Top Ten Greatest Animes Of All Time

Top Ten Greatest Animes Of All Time

Nigel, AKA Bubblegum Senpai was voted well-nigh likely to die due to blow involving a cuddle pillow. Haruhi Suzumiya for Life.

Marcellosilkscreen

Anime has been effectually for a long fourth dimension, entertaining young and erstwhile for well-nigh lx years! I've been writing about anime on several unlike websites for well-nigh six years now, and could you believe that in all this time I've never washed i of these "All Time Top Tens?"

Now, my ranking is based on several things. I'll be factoring in overall popularity, historical contribution to anime, and of form, personal stance - which will be the largest cistron. So if you're ane of those folks that may be allergic to opinions you disagree with, than consider this your warning.

At present sit down back and become ready for some old-fashioned clickbaity goodness!

Speed Racer helped innovate the Western hemisphere to anime.

Speed Racer, Tatsunoko Productions, Trans-Lux

Honorable Mentions

Before we get to the proper height ten, I'm going to throw some recognition towards some dandy anime that may have non made the listing. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, though non a personal favorite, is still one of the most pop contemporary series to this day, with some of the globe'southward most recognized and talented anime vocalisation actors in both Japanese and English. Combined with deep themes of existential philosophy and the validity of religion, this show is always discussion worthy.

Completely unrelated, Fullmetal Panic did an astonishing job of combining ruthless activeness, dramatic continuity and comedy into one series. Role activity, office sitcom, this series was even parodied in Amagi Vivid Park with Moffle being referred to as a "walking copyright infringement" for his uncanny appearance to Banta-kun. Subverted of course, as the 2 shows shared an animation squad.

Love, Eighth Grade Sickness, and Other Delusions is probably ane of the more popular romantic serial targeting a male person audience and Beyond the Boundary took it some other step farther adding in fantasy elements to the story.

While the 'Yandere' character archetype has been around for years (and well get to more on that) Futurity Diaries perfected it with Yuno Gasai, who has become known as the "Queen of the Yanderes" and withal non notwithstanding dethroned.

Back in 1967, a little show you may take heard of called Speed Racer began airing in Due north America, just months subsequently information technology debuted on Japanese TV, bringing international attention to "Japanimation" every bit it was called back in the day. It would still be years before anime was popularized in the westward, only we'll also become to that later.

Capitalizing on the popularity of contempo Japanese cartoons, Saban licensed a series known equally Samurai Pizza Cats. This was my personal nostalgia series as information technology was the first anime I ever watched, and I was obsessed. Rumor has it that all the dubs were improvised as Saban was never sent English scripts, this proving that on occasion, a dubbed version can be improve than subtitles, by simply making up information technology'due south own plot.

Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the evidence with the huge cult following Impale la Impale. Reading the synopsis sounded exactly similar a typical high schoolhouse activeness serial. Kill la Impale was annihilation but typical. Taking a more than onetime-fashioned hand drawn animation style reminiscent of the 80s and early 90s, it took every single possible anime trope, and dialed them up to the point of parody. I thought I'd like it based on the summary. Thought I'd detest information technology based on the starting time two minutes. And so I couldn't stop watching it.

So these are the series that deserve some recognition without making the list, and and so on to the residual of the bait!

ten. Elfen Lied

Lucy/Nyu/Kaede from "Elfen Lied"

Elfen Lied

Elfen Lied opens this list at number 10. This is an anime that has almost everything. Information technology has romance. It has fanservice. It has drama. Information technology has private armies. Science fiction and fantasy. And claret. Tons of blood.

Read More From Reelrundown

Yes, Yuno Gasai may exist the Queen, only Lucy was the one who fabricated Yandere'southward popular. She might non exist the outset, only she was the one who fabricated everybody in North America google "What is a Yandere?"

This image clearly shows that I was totally lying about the whole Yandere thing

Google Trends

There'southward a trope called "Break the Cutie." This is why you don't pause the cutie.

Elfen Lied

The story, which centers around a new species of Human, the Diclonius (pl. Diclonii). The Diclonius are born with 2 small horns protruding from their head and in one case they reach a certain historic period, the develop the use of invisible arms known equally "vectors." The vectors not just are able to catch things, simply are also able to cut through things with ease.

Diclonius are fully capable of human intelligence, but accept fierce tendencies and as such are treated as monsters past the rest of mankind. Infants are often terminated at birth, and those that fly under the radar are usually sent to a scientific discipline lab to be researched on. And the inquiry is extremely cruel.

