When one says ‘Harry Potter’, what comes into your mind? Hogwarts, wizards, spells, Voldemort, and what not but at the end of the day it definitely is among the best works when it comes to fantasy literature. It is perhaps hard for any other work to live up to the caliber of the magical world fabricated by J.K. Rowling. But there are several picks out there that will provide you with a sense of escape. Each one will bring precisely the right amount of magic and fantasy elements.
For a long time now, magic has been a familiar trope in the anime industry. Whether it be in the form of quirks in My Hero Academia or chakras in Naruto takes numerous embodiment in a great deal of established and admired anime. The following list contains several works from the anime industry for Potterheads.
7. From the New World (MAL Rating -8.34)
It is a drama anime set in a post-apocalyptic future, which tells a coming-of-age story. The story starts off over 1000 years into our future where humans have developed psycho-kinetic power. The children are trained to use and control their power from a very young age so that they don’t just disintegrate other humans in an instant. But the world seems terrifyingly off, the children are disappearing and no one seems to care.
The story unfolds through the eyes of children as they uncover the truth and that gray facet of society that adult has never shown to them. The writing in the show is among the best anime community had offered, there are many threads clearly foretold by the narrator. You can watch From the New World on Crunchyroll.
6. Blue Exorcist (MAL rating – 7.56)
Blue Exorcist follows the classic shonen battle series style. The main character Rin is a hot-headed typical shonen protagonist and of course the son of Satan, his demonic powers are locked away in a sword. This sword holds the key to Satan’s blue flames. He and his brother Yukio lives with their foster father but due to series of events Rin and Yukio are forced away from their home and embark on a quest to become master exorcists.
The anime starts out very strongly and gets you immediately on board with the idea this world has to offer. There is a certain charm with the comedy and story structure that just really isn’t seen in modern anime. You can watch Blue Exorcist on Netflix.
5. Howl’s Moving Castle (MAL rating – 8.66)
This Studio Ghibli film is about a young woman named Sophie who lives an ordinary life working in a hat shop. Due to series of events she turns into a 90-year-old woman. In her attempt to get back to her actual self, she runs into a gigantic moving castle controlled by a mysterious man named Howl.
Their journey together unfolds many mysteries of the magical world and the nature of its characters. The theme of ‘anti-war’ is prevalent in the film. The film refreshingly portrays how age can be a positive thing as one grows older. You can watch the film on Netflix.
4. Fate/Zero (MAL Rating – 8.33)
The anime is a dark blend of magic and supernatural elements in a modern-day setting. It is an anime epic about seven teams of mages in a grail battle to the death. There are pacts between members, betrayals, honor, death, deception all things in the anime which the hallmark of a great story.
It’s not just about the fight for the grail either though that indeed is a major factor. It is more so on the reasons why each and every participant wishes to claim the grail as their own. The fantastic fights between participants are absolutely gorgeous in appearance. You can watch Fate/Zero on Netflix.
3. The Ancient Magus Bride (MAL Rating -8.09)
It is a shonen anime boasting such genres as fantasy, a slice of life, and magic of course. But unlike other anime, there is much more beyond these broad genres. The protagonist of the story Hatori Chise starts out as a person who has no goals has no hopes, and in every sense of the world, she is alone.
At the very end when our hopeless protagonist was about to hit rock bottom, she is offered a second chance to blossom by a magician named Elias. The main appeal of the show is the magic, it is mesmerizing to watch the way these anime make magic real. The characters are the other main highlight of the show. You can watch this anime on Netflix, Crunchyroll.
2. Flying Witch (MAL Rating -7.52)
The 12-episode series is a peaceful piece that unfolds itself organically, forgetting any anime tropes. “Everything comes across so magically” though the world-building is magic-based every action feels so mundane that it comes as a healing anime.
Flying witch is set in a world with magic, the main character, Makoto comes to live with her relatives at the start of the show and over the course of the anime, we follow her and her family to explore their town. Basically, it is a character-driven anime. The anime still manages to feel grounded to reality even when surrounded by the unnatural. You can watch Dying witch on Crunchyroll.
1. Kiki’s Delivery Service (MAL Rating -8.23)
It is yet another magical coming-of-the-age story from Studio Ghibli which depicts the struggle felt when a young person leaves home. Our main protagonist is Kiki, a 13 years old girl who starts to train to become a witch by leaving her home. The idea of the film, the adult teachings of the hardship transmitted down to younger generations through the plot is for all ages. You can watch the film on Netflix.
