Today we talk about the best assassin anime. Tales of Assassins have a history, a lineage from which they have developed. The modern-day assassin is a compilation of identities, muddled in part from its actual history. The early definition held a religious connotation, correlated to an Islamic sect that battled during the Crusades. However, as the word developed, it became its more popular form: “a person who murders a person for political or religious reasons.”

The identity of an assassin has now become synonymous with a hitman. At times, they even become muddled with mercenary, mafia, and spies.

Through this list, we hope that viewers will learn how anime has added to the history of assassin archetypes. Perhaps one of these stories will be a gateway into a new world, one that reveals the underside of society. This is our list of the best assassin anime.

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Best Assassin Anime

20. Coyote Ragtime Show

Mister is a “coyote” or space traveling fugitive who has been passing his time in jail for a year for a traffic infringement. Ten days before his release, he escapes from the prison with the aid of his old partners in crime, Bishop and Katana. He then pursues Franka who has been left in his arms by her deceased dad. Then he takes her on an expedition to find her father’s treasure. Also, they are being chased by the federal investigators Angelica and Chelsea. They are also pursued by android assassins of the Criminal Guild who are led by Madame Marciano’s Twelve Sisters.

This is a very thrilling and gripping tale about Mister and Franka trying to rebuild their world again. This anime has amazing action. Also, we recommend this anime for lovers of action and assassin movies/anime. Thus, it earns a spot in our best assassin anime.

19. 009- 1

Mylene Hoffman, a pretty cyborg agent with the codename “009-1” lives in an else world where the cold war never came to an end; continuing for a hundred and forty years. Also, the world is divided into two sections: The West and the East block. A deception of peace between the sections is gradually reducing as the dispute occurs. So through politics, the two groups fight over authority over technology to warnings of a nuclear attack. Mylene Hoffman, joining forces with three other spies, gets enclosed by deceit, mayhem, and rivalry. She does all of this as she takes on missions given to her by her superiors.

This anime has a very simple story. But don’t let that fool you. The action in this anime is top-notch. Also, it will impress die-hard fans of the action and even the Cyberpunk genre. For this reason alone, it deserves a spot in our best assassin anime list.

18. Madlax

In the land of Gazth-Sonika, civil war erupts. There, a soldier of fortune called Madlax thickens her trade, with almost inhuman skill. In the supposedly peaceful land of Nafrece, Margaret Burton spends a peaceful life. As separate as their lives may seem, these two are linked by strings of the unknown. Also, they are bound together by a holy book that is also sought by the nefarious organization, Enfant. As Margaret and Madlax follow the road of their fate, they come very near to revealing the truth. Also, there is no guarantee that it is a truth they can bear to learn.

This is a very fun anime. Even though the story sounds a little grim, there are a lot of things in here that you can have fun with. There are a lot of moments where the conversation between the central characters is so intriguing. This earns a spot in our best assassin anime list.

17. Golgo 13: Queen Bee

Great assassin Golgo 13 is employed by the counselor of presidential candidate Robert Hardy to eliminate “Queen Bee”; the good looking and lethal leader of a South American guerilla army. So Golgo, nevertheless, finds this job very easy and unearths more data to find out the true link between Hardy and Queen Bee.

The action in this anime is very good and still holds up today. It is a very fast-paced anime. Also, it will keep you hooked for a very long time. Thus, it deserves a spot in our best assassin anime list.

16. Lupin III: Island of Assassins

Zenigata comes to the birthday party of an influential politician to investigate a fake Lupin calling card. Lupin shows up as well. Out of nowhere, masked murderers/assassins barge in and start to shoot anything and everything that moves. Zenigata goes after Lupin during all the gunshots and confronts him in the courtyard of the house. Immediately, a hand holding a Walther P-38 comes out of a window and shoots Zenigata right in the chest. Also, Lupin identifies the Walther as his gun and begins to investigate.

The assassins that ambushed the party are from an unseen island called the Island of Assassins. The island is kept concealed with the help of top government officials from all over the world. These officials use the assassins on the island for their problems. There are loads of concealed secrets on the island. So Lupin, Goemon, Jigen, and Fujiko find themselves trapped in a plot that splits the inhabitants of the island in half. Also, the movie dives into Lupin’s past during his pre-Jigen days.

15. Noir

Noir is a name that inputs fear in the hearts of people who know the history behind the name. Long ago it was the alias name of a very victorious and notorious assassin. But two women inherit the name now. These women require answers to questions they have regarding their lives.