Focusing on ane Diclonius in particular, Lucy, she loses her retention after escaping a labratory and with that, she also loses her violent tendencies and the ability to use her vectors. Nether bouts of extreme stress, usually forced by scientists trying to kidnap her, she will temporarily get her vectors back, forth with her memory - including the memories of how she was treated at the lab. And she'south not very forgiving.

An absolute sweetheart who's cute as a button when her amnesia is in outcome, she goes back and forth between that and violently fell. But equally soon every bit her best friend shows up, her amnesia returns and she goes dorsum to her sweet self, popularizing the Yandere fashion of character years before Future Diaries did it.

The series discusses some very heavy topics, just about heavy of all is the feeling the viewer is left with that the possibility was that perchance the Diclonii weren't the monsters at all, but rather, that humans were.

9. Vandread

Hibiki and Dita, the two main protagonists in "Vandread"

Vandread

This entry is less about whatever contributions to anime, and more near the fact I don't really similar Mecha anime, but love this series.

The series takes place in the far future, and Globe has started to colonize other planets. In particular, one planet is entirely female, and another is entirely male. Centuries afterwards these two planets are colonized war breaks out between the two. They no longer even recognize the other equally human as the electric current generation is more often than not made of people who have never seen the opposite gender up close.

Subsequently a battle between the two sides, a male, Hibiki, smuggles aboard the female person ship, and is and so taken prisoner. After being transported randomly by their ships sentient bulldoze, Hibiki, along with a few other males are taken prisoner, and assigned jobs on the ship to earn their continue long plenty to detect their way dwelling house. They begrudgingly agree to work together until a new threat arrives, forcing the men and women to put aside their differences for the sake of survival - and possibly romance.

I personally just really enjoyed this anime, and the character growth that arose over two seasons, as characters went from antisocial one another, to slowly realizing that at i fourth dimension, earlier modern scientific advancements, their species depended on each other for survival, to becoming friends, and in a few cases, lovers. It was a 26 episode slow build, merely information technology'due south definitely not boring and I absolutely recommend this serial to anyone.

8. Pokemon

Of course Pokemon is on this list!

Youtube

Of course Pokémon would be on this listing. Information technology's been ambulation since 1998 and as long as Nintendo keeps pumping out games, they'll be pumping out episodes of this series.

I'yard including everything in this, except possibly the whole Blackness and White story arc. While I loved the Black and White story in the video game, information technology just didn't interpret well into the anime. But even the XY story picked up, bringing in a new generation of kids to autumn in love with the serial.

I'k kind of a purist who prefers the showtime few seasons, and a lot of people my age are in the same boat. However, later series are in no manner inferior as even my niece, who's six years old, loves watching XY. Her favorite pokémon is Fenniken by the way. Like the eleven year old protagonist Ash, this series is both timeless and ageless, e'er finding means to bring in new viewers who weren't even born when the series started. Say what you lot similar about the show needing a reboot (which is a surprisingly popular opinion in the cyberspace) merely the prove speaks for itself and information technology'south saying "I've always stayed fresh and relevant."

seven. Mobile Adjust Gundam

And then begins the downward screw known as Izumak- er... Mecha anime.

Mobile Adapt Gundam

Mobile Suit Gundam. This is probably the showtime entry where I'k trying to ignore my personal feelings. Mobile Adjust Gundam is, without a doubt, a archetype. Information technology is difficult for me to be objective though as I stated earlier, I'm non a fan of mecha. There are some serial out there that do Mecha very well. The previously mentioned Vandread and Crosse Ange are all bully shows in their own rights. And the genre itself is quite pop. But Gundam is where it all began.

I remember watching it late at night because their was nada else on Television receiver. I never understood it - I was just a child - and episodes never aired here chronologically, so I could never follow the plot, only there'due south one thing I do know: Without Mobile Suit Gundam, there would exist no Vandread, Crosse Ange, Evangelion, or Escaflowne.

Mobile Suit Gundam certainly wasn't the first Mecha Anime. Grendizer and Brave Raideen debuted iv years before, but Mobile Suit Gundam defined a genre and the tropes associated with information technology. Mobile Suit Gundam also gave way to pushing more of these shows in the west. It wasn't until over 15 years after the series debuted in Nippon that information technology was adapted for American audiences every bit an experiment, airing at almost midnight in some time zones. Even if the genre survived in Japan, there's almost no style Escaflowne would take been adapted for an American audience without the Gundam experiment being a success.

vi. Fist of the Northward Star

When you encounter this confront, you are presently to be already dead.

