The 13 Best Anime Like RWBY

If you like RWBY, you probably like anime-inspired shows from Western animators that focus on a group of kids with incredible powers and wildly different personalities who have to work together to save the world from evil forces. If so, you'll probably like Avatar. Aang has been frozen in a block of ice for 100 years and is thawed out just in time to realize his destiny as the Avatar, the only person who can master all four forms of elemental bending. He and his friends must use these abilities to defeat the Fire Nation, which is waging war on the rest of the world.

If your favorite part of RWBY was the training that the protagonists received at Beacon Academy, you might also enjoy Soul Eater. Just as the characters from RWBY are learning to be Hunters and Huntresses who are powerful enough to take on Grimms, the characters from Soul Eater attend Death Weapon Meister Academy in the hopes of either wielding or becoming Death Scythes and take on dangerous threats to the world around them.

When RWBY first began, its use of CGI left something to be desired, but as the series progressed it became something truly beautiful. If you're wondering where you can find other examples of gorgeous 3D animation that enhances its stories' themes, look no further than Land of the Lustrous, an anime from the Fall 2017 season. This evocative series follows Phos, a sentient jewel person whose job is to create an encyclopedia about the strange world around them, all while dealing with a war against a mysterious celestial enemy.

In the year 2017, monsters called Aragami have taken over much of human society. In order to keep them at bay, an organization called Fenrir begins creating special weapons called God Arcs out of Aragami cells. Those who wield them are called God Eaters. Their fight bears a lot of similarities to the battle between Team RWBY and the Grimms, as does the importance of special weapons that can be wielded only by certain people. In both shows, there are moments where the characters fail at their missions or look like they might meet a gruesome end, but ultimately they manage to pull through - though not without first incurring some heavy losses.

Teenage girls learning how to master difficult and complicated magical abilities is an important theme in RWBY. The same can be said for Little Witch Academia, an anime about a young girl named Akko who wants to become a great witch despite not possessing any innate abilities, and attends a magical academy to help her achieve that goal. Both casts face seemingly unbeatable foes, but ultimately manage to apply what they've learned from their training and save the day

Sometimes you want to watch something with an anime-inspired art style but are in the mood for a more Westernized approach. If you're into RWBY, that might be a mood that strikes often. If so, Voltron: Legendary Defender might be a good next choice. In a universe where an energy called quintessence fuels vehicles and magical abilities, the Paladins of Voltron must work together to pilot the large, interconnected mecha in order to defend the universe from the evil Galra Empire.

One of the coolest things about RWBY is its quartet of strong female protagonists who wield powerful weapons against monstrous enemies. While Claymore focuses on a single hard-as-nails woman, the experience of watching Clare tear youma apart is a lot like watching Team RWBY go up against Grimms. Besides a focus on powerful women, both shows go hard when it comes to showcasing spectacular weaponry.

Two girls, Mato and Yomi, exist in a parallel universe as Black★Rock Shooter and Dead Master. In one world, the two girls bond over a mutual interest in a series of children's books, while in the other world they fight with impressively rendered transforming weapons. Actions in one world impact them in the other. While the stories are different, both series feature weapons that go through extreme transformations, both feature schools as a primary setting, and both involve fast-paced, 3D-animated action scenes.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is one of the most popular anime of the 2010s, so if you're an anime fan, you've probably seen it or at least heard of it before. But if you're a RWBY fan who missed out on Madoka, you should definitely add it to your watch-list. Like RWBY, it focuses on a group of girls who risk their lives to defeat beings that threaten the fate of their world. Also, while both of these shows have their moments of adorable humor, they can get seriously dark.

Just like in RWBY, Hyperdimension Neptunia: The Animation features a group of talented female warriors who are dedicated to protecting the world around them. In Neptunia's case, it's a coalition of goddesses who are attempting to prevent war from breaking out, and do so through a combination of diplomacy and combat. What's more, the battle scenes in both shows share some visual similarities.

Take this recommendation with a grain of salt, though. While it's an amazing movie for fans of the Final Fantasy franchise, the story can be a little hard to decipher if it's your first foray. Nevertheless, if you just want to watch some awesome fight scenes and stare at Sephiroth's beautiful face, you may still enjoy it even if you're new to Final Fantasy. You may also enjoy it if you're a fan of RWBY. Both of them have CGI battle sequences that make use of unique weaponry, so if you what you liked best about RWBY was the fight scenes, check out Advent Children.

If you're looking for a show that amplifies the dark tone that sometimes appears in RWBY and applies it to the whole series, you may want to watch Ajin: Demi-human. This anime focuses on the social persecution of super-powered immortal beings, and the consequences of that persecution. The story is quite different from RWBY, but it does have a similar sense of mounting danger. What's more, this anime also makes use of CGI animation techniques - and just like in RWBY, there are parts of Ajin where the animation is utterly breathtaking - and even when it's not, fans of RWBY are forgiving as long as they get those great moments.

Mai-HiME centers around a group of teenage girls who are attending Fuuka Academy. They discover that they possess latent magical powers - called the HiME - which will allow them to do battle against dangerous and mysterious beings called Orphans. The Orphans aren't their only problem, though - they're also being targeted by the Searrs Corporation. From the incredible weaponry that both casts use to the focus on the drama of high school life, this anime has a lot in common with RWBY.