50 Best Animes of All Time
by sanitabir | created - 08 Feb 2016 | updated - 25 Feb 2016 | PublicContains my 50 favorite animes from 200+ anime series I have watched so far. I have high preference over animes that are not insanely popular with a lot of filler episodes - most of the animes in my list are quality animes that are very contained with strong messages.
The shows in the list only consist of shows that have ended by the start of 2016 - with higher focus on more recent animes unless they are legendary good.
I also tried to avoid adding different seasons of same anime (e.g. Full Metal Panic) - with the only exception of E.F. a tale of Memories/Melodies, since they differ in name.
For me all the animes in this list are good enough to be worth watching all the seasons - the order is ranked - so top animes are better from my perspective.
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Code Geass (2006–2008)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Action, Drama
After being given a mysterious power to control others, an outcast prince becomes the masked leader of the rebellion against an all-powerful empire.
Stars: Jun Fukuyama, Takahiro Sakurai, Johnny Yong Bosch, Yukana
Votes: 80,124
2. Death Note (2006–2007)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Crime, Drama
An intelligent high school student goes on a secret crusade to eliminate criminals from the world after discovering a notebook capable of killing anyone whose name is written into it.
Stars: Mamoru Miyano, Brad Swaile, Vincent Tong, Ryô Naitô
Votes: 378,072
3. Psycho-Pass (2012–2019)
TV-MA | 25 min | Animation, Action, Crime
Believing in humanity and order, policewoman Akane Tsunemori obeys the ruling, computerized, precognitive Sibyl System. But when she faces a criminal mastermind who can elude this perfect system, she questions both Sibyl and herself.
Stars: Kana Hanazawa, Miyuki Sawashiro, Noriko Hidaka, Shizuka Itou
Votes: 22,301
4. Vampire Knight (2008)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Action, Drama
Yuki Cross, along with her best friend Zero, attempts to keep the peace between humans and vampires at Cross Academy, but personal issues soon threaten the situation.
Stars: Yui Horie, Mamoru Miyano, Daisuke Kishio, Jun Fukuyama
Votes: 5,778
5. Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo (2004–2005)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Drama, Mystery
Trying to escape his uneventful life, Albert, the son of a renowned general from Paris, makes a journey with his friend Franz. During his travels, he meets an immensely wealthy nobleman ... See full summary »
Stars: Jôji Nakata, Johnny Yong Bosch, Beau Billingslea, Karen Strassman
Votes: 2,721
6. Ef: A Tale of Melodies. (2008)
TV-MA | 24 min | Animation, Drama, Mystery
In a story set years in the past, Himura Yuu is a studious and diligent young man intent solely on maintaining his top academic position at Otowa Academy. One day, he meets a mysterious ... See full summary »
Stars: Yumiko Nakajima, Kôichi Tôchika, Kenji Hamada, Mai Gotou
Votes: 483
7. Full Metal Panic! (2002–2006)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Sousuke Sagara, a member of a covert anti-terrorist private military organization known as Mithril, tasked with protecting Kaname Chidori, a spirited Japanese high school girl.
Stars: Tomokazu Seki, Satsuki Yukino, Jason Douglas, Yukana
Votes: 5,890
8. Your Lie in April (2014–2015)
TV-PG | 23 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
A piano prodigy who lost his ability to play after suffering a traumatic event in his childhood is forced back into the spotlight by an eccentric girl with a secret of her own.
Stars: Natsuki Hanae, Risa Taneda, Ayane Sakura, Ryôta Ôsaka
Votes: 37,778
9. Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (2007–2009)
TV-PG | 24 min | Animation, Action, Drama
In the distant future, mankind has used up all of its fossil fuels, forcing them to turn to Solar Power as an alternate energy source. As a result, this causes a rift to form between richer... See full summary »
Stars: Sam Vincent, Mamoru Miyano, Shin'ichirô Miki, Hiroyuki Yoshino
Votes: 2,679
10. Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse (2012– )
TV-MA | Animation, Action, Drama
Since 1973, an invasion of aliens known as BETA upon Earth is driving human civilization into nearly collapse. Facing an enormous mass of enemy force, mankind has developed large humanoid ... See full summary »
Stars: Krystal LaPorte, Kara Greenberg, Corey Hartzog, Sakura Nogawa
Votes: 199
11. Darker Than Black (2007–2010)
TV-MA | 24 min | Animation, Action, Drama
In Tokyo, an impenetrable field known as "Hell's Gate" appeared ten years ago. At the same time, psychics who wield paranormal powers at the cost of their conscience also emerged.
