Movies like Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth (1987)
The best movies like Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth (1987) are Devilman - Volume 2: Demon Bird (1990), Demon City Shinjuku (1988) and Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend (1989). If Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth hooked you with its action and fantasy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAkira (1988)7.9/10 from 5,111 votes
- NewestDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training- (2024)Released 2024
- In JapaneseDevilman - Volume 2: Demon Bird (1990)Also in Japanese
- Same seriesDevilman - Volume 2: Demon Bird (1990)Devilman OVA
Devilman - Volume 2: Demon Bird (1990)
Akira Fudo, adjusting to his new powers as Devilman, is in for a heap of trouble as his newest enemies sent from the demon world are Jinmen, the sadistic tortoise with his victims' faces on his shell --including Akira's mother-- and Sirene, the demon bird, who has more than a few tricks up her feathery sleeves to keep him and humanity at the brink of extinction.
Why it matches: Same series: Devilman OVA · both fantasy & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDemon City Shinjuku (1988)
Ten Years ago, Genichiro Izayoi died trying to stop the sorcerer Rebi Ra, and as a result Shinjuku became a playground for demons. And now, the day approaches when Rebi Ra will complete his decade-long ritual to plunge the rest of the world into chaos! As Genichiro's son, it falls to Kyoya to venture into the heart of Shinjuku and put an end to the sorcerer his father couldn't beat. Can Kyoya exceed his father's legacy, or will the demons of Shinjuku create Hell on Earth?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUrotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend (1989)
Legend has it that the human race is not the only dominant civilization living on Earth. Two other races exist in this world: the Makai (a demon race) and the Jujinkai (a half-man, half-beast race). Once every 3,000 years, a supreme being known as the Choujin (Overfiend) will emerge and bring balance to all three realms on Earth. In present-day Japan, after 300 years of endless searching, a Jujinkai named Amano Jyaku has discovered the presence of the Choujin inside high school slacker Tatsuo Nagumo. But now, Amano, along with his sister Megumi and their sidekick Kuroko, must protect Nagumo and his new girlfriend Akemi Ito from the Makai, who believe that Nagumo is not the Choujin, but an evil entity bent on destroying all living beings on Earth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattle Royale High School (1987)
When the school Karate club's star fighter quits and decides to go pro, he unwittingly fulfills an ancient interdimensional prophecy and becomes demon king of his dimension. Soon his high school becomes a battleground for demon slaying samurai, interplanetary law enforcement, and even his own traitorous demon minions. Well animated fight scenes ensue.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & action
Twilight of the Dark Master (1997)
Tsunami is an ancient guardian from days long ago when the Mother Spirit created demons and guardians to aid a fledgling human race. In 2089, only a few demons and guardians remain in the city of Neo-Shinjuku. Tsunami becomes involved with a woman who has just lost her fiance and her arm and now wants to figure out why this has happened. Meanwhile, the demon leader is still alive and plotting to enslave mankind.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Baoh: The Visitor (1989)
Doress, a Japanese "black projects" organization, has been gathering psionics and creating biological weapons to "make Japan superior". When one of the biological experiments, BAOH, a parasite living inside 17-year-old Ikuro, escapes with a psychic young girl named Sumire, Doress will do anything to get the boy and girl back. The only problem for them is that BAOH has the ability to alter its host into a living death machine in order to keep it alive. BAOH "awakens" to its "Armed Defense Phenomenons", giving Ikuro acid-tipped claws, bio-regeneration, and super-strength. But Doress takes the girl, and BAOH, alongside its host, must fight an army of commandos and psionics to get her back.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNinja Scroll (1993)
Jubei is a masterless ninja who travels the land alone, lending his services to those with gold—or a worthy cause. His fearsome abilities have served him well, but a plot to overthrow the government threatens to end his wandering ways—and possibly his life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both fantasy & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBio Hunter (1995)
A strange virus known as the Demon Virus, attacks the human genetic code, transforming people into monsters with demonic powers. One particular monster is terrorizing the streets of Tokyo. ripping open young women to devour their livers. A famed psychic holds the secret to the identity and purpose of this monster. Now it is up to two molecular biologists. self-proclaimed Bio Hunters Komada and Koshigaya, to reach the psychic and his beautiful daughter before its too late! The Demon Virus is out to conquer the world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & animation
SnoozefestMovies like thisVampire Hunter D (1985)
In a far-future time ruled by the supernatural, a young girl requests the help of a vampire hunter to kill the vampire who has bitten her and thus prevent her from becoming a vampire herself.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWicked City (1987)
A peace treaty between the Earth and the Black World, a parallel universe of demons, is coming to an end. Two cops, Taki, a human male, and Maki, a female demon, are assigned to protect a diplomat who will help secure another treaty. A radical group of demons from the Black World are out to assassinate the diplomat and prevent the treaty; only the bond that forms between the two cops can save the Earth from destruction.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2001)
Legendary dhampir D competes with a motley family of bounty hunters to track down Charlotte Elbourne, a young woman seemingly abducted by undead nobleman Meier Link.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDevilman - Volume 3: Devilman Apocalypse (2000)
Fear runs rampant throughout Tokyo with the revelation that demons in fact exist amongst us. Paranoia and the darker side of humanity boils onto the streets as people turn on one another, suspecting that anyone could in fact be a demon hiding in human clothing. Amidst the growing tensions, tragedy strikes Akira causing his mind to snap, retreating into his subconscious, allowing his Devilish alter-ego Amon to break free from Akira's cage of flesh and wreak havoc on both human and demons alike.
