Jujutsu Kaisen’s third season is easily the best the franchise has put forward. MAPPA took the animation to another level, showcasing Yuji, Megumi, Yuta and more in a brilliance that cemented Jujutsu Kaisen as a staple of modern shōnen.
Now that Jujutsu Kaisen is over, however, there’s a hole left in the genre that won’t be filled until the fourth season comes out some time in the future. Luckily, there are a handful of series that are great replacements while we wait.
To be a good Jujutsu Kaisen season three replacement, a series needs to be dark, gritty, and action-packed. It needs to be filled with stellar characters and stunning set pieces, topped off with action that makes other shōnen franchises jealous.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners isn’t just a good Jujutsu Kaisen season three replacement: it’s one of the best anime series that can be watched in less than 15 episodes. It’s a jaw-droppingly good series that, thankfully, has a second season on the way sooner rather than later.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners shares something with Jujutsu Kaisen that few other series can match. Both franchises are experts are diving head first into some of the darkest themes in the art form, showcasing brutality with a poise and elegance almost no series can even get close to replicating.
Haikyu!!
Haikyu!! doesn’t have the same darkness that Jujutsu Kaisen’s third season has. What it lacks in darkness, however, it more than makes up for in some of the most exciting moments in shōnen. It’s easily one of the greatest sports anime ever made, and its matches are more exciting than a ton of the best fights in the genre.
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Haikyu!! is a rare series that is a 10/10 from the very first episode. There isn’t a low moment in the franchise, and the series itself does an excellent job at including only pertinent, gripping moments that are all consequential in one way or another. If you’re looking for pure excitment bottled up in an anime series, look no further.
Gachiakuta
Gachiakuta is the new hotness in the shōnen genre. The first season took the world by storm, introducing fans across the globe to Rudo, the Cleaners, and the mysterious world of garbage the series takes place in. Gachiakuta and Jujutsu Kaisen are both fairly dark, but they’re at their closest in their weirdness.
There are more than a few moments in both series that can hardly be explained in the best way possible. Gachiakuta and Jujutsu Kaisen are both silly when they want to be, and they can lean into sincerity with ease. They’re both action-packed, star a great main character, and feature plenty of side characters who make the series better every time they’re on-screen.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is rightfully regarded as one of the best anime series of all time. It’s such a great anime series that, at times, it feels like it transcends the art form as a whole, existing as something that can hardly be compared to any other series.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Jujutsu Kaisen both feature plenty of fights, more than a smidgen of violence, and plenty of darkness, but where they’re at their closest is in their philosophy. Both series explore incredible themes that might leave viewers with more questions than answers, and honestly, that’s the point.
Hunter x Hunter
Hunter x Hunter is a pillar of shōnen. It’s a series with ideas so ubiquitous in the genre that it feels like, without Hunter x Hunter, shōnen wouldn’t be the same as it is now. If there’s one area in which Hunter x Hunter and Jujutsu Kaisen feel like they’re cut from the same cloth, it’s in the protagonist department.
Both Gon and Yuji are unhinged. Gon has earned his reputation as the most unhinged main character in shōnen, and Jujutsu Kaisen’s third season made a wonderful claim that Yuji is his modern-day successor. Yuji’s speech about being a cog while he let Hakari beat him down shows just how far gone he is, and there’s nobody who can compare other than Hunter x Hunter’s Gon.
Lord of Mysteries
Lord of Mysteries might be China’s One Piece. There’s a substantial backing behind the series, and that’s not even including the fact that the series itself is near masterful. The first season of Lord of Mysteries introduced an incredibly intriguing world, an equally mesmerizing power system, and a main character who seems fit to explore both with poise.
Lord of Mysteries and Jujutsu Kaisen are both much deeper than they appear to be. There’s so much going on underneath the surface that only time will reveal what’s actually going on.
Dorohedoro
Dorohedoro is a celebration of the absurd. It’s a series drenched in gore, floating in the space between reason and pure chaos. It’s unhinged just about every minute it’s on-screen, and like Jujutsu Kaisen, it features a ton of great fights that only get better the longer the series runs.
MAPPA is behind both series, and it might be the single best animation studio in Japan quality-wise. Jujutsu Kaisen and Dorohedoro both have a distinct animation style that separates them from the competition. Now that Dorohedoro is back after a fairly long hiatus, it seems like the perfect pick for anyone wanting a series with more action than logic.
Hell’s Paradise
Hell’s Paradise is a concise series with absolutely no skippable moments. One of the biggest differences between the older generation of shōnen and the latest is filler, extra moments, and the use of time. Old shōnen series, like Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Naruto, are bloated, oversaturated with useless moments, and at too many times, boring.
Hell’s Paradise is the perfect example that modern-day shōnen series are the exact opposite. They’re rapid, well-paced, and only showcase stellar moments. Hell’s Paradise itself might only be three seasons long in its entirety, and the two seasons currently available are both well worth the watch.
Chainsaw Man
Chainsaw Man is a modern-day masterpiece. Chainsaw Man the Movie: Reze Arc is one of the best anime films of all time. The first season of the franchise is so good at mixing so many conflicting themes that it feels like it should be required viewing for any mangaka that wants to start their career.
Chainsaw Man is sad, brutal, hilarious, and violent all at once. It’s a rare series that doesn’t let its ambition get in its way. It’s also a great Jujutsu Kaisen season three replacement, standing next to the series as another one of the best shonen series of the modern day.
Attack on Titan
There isn’t another series quite like Attack on Titan. If Dragon Ball Z brought anime to the West in the late 90s and early 00s, Attack on Titan thrust it into the main stream in the 10s. Without Attack on Titan, anime wouldn’t be nearly as popular as it is today.
Like Jujutsu Kaisen, there is so much to see in Attack on Titan. Characters have incredible arcs, breathtaking relationships, and go through betrayals that can hardly be described in words. People who haven’t seen Attack on Titan are genuinely lucky, as they get to experience Eren’s journey for the very first time.
- Created by
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Hajime Isayama
- First Film
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Attack on Titan: The Crimson Bow and Arrow
- Latest Film
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Attack on Titan: The Final Chapters (2023)
- Latest TV Show
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Attack On Titan