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Pokémon poster

Shows that feel likePokémon (1997–2023)

Join Ash accompanied by his partner Pikachu, as he travels through many regions, meets new friends and faces new challenges on his quest to become a Pokémon Master.

If you loved Pokémon, the closest series we have are Digimon: Digital Monsters (1999), Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) and Dragon Ball Super (2015). All three share Pokémon's kinetic and epic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Battlestar Galactica (2003).

9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu

If Pokémon hit the spot, these will too

Digimon: Digital Monsters poster
Digimon: Digital Monsters
1999–2001 · 2 seasons · Fuji TV
★ 7.4animation · action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasyHulu

Kids bonded to monster partners, growing up on the road together

The difference: One serialised quest to get home, darker and with a real ending

While at summer camp, seven kids come across seven Digivices and are transported to a strange digital world. In this new world they make friends with creatures that call themselves Digimon who were born to defend their world from various evil forces.

Fullmetal Alchemist poster
Fullmetal Alchemist
2003–2004 · 1 season · TBS
★ 8.5animation · action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasy

A journey across a wide world where every stop teaches something

The difference: Grief-driven and grim, with a plot that hurts — not a comfort watch

Two young brothers are raised as alchemists, but when they are severely injured trying to perform a forbidden act, they begin searching for the one thing that can save them; the fabled philosopher's stone.

Dragon Ball Super poster
Dragon Ball Super
2015–2018 · 1 season · Fuji TV
★ 8.3animation · action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasy

Tournaments, training and a hero who never stops travelling

The difference: Combat-first, with none of the gentleness

With Majin Buu defeated, Goku has taken a completely new role as...a radish farmer?! With Earth at peace, our heroes have settled into normal lives. But they can’t get too comfortable. Far away, the powerful God of Destruction, Beerus, awakens to a prophecy revealing his demise at the hands of an even more formidable being. When his search for the Saiyan God brings him to Earth, can Goku and his friends take on their strongest foe yet?

Battlestar Galactica poster
Battlestar Galactica
2003 · 1 season · Syfy
🍅 83%★ 8.5action & adventure · drama · sci-fi & fantasyParamount+

Both keep coming back to the same thing: quest

The difference: Leans harder into drama than Pokémon does

A re-imagining of the original series in which a "rag-tag fugitive fleet" of the last remnants of mankind flees pursuing robots while simultaneously searching for their true home, Earth.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure poster
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
2012– · 6 seasons · Netflix
★ 8.6animation · action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasyNetflixPrime Video

Globe-hopping fights decided by inventive rules rather than raw force

The difference: Loud, macho and violent — nothing gentle or kid-shaped about it

Follow the intergenerational feud between the Joestar Family and various forces of evil, the most prominent of which is Dio Brando and his followers.

Overlord poster
Overlord
2015–2022 · 4 seasons · AT-X
★ 7.6animation · sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventureNetflix

Game logic made literal — levels, classes and creatures that obey them

The difference: Bleak and adult from a villain's chair, with nothing wholesome in it

In the year 2138, virtual reality gaming is booming. Yggdrasil, a popular online game is quietly shut down one day. However, one player named Momonga decides to not log out. Momonga is then transformed into the image of a skeleton as "the most powerful wizard." The world continues to change, with non-player characters (NPCs) beginning to feel emotion. Having no parents, friends, or place in society, this ordinary young man Momonga then strives to take over the new world the game has become.

Super Dragon Ball Heroes poster
Super Dragon Ball Heroes
2018–2024 · 6 seasons · Fuji TV
★ 6.6animation · action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasy

Fan-pleasing crossovers where the roster itself is half the appeal

The difference: Short bursts of pure fighting — no journey, no new towns to arrive in

Trunks returns from the future to train with Goku and Vegeta. However, it disappears without warning. Then the mysterious Fu bursts in, telling them that Trunks has been imprisoned in the Prison Planet, a mysterious complex in an unknown place in the universes. The group seeks the dragon balls to free Trunks, but an endless battle awaits them! Will Goku and the others rescue Trunks and escape the Prison Planet?

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn poster
Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
2012 · 1 season · YouTube
★ 6.7sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventure

A green cadet finding his nerve beside a legendary mentor

The difference: One 90-minute war story — grim, live-action, and over quickly

UNSC Cadet Thomas Lasky must conquer his inner fears and join forces with super-soldier John-117 to take down a massive faction of the Covenant.

Record of Ragnarok poster
Record of Ragnarok
2021– · 4 seasons · Netflix
★ 6.6action & adventure · animation · sci-fi & fantasyNetflix

Formal one-on-one bouts with escalating opponents

The difference: Brutal, adult and self-serious

Before eradicating humankind from the world, the gods give them one last chance to prove themselves worthy of survival. Let the Ragnarok battles begin.

Merlin poster
Merlin
2008–2012 · 5 seasons · BBC One
★ 7.9action & adventure · drama · sci-fi & fantasyPrime Video

Common ground: fantasy world

The unlikely friendship between Merlin, a young man gifted with extraordinary magical powers, and Prince Arthur, heir to the crown of Camelot.

Teen Titans poster
Teen Titans
2003–2006 · 5 seasons · The WB
★ 7.9animation · action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasyPrime Video

Young heroes goofing around between fights, snack arguments and all

The difference: Superheroes minding a city rather than a road trip, and no creatures

Fighting for truth, justice and the last slice of pizza, these five superheroes are living proof you're never too young to save the planet. Protecting Earth and beyond, the Teen Titans use martial arts and gadgetry to battle villains.

Cursed poster
Cursed
2020 · 1 season · Netflix
★ 6action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasyNetflix

A young chosen one on a quest that keeps growing past them

The difference: A one-season dark fantasy that got cancelled mid-story

In this fresh take on the Arthurian legend, teenager Nimue joins forces with mercenary Arthur on a quest to find Merlin and deliver an ancient sword.

In the mood for more kinetic?

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The best-reviewed series that share Pokémon’s defining feeling.