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Start with Jujutsu Kaisen if you want the closest modern follow-up to Demon Slayer’s dark supernatural action, tactical battles and dangerous supernatural threats. Choose Blue Exorcist for the most direct demon-hunting premise, Bleach for a much larger sword-and-spirit saga, Black Clover for magic-and-sword team battles, and Bone Collection if you are willing to switch from anime to a compact manga discovery.

Quick answer: which series should you watch first?

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba combines tragic family stakes, humans fighting demons and highly visible sword combat. The best successor depends on which of those ingredients matters most to you.

Series Enemy or threat Combat emphasis What carries over from Demon Slayer Commitment
Jujutsu Kaisen Curses created by negative emotions Tactical cursed techniques, weapons and exorcism Dark horror, organized fighters, strategic battles and a protagonist carrying a dangerous supernatural threat Focused modern series
Blue Exorcist Demons from Gehenna entering the human realm Exorcist weapons, training and supernatural abilities Demons are the explicit central enemy, with family mythology and tragic stakes Continuing multi-saga anime
Bleach Hollows, other spirits and the Quincy-led Wandenreich Swords, Zanpakuto, squads and escalating spiritual powers Blade-focused battles, formal organizations and a long supernatural war Long-running epic
Black Clover Demons within a magic-fantasy system Magic-and-sword battles, team tactics and large-scale powers Pure-hearted heroes, demons, action and strong character teams Long-form adventure
Bone Collection Yokai and other monsters Compact exorcist fights Monster hunting, scary opponents and energetic battles Short manga route rather than an established anime replacement

Why these shows fit a Demon Slayer fan

The official Demon Slayer premise places the story in Japan’s Taisho period: “It is the Taisho Period in Japan. Tanjiro, a kindhearted boy who sells charcoal for a living, finds his family slaughtered by a demon.” Tanjiro’s sister Nezuko becomes a demon, and he joins the demon slayers in the hope of turning her human again. Koyoharu Gotouge created the original story, while ufotable produced the animation.

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That setup creates four expectations for a follow-up: an emotionally serious human-versus-monster conflict, fighters with a recognizable organization or mission, battles where technique matters, and a hero whose personal relationships make the danger immediate. None of the recommendations reproduces all four elements exactly. The useful distinction is whether you want the same mood, the same enemy, the same sword emphasis or simply another large supernatural action story.

The best anime and manga to try next

1. Jujutsu Kaisen — the closest overall match

Jujutsu Kaisen is the safest first choice after Demon Slayer. Its official introduction describes curses born from human negative emotions and the jujutsu sorcerers who fight them. That gives the series the same basic dramatic engine: ordinary human suffering produces supernatural monsters, and trained specialists risk their lives to contain the threat.

The strongest overlap is in combat design. VIZ characterizes the series as featuring horrific cursed beings and intricate good-versus-evil battle strategies. Fights are not only displays of strength; characters read an opponent’s ability, manage limitations and use the environment. Weapons remain important, but cursed techniques mean the action is less strictly sword-centered than Demon Slayer.

What feels familiar

  • A modern supernatural-horror atmosphere rather than a light adventure tone.
  • An organized group of exorcists facing threats created by human darkness.
  • A protagonist who carries a dangerous supernatural problem inside the main conflict.
  • Tragic histories and battles in which clever decisions matter as much as force.

What is different

The enemies are curses, not Taisho-era demons, and the setting is contemporary. Combat therefore revolves around cursed techniques and strategic conditions alongside physical weapons. If the exact visual language of traditional sword forms is your priority, another pick below may suit you better. If you want horror intensity and tactical fights, this is the strongest match.

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The official Jujutsu Kaisen website states a worldwide circulation of 1.5 billion copies, including digital editions, in a 2026 site figure. That is a franchise circulation claim, not an anime episode count or a guarantee of availability in a particular country.

