21 Best Anime of All Time (2023)

By: Archisman Dutta

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Do you want to discover which best anime of all time? Then hold on tight and get set because we have compiled a list of the best anime and will share it with you! We have been enjoying and loving anime since the 1980s when it first gained popularity outside of Japan. And now, after decades of marveling at Japanese animation, here is a list of the top 21 anime series and movies of all time.

Best Anime to Watch

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Stream TV Shows | HBO Max

This anime series is about two brothers’ hunt for a philosopher’s stone after they try to resurrect their dead mother. It is one of the greatest anime series for adults to watch. However, the endeavor fails, and they are physically disfigured as a result. It is a really enjoyable series that keeps the viewer interested until the very last episode.

Serial Experiments Lain

Serial Experiments Lain Review: Identity and the Wired -

Lain Iwakura is, at its core, a timid adolescent whose personality changes both online and offline as she gets more connected with the Wired, a virtual reality environment that encompasses every mode of communication known to mankind at the same time. Though it is an easy watch, director Ryutaro Nakamura succeeds in compressing an astonishing amount of metaphysical contemplation into the show’s small 13-episode run, which is incredibly rewarding for anyone prepared to plug into its universe with an open mind.

Naruto Shippūden

Naruto on Netflix: Season 6 Release Date + Movies Streaming - What's on  Netflix

Naruto Uzumaki is a boisterous, hyperactive teenage ninja who is always looking for praise and attention in this narrative. He also aims to be a Hokage, who is regarded as the village’s leader and the toughest ninja. It is a lovely narrative with huge battles and profound emotions, all wrapped up in an unusual plot that will blow your mind.

Sword Art Online

Watch Sword Art Online | Netflix

One of the very popular and best anime, In the year 2022, gamers all around the globe have queued up on an opening day for Sword Art Online, a game that allows players to access an immersive virtual reality environment. This narrative follows Kirito, a gamer who meets newcomer fighter Klein and immediately makes friends with him. You will have to watch the series to find out what makes it such a fantastic anime.

FLCL

FLCL' Explained: Why the Anime Is Still Great 20 Years Later - Thrillist

FLCL was designed to be unique from any other anime film you have ever seen. The Pillows, a Japanese alt-rock band, composed an outstanding soundtrack for the film. It is a fast-paced edit. Its characters are manic, gloomy, and despondent in their interactions. The narrative, in which robots emerge from a little boy’s bloated, damaged skull, signaling the return of a strong alien creature, is sort of stupid. According to the series’ director, Kazuya Tsurumaki, none of it matters. In a discussion thread for Production IG, he once remarked, “Difficulty in comprehension should not be an important factor in FLCL. I believe the ‘rock guitar’ vibe playing throughout the show is a shortcut on the road to understanding it.”

DRAGON BALL Z

How to watch Dragonball in order | All series and films in order | Radio  Times

Akira Toriyama’s reputation as one of anime’s best creators was all but cemented with the release of Dragon Ball. The manga and following anime series about Son Goku’s adventures to acquire all seven mystical dragon balls were somewhat inspired by the ancient Chinese tale “Journey to the West,” which influenced entire generations of manga creators and animators in Japan.

Although the first series was a masterpiece, Dragon Ball Z was the catalyst for the series’ transformation from a national treasure to a global sensation. Dragon Ball Z is a particularly essential piece in the canon of martial arts action anime, and it is an evergreen entrance point for beginners to the form to this day.

Death Note

Death Note: "New World" Review - IGN

This gloomy anime series, regarded as one of the finest anime of all time in Japan, depicts the narrative of a protagonist who is not your usual nice guy. It is one of the rare programs that has ventured to deviate from moral topics, which is why you will find it so intriguing.

Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon's newest movie is hitting Netflix on June 3rd - The Verge

Sailor Moon taught a generation of young girls that they can be sweet saviors and that gentleness is the most powerful weapon. Usagi Tsukino never loses her annoying characteristics, although she grows tremendously during the course of Sailor Moon’s five seasons. Although the story cycle may get tedious, Sailor Moon has a number of powerful female characters, including all of the “Outer Guardians” and antagonists such as Black Lady and Queen Nehelnia, whose childhood solitude breeds pure evil. 

Tokyo Revengers

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Tokyo Revengers is a popular new anime series based on a current manga series published in Weekly Shonen Magazine since 2017. The anime adaptation’s first season, which consisted of 24 episodes, was well received by manga and anime enthusiasts. Nakamichi Hanagaki, a 26-year-old failing businessman, goes back in time for 12 years. He seeks to alter the previous incidents as a Yanki junior high schooler to rescue his ex-girlfriend, who died in a mishap in the current time.

Cowboy Bebop

Watch Cowboy Bebop | Netflix

Cowboy Bebop, which is currently one of the most renowned Japanese anime among westerners, aired 26 episodes in Japan between 1998 and 1999. Cowboy Bebop is set in the year 2071, and it features bounty hunter Spike Spiegel and his companion Jet Black as they pursue criminals. “Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” was aired in 2001 as an animated film.

