{"id":79295,"date":"2026-04-18T08:10:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T08:10:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/two-action-packed-dark-fantasy-anime-series-about-accidentally-adopting-a-kid\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T08:10:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T08:10:38","slug":"two-action-packed-dark-fantasy-anime-series-about-accidentally-adopting-a-kid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/two-action-packed-dark-fantasy-anime-series-about-accidentally-adopting-a-kid\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Action-Packed Dark Fantasy Anime Series About Accidentally Adopting a Kid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/app\/uploads\/2026\/04\/clevatess-sentenced-to-be-a-hero-1280x853.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>If there were a single word to define the current wave of banner anime we\u2019ve been spoiled for choice for lately, it would be fantasy. Whether it\u2019s melancholic, introspective shows like <em>Frieren: Beyond Journey\u2019s End<\/em>, awe-inspiring adventures like <em>Witch Hat Atelier<\/em>, or whimsically Lovecraftian oddities like <em>Delicious in Dungeon<\/em>, fantasy anime are in vogue, and they\u2019re knocking it out of the park.<\/p>\n<p>And while we\u2019ve waxed poetic about the more contemplative entries, that\u2019s not to say the industry has been slouching on entertaining, indulgent, all-gas-no-brakes action extravaganzas as well. Our favorites of that ilk are Crunchyroll\u2019s <em>Sentenced to Be a Hero<\/em> and <em>Clevatess<\/em>\u2014two dark fantasy series that just so happen to be about accidentally adopting a child.<\/p>\n<p>At first blush, one might be tempted to call <em>Clevatess<\/em> and <em>Sentenced to Be a Hero<\/em> the new-gen heirs apparent to <em>Claymore<\/em> and <em>Berserk<\/em>. On a surface level, these comparisons track: gruff guy\/gal (check), massive swords (check), and aesthetic misery (double check).<\/p>\n<p>But these shows actually won us over by playing out more like twists on whimsical fantasies like <em>That Time I Got<\/em> <em>Reincarnated as a Slime<\/em> and <em>Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? <\/em>(I can\u2019t do anything about the name, I\u2019m sorry), respectively, without bogging themselves down in dark fantasy misery porn. Let me cook.<\/p>\n<div class=\"not-prose video-container\"><noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Clevatess | Official Trailer | Crunchyroll\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/ew3ZwDbUAtA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p>Let\u2019s start with <em>Clevatess<\/em>. Animated by\u00a0<span style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">the studio Lay-duce,\u00a0<em>Clevatess<\/em> follows Alicia, one of three heroes tasked with slaying Clevatess<\/span>, one of the legendary dark beasts plaguing the realm. They get absolutely rinsed. Fortunately, Alicia\u2019s paragonic efforts aren\u2019t a total wash. After being knocked into the sky so hard she sees the curvature of the Earth from space, only to plummet back down and die, she is revived by the Clevatess. Why? After the giant multi-tailed dog beast destroyed the kingdom, he took an interest in raising a newborn infant he\u2019d kidnapped, who just so happens to be the crown prince fated to one day save the world. And presto, we\u2019ve got ourselves a found family anime on our hands.<\/p>\n<p>What follows is an adventure laced with the body horror of Alicia\u2019s undead corpse contorting back into shape again and again; Clevatess assuming the form of a sassy, petulant child acting as the straight man to Alicia\u2019s gentle parenting; and the duo adding more oddballs to their <em>Three Men And A Baby<\/em> fantasy-ass motley crew, including a half-orc wet nurse who\u2019s too pure for this world. In between all the stellar action sequences and old-film grain that gives the series its old-school anime cool factor, the show is also pretty damn funny. Oh, and to cap things off, it also has an ending theme song by none other than Ellie Goulding.<\/p>\n<div class=\"not-prose video-container\"><noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"I Never Told You to Stop Being a Hero | Clevatess\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/Lsiixnp23EE?list=PLRe9ARNnYSY4uMbA9uMUriSX6UsAeTFkk\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p>Translation: all the hallmarks that made <em>Reincarnated as a Slime<\/em> a household favorite\u2014only strip out the civilization-builder elements, replace them with a chimera of <em>Octodad: Dadliest Catch<\/em> and <em>Elden Ring<\/em>, and you\u2019ve basically got <em>Clevatess<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a fun watch with hints of some cool world-building to come, but if you\u2019re looking for a series that\u2019s got an even deeper pool to dive into in the action, themes, and lore department, <em>Sentenced to Be a Hero<\/em> has that in spades.<\/p>\n<p>While <em>Sentenced to Be a Hero<\/em> feels like it\u2019ll be one of those sentence-long <em>Mad Libs<\/em> of the fantasy genre\u2014the kind we\u2019ve seen time and time again in isekai that over-saturate the landscape, stripping it for parts until their unique hooks are something painfully mundane and a chore to watch\u2014this anime is the real deal.