Mohsin Lag 
Hunter x Hunter ruined a lot of anime for me. Not because it’s perfect — the hiatuses alone disqualify it from that — but because it set a standard for how battles should work that most shows still don’t reach. In Hunter x Hunter, fights aren’t decided by who screams louder. They’re decided by preparation, information, and rules, and the best fights end with one character explaining exactly why the other one already lost. It’s the power-system show, the one every “smart battle anime” gets measured against, and the comparison is usually unfair to everyone involved.
So this list has a specific job: shows where the fights feel earned — where you can watch a battle, understand why it went the way it went, and where winning matters less than how you win. Not all of these are as analytical as Hunter x Hunter. Some are here for the scale, some for the strategy, some for the specific feeling of watching a protagonist learn how the game is played. I’ll be honest about which.
| # | Anime | What it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yu Yu Hakusho | The direct ancestor, by the same author, and it shows in every frame. Yoshihiro Togashi wrote Yu Yu Hakusho before Hunte… |
| 2 | Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood | The other consensus masterpiece of “smart” shonen, and the contrast to Hunter x Hunter is instructive. FMA’s… |
| 3 | Jujutsu Kaisen | The modern heir to the Hunter x Hunter throne, and the only current show that tries to play the same game: complex, bind… |
| 4 | Naruto | The pick that needs defending, because modern discourse treats Naruto like the dumb one. Early Naruto — the Chunin Exams… |
| 5 | My Hero Academia | MHA earns its place for one specific reason: it understands that the most interesting fights are between people with asy… |
| 6 | Dragon Ball | Here’s my controversial opinion, stated plainly: original Dragon Ball is a better tactical anime than Dragon Ball Z. The… |
| 7 | Rurouni Kenshin | The oddball pick, and I’ll explain. Kenshin’s fights are short — sometimes over in one exchange — but they’re the most &… |
| 8 | One Piece | One Piece doesn’t play Hunter x Hunter’s game — its fights are emotional, not analytical — but it shares the thing under… |
| 9 | Demon Slayer | The most beautiful show on this list and the least tactical. Demon Slayer’s fights are about emotion and animation, not … |
| 10 | JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure | The finale pick for a simple reason: no anime has ever treated combat rules with more respect. Stands have explicit, oft… |
1. Yu Yu Hakusho
The direct ancestor, by the same author, and it shows in every frame. Yoshihiro Togashi wrote Yu Yu Hakusho before Hunter x Hunter, and you can watch him developing the exact toolkit he’d perfect later: tournaments where the fights are puzzles, villains with understandable motivations, and a protagonist whose real weapon is adaptability. Yusuke wins the Dark Tournament not by being strongest but by being the one who thinks fastest under pressure. The animation is 90s-budget but the fight choreography holds up, and the Chapter Black arc is Togashi already in Hunter x Hunter mode. If you’ve never seen it, this is the closest thing to a prequel.
2. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
The other consensus masterpiece of “smart” shonen, and the contrast to Hunter x Hunter is instructive. FMA’s alchemy is a strict, known rule system — equivalent exchange — and the show treats it like law. Every fight is a puzzle with the rules printed on the box, so when a character breaks your expectations, it’s because they understood the rules better than you did. Brotherhood is also the best-paced long-running shonen ever made: 64 episodes, zero filler, and an ending that sticks the landing. If Hunter x Hunter is the essay about power systems, FMA:B is the textbook.
3. Jujutsu Kaisen
The modern heir to the Hunter x Hunter throne, and the only current show that tries to play the same game: complex, binding rules — cursed energy, domains, binding vows — that the characters exploit in ways you can predict if you’re paying attention. The show’s best fights are logic problems disguised as brawls, and Gojo exists specifically to show you the top of the power ceiling from episode one. The second season is the best action animation of the 2020s. Where it falls short of Hunter x Hunter is emotional: it’s colder, more cynical, and the characters matter less than the mechanics. But the mechanics are excellent.
4. Naruto
The pick that needs defending, because modern discourse treats Naruto like the dumb one. Early Naruto — the Chunin Exams specifically — is as good as battle shonen gets. The fights are tactical, the powers are limited enough to matter, and Shikamaru’s entire character is a walking argument that intelligence beats strength. The problem is everything around it: filler arcs, power creep that eventually turns fights into kaiju battles, and an ending that lost the plot. My honest advice: watch through the exams, enjoy the tactical peak, and don’t feel obligated to finish. The part that’s like Hunter x Hunter is real — it’s just not the whole show.
