Urban Fantasy



Urban Fantasy, also sometimes called "Modern Fantasy", is a genre that combines common Fantasy conventions with a modern setting The name "Urban Fantasy" is sometimes taken to imply that all works in the genre must take place in a large city, but this is not the case. Rather the name implies throwing fantasy elements into our urban society. Still, it's very common for Urban Fantasy stories to take place in a large, well-known city, all the easier for their fantasy elements to hide themselves in.

As a genre, Urban Fantasy is sometimes seen as more accessible to the average reader than the Medieval European Fantasy due to the Like Reality Unless Noted nature of it, and the fact that modern settings are familiar to readers whereas the medieval era is something that modern readers may have trouble relating to. The exact cut off date for what falls under Urban Fantasy is fuzzy, as the works which most commonly get this label applied to them feature settings in the present day, but works taking place as far back as the Victorian Era are generally included. Works taking place more than ten to twenty years in the future however, are not.

Urban Fantasies almost always take place on Earth, rather than a Constructed World, or if not on Earth than in a place so close as to make little difference. Alternate History is common, incorporating Fantasy elements into real historical events, with humans living alongside magic, though if this isn't done there is usually a Masquerade, implying that witches, elves and fairies live along side us, just in hiding. In such stories, The Unmasqued World is a common plotline. Another common convention used in Urban Fantasy is to suggest that at one point the world resembled a Medieval European Fantasy but The Magic Goes Away, and in the present The Magic Comes Back and now humans have to adjust to it.

Urban Fantasy often crosses paths with a number of genres, including Alternate History, Dungeon Punk, Gothic Punk, Horror, Magical Realism, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal Investigation, Supernatural Fiction and Supernatural Thriller. Sometimes it's difficult to tell whether a work qualifies, but generally speaking Urban Fantasy is known for showing the impact of modern society on the fantasy elements included in it. Elves carry guns, witches use microwaves and Leprechauns work at the bank. It takes more than tossing in the odd Vampire solely for the fear-factor to truly apply.

Gaslamp Fantasy, Supernatural Soap Opera and Historical Fantasy are notable sub genres. Urban Fantasy is itself a subgenre of Speculative Fiction, specifically Fantasy. Most of the Vampire Fiction published in recent times also fall under this genre, where in the past it followed the conventions of Horror. Urban Fantasy is often considered the fantasy equivalent of Urban Sci Fi. If you want to know how to write and Urban Fantasy, please visit the Write an Urban Fantasy page. If you want to see a list of common tropes of this genre, see Urban Fantasy Tropes.

Anime and Manga

 * Ah! My Goddess
 * Aria (later on)
 * Axis Powers Hetalia (Magic Realism elements, at least)
 * Baccano!, though less than the light novel.
 * Bakemonogatari: it tends to feel more like a Ghost Story, but takes place in an All Myths Are True Urban Fantasy setting. One character is even (who are apparently ).
 * Bleach (in part)
 * Blood Lad
 * The Breaker: Although it's technically an urban Wuxia Manhwa, it sometimes gives off this feeling.
 * Cardcaptor Sakura
 * A Certain Magical Index
 * Chrono Crusade
 * Death Note
 * Digimon Savers
 * Digimon Tamers
 * Durarara!!
 * Haruhi Suzumiya
 * Hellsing
 * Hiiro no Kakera
 * Inuyasha (in part)
 * Iris Zero
 * Kamichu!
 * Kamisama Kiss
 * Kannazuki no Miko
 * Kanon
 * Kaze no Stigma
 * Mahou Sensei Negima
 * Nabari no Ou
 * Noblesse
 * Nura Rise of the Yokai Clan
 * Oku-sama wa Mahou Shoujo: Bewitched Agnes (a.k.a. My Wife is a Magical Girl: Bewitched Agnes)
 * Persona 4
 * Pokémon
 * Ranma ½
 * Sailor Moon
 * Tokyo Babylon
 * Venus Versus Virus
 * Witch Hunter Robin
 * X 1999
 * Yami no Matsuei
 * Yozakura Quartet
 * Yu-Gi-Oh
 * Zatch Bell

Comic Books

 * Avalon Studios' Aria
 * Black Cherry
 * The Crow
 * The Darkness
 * Fables
 * Hellblazer
 * Hellboy
 * BPRD
 * Nightschool
 * Phonogram
 * Sabrina the Teenage Witch
 * The Sandman
 * Steelgrip Starkey and The All Purpose Power Tool
 * Witchblade

Fan Works

 * The Return
 * Kira Is Justice
 * Naturally, any (or most) fic for anything else on this page.

