The 16 Peak Anime With Angels (Biblically Accurate And Not)

Angels are among the most common mythical creatures in our culture. Japanese culture isn’t super different as we have plenty of examples in animation.

From the charming and beautiful messengers of God to the scary abominations of Neon Genesis Evangelion, there are many ways to interpret their appearance.

In the most biblical sense, angels are supposed to be unfathomable creatures that go beyond human comprehension.

The shows you will see on this list are way more relaxed but you won’t miss the horrific monsters if you really want them. Most people expect battles between Angels and Demons and that’s right, you will even see that there are other creatures in the way.

So here are the best anime about Angels, for those fans who want to watch how these mythical creatures are represented by the Japanese.

Daily reminder: rankings are based on our experience and personal taste.

16. Angel Sanctuary

Angel Sanctuary is an OAV series of only 3 episodes from the shojo manga of the same name.

Setsuna Mudo is deeply attached to his sister Sara, ending up even being in love with her. She is a normal high school student, at least until she discovers that she is the reincarnation of the angel Alexiel.

With an ever-growing pile of enemies who want to kill him or exploit him for his heritage, Setsuna decides to run away together with his sister to live a peaceful life and to be able to finally express his forbidden love.

We certainly can’t say that we are looking at a good product. Angel Sanctuary adapts an entire manga into only 3 episodes, so from that already you will understand that it is a rushed adaptation and cuts a lot.

But the problems also extend to a weak and questionable plot, given the romance that is for all intents and purposes incest.

We recommend it if you want to see something short and flowing, but not for its content.

15. A Centaur’s Life

A Centaur’s Life is a particular slice of life with supernatural overtones, ideal for breaking away from the monotony of classic anime in this genre.

Himeno is a shy girl who, like her peers, struggles with the difficulties that come with attending high school.

The only difference? Himeno is a centaur, but she is not alone: all her classmates are supernatural creatures, such as demons, angels, and more.

Accompanied by Nozomi, with dragon wings, and Kyoko, with horns, she will live her school life amid love, disappointments, and joys.

Unlike the expectations that make it look like a classic slice-of-life anime with the only difference being in the aesthetics of the characters, A Centaur’s Life is much more.

A Centaur’s Life is based on a seinen manga, thus going into mature and deep themes such as racism and marginalization.

14. Midnight Occult Civil Servants

Midnight Occult Civil Servants is a mystery-themed anime with very interesting supernatural atmospheres which came out in 2019.

Arata Miyako is a civil servant and has just been assigned to the Regional Night Relations Department of Shinjuku Prefecture with the task of solving supernatural issues.

Without even knowing what to do, Arata finds himself in the middle of a dispute between angels and tengu that began at Shinjuku Gyoen Park.

He thus discovers that in addition to being able to see supernatural beings, he is also the only one who can understand nonhuman language.

But why can he do this, and why do supernatural creatures seem to recognize him? Find out by watching this interesting anime.

Midnight Occult Civil Servants is an anime that gradually reveals its mysteries in a very atmospheric, occult-based theme.

13. Pita-Ten

A comedy and fantasy anime with a school setting and romance themes.

Pita-Ten follows the story of young boy Kotaro as she meets Misha, an apprentice angel, and the devil Shia. The main character is the usual young troubled student that gets in even more trouble after meeting these acquaintances.

Misha needs to graduate from Earth to become a complete angel and she is tasked with helping Kotaro. Unfortunately, she is quite cumbersome and ends up doing more harm than good.

It’s an enjoyable slice-of-life anime for those who enjoy extreme cuteness and childish humor. At the same time, you can expect romance and even sad moments, so it explores the entire range of emotions.

This is the typical show aimed at a younger audience, pass to the next ones if you want something more mature.

12. Aquarion

Earth is threatened by Shadow Angels, mysterious beings that drain the life force out of people. After they were sealed for 12,000 years, a catastrophe named Holy Genesis brought them back and humanity has to find a way to survive.

