Chise Hatori is a 15-year-old girl who was sold to a stranger for five million pounds. Abandoned at a young age and having been shunned by society including her parents, Chise has no will to live and simply longs for a place to stay even if it means selling herself. In chains and on her way to an unknown fate, she overhears people calling her by a strange name: the rare “Sleigh Beggy”. Ignoring the murmurs, the man leads her to a study where he reveals himself to be a magus, Elias Ainsworth. As a man who wields great power, Chise wonders why she was bought by him. Soon, she realizes that Elias hopes to marry her someday and have her with him as his apprentice. Thus starts a strange tale of love between two unloved and shunned people of society who strive to find their home in one another. Will Chise find out what it really means to be a Sleigh Beggy? And will she be able to give her heart to Elias?

The Ancient Magus’ Bride is probably the most similar anime to The Duke of Death and His Maid and for many reasons. Both anime take place in a world where magic exists. Moreover, The Ancient Magus’ Bride takes place in the fields of Britain and The Duke of Death and His Maid in the Victorian era. Both anime are stunning in their depiction of the plot and world but they are also tainted by a melancholy feeling of sadness. Just like how the Duke carries a curse where anyone he touches dies, Chise also carries a curse. But both Alice and Elias want to save the one they love at all costs and the anime has its fair share of romantic, but more importantly, meaningful moments.

Intrigued by the tale of a mountain god, six-year-old Hotaru Takegawa loses her way in the forest one day. Desperate for help and not knowing where to go, she is thrilled when she finds a masked spirit named Gin who helps her. Soon enough, she realizes that she should not touch Gin or else he will disappear. But Gin still helps her and leads her out of the forest into safety, warning her to never return when she wants to see him again with a gift. Hotaru decides to not pay any attention to his warning and spends a lot of time with him every summer as she grows up. Even though time and planes of existence separate them, it doesn't stop them from slowly falling in love despite the one rule that exists between them. Will Hotaru and Gin be together happily or was this tragic tale of love never meant to be?

Despite being a movie, To The Forest of the Firefly Lights is a great anime that is in many ways similar to The Duke of Death and His Maid. While the Duke will kill anyone he touches, Gin will die if anyone chooses to touch him. Moreover, both anime lay a great emphasis on the nature of the world their story is set in, adding layers of depth. The tone of both is similar as they are sprinkled with some funny moments but overall follow a somber tone set by the curses that Gin and the Duke experience.

If you blush, you lose! Teasing Master Takagi-san is the story of Nishikata and his classmate Takagi who knows him inside out. Takagi constantly uses her wits to outsmart Nishikata and makes him blush out of embarrassment every single time, much to Nishikata’s annoyance. But Nishikata vows to succeed one day and make Takagi blush in embarrassment because, after all, if you blush, you lose! But what happens when along the way, you fall in love?

Teasing Master Takagi-san has a repeated gag running throughout the show but it still makes us want to go back and watch Nishikata fail in the hands of Takagi again. Sometimes, you find yourself wanting to root for Nishikata too. That’s exactly the feeling you get when you see The Duke of Death and His Maid as Alice always makes the Duke blush with her provocative jokes. Teasing Master Takagi-san incorporates that playful banter that two people in love use against each other and elevates it, making a great comedy to watch on days when you’re sad.

Every day, Naoto Hachiouji is teased relentlessly by Hayase Nagatoro, a first-year student who he met one day in the library as he was writing his manga. After reading his story and realizing how awkward he is, Nagatoro decides to tease him, making him blush out of embarrassment every time. At first, Nagatoro’s antics are annoying as they leave Naoto feeling embarrassed but as time passes, they form a strange yet refreshing friendship where Naoto realizes that spending time with Nagatoro doesn’t have to be miserable. Will the friendship between Nagatoro and Naoto develop into something more?

Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro is similar to The Duke of Death and His Maid in the sense that both have female protagonists willing to go to great lengths to tease their shy male counterparts. Just like Alice provocatively teases the Duke, Nagatoro also teases Naoto, wanting to see his face flush with embarrassment. Moreover, both anime have some comedy scenes that are similar in tone and as Naoto and Nagatoro fall in love with one another, their love is put to the test just like Alice and the Duke’s is.

Shuchiin Academy is an elite school that everyone dreams about being a part of. The school has reached great heights because of the Vice President and the President of the School Council, Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane respectively. Miyuki Shirogane ranks as the top student of the nation and is respected by peers and mentors alike. Alongside him is Kaguya Shinomiya who excels in every field. They are regarded as the perfect couple by everyone in the school but nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors. While the two are in love, their pride doesn’t allow them to admit it openly. Thus opens the battlefield of love where the one who admits their love will forever be considered the lesser in the relationship.

Kaguya-sama: Love is War is a beloved romantic comedy that has taken the world by storm since 2019. The anime has themes of romance, friendly (maybe not so friendly) banter and, overall, an air of striving for excellence. These are all similar to the themes of The Duke of Death and His Maid. While Kaguya-sama: Love is War is more comedy-based, it still digs at the same questions that The Duke of Death and His Maid tries to answer: “How far will you go for the one you love?”

All Shinichi Sakurai wants in life is to spend his days in peace away from civilization. But that isn’t possible with his fun and lively kouhai (junior), Hana Uzaki. Uzaki is worried that her senpai (senior) will spend all his days in isolation instead of making good memories with his friends so she makes it her mission to drag Sakurai around to hang out with her. While this is annoying for Sakurai at first, he slowly learns that perhaps hanging out with people isn’t so bad. Will Uzaki succeed in showing her senpai that life becomes more colorful when you’re with your friends?

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! has many similarities with The Duke of Death and His Maid. Like Bocchan, Sakurai is a recluse and wants to be left alone. But Alice doesn’t want the love of her life to lead a lonely life so she makes sure that he is able to make new friends who will support him and memories that he can look back on. Similarly, Uzaki also wants her senpai to have a good life where he has a lot of friends and memories that he cherishes. While there is no solid evidence that Uzaki and Sakurai love each other like Bocchan and Alice, we at Honey’s Anime wager that they do and that they are willing to do whatever it takes to help each other.