After losing his father in a volcanic eruption that nearly destroyed the Ayaka Islands, Yukito Yanagi lived with foster families on the mainland. However, against his father’s wishes, Yukito is brought back to the islands after graduating from middle school, where he meets his father’s disciples and learns of the supernatural state of the area.
Across the four islands of Ayaka, Mitama live harmlessly and feed on human energy. However, when they have too much negative energy, they become dangerous Aramitama that need to be subdued by Ley Masters. Like his father, Yukito has the ability to become a Ley Master, but to do so, he must overcome past trauma and accept his origins.
While it probably takes too long to get going, I can appreciate an anime that tells the story from beginning to end in a coherent manner. Even if that’s forgettable, the Ayaka is still a nice watch. If you’re looking for more anime recommendations like Ayaka: A Story of Bonds and Wounds, check out the section below.
Anime Like Ayaka: A Story of Bondage and Wounds
For Exorcist fans
Twin Star Exorcists
Parallel to our world is Magano, where Kegare lives. Exorcists are sent to deal with these monsters and cleanse them of impurities.
One day, a talented young exorcist named Benio will return to Tokyo to meet with the Exorcist Alliance. On the way, she meets a young exorcist named Rokuro. After seeing some children being harassed by Kegare, Benio rushes in and drags Rokuro with him. There, she discovered he had skills that rivaled hers, but refused to fight.
Paired by the chief exorcist, they were hailed as the Twin Exorcists and prophesied to be the future parents of the reincarnation of Abe no Seimei, who would purify the world of Kegare.
Both films focus on exorcists with unique styles in an ordinary world. However, while Ayaka has a fairly condensed plot, going from beginning to end in just one season, Twin Star Exorcist is more clearly shounen. It is divided into long arcs that have no end over a long period of time.
While both series focus on exorcists battling spirits that threaten humanity, they also focus quite a bit on the bonds the protagonists form with their companions. It’s just that Twin Star Exorcists focuses more on the connections that lead to romance rather than the general theme of brotherhood that Ayaka promotes.
Tokyo Ravens
Spiritual magic helped Japan enter World War II, but the war was lost after an onmyouji caused the Great Spiritual Disaster that still plagues Tokyo to this day. As a result, the Onmyou Agency was established to fight the demons.
Nowadays, spiritual power has declined, and this is the case of Harutora, a young man tasked with protecting the reincarnation of the creator of the Great Disaster. However, when an Onmyoji attempted to recreate the Great Spiritual Disaster, he took the opportunity to try to stop them.
While Ayaka focuses on Mitama as a normal part of life only on the Ayaka Islands, Tokyo Ravens is about a relatively modern world where onmyou magic used by exorcists is a an indispensable part of daily life without making society too spiritual.
Both series are essentially anime about exorcists but with a focus on magical realism. Both series feature main characters who either have no apparent powers or have difficulty controlling the immense power they do have – both for mysterious reasons that they will explore later.
Let’s be real, Ayaka is a fun, interesting character but ultimately a forgettable type of anime. Tokyo Raven has a lot of that too.
Shounen Onmyouji
Although Masahiro is the grandson of the great onmyouji, Abe no Seimei, he lacks the sixth sense to even be able to see spiritual beings.
Lacking the basics necessary to become an onmyouji, Masahiro was forced to consider other career options. However, a mononoke appeared before him and unleashed his true hidden power after fighting a demon.
With the help of this mysterious entity, Masahiro now begins his journey to become the greatest onmyouji!
Both series feature main characters who—despite being the ancestors of great exorcists—are living in the ordinary world and do not consider becoming an exorcist. Of course, events draw them back into the supernatural world and someone teaches them to tap into their hidden powers.
However, while Shounen Onmyouji is about being an exorcist in alliance with a spirit, Ayaka is more about exploring spirits. The secret origins of the main characters.
For fans of the modern supernatural setting
Malevolent Spirits – Mononogatari
Tsukumogami are self-aware objects that can take human form, but manifest powers based on the object they once were. For many tsukumogami, they exist secretly and without problems. However, when they began causing problems, Saenome’s command was tasked with neutralizing them
Hyouma Kunato was a young Saenome working under his grandfather, but after a tsukumogami killed his brother and sister, it took its toll on him. choose violence in every encounter instead of exploring more peaceful means to neutralize tsukumogami.
Finding this unacceptable for their clan’s future heir, his grandfather sent him to live with Botan Nagatsuki, a female college student protected by a series of tsukumogami who also dealt with problems caused by their own kind in Kyoto. However, while his encounters with Botan and her tsukumogami have a calming effect his presence in her life begins to stir up boundaries that were set long ago.