2. Blue Exorcist — the most literal demon-hunting parallel

Choose Blue Exorcist when the word “demons” matters more than the period setting. Its official introduction divides reality into Assiah, the human realm, and Gehenna, the demon realm. Demons intrude into the material world, and Exorcists are trained to fight them. The premise is therefore explicit demonology rather than a neighboring category such as curses or spirits.

The series also preserves the family-and-identity pressure that makes Demon Slayer emotionally direct. Its mythology is built around the relationship between humans and demons, while its exorcist training supplies an institutional path for learning techniques and weapons. The setting is modern and school-centered, so missions feel less like Taisho-era corps assignments and more like education inside a supernatural organization.

Reasons to put it first

  • You want demons to be the named, central enemy rather than an equivalent monster class.
  • You enjoy school training, demonology and a continuing mythology.
  • You prefer family or sibling questions to remain part of the larger supernatural plot.
  • You want a series with multiple anime sagas rather than a single compact storyline.

Scale and caveat

The official website identifies the manga’s 2009 origin and continuing anime sagas. It also reports more than 25 million copies in print in a 2026 figure. That number is the site’s stated print circulation and should not be read as a current sales total for every edition or territory.

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Blue Exorcist is the closest conceptual answer to “another anime about demon hunters,” but it does not duplicate Demon Slayer’s Taisho setting or its narrowly sword-led visual identity.

3. Bleach — the best sword-and-spirit escalation

Bleach is the choice for viewers who want swords, uniforms, ranks and a much larger supernatural power structure. Its official story centers on Ichigo, a Substitute Soul Reaper, taking up his Zanpakuto again while confronting the Quincy-led Wandenreich. The central enemies are not called demons: Hollows and other spiritual threats occupy that role, while the Quincy conflict expands the story into a broad faction war.

The appeal is organizational scale. Captains, squads and spiritual institutions make every battle feel connected to a larger system. Zanpakuto keep swordplay at the center, but the series steadily adds new abilities and escalating conflicts. That makes it a natural next step if the Demon Slayer Corps, ranked fighters and named techniques were your favorite parts of Demon Slayer.

Choose Bleach if you want

  • A long-running saga rather than a short, tightly focused supernatural story.
  • Sword battles as the primary visual language.
  • Captains, squads and faction politics around the fights.
  • A deeper spirit cosmology in which Hollows, Soul Reapers and Quincy are distinct forces.

Know before starting

The commitment is substantially larger than a focused modern series. Bleach rewards viewers who enjoy gradual power-system expansion and long-form faction conflicts. It is less similar to Demon Slayer’s intimate sibling drama, and its enemies are spiritual beings rather than Taisho-era demons, but it offers the broadest sword-and-spirit battle framework on this list.

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4. Black Clover — choose this for magic, demons and team progression

VIZ recommends Black Clover as a follow-up for readers who want demons, action, lovable characters, magic battles and a pure-hearted protagonist. The series shifts the emphasis from historical demon slaying to a magic-fantasy adventure. Swords still matter, but they operate inside a wider system of spells, squads and team abilities.

That difference changes the rhythm of the action. Instead of one specialist organization conducting narrowly defined demon missions, the story grows through group progression and increasingly large magical battles. The emotional appeal comes from determined heroes and their bonds, while the supernatural threat can include demons inside the world’s magic structure.

Best reasons to pick it

  • You want a hopeful, team-driven counterweight to Demon Slayer’s tragedy.
  • You enjoy battles where several characters combine distinct powers.
  • You want demons without giving up a broad adventure setting.
  • You are comfortable with magic being as important as sword technique.

Where it diverges

Black Clover is not a period demon-hunting drama. Its combat is magic-and-sword spectacle, and its world-building is built around fantasy institutions rather than a single corps of blade users. Start here when character teams and escalating magical battles matter more than horror realism or historical atmosphere.

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  • Tanjiro Kamado, joined with Inosuke Hashibira, a boy raised by boars who wears a boar's head, and Zenitsu Agatsuma, a scared boy who reveals his true power when he sleeps, board the Infinity Train on a new mission with the Fire Pillar, Kyojuro Rengoku, to defeat a demon who has been tormenting the people and killing the demon slayers who oppose it!