Stars: Jason Liebrecht, Kate Oxley, Christopher Sabat, Brina Palencia
Votes: 12,468
12. Mobile Suit Gundam Seed (2002–2003)
50 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
The discovery of an advanced model of combat mecha on their space colony throws a young man and his friends into involvement in an interplanetary war as the crew of a powerful fighting ship.
Stars: Sôichirô Hoshi, Scott McNeil, John Novak, Lee Tockar
Votes: 2,642
13. Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (2011)
TV-PG | 23 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
Five childhood companions reunite when the ghost of their dead friends appears, and demands they grant her final wish.
Stars: Miyu Irino, Ai Kayano, Haruka Tomatsu, Takahiro Sakurai
Votes: 15,866
14. Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom (2009)
TV-MA | 25 min | Animation, Action, Crime
The story of two brainwashed assassins, Ein and Zwei, who struggle to regain their memories as they work for the Inferno crime syndicate.
Stars: Miyu Irino, Newton Pittman, Ayahi Takagaki, Lindsay Seidel
Votes: 1,926
15. Buddy Complex (2014– )
24 min | Animation, Action, Sci-Fi
When a giant robot suddenly attacks the city, a high-school student named Aoba is saved by a classmate piloting her own mecha.
Stars: Saori Hayami, Kôki Uchiyama, Kana Hanazawa, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka
Votes: 154
16. True Tears (2008)
TV-14 | Animation, Drama, Romance
Living together with the girl he love should be a dream for Nakagami, but the reality is closer to a nightmare. At school, Hiromi is kind and popular. But at home, she is a completely different person. How can he unlock her heart?
Stars: Asami Shimoda, Kaori Nazuka, Yuka Iguchi, Ayahi Takagaki
Votes: 556
17. Ga-Rei-Zero (2008– )
TV-MA | 24 min | Animation, Action, Drama
Follows two friends, daughters of exorcists, who are now members of the government's secret Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Division that fights demons when they appear in Japan.
Stars: Minori Chihara, Kaoru Mizuhara, Shin'ya Takahashi, Alexis Tipton
Votes: 777
18. Golden Time (2013–2014)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
With freshmen law students Banri and Mitsuo, it's friendship at first sight. But trouble gets stirred up with talk of a fiancé.
Stars: Yui Horie, Makoto Furukawa, Mike Haimoto, Ai Kayano
Votes: 4,693
19. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
TV-MA | 83 min | Animation, Action, Crime
A cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.
Directors: Mizuho Nishikubo, Mamoru Oshii | Stars: Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Ôtsuka, Kôichi Yamadera
Votes: 156,799 | Gross: $0.52M
20. Nodame kantâbire (2007–2010)
25 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
Shinichi Chiaki, is a talented musician who finds a rather strange companion in Megumi Noda. As they get to know each other they also meet a variety of crazy characters and face some challenging opportunities.
Stars: Laura Bailey, Yuri Lowenthal, Bryce Papenbrook, Vic Mignogna
Votes: 1,388
21. Blood+ (2005–2006)
TV-MA | Animation, Action, Adventure
In present day Okinawa, a young amnesiac girl named Saya combats vicious, shape-shifting vampires. Her adoptive family and friends help her track down their source and uncover her past.
Stars: Eri Kitamura, Katsuyuki Konishi, Hiroyuki Yoshino, Akiko Yajima
Votes: 4,852
22. Ef: A Tale of Memories. (2007)
TV-MA | Animation, Comedy, Drama
A story of love, heartbreak and youth, as the stories of 6 different characters, which seem initially unrelated, begin to intertwine.
Stars: Natsumi Yanase, Monica Rial, Hiroko Taguchi, Junko Okada
Votes: 826
23. Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet (2013– )
TV-14 | Animation, Adventure, Drama
While fighting an intense inter-galactic war, a mecha pilot was accidentally warped into a space-time neither he nor the computer of his mecha could recognize. After waking up from a ... See full summary »
Stars: Michelle Ruff, Alan Lee, Janice Kawaye, Fabien Albanese
Votes: 1,819
24. Sword Art Online (2012– )
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
In the year 2022, thousands of people get trapped in a new virtual MMORPG and the lone wolf player, Kirito, works to escape.
Stars: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Haruka Tomatsu, Bryce Papenbrook, Cherami Leigh
Votes: 52,623
25. Last Exile (2003)
TV-PG | Animation, Action, Adventure
In a world of airships and civil war, two messengers come across a special girl who will change the course of history.
