Death Note is a classic that features remarkable psychological warfare between some of the smartest characters ever seen in manga. The series is centred around its protagonist, Light Yagami, and his titular Death Note, which gives him the power to murder anyone he wishes, provided their names are written in the notebook. It has garnered a large number of fans over the years due to its engaging plot and is widely regarded as one of manga’s most prominent titles.

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Due to its outstanding quality, you’ll be hard-pressed to discover a different manga of the same calibre and the same type. Fortunately, however, there are titles with similar themes, genres, and plots that can satisfy your itch for a new, valuable experience.

10 Platinum End

Anime-Planet Rating: 3.5 / 5

• Creator(s): Obata Takeshi, Ohba Tsugumi
• No of Chapters: 58
• Genre: Drama, Supernatural

Platinum End is a manga that shares the same author with Death Note. It also features a psychological theme, with a supernatural being granting the main character an ability. In this case, protagonist Mirai Kakehashi has lived most of his life being abused by his relatives, but right before he can end his life, he encounters Nasse, a self-proclaimed guardian angel.

Nasse then offers him powerful abilities and a chance to become the next god by participating in a battle royale with other gifted individuals. This gives Mirai's life new meaning, and he is determined to take the chance that has been given to him.

9 One Outs

Anime-Planet Rating: 4.3 / 5

• Creator(s): Kaitani Shinobu
• No of Chapters: 175
• Genre: Sports

Just as Death Note introduced you to the sharp-witted Light Yagami, One Outs gifts its audience with Toua Tokuchi, a skilled and calculating gambler. He is an intelligent pitcher extremely skilled at One Outs, a form of baseball with a single batter and a pitcher. After witnessing his abilities firsthand, batter Hiromichi Kojima recruits him into his struggling team, Saikyou Saitama Lions, hoping to lead them to the Championship.

While Death Note immerses you in the battle between Kira and L, One Outs offers intrigue and excitement through baseball. Every game involving Tokuchi is rife with psychological warfare, and with the stakes so high, the suspense is ever brewing.

8 Liar Game

Anime-Planet Rating: 4.2 / 5

• Creator(s): Kaitani Shinobu
• No of Chapters: 201
• Genre: Drama

A story about trust and deception, Liar Game highlights the contrast between two individuals with different moralities but similar goals. This dynamic is also featured in Death Note, where Light wishes to bring peace to the world, and so does L, though Light loses himself somewhere along the way. In Liar Game, the story is centred on Nao Kanzaki and Shinichi Akiyama, the former who is honest to a fault and the latter who is a skilled con artist.

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After being dragged into a dangerous, deceptive game with heavy consequences, Nao enlists the help of Shinichi, as she cannot succeed without a cunning mind. Though initially reluctant, as he had just been released from jail after getting caught, Shinichi agrees to help her, and the two form an unlikely alliance.

7 Akumetsu

Anime-Planet Rating: 4.2 / 5

• Creator(s): Tabata Yoshiaki, Yugo Yuuki
• No of Chapters: 162
• Genre: Action, Drama, Suspense

Similar to the blurred lines of justice in Death Note, Akumetsu features a protagonist who assumes the role of a vigilante and takes matters into his own hands. Though the unconventional hero Hazama Shou doesn’t have a powerful death note, he possesses amazing tenacity and a useful cloning ability that allows him to be in two places at once. Through this, he can also perform risky missions without severe danger to his own life.

Furthermore, he dons a mask to hide his identity and, in reality, is just a high school student. Shou, however, has a complicated past that shaped him into the man he is today, both mentally and physically. He aims to rid Japan of corruption, and he is ready to go to extreme lengths to achieve it.

6 Future Diary

Anime-Planet Rating: 4.0 / 5

• Creator(s): Esuno Sakae
• No of Chapters: 59
• Genre: Action, Supernatural, Suspense

Future Diary centers around a battle royale game where a single wrong move can result in death. All contestants of the game are aided by a future diary, devices that give them the capability, though limited, to predict the future. The purpose of the battle royale is to choose the next god, and they are to eliminate one another until there is only one left.

