9 Dark Fantasy Berserk Replacements That Are All Near-Perfect

Berserk has gone down in history as the single greatest dark fantasy anime series ever made, and it’s easy to see why. Kentaro Miura’s brutal creation hasn’t just influenced the genre that it’s part of, it’s shaped dark fantasy forever.

There may never be another series quite like Berserk. It’s an amazing manga/anime without equal, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few dark fantasy series that walk a similar path.

Thankfully, there are a handful of Berserk replacements for fans who want more from the twisted genre. To be a good Berserk replacement, a series needs to thrive in bleakness, showcase some of the toughest themes in anime, and do it with style.

Goblin Slayer

Goblin Slayer is one of the darkest anime series of the modern day. It’s such a dark series that Crunchyroll had to put two separate warnings on the show before the first episode even aired. While that seemed like overkill, the first few minutes proved that the massive streaming service was right to warn their audiences ahead of time.

Goblin Slayer stars one of the most straightforward characters in anime. The titular Goblin Slayer wants nothing more than to slay as many goblins as he can, and he’s very good at it. Like Guts from Berserk, Goblin Slayer is a quiet, reserved character with a focus that can’t be shaken by anyone or anything.

Overlord

Overlord is the king of dark isekai. It’s an interesting series in that it’s equal parts dark and hilarious, a mixture few other series can master. Some of the funniest moments in the series are also some of the darkest, like when Ainz Ooal Gown kills over 100,000 enemy soldiers in a few seconds and makes the army he’s siding with clap for him.

While most isekai series make their main characters the heroes of the world that they find themselves in, Overlord takes a different approach. Instead of forcing Ainz Ooal Gown to become his world’s savior, Overlord allows him to become the titular Overlord. He’s manipulative, masterfully cunning, and a brutal dictator whose power is immeasurable in the face of his enemies.

Made in Abyss

Made in Abyss has no business being as dark as it is. From the artwork and the first few episodes, it seems like a happy-go-lucky series filled with fun adventures and mystical moments, and it is, for a little bit. After the first few episodes, however, the series gets incredibly dark quicker than anyone could have predicted.

As the main characters descend further into the titular abyss, they discover horrors few could even comprehend. The darkest part of this show is how quickly things get worse for the main cast. While they do an excellent job of staying as optimistic as possible, it’s easier said than done, as they uncover terrors that shape Made in Abyss into the dark fantasy it’s known to be.

Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World

Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World isn’t just a great dark fantasy series like Berserk, it’s one of the best anime series of all time. It’s wonderful from the very first episode and tackles some of the heaviest themes in anime. Natsuki Subaru finds himself in another world with one of the most bittersweet powers in isekai — Return by Death.

While other isekai characters get fantastic new powers when they find themselves in a brand-new world, Subaru gets the ability to die over and over again. Every time he dies, he travels back to a predetermined point in his life, giving him the chance to try again. It’s a powerful ability that allows Subaru to forge his own future, but it comes at an absolutely terrible cost.

Devilman Crybaby

Devilman Crybaby is a fever dream of an anime series. It’s hard to comprehend just how odd and twisted this series is, and even after watching it, fans might be left with more questions than answers. The series is one of the best anime that’s less than 15 episodes long, and that’s a feat in and of itself.

Devilman Crybaby stars Akira and Ryo as two friends who discover the startling existence of demons on Earth. Their discovery is soon shared with the world at large, and it sends the Earth into a panic. What happens next is gripping, dark, and philosophical, creating a succinct narrative in less time than most anime take to get their stories off the ground.

Clevatess

Clevatess came out of nowhere and cemented itself as one of the best anime series of 2025. It’s a dark, moving anime series with an original art style that feels like something oddly familiar and entirely brand-new at the same time. Clevatess is one of the few dark anime series that is centered around the series’ villain, creating a unique narrative from the first episode.

To call Clevatess brutal would be an understatement. While a lot of other anime series shy away from gore, Clevatess thrives in it. It’s not afraid to showcase some of the most bleak and brutal moments in anime, and there are more than a few characters who meet grizzly demises when nobody could have seen their ends coming.

Jujutsu Kaisen

Jujutsu Kaisen is truly in a league of its own. It’s one of the best shōnen anime series of the modern-day, and its third season might have cemented it as number one. Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, and Demon Slayer are all prime examples of how modern-day shōnen is different from shōnen of the previous generation.

In older shōnen series like Naruto, Dragon Ball, and One Piece, death isn’t really a factor. Nobody really dies, and if they do, they’re brought back to life quickly. The same cannot be said about Jujutsu Kaisen: some of the most important characters in the franchise die quickly and brutally, and if season three taught us anything, that fact will only become more prevalent going forward.

Dororo

Dororo is a great replacement for Berserk in more ways than one. It stars a main character fighting demons in order to reclaim what was taken from him. In Berserk, that’s Guts’ friends and Casca’s mind. In Dororo, it’s Hyakkimaru’s body. Both series feature a dark sacrifice that takes everything from the protagonist in order to benefit their enemies.

Dororo, like Berserk, is as dark as it is action-packed. Every episode has a major fight, and it’s thrilling to watch Hyakkimaru reclaim what belongs to him. Also like Berserk, Dororo is more than a surface level shōnen. It’s filled with deeply moving themes that generate more questions than answers, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg for one of Osamu Tezuka’s creations.

Sentenced to Be a Hero

Sentenced to Be a Hero has real potential. It’s a great dark fantasy anime that came out swinging early in 2026, and the final episodes of the first season proved that this story needs to be explored further. One of the best reasons to watch Sentenced to Be a Hero is in its art style. Like Clevatess, Sentenced to be a Hero has a gritty, tactile art style that makes the series feel violent at all times.

Sentenced to Be a Hero stars Xylo Forbartz as a titular Hero, a prisoner forced to serve his country even after he dies. He is one of the most dangerous men in the series, and alongside his fellow Heroes, he’s working hard to uncover the twisted truth of his nation and find out why he’s been sentenced to serve as a Penal Hero.