Shounen Jump and Crunchyroll’s previous newest darling before Jujutsu Kaisen was Demon Slayer, a still hugely popular shounen franchise with a similar premise to Yuuji’s story but with a very different execution. During the Taisho era (1910s – 1920s), Tanjiro Kamado lives a quiet life in rural Japan until a legendary demon kills his entire family and turns his younger sister Nezuko into a bloodthirsty demon for good measure. Tanjiro joins the Demon Slayer Corps so he can protect others from the same fate and hopefully find a way to turn Nezuko back to normal, gaining new allies and enemies along the way as he matures into a seasoned warrior. Tanjiro is much more level-headed than Yuuji, but shares the same philosophy that everyone deserves a proper death no matter who they are. Plus, Demon Slayer is another anime with god-tier animation (this time from ufotable), so sakuga enthusiasts will love it!

When we think of urban fantasy anime, Noragami is the first one that comes to mind. It’s all about Shinto gods who live just out of sight from mortals in modern Japan, granting wishes and making contracts with the recently deceased to protect them from monsters that prey on souls. Yato is one such god, but he’s so obscure (and difficult to get along with) that he’s in danger of fading away if mortals don’t start worshipping him soon. He quickly befriends a human girl named Hiyori and a wandering soul named Yukine, who form a sort of love-hate relationship with him at first until they begin to understand one another better. Its stylish action sequences and expert balancing of comedy and drama likely inspired similar moments in Jujutsu Kaisen, so it’s well worth checking out!

Do you love Jujutsu Kaisen, but wish it catered a bit more to the Hot Topic crowd? Then you’re in luck, because Tokyo Ghoul is exactly that! If somehow you haven’t already heard of this anime, it’s set in an alternate version of Tokyo where flesh-eating ghouls blend into normal society and feast on humans in secret. Bookish nerd Kaneki is turned into a ghoul against his will after receiving an organ transplant from one, and he finds himself forced to integrate into their world when he can no longer eat normal food to survive. It has a darker tone than Jujutsu Kaisen, especially in the anime-only second season Tokyo Ghoul √A, but both shows have a supernatural atmosphere and their protagonists both struggle against the baser instincts that lurk inside of them. Plus, the soundtrack is absolute fire from start to finish!

We’re going pretty far back into the Shounen Jump catalog now, but before Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer there was the juggernaut known only as Bleach. It’s had its ups and downs over the years, but at least the first few arcs are bursting with creativity and intriguing character interactions that will draw you in from the very first episode. Ichigo Kurasaki is a rough-and-tumble delinquent turned substitute Soul Reaper who does his best to acclimate to his new job of fighting Hollows while hiding his injured predecessor from his family and trying to survive high school. Yuuji’s story seems to be a more polished version of Bleach without as much filler or power escalation, but if you’re interested in anime history and have a lot of free time on your hands, give this classic anime a watch.

Mob Psycho 100 is the kind of anime that surprises you with how good it is, since it seems unassuming at first with its simplistic art style and relatively mundane setting. But make no mistake – this anime is one of the best written and animated shows of the 2010s, easily standing up to flashier titles like Jujutsu Kaisen. It stars Shigeo Kageyama (nicknamed “Mob” for his generic appearance), an unconfident teen who has to suppress his emotions in order to control his unparalleled psychic power. He just wants to live a normal life, but supernatural forces conspire to push him to his limits... and there’s no telling what will happen when he truly lets loose. Yuuji and Mob would probably get along (if Mob could manage to keep up with Yuuji’s hyperactive shounen boy energy) because they both believe that they shouldn’t rely on raw power to carry them through their struggles. But if they ever faced an impossible obstacle together, we bet it wouldn’t stay impossible for long!

Jujutsu Kaisen shares the same studio and lead director as Summer 2020’s The God of High School – a Webtoon anime adaptation that had absolutely outstanding animation, but ultimately fell short of genius because its story was rushed beyond belief (luckily, Jujutsu Kaisen has twice as many episodes, so it shouldn’t suffer the same fate). That doesn’t mean that The God of High School isn’t worth watching, though. It’s a high-octane Action-with-a-capital-A anime about a martial arts tournament with a dark secret... and also everyone develops Stand-like superpowers about halfway through. The plot doesn’t really matter, but its main trio develops a similar dynamic to Yuuji, Megumi, and Nobara as they fight their way through the ranks and unearth their own powers. It’s not exactly the most engaging story ever written, but The God of High School is a certified good time that any Jujutsu Kaisen fan will enjoy.