5. Bone Collection — a short, monster-focused manga discovery

Bone Collection is best treated as a print recommendation, not a direct anime replacement. VIZ describes a struggling exorcist, a yokai, scary monsters, cool fights and fun characters. That combination makes it useful for readers who want a compact monster-fighting premise without committing to a long-running anime.

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The exorcist-versus-yokai setup preserves the hunt-and-battle appeal, while the shorter format makes it an easy experiment after a major series. It is newer and less established than the other recommendations, so expectations should be different: you are exploring a concise manga route rather than starting another proven multi-season franchise.

Who should try it

  • Readers who are open to manga instead of another television series.
  • Fans who want monsters and exorcist action in a compact format.
  • Viewers looking for a lighter, discovery-oriented follow-up after an emotionally heavy show.

Choose by the part of Demon Slayer you miss most

If your priority is… Start with… Why
Dark horror and tactical fights Jujutsu Kaisen Curses, exorcists and strategic battles provide the closest modern tonal match.
Demons as the explicit enemy Blue Exorcist Its world is explicitly divided between a human realm and a demon realm.
Swordplay, ranks and squads Bleach Zanpakuto, captains and Soul Reaper organizations make blades central.
Magic plus sword action Black Clover Demons and swords exist inside a team-based magic system.
A short monster-hunting read Bone Collection Its exorcist-and-yokai premise is compact and manga-first.
Sibling tragedy in a historical setting None is an exact replacement Every recommendation changes either the era, enemy type, combat system or story scale.

A practical watch order

If you want a simple sequence rather than choosing by genre, use this order:

  1. Watch Jujutsu Kaisen first for the nearest combination of horror, organized exorcists and tactical supernatural fights.
  2. Move to Blue Exorcist if you want demons named directly and a longer mythology built around human and demon realms.
  3. Start Bleach when you are ready for a much larger sword-and-spirit commitment with captains, squads and faction conflicts.
  4. Try Black Clover if you want the mood to become more team-oriented and magical while keeping demons and blades in the mix.
  5. Read Bone Collection as a compact manga detour when you want monster action without beginning another long anime saga.

How the enemy types change from show to show

“Demon” is not interchangeable across these series. In Blue Exorcist, demons come from Gehenna and intrude into Assiah. In Jujutsu Kaisen, curses are generated by negative emotions, so the supernatural threat is tied directly to human fear and suffering. In Bleach, Hollows, Soul Reapers and Quincy create a spirit-based cosmology. In Black Clover, demons exist inside a magic-fantasy system. Bone Collection uses yokai and other monsters as the target of exorcist work.

This distinction explains why no recommendation reproduces Demon Slayer exactly. If you need literal demon hunting, select Blue Exorcist. If you need the same kind of dark supernatural pressure, select Jujutsu Kaisen. If you need sword-forward escalation, select Bleach.

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What to expect from the numbers and franchise scale

The official figures describe different things and are not directly comparable. The Jujutsu Kaisen figure is 1.5 billion copies in worldwide series circulation, including digital editions, stated on its official website in 2026. The Blue Exorcist website reports more than 25 million copies in print in 2026. The official Demon Slayer USA page states more than 3 million copies sold, but does not identify a publication year for that figure; treat it as a site-stated historical figure rather than a current total.

These numbers indicate reach, not quality, episode count, completion status or local availability. Check the publisher or licensed streaming service in your country for the current anime and manga releases.

How to watch or buy without choosing the wrong format

Decide first whether you want another animated series or simply another story with the same monster-hunting ingredients. Jujutsu Kaisen, Blue Exorcist, Bleach and Black Clover are anime choices; Bone Collection is a manga-first detour. Starting Bone Collection expecting a streaming replacement is the easiest way to misread that recommendation.

The official Blue Exorcist website links to Crunchyroll, making it a natural place to check for episodes, but catalogs vary by territory and can change. The same regional caution applies to every title here. If you prefer print, VIZ is the relevant publisher route for the manga recommendations. Amazon searches such as “Jujutsu Kaisen manga Volume 1” or a Demon Slayer volume or box set can help you find editions, but verify the seller, language, format, price and current program eligibility on the individual listing. No fixed price applies across countries, editions or digital and print formats.

