MY TOP 25 FAVORITE ANIMES OF ALL TIME

• THIS WILL BE AS OF 9/5/2024. I will update this list yearly with a new post. (This is also posted on my blog if you'd like to check that out as well <3 )
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Of course, this list is entirely my opinion and while based on artistic merit – this is still a list full of my bias. If something isn’t on here that you love, that isn’t a sign that it isn’t great (or even that I don’t like it). It’s just a difference of opinions. It was super hard to get this list down to 25 entries so while this list is ranked, all of them are number one in my book. With said that, enjoy.

25. My Next Life As A Villainess: All Routes Lead To Doom!

2020-2021 + Studio: SILVER LINK.

This anime is so wholesome and so near to my heart. It’s about Catarina Claes who suddenly gains memories of her past life and remembers her favorite game – which is now the world she is in. She also realizes she is the villainess of the original plot and is doomed in every ending! She then just tries her best to avoid the “doom flags” and possibly end up with a good ending of exile. Little does she know that her airhead personality is just so endearing that she makes everyone fall in love with her instead of hate her. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone. All of the original male protagonists, female rivals, and even the game’s original protagonist fall for her with Catarina completely oblivious to it all. It’s hilarious, super wholesome, and really induces the bi panic in me.

24. Elfen Lied

Year: 2004 + Studio: Arms

On the opposite end of the spectrum, is the edgy classic Elfen Lied. Elfen Lied holds a strange place in my heart as I can see all of it’s flaws and criticisms as plain as day, but I also can’t deny the emotional impact it’s story has on me. Has it held up the best? Not really, other shows have definitely held up better. Elfen Lied succeeded however in making it’s moments stick in your mind. Basically, it’s iconic.

23. The Garden Of Sinners (Movies 1-8)

Year: 2007-2011 + Studio: ufotable

The Garden Of Sinners is a movie series of 8 films told in a non chronological order. It really takes a special direction to be able to pull off such a stunt and this series does it with grace. Everything shines on full display here with ufotable’s impressive animation, excellent voice acting, and a continued mystery that keeps unraveling in ways you could’ve never imagined. The character development in Shiki in particular is another reason I will always recommend this show. I have a soft spot for more serious characters developing connections with others without meaning too so the relationship between Shiki and Mikiya was lovely to watch happen.

22. Electromagnetic Girlfriend

Year: 2009 + Studio: Brain’s Base

This show had everything going for it to become a certified anime classic. The only thing that stopped it from doing so was it’s very short runtime of 2 episodes. While they are almost 50 minutes in length, making the story feel more like a short Netflix anime run, it just never had enough time to activate it’s full potential. That doesn’t mean that what we got was not good by any means. In only 2 episodes, it manages to be an extremely intelligent show. It’s about a delinquent type character named Juu Juuzawa who is approached by the Weird Girl TM Ame Ochibana who claims he was a king in his previous life and she was his knight. She then proceeds to follow him everywhere under the guise of protecting him. Juu is about ready to tell her to run off when one of their classmates is murdered. The show then turns into a murder mystery where Juu remains suspicious of Ame’s actions while Ame provides her intelligence to help him solve the case every step of the way. It has lots of psychological aspects to it and really breaks the conventional anime mold.

21. The Vision of Escaflowne

Year: 1996 + Studio: Sunrise

The Vision Of Escaflowne really stands out in it’s time period in which it released by being a show that was marketed to both a male and female based audience. It’s about a girl named Hitomi who can predict the future using tarot cards and how she gets transported to a world called Gaea. She befriends a boy named Van who pilots a mech called Escaflowne and they go on the run after Van fails in defending in his kingdom. What appears on paper as a simple story of good vs bad spirals into something more cerebal by the end. Hitomi is also a very well written female character who is given room to grow yet is also written as a realistic high school girl. The art may look a little dated by today’s standards but still retains a sense of beauty nonetheless.

