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Like many forms of animation, anime has an extensive and expansive history. The earliest bits of Japanese anime to make it over to the states included Speed Racer in the ’60s. The form gained considerable popularity during the ’90s, thanks to Cartoon Network’s Toonami block, and then really exploded in the early aughts thanks to Pokémon. Most—but not all—anime are typically adaptations of popular Japanese comic strips (aka manga) which means that any time there’s a new hit series, there’s likely an anime adaptation not far behind. As such, there’s a treasure trove of series just waiting for discovery.
Anime comes in different shapes and sizes, with some series clocking in with something as little as 16 episodes while some series are 20 years running with no sight of stopping. As such, the medium lends itself to all kinds of stories, too, whether it’s the beloved mecha genre (with features giant robots fighting one another), coming-of-age tales, or action-epics with the state of the world or universe at stake. There’s no shortage of adventures to be found; it’s just about sitting down and finding what’s best.
But that’s where we come in to help you out. With so many different and diverse anime out there, sifting through them all can take massive amounts of time, so we’ve rounded up a list of the best of the best worth checking out. From beloved classics like Cowboy Bebop or Trigun to new releases that are bound to be modern classics like Chainsaw Man, here are the best anime shows to watch right now.
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Sunrise Animation’s landmark neo-noir western series continues to have an indelible effect on anime and pop culture over two decades after its release. Part of that is its limiting nature; the 26-episode series created such a viscerally compelling world that it’s hard not to want more. But Cowboy Bebop’s legacy doesn’t stop at its visuals, as the story of love and loss amongst the stars remains just as compelling today as it was when it released, while the lives of bounty hunters Spike, Jet, Faye, Ed, and Ein remain etched in the stars.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009)
Released in 2009, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a streamlining of the original 2003 anime and a more faithful adaptation of Hiromu Arakawa’s landmark manga that somehow manages to improve on its source material in the process. Hailed by many as the best anime ever, the series follows the Elric brothers in their quest to master alchemy in order to revive their dead mother at all costs—even if it means losing themselves in the process. Filled with compelling characters, exciting action, and weighty themes, the series is a special bit of alchemy itself.
Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995)
It’s hard to wrap your arms around Neon Genesis Evangelion, but that’s arguably a feature, not a bug. In the two decades after its release, show creator Hideaki Anno continues to tinker around with the landmark deconstruction of the mecha anime genre, but the series remains an unimpeachable giant in form. It’s a staggering achievement that will unquestionably mess you up as it transcends its robot origins and becomes a deeply personal exploration of Anno’s struggle with depression. That’s a weighty thing to tussle with, but the results make it well worth exploring all these years later.
Mobile Suit Gandem (1979)
One of the oldest animes on this list, Mobile Suit Gundam singlehandedly defined the mecha subgenre with its epic galactic battles between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation, as the two forces scrapped against one another in giant robotic suits. Gundam takes huge swings with its world-building, setting up quite a unique space (pun intended) for its tale to unfurl.
For many millennials, the Dragon Ball Z anime adaptation of Akira Toriyama’s beloved manga was an entry point (along with a few other titles on this list) into the art form and therefore holds a particular nostalgic place amongst fans. As a younger viewer, the fights captivated and held my attention; as an older watcher, the relationship dynamics between dozens of well-defined characters make this series a pillar of the genre. Either way, its cultural strength is worthy of the superpowered superhumans at its core.
The Vision of Escaflowne (1996)
I vividly remember being obsessed with the handful of episodes of The Vision of Escaflowne I saw as a kid on Fox Kids’ Saturday morning block. Revisiting the series as an adult, I realized there’s a lot happening all at once: a young girl performs a tarot reading and is transported to another world where steampunk mech suits (including one that can transform into a dragon!) from warring nations battle another in pursuit of great power. On paper, it may sound like too much of a hat-on-a-hat situation, but the creative forces behind Escaflowne managed to keep it all together to create a profoundly memorable anime. Plus, the creative talent behind the show is staggering, working on other projects, including One Piece, Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and Sailor Moon.
