Top 30 Anime Series of All Time

Yep, I’ve finally put together a top shows list. As I hopefully made clear in part one and part two of my critical biases post, this is obviously my list – it represents the things I think are most valuable in stories in the way I think they’ve best been articulated. It’s also just a list of shows I enjoy – there’s no hard criteria here, so I wouldn’t stress the numbers too much. Also, it’s a bit front-loaded – I only started watching anime seasonally about two years ago, so the last couple years are disproportionately represented. Incidentally, I’m not including movies here either – I think direct comparisons between shows and films are a bit of a stretch, but if they were included, this list would certainly be somewhat different. And finally, I’m absolutely (and thankfully) certain this list will change over time – there are still piles of widely beloved shows I’ve never seen, so I’m sure the current rankings will be filled out in the years to come. So with that all said, let’s get to the list – Bobduh’s Top 30 Anime of All Time.

-edit- I have now created a Top Shows Addendum for shows that have either fallen off or just barely missed this list. Please enjoy these additional almost-top shows!

30. Flip Flappers

Flip Flappers marries the blossoming artistic vision of many of anime’s most talented young animators to a story teeming with the rich psychological inquiry that anime does so well. Centered on a girl on the verge of young adulthood who feels too paralyzed by consequences to decide who she wants to be, Flip Flappers takes her on a wild adventure through a series of evocative alternate realities, all of which ultimately reflect back on the human interiority of her own world. Flip Flappers appreciates the inherent beauty of our distinct internal worlds, and pairs a wild tour through the human experience with a core character arc that reflects thoughtfully on the complexity of love, identity, and growing up. Slotting somewhere thematically between FLCL and Evangelion, it is a can’t-miss addition to anime’s coming-of-age pantheon.

Here’s my review of Flip Flappers.

Flip Flappers is available streaming on Crunchyroll.

29. Gatchaman Crowds

Gatchaman Crowds Best Anime List

Gatchaman’s a goddamn busy show – in the course of a 12-episode run, it covers everything from internet culture to crowdsourcing to the necessity of leadership to social responsibility to human nature to… well, you get the idea. And it explores all these ideas while also staying remarkably light and breezy – you could enjoy the show purely as a fun, visually interesting, musically brilliant adventure without even thinking about how identity is constructed in the digital age, or whatnot. And when you combine these two strengths, you get a show that proves you don’t have to be dry to be smart – you can make awesome points about how the internet will change the world without ever giving up a sense of fun and moment-to-moment excitement. Brain food and comfort food at the same time.

Here’s my review of Gatchaman Crowds.

Gatchaman Crowds is available at Amazon and streams on Crunchyroll.

28. Giant Robo

Giant Robo Best Anime List

Giant Robo is Bombast Incarnate. Featuring an epic clash between the Experts of Justice and Big Fire, there’s no room for subtlety in this production – it’s all massive robots and deadly superspies and fights for the fate of the world. It’s also a beautiful thing – a series of seven OVAs released over most of a decade, the show is a gorgeous ode to classic super robot storytelling, brought to life with strong animation and rich colors and epic orchestral scores. And yet for all its larger-than-life size, the show also tells a gripping story, full of fully-articulated characters and reflections on family and human ambition. Giant Robo essentially feels like the final act of the Greatest Robot Story Ever Told – it has absolute confidence, and earns the viewer’s trust through constant dramatic hooks and total polish in execution. Even if you generally like smaller stories, I’d give Giant Robo a chance.

Here’s my essay on Giant Robo.

Giant Robo is vaguely available on Amazon.

27. Bokurano

Bokurano manages the difficult feat of staying tonally downcast and even desolate at all times while simultaneously conveying an unflinching message of optimism, and belief in humanity as a species. Its premise is terribly arbitrary and cruel, and very few members of its young cast survive, but the stories they tell in their leaving reflect the kaleidoscopic spectrum of the human experience. Its compelling scifi narrative ultimately becomes little more than a stage for its young stars to shine, as they each take up an impossible mantel and fight on behalf of their species, their cruel guide mocking them all the while. But Bokurano does not believe in its guide’s cynicism; though the world it posits is harsh, its young heroes shine all the brighter for it.

Here’s my review of Bokurano.

Bokurano is available streaming on Crunchyroll.