The solution is DEAVA, an organization in charge of Aquarion, a powerful robotic weapon. The main character will join this war after his friend is kidnapped by an angel.

Aquarion is a nice mecha that references other shows like Neon Genesis Evangelion and RahXephon. The problem is that it fails to produce something original and unique.

Watch it if you are a fan of mecha designs and you are really into details.

11. DNAngel

DNAngel is an early 2000s angel-themed anime that deliberately goes to be highly demented and light-hearted, in a mix of nonsense situations.

Daisuke Niwa is an awkward boy who on his 14th birthday decides to confess his love to his crush, only to end up being rejected.

But on the same day, in a whirlwind of events, Daisuke ends up turning into Dark Mousy, a famous ghostly thief in the guise of an angel, discovering that this is the legacy left by his mother.

Daisuke will thus live his double life as he continues to try to conquer Risa but enemies are on the way.

An anime that despite the premise that may seem serious ends up being all in all very light and comical. So watch it as such if you are interested, without going for serious and deep insights.

10. Maria the Virgin Witch

Maria the Virgin Witch is a nice addition to this list as we have just talked about more recent settings. It’s set in medieval France during the Hundred Years’ War against England.

The protagonist Maria is a young witch living with her 2 familiars. She will try to disrupt the war and use her magic powers to ensure peace.

The archangel Michael warns her: if she interferes again, she will no longer have her magic if she loses her virginity.

This romantic comedy is a good example of learning history while having fun, all in an interesting and well-crafted medieval setting. And don’t be fooled by the premises that may seem strange and a little bit odd, this show is fun.

9. Gabriel Dropout

A 12-episode comedy/supernatural anime about the story of angel Gabriel White Tenma as she seeks to become a full-fledged angel.

The only way to do so is to study among humans but she gets addicted to videogames, failing her mission.

Although the story of Gabriel Dropout is mediocre per se, but the funny moments will compensate for it. If you want to watch something related to angels but with a strong comedy twist, go for it.

This anime also features demons and other mythological creatures, as you will notice during the first episodes.

We are in front of a clear example of how Japanese Animation can reinvent holy creatures like angels into humans, with our same vices.

8. Heaven’s Lost Property

An anime series you want to watch when you are just looking for some relaxation. Heaven’s Lost Property blends ecchi and comedy with supernatural and Sci-Fi with some unexpected character development.

The main character Tomoki Sakurai often dreams of an angel and his wish will be granted once a mysterious being falls from the sky. It’s no one else than a female angel, called Ikaros, who will treat Tomoki as her master.

The New World Discovery Club, formed by the protagonist and his friends, will investigate the mysteries of this New World infested with Angeloids.

Heaven’s Lost Property is an all-around light anime with a central angel theme focused on comedy and ecchi, with serious moments to break up the lightness.

7. High School DxD

What could be called by many the king of fanservice anime. High School DxD doesn’t need to hide as its reputation precedes it, ecchi is strong and there will be plenty of it.

The story follows the events of Issei Hyoudou, a perverted student attending high school like any other who sees his highly anticipated first date goes decidedly wrong.

The boy is killed by the beautiful girl he is dating, only to come back to life thanks to the intervention of the beautiful demon Rias Gremory, who makes him her assistant slave and gives him demoniac powers.

Thus begins his adventure filled with fights between Angels and Demons, but also with beautiful girls who increase his Harem of which he dreams of becoming the king.

High School DxD is a must for any fan of ecchi anime with lots of fanservice. It can be funny, and serious, with lots of action and well-fitting and contextualized romance with demons and spirits.

6. Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

A visual masterpiece by Studio Gainax with plenty of parodistic elements. Panty and Stocking are 2 angels kicked out of Heaven due to their behavior.

To get access again, they need to exterminate ghosts in Daten City, led by Garterbelt, a local priest. These 2 bizarre angels are far from common, as they have a lot of vices and prefer to do almost anything rather than fight.

A vulgar and indecent anime that is super entertaining to watch and breaks all the stereotypes we have about angelic creatures, and one of the best anime about exorcism too.