In addition to being a generation-defining game, Pokémon also has the benefit of being a generation-defining anime series. Launched in 1998, the Pokémon series helped to propel the Nintendo franchise into a global phenomenon, turning protagonist Ash Ketchum and his Pokémon partner Pikachu into household names. The series isn’t a masterwork, but it is masterful in helping to grow and spread the ubiquity of anime in the U.S. and earns a spot on this list based on its sheer importance alone.
Sailor Moon had a reputation in the early aughts as a “girls’ anime,” a decidedly unfair description because there’s much more depth to it than its magical girl genre trappings. The characters of Sailor Moon are distinctive and unique, resulting in a highly influential series for all kinds of viewers. Full of action, heart, and humor, it’s no wonder the series remains a key fixture in anime.
Pronounced Fooly Cooly, FLCL is utterly bizarre from start to finish. Here’s the rough plot line: A young boy, Naota, gets his head smashed in by a Vespa-riding, guitar-wielding alien woman named Haruko, and then a giant robot grows out of the bruise on his head. It sounds like a fever dream, even by anime standards. As such, FLCL is often inscrutable—but it’s never boring, especially once you add in the electric soundtrack from Japanese rock band, The Pillows, which helps to add to the frenetic nature of the six-episode original series.
Based on Eiichiro Oda’s ground-breaking manga (Oda’s print reached a staggering 500 million in sales last March, joining only the Harry Potter books in reaching such a feat), the pirate adventure series One Piece is a global sensation. With over 1,000 episodes released, jumping into the show is a journey unto itself, but one that’s well worth it for the extensive world-building, memorable characters, and killer hook: aspiring pirate king Monkey D. Luffy and his crew are in search of the titular One Piece treasure, bolstered by his superhuman ability to stretch his arms. The only trade-off for his superpowers? He can’t swim. Luffy’s tale of found family and pursuit of the treasure is a tale of excess but one that’s rarely boring and just as kinetic as the stretchy man at its center.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (2012)
The best way to describe JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is to evoke Doctor Who or even the James Bond films, as the lead isn’t so much a person as it is a title. Across many generations of the Joestar family, each “JoJo” is tasked with taking down threatening supernatural threats by leveraging their superpowers. The various JoJo tales span decades and are filled with unique characters, surreal humor (to wit: one villain gets his molecules rearranged and spends the rest of eternity living as a rock), and gruesome fights. JoJo is a lot of things, but you’ll rarely say it’s uninteresting.
Another series that has transcended its anime and manga origins, Naruto is a global sensation that has found a massive foothold in pop culture—from Nike shoes to Fornite. Based upon Masashi Kishimoto’s manga of the same name, the series focuses on orphan Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja-in-training who seeks to become the Hokage or leader of his village. The series is split into two, Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden, with a staggering 720 episodes among them. Like most coming-of-age tales, it’s a heartwarming tale of friendship and growth that has its fair share of profound moments, too (especially in Shippuden when the characters age up into their teens). It’s no wonder the series continues to resonate with new and old fans.
Attack on Titan (2013)
Since its premiere in 2013, Attack on Titan has carved out quite a place in the anime pantheon for its simple yet compelling story. At some point in the distant future, humans live in towns surrounded by giant walls to keep them protected against a series of roaming, giant human-like creatures named, you guessed it, titans, who have a penchant for killing (in various ways) humans. Attack follows a series of young children who join the military to fight the titans after the monsters become particularly emboldened and begin actively breaking through the barricades. There’s some shared DNA with Evagenlion, particularly in how the two series posit children as pawns in a larger battle, but Attack’s world-building and pacing are worth a particular shoutout.
The less said about Netflix’s Death Note first live-action adaptation (The Duffer Brothers are trying again as part of their recent new deal with the streamer), the better, as the original anime series is widely considered to be one of the best of all time. Part of the appeal is in its killer (no pun intended) hook, wherein teenager Light Yagami discovers the famed “Death Note” notebook, which provides him the power to kill anyone whose name is scribbled inside the pages. As such, Light goes on a spree to rid the world of those he deems unworthy while a Japanese task force hunts him down. The cat-and-mouse game that ensues asks complex questions about morality and remains a highly influential series.
