Harajuku Himegoto House is the newest assassin anime on the way. Plott announced the TV anime on November 7 as part of a multimedia project, per Anime News Network. An aspiring hitman tracks down a rumored assassins' hideout in Harajuku and finds a café run by killers in loud street fashion. It has no premiere date yet, and it lands in a busy lane: Spy x Family just got a fourth season. So here are 12 essential assassin and hitman anime, ordered by SenpaiRanks score, with where to watch each.
Quick answer
According to SenpaiRanks, the best assassin anime is Spy x Family (8.38), followed by Assassination Classroom (7.92) and Darker than Black (7.89). Lycoris Recoil (7.83) and Buddy Daddies (7.78) are the best short picks at 12 to 13 episodes each. For a straight hitman tragedy, Gungrave (7.70) and Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom (7.66) both stream on Crunchyroll and Hulu. The list takes one series per franchise and ranks it by its first season.
The new one: Harajuku Himegoto House
The teaser came out with the announcement:
Plott handles planning and production, Bandai Namco Music Live's Lantis label handles the music, and Aki Akane drew the original character illustrations. The project is billed as a high-tempo gag series. Yūya Hirose plays the would-be hitman Mizuki Otokozawa. Nobuhiko Okamoto plays the store manager, a 50-year-old in twin tails and decora fashion, and Showtaro Morikubo plays a man who is 2 trillion yen in debt. No premiere date or streaming platform has been announced, so it has no score yet. Its board opens when it airs.
The ranked list
1. Spy x Family — 8.38
CloverWorks and Wit Studio · 2022 · 12 episodes (first cour). A spy needs a fake family for a mission. The wife he recruits is a professional assassin, the daughter he adopts reads minds, and none of them tell each other. It's a comedy first, and it's the only show here with 5,000 effective votes behind its score. Streams on Crunchyroll and Hulu. See where to watch Spy x Family and the Season 4 and second movie announcement.
2. Assassination Classroom — 7.92
Lerche · 2015 · 22 episodes. A tentacled creature destroys most of the moon, promises to do the same to Earth in a year, and asks to teach a class of junior-high dropouts in the meantime. Their assignment is to kill him before graduation. The second season is better and holds an 8.19. Streams on Crunchyroll. There's also a 2026 film: Assassination Classroom the Movie: Our Time.
3. Darker than Black — 7.89
Bones · 2007 · 25 episodes. A gate opens over Tokyo, the real stars disappear, and people called Contractors gain powers at the cost of their conscience. Hei, the Black Reaper, kills for a syndicate he doesn't trust. Tensai Okamura directed it and Yoko Kanno scored it. Check the show page for current streaming options.
4. Lycoris Recoil — 7.83
A-1 Pictures · 2022 · 13 episodes. Japan's crime rate is near zero because an agency of teenage girls quietly shoots the criminals. Two of its agents work out of a café, which makes this the closest thing on the list to Harajuku Himegoto House. Streams on Crunchyroll. It also places second in our yuri ranking.
5. Buddy Daddies — 7.78
P.A. Works · 2023 · 12 episodes. Two hitmen who share an apartment end up raising a four-year-old after a job goes sideways on Christmas Eve. Half the show is contract killing and the other half is daycare logistics. Streams on Crunchyroll.
6. Katekyo Hitman Reborn! — 7.76
Artland · 2006 · 203 episodes. A hopeless middle-schooler learns he's next in line to run a mafia family, and his tutor is a hitman who looks like a baby. The first 20 or so episodes are gag comedy. After that it becomes a long battle shonen. Streams on Crunchyroll and Hulu, and AniList also lists it on Tubi.
7. Gungrave — 7.70
Madhouse · 2003 · 26 episodes. Two friends join a crime syndicate. One becomes its best hitman and the other climbs to the top and betrays him. Don't let the first episode's undead-gunslinger opening put you off. The mob drama that follows is why it ranks this high. Streams on Crunchyroll and Hulu.
8. Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom — 7.66
Bee Train · 2009 · 26 episodes. A Japanese tourist witnesses a hit in America, and the syndicate behind it wipes his memory and trains him as an assassin. It adapts a Nitroplus visual novel written by Gen Urobuchi, years before Madoka Magica. Streams on Crunchyroll and Hulu.
9. Akame ga Kill! — 7.45
White Fox · 2014 · 24 episodes. A country kid joins Night Raid, a squad of assassins working against a corrupt empire. Characters die often and without warning, and the anime ends differently from the manga. Streams on HIDIVE and Hulu, and on Netflix in some regions.
10. The World's Finest Assassin — 7.38
Silver Link and Studio Palette · 2021 · 12 episodes. The best assassin on Earth is killed by his own employer, and a goddess offers him a second life in a fantasy world on one condition: kill the Hero. Streams on Crunchyroll. Season 2 is set for January 2027 (cast and where to watch).
11. Gunslinger Girl — 7.36
Madhouse · 2003 · 13 episodes. An Italian government agency rebuilds badly injured girls as cyborg assassins and pairs each with an adult handler. It's slow and sad, and it has very little interest in making the gunfights look cool. Streams on Crunchyroll.
12. Hell's Paradise — 7.31
MAPPA · 2023 · 13 episodes. Gabimaru, a ninja assassin on death row, is offered a pardon if he brings back the elixir of life from an island nobody has returned from. Season 2 aired this year and holds a 7.20. Streams on Crunchyroll, and on Netflix in some regions (Hell's Paradise guide).
Just outside the top 12
Four more are worth knowing. Noir (7.28) is Bee Train's 2001 story of two women who kill for hire. The Fable (7.21) follows a legendary hitman ordered to spend a year without killing anyone. It streams on Hulu and Disney+, and its second season starts in January 2027. Golgo 13 (7.17) ran for 50 episodes from 2008. Sakamoto Days (7.06) is the Netflix pick, about a retired hitman who now runs a corner shop (where to watch and is it good).
Killua Zoldyck may be anime's most famous assassin, but Hunter x Hunter isn't an assassin show. You'll find it in our Hunter x Hunter guide instead.
What's coming next
The lane is full for the next year:
- January 2027: Sakamoto Days Season 2, The World's Finest Assassin Season 2 and The Fable Season 2. Our winter 2027 guide has the dates.
- 2027: Spy x Family Season 4 and a second film.
- Also in production: the Chainsaw Man Assassins arc, and Harajuku Himegoto House once it gets a date.
This spring's Kill Blue, about a veteran hitman stuck in a middle-schooler's body, fits here too (cast and where to watch).
A note on the numbers. MyAnimeList gives each show one average. SenpaiRanks adjusts every score for how many votes are behind it, so a cult series with a few hundred fans can't jump over a hit that thousands have rated. If you think the order is wrong, rate Spy x Family or any show above. Your vote moves the board.
For more rankings, see the best action anime, the best seinen anime, the best mystery and detective anime, yesterday's post-apocalyptic ranking and the best anime of fall 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Q: What is the best assassin anime?
A: Spy x Family, at 8.38 on SenpaiRanks. Assassination Classroom (7.92) and Darker than Black (7.89) follow.
Q: What is a good hitman anime?
A: Buddy Daddies (7.78) if you want comedy, Gungrave (7.70) if you want a mob tragedy, and Sakamoto Days (7.06) on Netflix for action.
Q: Is Spy x Family an assassin anime?
A: Partly. Yor Forger is a professional assassin, her husband is a spy, and the show plays both jobs for comedy.
Q: Which assassin anime is short?
A: Lycoris Recoil has 13 episodes, Gunslinger Girl has 13, and Buddy Daddies and The World's Finest Assassin have 12 each.
Q: When does Harajuku Himegoto House come out?
A: No date has been announced. The TV anime was revealed on November 7, 2026 with a teaser and its main cast.
Q: Where can I watch assassin anime?
A: Most of this list is on Crunchyroll. The Fable is on Hulu and Disney+, Akame ga Kill! is on HIDIVE, and Sakamoto Days is on Netflix.