Who chooses the finest anime series? Me? You? Or it’s a personal preference. This list requires careful consideration. Like whether to prioritize quality above popular favorites or if the most influential anime merits a high spot.
Many anime fans began with Dragon Ball Z. The ’90s show was popular. Many spectators may not have become long-term supporters. Also my story. Circumstances led me back to anime almost a decade later. I moved from casual anime viewer to anime fanatic rapidly.
After viewing many of the finest anime series and rewatching some of my favorites, I’m confident in naming my favorites. Even as I say this, I realize that each fan has their unique favorites.
Anime, Japanese animated films, began in 1917. The 1960s saw the first transmission of anime, which popularized Japanese art. Astro Boy wins (a.k.a. Mighty Atom). Every year, 100s of new anime series are shown, gaining in popularity.
Here we read about the most rated anime according to Anime News Network
11. Princess Mononoke (Movie) (8.86)
Princess Mononoke is a 1997 Japanese animated epic historical fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The film was released in Japan on July 12, 1997, and in the United States on October 29, 1999.
It was a critical and commercial blockbuster, becoming the highest-grossing film in Japan in 1997. It held Japan’s box office record for domestic films until 2001’s Spirited Away, another Miyazaki film.
10. Cowboy Bebop (TV)( 8.89)
Cowboy Bebop is a 2021 American science fiction streaming television series. It is a live-action series based on the 1998 Japanese anime series of the same name.
The 10-episode series was released on Netflix, and drew criticism from both fans and critics for its writing, special effects, editing, and action sequences. In December 2021, Netflix canceled the series after only one season.
9. Mushishi: The Next Chapter (TV) (8.91)
Mushishi is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuki Urushibara. It was serialized in Kodansha’s seinen manga magazine Afternoon Season Zōkan from 1999 to 2002, and Monthly Afternoon from December 2002 to August 2008.
A live-action film, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, was released in late 2006. It has also spawned a video game and many types of Mushishi-related merchandise.
8. Spirited Away (movie) (8.93)
Spirited Away is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It tells the story of Chihiro Ogino, a ten-year-old girl who enters the world of Kami (spirits of Japanese Shinto folklore). After her parents are turned into pigs by the witch Yubaba, she finds a way to free them.
The film features the voices of Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Takeshi Naito, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Tsunehiko Kamijō, Takehiko Ono, and Bunta Sugawara. John Lasseter hired Kirk Wise and Donald W. Ernst as producers, and screenwriters Cindy and Donald Hewitt wrote the English-language dialogue to match the characters’ original Japanese-language lip movements.
The film became the most successful and highest-grossing film in Japanese history with a total of ¥31.68 billion ($305 million). It held the record for 19 years until it was surpassed by Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train in 2020. It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards.
7. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 (TV) (8.93)
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 was first announced in the April 2007 edition of Newtype. The series premiered on April 6, 2008, on MBS TV and Tokyo Broadcasting System Television; it was later broadcast on sixteen other stations. Bandai Visual encapsulated the series into nine volumes in DVD, Blu-ray, and Universal Media Disc formats.
Each volume contained a picture drama episode as a bonus. The series was originally released by Bandai Entertainment in four DVD volumes and a DVD box between August 2009 and February 2012.
Bandai Visual later released a singular adaption of the series called Zero Requiem, and later released the series in a box collection. The opening and ending themes for the first 12 episodes are “O2” (O2) and “Shiawase Neiro” (Happy Timbre) and were both performed by Orange Range.
6. Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal (OAV) (8.97)
Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal is an original video animation (OVA) based on the manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The OVA chronicles the story of Himura Kenshin as the Hitokiri Battōsai during the final years of the Bakumatsu era while also revealing the origins of his cross-shaped scar.
It was first licensed by ADV Films for VHS and DVD releases in North America and the United Kingdom, and by Madman Entertainment for releases in Australasia. In 2003, a two-hour feature-length motion picture with new animated sequences was released theatrically in Japan.
5. Naruto (TV) (9.02)
Naruto is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It was serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1999 to 2014, and released in tankōbon (book) form in 72 volumes.
The series was adapted into an anime television series. Naruto is the sixth best-selling manga series in history. It has 250 million copies in circulation worldwide in 47 countries and regions.
The anime series began airing in the United States and Canada in 2005. Other Naruto-related merchandise includes light novels, video games, and cards.
