Hey, weebs. Are you looking for a good anime to watch on Netflix? Here are the best anime shows of all time ranked by our incredible anime fans community. These top anime hits include all-time favorites like Death Note, Spy x Family, Attack on Titan, and many more...
Anime TV series first found popularity outside of Japan in the 1980s and have continued to find larger audiences in the West. The anime style has grown so popular in the US that it has significantly influenced animation's style and aesthetics. Shows such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, Afro Samurai, and Samurai Jack have borrowed heavily from anime in terms of pacing, subject matter, and design.
Today we are going to see some universal crowdpleasers. Ranking the greatest anime ever is a difficult task, but it's time to settle this once and for all: which of the most popular anime shows crack the top 100., the top 10, or even the top 10 of all time?
Let's get Started! Make sure to check out the Bonus series at the end of this post.
20. One-Punch Man
Ratings: 8.5/10 IMDb
One Punch Man is the story of Saitama, a hero that does it just for fun & can defeat his enemies with a single punch. Yes, he can kill anyone with a single blow. But nothing can challenge him, so he struggles with boredom and depression.
The first season gives us a new perspective of how the superhero world works, full of philosophical conflicts that are packed in unorthodox-Japanese humor style. Give a lot of mysteries that are solved little by little as the plots go.
Pretty neat plot with well-built characters, good animation, and detail that can please your eyes with awesome actions and effects. but in its 2nd season, it loses the grip of its style of storytelling, more like a regular Japanese shounen story but still can give you excitement when some story going on and unveils the mysteries and foreshadowing future events, and the action portion is not reduced and still become their main attraction Suitable for people who love action, a superhero story, a philosophical topic that is brought into thoughts experiment, and also people who want to laugh a lot.
19. Dragon Ball Z
Ratings: 8.8/10 IMDb
With the help of the powerful Dragonballs, a team of fighters led by the Saiyan warrior Goku defends the planet earth from extraterrestrial enemies.
Dragon Ball Z follows the adventures of the adult Goku who, along with his companions, defends the earth against an assortment of villains ranging from intergalactic space fighters and conquerors to unnaturally powerful androids and near indestructible. It's the original Dragon Ball anime that followed Goku through childhood into adulthood,
A timeless classic, it has crawled through the ages to keep generations entertained. Despite the long, drawn-out "charge-ups" (which have lessened towards Super), It has always pushed the power-up narrative. The main protagonist Goku is portrayed as pure justice while also being inherently stupid. This is offset by a once arch nemesis joining the team (Vegeta). Say what you will about this anime; it's top-notch entertainment, and one could say the granddad of all advanced anime (bleach, one piece, Naruto, etc.) Worth the watch by far. Many will sing its praises, and many will slag its simplicity off, but ultimately you, the watcher, will decide what it is.
18. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Ratings: 8.8/10 IMDb
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, A multigenerational tale of the heroic Joestar family and their never-ending battle against evil!
Great show. Great animation, badass scenes, amazing voice actors, overall just a great anime. Honestly, though, the show isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. But you must admit, the anime has done a great job at upgrading it from the manga in almost every way, although the story still remains.
Props to the people behind making this anime too. Ever since season 2, I got hooked with the hilarious main character and the way he dealt with the plot and other characters. This show perfectly mixes serious and dramatic fight scenes and sometimes humor into the same scene.
You only really need to watch season 1 to understand the bloodline of the JoJos. Anyway, overall amazing show, 10/10. Araki's creations are so iconic that JoJo even has a Gucci crossover.
17. Naruto / Naruto: Shippuden
Ratings: 8.4/10 IMDb
Guided by the spirit demon within him, orphaned Naruto learns to harness his powers as a ninja in this anime adventure series.
Naruto is largely shunned by his peers, but he remains determined to prove himself a worthy leader.
Even if you're not familiar with anime, chances are you've heard of Naruto — or, more particularly, his iconic sprinting style called Naruto Run.
It's adventurous and action-based and also contains some funny moments which made me laugh a lot. More than that, the series gives a clear point on family, friendship, and the act of never giving up on your dreams even if they may seem impossible at times. Thumbs up to this amazing masterpiece.
It's a wild ride filled with adventure, and it's never too late to join in.
16. One Piece
Ratings: 8.8/10 IMDb
A 17-year-old boy Luffy defines the reason for being a pirate as a pure wonder; the thought of an exciting adventure, meeting new and intriguing people, and finding One Piece.
One Piece is one of the most popular series in anime history. Its incredible storyline and characters have contributed to its success.
The best parts of One Piece are its character design and concept art. The set pieces, ships, and costuming are whimsical, engaging, and endlessly creative. Visually it prevents the show from falling into the anime trap of having a number of similar characters with different hair colors whose goal is to overthrow a generic anime bad guy.
