Metal is a genre of music that developed between the 60s and the 70s, characterized by strong vocals and brutal guitar riffs.
There are many subgenres too but we are not going to go that much into detail. This listicle contains some of the best anime that feature metal music or are entirely based on it.
We ranked the anime based on how well they represent metal music and on our personal preferences.
Table of Contents
6. Zombie Land Saga
A demented anime that makes absurd and comical situations its strong point. Zombie Land Saga was released in 2018 as a 12-episode original work.
What would you do if one day you woke up in the middle of a group of zombie girls? This is what happened to Sakura, a girl who always wanted to become an idol.
This group of girls seems to have been brought together by a strange manager who aspires to find zombie idols under the banner of metal.
While obviously an anime to be watched at leisure, Zombie Land Saga ends up being very enjoyable and one of the best anime about hip-hop and rap too.
5. K-On
The plot features four female students named Yui, Mio, Ritsu, and Tsumugi. One day they all decide to join their institution’s light music club to save it from being dismantled.
They will thus find themselves to be the only four members and to make matters worse, poor Yui knows nothing about music. Thus begins their story as they try to grow the club with new members and participate in a music competition.
The metal element is less present than the other names on the list, which are centered on the latter. This element is due to the presence of the metal genre group Death Devil, which is present in the story even though it is not often seen.
4. Aggrettsuko
Aggretsuko is a lighthearted and humorous anime, perfect for those who want to watch a cool show without getting caught up in complex plots. The series was released on Netflix starting in 2018 and has many seasons.
The main character is Retsuko, a small and cute red panda who works as an employee at a company. However, she has a secret.
When she gets stressed, she goes to karaoke alone and releases her frustration by singing death metal songs.
If you are looking for something fun with a simple yet effective animation style and the addition of metal music, then Aggretsuko is a perfect choice.
3. Beck
Beck is a 26-episode series based on the manga of the same name by Harold Sakuishi, and one of the best anime about music you can find.
The plot follows the events in the life of Yukio Tanaka, or as nicknamed Koyuki, a 14-year-old student who already considers himself bored with life despite his tender age.
This monotony is ready to be disrupted he rescues a strange dog on the street, targeted by thugs.
The owner turns out to be Ryusuke Minami, a young 16-year-old guitarist who has just returned from his tour. The friendship between the two does not take long to develop, and Koyuki’s passion for the world of metal music grows too.
The work recounts with truly impressive realism the events that surround the life of a band.
2. Legend of Black Heaven
An anime from 1999, which combines music with science fiction-type scenes and, if you will, at times visionary.
It often happens that you have a dream that you are forced to give up. Oji Tanaka’s was to become a big metal star. Fifteen years ago he was known as Gabe, the leader of a heavy metal band called Black Heaven before everything fell apart.
Forced to abandon his dream, today Oji Tanaka is a middle-aged man with a wife, a young child, and a boring clerical job. But fate has more in store for him.
Get ready to experience Oji’s troubled story, full of ups and downs.
1. Detroit Metal City
A comic and demented-themed OAV series focused entirely on metal, divided into 12 episodes.
Souichi Negishi is a shy, kind-hearted young man who moves to Tokyo to attend university.
The boy also dreams of becoming a musician, but since there is not much choice, he ends up becoming the singer and songwriter of a heavy-metal band, Detroit Metal City.
Every time he goes on stage, Negishi becomes a completely different person, screaming vulgarities and behaving obscenely.
He is worried that his dual personality may have negative effects on his daily life and in particular his love life. Meanwhile, Detroit Metal City sees its popularity grow day by day.
An anime that will make you die of laughter and feel nostalgic for the 2000s, both because of the animation technique of those times and the themes discussed that can be traced back to those years.
