Since its inception on the PlayStation in June 2014,The Last of Ushas successfully made its way into the streaming service industry. The first of nine episodes in this season dropped on HBO Max in January of this year. It has since received an 8.9 out of 10-star rating on IMDB by approximately 350,000 people.
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Despite details altered and expanded upon from the game, the show continues to carry on core themes all throughout – seeking purpose in a survival-centered world, queer life and representation, grief, and coming to terms with the fact that someone doesn’t need to be an Infected to be a threat. While the anime industry has its fair share of the undead to grapple with, only a handful of them crossover with the above themes.
10The Sound of the Sky (2010)
Despite its humbling atmosphere, Sound of the Sky’s premise is the result of a global regression away from humans’ dependence on technology. It follows Kanata Sorami’s desire to become a bugler after witnessing a military member play “Amazing Grace” when she was younger. Stationed in the fictional town of Seize, she learns from and grows with the young women of the 1121st Platoon.
Though the world is not riddled withinfection, the people in this show must adjust to an entirely new way of life they may have never imagined they’d have to. They cannot depend on technology the way that we can easily do today, and viewers are reminded that some of the greatest joys come from the smallest things.
9Somali And The Forest Spirit (2020)
Viewers in search of more of thefatherhoodaspect of The Last of Us might find solace in the adventures of Somali and Golem. Initially, the guardian of a mystical forest in this fantasy world, Golem finds himself taking on the role of Somali’s father as they search for her human family.
Like Joel, Golem is given a mission to follow through. Along the way, he grows into a humanity of his own because of this role. The show also follows the necessary hard truth that those met along the way will come and go regardless of how much someone values their presence.
8Guilty Crown (2011)
Caught in the throws of an apocalyptic virus of their own, Guilty Crown puts teenager Shu Ouma center stage as he is suddenly pulled into a fight between a rebellion group called Funeral Parlor and an international organization, GHQ. The virus that plagues Japan in the show is much more material than the Cordyceps infection because it turns the mind into a physical object.
Despite joining the rebellion, Ouma discovers the lines between who is protecting people and who is harming them are blurred. He also travels through this arc himself. The push and pull of power and seeing others as human in a time where people betray one another echoes slivers of The Last of Us.
7Attack On Titan (2013-2023)
What starts off as a story of revenge has since grown into a war of, essentially, people versus people. The protagonist, Eren Yaeger, initially suffers a tragedy that sparks his drive to destroy the man-eating humanoids known as Titans. He later learns that his desire is more complicated than he anticipated, and he goes through a tumultuous character arc that makes us question his originally heroic intentions.
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Like Joel, Eren is a morally gray kind of character. He eventuallymanipulatesthe people around him and loses regard for innocent lives. The people around him are deeply affected by his choices.
6Ajin (2016)
While the entireCGI animationmight take some getting used to, Ajin is a thrilling seinen to watch if viewers want something just as interesting but not the same as The Last of Us. Protagonist Nagai Kei discovers that he is an “Ajin,” or an immortal, after getting hit by a truck and reviving. There are only 47 Ajin recorded globally. Those discovered in Japan are often captured by the government and experimented on.
Despite initially fighting for the sake of survival, Kei eventually finds purpose in wanting to fight for his own personal peace and the humanity he still deeply cares about. There is a beauty that lies in the show when distinguishing Kei from the main antagonist, Satō, as both struggles with humanity in their own ways.
5Sunday Without God (2013)
Apocalypses can often make characters feel like they’re living in a godless world, but imagine if God actually abandoned humanity. Sunday Without God is a show that makes such a world a reality. The consequence is that no one can properly die except at the hands of a gravedigger. At age 7, Ai Astin was given this role after her mother died. It isn’t until a decade later that she is finally able to exert that role because a man carrying the same name as her father appears and kills all the villagers.
Ai’s search for purpose after this tragedy centers itself around what it truly means to be a gravedigger and if she truly is one or not. Despite having different reasons, both Ai and The Last of Us’sEllieare granted something they didn’t ask for at a young age. They must define for themselves what it means to them and how they plan to use it.
4No. 6 (2011)
A distant echo of Bill and Frank’s love story can be found in No. 6 as protagonist Shion and his comrade, Nezumi, escape the government-controlled district of No. 6. People, especially those who defy the government, are experimented on or forced to leave the walls of the city for the pollution-infested outskirts.
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Now a fugitive from No. 6, Shion is determined to find the truth about what is happening with the walls while living outside of them with his friend and eventual lover.
3Wolf’s Rain (2003)
One of the strongest themes between Wolf’s Rain and The Last of Us is that some goals are not as tangible as they might seem. Prideful and stubborn Kiba has come to the impoverished Freeze City chasing after Paradise (a peaceful, nature-filled place), which can only be achieved through Lunar Flowers. Along the way, he meets other wolves who humanize his experience while he inspires them to go with him.
Paradise becomes a beacon of hope for the wolves, much like some of the characters in The Last of Us desire as much of a normal life as they can have given their circumstances. What it takes to get there is a harder set of truths to realize, just as manyfind their own Paradise in their loved ones.
27 Seeds (2019)
7 Seeds provides a large cast of characters for viewers to follow as people are thrown into an island survival setting, only remembering pieces of the day prior. This show pulls viewers into the ways characters keep themselves and others alive, as well as makes audience members ask questions about how the characters reached this point in the first place.
While the environment is vastly different than a decimated America, the complexity of human relationships during times of need and the adjustment to a world vastly unknown parallel the struggle within the HBO Max show.
1Kabenari Of The Iron Fortress (2016)
Imagine The Last of Us but with a little more engine power. Kabenari of the Iron Fortress follows the morally driven steamsmith, Ikoma, as he builds a piercing gun to defeat the virally infected of his world, known as the Kubane. After many revisions, Ikoma is able to test his invention on a real Kubane. However, his success comes at the cost of his own health, which is disrupted by the virus. Now walking the earth as a Kabaneri — a human-Kabane hybrid — takes on newfound abilities to fight the Kubane and save his people.
Kabenari of the Iron Fortress is a perfect transition piece for viewers in search of an anime that resonates with most of the themes in The Last of Us. It balances a fair amount of action, a personal sense of justice, and unlikely teamwork that keeps viewers invested until the very end.