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Before committing to a long show, sample the first episodes or a first volume and check your tolerance for horror, tragedy and escalating fantasy. Jujutsu Kaisen is the most intense tactical-horror fit; Black Clover is the most openly team-adventure oriented; Bleach asks for the largest time investment. That small check prevents the common mistake of choosing by the word “demon” alone.

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Common pitfalls for Demon Slayer viewers

  • Expecting every monster to be a demon: curses, Hollows and yokai follow different rules and carry different symbolism.
  • Expecting all sword fights to look like Water Breathing forms: only Bleach keeps blades consistently central, while Jujutsu Kaisen and Black Clover mix weapons with powers.
  • Underestimating length: Bleach is a long-form commitment, while Blue Exorcist continues across multiple sagas.
  • Confusing print and animation: Bone Collection is a manga discovery, not an established anime substitute.
  • Comparing circulation figures as if they were ratings: the published totals use different definitions, dates and formats.

Bottom line: the single best next pick

Start with Jujutsu Kaisen unless your definition of “like Demon Slayer” is specifically literal demon hunting or traditional swordplay. It preserves the dark supernatural mood, organized exorcists, dangerous personal stakes and strategic fights. Pick Blue Exorcist for demons as the central enemy, Bleach for the biggest sword-and-spirit saga, Black Clover for magic-and-sword teamwork, and Bone Collection for a compact manga experiment.

Frequently Asked Questions

What anime should I watch after Demon Slayer?

Start with Jujutsu Kaisen. It has dark supernatural horror, organized exorcists, strategic battles and a protagonist tied to a dangerous supernatural threat. Choose Blue Exorcist instead if literal demon hunting is your top priority.

What anime has sword fights and demons like Demon Slayer?

Bleach is the strongest sword-focused option, with Zanpakuto, captains and squads. Blue Exorcist is the more literal demon story, while Black Clover combines swords and demons with a broad magic system.

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Is Jujutsu Kaisen basically another Demon Slayer?

No. Its enemies are curses created by negative emotions, not Taisho-era demons, and its combat relies heavily on cursed techniques. The overlap is the dark horror tone, exorcist organization, tragic stakes and tactical fight design.

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Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Standard Edition - Part Two
  • Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Standard Edition Part Two
  • Product type: PHYSICAL MOVIE
  • Brand: Crunchyroll

Should I watch Blue Exorcist or Bleach first?

Pick Blue Exorcist for explicit demons, family mythology and school-based exorcist training. Pick Bleach for more swordplay, ranked squads, spiritual factions and a much larger long-form commitment.

Which recommendation is closest to Demon Slayer’s tragic family drama?

None is an exact replacement. Blue Exorcist keeps family and identity questions close to its demon mythology, while Jujutsu Kaisen offers comparable emotional darkness without the same sibling-centered historical story.

Is Bone Collection an anime?

Treat it as a manga recommendation. VIZ describes its exorcist, yokai, monster and fight premise, but it is not an established anime replacement in this list.

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Where can I watch Blue Exorcist?

The official Blue Exorcist website links to Crunchyroll. Check the current Crunchyroll catalog in your country because licensing and availability vary by territory.

How should I buy the manga versions?

Search for a specific volume, such as “Jujutsu Kaisen manga Volume 1,” or for Demon Slayer volumes and box sets. Confirm language, print versus digital format, seller, price and availability on the listing before ordering.

The Bottom Line

Best overall: Jujutsu Kaisen. Choose Blue Exorcist for literal demons, Bleach for sword-heavy scale, Black Clover for magic teams, and Bone Collection for a short manga experiment.

Quick Recap

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Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Standard Edition - Part Two
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Standard Edition - Part Two
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Standard Edition Part Two; Product type: PHYSICAL MOVIE; Brand: Crunchyroll
$35.10

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