10 best anime to watch if you like Dorohedoro

Dorohedoro has captivated viewers with its dark fantasy world brimming with magic, gore, and eccentric characters. Set in a bleak metropolis called Hole infested by sadistic sorcerers, it chronicles the story of an amnesiac lizard-headed man named Caiman seeking to regain his true form and identity.

Alongside his friend Nikaido, Caiman hunts magic-users while getting embroiled in the power struggles between Hole’s inhabitants and sorcerers. If you’ve finished Dorohedoro and crave more dark, binge-worthy adventures, here are 10 anime to fill the void left by Caiman's journey in the sorcerer-ruled Hole.

10 best anime to watch for fans of Dorohedoro

1. Parasyte: The Maxim

Parasyte: The Maxim (Image via Madhouse)

Parasyte: The Maxim is a sci-fi horror series with plenty of body horror and visceral action scenes reminiscent of Dorohedoro. The story explores what it means to be human as the quiet high school student Shinichi becomes an unwilling host to an alien parasite. This parasite, Migi, arrived on Earth and bonded with Shinichi's right hand.

As Shinichi and Migi pursue other parasites, they form an unlikely bond while confronting questions about identity and coexistence. The series has an atmosphere of unease but balances it with impactful drama and morally complex characters.

2. Tokyo Ghoul

For a series that examines the monster within all of us, look no further than the dark fantasy anime Tokyo Ghoul. After receiving a ghoul's organs following an attack, college student Ken Kaneki becomes a half-ghoul.

He soon learns that the world is not so black-and-white as ghouls and humans clash in morally ambiguous conflicts. Like Caiman, Kaneki grapples with his lost humanity as he embraces the monster inside him to survive. Tokyo Ghoul has no shortage of visceral fights and disturbing imagery blended with moving relationships.

3. Made in Abyss

Don’t let its initial appearance as a cutesy adventure anime fool you — Made in Abyss takes viewers into the depths of darkness, quite literally. Set in a giant pit called the Abyss filled with both wonder and horrors, its intriguing world will draw in Dorohedoro fans.

The young protagonist Riko descends into the Abyss’ otherworldly ecosystems searching for her missing mother, aided only by the mysterious amnesiac being Reg. What starts as pure wonder transforms into a dark psychological fantasy as Riko confronts deadly creatures and the madness of the Abyss.

Like Caiman and Nikaido, Riko and Reg make an endearing pair who support each other amid harrowing encounters that test human endurance.

4. Devilman Crybaby

Devilman Crybaby (Image via Science SARU)

For a darker, gorier twist on demonic battles, look no further than this 2018 Netflix Original based on Go Nagai’s classic series Devilman. The melodramatic horror anime chronicles Akira Fudo’s transformation into a powerful demon known as Devilman after being possessed by Amon.

He uses his newfound power to protect humans from an impending demon invasion. The series uses stunning visuals and brutal violence to explore existential themes of holding onto humanity amid monstrous transformations.

The relationships between humans and demons feature heavily, with twists and betrayals around every corner. Viewers who appreciated Dorohedoro’s affinity for otherworldly settings and visceral action setpieces may also find Devilman Crybaby’s emotionally charged demonic thriller agreeable.

5. Deadman Wonderland

This sci-fi horror is centered around Ganta, a teenager imprisoned in the twisted amusement park of Deadman Wonderland after being framed for slaughtering his entire class. Forced to fight in death matches against other Deadmen with unique blood-based powers, Ganta seeks to survive and uncover the truth about the mysterious Red Man that massacred his schoolmates.

With its post-apocalyptic setting and characters with strange abilities, Deadman Wonderland mirrors the weird powers and environments portrayed in Dorohedoro. Alongside brutal fights to the death, the show tackles sensitive themes like corruption and humanity’s tendency towards violence.

6. Ergo Proxy

Ergo Proxy delivers a dystopian sci-fi thriller drenched in gothic inspiration much like Dorohedoro’s cyberpunk landscape. Set years after an ecological disaster, the story follows Re-l Mayer, an investigator in the domed city of Romdo, as she uncovers secrets threatening her controlled society’s existence.

The show impresses with its stylish visuals, philosophical themes, and eccentric cast of robots, mutants, and humans. Like Dorohedoro, Ergo Proxy utilizes a range of odd characters to explore existential questions about identity, creation, and destruction.

Between the show’s unpredictable plot and the thought-provoking concept of proxies as supernatural guardians, Ergo Proxy checks the boxes for cerebral, genre-bending appeal.

7. Akudama Drive

Akudama Drive (Image via Studio Pierrot)

For another gripping and gritty sci-fi anime, look no further than this underrated gem from 2020. Akudama Drive takes place in a dystopian Kansai split between elite citizens and outlawed Akudama carrying out missions across a cyberpunk backdrop.

When a civilian worker is misidentified as an Akudama and joins a group of infamous criminals on a high-stakes heist gone wrong, all hell breaks loose across the Kansai region.

Mirroring Dorohedoro’s ensemble of oddball characters and the collision between different groups, living in Kansai means getting caught between warring gangs and an authoritarian government. With slick action, an unpredictable plot, and eye-catching visuals, it deserves more recognition among dystopian sci-fi fans.

8. Blame!

For sci-fi diehards who can’t get enough of Dorohedoro’s gritty future filled with strange technologies and mysteries, Blame! offers a complex dystopian epic. Set in a sprawling labyrinthine megastructure, the cyberpunk anime focuses on Killy, a loner on a quest to find humans with the “net terminal gene” that could save this abandoned world overrun by rogue AI.

Echoing Dorohedoro’s bleak urban environment and questions around identity and purpose, Blame! impresses with its expansive world-building and retro-futuristic visuals.

9. Hellsing Ultimate

Hellsing Ultimate (Image via Madhouse/Satelight/Graphinica)

When it comes to urban fantasy bloodfests, Hellsing Ultimate deserves a spot on this list. This popular OVA series chronicles the powerful vampire Alucard serving the Hellsing organization to combat deadly supernatural forces threatening England.

Boasting high levels of blood, gore, and action rivaling Dorohedoro, Hellsing excels through its Gothic art style, dark humor, and extremely powerful entities battling for domination. Backed by stylish visuals, thrilling action, and menacing villains, Hellsing Ultimate is a wild, exhilarating ride.

10. No Guns Life

Rounding off the list is an underappreciated cyberpunk feature reminiscent of Dorohedoro’s gritty aesthetic and odd cast. No Guns Life takes place in a tech-advanced Berühren city where Extended humans blend machinery and organs.

The story follows Juuzou Inui, a former extended soldier turned Resolver pursuing cases involving Extensions. Echoing Dorohedoro’s central mystery, Inui investigates various cases while uncovering fragments of his past. Supported by retro visuals and peculiar characters, No Guns Life captures a similarly strange, dystopian vision flavored with plenty of action.

Conclusion

While no other anime fully replicates the bizarre, gory, and darkly comedic formula of Dorohedoro, these 10 titles come close in various ways. From their philosophically-minded blends of fantasy/horror to their striking visual styles and unhinged lead characters, they prove engrossing alternatives for fans.

There’s nothing quite like Dorohedoro, but these anime offer similarly creative blends of action, intrigue, and touches of wicked humor.