The 10 Anime with Familiars Or Summons You Have To Watch

Summoning familiars or creatures is a recurrent theme in anime and Japanese videogames. Some famous examples include Stands from JoJo or Spirits from Shaman King.

This listicle will show you the best anime that include familiars or summons in their plot. What we will write is highly subjective and based on our experience.

10. Fairy Gone

An action anime released and concluded in 2019 with mythological themes. Fairies can possess animals and use their organs to give humans the power of summoning them as powerful allies/weapons.

The lucky people who received this magical aid go by the name of Fairy Soldiers and not all of them have the best intentions.

While the premise of the plot seems quite interesting, the show isn’t. We mention it because you may be interested in watching something related to the topic but we recommend you continue reading.

9. Persona 5 The Animation

The anime is based on the globally successful videogame Persona 5, a JRPG made by Atlus.

The main cast can summon Personas in a fictional world called Metaverse. These beings are their masks and allow them to use several powers to bring justice.

We recommend you play Persona 5 Royal, currently available for PlayStation 4 and on Steam, Game Pass, and PlayStation 5 from October 21. You can use this adaptation as a benchmark to understand if you like the vibe, but we are sure you will.

8. Maria the Virgin Witch

Set in medieval France during the Hundred Years’ War against England, this anime is a nice addition to this list as we have just talked about more recent settings.

The protagonist Maria is a young witch living with her 2 familiars, Artemis and Priapos, respectively her incubus and succubus.

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.

Maria is able to summon and give orders to beasts and creatures and is even capable of enlarging them to fight entire armies.

Among the monsters she can call, we have to mention the Dragon and the Cyclops. The main character is able to transform normal animals into her familiars.

7. Tsugumomo

Tsugumomo was released in 2017 and consists of 12 episodes, it’s indeed quite short.

Kazuya Kagami is a boy who is never separated from his Obi, the typical Japanese belt. But one day, during an accident where Kazuya was about to lose his life, a person materializes from the same belt, introducing himself as his familiar.

A gradually revealing anime that starts as a simple light story and then becomes increasingly adrenaline-fueled and engaging.

6. Servamp

In 2016, the animated adaptation of Servamp, a shojo work, was released.

The life of Mahiru Shirota, a high school student, is never the same after meeting the cat Kuro.

He’s in fact not a simple cat but a servamp, a vampire familiar. The boy soon finds himself caught up in an ancient and surreal conflict between humans and vampires.

A little-known anime but one that deserves more visibility because of its many features that make it a little gem to catch up on.

5. Ajin

Aijin is an anime aired between 2016 and 2019. Mysterious immortal humans known as Ajin are considered a threat to society and are hunted down by authorities all around the world.

The protagonist Kei Nagai is a high school boy who survives a near-death experience and finds out to be an Ajin himself. He’s forced to radically change his life and survive on the run from the entire world.

The frightening bit about this anime is the black ghosts, very dangerous entities that can be summoned by other Aijins.

They are resistant to physical injury, have extraordinary physical strength, and display sharp teeth and claws.

4. Noragami

A shonen manga written and illustrated by the artist duo Adachitoka later adapted into a highly successful anime.

The main character Yato is an unpopular minor god. In fact, he has no temple and no one worships him. He lives together with his spirit friend Yukine and offers divine work for little money, becoming a familiar when needed.

The real charm of this story is the use of mythology and Shinto deities, which greatly deepen it and make it the mainstay of events. The setting is both funny and serious at the same time.

3. Fate

Fate is one of the most popular series in recent years. Composed of a colossal universe divided over several completely different media, the work features summoners (Masters) who through the summoning of familiars fight in order to conquer the Holy Grail.

The reinterpretations of the various historical characters in the anime are a great strength for the series and allow it to have an absolutely amazing roster of characters.

For those who enjoy fantasy anime focused mainly on confrontations, this is a series not to be missed.

2. Shaman King

Hiroyuki Takei drew Shaman King, which tells the story of dynasties of shaman families who interact with spirits in order to gain higher power.

The events of the series center on the friendly Yoh Asakura, a young shaman descendant of one of the oldest families in this branch. The protagonist has innate spiritual power and is able to make friends easily with spirits, who bestow power on him or help him in his endeavor.

He becomes friends with the spirit of Amidamaru, a samurai betrayed by his master, who will give him strength through his spirit by transmitting strength to the swords Yoh wields.

The fights focus on the power of the spirits that will be used as weapons, or familiars, if you prefer. An excellent series to see a fighting anime slightly different from the norm.

1. JoJo’s Bizzare Adventures

The Bizarre Adventures of JoJo started as a shonen manga written by Hirohiko Araki in 1987 and the anime adaptation is still ongoing with the 6th arc.

Each arc has a separate protagonist, although there are some main characters that appear in more than one. The plot revolves around the adventures experienced by the various members of the Joestar family over time, with a protagonist on each side.

But the real feature that consecrated the work to its success that falls under the topic of this list are the Stands, spirits serving the user each with their own characteristics.

JoJo is a legendary work, known for several reasons. One certainly is its unmistakable style, excellent fighting, and intrigue, but undoubtedly one of the main reasons is the excellent and varied cast of characters.