26. Sound! Euphonium

Sound! Euphonium Best Anime List

Kyoto Animation excel at making quietly excellent little dramas, and Sound! Euphonium counts as one more feather in their distressingly pincushioned cap. The show is as gorgeous as you’d expect, the drama is understated but well-articulated, and the episodes are full of those alternately funny or poignant little moments that KyoAni’s mastery of animated storytelling always provokes. And Kumiko is one of the most fun people you could possibly follow around a story like this, with her snark and clumsy bluntness making her a refreshing and relatable protagonist. You can enjoy this show for its close viewing of the classic band experience, for its funny mess of jokes and characters, or for its well-articulated personal drama and reflections on goals and identity. It succeeds on all levels, making it one of the most impressive and fully realized high school dramas around.

Sound! Euphonium is available streaming on Crunchyroll.

25. Hunter x Hunter 2011

Hunter x Hunter 2011 Best Anime List

As the only long-running shounen on my list, HxH’s a bit of an outlier. But HxH is not your typical shounen – directed by Madhouse (likely my pick for the best studio of all time) and adapted from a source by the writer of Yu Yu Hakusho, Hunter x Hunter is basically a master class in what makes adventure entertaining. Though it starts off “only” demonstrating it knows how to make challenge-based television entertaining (in lieu of actual fights, it generally sets up compelling puzzles of all shapes and sizes for its heroes), it ends up jumping from genre to genre, dabbling in crime thriller, tournament shounen, and even war drama. And through it all, the show’s fantastic aesthetics elevate it above almost everything out there – in direction, in sound design, in pacing, in animation, in basically every relevant aesthetic metric, Hunter x Hunter triumphs. That it’s been maintaining this level of quality for well over a hundred episodes is nothing short of astonishing – in fact, I’d say Hunter x Hunter has only gotten better over time.

Here’s a critical breakdown of HxH episode 116, and here’s an essay on the recently concluded (and breathtaking) Chimera Ant arc.

Hunter x Hunter 2011 is available streaming on Crunchyroll.

24. Mushishi

Mushishi Best Anime List

Mushishi is one of those strange, special shows that seem to just emerge confident and fully constructed, exude excellence for all of their running time, and then go quietly on their way. Its vignettes are dreamy and ambiguous, full of resonance and compelling ideas but never didactic. Its world is mysterious and enchanting, evoking both a more resigned and possibly more dangerous version of Miyazaki’s mystical forests. Its production is fantastic, with beautiful backgrounds matching a wonderfully understated musical score and a great sense of pacing to conjure its powerful, singular atmosphere. And all this works in service of a show that’s fundamentally just incredibly calming and sedate – a series of long, lazy afternoons spent enjoying the company of a master storyteller.

Here’s my essay on Mushishi.

Mushishi is available at Amazon and its sequel streams on Crunchyroll.

23. Gunbuster! + Diebuster!

Gunbuster vs Diebuster Best Anime List

Grouped together because they really do feel like two sides of the same coin, both of Gainax’s Buster shows would also make this list independently. Flippant and heartbreaking, cynical and triumphant, personal and universal, each of these OVAs tells a story of humanity’s struggle against all the forces of the universe with style and heart. And each can stand alone, as well – Gunbuster is helmed by a pre-Eva Anno already exhibiting his unnerving style of direction, and Diebuster offers a very appropriate conclusion to the FLCL era of Gainax production. Only six episodes each, too – it’s pretty remarkable how much story each of these manage to tell.

Here are my essays on Gunbuster and Diebuster.

Both Gunbuster and Diebuster are available at Amazon.

22. Shinsekai Yori

Shinsekai Yori Best Anime List

Shinsekai Yori is basically tailor-made for fans of fantasy and scifi novels. Heavy on worldbuilding and questions of human nature, its story unfolds on a scale far greater than most anime, exploring a compelling dystopian society by following one generation from childhood through adolescence and well into adulthood. Though I often feel its characters fade into the background of its storytelling pretensions, it all works in service of an incredibly compelling central narrative, and its devastating conclusion justifies everything that came before. It’s a rare and valuable thing – few shows work on the scale of Shinsekai Yori.

Here’s my review of Shinsekai Yori.

Shinsekai Yori is available at Amazon and streams on Crunchyroll.