Released in 2022 but already making waves, Chainsaw Man earns its place on this list because we think it’s poised to become the next big hit anime based on the strength of its superlative manga. The series details the exploits of 16-year-old Denji, a downtrodden boy who believes he’ll die alone until he merges with the devil, who grants him the power to change parts of his body into chainsaws. Denji is eventually recruited into the service of the Public Safety Devil Hunters to fight and eliminate other demonic threats. The anime’s action sequences are out of this world, while the story is grounded in character-first narratives. It’s poised to continue to delight and surprise for a long time.
Lupin the Third (1971)
Who doesn’t love a gentleman thief? That’s (ostensibly) the plot of Lupin the Third, which follows the titular lead and grandson of the original Arsène Lupin. Lupin is a sort of precursor for a lot of other anime—notably Cowboy Bebop, as Spike’s roguish charm is deeply indebted to Lupin—with its original anime dating back to 1971. It’s basically your stylish, charming grandfather.
Much like Naruto and One Piece, Bleach (often considered along those other two series as the “Big Three” of modern anime) looms large in the estimation of anime fans. Over the course of various series, the first of which started back in 2004, Bleach tracks the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki, a Soul Reaper who not only guides departing spirits to the afterlife but helps to defend the living from evil. Highly accessible to both new fans of the genre and diehard anime fans, the series recently started a new installment called the Thousand-Year Blood War, a sequel to the original 2004 anime, and will air in four different parts over the next few years.
My Hero Academia (2016)
Since its release in 2016, My Hero Academia continues to chart a meteoric ascension. Dovetailing in part with the popularity of the MCU, MHA explores an alternative version of Earth where about 80% of the population has a superpower, or as it’s known in the show, a “quirk.” When the series opens, the protagonist and middle school student Izuku Midoriya is one of the few without powers until a fateful meeting with the world’s greatest hero, All Might, gives him powers of his own. In the wake of this newfound gift, Izuku enrolls at UA High to hone his newfound abilities. Despite an overarching good versus evil battle, MHA is much more focused on the daily lives of the UA High students and their respective friendships, struggles, and victories. With compelling themes and kinetic action, the popularity of the anime is well-earned.
Here’s a staggering statistic for you: During the height of the pandemic, a Demon Slayer movie grossed $313 million, taking about 45 days out from its mid-October 2022 release to become the second-highest-grossing movie in Japan. The story details Tanjiro, a teenager who joins a band of demon fighters after his family is murdered and his sister Nezuko turned into a demon. Hell-bent on avenging their deaths and finding a cure for his sister. Where the anime excels, however, is in its absolutely electric fight sequences, which help to establish the series as one of the best action animes ever.
In an art form dominated by big ideas, the premise for Monster is decidedly small scale, but no less impactful than that of giant robots or super-powered beings. Across 30 episodes, Japanese surgeon Kenzo Tenma falls into a dangerous game with former patient Johan Liebert who just so happens to be a serial killer. As such, Monster feels more like something you’d see from David Fincher than something that’d be typically found in anime, but that’s a feature, not a bug. The result is a tense and gripping series that’s hard to shake.
A lot of One Punch Man’s inherent appeal lies within how it either leans into or defies the expectations of traditional shounen—action-adventure series meant for young men—stories. As evidenced by its name, the series follows that of Saitama, a superhero who can defeat anyone with a single punch and begins to grow bored after realizing he doesn’t have a challenge. The anime is full of vivid fight sequences and is often hilarious in an all-killer, no-filler adaptation.
Anime lends itself to all kinds of stories, so it’s not shocking to find sports series as well. Among the high mark of the sports anime genre is that of Haikyuu!!, a show about a high school volleyball team that features incredible character development across its wide ensemble. It makes for a refreshing departure from the world-saving stakes of a lot of other anime but still manages to feature plenty of lush animation.