Film

 * Big Trouble in Little China
 * Cast a Deadly Spell
 * Elf
 * Ghostbusters
 * Harry Potter
 * Ink
 * The Last Dragon
 * The Princess and the Frog
 * The Return of Hanuman
 * The Sorcerer's Apprentice
 * Mary Poppins
 * Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Literature

 * Akata Witch
 * Alex Verus
 * Allie Beckstrom
 * American Gods
 * Anansi Boys
 * Anita Blake
 * Alcatraz Series
 * The Apocalypse Door
 * Arcane Advent
 * The Bas-Lag cycle:
 * Perdido Street Station
 * The Scar
 * Iron Council
 * Bloodsucking Fiends
 * The Book of Night with Moon
 * Border Town
 * The Borribles
 * Breaking the Wall
 * Brown Girl in the Ring
 * The Cornersville Trace Mythos
 * Cal Leandros
 * Colt Regan
 * The Confessions of Peter Crossman
 * Coraline
 * Coyote Blue
 * The Curse Workers
 * Darkness Visible
 * Dark Touch
 * Declare
 * The Demon's Lexicon
 * Devilish
 * Digital Devil Story
 * A Dirty Job
 * A Discoveryof Witches
 * The Dresden Files
 * Everythings Better With Elves
 * Felix Castor
 * Fever Series
 * Fluke or I Know Why The Winged Whale Sings
 * Georgina Kincaid
 * Ghost Finders
 * The Good Fairies of New York
 * Gossamer Axe
 * The Guardians
 * Hand of Mercy
 * Harry Potter
 * The Heroes of Olympus
 * The Hollows
 * The House of Night
 * Hush, Hush
 * Immortals After Dark
 * Incarnations of Immortality
 * In Cryptid
 * Jakub Wedrowycz
 * Jane Yellowrock
 * Jason Wood
 * Johnny Maxwell Trilogy
 * The Kane Chronicles
 * Kate Daniels
 * Kitty Norville
 * Labyrinths of Echo
 * Madison Avery
 * Magic Shop
 * Magic Time
 * Marla Mason
 * Matthew Swift
 * Mercy Thompson
 * Modern Faerie Tales
 * Monster Hunter International
 * Mortal Instruments
 * Neverwhere
 * Night Huntress
 * Nightside
 * Night Watch
 * Nomes Trilogy
 * October Daye
 * Paranormalcy
 * Percy Jackson and The Olympians
 * Practical Demonkeeping
 * Repairman Jack
 * Rivers of London/Midnight Riot
 * Roverandom
 * Sandman Slim
 * Secret City
 * Secret Histories
 * Shadow Ops
 * Shifters Series
 * Silicon Wolfpack
 * Skulduggery Pleasant
 * The Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries
 * Special Circumstances
 * Spellbent
 * Soul Screamers
 * The Section 13 Case Files
 * The Spiderwick Chronicles
 * The Stupidest Angel
 * Sweep
 * The Parasol Protectorate
 * Trylle Trilogy
 * Twilight
 * Vampire Chronicles
 * The War of the Flowers
 * War for the Oaks
 * Weaveworld
 * Wicked Lovely
 * The Witches of Bailiwick
 * The Witch Watch
 * Women of the Otherworld
 * The Word and The Void
 * Young Wizards (in part)
 * Ysabel
 * Zoe Martinique

Light Novels

 * Baccano!
 * A Certain Magical Index
 * Durarara!!
 * Haruhi Suzumiya
 * Nasuverse
 * DDD
 * Kara no Kyoukai:
 * Fate/Zero
 * The Longing of Shiina Ryo