Both Ayaka and Mononogatari are supernatural anime that are best described as a “magical realism” in which the world and plot are highly supernatural, but not very different from our reality in the world. most other aspects.
While Ayaka is definitely a bit more eccentric with the character designs of some of the exorcist characters, both series feature normal, realistic characters involved in a world of supernatural conspiracies. never seen.
The biggest difference between them is that, although things get bad in Ayaka towards the end as it progresses, the supernatural is much scarier in Mononogatari. It tells a darker story and its enemies are monsters that look less CGI and are more interestingly designed.
Beyond the Boundaries
As the last surviving member of her clan of spirit warriors, Mirai Kuriyama must use her special fighting powers by using her blood to subdue Youmu, creatures that manifest negative human emotions.
One day at school, she comes across Akihito, a rare Youmu hybrid in human form. Immediately trying to kill him, she discovers he is an immortal being and the two strike up an impromptu friendship.
Both Ayaka and Beyond the Boundary focus on groups of characters fighting spirits but balance it with similar characters just living their lives in a very normal modern world. However, while Ayaka focuses on island life, Beyond the Boundary is a series about school life.
These series really differ in scale. Ayaka has fights that usually end quite quickly. Beyond the Boundary not only has more action, but the scale of the action is significantly more epic. Beyond the Boundary also benefited from a notably large animation budget.
Print/Spectre
When she was young, Kotoko Iwanaga was kidnapped by yokai and asked to become their Goddess of Wisdom to act as an intermediary between spiritual and human matters. She agreed and lost her right eye and left leg in the deal.
Meanwhile, Kotoko meets Kuro Sakuragawa, a man who just broke up with his girlfriend after a kappa ran away in front of him.
Kotoko makes her not only want to lock him up as a boyfriend but also ask him to help her resolve various disputes with the spirits.
While Ayaka is set in a self-contained group of islands, both series feature worlds that resemble normal modern Japan, but are filled with the supernatural. Aside from their magical realist settings, both series have a passion for dialogue and character development rather than epic flashy battles.
They have big, flashy battles, but most of each episode is just the characters talking. In/spectre, which is a series about solving supernatural mysteries through investigation and reconciliation, makes even longer stretches of dialogue through conspiracy interesting. Ayaka isn’t very good at keeping long stretches of dialogue particularly engaging, but it also builds relationships between characters in those moments.
Unlike Yukito who is also frequently saved thanks to Jingi’s timely intervention, In/Spectre also has a main character duo where one protects the other.
For fans of main characters with mysterious powers
Mysterious civil servants at midnight
Miyako Arata was newly assigned to the Night Area Relations Department. Each ward of Tokyo has one of these offices that specialize in investigating paranormal and paranormal-related activities in the area.
On his first night on the job, he learned tricks from his colleagues, who tried to scare away the Tengu and the Angels before a battle broke out between them.
However, he also learned that, unlike his colleagues, he could understand what they were saying to each other. This allows Arata the ability to mediate issues instead of immediately turning to violence.
Both of these supernatural anime feature main characters who are ordinary boys who are introduced to the supernatural world. They soon discover that they are also supernaturally special, even more so than some of their supernaturally gifted friends.
While both series are about the main characters solving problems around town, Ayaka is following Yukito’s quest to know who he really is while Midnight Occult Civil Servant reveals it to the main character early on, and otherwise it’s a workplace plot focused on reconciliation. He uses his ability to talk problems out instead of always solving them.
Noragami
There will be times when you come across a strange phone number written in red. If you call it, you will be contacted by a young man who introduces himself as God Yato.
This God Yato is a minor god and calls himself the God of Delivery. He dreamed of having millions of followers, but there was not a single temple dedicated to his name. He spends his time doing odd jobs to earn spare money until the day his weapon companion abandons him.
Just when things are going downhill, he comes across a young female student who saves him from a car accident by beating him up. She survived, but her soul became loose. Together they find a way to tighten her soul again.
Even though Noragami is a much longer story, story-wise, it seems like Jingi is the focus of the story instead of Yukito. Both series feature mysterious protagonists whose back stories and origins are gradually unraveled. While doing so, both Noragami and Ayaka emphasize the bonds the main characters form with the people around them.
While Ayaka generally lives a more routine life with occasional battles, Noragami is a bit better at pacing herself, but tends to be more action-oriented. Even so, there’s still plenty of time for Yato to become a lovable wanderer not unlike Jingi when Yukine is just as critical of him as Yukito.
Do you have any more anime recommendations like Ayaka: A Story of Bonds and Wounds? Let fans know in the comments below.