21. The Idolm@ster

The Idolmaster Best Anime List

An idol show?!? I could actually go on for a while about what makes various idol shows great (and I have), but as far as Idolm@ster specifically goes, this show is just a solid episodic drama that succeeds in almost everything it attempts. It’s got a rich and well-developed cast of characters, lots of great little character stories, and a bunch of fun adventures like “the team runs a Sunday game show” or “one idol ends up as a runaway bride while another fights yakuza goons.” On top of that, Idolm@ster features one of the best creative teams in recent memory – a bunch of former Gainax staff and other great creators combine to make this one of the most beautifully directed and animated shows I’ve seen. Even if you don’t have any interest in idols, Idolm@ster’s combination of fun stories and gorgeous execution makes it a rare and impressive show.

Here’s my review of The Idolm@ster.

The Idolm@ster is available streaming on Crunchyroll.

2,750 thoughts on “Top 30 Anime Series of All Time

    • “Black Bulter.” Lest humanity forget the innovative, masterful piece of craftsmanship and cinematography that broke new barriers for animation and all of entertainment media itself. Both driven by a compelling, beautifully complex, convoluted plot and a set of ideals the characters retain through sheer power of will, it is decades ahead of its time in terms of technical ability and raw passion put onto the screen by its creators. Thank them for all of their work towards the furthering of the horizons of the knowledge of the human condition and for the betterment of mankind. Shame on this list maker for placing it anywhere beneath something called “Neon Jelisis Evanjelyon.” And thank you for bringing light to this injustice.

    • “Black Bulter.” Lest humanity forget the innovative, masterful piece of craftsmanship and cinematography that broke new barriers for animation and all of entertainment media itself. Both driven by a compelling, beautifully complex, convoluted plot and a set of ideals the characters retain through sheer power of will, it is decades ahead of its time in terms of technical ability and raw passion put onto the screen by its creators. Thank them for all of their work towards the furthering of the horizons of the knowledge of the human condition and for the betterment of mankind. Shame on this list maker for placing it anywhere beneath something called “Neon Jelisis Evanjelyon.” And thank you for bringing light to this injustice.

  1. I can’t believe that out of all the anime in this list, i am familiar with only one. One, and i call myself a fan.
    That one, luckily, is NGE. 😀

  2. Fairy Tail, Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, hunter x hunter 2011, sword art online, Death Note, attack the titan, Full metal: brotherhood, pokemon, gintama, Code geass, Steins;Gate.
    If you are a handsome geek who’s looking for a awesome anime. Go for 5 first animes in that list.

    • i believe they should watch fairy tail, skip the 4 you mentioned after fairy tail and then watch the later animes you mentioned after the 4 that are skipped.

    • If you actually read his comment at the top (about the list of anime he’s watched) you’ll see he’s watched all of those, save FMA: B. He’s actually doing episode reviews of SAO, if you want his opinion on that.

      • yeah right, when it starts getting good, it goes back to “sasuke, sasuke”

    • well dude fairy tail naruto bleach and one piece aren’t a top 100 anime they are good but i think top 1000 maybe they are overrated. imo the best anime is steins;gate.hands down followed by code geass (R1 and R2) then GTO!!! i watched steins gate two times code geass only one time and GTO 4 times onizuka never gets boring. thats my TOP 3 hope you like it.

    • Agree with Daniel, though fairy tale wasn’t great for me, but yeah most of the ones after those 5 are epic.

    • out of the ones you listed, only Code Geass, Death Notes, Attack on Titan, FMB, and Steins; Gate deserves mention. and maybe Naruto. the rest sucked…and the list compiled by this person also sucked…i mean who would put Neon evangeline as their #1. only an idiot would.

  3. Hi, I loved your list. It has some atuff I haven’t watched and I’m going to hop to it. I was wondering if you have seen ‘Monster’ by Naoki Urasawa, since you seem to be someone who loves character interaction as ‘people’ and I personally respect that as well.

  4. Hi Bob! I gotta say that your posts are really great and I enjoy reading reading them. I actually fell in love with monogatari because you pointed out so many interesting facts that I simply glossed over. The way you talk and explain your reasons shows that your really mature. Keep it up!

    I think you would have fun with watching the Kara no Kyoukai series. It’s full of dark, moody themes that you seem to enjoy. You should try out Fate/Zero as well!