Stars: Mayumi Asano, Chiwa Saitô, Paul St. Peter, Yukana
Votes: 3,825
26. Sukippu bîto! (2008–2009)
TV-PG | 24 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
Kyouko went with her childhood friend, Shou to Tokyo to pursue his dream of becoming an idol. Despite she is supporting him, Shou deceive her. Kyouko vows to get her revenge by defeating him in the entertainment world too.
Stars: Erica Lindbeck, Todd Haberkorn, Bryce Papenbrook, Cristina Valenzuela
Votes: 1,647
27.
AnimeTV (2010– )
Episode:
Kurokami
News
The plot follows a young man, Keita, who enters into a "contract" with a young Tera guardian, Kuro. The two fight evil and try to restore the balance of tera to the world. The series ... See full summary »
28. Hikaru no Go (2001–2003)
TV-G | 23 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
A sixth-grader Hikaru Shindo accidentally awakens the spirit of a deceased Go prodigy Fujiwara no Sai who then accompanies Hikaru and helps him develop his Go skills.
Stars: Tomoko Kawakami, Susumu Chiba, Sanae Kobayashi, Yumi Kakazu
Votes: 1,410
29. Gosick (2011)
TV-MA | 24 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
Gosick is set in the fictional European country of Sauville in the 1920s. Kazuya Kujo is a transfer student to St. Marguerite Academy, a place where myths and superstitions are abundant. ... See full summary »
Stars: Aoi Yûki, Takuya Eguchi, Matt Shipman, Apphia Yu
Votes: 1,521
30. Glass Mask (2005–2006)
TV-PG | 23 min | Animation, Drama, Romance
Two girls, one with formal training and one without, compete for the role of the Crimson Goddess throughout their developing years in this classic shoujo adaptation of Sizue Miuchi's work of the same name.
Votes: 98
31. Level E (2011)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi
In the present day, hundreds of extraterrestrial species walk the Earth. Some are pacifistic, others violent. Some are here for research purposes, others are career criminals. However, ... See full summary »
Stars: Vic Mignogna, Jason Douglas, Bruce Carey, Anthony Bowling
Votes: 360
32. Dusk Maiden of Amnesia (2012)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
An old school building rumoured to be haunted is the place where a young woman was left to die. A freshman at the school, Niija Teiichi, stumbles upon the ghost of this woman and seems to ... See full summary »
Stars: Brittney Karbowski, Jessica Boone, Emily Neves, Clint Bickham
Votes: 1,205
33. Ray the Animation (2006– )
TV-14 | 25 min | Animation, Drama
A female surgeon has the eyes to see inside a patient to find out what is wrong with them.
Stars: Sakura Nogawa, Hiroki Takahashi, Hitomi Nabatame, Yûsaku Yara
Votes: 37
34. Black Lagoon (2006)
TV-MA | 25 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A Japanese businessman, captured by modern-day pirates, is written off and left for dead by his company. Tired of the corporate life, he opts to stick with the mercenaries that kidnapped him, becoming part of their gang.
Stars: Megumi Toyoguchi, Daisuke Namikawa, Brad Swaile, Maryke Hendrikse
Votes: 17,904
35. Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne (2008)
TV-MA | 276 min | Animation, Action, Drama
Rin Asogi runs a private investigation agency in Tokyo's Shinjuku district, performing odd jobs. Despite attempts at a normal life, she finds herself constantly hindered by the strange cases that come her way.
Stars: Mamiko Noto, Rie Kugimiya, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Jamie Marchi
Votes: 2,247
36. Another (2012)
TV-MA | 286 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
A young man named, Koichi Sakakibara, transfers to a new school where he finds himself drawn into a mystery involving a mysterious girl and a series of gruesome deaths.
Stars: Atsushi Abe, Natsumi Takamori, Tomoaki Maeno, Monica Rial
Votes: 18,206
37. Mai-HiME (2004–2005)
TV-14 | 25 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A group a school girls discover that they have been given the ability to materialize weapons and control robotic beasts called Children to stop an evil organization from their plans of domination. Meanwhile, a darker plot thickens.
Stars: Caitlynne Medrek, Carol-Anne Day, Jordan Schartner, Wendy Morrison
Votes: 837
38. Kurau: Phantom Memory (2004–2005)
Animation, Action, Comedy
It's the year 2100, and the moon is now home to a colony of scientists and pioneers. It's also host to dangerous experiments into strange new forms of energy, and it isn't long before one ... See full summary »
Stars: Monica Rial, Mamoru Miyano, Jessica Boone, Rie Kugimiya
Votes: 172
39. Eureka Seven - good night, sleep tight, young lovers (2009)
TV-14 | 110 min | Animation, Action, Drama
On a vastly transformed Earth ten millenia in the future, the young air-surfer or "lifter" Renton joins a rebel group and befriends the pilot Eureka.
