20 anime similar to Cardfight Vanguard based on genre, format, studio, and popularity
Looking for anime similar to Cardfight Vanguard? Here are 10 anime recommendations that share similar themes, genres, or storytelling styles.
We selected these anime based on shared genres (Action, Adventure, Fantasy), similar narrative structures, comparable art styles, and positive fan overlap. If you enjoyed Cardfight Vanguard, these series should appeal to your taste.
A new adaption of the manga of the same name by Togashi Yoshihiro. A Hunter is one who travels the world doing all sorts of dangerous tasks. From capturing criminals to searching deep within uncharted lands for any lost treasures. Gon is a young boy whose father disappeared long ago, being a Hunter. He believes if he could also follow his father's path, he could one day reunite with him. After becoming 12, Gon leaves his home and takes on the task of entering the Hunter exam, notorious for its low success rate and high probability of death to become an official Hunter. He befriends the revenge-driven Kurapika, the doctor-to-be Leorio and the rebellious ex-assassin Killua in the exam, with their friendship prevailing throughout the many trials and threats they come upon taking on the dangerous career of a Hunter.
This story is about the flow of fate and the battle to keep the world on the right path. Aladdin is a boy who has set out to explore the world after being trapped in a room for most of his life. His best friend is a flute with a djinn in it named Ugo. Soon enough, Aladdin discovers he is a Magi, a magician who chooses kings, and he was born to choose kings who will follow the righteous path, battling against those who want to destroy fate. Follow his adventures as he meets others from 1001 Arabian Nights, like Ali Baba and Sinbad, and fights to keep the balance of the world in check!
The online fantasy game Elder Tales is a worldwide phenomenon, immersing millions of players in its intricately conceived virtual world. However, the release of the game's twelfth expansion pack makes that immersion all too literal, as players from around the world are suddenly pulled into the game's no-longer-fictional universe! Now, eight-year ET veteran Shiroe, his friend Naotsugu, the beautiful assassin Akatsuki, and 30,000 other players are faced with the daunting task of learning how to deal with an entirely new reality, one where the Non-Player Characters are actually alive, and the tips and tricks learned while playing with a keyboard no longer apply. (Source: Sentai Filmworks)
The story takes place in the year 2138 when virtual reality gaming is booming. Yggdrasil, a popular online game is quietly shut down one day. However, the protagonist Momonga decides to not log out. Momonga is then transformed into the image of a skeleton as "the most powerful wizard." The world continues to change, with non-player characters (NPCs) beginning to feel emotion. Having no parents, friends, or place in society, this ordinary young man Momonga then strives to take over the new world the game has become. (Source: Anime News Network)
In the near future, a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online has been released where players control their avatars with their bodies using a piece of technology called Nerve Gear. One day, players discover they cannot log out, as the game creator is holding them captive unless they reach the 100th floor of the game's tower and defeat the final boss. However, if they die in the game, they die in real life. Their struggle for survival starts now... (Source: Crunchyroll)
"In order for something to be obtained, something of equal value must be lost." Alchemy is bound by this Law of Equivalent Exchange—something the young brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric only realize after attempting human transmutation: the one forbidden act of alchemy. They pay a terrible price for their transgression—Edward loses his left leg, Alphonse his physical body. It is only by the desperate sacrifice of Edward's right arm that he is able to affix Alphonse's soul to a suit of armor. Devastated and alone, it is the hope that they would both eventually return to their original bodies that gives Edward the inspiration to obtain metal limbs called "automail" and become a state alchemist, the Fullmetal Alchemist. Three years of searching later, the brothers seek the Philosopher's Stone, a mythical relic that allows an alchemist to overcome the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Even with military allies Colonel Roy Mustang, Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, and Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes on their side, the brothers find themselves caught up in a nationwide conspiracy that leads them not only to the true nature of the elusive Philosopher's Stone, but their country's murky history as well. In between finding a serial killer and racing against time, Edward and Alphonse must ask themselves if what they are doing will make them human again... or take away their humanity. (Source: MAL Rewrite)
Naofumi Iwatani, an uncharismatic Otaku who spends his days on games and manga, suddenly finds himself summoned to a parallel universe! He discovers he is one of four heroes equipped with legendary weapons and tasked with saving the world from its prophesied destruction. As the Shield Hero, the weakest of the heroes, all is not as it seems. Naofumi is soon alone, penniless, and betrayed. With no one to turn to, and nowhere to run, he is left with only his shield. Now, Naofumi must rise to become the legendary Shield Hero and save the world! Note: - The first episode was pre-aired on December 27th, 2018. Regular broadcast began on January 9th, 2019. - The first episode aired with a runtime of ~47 minutes as opposed to the standard 24 minute long episode.