The protagonist in this anime is a highly qualified assassin called Mireille Bouquet who is based out of France. One day, she gets a puzzling email from a girl called Kirika. After reading the message, Mireille goes to confront this girl and finds out that the girl has no idea about who she is. Also, she has no reason as to why she is so good at killing people and why she feels no regret when she kills them. So understanding that their lives are connected somehow, Mireille and Kirika team up and start journeying the world together. They do so get out the answers to their linked histories while evading the grasp of an organization known as Les Soldats. So will the two find out what they are looking for? And will that truth free them, or destroy their lives?

14. Moribito – Guardian of the Spirit

In the aftermath of a devastating drought, the Star Readers of the Shin Yogo Kingdom must conjure a plan to evade widespread famine. It is mentioned in age-old myths that the first emperor, besides eight warriors, killed a water demon to escape a great drought. They did this to protect the land that was to become Shin Yogo. If a water demon was to make an appearance once more, its demise could bring redemption. However, the water demon reveals itself within the body of the emperor’s son, Prince Chagum. Also by the emperor’s command, Chagum is to be slaughtered to save the empire.

At the same time, an enigmatic spear-wielding soldier for hire named Balsa arrives in Shin Yogo on business. After saving Chagum from an undercover assassination attempt, she is asked by Chagum’s mom to protect him from the emperor and his assassins. Tied by a sacred vow she once swore, Balsa agrees to do so.

Seirei no Moribito follows Balsa as she goes on her journey to save Chagum, traversing the beauty of life, nature, family, and the connection that manifests between strangers. It is a very fascinating anime and it grabs a spot in our best assassin anime.

13. Chaika – The Coffin Princess

For five hundred years, the Taboo King, Arthur Gaz, governed the Gaz Empire. Also, he did so with an iron fist and organizes harsh experiments on his people. But his rule came to an end five years back, when mighty warriors who are known as the Eight Heroes vanquished him in a fight for the capital. His demise concluded the three hundred old war between the Gaz Empire and the alliance between six nations.

In the present day, Tooru Acura is an erstwhile treasonist from the war who has trouble adjusting to the peaceful world. This is because he cannot place a job where he can put his fighting powers to use. A chance appears before him when he encounters a white-haired sorcerer named Chaika Trabant. With a coffin on her back, she is seeking for the scattered ashes of her father just to give him a normal burial. Also, she hires Tooru and his adopted sister Akari to aid her. However, the six nations alliance asks Albéric Gillette and his men from the Kleeman Agency to chase and bring the late Emperor Gaz’s daughter Chaika. Also, the six nations alliance has now formed the Council of Six Nations,

With the speechless revelation of Chaika’s identity, the Acura siblings must select between aiding her to gather the remains of the tyrannical emperor and upholding the peace the continent strives to maintain.

12. Blade of the Immortal

Manji is an unprincipled swordsman. But he has been damned with everlasting life. He has become frustrated about living with all the deaths he has caused. Also, he has no talent/skill other than that of murdering, thus he comes up with a plan to get back his mortality; he must murder a hundred evil men for each good person he has murdered.

The aged witch who cursed Manji with everlasting life agrees to Manji’s idea and Manji is set on his journey to kill a thousand evil men. During his travel, he encounters a young girl, Rin, who has her revenge to take against the sword school. The members of this school killed Rin’s family. So Rin and Manji travel together, each believing to find some kind of peace. In their way are a lot of different enemies. Rin and Manji are practically always under attack and should know to live their lives while avoiding being devoured by revenge.

11. Gunslinger Girl

In the central part of Italy, the Social Welfare Agency abducts young girls from hospitals and provide them with another opportunity at life. They do so by using the most recent developments in cybernetic enhancements. With their artificially augmented bodies, the girls are indoctrinated and are trained to become assassins to do the filthy work for the Italian Government. In spite of all the enhancements, they are only just children at heart, fighting for recognition from those they love. Also, this is even after knowing that the love they feel is programmed. This sad story unfolds as these young women handle their emotions in an agency that handles them as nothing but ferocious and lethal killers.