4. Clannad After Story (TV) (9.02)
The sequel to the top-rated slice-of-life series Clannad, Clannad: After Story, starts after Tomoya Okazaki and Nagisa Furukawa graduate from high school. They go through the emotional ups and downs of growing up together.
Unsure about his future path, Tomoya realizes the significance of a strong work ethic and the power of Nagisa’s support. They push on to address their challenges, develop their existing relationships, and form new bonds because of the couple’s commitment and unity of purpose.
Time passes in the Illusionary World as well. As winter approaches, the Illusionary Girl and the Garbage Doll are confronted with a terrible circumstance that exposes the World’s actual purpose.
Clannad: After Story is an impressive drama based on Key’s visual novel and created by Kyoto Animation. It emphasizes the significance of family and the challenges of maturity.
3. Steins; Gate (TV) (9.04)
Steins; Gate is an anime television series produced by White Fox in 2011 and based on the 2009 visual novel of the same name by 5pb. and Nitroplus. It is part of the Science Adventure franchise along with Chaos; Head and Robotics; Notes. Rintaro Okabe and his buddies discover by accident a technology of time travel that allows them to transmit text messages to the past and alter the present.
The series was directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki and Takuya Sat and written by Jukki Hanada. Animation directing and character design were handled by Kyuutsu Sakai, while music was composed by Takeshi Abo.
It aired 24 episodes and was simultaneously broadcast on Crunchyroll and Anime on Demand throughout North and South America, Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Europe. Later, a 25th episode was added to the DVD and Blu-ray versions; Funimation in North America and Manga Entertainment in the United Kingdom was responsible for these releases.
Steins; Gate was well-received by reviewers, who commended the characters, narrative, and screenplay, but criticized the first half’s pace; it is regarded as one of the top anime series of the 2010s.
The series has generated four original web animation episodes and a spinoff feature. 2018 saw the debut of an anime adaptation of Steins; Gate 0, the sequel to the original Steins; Gate game.
2. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (TV) (9.08)
Anime television series based on the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series by Hiromu Arakawa, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood ( FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, Hepburn: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi).
Irie Yasuhiro directed the series, written by Hiroshi no, and scored by Akira Senju for Bones, which is behind the project. A proper translation of the manga’s plot was needed after the 2003 anime series Fullmetal Alchemist deviated from the source material to tell its tale.
In 2008, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’s development team started work on the film. Sixty-four episodes were shown on MBS–TBS between April 2009 and July 2010.
From February 2010 until September 2011, Adult Swim aired the English-dubbed version of the series, which was licensed by Funimation. After Funimation lost the rights to the show in 2016, Aniplex of America acquired it.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has been hailed as one of the greatest anime series of all time by critics and fans alike. For its fidelity to the manga and inclusion of characters and story aspects not featured in the 2003 anime, the climax episodes were also praised for both their action sequences and moral lessons in the last episodes of the anime.
1. In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World (movie) (9.17)
Sunao Katabuchi co-wrote and directed In This Corner of the World (, Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni), a 2016 Japanese animated wartime drama film produced by MAPPA, with character designs by Hidenori Matsubara and music by Kotringo. The film is based on Fumiyo Kno’s manga of the same name, which he wrote and drew.
On November 12, 2016, it had its Japanese debut. In June 2016, Animatsu Entertainment acquired the film’s worldwide distribution rights. Shout! Factory purchased North American distribution rights, with a theatrical release in the United States scheduled for August 11, 2017, co-released by Funimation Films.
On December 20, 2019, an extended version of the film named In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World ((), Kono Sekai no (Sara ni Ikutsumono) Katasumi ni) aired, surpassing the extended 70mm cut of Final Yamato by five minutes to become the longest animated film to date.
The film is set in Hiroshima and Kure, Japan, in the 1930s–1940s, about 10 years before and after the atomic bomb, but mostly in 1944–45. Nature and traditional culture in Japan are well represented and contrasted in the video with the brutal and irreversible sights brought about by the war.
Even though it is a fictional account, the film’s official guidebook claims that the episodes and background of the story are based on facts and real incidents of the lost townscape of pre-war Hiroshima, damaged by the atomic bombing in Hiroshima, which was researched by the production staff.
READ ALSO
- When Does Netflix’s Tekken: Bloodline Anime Release Date?
- Top 15 Cute Anime Series to Binge Watch Now
- Top 30 Most Inspirational Anime Characters (Ranked)