Why it matches: Same series: Devilman OVA · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisViolence Jack: Harem Bomber (1986)
Lovers separated during the apocalypse are swept up in a vicious grudge match between the Slum King, ruler of the wasteland, and the immortal warrior Violence Jack.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & horror
Berserk: The Golden Age Arc I - The Egg of the King (2012)
Guts, an immensely strong sword-for-hire, has little direction in his life, simply fighting one battle after the next. However, this all changes suddenly when he meets and is bested by Griffith, a beautiful and charismatic young man who leads the Band of the Hawk mercenary army. After Guts joins the Band and the relationship between the two men begins to blossom, Casca, the tough, lone swordswoman in the Band of the Hawk, struggles to accept Guts and the influence he has on the world around her. While the two men begin to fight together, Griffith continues to rise to power, all seemingly in order to reach his mysterious, prophesied goals. What lengths will Guts and Griffith go to in order to reach these goals, and where will fate take the two men?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGoku II: Midnight Eye (1989)
Goku, the lone wolf private detective is back, contracted by Yoshiko, a mysterious, beautiful and very afraid woman, to find and save her brother, Ryu. Will Goku be able to protect Yoshiko from her step father's soldiers long enough to find her brother? Meanwhile Ryu, the unfortunate subject of a military experiment gone bad, leaves a trail of bodies behind him and has no intention of being found or saved by anyone. Will Goku have to kill the man he is supposed to save? Will even his omniscient cybernetic eye and sceptre be enough to help him defeat this indestructible killing machine?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & animation
Violence Jack: Hell's Wind (1990)
The survivors of Kanto's Hell Earthquake built a new city and christened it "Hope Town". However, this peaceful town becomes a nightmare when it's raided by the motorcycle gang, "Hell's Wind". They abduct the women while the remaining townsfolk are left helpless against them. Meanwhile, a boy, Saburo, meets Jun. Jun's lover was previously murdered, and the duo help one another to fight against Hell's Wind. The battles are getting more and more difficult, but with the appearance of Violence Jack, the citizens seem to gain the upper hand against Hell's Wind.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & horror
Blood: The Last Vampire (2000)
In Japan, the vampire-hunter Saya, who is a powerful original, is sent by her liaison with the government, David, posed as a teenage student to the Yokota High School on the eve of Halloween to hunt down vampires. Saya asks David to give a new katana to her. Soon she saves the school nurse Makiho Amano from two vampires disguised of classmates and Makiho witnesses her fight against the powerful demon.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisViolence Jack: Evil Town (1988)
After disasters have all but destroyed the Earth, leaving entire cities buried, one man named Violence Jack tries to avert a civil war brewing among the wretched inhabitants of a subterranean metropolis called Evil Town. The known world is now a nightmare after a series of natural disasters. Survivors struggle to survive the harsh conditions. Evil Town is divided into three warring factions each fighting for supremacy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & horror
GoShogun: The Time Étranger (1985)
Forty years after the events of the TV series, Remy Shimada, ex-pilot of the GoShogun, suffers a terrible accident while on her way to a meeting with her former robot-piloting comrades. While they rush to the hospital, Remy floats between life and death. She sees visions of her life when she was young, and stranger still, experiences a hallucination of being with her friends, all of them young again, in a mysterious city filled with hostile fanatics. Far from being the reunion Remy hoped for, a ghastly letter arrives for each member of the team that predicts their gruesome deaths. Slated to die in two days, both in reality and in her dream, Remy struggles to find a way out of the City of Fate, relying on the memories of her friends to see her through, even as they surround her death bed in the waking world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & animation
Harmagedon (1983)
From the depths of space he is coming... Ancient beyond understanding, his power is immeasurable. He has destroyed half the universe and is on his way here. He is… Genma. Only two people are aware of the imminent catastrophe: Princess Luna, a modern day prophetess and Vega, a cybernetic crusader from a world long since ravaged by Genma. Determined to spare the Earth from a similar fate, Luna and Vega must try to mobilize the most potent psychics in the world. Together, this army of fledging psychic warriors must succeed where billions have tried... and failed. But will they be able to gather their champions in time? Genma’s agents are already on Earth to ensure that their master meets with no opposition!