10. Kill la Kill

After the killing of her dad, Ryuuko Matoi has been roaming the land seeking the killer who murdered her dad. Following her only clue which is the absent half of his invention, the Scissor Blade reaches the reputable Honnouji Academy. It is a high school like any other. The school is managed by the striking and unsympathetic student council president Satsuki Kiryuuin along with her strong underlings. Also, this group of underlings is called the Elite Four. In the academy’s insanely ruthless hierarchy, Satsuki wishes upon those at the top with special uniforms called “Goku Uniforms”. These dresses provide the wearer with never seen before inhuman abilities.

Ruthlessly beaten in a fight versus one of the students in uniform, Ryuuko goes back to her demolished home where she comes across Senketsu. It is a scarce and living “Kamui,” or God Clothes. After coming in contact with Ryuuko’s blood, Senketsu arises, latching onto Ryuuko and gifting her with immense power. Now, armed with Senketsu and the Scissor Blade, Ryuuko makes a stand against the Elite Four. She is believing to reach Satsuki and reveal the man behind her father’s murder once and for all.

09. Riddle Story of Devil

Tokaku Azuma has just been moved to the elite Myoujou Academy, a private boarding school for girls. But there is a catch; Tokaku, along with eleven of her classmates in Class Black, is one of the assassins taking part in a challenge. This is a challenge to murder their kind-hearted classmate, Haru Ichinose. Any person who succeeds will be provided with their deepest desire, no matter how difficult it is or how much it costs. However, each one of the assassins only gets one opportunity; if they fail to murder her, they will be debarred.

Despite the outstanding reward, Tokaku determines to take a different path of action. Though Haru is her target, the young assassin soon sees herself attracted to the very girl she is supposed to murder. With the whole class out for Haru, Tokaku declines from letting her friend die. Also, she takes a vow to protect her from the ever-increasing thirst for blood.

08. Danganronpa

Hope’s Peak Academy is one of the best high schools that accept only the most gifted students. Students who successfully apply get their unique titles, suitably reflective of their skills and characteristics. Out of the fifteen students submitted to the strange school that year, Makoto Naegi is an ordinary person. He has been accepted by pure luck and is given the title of “Super High School-Level Luck.”

Naegi and fellow students are initially happy. They are happy to be able to study in this prestigious institution. But these feelings of ecstasy are short-lived. A person called Monokuma ruins their lives. He is the principal and resident bear and he locks them up inside the school. The students’ hopes of breakout and graduation depend on one of them victoriously killing one of their own without being discovered. However, he or she will be killed if they are found. Also, this will result in the rest of the survivors continuing the deathmatch until only a single winner remains.

07. Code: Breaker

Taking the bus one day, Sakurakouji Sakura peeks out the window to see people being torched alive with blue fire. Also, she sees a boy her age who is not harmed by the fire and is standing over the people.

She returns to the site of the accident the next day and there are no dead bodies or evidence of any type of murder. Everything leads to just a small fire. She then enters her class only to find there is a new transfer student, Oogami Rei. And this boy looks completely like the boy she saw the day before and wears a black glove only on his left hand.

Oogami is a Code Breaker; a person who does not exist. He is a cruel and brutal killer who obeys the principle of “an eye for an eye”, to “use evil against evil”. Believing that murdering is not right, Sakurakouji sets out to put an end to him and break his icy heart.

06. Mirai Nikki

Yukiteru Amano is a lonely high school student. He passes his time writing a diary on his cellphone. Also, he talks with his two imaginary friends Deus Ex Machina (the god of time and space) and Murmur (the god’s servant). Uncovering himself to be a true entity, Deus provides Yukiteru a “Random Diary”. This diary shows illustrative entries based on the future and pressurizes him into a bloody battle royale. This battle royale eleven other people who possess similarly powerful future diaries.

With the last person alive chosen as the new god of time and space, Yukiteru should find and murder the other eleven to survive. He hesitantly teams up with his obsessive stalker Yuno Gasai. Yuno also has such a “Random Diary”, and she takes it upon herself to make sure of his safety. But there is more to this girl than meets the eye; She might have other ideas for her unshared love…

05. Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom

Mafia is widespread in America where assassinations are an everyday incident on the streets. Inferno, an enigmatic company, is the one behind most of these assassinations. They kill the people that oppose them through the use of their nearly-indestructible human weapon, “Phantom.”

One day, a Japanese traveler fortuitously witnesses Phantom’s latest assassination. Desperate to flee, the traveler hides in an isolated building. However, Phantom is revealed to be a young woman named Erin. Also, the leader of Inferno “Scythe Master” takes the tourist hostage and brainwashes him.