Fist of the North Star, the series

Fist of the North Star is an eighty's activity anime. In a post-apocalyptic wasteland kind of reminiscent of Mad Max, Kenshiro travels from town to town, defeating the gangs and thugs that have taken over the cities and liberating the denizens, while gathering information and allies to assistance him defeat some demons from his own questionable by.

This anime has a cult post-obit in the west, notorious for it'due south gory details fifty-fifty by today'south standards. Kenshiro is a master of the "Hakuto Shinken," a pressure point based fighting way. Kenshiro would often strike multiple pressure points on his opponents, which were almost painless at the time he'd strike, before leaving him with his meme-famous line "You are already expressionless," as his opponents would express mirth earlier oft exploding or even fall apart in pieces.

But this isn't simply a simple bloodfest. Kenshiro is a strong character in his own right, as his motivations and history slowly catch up to him in each town, with astonishing mitt-animated landscapes that really aid 1 encounter the despair left behind in the wasteland. Certainly not for everyone, this cult classic has certainly left information technology'south mark on this acme ten list.

5. Lucky Star

Not every anime ends it'due south run with a big dance sequence, but Lucky Star does

Lucky Star: The Animation

This is one of the almost popular series in both Japan and in the west. Information technology is a piece of life series, with just loose continuity and lots of parody and references. It's basically, at it's core, an anime about anime. I mean, information technology's about friendship too, but dropping references to Street Fighter, Initial D, Jojo'southward Bizarre Adventures, and Haruhi Suzumiya (at that place'southward lots of Haruhi Suzumiya in at that place), outright acknowledging it's tropes such as "moe points" and the "Obligatory Embankment Episode," this series hilariously is self aware that it's merely a serial.

And while the serial is commonly played for laughs, at that place are some serious moments about it. The central character Konata, late in the serial, has a conversation with her father near her late mother, and the reasons they barbarous in love. Presented from the perspective of the ghost of Konata's female parent watching the chat unfold, information technology'south ten minutes of absolute seriousness that will leave you in tears, and moments similar this provide a much needed pause in the abiding comedy if y'all're planning to marathon the series.

If you're someone who likes inside jokes, fourth wall breaks, and not a whole lot of storyline, then this is a must meet for any anime fan.

Purchase Lucky Star on Blu Ray

4. Astro Boy

The classic, Astro Male child is responsible for not but everything on this list, but pretty much every anime ever.

Astro Boy

Do I actually need to say anything about this series? I know a lot of people claim that you lot're non a "existent fan of anime" if yous haven't seen or heard of whatsoever their favorite anime is (I'm looking at you Naruto and Dragonball Z fanboys). Well, in the case of Astro Boy that'south probably truthful. I'k not maxim lookout the whole series. But you should probably watch ane episode. And do it with a prayerful heart and reflection upon all things holy in the Anime Earth.

Osamu Tezuka is called "The Grandfather of Anime" for a reason. Influenced by Disney and Betty Boop, he had taken an interest in drawing in early on elementary schoolhouse and published his first work shortly later on the war ended.

Heavily influenced by the events during the Second World War - notably the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - he came to put even greater devotion to his arts, with the conventionalities that if he were skilled enough, he could bring peace to earth. Among his early projects were licensed Japanese manga adaptation of Disney Movies, and of form Astro Boy, a project birthed from the belief that nuclear power need non be a tool for destruction, but rather for practiced.

Astro Boy was a awareness, and though non Tezuka'due south first work, nor his first anime adaptation, information technology was certainly the most influential and information technology was from these projects, and his many others, that Japanese blitheness began to exist divers by, and ultimately, compared to. It might non await like much today, but back in the 1953, this work would presently shake the world, and without information technology, nosotros never could have the many shows and movies we currently know and dear.

three. Dragonball Serial and Crewman Moon Classic (Tie)

Yes, the image is fake, only I needed to include both series in the picture.

Yahoo Japan

Firstly, I want to land that I'one thousand not a fan of either of these series. Just there is no denying that they are among the virtually popular and memorable series of all fourth dimension. While the original Dragonball was aired in North America, it didn't gain popularity until Dragonball Z was released and was wildly popular. And then many Dragonball Z fans went back to scout the kickoff serial and information technology began to get replay through syndication on many networks.

