Well, it’s finally over. After eight seasons, 181 episodes, and four feature-length films, My Hero Academia has finally come to an end. It’s a bittersweet ending, especially given how the show’s final season delivered an unforgettable climax, and the show’s finale gave most of its cast a satisfying resolution. It’s hard to watch things you like end, but My Hero Academia went out as good as it could have, with its head held high.
But now, for many fans like myself, there’s a My Hero Academia-shaped hole in people’s hearts that needs filling. While it’ll probably be a while until another show captures that blend of western superheroes and Japanese animation as well as it did, these ten shows have some of that same spark. Some focus more on the superhero action, some focus on the charming school setting, and some are chock full of the same Shonen tropes that made the series as accessible as it is. My Hero Academia may be over, but these ten shows, which can be found on Crunchyroll and Netflix, may be your next obsession.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes (2025-Present)
If you’re that torn up about My Hero Academia finishing, did you know that it has a spin-off that actually was referenced in the final season? If that’s the case, then My Hero Academia: Vigilantes would be the best place to start!
Focusing more on ground-level heroics and with fewer cataclysmic conflicts, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes feels like the franchise’s version of Marvel movies like Spider-Man (2002). Street-level crimes are the name of the game here, offering insight into a part of the series that we knew was there but was never explored in great detail. It also leans a lot more into the comic book aesthetics, with plenty of animated sound effects dotting the screen that help the show embrace its comic book roots. If you want to keep exploring the world of My Hero Academia, Vigilantes will do that, and with a second season confirmed for Winter 2026, fans won’t have to wait too long for more content.
Jujutsu Kaisen (2020-Present)
While My Hero Academia was the poster child for Shonen Jump during most of its run, it soon began to share the spotlight with a similar, yet much darker series cut from the same cloth, Jujutsu Kaisen.
Also set in a school featuring super-powered teenagers, the students at Jujutsu High use dark magic called Curse Energy to defeat monsters that threaten the people of Japan. While there are plenty of unusual powers to be had in Jujutsu Kaisen as well as excellently animated fight scenes, it is also a much more violent series than My Hero Academia, with plenty of death, destruction, and heartbreak. As a modern version of anime like Yu Yu Hakusho (1992-1995), there are still moments of levity, but the tone is decidedly for those who are looking for a more serious My Hero Academia. Plus, with JJK also getting a new season in Winter 2026 as it barrels towards its climax, there’s still plenty of time to start watching and catch up before it airs.
Mashle: Of Muscles And Magic (2023-Present)
At its core, My Hero Academia is a lighthearted Shonen series that does a great job balancing comedy and action together. If that’s what you loved most about the series, then consider giving Mashle: Of Muscles And Magic a shot.
Yes, Mashle's inventive, colorful magic system delivers excellent fight scenes, but the true joy of the series is watching its lead, Mashle, fighting. While everyone fights with magic, Mashle punches things hard. Really, really, hard. So hard, in fact, that everyone thinks he’s magically powerful. It creates some excellent comedic moments, but it also makes the fight scenes a ton of fun to watch, with each punch he throws showcasing the raw strength he possesses. He’s like a high school version of Saitama from One Punch Man (2015-Present), both in terms of his sheer power and his stoic responses to most situations. It may not be as inventive as My Hero Academia, but it carries the series' spirit through its tone.
Welcome To Demon School! Iruma-Kun (2019-Present)
If you’re the kind of person who wants to see more of the high school antics of Class 1-A and less superhero action, then Welcome To Demon School! Iruma-Kun may be for you.
My Hero Academia contains a wide and likeable cast of characters (except Mineta), each with their own unique quirks and eccentricities, and the same can be said for Welcome To Demon School! Iruma-Kun. Because Iruma-Kun centers around monsters and demons, each of the characters has a unique visual design and set of powers… except for its lead, Iruma. Iruma-Kun, much like Deku, doesn’t have any powers, and if that gets discovered, he’s a dead man. The lengths that Iruma goes to hide his secret are a lot like The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. (2016-2019), and with such a wide cast of characters, there’s plenty of opportunities for some lighthearted hijinks. With three seasons under its belt already, and a fourth set for Spring of 2026, if you want another long-running and lighthearted comedy, Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-Kun could fill the void.
Naruto (2002-2007)
While it’s clear that American superheroes inspired most of My Hero Academia’s aesthetics and powers, its plot and structure scream classic Shonen. In fact, if you were going to watch another anime like My Hero Academia, why not go for the one that inspired the series the most: Naruto?