20. Nana

Year: 2006-2007 + Studio: Madhouse

Nana is a show that is just… real. All of its characters are flawed and have something they need to work on that holds them back in life. What starts as two girls on a train who coincidentally share the same name transforms into a story that is raw and captivating. The two titular Nana’s of the story truly made the show for me and their friendship (*cough* and they were roommates *cough*) is so believable. Love was put into this show and it shows for real. The soundtrack is one of the best in anime (which you would hope for with music being such a big part of its plot). One of it’s most famous quotes and my personal favorite is, “Hey Hachi, no matter how much or how often people hurt each other, loving someone is never a waste.” – Nana Osaki. I think that quote pretty much sums the show up in a nutshell.

19. Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt

Year: 2010 + Studio: Gainax

Panty and Stocking is one of the crudest, most shit humor fueled, deranged pieces of media I’ve ever seen. It’s also one hell of a good time. PAS is about two angels (Panty and Stocking) who were kicked out of heaven for sinning too much and now have to defeat different ghosts in order to get accepted back into heaven. That is the plot but it doesn’t focus on that too hard and let’s us just have pure fun. Every episode is split into 2 cours and is very monster of the week focused until the finale near the end. Even through it’s more western style art style and adult swim based humor, it manages to hit an emotional cord in rare scenes. There are rumors (confirmation but guys I will not believe it until I see it) of a season 2 in the works after many years. Hopefully we get a continuation this show deserves so much.

18. Flowers Of Evil

Year: 2013 + Studio: Zexcs

People really threw this anime under the bus when it released based on art and animation style alone. Flowers Of Evil is rotoscoped, a type of animation where scenes are filmed in live action first and then drawn over to create a very fluid realistic animation style. I truly think this was the perfect choice for the type of story that this is. Flowers Of Evil is a story of manipulation, love, and the twisted desires that lie deep within the human heart. It may be perverse at times but it’s speaking on the nature of why actions and attitudes are considered perverse in the first place. There are so many ways to interpret this show, depending on who you are and that is a golden quality in my book.

17. Devilman: Crybaby

Year: 2018 + Studio: Science SARU

Wanna cry some ugly tears while you contemplate the nature of humanity for days on end? Well, I have just the show for you. Akira Fudou is painted to us as weak, shy, and a pushover. When his friend Ryou Asuka asks for his help in busting a party full of devils, he accepts in order to help him. While there he fuses with the demon Amon and becomes a human/devil hybrid. While the fusion doesn’t completely change him, it does cause several changes in his personality (more confidence, higher sex drive etc.). He begins to use his powers to help Ryou fight the devils while a different story plays out in the background which bubbles to surface of the runtime. A story of good vs evil, humanity’s true nature, and the power of unconditional love.

16. No.6

Year: 2011 + Studio: Bones

No.6 is a captivating story of classism, love, and what a “perfect” world really means. The two leads, Sion and Nezumi come from completely different worlds. Sion comes from the utopian No.6 while Nezumi comes from the outside of the pristine city. Meeting while young through pure chance, Sion treats Nezumi as person and gives him first aid after a dangerous encounter. Nezumi leaves that night but Sion never forgets him. Sion is emotionally aware and knows there is more than meets the eye to the perfection of No.6 but doesn’t know the cause of this suffocation. After the pair reunite once more years later, Sion is tested in his ability to adapt to a life outside of the one he’s always known. Nezumi must learn how to break down his own meticulously crafted walls and let Sion in. It’s science fiction tale but a poignant romance between the two leads at heart.

15. Sonny Boy

Year: 2021 + Studio: Madhouse

Sonny Boy is an anime that doesn’t give you the comfort of established order within its story. It’s a reimagining of the classic “The Drifting Classroom” by Kazuo Umezu. It follows a class being transported to mysterious void of a world where the only space they truly occupy is their school. Some students gain superpowers while others do not and tension forms between the 2 factions because of the natural power imbalance. This opening to the story only barely scratches the surface however and it soon opens itself to a world of endless possibilities. It’s surrealist but it’s not unwatchable by any means. The animation, the music, the characters, the concept itself – they all resonated with me in a way that’s hard to put into words. I recommend watching for yourself and see if it provides you the same feeling.