Provided the name “Zwei,” this once calm tourist is now a pawn of Inferno with no memories. Plunged into a world of lies, deception, and brutality, Zwei must fight hard to survive to one day recover his memories. Also, he has to survive to escape from this nightmare where he is continuously on the brink of death.

04. Black Cat

Finishing every job with merciless accuracy, Train Heartnet is a notorious assassin with no concern for human life. Putting on the moniker “Black Cat” in the underground, the flawless assassin works for a powerful secret organization known only as Chronos.

One shadowy night, the nonchalant gunman encounters Saya Minatsuki, a mysterious bounty hunter, and soon forms an odd friendship with her. Affected by Saya’s positive take on life, Train starts to rethink the decisions he made in his life. Determining to give up his role as the Black Cat, he instead decides to head down a righteous path as an honest bounty hunter. However, Chronos and Train’s possessive junior Creed Diskenth is not satisfied with Train’s sudden change of heart. He takes an oath to resort to the utmost measures to bring back the ambassador of bad luck.

This erstwhile assassin turned “stray cat” can only roam so far before the ear-shattering sound of gunfire rings out.

This is a very dark and gritty anime. The creators take very bold decisions with this story and it is very refreshing in many ways. Thus it grabs a spot in our best assassin anime list.

03. Akame ga Kill!

Night Raid is the secret assassination subdivision of the Revolutionary Army, a rebellion gathered to overthrow Prime Minister Honest. The Prime Minister’s greed and rapacity for power have led him to take advantage of the child emperor’s unenlightenment. Without a powerful and kind-hearted leader, the rest of the place is left to drown in poverty, conflict, and disintegration. Though the Night Raid members are all skilled assassins, they know that taking lives is far from admirable, Also, they will likely face punishment as they callously murder anyone who stands in the revolution’s way.

This merry band of assassins’ latest addition is Tatsumi, an innocent boy from an isolated village. He has started on travel to help his ruined hometown and was won over by not only Night Raid’s principles, but also their resolve. Akame ga Kill! follows Tatsumi as he battles the Empire and encounters face-to-face with powerful weapons, rival assassins, challenges to his principles and merit. And ultimately, he battles to find out what it truly means to be a rebel with a cause. Thus, it gets a spot in our best assassin anime list.

02. Darker than Black

It has been ten years since Heaven’s Gate showed up in South America and Hell’s Gate showed up in Japan. These gates cover the once familiar night sky with a harsh skyscape. Their motives unknown, these Gates are regions in which the very laws of physics are disregarded. With the arrival of the Gates appeared Contractors, who, in exchange for their humanity, are gifted with inhuman abilities.

In the Japanese city enclosing Hell’s Gate, Section 4 Chief Misaki Kirihara discovers herself at odds with a notorious Contractor called Hei. Called “Black Reaper” in the underworld, Hei, like his colleagues, accepts missions for the Syndicate; a mysterious and ruthless Syndicate, while slowly opening up the dark confines veiling a nefarious plot that endangers the very existence of Contractors.

From the brains of Tensai Okamura comes a sci-fi thriller taking the form of a subtle exposé on war; a war in which political places and truth and justice have no meaning—a war executed purely in the shadows. Therefore, it earns a spot in our best assassin anime list.

01.  Assassination Classroom

When a strange beast hacks the moon down to a permanent crescent, the learners of class 3-E of Kunugigaoka Middle School find themselves faced with a mammoth task; slaughter the creature accountable for the disaster before Earth experiences a similar fate. However, the beast, named Koro-sensei (the indestructible teacher), is fit to fly at speeds of up to Mach 20. Also, he shows this power freely, leaving any effort to defeat him in his extraterrestrial soil. Moreover, the oddballs of 3-E quickly find that the peculiar, tentacled creature is more than just unstoppable. He is the best teacher they have ever had!

Adapted from the comical hit manga by Yuusei Matsui, Ansatsu Kyoushitsu narrates the story of these junior high pupils. This is a story about the students as they improve their assassination skills and grow to stay strong. Also, they do so to stay against the tyrannical school system, their life issues, and one day, Koro-sensei. This anime is based on a very unique storyline. There is always a cliffhanger in this anime and that makes this anime very intriguing. Thus, it earns the number one spot in our best assassin anime list.

This brings us to the end of the best assassin anime list. Do check out our Top 20 Best Military Anime Of All Time.