<\/p>\n<div class=\"not-prose video-container\"><noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sentenced to Be a Hero | Official Trailer | Crunchyroll\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/B5qZX2kh-7w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p>Animated by Studio Kai, <em>Sentenced to Be a Hero<\/em> wastes no time dropping viewers right into the heat of the action with its nearly hour-long pilot episode (which is just up on YouTube to watch for free, btw). And for good reason: the show trusts that you already know the tropes that make up the fantasy genre, and it\u2019s eager to get the ball rolling on its own interesting twist on, well\u2026 what it actually means to be a hero in its world. The twist is that being a hero is a capital punishment worse than the death penalty.<\/p>\n<p>The series follows Xylo, a mercenary sentenced to be a hero as punishment for the grave offense of killing a goddess\u2014a situation that surely has more going on behind the scenes than the corrupt politicians would acknowledge. He, alongside several other honestly pretty rad RPG archetype heroes, is treated as a subhuman weapon, cursed to be revived again and again as an arm of the military\u2014front\u2011line cannon fodder deployed to battle demons and whatever else stands in the way. And with each death, they lose more of their memories until they\u2019re mindless berserkers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"not-prose video-container\"><noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"When Your Weapon Is In Love With You | Sentenced to Be a Hero\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/mWs4A15yDLs?list=PLRe9ARNnYSY5ibdw8DFQ9ORnQ_WEPqZvc\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p>Things take a turn for the found family when Xylo stumbles upon Teoritta, a bratty goddess he discovers in stolen cargo who\u2019s hellbent on him serving as her noble knight. Funnily enough, their dynamic is the most comparable to Guts and Puck\u2019s in <span style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\"><em>Berserk<\/em>. Like Puck, Teoritta keeps the series from being too dark, plus her ideals of heroism mirror the audience\u2019s.<\/span> Unfortunately, those deals are repeatedly dashed against the jagged rocks like the audience\u2019s, which are repeatedly dashed against the rocks of their world\u2019s brutal logic.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Teoritta chips away at Xylo\u2019s rough exterior, softening him from a one-note sardonic protagonist into a gentler, Geralt-type hero as he and his ensemble of fellow conscripted heroes band together to save the world like some sort of suicide squad. All, we might add, for the low price of a nice head pat and words of affirmation\u2014both of which she more than earns by summoning hails of swords from portals for Xylo to throw and explode upon impact. This anime is cooking with gas.<\/p>\n<div class=\"not-prose video-container\"><noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Unreal Animation | Sentenced to Be a Hero\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/iCgXwK-ix4I?list=PLRe9ARNnYSY5ibdw8DFQ9ORnQ_WEPqZvc\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p>What I love most about <em>Sentenced to Be a Hero<\/em> is how many interesting moving pieces its story juggles across its cast of heroes, which are honestly hard to choose a favorite (though I\u2019m partial to their sniper, Tsav). Likewise, its villains are just as compelling, rivaling the moral and thematic heft of <em>Fullmetal Alchemist.<\/em> What\u2019s more, the show\u2019s animation quality is unreal, showcasing the kind of polish most shows would save for a season finale, yet Studio Kai delivers that level of TLC on a consistent, episodic basis.<\/p>\n<p>And despite <em>Sentenced to Be a Hero<\/em>\u2018s grim-dark premise, multi-layered political double-crosses, and gory action, the series never takes itself so seriously that it becomes a bummer to watch. <span style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">It\u2019s got a sharp sense of humor,\u00a0a blush of romance, and a surprisingly ample amount of soft, wholesome moments, making it an easy, instant-classic anime of 2026 that genuinely snuck up on people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>So if you\u2019re craving fantasy anime that lean harder into action than the slower-tempo shows we\u2019ve been putting you on, you can check out <em>Clevatess<\/em> and <em>Sentenced to Be a Hero<\/em> on Crunchyroll\u2014and rest assured, both already have second seasons waiting in the wings for you.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what\u2019s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If there were a single word to define the current wave of banner anime we\u2019ve been spoiled for choice for lately, it would be fantasy. Whether it\u2019s melancholic, introspective shows like Frieren: Beyond Journey\u2019s End, awe-inspiring adventures like Witch Hat Atelier, or whimsically Lovecraftian oddities like Delicious in Dungeon, fantasy anime are in vogue, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":79296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_daextam_enable_autolinks":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/clevatess-sentenced-to-be-a-hero-1200x675.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}