14. Fruits Basket

Year: 2001 + Studio: Studio Deen

Fruits Basket is deceptive in a way that will take you off guard when watching it for the first time. It’s marketed as a quirky shoujo story featuring a stereotypical love triangle. It’s definitely that, but it’s also a story of generational trauma and the power of kindness. Our main heroine Tohru Honda is a ditzy airhead type but shines in her ability to understand the true emotions and emotional complexities of the characters around her. While she cannot “heal” the Soma family’s trauma, she encourages healing to take place for them all. The story does focus on the love between her and the two male leads but never sacrifices it’s core values. The ending of the original Fruits Basket (there was a recent remake) was haunting for me. It’s the feeling of having your exterior peeled off forcefully and your interior being way too bare. Fruits Basket will always be a stand out in the shoujo genre.

13. Dororo

Year: 2019 + Studios: Tezuka Productions, MAPPA

Dororo is a story of righting a terrible injustice that took away our main character’s chances of ever having a normal life. It is a Tezuka work and one of my favorites of Tezuka’s, right next to the Buddha series. Dororo (while being named for it’s second protagonist) is mainly the story of Hyakkimaru. Hyakkimaru’s father was so obsessed with power that he sacrificed his first born son to demons in order to benefit their prefecture. The demons took everything from Hyakkimaru except for his life. This included his eyes, mouth, arms, legs, ears, and skin. His father casts his away for dead into the nearby river where an old man finds him. He creates prosthetics for Hyakkimaru and trains him so that one day he can take his revenge against the ones who cursed him. He eventually meets young Dororo who becomes his companion in his travels. So many times this anime pulled my heart out of my chest and asked me to examine it. Do yourself a favor and go watch it right now.

12. Chainsaw Man

Year: 2022-Ongoing + Studio: MAPPA

Chainsaw Man is so many things all at once, all of the time. I think that’s in it’s punk nature. It’s a different story for each character. For Denji, it’s a story of breaking the cycle of poverty and how easy it is to be taken advantage of when you’re willing to do anything. For Power, it’s a story of learning empathy and discovering a found family between her, Denji, and Aki. For Aki, it’s a story of revenge and regrets. He is consumed by his traumatic past and Power and Denji end up giving him more support than he knows. While their world is bleak and unflinching, Chainsaw Man’s strength is it’s beating heart infused into it’s nihilistic setting.

11. Speed Grapher

Year: 2005 + Studio: Gonzo

This anime was one of my formative animes growing up and highly influenced my taste in anime for years to come. Speed Grapher is a story about the lengths the rich will go through to exploit the poor and is a scathing review of the Japanese government. It’s about a man named Saiga who used to work as a wartime photographer/journalist who retires after his job takes too harsh of a toll on him. He accidentally ends up at a secretive club for the elite and wealthy. While there he notices a young girl descending from the ceiling by a wire. He goes to take a picture of the girl who looks like an angel and she kisses him. This kicks off a chain of events that keeps the story in perpetual motion. The mysterious girl’s name is Kagura and she has the ability to grant a superpower to anyone she exchanges saliva with – the superpower being based on the recipients hidden desires. Saiga gets the ability to destroy anything he photographs and the two go on the run from the organization that abuses Kagura’s powers. It’s a strange story that is very noir reminiscent. The opening is “Girls On Film” by Duran Duran and fits this show SO WELL.

10. Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni

Year: 2006-2013 + Studio: Studio Deen

Higurashi (the original 2006-2013 run, not the recent reboot/continuation) remains one of the most chronologically interesting shows in anime. The first season is a question arc which provides a series of questions to intrigue the viewer but doesn’t provide many answers. The second season acts as the answer arc to the first season as it wraps the original series up into a tight bow. There is then a few OVA series that help pad out certain aspects of the plot. Please don’t let it’s art style (or poorly aged English dub) turn you away from such a brilliant show. I don’t wish to speak too much on it’s plot as I think it’s best to go in blind on this one.

9. Welcome To The NHK

Year: 2006 + Studio: Gonzo

This show has a habit of finding people when they need it the most. Welcome To The NHK effortlessly blends humor with some of the darkest areas of life. It stars Satou, our resident Hikikomori who has shut himself away in his apartment, only venturing out to get junk food from the nearest seven eleven. His apartment is trashed, he doesn’t take of himself in the slightest, and he’s obsessed with a made up conspiracy that the NHK is conspiring to make him stay a NEET. Of course, it’s all in his head. He thinks his life will follow this path of self imposed mundanity until a girl shows up at his apartment door and says she can cure him as long as he signs her contract. This isn’t a story about a down on his luck guy meeting manic pixie dream girl next door. It’s about facing the cogs of life and not letting yourself get crushed within them. It’s ending sticks with you and encourages you to live a better life. If anything, the real conspiracy is how good this show is as rehabilitating NEETS. Sometimes you just have to take a good hard look at yourself.

8. Serial Experiments Lain

Year: 1998 + Studio: Triangle Staff

On the topic of looking at yourself, let’s peer into the looking glass with an excerpt about the classic anime Serial Experiments Lain. This show is touted as prophetic by how it looks at internet addiction, modern live streaming, isolation in the digital age, and the ability to change your personality by hiding behind a screen. It’s more than prophecy though. Lain tells the story of a shy young girl exploring her sense of self in the wake of a classmate’s suicide. When Lain gets closer to the Wired (this world’s version of the world wide web) she starts to break the divide behind reality and fiction. Lain excels in making you think about the nature of the soul and it’s place in an increasingly digital world.

7. Revolutionary Girl Utena

Year: 1997 + Studio: J.C.Staff

One of the first animes I watched was Revolutionary Girl Utena and holy shit – it was gay awakening. The core of the series is safely tucked away in the beginning and it takes several episodes to get to the true meat of the story. Utena is such a great female character balances out the chaos going on around her while Anthy gives a mysterious layered story next to Utena’s. Every character is psycho analyzed and explored within this story, all getting a chance to shine. It’s a puzzle to explore of secrets and double meanings.

6. Steins;Gate

Year: 2011 + Studio: White Fox

I think maybe I have a soft spot for shows that mess with time. Steins;Gate is a show that manages to be a near perfect time travel show. It lets you grow to truly love it’s main cast to the point where they feel like real friends before taking you on the journey of a lifetime. Okabe is such a breath of fresh air for mc’s in anime. He hides his insecurities behind a false bravado and pays great attention to his conspiracies to the confusion of many in the show. Behind this mad scientist persona is a man who loves Mayuri like a little sister, wants to save people he barely knows just to save them, and cares for Kurisu in such a intimate way that many anime won’t even touch on. You will start watching for the sci-fi premise, fall in love with the cast, and then go through one of the best time travel stories of all time.

5. Kyousou Giga

Year: 2013 + Studio: Toei Animation

Kyousou Giga is both a visual and emotional treat. It’s heavy thematic element of family is what ties the story together and centers mainly of the story of Koto. Koto crosses into the mystical land of “Mirror City” after following a black rabbit into the void. While she works on growing accustomed to this new place, she meets the siblings Yase, Myoe, and Kurama who are estranged from each other. The plot combines a narrative of mending familial ties and exploring who you are. It also has some of the most touching scenes in anime, especially with the introduction of Lady Koto’s story (different Koto from our protagonist, they just share the same name). Kyousou Giga also excels at retelling classic eastern folklore with reverence to it’s Buddhist influences. It’s a modern fairytale and a celebration of love.

