Top 10 Anime Series of All Time

Historical action doesn’t come bigger and better than this. With a backdrop featuring the Danish invasion of England, this tale of revenge and redemption sees a young Viking named Thorfinn as he learns the weight that comes with being a warrior consumed by bloodlust, and how time and reflection can change even the most violent of souls. With stunning animation and one of the best character journeys of any anime in recent memory, Thorfinn’s tale is one that demands to be seen.

If you want that classic shonen action, then you can’t go wrong with watching Goku blasting his opponents away with a Kamehameha. A mixture of fantasy and flashy fight scenes, watching Goku take on both tournament arcs and the greatest threats in the cosmos, sometimes both at once, will never not make for a great time. With the original’s sense of wonder along with Super’s grandiose animation, the hype here is non-stop. There’s a reason so many look on the first time Goku went golden with such reverence.

Don’t let the giant robots fool you. While there are indeed plenty of mecha piloted by beautiful anime characters in impossibly tight jumpsuits, along with all the sci-fi jargon you could expect, Evangelion is just as much a meditation on the folly of humanity’s existence as it is Shinji and his robot punching the Jesus out the intergalactic alien threats known as Angels. The EVA pilots all come with their own special batch of trauma, and the more the story unravels, the more it seeps out until it becomes a case study in existential dread. And yet, you’ll be thankful for the ride all the same.

They don’t call it the great pirate era for nothing! With dreams of finding the legendary treasure left by the Pirate King, Luffy and the Straw Hats’ exploits are among the most celebrated in the medium. And for good reason. In between the hilarious companionship between the crew, you’ve got titanic battles, some of the most creative locations ever to be conjured up, as well as moments of heartbreaking, grounded characterisation. That alone would be a tall order for any anime, but for one that’s still at the top of its game all these years later? It’s a feat that keeps on rising to new heights.

When it comes to anti-heroes in anime, none have made an impact quite like Lelouch vi Britannia, and his bloody crusade to overturn his home nation in the hopes of a better tomorrow for the oppressed. Armed with the secret identity of Zero and the mind-altering power of the Geass, Lelouch’s story is a bittersweet one, illuminating how even those with the best of intentions can be drawn down the darkest path. With a killer sci-fi backdrop, watching Lelouch’s machinations both fail and come to fruition will have you, much like everyone in his life, be put under his spell.

The dark fantasy modern masterpiece that astounded the world with its rich plotting, savage setting, and so many shades of morally gray complexity that every twist became an event. With giant humanoids known as Titans consuming all in sight, the last of humankind is forced to safeguard themselves behind giant walls. At least…at first. What starts as a mission of vengeance for Eren and his fellow scouts soon unravels as they discover the many conspiracies, secrets and enemies lying in wait both beyond and behind the walls. It’s a bloody and brutal affair that will indefinitely stand the test of time.

Taking every kind of trope the shonen genre has handed us over the years and polishing them to an unmitigated shine, Gon’s adventures as a hunter turned out to be more than a globe-trotting jaunt with his friends. Things went dark and violent, fast. Between bouts with fellow hunters, sinister criminal organizations, not to mention the apex horror that came from the Chimera Ants, there’s so many hard-hitting brawls and moments of genuine despair it’s hard to believe this started off with a quirky kid with a fishing rod in search of his absentee pops. But make no mistake, the darker it gets, the more brilliant Hunter x Hunter reveals itself to be.

You want giant robots the size of galaxies going full throttle? We got em’. You want Studio Trigger going full Studio Trigger? It’s right here. You want an anime with countless, outrageously macho moments laced with genuine moments of character? Team Dai Gurren got you covered. Between the battle against the Beastman and the galaxy-destroying Anti-Spiral. Kamina’s bottomless charisma, and everything that is Yoko, there’s so much fun to be found here that by the end you truly will believe one gaggle of humans can take on every star in the sky with guts alone!

There’s nothing cooler in the known universe than the space cowboy. That’s not opinion. That’s fact. This space-fairing neo-noir sees Spike Spiegel and his fellow bounty hunters take on everything dangerous and strange this gritty future has to offer, all in the most stylish way possible. Everything from the jazz-centric soundtrack to the genre shifts to the beautifully bloody-soaked fight scenes, it all layers together into a pseudo anthology that remains as sharp as it was back then. No one does it quite like Spike.

Everything you could want in an anime; you can find in the Elric Brothers mission to find the Philosopher’s Stone and reclaim what was lost to them. The sense of adventure is impeccable as the two traverse a world rife with conflict, opposing cultures and intriguing ideals. The action is as creative as it is hard hitting, with the art of alchemy at its center. The emotional beats, the sense of scale, the weaving narrative, Ed and Al’s unbreakable bond, the exploration of its themes, all of it is impeccably conveyed and tied together in a saga that hardcore fans of the medium and newcomers alike will find thrilling.
Which anime will you eternally declare is the true GOAT? Let us know in the comments!