10 best anime about bounty hunters

Anime about bounty hunters makes for compelling anime protagonists. They straddle the line between hero and villain, law and chaos. Although financial rewards drive them, they often find themselves ensnared in deeper conflicts.

Anime allows creators to expand on the bounty hunter concept in new worlds ranging from interstellar spaceships to supernatural battlegrounds. They can introduce fantastical powers and larger-than-life mobsters for these mercenaries to capture.

This article will explore 10 of the best anime about bounty hunters. From space cowboys to superpowered contractors, these shows provide thrilling journeys fueled by greed, morality, and survival.

10 must-watch anime about bounty hunters

1) Cowboy Bebop

This 1998 space western follows a crew of misfits aboard the ship Bebop as they hunt fugitives across the solar system. Charismatic lead Spike Spiegel brings a calm, ironic manner to his criminal capturing work, driven by both a need for money and a buried heartache he tries to avoid.

Supporting characters like the mysterious femme fatale Faye Valentine, ex-cop Jet Black, genius hacker Ed, and Ein, a genetically engineered data dog, lend dysfunctional but endearing chemistry to the Bebop crew.

Jazzy style, fluid animation, and thrilling plots secured its reputation as a classic anime about bounty hunters. Although episodic, the show intertwines character backstories into a gripping and emotional finale. Both innovative and emotionally resonant, Cowboy Bebop set the standard for bounty hunter anime.

2) Trigun

Vash the Stampede carries a $$60 billion bounty on his head in this 1998 series set in a desolate Wild West sci-fi landscape. However, Vash hides a gentle soul under his spiky blonde locks and red coat. He's legendary as the most feared outlaw around, yet avoids killing anyone.

This contradiction between his reputation and pacifist principles puts Vash in the line of fire both from bounty hunters and dangerous foes appearing across the desert planet. His wit, kindness, and marksmanship keep him ahead while promoting understanding among people.

Heartfelt emotion mixes with offbeat comedy and Western tropes in Trigun, making it a quintessential anime about bounty hunters that explores high-minded questions of morality through its charming lead.

3) Black Lagoon

Black Lagoon delves into gritty mercenary pirates and smugglers in a fictional Thai city. When Japanese salaryman Rokuro 'Rock' Okajima gets kidnapped and abandoned by his company, he makes the conscious choice to join the crew of the smuggling vessel Black Lagoon.

Now calling himself "Rock," he assists head members Dutch, Revy, and Benny on dangerous transporting missions teeming with drugs, violence, and corruption. Think shootouts with hitmen and car chases with heavily armed attack helicopters backing them up.

Black Lagoon depicts a high-octane criminal lifestyle while also serving as an unconventional anime about bounty hunters and the choices that lead people to lives of crime.

4) Hunter x Hunter (Yorknew City Arc)

While following young protagonist Gon Freecss trying to track down his father, an accomplished Hunter, Hunter x Hunter establishes a rich world of Hunters. They are licensed professionals who have passed the notoriously difficult Hunter Exam.

The Yorknew City story arc focuses on Gon and his friends becoming entangled with the infamous Phantom Troupe during an underground auction while following Kurapika's revenge mission against the group. This arc features high-stakes auctions, lethal stand-offs, intriguing powers, and mysterious characters.

Though not explicitly centered on bounty hunting, this arc of Hunter x Hunter showcases themes similar to anime about bounty hunters, with thrilling pursuits and moral dilemmas.

5) Outlaw Star

In a distant future where humans have colonized space, Gene Starwind runs a small business with Jim Hawking doing odd jobs and bodyguard work.

After coming into possession of a highly advanced spaceship called the Outlaw Star, Gene assembles a motley crew and begins taking on dangerous assignments in deep space for bigger rewards.

Soon, they are pursued by the Kei Pirates, who seek the ship as part of their larger ambitions regarding the mysterious Galactic Leyline. With advanced weaponry and ship combat systems combined with likable characters and good humor, Outlaw Star is an example of an anime about bounty hunters in a sci-fi setting.

6) Michiko & Hatchin

When Michiko Malandro - a seductive criminal who has repeatedly escaped even maximum security prisons - escapes again, she sets off to find the man from her past who she says abandoned her while pregnant with his child.

She illegally "adopts" the supposed daughter - nine-year-old Hatchin Silva - from a negligent foster family and the duo set off on a road trip across South America to hunt for him while evading the police at every turn.

With a vibrant Latin American backdrop, stylish action set-pieces, socio-economic commentary, and two fiercely independent female leads, Michiko & Hatchin doubles as a poignant road movie and an anime about bounty hunters operating under unconventional circumstances.

7) Coyote Ragtime Show

Coyote Ragtime Show (Image via ufotable)

When the notorious pirate Bruce is killed by the authorities, his expansive fortune is thought to be buried on the distant planet Graceland. This sets off an intergalactic race between various factions of pirates, government troops, and bounty hunters – all looking to find and control the mythical loot.

Mister - Bruce's second-in-command - assembles a ragtag group of specialists to reach Graceland first and find the treasure for his deceased boss' orphaned daughter.

With stylized gunfights, over-the-top characters, and mystery surrounding the lost treasure, Coyote Ragtime Show delivers all the thrills of an anime about bounty hunters chasing fortunes across the stars.

8) Gun x Sword

Armed with a shape-shifting sword and piloting the powerful mecha "Dann of Thursday," Van hunts "The Claw" - the elusive and formidable criminal who killed his bride on the very day of their wedding.

On his travels across the planet of Endless Illusion, a world that blends Western and sci-fi elements, he encounters Wendy - a young girl searching for her long-lost brother. They reluctantly join forces and begin investigating criminal factions to uncover clues that will lead them to The Claw.

With showdowns, shootouts, and swordfights aplenty, Gun x Sword is a mecha-western anime about bounty hunters driven by revenge and resilience.

9) Darker Than Black

Set in a fictional reconstructed Tokyo after the mysterious appearance of Hell's Gate in Tokyo and Heaven's Gate in South America, it follows the investigations of Hei - an undercover Contractor working for the shadowy Syndicate - as he tracks down dangerous enemies to learn the shocking secrets behind the Gates.

Contractors are humans who gain supernatural powers but must pay a price (called an "obeisance") after using their abilities. Blending supernatural intrigue with a gritty noir aesthetic, Darker Than Black is a fascinating anime about bounty hunters and shadowy agents navigating a perilous world.

10) Baccano!

Set across multiple time periods including the 1700s and 1930s America, Baccano! intricately weaves together the stories of several factions - immortals, alchemists, mafia families, street gangsters, outlaws, and bootleggers - all connected to the mystery of eternal life.

With gritty visuals, graphic violence, and an incredible soundtrack, Baccano! perfectly captures the chaotic criminal underbelly and the various factions trying to thrive in it. Though not strictly about bounty hunting, it stands out as an anime about bounty hunters with its unique crime and pursuit narratives.

Conclusion

For anime lovers who enjoy stylish gunfights, crime action, and high-octane manhunt adventures, this list of anime about bounty hunters packs the perfect shows featuring cool bounty-hunter protagonists.

From sci-fi space cowboys to techno-gunslingers hunting down lethal outlaws across dystopian planets, these action-packed anime about bounty hunters with Western, cyberpunk, and noir settings are a must-watch.

With morally ambiguous antiheroes, mystery plots, and high-stakes showdowns, these incredible shows capture all the excitement of setting bounties and relentlessly pursuing dangerous targets in thrilling, action-packed adventures.