Naruto was a young shinobi with an incorrigible knack for mischief. He achieved his dream to become the greatest ninja in the village and his face sits atop the Hokage monument. But this is not his story... A new generation of ninja are ready to take the stage, led by Naruto's own son, Boruto! (Source: VIZ Media)
A young priestess has formed her first adventuring party, but almost immediately they find themselves in distress. It's the Goblin Slayer who comes to their rescue--a man who's dedicated his life to the extermination of all goblins, by any means necessary. And when rumors of his feats begin to circulate, there's no telling who might come calling next... (Source: Yen Press)
Kirito awakens in a vast, fantastical forest filled with towering trees. In his search for clues to the truth of his surroundings, he encounters a young boy who seems to know him. He ought to be a simple NPC, but the depth of his emotions seem no different than a human. As they search for the boy's parents, Kirito finds a peculiar memory returning to him. A memory from his own childhood, of this boy and a girl, too, with golden hair, and a name he should have never forgotten - Alice. (Source: Yen Press) Note: The first episode aired with a runtime of ~48 minutes as opposed to the standard 24 minute long episode.
The second season of Overlord. Continuing his quest to rule this new world, Ains begins to put the pieces in place for his conquest. But between a Lizard Man tribe uprising, and performing missions as adamantite adventurer Lord Momon, Ains has his work cut out for him! Thankfully he has his most loyal and willing subordinates to do his bidding. Nothing and no one can stop the supreme and mighty Overlord in his quest to rule all! (Source: Manga Entertainment)
The third season of Overlord. With his foundations now set in this new world, the first steps of Ains Ooal Gown's master plan apparent begin to come to fruition. The value of Carne village and especially the political value of his alter ego Momon are reaffirmed; the “hidden” genius of his actions is continuously met with shock and awe by Demiurge, Albedo, the rest of his guardians, and even Ains himself at his “great wisdom.” His attempts to act in a way befitting the ruler of Nazarick, continuing to further cement his guardian’s loyalty, push him ever further down the path of not-so-intentional world domination. Without human conscience due to being undead, he is motivated only to continue searching for other players from Yggdrasil and to gain power to better protect the children and home of him and his forty former companions. Lord Ains Ooal Gown maintains his mantle of Overlord and leads the Great Tomb of Nazarick unto the world stage, directly into a vicious power struggle between two great empires. (Source: Anime News Network)
After five years of harboring unspoken feelings, high-schooler Taiju Ooki is finally ready to confess his love to Yuzuriha Ogawa. Just when Taiju begins his confession however, a blinding green light strikes the Earth and petrifies mankind around the world— turning every single human into stone. Several millennia later, Taiju awakens to find the modern world completely nonexistent, as nature has flourished in the years humanity stood still. Among a stone world of statues, Taiju encounters one other living human: his science-loving friend Senkuu, who has been active for a few months. Taiju learns that Senkuu has developed a grand scheme—to launch the complete revival of civilization with science. Taiju's brawn and Senkuu's brains combine to forge a formidable partnership, and they soon uncover a method to revive those petrified. However, Senkuu's master plan is threatened when his ideologies are challenged by those who awaken. All the while, the reason for mankind's petrification remains unknown. (Source: MAL Rewrite)
Across the Fiore kingdom, wizards join guilds and make their pay by filling magical needs—but one guild has a reputation as the roughest, rowdiest, most dangerous of all: Fairy Tail! When four young Fairy Tail members unite, their bond is forged by a power found in neither muscle nor magic and grows stronger with every mission. Whatever you do, don't mess with these friends or you'll get a taste of Natsu's flaming fist or Gray's ice hammer, suffer a painful blow from one of Lucy's celestial spirits or catch the edge of Erza's mighty blade! Whether they're stopping demons from devastating the world or wrestling in the mess hall, this mystical team manages to inflict as much damage to their rivals as they do to the surrounding area! (Source: Funimation)