Steins;Gate

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Many anime fans consider Steins;Gate to be the finest anime in recent times. The 24 episodes of the sci-fi anime were shown on television in 2011, succeeded by Steins;Gate 0, a continuation of the plot (albeit in a different time frame). Rintaro Okabe and the other personnel of the Future Gadget Laboratory attempt to create a time machine, and the anime is notable for its time loop narrative. Many admirers of Steins;Gate travel to Akihabara, Tokyo, where the story is set.

Blue Period

Watch Blue Period | Netflix Official Site

Blue Period is one of the Best anime on Netflix. Most people think of Yatora Yaguchi as a delinquent, although he is really a kind man. He receives high grades and has a large network of friends, but he is dissatisfied with his monotonous life. After being impressed by a huge, gorgeous picture by an upperclassman, he starts to pursue art. However, he has always been successful without putting in a lot of effort in every aspect and is now astounded to see the amount of effort required to become a master of the arts. He suffers when comparing his work to that of his classmates, but he endures because he has discovered a hobby in which he is really passionate.

Neon Genesis Evangelion

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Most individuals have at least a basic familiarity with Neon Genesis Evangelion due to the plethora of branded items and frequent mentions in popular culture. However, for a show like this, the way we talk about it is always changing.

However, Evangelion’s effect is evident, with a cultural gloss that can be seen everywhere from Persona 3 to Gurren Lagann, resulting in a phenomenon that seems to outstrip the anime in the actual text. Hideaki Anno, the franchise’s original inventor, has lost control over the franchise’s expansion, and as we predict the ending, it will prove another time that Japan’s animation sector is “moving by inertia.”

Laid-Back Camp Of Season 2

Laid-Back Camp Season 2 Release Date Announced! - Omnitos

The second season of Laid-back Camp, which has been termed as the most pleasant anime of the previous decade, is a fantastic follow-up to the first. Rin still enjoys traveling alone, but she is gradually opening up to her new pals at her school’s camping society.

It is still a great and enjoyable anime orienting a group of ladies going for camp. It remains a semi-educational program as it was initially, and this season offers entertaining glimpses into some of Japan’s most interesting locales.

Zombie Land Saga Revenge

ZOMBIELAND Saga Season 2 Episode 11: Release Date & Preview

The story of the peculiar zombie ladies who became idols later unfolds in Zombie Land Saga Revenge, and the plot continues where season 1 left off. We eventually get to know the background stories of people like Yugiri, a 19th-century courtesan and learn more about the Saga region. Saga, the Japanese prefecture to which the idol group is attempting to restore life, seems to be cursed, with tragic incidents befalling it, barring it from prospering. The girls, on the other hand, do not give up. Zombie Land Saga Revenge is still a must-see due to its catchy music and slapstick humor.

Fullmetal Alchemist

Watch Fullmetal Alchemist | Netflix

As the plot is certain to grab your emotions, it is one of the most popular anime in Japan and America. The plot focuses on Edward and Alphonse Elric, who are willing to go to any extent to save their mother from death. If you thought an anime series could not make you weep, wait till you see this one.

Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan is frightening, but it is hardly a horror show. If you can go beyond the eponymous titans’ ugly, outside look and the terrible way with which they engulf their victims, you will get it as an action anime that is also rich in narrative, character development, and ambiance.

While there are arguably more outstanding action anime series, Attack on Titan is the finest because no one is completely secure, and the stakes are always extremely high there.

Samurai Champloo

Samurai Champloo (2004) | MUBI

Samurai Champloo is not an average samurai anime, which is one of the reasons it is the finest and most unique in the genre. Samurai Champloo will grab you with its sense of elegance, sleek graphics, superb dub, and hip-hop vibe, even if you do not like samurai.

Followers of the anime love to grasp the anachronistic humor and realize the program’s alternative historical version of the Edo era, and a thorough understanding of the period is not required to enjoy it.

Akame ga Kill!

Watch Akame ga Kill! | Netflix

Even though the first couple of episodes are a little dull, as the plot progresses, you will discover it is one of the fascinating stories ever told, with one of the most gripping combat anime ever seen. The story centers on a young lad called Tatsumi who sets out on a voyage to the Capital in order to establish a name for himself and discovers Night Raid, a threatening squad of assassins.

Yuri on Ice

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Yuri On Ice, the figure skating anime created by Sayo Yamamoto and Mitsurou Kubo, is adored by everybody, including Olympians Miu Suzaki and Adam Rippon. The plot of optimistic sportsmen in Yuri On Ice may seem simple, yet it provides the ideal framework for Yamamoto’s ongoing obsession with human bodies’ rich, creative possibilities.

Inuyasha

Watch InuYasha | Netflix

Inuyasha is one of the Best Romance anime. This anime portrays Kagome as she discovers a gateway in Tokyo that transports her to medieval Japan, where she finds Inuyasha, a half-demon. She agrees to assist him in obtaining a magical gem and defeat the terrible monster Naraku once they meet. This anime combines romance, humor, action-adventure, fantasy, and tragedy, and it will keep you fascinated till the very end.