20 anime similar to SANDA based on genre, format, studio, and popularity
Looking for anime similar to SANDA? Here are 10 anime recommendations that share similar themes, genres, or storytelling styles.
We selected these anime based on shared genres (Drama, Mystery), similar narrative structures, comparable art styles, and positive fan overlap. If you enjoyed SANDA, these series should appeal to your taste.
Using her wit and vast knowledge of medicines and poisons alike, Maomao played a pivotal role in solving a series of mysteries and conspiracies that plagued the imperial court. Having recently come to terms with the secrets of her parents, she returns to fulfill her normal duties on behalf of the emperor's highest-ranking consorts. Maomao also works alongside the eunuch Jinshi to better the consorts' many ladies-in-waiting, including helping them learn to read. However, with the arrival of a merchant caravan comes a new wave of intrigue. A pattern of strange coincidences involving the visitors and their wares unsettles Maomao, driving her to investigate the puzzling circumstances behind the convoy. As dangers from both outside and within threaten the balance between the imperial concubines, Maomao continues to utilize her cunning and medical expertise to keep the women safe from harm. (Source: MAL Rewrite)
Maomao lived a peaceful life with her apothecary father. Until one day, she’s sold as a lowly servant to the emperor’s palace. But she wasn’t meant for a compliant life among royalty. So when imperial heirs fall ill, she decides to step in and find a cure! This catches the eye of Jinshi, a handsome palace official who promotes her. Now, she’s making a name for herself solving medical mysteries! (Source: Crunchyroll)
This is a story about Momo, a high school girl who comes from a family of spirit mediums, and her classmate Okarun, an occult fanatic. After Momo rescues Okarun from being bullied, they begin talking. However, an argument ensues between them since Momo believes in ghosts but denies aliens exist, and Okarun believes in aliens but denies ghosts exist. To prove to each other what they believe in is real, Momo goes to an abandoned hospital where a UFO has been spotted and Okarun goes to a tunnel rumored to be haunted. To their surprise, they each encounter overwhelming paranormal activities that transcend comprehension. Amid these predicaments, Momo awakens her hidden power and Okarun gains the power of a curse to overcome these new dangers! Their fateful love begins as well!? The story of the occult battle and adolescence starts! (Source: Crunchyroll) Notes: - Worldwide premiere of Episode 1 before the Japanese television premiere occurred at Anime Expo July 6, 2024. - Episodes 1-3 titled as DAN DA DAN: FIRST ENCOUNTER was pre-screened in advance in theaters on August 31, 2024 in Asia, September 7, 2024 in Europe and September 13, 2024 in North America. The regular TV broadcast began October 4, 2024.
While the mission to exorcise Jin "Jiji" Enjouji's family home is underway, things are not going as expected. Momo Ayase narrowly evades an attempted abduction while Ken "Okarun" Takakura and Jiji are ambushed by the Kitou family—the unsettling landlords of the cursed estate. The trio's efforts threaten the foundation of this enigmatic town shrouded in legends and mysteries. As Momo, Okarun, and Jiji are drawn deeper into the maze of folklore and supernatural entities, they must each utilize their unique powers if they want to survive and unravel the secrets of the uncanny town. (Source: MAL Rewrite) Note: Worldwide premiere of Episodes 1-3 titled as DAN DA DAN: EVIL EYE before the Japanese premiere was pre-screened in advance in theaters on June 6, 2025 in North America by GKIDS Films and June 7 and 8 in Europe by Piece of Magic Entertainment and Animation Digital Network.