The way its world is built and how deep. The story never stops amazing the audience.
15. My Hero Academia
Ratings: 8.9/10 IMDb
After he saves a bully from a Villain, an ordinary student is granted a superpower. Midoriya inherits the superpower of the world’s greatest hero, but greatness won’t come easy.
Beautiful art and animation. Every character looks like they originated from different works of visual media. The action scenes are a visual treat, with battles taking place in the air and on the ground. Top-notch sound design.
The music by Yuki Hayashi (Blood Lad, Death Parade, Haikyu!!) is delightful, and the voice acting is a pleasure in all languages: Japanese, English, French, and German. The choices of voice actors are excellent. The intro and outro songs of my hero academia are masterpieces to listen to. Amazing storytelling, pathos, and an interesting premise mixed very well to create a captivating story.
Great, lovable characters (for the most part, Look at the first bad quality). All the superpowers- sorry, Quirks, are very fun. From explosions to super speed, from gravikinesis to both pyrokinesis AND cryokinesis in one, the list goes on.
There's never been a better time to get aboard the MHA train.
14. Assassination Classroom
Ratings: 8/10 IMDb
Looked down upon by their peers, the students in this class appear to have little hope of advancing their academics. That is until the national government tasks them with eliminating the greatest threat to their planet: their new teacher.
The assassination classroom is a well-structured story that decides to stick to it from start to end. The character development is very good, and the various episodes that build up to the story are very engaging as well.
Season 2 amps up the story a bit and ends the story in a very well and polished or rather a deserving way. It's a must-watch for anyone looking for an anime to watch. I would recommend this to anyone.
The world's fate rests in the hands of its students, as they have until graduation to figure out how to murder their teacher and collect ten billion yen for saving the world.
13. Mob Psycho 100
Ratings: 8.6/10 IMDb
Shigeo Kageyama is an average middle school-aged boy nicknamed Mob.
He tries to live a normal life and keep his growing powers under control, even though he constantly gets into trouble.
This anime is absolutely fantastic. The story that Mob Psycho 100 tells is both a really well-executed take on the life of an average middle schooler and one of the most epic and visually pleasing anime ever created.
Every fight scene feels real and full of impact, with impressive use of colors and LOTS of destruction. This shows especially when the protag, Shigeo Kageyama (or Mob), goes 100%. (You'll find out what that means.) And while the fight scenes, you could argue, are half of the appeal, the other half features a pleasant, humorous, emotional story about the life of a second-year middle school boy, Mob.
Mob is a relatable and endearing protagonist who, while very powerful, doesn't like to use his powers to rush through life and get what he wants. Instead, he wants to better himself as a person, protect those around him, and live a better, less stressful life.
12. Mushishi
Ratings: 8.5/10 IMDb
Mushishi is an adaptation of Yuki Urushibara's award-winning manga of the same name. The series adapts the first 26 chapters of the manga, adapting one per episode. The anime aired these stories in a different order than that of the manga.
Beautiful artwork, excellent storytelling, and the plot of each episode is super simple and yet deeply profound...This show is so good it is in a category all of its own.
The main theme of the show: how humans interact with the natural world, is timeless but also relevant now more than ever.
Mushishi is meditative, calm, peaceful, and relaxing, it can give you great epiphanies, and some episodes might take you in a trance. The art and the music and the myriad stories combine to create magic.
11. Neon Genesis Evangelion
Ratings: 8.5/10 IMDb
Fifteen years after the Second Impact, Shinji Ikari, a teenage boy, joins his father's group NERV as one of several teenage mecha pilots fighting the monstrous celestial beings called "Angels."
This anime is amazing, damn near perfect. Each character has so much depth, and the themes surrounding them are perfect. The way that Ikari sees his wife in Rei and the way Rei sees Shinji in Ikari perfectly show the different perspectives of each character.
Existential dread is a great trade-off for getting to watch this amazing show that has seriously changed how I think of reality.
To anyone who has not seen Neon Genesis Evangelion or End of Evangelion, I can only offer these words: Brace for Impact.
10. Bleach
Ratings: 8.5/10 IMDb
Ichigo Kurosaki is a 15-year-old ordinary schooler who has the ability to see ghosts/spirits.
To save his family, Ichigo accepts Rukia's offer of taking her powers and becomes a Soul Reaper as a result.
Bleach is amazing to me because it felt like one of the only shows at the time that felt "real," and it was cool to watch and see the characters interact with each other like real people. When I say real, I'm not saying like our lives but rather as people who had to go through things like they did and how they reacted to it.