  5. I’ve seen maybe a third of these, and I think it’s a fantastic list. All of them (that I’ve seen) have a ton of creativity, heart, and style, and some don’t get mentioned very often. I’ll be sure to check out some of the others!

  6. Thank you for your top ! You have given me a summer’s worth of watching material 😀 . But if some of these animes are even half as good as you describe them to be , it may take me less to watch them.

  7. This is an excellent list and I recognize many names, but more importantly your taste in shows has convinced me to try out the names I do not know.

  8. I think this list is pretty good. I LOVE YOU THAT YOU INCLUDED SHIKI!!!! SHIKI IS ONE OF THE MOST UNDERRATED ANIME! Also, an anime I would have loved to see here is Elfen Lied. That show is fucking amazing. I would at least expect it to be in the top 30-20. Overall, I think you have broken a long list of people who rate bebop #1. Bebop is great, but I have seen better ones.

  9. I don’t think I’ve ever agreed more with a “Top XX List”. It’s also quite lovely to read the glowing admiration you have for all these shows. Wonderful read.

  10. Fuck Yeah! Evangelion! 😀 Although I’d personally add FMA: Brotherhood to the list. If you’ve read or watched it, it’s almost at the level of EVA (well, for me)

  11. First of all, LET ME SAY YOUR LIST IS AWESOME, its accurate and doesn´t get tainted by animes like Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto (that are pretty good and legendary), and instead concentrate on conceptual and profound animes with more creative animation techniques and context. Also the Romantic Animes you mentioned are interesting, I personally would like to recommend you watch Samurai Champloo, Nazo no Kanojo X, Girls Und Panzer and School Days (that´s some I could think right now). All of them have their eccentricity and unique style like Samurai Champloo or Girls Und… action sequences or School Days de-construction of harem genre, or Nazo No Kanojo X has its own freaky fetiches. Finally let me say your list ITS EVEN MORE AWESOME because you finished it with my personal favorite anime, its nothing like I´´ve ever seen before and I´´ve watched it twice and still can’t totally get it…

  12. Hey wrongeverytime im really happy for you and imma let you finish but dragon ball z is the best anime of all time

  13. I definitely agree with a lot of the anime on the list, although not necessarily the order; Code Geass and Baccano! are definitely in my top 5. That said, I loved that you gave enough explanation for why you liked all the various series that I could understand where our opinions differed. I’m much more a fan of crazy, wild settings and seeing how various “powers” such as mind control or immortality interact with characters. And I love watching characters outwit one another, even if done in the over-the-top Code Geass or Death Note fashions.

    All that said, I would recommend Log Horizon, No Game No Life, and Monster. The former two are ongoing, relatively over-the-top anime that don’t take themselves very seriously. They’re more of a fun ride than a deep thought-provoking journey, though. Monster, on the other hand, is rather dark, serious, and an excellent anime that dives into the human psyche. For whatever reason, the manga seems to have done very well, but the anime less so.

  14. i thought code geass deserved better, and wheres sword art online, deathnote man…

    • I agree about sword art online I haven’t seen the other two though. But you have a point I belive sword art online at least deserves to be #5

    • agree with all 3, though I haven’t seen a lot of the stuff on this list yet.

  15. “Where is X anime???”

    How come these people don’t think of looking at his MAL profile? Bob even has notes on most of the entries.

  16. I thought your list was great and I was happy to see a couple of my favorites on there. Let me recommend another couple that I think you’d like based on your taste here! I see it’s on your “plan to watch list” but I think you should watch Kimi ga Nozomu Eien soon. Its romance may be overstated at times but I think it provided a great analysis of humanness. Great Teacher Onizuka never seems to make it on any list but it gave me more laugh out loud moments than any other shows so far. And lastly, Darker than Black, just because its so much fun and creates such an interesting world. If you end up watching any, I’d like to hear what you think.

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  18. Now that Ping Pong is #11 on your list, you might want to update your comment that Tatami Galaxy is “the only Masaaki Yuasa show [you’ve] actually seen”.

  19. My goodness. This is now my favourite blog of all time. It is so hard to find a reviewer who connects with you… And I think I found it!

