The Grand Theft Auto franchise has always been lumped in with games like FIFA or Call of Duty and considered a “normie” game.
While Anime fans played JRPGs like Final Fantasy or Wild ARMs, their Ronaldinho-worshipping cousins were at home shooting cops and running over old ladies in San Andreas.
Nowadays, people fail to conform to just one stereotype. The best football player at school/college might be a raging Attack on Titan fan, and even the biggest “Anime nerd” can enjoy some GTA 5.
Nothing brings these two worlds together like mods created by a legion of fans with some free time and an intense love for all things anime.
First up, we’ve got a blast from the past that somehow remains popular and continues to get new episodes: Doraemon.
The show follows average Japanese kid Nobita who meets Doraemon – a 22nd-century robot sent by his descendants to help him overcome the challenges of everyday life.
I guess they didn’t watch The Butterfly Effect…
This mod will let your character dress up in a full Doraemon body suit. Just don’t go around meddling in any kid’s affairs…
Genshin Impact is not precisely an anime – in fact, it isn’t even Japanese – but it definitely fits the aesthetic.
And I couldn’t pass up a chance to feature this playable Klee.
There’s something about a cute little elf girl walking around with a minigun, a rocket launcher, or an AK47 that doesn’t fail to bring a smile to my face. Considering the number of memes I’ve seen featuring this mod, I’m not alone.
If you like Genshin Impact but aren’t into Klee, playing as Lumine might be more to your liking. Alternatively, try Raiden Shogun or the lovely Outrider Amber.
I’m sorry to any readers born after 2004, but I’m an old-school anime fan.
Maybe “old-school” might be taking it a little too far.
Code Geass dominated the anime world during the late 2000s after airing two seasons between October 2006 and September 2008. Bandai also licensed the series for an English release on Adult Swim.
Since then, love for the genius but morally questionable tactician Lelouch vi Britannia – also known as the revolutionary leader Zero – has continued to flow freely from fans’ hearts.
After almost 15 years, the hype has died down a bit – but I’m sure many of you won’t miss a chance to take over Los Santos and San Andreas as this iconic character.
Before we had Code Geass, people were all about Death Note.
I couldn’t find a mod that let you play as protagonist Light Yagami – but I got you something even better: Ryuk.
This amusing Shinigami – a god of death – was responsible for dropping the Death Note onto Earth, starting Light’s path to power, and his descent into madness. In exchange, he only required a couple apples from time to time.
People love Ryuk, and he’s about the only character whose appearance hasn’t changed either in the manga, anime, Japanese live-action adaptation, and Netflix adaptation.
The one truth you need to accept before calling yourself a true Neon Genesis Evangelion fan is that nobody truly understands Evangelion – and that’s OK.
All you need to understand is that it’s compelling, with beautiful animation, a moving soundtrack – and most importantly, painfully cool giant robots.
The design of the EVAs was unlike anything the mecha genre had seen before.
It’s like comparing a Bugatti Veyron with a horse-drawn carriage.
This mod lets you take on the form of EVA-1, also known by non-fans as “the purple one.”
The original EVA-1 is supposed to be about 42m tall, but for convenience purposes, this one is only about 20m.
Before NGE, the coolest robots belonged to Mobile Suit Gundam.
One of my favorite Gundam robots is the Strike Gundam piloted by Kira Yamato in the ninth installment of the series: MS Gundam SEED, which aired in 2002.
Also known as the GAT-X105, the Strike shines for its ability to equip “striker packs,” which change its combat capabilities to better tackle any challenge. You’ll find some of these in this GTA 5 mod.
Gundam fans should also try out the Gundam Barbatos Lupus from IRON-BLOODED ORPHANS, the classic RX-78-2 from the original series, and the Principality of Zeon’s Zaku II.
The Toyota Sprinter Trueno is a small front-engine fifth-generation Corolla marketed by Toyota from 1983 to 1987.
Despite being the most low-profile car ever, its light weight and affordable price made it a favorite among street racers and rally pilots. It quickly became an icon of drifting.
That’s when Initial D author Shuichi Shigeno decided to feature it as protagonist Takumi Fujiwara’s car in the street racing manga Initial D, which got an anime adaptation in 1998.
Another iconic vehicle from a classic anime hit is Kaneda’s Powerbike, which takes a central spot in the 1988 Cyberpunk anime film Akira.
Just looking at Akira’s promotional material, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a movie about bike racers, considering how prominent the bike is. In reality, it’s a dark story about drugs, ESP powers, and how absolute power corrupts absolutely.
No “anime mods” list is complete without at least one Naruto mod.
This iconic ninja is responsible for making anime mainstream. Sure, some people used to watch shows like Dragon Ball Z or Neon Genesis Evangelion, but Naruto finally made normies understand just how awesome anime could be.
Whether that’s a good thing or not is up to you.
This mod lets you play as the post-timeskip Naruto from Shippuden in GTA 5.
Alternatively, you can try out his Rikudou Sennin mode, as seen in Jump Force.
Or for a more complete ninja experience, check out the Naruto Script so you can pull off bad-ass Ninjutsu and Taijutsu moves right in GTA 5.
If there’s one character in this list who looks like they belong in Los Santos, it’s One Piece’s Sabo.
In the series, Sabo is a major badass – first as a leader in the Revolutionary Army, then as one of Luffy’s allies.
He looks incredible on a bike and seems like the kind of character with whom you could actually clear some single-player missions without him feeling out of place.
Another pirate treasure worth digging for is protagonist Monkey D. Luffy.
Grand Theft Auto 5 has some really evil characters.
But they all look like kittens next to DIO.
This god-like vampire has been the epitome of cunning and evil from the moment he was born. Killing dogs, assaulting his adoptive brother’s girlfriend, poisoning his adoptive father… DIO had done all of these before he was even 18.
Drug dealing, bank robbing, and escaping police pursuit should be a piece of cake.
If you want someone to balance DIO’s immense evil, try out charismatic hero Joseph Joestar.
Someone who’ll stop at nothing to protect the weak. Someone with the strength to dismantle the city’s criminal underworld. Someone who’ll stand proud as a symbol of justice that inspires millions to do the same!
Los Santos needs somebody like All Might.
This mod lets you play as this legendary hero, clad in several different costumes, both from the show and fan-made.
Of all the weird things mods have allowed me to do in GTA 5, wreaking havoc around town as Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur is easily the most fun.
Whether you play as them or summon them as bodyguards to protect you – their trainer – from your “rivals,” you can be sure the scene will be hilarious.
That’s partly because both Charmander and Squirtle can stand on their hind legs, leaving their front extremities free to operate submachine guns, assault rifles, and so on.
There’s only one character that can possibly match All Might in terms of power and heroism – and that’s Goku from Dragon Ball Z.
Goku is easily the most popular character when it comes to anime mods.
There are Goku mods for any game that allows it.
Dragon Ball Z was the first anime for many of us, and now that we have the skills to mod games, you bet we’re bringing this Saiyan to kick ass in our favorite digital worlds.
This mod introduces Goku with access to the first three Super Saiyan levels. But if you want to play as his final form, check out the Mastered Ultra Instinct version.
Nelson Chitty is a Venezuelan expat living in Argentina. He’s a writer and translator passionate about history and foreign cultures. His ideal weekend is spent between leisurely playing games of Civilization VI and looking for the next seinen anime to marathon.