You may recognize the iconography of Trigun, even if you haven’t seen the series before. A staple of the late ’90s anime boom, the huge revolver, small shades, lightning blond hair, and striking red coat of series lead Vash stuck out to me when browsing the anime section at the video store. It also helps the series itself, a Western sci-fi set on a desert planet named No Man’s Land, defies expectations at every point. Despite looking like the Man with No Name, Vash isn’t quick to violence, and the twisty plot evokes that of Christopher Nolan’s Memento.
Part detective story, part mecha, The Big O follows Roger Smith, a sort of Perry Mason-like figure who moonlights as PI, lawyer, and mecha pilot dedicated to taking down archvillain Alex Rosewater, a villainous Lex Luthor-like figure. Set amongst the memorable Paradigm City, Big O draws inspiration from noir and Toho’s beloved Godzilla movies to create something truly memorable.
Gamers in the early aughts may remember the popular Bandai PlayStation videogame series .hack//Sign, which took place after the events of the anime of the same name. The ambition and scope of .hack is tremendous, as the series revolves around a gamer named Tsukasa who is stuck in a metaverse-like MMO called “The World,” without any memory as to how he landed there and aimed to discover the truth behind his situation. Despite being stuck in a video game, .hack functions much more as a treatise on connection instead of action and even explores the relationship between our online and offline personas. It’s aged extremely well and is far more relevant and resonates today than it was when it was released over two decades ago.
Okay, we’ll readily admit this one is a bit of a cheat. Technically speaking, The Boondocks isn’t an anime. It wasn’t produced in Japan, but the series’ animation style is decidedly influenced by the art form and therefore deserves a place on this list. Anchored by incredible performances from Regina King, Gary Anthony Williams, Cedric Yarbrough, Jill Tailey, and the late, great John Witherspoon, its cutting-edge humor and satire still remain razor-sharp to this day.
Yu Yu Hakusho is up there with Dragon Ball Z as one of the most important Japan to US imports but it’s ubiquity doesn’t make it any less quality. After 14-year-old Yusuke Urameshi gets hit by a car saving a child, he winds up as a supernatural detective, charged with protecting a tenuous balance between the Spirit World and the Human World. Teaming up with his friends and emboldened by a special power that allows him to shoot an energy beam from his finger, the character-driven series still remains one of the medium’s best.
Drawing from the manga created by One Punch Man creator One, Mob Psycho 100 is another smart send-up of shonen-style anime. Eighth-grader Mob is a psychic of much renown who works alongside his mentor, Reigen, to solve supernatural problems throughout Seasoning City. As the duo takes on different cases, animation studio Bones renders the conflicts with incredibly trippy visuals, which feature the studio at its best. The series also features a colorful cast of characters and plenty of great humor.
Hunter X Hunter (2011)
Pronounced Hunter Hunter, Hunter x Hunter focuses on the adventures of young Gon, a boy living in a little town who leaves in search of his missing father. The only clue to his whereabouts is that he’s a Hunter, a sort of Indiana Jones-like searcher tasked with discovering all manner of things, from priceless artifacts to mystical places. Despite his unfortunate circumstances, Gon is determined to see the best in people, and his zeal inspires the audience to invest in his character development accordingly. As such, it’s easy to fall in love with the series as we watch him on his journey to becoming a Hunter himself.
Baccano! functions like a jigsaw puzzle, constantly reorienting its design with every new element added to its whole. Across a sparse (by anime standards at least) 16-episode, the ensemble series charts the tale of alchemists, thugs, thieves, and mobsters during the Prohibition era who mistakenly drink an immortality elixir and believe it to be bootleg alcohol. As such, a battle for control over the elixir breaks out throughout Manhattan. Told in a non-linear fashion, Baccano! constantly shifts expectations, providing a gripping story that’s never, ever boring with truly memorable characters at its core.
William Goodman is a freelancer writer, focused on all things pop culture, tech, gadgets, and style.
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