4. Blast Of Tempest

Year: 2012-2013 + Studio: Bones

Take the suspense of Steins;Gate’s twists and turns, the character development of a show like Fruits Basket, and the poetic nature of a show like The Flowers of Evil and you have Blast of Tempest. This show is an underrated masterpiece. The first episode can be a lot to handle at once but after the show falls into its rhythm, it grabs you and does not let go. While the most basic description of the plot can be that it’s about two boys on a mission alongside a mage to save the world – it’s much more than this. Blast of Tempest is a story drenched in grief and it’s effects on our connections to others. There is no true evil in this story as the cosmic battle comes down to a difference of opinions in how a just world should operate. It takes much inspiration from Shakespeare’s works like “The Tempest” and “Hamlet” with references to both scattered throughout. The musical score is epic and gave me the same feeling as the pieces used in “Battle Royale”. Something awfully tragic can be happening on screen and with the music combined, it brought tears to my eyes on numerous occasions. Don’t let it’s first episode scare you off and stick around to the end.

3. Monogatari Series

Year: 2009-Ongoing + Studio: Shaft

Monogatari Series is a show that continues to evolve in every direction it excels in. It’s a story of Araragi Koyomi, a boy with a savior complex. This causes him to want to save and better the lives of the female characters he comes in contact with throughout the narrative. Every girl’s life is afflicted by a spirit that changes their direction in a personal way. The first 3 arcs (Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari, Nekomonogatari) built this up as the status quo but I think the show really comes into it’s own in Monogatari Series Season 2. It’s always had a psychological aspect to it from the beginning but now we are getting to know the true desires of the girls “saved”. They take changes of their own arcs and while Araragi contributes – he is not their savior. This becomes Araragi’s main arc as well towards the latter half of the series. He has to come to terms with the fact that he knows nothing to do with his life other than being a shoulder to others. Monogatari Series is dialogue heavy with little focus on it’s action scenes (but when it has an action, get ready for the most sakuga to ever sakuga) and pinpoint focus on it’s character interaction. As it’s titles suggest, it’s a collection of stories a broken people becoming slightly less broken, more actualized people in the end.

2. Neon Genesis Evangelion

Year: 1995-1996 + Studio: Gainax, Tatsunoko Production

What else can be said for Neon Genesis Evangelion that hasn’t been said or memed a million times over before? It’s an anime classic. A psychological study. A depression simulator. Catholic fanfiction. Take your pick. The reason why it’s so high on my list is the impact it’s characters had on me, especially Rei and Asuka. Rei’s journey to break free of being a “doll” and discover who she is. Asuka’s temper and pride that hides her trauma and abandonment issues. Shinji’s detachment stemming from the lack of a mother and father figure. In the context of this blog, it also works great as an analogy for recovering from being a NEET. In order to grow as a person and form connections, you have to accept your flaws, suck down your pride, and maybe even get in the robot.

1. Eureka Seven

Year: 2005-2006 + Studio: Bones

Eureka Seven is a perfect show. Maybe not to you. Maybe not critically to all. But perfect in every way it needs to be. This show has a huge cast of characters and yet they all feel real. The adventures it takes you on are all told for a reason. The relationship between young Renton and Eureka has more substance to it than a good portion of romance anime. Every thread it weaves eventually gets tucked back into it’s cloth making it so satisfying in the end. Eureka Seven touches on climate change, the reality of war, growing up, love in every form, found family, justice, and the grayness of morality. It uses every one of it’s 50 episodes to flesh out it’s world and then leave you with an ending that ends (rare for anime I swear). Even after it ends, you still long more for it’s world. I have a quote from this show tattooed on my left arm so that I can read it every morning. It says, “Don’t beg for things. Do it yourself. Or else you won’t get anything.” I take it as a challenge to get up and change the world everyday. You can’t expect the ending you want to fall in your hands. Just like in Eureka Seven, the real world requires sacrifices. But…. isn’t it just so beautiful?