Panty & Stocking will be always remembered as that ecchi anime where 2 girls transform their lingerie into weapons.

This is probably the most original entry in this list because it does a simple thing like flipping the figure of angels without failing.

5. Angel Beats

A good mix between a school setting and supernatural elements, with a bit of drama. The story follows Yuzuru Otonashi, a 17-year-old girl as she discovers what happens to the soul after the death of a person.

He wakes up in a strange place that resembles a high school, hosting all the people who died of unwanted deaths. Together, they will form the Afterlife Battlefront to fight Kanade “Angel” Tachibana, the student council president.

Angel Beats is an isekai after all, but one that shows us a different point of view than other exponents of the genre. Indeed, the characters are reincarnated in a kind of limbo, where they will have to atone for their sins.

The psychological area, especially that related to trauma, is very pronounced.

4. Colorful

Colorful is a 2010 movie created by the direction of Keiichi Hara. This is a very introspective story focusing on the theme of the meaning of life.

After winning the Great Celestial Lottery, a soul at the end of her existence gets a chance to come back to life while keeping its memories.

It’s given the chance to decide for herself in which body to reincarnate, and so decides to take that of Makoto Kobayashi, a 14-year-old boy who had just taken his own life.

An angel called Purapura helps him to accomplish this hard mission, while the main character will have to understand what happened.

Colorful is a very underrated movie, which through well-written characters and an all-too-light atmosphere manages to deal very well with life’s problems.

3. Angel’s Egg

The first independent production for Mamoru Oshii, Angel’s Egg is a 1985 movie that master Yoshitaka Amano (Final Fantasy) also collaborated on its character design.

The work follows a helpless nameless child in an abandoned town. She cherishes an egg that hides under her robe, even as she goes to search the rubble of the city for food and water.

In the prologue, we witness the descent of a strange eye-shaped figure surrounded by various statues, who heads toward the town where the little girl is.

Angel’s egg is an almost silent movie, but rich in symbolism. Indeed, Oshii himself has said that it is up to the viewer to find meaning, creating their own narrative.

This is one of the most avant-garde experiences in the entire medium and a unique journey that feels like lucid dreaming.

2. Haibane Renmei

Haibane Renmei is a 13-episode anime created by Yoshitoshi Abe in collaboration with the Radix studio.

Rakka is a girl with angelic features who lives inside thick, stifling walls together with her fellow humans, called Haibane.

None of them remembers who they were before nor why they have this strange appearance, nor even why they live inside this wall, isolated from the outside world.

A must-see if you are a lover of suspense and mystery in a supernatural setting, with a comb-over plot that keeps you glued to the screen.

All, of course, with that touch of reflection and depth of theme that distinguishes the anime on this list. A great mix not to be missed for any reason, and without any doubts one of the best supernatural anime ever.

1. Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion is an original anime created by Hideaki Anno in Gainax studio that depicts a world under attack by so-called Angels, mysterious entities that threaten the quiet of humanity.

Through the use of special mechs, it is possible to fight these beings, for which the Special Agency Nerv has taken responsibility.

The protagonist Shinji Ikari will be hired by this same group to pilot one of the robots, EVA 01, and attempt to put an end to these attacks.

Although the plot seems action-centric, all the focus is on the characters and their psychology, as well as their traumas and personal experiences.

The message of Evangelion resonates near the second half of the original anime, as the situation starts to get grim.

We think you already know that Evangelion is a cult anime that everyone should watch, and you don’t need us to tell you that.

The figure of Angels is very contextualized in the story, as there are plenty of biblical references and connections to the events that will occur.

Even though these monsters are different in form from humans, the genetic difference is very little. Nonetheless, the majority of them won’t show signs of communication and they are just enemies to be destroyed.

The reason why this entry is first it’s because this interpretation of angels is extremely charming and fascinating because it plays on our curiosity.

Their otherworldly appearance resembles what’s described in the Bible and this makes them even more appealing to us.