The main character, Yukiteru Amano, partners with the psychopathic yandere Yuno Gasai, and together they take on other diary holders. Though Yukiteru is primarily a coward often overwhelmed by the situation, the side characters make for an exciting and suspenseful battle. This also facilitates his character development, making it worth watching him grow.

5 Love is War

Anime-Planet Rating: 4.4 / 5

• Creator(s): Akasaka Aka
• No of Chapters: 281
• Genre: Comedy, Romance

Though Love is War features an interesting psychological battle, it generally has more lighthearted themes than most other manga on this list. It is a romantic comedy about a student council president and vice president, both madly in love with one another but neither willing to admit it.

The reasoning for this is that both parties believe that the one who admits love first admits defeat. As a result, they constantly engage in mind games to bring the other to confess first, and this makes for very interesting scenarios.

4 Erased

Anime-Planet Rating: 4.3 / 5

• Creator(s): Sanbe Kei
• No of Chapters: 49
• Genre: Mystery Supernatural

Erased is a manga that offers a mix of suspense, mystery, and time travel. The main character Satoru Fujinuma, has the power to go back in time to save a life in danger, and he calls it revival. It continues to repeat the cycle until the people in question have been saved, but this time, he is sent back eighteen years to when he was still in elementary school.

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This trip coincides with a significant event in his past where his classmate, Kayo Hinazuki, was killed. As a result, he is tasked with solving the mystery of her death, as well as the death of his mother, which triggered the time leap

3 Moriarty the Patriot

Anime-Planet Rating: 4.4 / 5

• Creator(s): Takeuchi Ryousuke, Miyoshi Hikaru
• No of Chapters: 76+ (Ongoing)
• Genre: Mystery, Suspense

Moriarty the Patriot is a unique retelling of Sherlock Holmes' iconic nemesis, William James Moriarty. Set in 19th-century Britain, Moriarty is a great intellectual who aims to reform the class system in the region and usher in a new era where there is equality among all. His drive and intensity are similar to that of Light Yagami, as well as his criminal approach.

He heads a group aimed at orchestrating crimes to expose the politically corrupt, eliminating the unjust, and staging a revolution. Furthermore, he is also constantly at odds with a detective who poses a great intellectual challenge to him, just like Kira and L.

2 Doubt

Anime-Planet Rating: 3.7 / 5

• Creator(s): Tonogai Yoshiki
• No of Chapters: 21
• Genre: Mystery, Suspense

Doubt is a manga that mirrors the dynamic Kira and L had in terms of suspicion and distrust. It is centred around a game known as Rabbit Doubt, where players are put into groups and labelled as rabbits and wolves. There is generally one wolf within the group, and the rest of its participants are tasked with identifying them before they are all eliminated.

The game is never conducted seriously, and no one truly dies, though that all changes when the main group of friends is kidnapped and thrown into a psychiatric hospital. There, they are forced to play the game of Rabbit Doubt literally and kill the wolf before he betrays and eradicates them.

1 Monster

Anime-Planet Rating: 4.6 / 5

• Creator(s): Urasawa Naoki
• No of Chapters: 162
• Genre: Drama, Mystery

Just like Death Note, Monster delves into the complexities of human nature and explores the fine line between good and evil. Kenzo Tenma is the series' protagonist and a skilled neurosurgeon with his heart in the right place. On a fateful night, he decides to save a random boy named Johan Liebert; unfortunately, however, he grows up to be a dangerous serial killer.

After discovering this fact, Tenma becomes unable to live with himself and sets out to pursue Johan and destroy what he created. It is a fascinating journey that tests the mental fortitude as well as the morality of many different characters. Each life is worth exploring, and every encounter proves to be meaningful.

Death Note (2006)

Thriller

Supernatural

Release Date

October 4, 2006

Seasons

1

Studio

Madhouse

Based On

Manga

Creator

Tsugumi Ohba

Number of Episodes

37

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll , Hulu , Netflix , YouTube

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Best Anime To Watch If You Enjoyed Death Note

Death Note is one of the most popular anime ever, with few equals. These series, however, have similar themes fans will enjoy.