Masashi Kishimoto’s ninja epic was a prolific Shonen anime for its time. While Naruto would become a more action-oriented anime as it shifted into its sequel series, Naruto Shippuden (2007), the original series carries some of that early MHA charm. Naruto has his friend/rival Sasuke, much like Deku has Bakugo, and a whole support cast of characters with their own unique powers, a league of villains with their own nefarious purposes, and a message of hope and optimism that its lead constantly spouts at every turn. Naruto, alongside its descendants Black Clover (2017-Present) and My Hero Academia, all deliver accessible and universally appealing action that anyone, from kids to adults, can enjoy.
Tojima Wants To Be A Kamen Rider (2025)
If there’s one thing that’s clear about My Hero Academia, it’s that it wears its heart on its sleeve. Deku loves superheroes and is willing to do anything to be like his mentor, All Might, and if you want another show that openly loves superheroes, then Tojima Wants To Be A Kamen Rider is unconventional, but perfect for you.
There’s a genuine and earnest nature to each of Tojima Wants To Be A Kamen Rider’s characters as they train effortlessly to become just like the superheroes that inspired them as kids. Is it a bit goofy at points? Yes, but it hardly matters when the conviction they have to do good is as strong as it is. In that sense, it carries both the spirit of My Hero Academia, Vigilantes, and even Samurai Flamenco (2013-2014), although it’s not quite as lighthearted as those shows. If you ever wanted to be a superhero when you were a child but eventually grew up, Tojima Wants To Be A Kamen Rider will reignite that childlike wonder in your heart.
Shy (2023)
Shonen shows like My Hero Academia are primarily made for teenage boys. That isn’t to say that girls can’t like them, but much like superhero comics, they tend to skew to male audience members. Shy is what you get when you try to make a female version of My Hero Academia.
While you may expect Shy to be a bombastic superhero show like My Hero Academia, or one filled to the brim with fan service, it’s actually not. Instead, it’s more of a superhero drama that explores the anxieties and trauma of its cast, with the occasional bad guy thrown in to spice things up. While it isn’t quite as weird as Doom Patrol (2019-2023), it retains the soul of that series and doesn’t shy away from some discussions that are given the maturity and care they deserve, making it a great choice for those who are looking for a superhero anime with a bit more depth. Add in the predominantly female cast, and you have a superhero anime that tries something different within the genre and more or less succeeds.
Bungo Stray Dogs (2016-2023)
One of My Hero Academia’s key strengths is how approachable and accessible it is. Bungo Stray Dogs is the thinking man’s MHA, and ideal if you ever wished that My Hero Academia explored more heavy topics.
While My Hero Academia contains a whole host of colorful superheroes with equally colorful powers, Bungo Stray Dogs is more understated. Thanks to the show’s characters all being literary authors, their abilities all correspond to their own works. It creates some interesting powers that can seem borderline broken, like a billionaire who has the ability to become stronger the more money they spend. Because of that, it’s a very high concept action series not dissimilar to anime like Blood Blockade Battlefront (2015-2017), and the ongoing war between the different factions of Bungo Stray Dogs’ world has been building for five seasons. If you’ve matured and think the superheroics of My Hero Academia are too juvenile, then Bungo Stray Dogs may just be for you.
Little Witch Academia (2017)
Sometimes the setting is what makes a show special. The world of My Hero Academia is positively bursting with potential, and each new facet learned about it and its central setting, U.A. High School, makes it all the better. If you miss the halls of U.A. High School, consider enrolling in Little Witch Academia’s Luna Nova Magical Academy.
Much like U.A. High School, a lot of thought and care went into the construction of Little Witch Academia’s setting. The amount of effort and worldbuilding that went into crafting just the curriculum at Luna Nova may seem unnecessary, but it helps to establish just how much attention to detail the staff at Trigger put into effectively establishing the show’s setting. People may say that it’s just Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001), but anime, but that’s doing Little Witch Academia a great disservice. The world is densely packed with lore and wonder, and the energy of its cast of young witches and wonderful animation helps make its world feel more alive than Hogwarts ever was. If it’s worldbuilding you want, Little Witch Academia is for you.
SSSS.Gridman (2018)
For as great as the heroes of My Hero Academia are, sometimes you’re more interested in the villains. Overhaul, Stain, and Shigaraki are all excellent antagonists, and if you want a superhero show that also knows how to deliver a great villain, then you need to watch SSSS.Gridman.
While SSSS.Gridman initially appears as a send-up of Gridman the Hyper Agent (1993-1994), once it reveals that its central antagonist isn’t a gigantic monster, but a teenage girl named Akane Shinjo, you’ll become curious about how bad she can be. Over 12 episodes, we see how multifaceted a villain Akane is, and you’ll be both rooting for her defeat, yet sympathetic to her motives. She’s a god-like being, not unlike Makima from Chainsaw Man (2022) or All-For-One, and you’ll genuinely wonder how our heroes can defeat such a powerful enemy. Every hero needs a bad guy, and SSSS.Gridman presents one of the best anime villains in recent memory.