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & action
The Monster of Frankenstein (1981)
In an ill-fated attempt to harness the forces of nature, Dr. Frankenstein creates a monster. This gentle giant roams the countryside in search of a peaceful life, but is finally overcome with loneliness and despair as his fearsome visage strikes terror in the minds of young and old alike.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & animation
Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III - The Advent (2013)
One year has passed since Guts left the Band of the Hawk and Griffith was imprisoned by the Kingdom of Midland for treason. In the dead of night, at a camping site where they hide, the Band of the Hawk is attacked by Bakiraka assassins led by Silat. When all seems lost, Guts returns from his journey. "You destroyed everything." Crying that Griffith is nothing without Guts, Casca and Guts are joined together body and soul. Griffith is imprisoned in the oldest building in Wyndham Catle, the Tower of Rebirth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAkira (1988)
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two teenagers and a group of psychics can stop.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & action
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBlood Reign: Curse of the Yoma (1989)
A terrible war has ravaged the land, and now, fuelled by the blood of numerous fallen warriors the Yoma, demons from hell, emerge once more. A skilled ninja seeks to end the bloodshed these demons inflict upon humanity, but to do this he must fight against his undead former best friend and fellow ninja who was killed in battle and has been resurrected to serve the Yoma.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & fantasy
Ghost in the Shell (1995)
In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster' begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBlue Exorcist: The Movie (2012)
The atmosphere in True Cross Academy is lively and boisterous in the days leading up to the grand festival held once every 11 years. During this time, Okumura Rin is entrusted with the responsibility of suppressing the berserk Phantom Train. In the midst of his mission, he meets a devil whose appearance is that of a young boy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBleach the Movie: Hell Verse (2010)
Hell – A place where beings that have committed mortal sins during their lifetime are sent. It is a realm where even Soul Reapers are forbidden to interfere. When a group of vicious Sinners plot to escape from this eternal prison, they discover that Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki is the key to their freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village- (2023)
A recap of Kimetsu no Yaiba episodes 43–45, with new footage and special end credits. Together with his comrades, Zenitsu and Inosuke, along with one of the top-ranking members of the Demon Slayer Corps, Tengen Uzui, Tanjiro embarks on a mission within the Entertainment District, where they encounter the formidable, high-ranking demons, Daki and Gyutaro.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training- (2024)
Tanjiro undergoes rigorous training with the Stone Hashira, Himejima, in his quest to become a Hashira. Meanwhile, Muzan continues to search for Nezuko and Ubuyashiki. A recap of Kimetsu no Yaiba episodes 55–56, with new footage and special end credits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge of Edinburgh Part 1 (2022)
Tristan, the son of Meliodas and Elizabeth, inherits the power of the Goddess Clan and can heal people’s wounds and injuries, but he often ends up hurting others due to his inability to control his Demon Clan power. To protect his family, Tristan heads to Edinburgh Castle and meets a host of new friends along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth?
The closest matches to Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth are Devilman - Volume 2: Demon Bird (1990), Demon City Shinjuku (1988) and Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend (1989). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth?
People who watched Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth most often go on to Demon City Shinjuku (1988), Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend (1989) and Battle Royale High School (1987).
What is the highest-rated movie like Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth?
Akira (1988), rated 7.9/10 by 5,111 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth?
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training- (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Is Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to Devilman OVA, which includes Devilman - Volume 2: Demon Bird (1990) and Devilman - Volume 3: Devilman Apocalypse (2000).
Are there Japanese movies like Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth?
Yes: Devilman - Volume 2: Demon Bird (1990), Demon City Shinjuku (1988) and Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend (1989).
How are movies similar to Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.