  20. Great Review!! I have watched over half of the animes you put in your list and I loved them all. I don’t know why people don’t watch these animes as often it’s really good once one understand the meaning of the story and the connections it relates to people and even society. I think some other animes should be in the top 30 list but overall I agree with you.

  21. your missing quite a few animes including vampire knight code geass black butler naruto and full metal achelmeist brother hood c:

  22. This list is alright i guess but it is missing a some good anime like Katekyo hitman reborn, Attack on titan, Fullmetal alchemist, Sword art online and Eden of the east.

  23. To people who cant find any good types of anime

    Drama- Say”I love you,Nesekoi,My little monster,The world is still beautiful,Fruit Basket,Inu X boku secret service,Golden time
    Personal Favorite:All of it

    Action-One Piece,Bleach,Fairytale,Hunter X Hunter,Black bullet
    Personal Favorite:All of it
    (These Anime have over 100 episodes except for Black Bullet)

    Sports-Kuroko no Basketball,Haikyu,Ace of the Diamond
    Personal Favorite: Kuroko no Basketball,, Free!-iwatobi swim club

    Powers: Witchcraft works,Brynhildr in the Darkness,Naruto
    Personal Favorite: Bryhildr in the Darkness

    Gaming:Sword art Online,No Game No Life,Log Horizon
    Personal Favorite:All

    Gives you shivers when you watch-Saki 

  24. I can happily say that I can agree with your list. Most people complain about Evangelion because it isn’t over the top with action, but they aren’t paying enough attention to the minor details about the story unfolding before them. In Evangelion, it’s the most smallest and seemingly insignificant things that mean the most to the story. That’s why it’s so much fun to watch. The Rebuild series is mostly for the action junkies who don’t pay complete attention and want to just watch mindlessly. I prefer the original series. Yes the ending is weird, but it’s understandable. There is no great disaster, no 3rd impact. The pinnacle of the show is the minds of the main characters opening up to show their humanity and come to terms with their flaws. That is why I love it so much. The story is constructed in such a way that you expect a big, gory, deadly finale, but you don’t get that. You get something more satisfying. A real connection to a TV show that understands you and your flaws as a human being.

    • No problem. I actually get a little percent of the sale on anything bought following a click-through on those links, so hopefully everybody wins!

  25. I can’t say I am an anime buff. I probably haven’t watched 2/3s of the animes on this list though I have heard great things about several of them. On that note, I also have to admit some of my favourite shows of all time, anime and otherwise do include Naruto Shippuden(not so much the original) and Attack On Titan which are some of the more popular ones. I grew up with DBZ so I do have love for it as well though I admit it is no where close to many of the anime I have found recently. In the case of Naruto I feel that albiet it isn’t as mature as some other anime, I do enjoy the bit of childish humor, plus, some of the moral lessons in it have literally changed my view on the real world and I honestly believe have made me a better person. That is with shippuden anyway, as the original is a bit too slow and childish. That aside, I have recently been suggested to watch Death Note, SOA, and NGE and though I haven;t watched NGE yet(next on my list), I found that the former two really made me fall in love with anime. Anime has the great luck of being able to portray certain things without the need of keeping things hyper realistic. That is to say, certain things in live action movies, even with good cgi, can seem fake and absurd, where as with anime, that can usually be forgiven since it’s of course, just animation. It is given a far greater range of things it is able to do and so far it has been able to accomplish these things well. I can’t say I will be sitting on my computer waiting for the second that comic-con tickets go on sell while wearing dressed in my Naruto costume but I can say that I am deeply thankful I found anime. It can subtly express such deep emotions and morals that you just don’t find in some of these live action block busters. Thanks for the list Bob, I can’t wait to check many of them out.

  26. Have you watched these anime series?
    Sports/Romance/School/Josei: Chihayafuru
    Romance/Mystery/High School: Hyouka
    Action: Jormungand, Jormungand Perfect Order
    Mecha/Sci-Fi/Post-Apocalyptic: Knights of Sidonia
    Comedy/Drama/Romance/Psychological: Welcome to the NHK
    Drama/School/LGBT: Hourou Musuko
    Drama/Psychological/Romance/School: Aku no Hana
    Action, Contemporary Fantasy: Fate/Zero S1 & S2
    Sci-Fi/Action/Dystopia: Ergo Proxy

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