I can go on, but I can confidently say you would watch it at your own pace. There is no need to rush. Have fun with it because, at the end of the day, that's what anime and entertainment are about.
9. Steins;Gate
Ratings: 8.8/10 IMDb
When Rintaro Okabe decides to attend neuroscientist Kurisu Makise's conference on time travel, he experiences a series of strange events that lead him to believe that there is more to the "Phone Microwave" gadget than meets the eye.
Steins Gate is a show, which stays on the side of logic always, but at the same time, the emotional moments tug at your heartstrings. A beautiful amalgamation of pinnacle sci-fi and slice-of-life themes, this is nothing short of a masterpiece.
A character-driven plot that is so perfect that you can feel them and sympathize with them. That moment when you realize that everything in the show, including the protagonist's eccentric personality, has a reason. Everything falls into a perfect loop in this show. this is not a simple time loop concept you will find in other time travel plots. It is a different concept.
The side effects and consequences of changing the past and the portrayal of concepts like the butterfly effect and chaos theory are awe-inspiring. Once you finish watching, there will be this sense of accomplishment, and at the same time, a numbing emptiness will haunt you.
If you are looking for things to watch and like SciFi and drama anime, I definitely would highly recommend watching this.
8. Violet Evergarden
Ratings: 8.4/10 IMDb
Violet Evergarden is an anime series from 2018 that focuses on the titular character Violet, a war veteran who knows nothing about normal life and works as a ghostwriter who carries people's thoughts and converts them into words.
Violet Evergarden is a masterpiece that will make you feel once again through its brilliant storytelling and excellent presentation of emotions. The story revolves around our protagonist, Violet Evergarden, and her adventures of learning to understand others' emotions as well as her own.
The series' visuals are stunning regarding the animation style, color schemes, and lighting. Watching the series was appealing to the eye, much like pieces of art, with many scenes being incredibly detailed and rich in color. On top of that, the series was awarded the 2019 Crunchyroll Anime Awards for "Best animation." There is no doubt that one of Violet Evergarden's strongest aspects is its visuals.
Overall this is a great and must to watch for everyone who loves anime and drama adaptations.
7. InuYasha
Ratings: 8.4/10 IMDb
A teenage girl periodically travels back in time to feudal Japan to help a young half-demon recover the shards of a jewel of great power.
Inuyasha is probably a battle Shounen show in everyone's book, but it definitely inclines toward the main character's thought process and actions, so for me, this one is also a romance anime. What I really appreciate from this show r the different characters, even villains had their own stories, and they weren't evil just for the sake of being evil. I would even say the character development for Sesshomaru is probably my favorite aspect of this show.
The voice acting is a bit cheesy, but it was when anime started to become popular in the west, and it basically started when dubbing for anime was starting to get good.
Overall the show offers teen and older tween girls a fascinating fantasy world to explore.
6. Space Dandy
Ratings: 8.1/10 IMDb
The cosmic and comic adventures of Space Dandy, a handsome space explorer tasked to tour the universe and discover new alien beings.
Dandy is a groovy, pompadour-wearing man who explores the stars in search of strange aliens for money, desiring to visit his favorite place: BooBies, the best diner in all the cosmos.
Beautiful, gripping, and truly an amazing display of animation. The gang will have you glued to the landslide of activity, fore- and background that flows smoothly into itself while being philosophically outrageous.
Space Dandy is a carefree guy who only cares about his awesome ride and the Hooters-like restaurant, Boobies! The show may seem like there are no consequences, but as you watch on, that is clearly not the case. I enjoy that they seem to remember previous episodes and the firey passion each character has while still being comical in dangerous situations.
I would definitely recommend watching this.
5. Code Geass
Ratings: 8.7/10 IMDb
A high-schooler who's granted powers to make anyone instantly obedient dons a mask to lead Japan's rebellion against a long-invading Britannia.
Code Geass definitely a great show. Another masterpiece. The story follows a young exiled Britannian prince, Lelouch vi Britannia, who gets a power called Geass that allows him to make anyone obey his absolute command only for one time as long as they are in his direct eye contact. C.C, the immortal person who gave him this power, is also wanted.
Lelouch uses his Geass to avenge the "death" of his mother, Marianne vi Britannia, free japan, avenge his younger sister Nunally who was blinded by a "terrorist attack," and finally destroy his father Charles and his country Britannia. Lelouch soon gets isolated but also makes a team called the black knights and leads it against Britannia in the mask of his famous alter ego, ZERO. But he faces challenges along the way, like his family and his old friend Suzaku.
The show has like 50 episodes also featuring a very emotional romantic story between Lelouch and his classmate Shirley.