Live-Action TV

 * The Almighty Johnsons
 * Beauty and The Beast
 * Being Human (UK)
 * Being Human (USA)
 * Buffy the Vampire Slayer
 * Angel
 * The Champions
 * Charmed
 * The Charmings
 * Dead Last
 * Dead Like Me
 * The Fades
 * Grimm
 * Some ''Kamen Rider
 * Kamen Rider Amazon
 * Kamen Rider Kuuga
 * Kamen Rider Agito
 * Kamen Rider Hibiki
 * Kamen Rider Kiva
 * Kamen Rider OOO
 * Kamen Rider Wizard
 * Kamen Rider Ghost
 * Kindred: The Embraced
 * Kolchak the Night Stalker
 * Lost Girl
 * Once Upon a Time
 * Pushing Daisies
 * Rentaghost
 * Round the Twist
 * Reaper
 * Sabrina the Teenage Witch
 * Sesame Street
 * Spirited
 * Stranger Things
 * Supernatural
 * Some Super Sentai
 * Zyuranger
 * Dairanger
 * Kakuranger
 * Gingaman
 * Gaoranger
 * Hurricanger
 * Magiranger
 * Gekiranger
 * Shinkenger
 * Goseiger
 * Kyoryuger
 * Ninninger
 * Teen Wolf
 * True Blood
 * The Vampire Diaries
 * Warehouse 13

Roleplay

 * Marked RP

Tabletop Games

 * D 20 Modern: Specifically the Urban Arcana setting.
 * Feng Shui: Specifically supernatural adventures in the Contemporary juncture.
 * Fire Born in an interesting twist while magic does appear in the modern age it's only in isolated pockets, usually around places with waaaaaaayyy more history than other places. While the Source book focuses on London, it also hints at almost every major city in Greece along with Mount Olympus and the City of Rome just as few examples
 * In Nomine
 * Little Fears
 * Nobilis
 * Rifts
 * Scion
 * Shadowrun
 * Unhallowed Metropolis
 * Unknown Armies
 * Witch Craft
 * The World of Darkness: This is a group of three modern horror game systems with thematically related but separate settings:
 * Old World of Darkness
 * New World of Darkness
 * Monte Cooks World of Darkness

Theater

 * Angels in America

Video Games

 * Arcana Heart
 * Devil May Cry
 * Eternal Darkness
 * F.E.A.R.
 * Mother
 * MOTHER 1 (EarthBound Zero)
 * EarthBound
 * Nasuverse
 * Fate Hollow Ataraxia
 * Fate Stay Night
 * Tsukihime
 * Pokémon
 * Pokémon Red and Blue
 * Pokémon Gold and Silver
 * Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
 * Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
 * Pokémon Black and White
 * Shin Megami Tensei
 * Persona
 * Persona 2
 * Persona 3
 * Persona 4
 * Persona 4 Arena
 * Devil Survivor
 * Devil Survivor 2
 * Sonic the Hedgehog Though the anime seemed to suggest that their world is parallel to the 'real' world.
 * Street Fighter
 * The World Ends With You
 * Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines

Webcomics

 * Annyseed
 * Atomic Laundromat
 * Blip
 * Corner Alley 13
 * El Goonish Shive
 * Elf Blood
 * Gunnerkrigg Court
 * Grrl Power
 * Hanna Is Not a Boys Name
 * Holiday Wars
 * Homestuck, at least at the beginning.
 * A Magical Roommate
 * Megatokyo
 * Molten Blade
 * Only Silver
 * Otter Soldiers
 * Salad Days
 * Sacred Grounds
 * Shifters
 * Skin Deep
 * Sluggy Freelance
 * Spina Cage
 * Two Keys
 * The Wotch
 * Zebra Girl
 * No Songs for The Dead

Web Original

 * Angry Remembrance
 * Arcana Magi Universe
 * Arcana Magi
 * Arcana Magi Memorial
 * Arcana Magi Rush
 * Arcana Magi Zero
 * Broken Saints
 * The Billibub Baddings Mysteries
 * Chatoyant College
 * Metamor City
 * The Metro City Chronicles
 * The New York Magician
 * The Grimmery
 * SCP Foundation
 * Trinton Chronicles

Western Animation

 * American Dragon: Jake Long
 * Danny Phantom
 * Extreme Ghostbusters
 * Filmations Ghostbusters
 * Gargoyles
 * Jackie Chan Adventures
 * The Legend of Korra, a rare alternate-reality version, with a Far East Culture Chop Suey setting combining Steampunk/Dieselpunk, and The Roaring Twenties, where Supernatural Martial Arts and Mix and Match critters are just as normal as the newly-invented car.
 * The Life and Times of Juniper Lee
 * The Real Ghostbusters
 * Regular Show
 * The Ren and Stimpy Show
 * Sabrina the Animated Series
 * Thomas the Tank Engine
 * Transformers Generation 1
 * Ugly Americans
 * Unicron Trilogy
 * Winx Club
 * WITCH