10 Anime Like Spy x Family That Start Generic But Get Way Darker
Spy x Family is a comedy shonen anime above all, and that means viewers can expect a fairly light, cheerful tone in most episodes and skits. That’s what anime fans get when they watch Anya goof off at school or watch Yor struggle to cook an edible meal, but even Spy x Family can get a little dark at times. Even if the Cold War-style setting is mainly used as a backdrop and the framework for Operation Strix, this premise has a grim side that fans are now seeing.
In particular, Spy x Family fans have seen the gut-wrenching story of how the young Loid Forger suffered in the initial Westalis-Ostania war, and now fans won’t see him the same way again. Plenty of other anime do something similar, drawing in viewers with a fairly light and carefree premise, only to crank up the drama, tragedy, or cynicism later on. Some anime may be dark the entire time, such as Attack on Titan, and some are light the entire time, such as K-On!, but other anime gradually phase from light to dark to give things a sense of progress and change — and it’s always intriguing to watch.
My Hero Academia is No Longer About Deku’s Misadventures at School
Like many anime that shift into a darker tone later on, My Hero Academia never fully abandoned its lighter side, but it did balance its more innocent or carefree aspects with some impressive darkness. And like those other anime, including Spy x Family, My Hero Academia hinted at some dark themes up front, but waited until later to deliver. First, My Hero Academia needed to immerse everyone in the “good old days” to give the dark era some meaning.
Season 6 was when the full weight of My Hero Academia‘s most serious themes arrived, from the humanitarian crisis of the pro hero system to the strain of heroism warping Deku’s mind. That was when Deku went rogue with his Dark Deku persona, and it took the rest of class 1-A to snap him out of it. And even when Deku got ahold of himself, the rest of Pro Hero Society was falling apart as the villains approached their final victory.
Fruits Basket Eventually Reveals the Full Weight of the Sohma Family’s Suffering
Fruits Basket promised to be a goofy slice-of-life anime or silly harem at first when heroine Tohru Honda met the members of the Sohma family, but that didn’t last too long. Gradually, then faster and faster, the Fruits Basket anime challenged everyone with the complex woes of the entire Sohma clan. To Tohru’s credit, she didn’t bail on the Sohmas when their troubles became apparent.
Instead, Tohru doubled down and vowed to save the Sohmas from themselves, even when Akito Sohma tried hard to push her away. The carefree slice-of-life antics largely fell by the wayside as Tohru helped Kyo, Yuki, and the others take on their inner or outer demons, from unresolved guilt or blame to imposter syndrome and verbal abuse, among other things. Not even Akito was spared, given her terrible relationship with her mother, Ren.
Mashle: Magic and Muscles Has Introduced its Demon Lord
The whimsically subversive and satirical nature of Mashle: Magic and Muscles will never entirely go away. This will always be a goofy “Saitama goes to Hogwarts” anime, but even so, Mashle may crank up the darkness with new antagonists who won’t be beaten with simple redemption. It was one thing for Mash Burnedead to clobber and redeem his classmates, but Innocent Zero is a whole different animal.
Now, the Mashle anime is getting darker and more serious than ever as Innocent Zero threatens the entire wizarding world, and not even Headmaster Wahlberg can stop him. In fact, Wahlberg has a tragic personal connection to Innocent Zero, making this friendly not-Dumbledore more upset and miserable than ever as the tide turns against the wizards of Easton Magic Academy.
Food Wars! Brought in Some Serious Family Drama Later On
The first few seasons of Food Wars! were all about the joy of cooking, the spirit of competition, and even the PG-13 fun of fan service, but all that changed when Azami Nakiri showed up. He was the first character to make Food Wars! relatively dark, being Erina’s highly controlling father. Azami aimed to seize Totsuki as his own, projecting his own insecurities and need for power onto an innocent school.
Even when that was dealt with, Erina’s estranged mother came next, with Mana Nakiri facing daily torment because her God Tongue was actually too powerful. Mana felt overwhelming despair that she’d never find new vistas in the culinary world, and that strained the mother-daughter relationship to the brink. Fortunately for all, Soma helped inspire Erina to find a solution, and Food Wars! ended on a joyful note as the Nakiris came together as a family.