Kirito, Eugeo, and Alice. Six months have passed since the two disciples and an Integrity Knight brought down the pontifex, Administrator. With the fighting over, Alice has been living in her hometown of Rulid Village. Beside her is Kirito, who has not only lost his arm and soul, but also his dear friend. As Alice devotes herself to looking after Kirito, she too has lost the will to fight she once had as a knight. Nevertheless, the time for the final stress test – one which will engulf the entire Underworld with tragedy – draws relentlessly closer. Meanwhile, in the deepest areas of the Dark Territory, the Dark God Vecta has resurrected, as if to have waited for this very moment. Leading an army of dark forces, they begin their invasion into the human empire in hopes of attaining the Priestess of Light. The human empire force led by the Integrity Knight Bercouli prepares for a war of an unimaginable scale against the army of the Dark Territory. Even then, Alice is nowhere to be seen, nor the two heroes that saved the realm... (Source: Official Website)
They say whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, but that’s not the case for the world’s weakest hunter Seong Jin-U. After being brutally slaughtered by monsters in a high-ranking dungeon, Jin-U came back with the System, a program only he could see, that’s leveling him up in every way. Now, he’s inspired to discover the secrets behind his powers and the dungeon that spawned them. (Source: Crunchyroll)
One year after the SAO incident, Kirito is approached by Seijiro Kikuoka from Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Department "VR Division" with a rather peculiar request. That was an investigation on the "Death Gun" incident that occurred in the gun and steel filled VRMMO called Gun Gale Online (GGO). "Players who are shot by a mysterious avatar with a jet black gun lose their lives even in the real world..." Failing to turn down Kikuoka's bizarre request, Kirito logs in to GGO even though he is not completely convinced that the virtual world could physically affect the real world. Kirito wanders in an unfamiliar world in order to gain any clues about the "Death Gun." Then, a female sniper named Sinon who owns a gigantic "Hecate II" rifle extends Kirito a helping hand. With Sinon's help, Kirito decides to enter the "Bullet of Bullets," a large tournament to choose the most powerful gunner within the realm of GGO, in hopes to become the target of the "Death Gun" and make direct contact with the mysterious avatar. (Source: Crunchyroll)
The second season of Solo Leveling. Mastering his new abilities in secret, Jin-U must battle humanity's toughest foes to save his mother. (Source: Crunchyroll News)
The second season of Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari. With another Wave happening in a week, Naofumi Iwatani and his party have no time to waste. However, when bat familiars raid Lurolona Village and the Wave countdown comes to a halt, the Four Cardinal Heroes reconvene with the queen, Mirelia Q Melromarc, for a quick briefing. The queen presumes that the odd occurrences are linked to the Spirit Tortoise—a threatening creature that has awakened from its slumber, back to cause havoc once again. A plan to put the Spirit Tortoise to rest is devised—but out of the four men, only the cursed Shield Hero agrees to help. (Source: MAL Rewrite)
In a world where magic is everything, Asta and Yuno are both found abandoned at a church on the same day. While Yuno is gifted with exceptional magical powers, Asta is the only one in this world without any. At the age of fifteen, both receive grimoires, magic books that amplify their holder’s magic. Asta’s is a rare Grimoire of Anti-Magic that negates and repels his opponent’s spells. Being opposite but good rivals, Yuno and Asta are ready for the hardest of challenges to achieve their common dream: to be the Wizard King. Giving up is never an option! (Source: Crunchyroll)