4. Cowboy Bebop
Ratings: 8.9/10 IMDb
Long on style and perpetually short on cash, bounty hunters Spike, Jet, and Faye trawl the solar system looking for jobs. But can they outrun Spike's past?
This show is beautiful, elegant, classy, funny, and heartbreaking. A true emotional roller coaster, Cowboy Bebop has the difficult task of attempting to balance a dark story about organized crime and a lighthearted Star Wars-esque space adventure.
However, the writers balance these two sides perfectly and allow them to coexist without interrupting or overshadowing the other. The animation is nostalgic, warm, fluent, and simply gorgeous. Cowboy Bebop has it all.
Everything about it is a true masterpiece, and the music is awesome. Definitely worth a watch.
3. Attack on Titan
Ratings: 9/10 IMDb
With his hometown in ruins, young Eren Yeager becomes determined to fight back against the giant Titans that threaten to destroy the human race.
One of the greatest Anime of all time. Honestly, after Code Geass, there's very less Anime I was really hooked on to the plot, and kept me guessing with the plot twist. Isayama has done an awesome job in creating such a complex story and weaving it all back so naturally.
The story may seem like a post-apocalyptic theme, but trust me, it has so many layers that I don't even know where to begin without spoiling it. Eren Jaeger is one of the beloved characters of the show initially,
I was more interested in Mikasa and Levi's arc as eren was such a pathetic and irritating character, but his arc is been through so much that you sympathize with him. Overall one of the best shows you cannot miss.
2. Spy x Family
Ratings: 8.7/10 IMDb
An action-packed comedy about a fake family that includes a spy, an assassin, and a telepath (Anya)
Agent Twilight, the greatest spy for the nation of Westalis, has to infiltrate an elite private school; in order to do so, he assumes the identity of psychiatrist Loid Forger, adopts an orphan girl, and marries a city hall employee.
There are a lot of emotions and drama packed into this show. It is very excellent in terms of character design and artistic visualization. The story is very crisp and action-packed. Spy x Family also has many mixed emotions.
The overall result can satisfy any new anime binge who wants to watch wholesome content. Love the theme of family and parenting while hiding true identities. One of my favorite characters is Anya Forger. She's around 4-5 years old and pretends to be 6, which is kinda cute. Love the theme of family and parenting while hiding true identities.
1. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Ratings: 8.7/10 IMDb
After a demon att s Tanjiro's family, slain and his sister cursed, Tanjiro ends up on a perilous journey to find a cure and avenge the one he's lost.
Nezuko (his sister) still shows signs of human emotion and thought even after turning into a demon. Thus begins his request to fight Bebop'semons and turn his sister human again.
There is no doubt that this is an action-packed show filled with twists and turns. It has moments that will make you want to cry, moments that will launch you over the moon in joy, and much, much more. It has the perfect balance of everything.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba takes you on a journey. It shows the struggles Tanjiro encounters while on the path to finding a cure.
This anime is absolutely phenomenal. It takes you on an adventure in just twenty-six episodes. It is a true masterpiece. If you like animes that take you on a roller coaster and are filled with action, I think this might be the show for you. I think people aged 12+ would enjoy this anime more as it does have its gory moments.
Bonus Series: Death Note
Ratings: 8.7/10 IMDb
When a Japanese high schooler comes into possession of a mystical notebook (Death Note), he finds he has the power to kill anybody whose name he enters in it.
The "Death Note" is soo much captivating that you can't resist. Full of suspense that your brain will surely enjoy. You will keep on guessing "what next? " and will be surprised with a plot twist. Every single thing about this anime is amazing, whether it's characters, plot, soundtracks, or animation.
Light Yagami is a realistic character who clearly knows what he is doing, and he is without any doubt one of the best characters ever created.
On the other side, L also deserves a lot of praise because he was a fan favorite right from the start.
Overall, this is one of the best anime series on earth right now and really popular, of course. Even if you watch it a second time or a third time, you are bound to feel goosebumps.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Ratings: 8.7/10 IMDb
Brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric attempted human transmutation, but their reckless defiance of Alchemy's Law of Equivalent Exchange resulted in tragic failure.
A Great introduction to a new world with simple yet intricate, original magic story mechanics, which is rare in any story (Alchemy!) and utilized till the bitter end. perfectly executed character development and endings.
Exposure to many aspects of the new world around and conflicts without disturbing the goal which the main characters & all other characters push to grasp a perfect way to make use of the filers [in other words, don't skip an episode, or u might regret it].
And as always, no spoilers, but the plot twist of the entire storyline got me on the edge of my seat with a jaw drop.
Great show that I highly recommend people interested in anime that haven’t seen it to watch!
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