The second season of Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e. Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School seems like a paradise, but in reality, it is an extreme meritocracy. In the class of underachievers, Kiyotaka has begun working with Suzune, who seeks to ascend higher. After a survival test on an uninhabited island, they get to enjoy a luxury liner, but a new class-scrambling test will begin. (Source: Anime News Network)
It’s been four years since the Scout Regiment reached the shoreline, and the world looks different now. Things are heating up as the fate of the Scout Regiment—and the people of Paradis—are determined at last. However, Eren is missing. Will he reappear before age-old tensions between Marleyans and Eldians result in the war of all wars? (Source: Crunchyroll)
During daylight hours, an exclusive, elite private school prepares its illustrious students for careers in business, politics, and high society. But when darkness falls, the halls of this esteemed establishment transform into an underground gambling den where bright-eyed youngsters learn the timeless art of bluffing, backdoor dealings and social manipulation. In this school for the rich and elite, money is power, and the tyrant of the betting books rules with an iron fist. So when the beautiful Yumeko Jabami upsets the academy hierarchy with her voracious appetite for the thrill of the gamble, the entire student body mobilizes to send her house of cards tumbling down. (Source: Sentai Filmworks)
At Hyakkao Private Academy, Yumeko Jabami’s star rises just as the student council’s reputation starts to dim. In the shadows of the council’s dwindling power, discord reigns supreme. In a bold effort to rebalance the social scales, student council president Kirari Momobami intends to place her bet on the election for the council’s next president. Everyone starts with a single chip, and at the end of 30 days, the whoever holds the most becomes the president of the Momobami Clan. But chips aren’t the only things students can wager as they fight tooth and nail to ascend to the council presidency, and Yumeko Jabami intends to clean house no matter the prizes she must risk in the betting pool. (Source: Sentai Filmworks)
When a pregnant young starlet appears in Gorou Amemiya’s countryside medical clinic, the doctor takes it upon himself to safely (and secretly) deliver Ai Hoshino’s child so she can make a scandal-free return to the stage. But no good deed goes unpunished, and on the eve of her delivery, he finds himself slain at the hands of Ai’s deluded stalker — and subsequently reborn as Ai’s child, Aquamarine Hoshino! The glitz and glamor of showbiz hide the dark underbelly of the entertainment industry, threatening to dull the shine of his favorite star. Can he help his new mother rise to the top of the charts? And what will he do when unthinkable disaster strikes? (Source: HIDIVE) Note: Episode 1【推しの子】Mother and Children was pre-screened in advance in Japanese theaters on March 17, 2023. The regular TV broadcast began on April 12, 2023. The first episode has an extended runtime of ~82 minutes.
Several hundred years ago, humans were nearly exterminated by titans. Titans are typically several stories tall, seem to have no intelligence, devour human beings and, worst of all, seem to do it for the pleasure rather than as a food source. A small percentage of humanity survived by walling themselves in a city protected by extremely high walls, even taller than the biggest of titans. Flash forward to the present and the city has not seen a titan in over 100 years. Teenage boy Eren and his foster sister Mikasa witness something horrific as the city walls are destroyed by a colossal titan that appears out of thin air. As the smaller titans flood the city, the two kids watch in horror as their mother is eaten alive. Eren vows that he will murder every single titan and take revenge for all of mankind. (Source: MangaHelpers)
The battle to retake Wall Maria begins now! With Eren’s new hardening ability, the Scouts are confident they can seal the wall and take back Shiganshina District. If they succeed, Eren can finally unlock the secrets of the basement—and the world. But danger lies in wait as Reiner, Bertholdt, and the Beast Titan have plans of their own. Could this be humanity’s final battle for survival? (Source: Funimation)
Eren and his companions in the 104th are assigned to the newly-formed Levi Squad, whose assignment is to keep Eren and Historia safe given Eren's newly-discovered power and Historia's knowledge and pedigree. Levi and Erwin have good reason to be concerned, because the priest of the Church that Hanji had hidden away was found tortured to death, making it clear that the Military Police are involved with the cover-up. Things get more harrowing when the MPs make a move on Erwin and the Levi Squad narrowly avoids capture. Eren is also having problems with his Titan transformation, and a deadly killer has been hired to secure Eren and Historia, one Levi knows all too well from his youth. (Source: Anime News Network)
