Top 10 Anime of All Time

As anime continues to grow in popularity, more fans are having debates about which show is the greatest ever. These are debates that will go on for generations to come. Some fans will have a lot of older anime as their GOAT, while others will have more recently created ones as theirs. Though there may not be a definite answer to which is the best ever, here’s a list of what I believe are the 10 greatest animes of all time. Disclaimer: All of these shows are finished or basically finished except for one that is still ongoing (you could probably guess which one that is) as I feel like newer anime need more time to be finished or nearly finished to be in the GOAT conversation. Okay, let’s get started:

10. Yu-Gi-Oh!

How can I put a card game anime in the top 10? Simple, it’s because the show is more than just a card game; it’s an absolute classic! If you were a kid that grew up in the 90s, there wasn’t a single person in school who didn’t have a Yugioh card. Even to this day, there are still tournaments held around the world playing this card game. Yugioh is still relevant because of how much of an impact the show made when it was first released. This is a story about a boy named Yugi and his friends as they battle through adversity, danger, ancient history, and most of all, duel monsters! As the show goes on, it teaches you about the importance of friendships and how you should never give up when times get hard. If someone tells you they didn’t have at least one duel monster card growing up, they are lying to your face. Even though there are more adaptations of the show now, nothing beats the original. If you never watched this show, I highly recommend getting into it. It will show you just why it’s deserving to be on an all-time list.

9. Hunter x Hunter (2011)

This is one of the most enjoyable anime series of all time. It’s a really good story centered around adventure and friendships. This follows a boy named Gon who becomes a hunter to set out and find his father. During this quest, he encounters new friends: Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio. This group of friends faces a variety of challenges as they begin their hunting careers. Over time in the story, you see amazing character development with Gon as he deals with the pressure of finding his father and the emotions of battling through hardship. This anime isn’t just about friendship, though. There are plenty of action-packed scenes and transformations that are now being displayed as iconic. None more than the action sequences that are animated in what is considered one of the greatest anime arcs of all time: the Chimera Ant Arc. The power known as “Nen” is a really cool concept and something that is different when it comes to action anime. This show is truly a classic one that has a lot of replay value.

8. Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

Family, action, adventure, and sacrifice. These are all the things that come to mind when watching this show. Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the greatest stories ever written. It centers around the Elric brothers, Edward and Alphonse, as they search for the philosopher’s stone that would help restore their bodies back to what they were before trying to bring their mother back from the dead. As the story develops, the brothers continue to stress the importance of equivalent exchange - the idea of obtaining something requires a sacrifice of something with equal value. If you don’t learn anything from this anime, you will quickly learn that friendship and trust will go a long way in your personal life. The power of alchemy makes it feel like anybody can do it if you’re willing to learn it. I love the pace of this show compared to the 2003 version because it follows the manga more closely, and the character development is clear as day. The most relatable feeling you get from this show is that we would do anything to bring back our loved ones from the dead. But you also learn that to gain something, you could lose everything. If this isn’t on your all-time list, then I highly suggest rewatching it.

7. Death Note

The number one anime I recommend for beginner anime watchers. You want suspense? It’s here. You want a thriller? It’s here. Great storytelling? This is it. Death Note is a roller coaster of emotions that keeps you on your seat every single episode. It focuses on Light Yagami, a high school student who stumbles upon a notebook that gives the user the power to kill anyone they want when they write the person’s name in the book. As these random massacres keep occurring around Japan, the task force led by a man named “L” is assigned to figure out how these killings are happening and who is the one behind it. The chess match between Light (who uses the name “Kira” to disguise himself as the killer) and L keeps you on edge by displaying their brilliance trying to outsmart each other. This is one of those shows that’s easy to follow and not too long either. The pacing is good, and every scene up until the end will have you in a chokehold.

6. Bleach

Bleach is one of those shows where you immediately like the protagonist. Ichigo Kuorosaki is one of the most interesting characters in all of anime. This story focuses on his path as a soul reaper after he discovers he has the ability to see ghosts! As the story goes on, Ichigo discovers more of his origins and battles through various enemies with the help of close friends. Bleach is a top 10 anime because of its iconic moments and comedy in the show. Is there a catcher’s catcher catcher song in anime besides “Number One”?? It feels like when that comes on, you know Ichigo is about to go crazy against whoever he’s fighting. Also, Bankai is one of the best transformations in anime. It’s catchy and really shows you how much stronger a character can get in the show. I love Bleach because the fights are good, and their characters are well-written. I’m sure I can speak for all Bleach fans that their level of excitement when it was announced to come back was through the roof. This anime is part of the Big 3, and it doesn’t come up short to the hype.

