IF YOU LIKED · ANIME
If you liked Attack on Titan
Seven picks for after Attack on Titan, from Vinland Saga, Code Geass and 86 to Neon Genesis Evangelion, Shadow of the Colossus and The Poppy War.
Attack on Titan starts as a survival horror story, humanity hiding behind walls from giants that eat people, and ends as one of the most ambitious stories about war ever told in animation. Each reveal changes everything that came before, and by the end the question has moved from how to kill the Titans to whether the cycle of hatred can ever be broken.
The picks below each match one of the things Attack on Titan does best: shocking reveals, morally complicated war, and the despair and courage of young people thrown into it.
WHAT WE MATCHED ON
Three things Attack on Titan does well
- Reveals that change everythingMysteries that turn the story you thought you were watching upside down.
- War and the cycle of hatredConflicts where both sides have reasons, and revenge solves nothing.
- Young people facing the impossibleTeenagers sent to fight, and what it costs them.
THE PICKS
7 things to try next
Across anime, games, books. Each pick says which of the three it matches, what it does differently, and one thing to know before you start. Save any of them to a list, no account needed.
01 / Anime · 2019
Vinland Saga
Matches: War and the cycle of hatred
A young Viking warrior lives only to take revenge on the mercenary who killed his father, until he has to ask what to live for instead.
Vinland Saga, whose first season came from the same studio as Attack on Titan's early seasons, is the closest match in theme. It starts as a brutal revenge story and turns into a meditation on violence and peace. Its hero's arc mirrors Eren's in reverse.
The second season slows down dramatically to focus on a farm and recovery. That is the point, but it surprises many viewers.
02 / Anime · 2006
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
Matches: Reveals that change everything
An exiled prince gains the power to command anyone to obey him and starts a rebellion against the empire that conquered Japan.
Code Geass shares Attack on Titan's habit of ending episodes with twists, and its hero, like Eren, is willing to do terrible things for what he believes is the greater good. Its finale is one of the most discussed in anime.
Its mecha battles and school comedy subplots can feel dated.
03 / Anime · 2021
86
Matches: War and the cycle of hatred
A nation claims its war is fought by unmanned drones, but the drones are actually piloted by a persecuted minority it pretends do not exist.
86 takes Attack on Titan's later themes, discrimination, propaganda and young soldiers used by the state, and puts them at the center. Told from both sides of the wall, it shows how a society convinces itself that some people do not count.
The second half was delayed in broadcast and is quieter and more character-driven.
04 / Anime · 1995
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Matches: Young people facing the impossible
A teenage boy is ordered by his estranged father to pilot a giant machine against mysterious beings called Angels.
Evangelion is the ancestor of every anime about teenagers crushed by a war they did not choose. Like Attack on Titan, it begins as monster-of-the-week action and becomes a psychological story about trauma and hiding secrets.
The final two episodes are abstract; watch The End of Evangelion film afterwards.
05 / Anime · 2019
The Promised Neverland
Matches: Reveals that change everything
Children in an idyllic orphanage discover the terrible truth about the world outside its gates and plan their escape.
The first season of The Promised Neverland has the same opening hook as Attack on Titan: kids behind walls, and a horrifying discovery about what is outside. There is no war here. It is a tense battle of wits.
The second season is widely considered much weaker. Treat the first as a complete story.
06 / Video game · 2005
Shadow of the Colossus
Matches: War and the cycle of hatred
A young man rides alone through a forbidden land, hunting sixteen giant colossi to bring a girl back to life.
Climbing a giant to find its weak point is the closest you can get to playing Attack on Titan's fights. But the game's real power is how it makes you doubt whether you should be killing these creatures at all, the same doubt that grows through Attack on Titan.
Few words, an empty world and occasionally awkward controls. The 2018 remake is the easiest way to play it.
07 / Book · 2018 · R. F. Kuang
The Poppy War
Matches: War and the cycle of hatred
A war orphan wins a place at an elite military academy just as her nation is invaded, and discovers a terrible power.
The Poppy War follows a young soldier into the horrors of war in a fantasy world modeled on 20th-century China, and shows her becoming capable of atrocity herself. Its moral collapse will feel familiar to anyone who followed Eren to the end.
It depicts war crimes in graphic detail, especially in its second half.
Where to start
If the war and its moral questions stayed with you, start Vinland Saga. For twists, Code Geass. For a game, Shadow of the Colossus.
Whatever you pick, give it a fair start: the first half hour of a film, two episodes of a show, the opening chapters of a book or the first hour of a game. Then decide.
How we chose
Prepared by OmniTrackr and reviewed by the site owner before publishing. We started from what makes Attack on Titan work for the people who love it, then looked for titles that share at least one of those qualities, deliberately across formats, because a game or a book can carry the same feeling in a different way. Facts were checked against public sources; the comparisons and caveats are editorial opinion.
These picks are not rankings, sponsored placements or anyone's private ratings. Running times, episode counts and availability vary by edition and region. Links go to OmniTrackr title pages, not shops.
First published October 16, 2026. Checked October 16, 2026. Suggest a pick or send a correction · Editorial standards · Pick for me