Dragonball Z and Sailor Moon were contemporaries of each other and both gained massive cult success, in office considering of each other. They were often marketed together, with the idea that Dragonball Z was the boy'southward anime and Sailor Moon was the girl's anime (90'due south marketing, eh?) While both were heavily censored in the west because of violence and sexual themes, Sailor Moon's censorship was also in part due to time restraints, as America and Canada often ran more than commercials than it's Japanese counterparts likewise every bit between show programming (In Canada, where the series was translated, it aired every bit part of a longer program called "The Zone" on YTV, which featured a program jockey and guests talking to the audience and responding to fan mail service). Further editing was also done to make room for a segment chosen "Sailor Moon says" where the heroine would teach lessons well-nigh friendship and responsibility... Funny coming from a character who was a lousy, lazy, unmotivated popular daughter who bullied the nerds in her class.

I want to clarify, this refers to the original series as it aired in N America - though the Japanese version is no less important. The new franchise reboot, Sailor Moon Crystal is much ameliorate in almost every way, staying closer to the source material and having much better animation that too better reflects the source material's original fine art. Yet, the original runs of both series had a much stronger impact on pop culture and how anime was perceived in the west and have earned their spot in this list over their more contempo counterparts.

ii. Affections Beats

Feelcoaster

Angel Beats

Get set up for maximum overfeels. I know, that's non a real discussion, merely Affections Beats is a supernatural drama that wavers between comedy and bawling heartbreaking moments.

Not your ordinary high school anime, information technology takes place in a high school that sits in a world betwixt Earth and Sky. The best western comparing is purgatory, though depending on who you lot ask in this world, it's either more painful, or less painful than purgatory (it certainly seems more painful for our protagonist Otonashi).

In this schoolhouse, you participate in activities until y'all've become gear up to let go of your lingering resentment towards your life. I could go into more item in another article sometime, considering there is a lot of thought and philosophy that went into this serial. Just while often played for laughs or action, as the background of each characters Earthly life becomes known, and as characters brainstorm to movement on, in that location are moments that volition leave you in tears.

1. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Look upon the confront of God, and tremble.

Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Okay. This is where personal bias comes into play heavily. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is my personal favorite anime of all time. Admittedly, it'due south not an easy lookout. The first season was intentionally circulate out of order, though you tin can choose to watch information technology in the proper order if you wish. The 2d flavor was all the episodes of the outset season, plus twelve new episodes, circulate in chronological order, but there was a story arc that was pretty much the same episode repeated eight times with tiny differences.

In this serial, Kyon, a High Schoolhouse Student becomes friends with a girl named Haruhi, a girl who comes beyond as having "Eighth Grade Sickness" (when a young person essentially substitutes their reality with a fantasy world, pretending to be a hero of sorts, accusing others of working for some fantasy villain, etc.) though is in fact quite rational, admitting completely unreasonable. However, this girl too has the ability to bend reality to her will, although she doesn't know it. Every bit such, on the first day of schoolhouse, she wishes to meet aliens, time travelers, and espers and forms a social club to seek them out, not realizing that the members of her social club, aside from Kyon, brand up an alien, Yuki Nagato; a time traveller, Mikuru Asahina; and an Esper working for a meridian secret bureau, Itsuki Koizumi.

Haruhi, wanting to meet these beings, but also completely convinced that they could non possibly exists, does non know the secrets of her social club members, who have their own objectives: Observe Haruhi Suzumiya due to her ability to make her wishes reality, Ensure she never finds out about her own powers, and to keep her from getting bored, then that she never wishes for the world to end.

I've written about this serial before. Based on a series of Lite Novels - brusque novellas for young adults - this series takes anime in a different direction than it had previously. Beforehand, the characters were a device to move the plot forward. Now, the plot is a device to move the characters forward. The premise is almost in the background for much of the series. It's rather about how the characters react to the state of affairs and circumstances they find themselves in.

While not the first series to be adapted from low-cal novels, it'southward still ane of the most pop, and was ane of the first to have information technology's source novels receive an English language Linguistic communication release, something that is beginning to happen more and more lately.

On pinnacle of existence all around enjoyable, this series was a cultural phenomenon around the globe that still persists to this 24-hour interval, and has earned the peak spot as the greatest anime of all time!