5. Yu Yu Hakusho

Here we go into the top 5! This show, in my opinion, has two things that I believe cannot be disagreed with. 1. This is arguably the greatest dubbed anime of all time. The voice actors deserve their flowers for this masterpiece here. You can feel the emotion and passion in their voices, as the show goes on. I believe this helped open the door for more dubbed anime today. Truly amazing stuff there. 2. Yu Yu Hakusho has one of the greatest openings of all time. Smile Bomb is a classic that makes you bop your head to it, and I will die on that hill. This show is an older one, but it still holds weight to this day. How many protagonists are cooler than Yusuke? Not many. There is a lot of action throughout the series, including “The Dark World Tournament” that is considered one of the best tournament arcs ever. Also, the Spirit Gun is one of the more iconic moves in anime. Along with the action comes a plethora of laughs, especially from Kuwabara, Yusuke’s rival. The show grabs your attention from episode one because of how Yusuke got to see how others around him reacted to his death when he didn’t think anyone cared for him. That’s an amazing start to a show, and it just gets better from there. This show deserves more recognition for how great it is, and I’m here to bring that.

4. Attack on Titan

Oh man, talk about a show that instantly catches you! This is arguably the greatest story on this list and one of the greatest of all time. Attack on Titan, from the moment you press play, will have you locked in to one of the more crazier stories ever written. This isn’t one of those shows you can play in the background and still get what’s going on. You have to give it your undivided attention. In a world full of titans, Eren Yeager vows to kill every last one after seeing them kill his mother right before his eyes. It sounds simple, right? But no, the story goes much deeper than that. As the show goes on, you discover more about the history of titans and how they came to be. I promise you, if you ask anyone that watched this show for the first time with no spoilers, they would say there’s no way they were ready for what happens in the show. There are so many memorable moments that’ll leave your jaw dropped. This anime deserves all the hype it gets, and I honestly feel like it needs more. It’s that good!!!

3. One Piece

Yep, you guessed it! This is the one that’s nowhere near finished, but honestly, that’s okay because it’s shown more than enough to be on this list. Now, I know the negatives that come with this show that people say: “It’s too long, it starts so slow, and the pacing isn’t good”. I get it. Is One Piece really long? Hell yes. Does it start kinda slow? Yes, to an extent, but to me, it’s worth the wait. One Piece is an absolute masterpiece of a show. It centers around Monkey D. Luffy, a pirate that vows from episode one that he will be king of the pirates someday. This dream won’t be easy to achieve, but he has the help of his crew members to make that goal more achievable. He and his crew, called the “Straw Hats,” embark on their journey to find the greatest mystery not only in the show but to its viewers as well: the One Piece. What makes this show so amazing is the world building and character development. If you’re going to have a show that’s over 1,000 episodes, you better do a darn good job at building characters, and One Piece more than excels at that. Filled with action, adventure, sadness, and hysterical moments, this show continues to set its mark on the world. Will the show ever end? Someday, but I know the day the One Piece is found, it will not only break the internet, it’ll be the most iconic moment of all time in anime. It won’t even be close. I believe when it’s all said and done, we will be witnesses to the greatest run a show has ever had and will be talked about for generations to come.

2. Naruto

There isn’t an anime that captures more emotions than Naruto. The impact of this show is absolutely insane. What other show has an iconic run that people do in real life to this day? When it came out, everyone wanted to run like Naruto. Everyone wanted to be a ninja. If you love ninjas, you were going to love Naruto. Plus the shadow clone jutsu is a move we all wish we could do in real life. But it isn’t just the running and jutsu that makes this show special, it’s the raw emotions, character development, action, humor, and amazing storytelling. Naruto has a way to get you emotionally invested like no other. It’s so relatable for a lot of people because of the way Naruto grew up. Growing up with not many friends and having to prove you’re equal to others is such a relatable experience. The sad moments in the show make you really feel like you were there in that moment as well. Naruto has a plethora of iconic moments from fight scenes, to character speeches, to deaths in the show. As you follow Naruto’s journey to his dream of becoming Hokage, you learn a ton of life lessons such as never giving up when you’re dealing with hard times and never letting your dream die no matter what! I believe this is the best of the Big 3 and its impact will be felt for years to come.

1. Dragon Ball

The grandfather of them all. Mostly recognized for its Dragon Ball Z story, this is the most impactful, iconic, and hyped anime of all time and deservedly so. Is dragon ball the best story on this list? No. Does it have the best animation compared to anime of today? No but those aren’t what makes this show such a classic. It’s the way this show has started the evolution of anime and a huge influence of how shows are today. Not only does it have great fights, it has the most iconic moment and transformation in anime history, Super Saiyan. There wasn’t a child, teenager, or even an adult that didn’t want to become a super saiyan in that moment of time. Even to this day, you can see the influence of super saiyan in today’s shows. Not just super saiyan though, the kamehameha wave is easily the most iconic move in anime history. Dragon Ball is so impactful that even non anime watchers know who Goku is. How many characters today have we seen that act just like Goku? A whole lot. This doesn’t just make #1 because of impact. It’s full of amazing fight scenes filled with fun humor in between. I feel like the character development in this show is underrated too because we see characters like Piccolo and Vegeta develop nicely as the show goes on. Overall this is a show that came out in the late 80s and is more than relevant to this day. Anime is more popular than ever now and I believe a big reason for that is this show that provided a gateway to greatness.

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