The anime is from the perspective of Wahira Nagomi, an innocent, chipper girl who wants to be a maid and is fascinated with the world of maids since they appear to be so kind and fun.
When she gets hired and realizes the dark underworld attached to the maid life that so many avoid, she initially tries to run away from it. And is forced to deal with her new, uncomfortable reality she’s clearly not built for.
Akiba Maid War is all in the title. The “Akiba” part is short for Akihabara, a part of Japan. And the “maid war” is literal as it describes the war between maid cafes that operate more like Gangsters.
Here’s a list of anime like Akiba Maid War worth watching.
1. Black Lagoon
Black Lagoon is a classic. The 4 main characters are:
- Revy Rebecca, also known as two hands.
- Dutch (the leader of the lagoon company).
- Benny (nerd).
- Rock (new member).
Rock joins by accident after being smuggled by the gang, and Revy takes an interest in him down the line.
The anime’s full of violent, bloody action, savage murders, gunslinging, and very dark undertones and stories. It has more depth than some comparable anime can even claim.
It’s also visually appealing for its time and will appeal to fans of the latest Akiba Maid War series which is an original made by P.A Works!
2. Lycoris Recoil
Similar to Akiba Maid War, Lycoris Recoil is another original anime series. This one is made by A-1 Pictures who did Sword Art Online, Blue Exorcist, Fairy Tail, and many others.
Lycoris Recoil features two gunslinging girls. One blonde, one black-haired. One is a dere dere who’s outgoing and energetic, and the other who’s introverted and more of a Dandere type of girl.
They work together to get rid of terrorists and criminals in Tokyo under the spy group called Lycoris.
Some feel the anime is overrated, but others appreciate its originality and differences from many anime out there as far as writing and direction.
The anime is clearly inspired by the old-school series Gunsmith Cats.
3. Sword Art Online: Alternative Gungale Online
The main female character called Llenn is a normal woman in the real world, an introvert at that, but plays as a small tiny girl called Llenn inside of the world of GGO (gungale online).
This version of SAO which is a side story takes place in the Gungale Online portion of the series first seen in season 2 of SAO.
You can expect less violence and dark scenes, but it does have its fair share despite the anime only being 12 episodes long.
It’s essentially a cute girls doing cute things style of anime if we’re talking about the protagonist in particular.
4. The Great Pretender
This is a classic anime series that doesn’t get enough coverage or attention. The visuals are stunning and are easily better than some newer anime from the 2020s.
The main character who they call Edomame seems like an innocent guy, but actually, he’s a professional swindler from Japan who ends up in California, USA.
The plot revolves around professional swindlers and the hot water they constantly find themselves in, but cleverly are able to swim themselves out of without getting burned. And often turning the tables on their enemies.
It’s a lot like Death Note in this way but without hiding behind closed doors.
The designs and depictions of California and other locations in the anime are realistically made and well done.
5. Noir
An anime show that most people won’t even know about today. It went unnoticed and can be considered somewhat underrated in a sense.
The main characters are:
- Kirika Yuumura.
- Mireille Bouquet.
Both are assassins for hire and travel the world, especially Europe to carry out their assassinations and murders for the paper.
Kirika in particular is a lot younger and has had a disturbing upbringing, making her such an expert and cold, merciless assassin who doesn’t talk much and lacks communication skills.
There’s no real blood in this series but you can think of it in some aspects as being more mature.
6. Spy x Family
Akiba Maid War might be a violent series but it does switch being that and the more wholesome, funny side of being a maid when it counts.
Spy x Family is like Akiba Maid War in this sense. You have Loid, the famous spy who does what he does undercover, and Yor, the wife, who’s secretly an assassin.
Outside of their disguised professions, they have a family with Anya, the telepathic kid, and the anime does a good job of highlighting these more wholesome, relaxing moments of the anime.
It has the right amount of action and balances it out with other vibes and more chilled-out episodes.
7. Princess Principal
In this anime, the setting is a lot like Akiba Maid War for its focus on female characters in particular. The main female characters are from London, UK, where the anime is based.
They’re all secretly spies who work silently for their common goal, armed and dangerous at that.
Akiba Maid War is obviously the anime with the better visuals if that’s your concern, but it’s not a loss.
8. Gunslinger Girl
A slightly different plot but with very similar themes and vibes. Gunslinger Girl is about a set of girls who work under the government after having all their lives saved during tragic events.
They get metal implanted into their bodies to save them from death and are then made to be the Government “dogs” who carry out missions and even assassinations as an act of loyalty.
These girls are barely teenagers if that, and are skilled in weaponry, guns, shooting, and have a disturbing level of knowledge about how to kill someone with guns.
They are of course brainwashed and conditioned to keep them in line, which is also the reason the anime has a sad and depressing side to it.
9. Jormungand
And last there’s the anime that’s a lot like Black Lagoon and Akiba Maid War, but clearly stands out for its own reasons. The anime is about arms dealing, and it’s portrayed realistically.
Koko Hekmatyar is the leader in this anime and she walks around heavily armed with bodyguards willing to lay down their life. Many of the bodyguards have militant backgrounds.
Koko is fun, easy going, and smiles a lot, but she has a nasty side and is a killer at the end of the day trying to protect her business. One that nets her millions and has made her a millionaire.
Shootouts, lots of guns, action, depth, and surprising amounts of humor, Jormungand is underrated to a fault.
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