5. My Hero Academia
MHA earns its place for one specific reason: it understands that the most interesting fights are between people with asymmetric powers. Quirks are wildly unbalanced — some heroes can’t touch you, some can’t be touched — and the best fights are the ones where a weak power beats a strong one through creativity. Deku’s early fights are all about this: he wins with prediction and positioning before he wins with raw force. It’s the Hunter x Hunter principle — the matchup matters more than the power level — applied to a school setting. The later seasons inflate the scale, but the tactical core stays visible.
6. Dragon Ball
Here’s my controversial opinion, stated plainly: original Dragon Ball is a better tactical anime than Dragon Ball Z. The tournament arcs — the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai — are full of clever, rules-based fights where Goku wins by out-thinking stronger opponents. He beats Tenshinhan with a ring-out he planned three rounds earlier. He beats King Piccolo with a maneuver that only works because of a detail established episodes before. Then Z happened and fights became numbers going up. But if you want to understand where Hunter x Hunter’s tournament DNA comes from, watch the original Dragon Ball tournaments. They’re the ancestor of every arc on this list.
7. Rurouni Kenshin
The oddball pick, and I’ll explain. Kenshin’s fights are short — sometimes over in one exchange — but they’re the most “rule-bound” fights in anime. Every duel is a conversation about philosophy, and the outcome is decided by stance, distance, and the specific limits of the Hiten Mitsurugi style. It’s Hunter x Hunter’s tactical clarity applied to kendo instead of nen. The 2023 remake modernizes the pacing; the original has the better music and more atmosphere. Either works. Just know going in: the fights are sparse, and that’s the point.
8. One Piece
One Piece doesn’t play Hunter x Hunter’s game — its fights are emotional, not analytical — but it shares the thing underneath: a power system with visible, exploitable rules. Devil Fruits have consistent limitations (water, seastone, specific counter-matchups), and the best fights are the ones where Luffy figures out the counter, like rubber versus lightning against Enel. It’s the only long-runner where the protagonist repeatedly wins by exploiting a matchup the story set up hundreds of episodes earlier. The pacing is the price of admission; the payoff is real.
9. Demon Slayer
The most beautiful show on this list and the least tactical. Demon Slayer’s fights are about emotion and animation, not strategy — breathing techniques are vibes, not rules. So why include it? Because it demonstrates the ceiling of the other approach: when you invest everything in spectacle, you get moments like episode 19 of season 1, which remains one of the most affecting fight sequences ever animated. Watch it as the counterweight to Hunter x Hunter: same genre, opposite philosophy. If the fights feel hollow to you after HxH, that’s the point — you’ve been spoiled by a show that does strategy for real.
10. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
The finale pick for a simple reason: no anime has ever treated combat rules with more respect. Stands have explicit, often absurd limitations, and every fight is a battle of wits about how to exploit them — a JoJo fight is essentially a puzzle with superpowers attached. It’s Hunter x Hunter’s analytical spirit turned up to operatic extremes, with the added joy that the author is clearly having the time of his life. Start with Part 3 if Part 1’s stiffness puts you off; the formula clicks into place once stands arrive.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What’s the closest anime to Hunter x Hunter? Yu Yu Hakusho — same author, same fight philosophy. For the modern equivalent, Jujutsu Kaisen plays the same rules-first game.
- Is Hunter x Hunter finished? The manga isn’t — Togashi publishes new chapters in batches between health-related hiatuses. The 2011 anime ends at a natural stopping point (the election arc) that works as a finale.
- Which has the best power system? Nen, in Hunter x Hunter, is still the gold standard. JoJo’s stands and Jujutsu Kaisen’s cursed energy are the best of the rest.
- Which of these has no filler? Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (zero), Yu Yu Hakusho (minimal), the 2011 Hunter x Hunter (minimal). Avoid Naruto’s filler list unless you enjoy padding.
Start with Yu Yu Hakusho if you want the origin story. Start with Jujutsu Kaisen if you want the modern version. Start with FMA: Brotherhood if you want the one that’s actually finished. All three understand the rule Hunter x Hunter taught us: a good fight is a conversation, not an argument.
Still hunting for your next binge? Our our ranked list of anime with the best animation roundup and our 2026 anime release calendar guide are the natural next stops.