Eren Jaeger swore to wipe out every last Titan, but in a battle for his life he wound up becoming the thing he hates most. With his new powers, he fights for humanity's freedom facing the monsters that threaten his home. After a bittersweet victory against the Female Titan, Eren finds no time to rest—a horde of Titans is approaching Wall Rose and the battle for humanity continues! (Source: Funimation)
The war for Paradis zeroes in on Shiganshina just as Jaegerists have seized control. After taking a huge blow from a surprise attack led by Eren, Marley swiftly acts to return the favor. With Zeke’s true plan revealed and a military forced under new rule, this battle might be fought on two fronts. Does Eren intend on fulfilling his half-brother’s wishes or does he have a plan of his own? (Source: Funimation)
A boy fights... for "the right death." Hardship, regret, shame: the negative feelings that humans feel become Curses that lurk in our everyday lives. The Curses run rampant throughout the world, capable of leading people to terrible misfortune and even death. What's more, the Curses can only be exorcised by another Curse. Itadori Yuji is a boy with tremendous physical strength, though he lives a completely ordinary high school life. One day, to save a friend who has been attacked by Curses, he eats the finger of the Double-Faced Specter, taking the Curse into his own soul. From then on, he shares one body with the Double-Faced Specter. Guided by the most powerful of sorcerers, Gojou Satoru, Itadori is admitted to the Tokyo Metropolitan Technical High School of Sorcery, an organization that fights the Curses... and thus begins the heroic tale of a boy who became a Curse to exorcise a Curse, a life from which he could never turn back. (Source: Crunchyroll) Note: The first episode received an early web premiere on September 19th, 2020. The regular TV broadcast started on October 3rd, 2020.
A sci-fi, summer story filled with suspense set on a small island with Shinpei Aijiro, whose childhood friend Ushio Kofune died. He returns to his hometown for the first time in two years for the funeral. Sou Hishigata, his best friend, suspects something's off with Ushio's death, and that someone can die next. A sinister omen is heard as an entire family next door suddenly disappears the following day. Furthermore, Mio implicates a "shadow" three days before Ushio's death. (Source: Disney+)
There is a tower that summons chosen people called "Regulars" with the promise of granting their deepest desires. Whether it be wealth, fame, authority, or something that surpasses them all—everything awaits those who reach the top. Twenty-Fifth Bam is a boy who had only known a dark cave, a dirty cloth, and an unreachable light his entire life. So when a girl named Rachel came to him through the light, his entire world changed. Becoming close friends with Rachel, he learned various things about the outside world from her. But when Rachel says she must leave him to climb the Tower, his world shatters around him. Vowing to follow after her no matter what it takes, he sets his sight on the tower, and a miracle occurs. Thus begins the journey of Bam, a young boy who was not chosen by the Tower but opened its gates by himself. They call his kind "Irregulars"—beings that have shaken the very foundation of the Tower each time they set foot inside it.
Emma, Norman and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of the woman they refer to as “Mom,” all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. Good food, clean clothes and the perfect environment to learn—what more could an orphan ask for? One day, though, Emma and Norman uncover the dark truth of the outside world they are forbidden from seeing. (Source: VIZ Media)
The second season of Jujutsu Kaisen. The past comes to light when second-year students Satoru Gojou and Suguru Getou are tasked with escorting young Riko Amanai to Master Tengen. But when a non-sorcerer user tries to kill them, their mission to protect the Star Plasma Vessel threatens to turn them into bitter enemies and cement their destinies—one as the world’s strongest sorcerer, and the other its most twisted curse user! (Source: Crunchyroll)
It’s 19th-century Paris, and young vampire Noé hunts for the Book of Vanitas. Attacked by a vampire driven insane, a human intercedes, rescues Noé, and heals the sick creature. Commanding the book and calling himself Vanitas, this doctor tempts Noé with a mad crusade to “cure” the entire vampire race. Allying with one who wields arcane power so easily may be dangerous, but does he have a choice? (Source: Funimation)