Let’s start off strong on this list with a hard core parallel to Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom. First on our list is Gungrave.

Brandon Heat and Harry MacDowel, practically brothers, were nothing more than some thugs looking for a good time. Until, one day, they found themselves working for Big Daddy, leader of the mafia syndicate Millennion. Harry works his way up to replace Big Daddy as the leader of Millennion, with Brandon’s help. Through a disagreement, Harry ends up killing Brandon. However, the story doesn’t end there. Brandon comes back to life through the necrolization process, and uses his new life to take down the one who betrayed him, Harry.

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom and Gungrave have a good amount of similarities. Zwei and Brandon/Harry end up working for a giant syndicate where they take whatever job they are handed. Though this doesn’t last long, both Zwei and Brandon end up pointing their guns towards the organization's, Inferno and Millennion, that allowed them to hone their skills.

Sometimes a person isn't so susceptible to the life of a killer. That just makes their development more real. You can see this kind of development in our next pick in the line up, Black Lagoon.

Rokurou Okajima is a former business man gone rogue. While delivering a package from his employer he gets captured and held for ransom by a group known as Black Lagoon. Turns out, Okajima’s company has no intentions of retrieving their employee. Instead, they decide to cover up their transaction by eliminating Okajima. Alone and betrayed, Okajima joins Black Lagoon and slowly trains himself to become a mercenary.

In both Black Lagoon and Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom, we have formerly passive individuals, Zwei and Okajima. They begin their journey for a new life as killers, but on the way question what it is they are doing. While either finding or keeping their morality, Zwei and Okajima find that being a killer is more complicated than they could have imagined.

Let’s add a little bit of sci-fi to spice things up. Next on our list we have Darker Than Black.

Hei was once like any other human, until Hell’s Gate appeared in Japan. Just beyond the gate, where logic and reason mean nothing, Hei loses his humanity to gain supernatural powers. No longer human he becomes what is known as a Contractor. With these powers, he works for a company known as the Syndicate. His job, assassinate other Contractors

Both of these anime’s have a mysterious main character, Hei and Zwei, that have particular skills in assassination. These two characters work for a powerful underground organization, Syndicate and Inferno, that pick their targets. The ultimate similarity is the usage of masks in the shows. Similar in style and use as an alias, these masks give a similar feel to each anime in a very detailed way.

So far we’ve seen what it’s like to be forced into this lifestyle of assassins and mercenaries. Let’s take a look at some individuals that chose this life style and know how to handle a job. Next up we are taking a look at Gangsta..

Nicholas Brown and Worick Arcangelo are known as the “Handymen”. In the city of Ergastalum, they are seen as being the only neutral party in a city that’s split four ways between different syndicates. Nic and Worick are guns for hire to take on any job by the mob, or even the police. An underground organization rises up to tip the balance of Ergastalum by hunting down Twilights, people who have super-human abilities from a drug. Nic and Worick keep their guns ready to defend the head’s of the syndicates, known as the Four Fathers, and figure out why Twilights are being targeted.

Well, let’s see. We’ve got Gangsta. in one hand, and Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom in the other. Both have a two man team, Nic/Worick and Ein/Zwei, of mercenaries or assassins. There’s also the organizations they get hired by to kill targets, The mob and Inferno. These anime’s even have one of the team members having some sort of above human ability, Nic and Zwei. These shows compliment each other by showing two sides of a similar life style. Either show is a great follow up for the other.

Being an assassin is a tough job, you would think. How hard can it be if a little girl can do it? Take a look into the world of Gunslinger Girl.

This story follows the viewpoints of five little girls, Angelica, Claes, Henrietta, Rico, and Triela. Given a second chance at life by the Italian government, these girls are brainwashed and are only filled with knowledge and skills for assassination. However, they are still little girls. These five girls struggle with their emotions as they carry out their missions and seek recognition from the ones they love.

Gunslinger Girl and Phantom: Requiem for the phantom are really similar in theme and execution. Angelica, Claes, Henrietta, Rico, and Triela are brought into an organization and lose their memories, much like Zwei did. These five girls and Zwei aren’t a cookie cutter image of what an assassin should be. All of them have questions and emotions that guide them to form an opinion on why is it they do what they do.

To finish our list, we have an exciting thriller and action anime you don’t want to miss out on. Coming in for the final kill we have Noir.

Mireille Bouquet, an assassin located in France, ends up crossing paths with Kirika Yuumura. Kirika has no memory of who she is, but she does have plenty of skills in the art of assassination. After meeting, Kirika and Mireille team up to discover both of their pasts. During their journey, they have to fight off the organization known as Les Soldats. Which was an organization mean for doing good, but now they’re nothing more than the evil they once swore to defeat.

Where to begin the comparisons? Much like in Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom, Noir has a two person assassination team, Mireille and Kirika. These two teams of Ein/Zwei and Mireille/Kirika have to fight against a large criminal organization, Inferno and Les Soldats. Zwei and Kirika have no idea who they are, but have exceptional talent in assassination. Along these lines, Zwei and Kirika also question their own reality. Zwei wonders why they are killing for Inferno, and Kirika wonders why her life is consumed by lies.