The real brandon on September xiv, 2020:

x: Attack on Titans

ix: Dragon Ball / Z

8: One Slice

vii: Naruto / Shippuden

6: Fist of the Northward Star

v: Lawmaking Geass

four: Neon Genesis

3: Bleach

2: Cowboy Bebop

ane: Yu Yu Hakusho

Luis on April 30, 2020:

one. Hunter x Hunter

fghjk on April 06, 2020:

why isn't neon genesis evangelion on this list or legend of the galactic heroes some of the anime on here is excellent but not including neon genesis evangelion which changed mech anime and all of anime for ever. and not including the greatest story ever told through anime (fable of the galactic heroes) is not ok. 1 more anime I forgot to mention was cowboy bebop another fantabulous anime that should have made this list.

Fujiko F. Fujio on September 17, 2019:

Look...why is Doraemon isn't in this list?

Nigel Kirk (author) from Calgary, AB, CAN on February twenty, 2019:

There is a divergence between "Best" and "Greatest." Expiry Notation may take been more entertaining than many entries here, but it didn't advance the art frontwards or increase the art forms notoriety or global attain in the aforementioned way many of the serial here did. This isn't a ranking of which anime was "Best" but a ranking of which anime contributed most to society and the art form at big, with some degree of "best" factored in at parts.

Robinjeet Singh on February twenty, 2019:

Where is death note the all-time of the all-time in the world ..

John Razgriz on August xi, 2018:

lol, what a complete joke putting Lucky Star above Fist of the North Star. List should be

#five Darker Than Blackness

#four Dragon Ball/DBZ

#3 Mobile Arrange Gundam The 08th Team

#ii Astro Boy

#1 Fist Of The North Star

Nigel Kirk (author) from Calgary, AB, Tin on June 12, 2018:

Set on on Titan has seen a lot of critical success, but if you honestly believe information technology is i of the ten greatest anime of all fourth dimension, you seriously don't watch plenty anime.

:P on June 11, 2018:

Look where assault on titan?

Nigel Kirk (writer) from Calgary, AB, CAN on April 21, 2018:

I enjoyed Death Annotation, but not as much equally many others. While information technology certainly is pop and has a strong following, I felt the story lacked a few things and appealed mainly to those who were already entrenched in the anime culture without bringing in new audiences. I too have an admitted bias against Shonen Jump.

Every bit stated, it's incommunicable to brand a list without bias, just in that location are shows on this list I didn't peculiarly enjoy simply can't deny their overall contribution to anime history and to the art form. I do intend to make a list of my personal favorite anime and when it's out, I do hope you'll take a wait at it. (Note, very few things on this list would make it on there, even if I did savor them)

Garyjhonson on April 16, 2018:

Where is Tokyo ghoul ,expiry notation and other Animes I guess u have posted Animes u have seen that's akl

Rudegirl on June nineteen, 2017:

I'chiliad sorry to say but yous definitely not know what good anime is. Maybe by "greatest" you meant "popular"? Because the ones you mentioned are far away from existence good. At least, most of them.

Nigel Kirk (author) from Calgary, AB, Tin on April xiii, 2017:

Charlie, your comments are off-white, but many of my selections were based on global recognition and overall contribution to guild. Pokemon, for example, has essentially been a 24 infinitesimal long commercial integral to the franchise's success. I firmly believe the anime is a huge reason the video games are even so around xx years later. There are other globally recognized anime as well, such every bit Naruto or Ane Piece, but I personally would inappreciably call them masterpieces. Information technology's hard to make a list without some form of bias, though for the record, I'm not a fan of everything on this list (Ask anyone how much I hate the Dragonball series for instance). Something else to note, many masterpieces out at that place are movies, and I excluded movies in this list as I feel they deserve a list of their own.

Still, I capeesh your comments and would exist interested in hearing more about what you consider to exist masterpieces. I'm always looking for more to sentry!

Charlie on Apr 04, 2017:

Very much appreciate your efforts! Feel the need to annotate though... To include pokemon and the many other spectacularly underwhelming & mediocre Anime on your list while leaving out actual masterpieces that take global recognition & the praise of audiences and critics alike is actually merely a testament to your ain indifference and an expression of your own personal tastes. Call the list "My Favorite Anime of All Time" or "My Summit 10 Greatest Anime". But my personal stance. Thanks anyway though! :)

Nigel Kirk (writer) from Calgary, AB, CAN on March 08, 2017:

Yes, Vandread was 1 of my favourite series at the fourth dimension it was released.

Maggie on March 07, 2017:

Huh.. didn't know yous liked vandread. Learn something new everyday

DOWNLOAD HERE

Top Ten Greatest Animes Of All Time

Posted by: gillianflery1969.blogspot.com

Share this post