Made in Abyss Showed Why Nature Should Not Be Taken Lightly
From the beginning, Made in Abyss promised to deliver thrills and chills as Riko prepared to descend into the gaping chasm of the Abyss itself. Fans were expecting a man vs nature story to soon unfold as Riko braved the depths, but they were not prepared for the full extent of the Abyss’s wrath. Before long, Riko and Reg were struggling in a bizarre nightmare, having taken the Abyss’s challenge too lightly.
It doesn’t help that other people suffered down ther,e too, such as Nanachi and her mutated friend, Mitty. The fate of Mitty will always haunt anime fans, and it’s beyond anything they might have expected from a fantasy anime about two lovable heroes exploring a natural wonder. And above all, somebody is at the bottom of the Abyss, conducting inhumane experiments with gusto.
Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It Shocked Fans With Its Male Love Interest
The premise of Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It is simple enough, with grad students Shinya and Ayame using the scientific method to verify their amorous feelings for one another. Along the way, this quirky slice-of-life anime had a few moments of drama or weight, as viewers would expect, but then Season 2 took things much further than fans were prepared for.
The side character Kanade, a charming girl who sought to build her own love life, was traumatized when a character named Naoya turned on her. Naoya seemed friendly at first, only to kidnap Kanade and threaten her with unspeakable acts until the police caught him. Not only was that much darker than anything else in Science Fell in Love, it felt out of place, and might have soured some fans on the entire franchise, unfortunately.
Dr. Stone Has Evolved Into a Bitter War For Survival
Dr. Stone has certainly not abandoned its core traits of optimism and the power of friendship, though it has definitely taken on a darker edge since Episode 1. Even the conflicts from Seasons 1 and 2 seem quaint by this point, such as Senku’s battle with Tsukasa Shishio or the tournament to win princess Ruri’s hand in marriage. That’s because by now, Senku Ishigami is fighting a war for survival against a former friend.
Science feels scarier and more morally ambiguous than ever, with Dr. Xeno turning on Senku as a power-hungry scientist who has grown weary of greedy adults exploiting or strangling his work. Senku’s old friend may have a point, but Senku can’t easily convince either Dr. Xeno or Stanley Snider to stop attacking his friends in a needless war in the Americas. Dr. Stone fans even saw all of Senku’s friends cut down or even killed by gunfire until a Medusa energy wave could save them at the last second.
Your Lie in April Eventually Dealt With Kousei’s Grief
While it’s true Your Lie in April starting showing some death flags for Kaori Miyazono earlier than not, the anime still maintained a moderately balanced tone at first. Kousei Arima felt terrible about his past trauma and his problems with the piano, only for Kaori to support him as a good friend who understood the true passion for music. That even lent itself to a love triangle with Kousei’s classmate, Tsubaki.
Eventually, love triangles were the last thing on anyone’s mind when Kaori met her fate near the end of Your Lie in April, shifting the anime’s tone entirely. Now, Kousei must complete his recovery on his own while also taking on the burden of serious grief. The anime still managed to have a somewhat happy ending, but all anime fans agree Kousei’s already grim arc became much darker before it could become lighter.
Darling in the Franxx Showed the Young Heroes Overthrowing an Oppressive System
Darling in the Franxx launched as a mecha anime of robots vs monsters, which certainly scratched the itch for mecha fans who like their action up front. Eventually, the anime provided much more context of the world in which Hiro and Zero Two fought, and the news wasn’t good. Hiro realized he and the other teenage pilots lived in an oppressive world stifled by fear and control, and they had to break free.
Thus, Darling in the Franxx took on a YA dystopia novel edge, with idealistic, freedom-seeking youths fighting to topple a rigid world order built by adults who feared chaos. Even if fans don’t count the sudden arrival of the antagonistic VIRM and the truth of the APE group to form VAMPIRE, Darling in the Franxx became about much more than cool action and teenage crushes.