Directors: Hironori Aoyagi, Hiroshi Haraguchi, Masaru Yasukawa, Tomoki Kyôda | Stars: Yûko Sanpei, Kaori Nazuka, Keiji Fujiwara, Michiko Neya
Votes: 774
40. Mayo chiki! (2011)
TV-MA | 25 min | Animation, Comedy, Romance
When you've got acute gynophobia, even a pretty girl can be a malady, and as the sparring partner for his family of female wrestlers, Sakamachi Kinjiro has the worst case EVER!
Stars: Yuka Iguchi, Satoshi Hino, Eri Kitamura, Blake Shepard
Votes: 1,377
41. Cross Ange: Rondo of Angel and Dragon (2014–2015)
TV-MA | Animation, Action, Romance
The first season follows the growth of a princess who first falls from grace but grows up to lead a rebellion once she learns the truth about the ignorance of racism in her land.
Stars: Nana Mizuki, Emily Neves, Houko Kuwashima, Brittney Karbowski
Votes: 608
42. Gantz (2004)
TV-MA | 22 min | Animation, Action, Drama
After their deaths, two teens are transported to an apartment with an ominous black sphere and must participate in a gory alien-hunting "game."
Stars: Hiroshi Kamiya, Daisuke Namikawa, John Swasey, Chris Ayres
Votes: 8,635
43. Haganai: I Don't Have Many Friends (2011–2013)
TV-MA | 25 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
A friendless teenager, feared by his fellow classmates, joins a club hoping to finally make some friends.
Stars: Ryohei Kimura, Marina Inoue, Kanae Itô, Jerry Jewell
Votes: 2,716
44. Shiki (2010–2011)
TV-MA | 24 min | Animation, Drama, Horror
When many deaths occur in the quiet village of Sotoba, Doctor Toshio Ozaki initially suspects an epidemic but soon becomes convinced that something else is causing them.
Stars: Tôru Ôkawa, Kôki Uchiyama, Kazuyuki Okitsu, Wataru Takagi
Votes: 3,917
45. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2006–2009)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
The crazy adventures of the SOS Brigade, led by the insane but charismatic Haruhi.
Stars: Tomokazu Sugita, Aya Hirano, Yûko Gotô, Daisuke Ono
Votes: 9,140
46. School Days (2007)
TV-14 | 300 min | Animation, Drama, Romance
Makoto Itou has a crush on Kotonoha Katsura, who rides the same train as him daily. Following urban legend, he sets her photo as his phone wallpaper - a love charm. When classmate Sekai Saionji notices, it seems his luck really does change.
Stars: Daisuke Hirakawa, Shiho Kawaragi, Tae Okajima, Keiko Imoto
Votes: 2,923
47. Chivalry of a Failed Knight (2015)
TV-MA | 24 min | Animation, Action, Fantasy
Follow Ikki Kurogane as he defies the odds that everyone thinks he can't do. Ikki is the lowest of the low at his acdemy. While others have magical power and are high ranking. He is the ... See full summary »
Stars: Ryôta Ôsaka, Shizuka Ishigami, Luci Christian, Bryson Baugus
Votes: 4,605
48. Monster (2004–2005)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Crime, Drama
Tenma, a brilliant neurosurgeon with a promising future, risks his career to save the life of a critically wounded young boy. The boy, now a charismatic young man, reappears 9 years later in the midst of a string of unusual serial murders.
Stars: Hidenobu Kiuchi, Liam O'Brien, Mamiko Noto, Karen Strassman
Votes: 44,497
49. Toradora! (2008–2009)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
Toradora tells the tale of Ryuji (dragon) and Taiga (tiger) helping each other confess to their crushes.
Stars: Rie Kugimiya, Junji Majima, Yui Horie, Hirofumi Nojima
Votes: 18,815
50. Madlax (2004– )
TV-14 | Animation, Action, Drama
A beautiful, female blonde assassin with supreme gun fighting skills, accepts contracts to kill villains, and fight against an oppressive army.
Stars: Sanae Kobayashi, Houko Kuwashima, Luci Christian, Nancy Novotny
Votes: 350
51. Dance in the Vampire Bund (2010)
TV-MA | Animation, Action, Drama
Vampire queen Mina Tepes comes out of hiding to offer peace between vampires and humans. Japan gives her a bund, where she goes to live with her people. However, extremist human and vampire groups do not want to coexist.
Stars: Aoi Yûki, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Eric Vale, Monica Rial
Votes: 890
Tell Your Friends