Summary
- High School of the Dead has lasting appeal due to stellar art, animation, and graphic content.
- Durarara!! Offers a rewatchable experience with diverse characters and an addicting soundtrack.
- Yuri!!! On Ice's detailed choreography and drama make it endlessly rewatchable for fans.
People find comfort in many different vices, whether from watching a movie, listening to music, or reading their favorite book. Others, still, get that fuzzy feeling they're looking for by turning the lights down low and wasting the day away watching that one anime they fell in love with in the past.
While some anime are seemingly made to be watched over and over by shortening the season or episode length, others are just so good that they have to be experienced again. What follows are some of the best anime that make fans want to immediately hit replay.
10 High School Of The Dead
Still Good, Even If It'll Never Be Finished
Highschool Of The Dead
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2011 - 2011-00-00
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- Madhouse
- Creator
- Daisuke Satō
- Number of Episodes
- 12
The Highschool of the Dead anime burst onto the scene a fair bit after the manga, though it didn't take long for a dub to be released in the West. And it's easy to see why, as it was released amid the modern zombie renaissance spearheaded by shows like AMC's The Walking Dead.
Of course, it's hard to pinpoint exactly why this anime is so rewatchable nearly 15 years later. Maybe it's the stellar art by manga artist Shōji Satō, or the ridiculously good animation by Studio Madhouse. Or maybe it's that the show is graphic in all the right ways. Whatever the reason, fans will be coming back to this show for years to come, even in the story's unfinished state.
9 Durarara!!
Has Many Different Characters To Keep Rewatches Interesting
Durarara!!
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2010 - 2010-00-00
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- Brain's Base and Shuka
- Creator
- Ryōgo Narita
- Number of Episodes
- 60
Durarara!! Takes a group of disparate characters with wildly different backgrounds and puts their stories on a crash course toward an inevitable climax. Gangsters, a Dullahan, and a Sushi chef, among others, all play their respective roles in this hilariously exciting tale.
The big draw here is this show's infectious atmosphere, driven heavily by its addicting soundtrack. Every character theme and tone piece draws the viewer in when the perspective shifts to keep them engaged, even when the fists (or stops signs) aren't flying. In the end, there's a lot going on at once, which will always facilitate a rewatch.
8 Yuri!!! On Ice
Full Of Choreography That Draws Fans In
Yuri on Ice
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2016 - 2017-00-00
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- MAPPA
- Creator
- Sayo Yamamoto, Mitsurō Kubo
- Number of Episodes
- 12
The best sports anime have the power to change non-athletic types into true believers. Yuri!!! On Ice did just this for the sport of figure skating, while also giving fans a compelling—if not a bit bait-filled—relationship between a mentor and mentee.
Best Sports Anime Of All Time
Be it baseball, basketball, or boxing, the best sports anime deliver suspense, drama, action, and comedy.
What makes this show endlessly rewatchable is its attention to detail during each character's performance. The series is loaded with fully choreographed routines, showcasing not only Studio Mappa's animation prowess but also some great drama and characterization as each skater lays everything out on the ice.
7 Devil Man Crybaby
Visually Gripping Every Time
Devilman Crybaby
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2018 - 2018-00-00
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- Science SARU
- Creator
- Go Nagai (Original Devilman Manga)
- Number of Episodes
- 10
If anime fans are looking for a quick romp through the apocalypse, their first choice should be Devilman Crybaby. It's a depressing look at humanity's understandably horrendous last days before everything comes crashing down.
The series is a brief 10 episodes and isn't particularly filled with layers of meaning like some shows these days, but it's absolutely full of intense, hypnotizing visuals, particularly of the gory variety. These are what will keep viewers coming back again and again.
6 I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying
Has An Extremely Likable Couple
I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2014 - 2015-00-00
- Network
- Teletama
- Streaming Service(s)
The best romance anime tend to be stories involving two seemingly incompatible parties who find love with each other despite their differences. I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying begins at the logical next step, though, as the "normal" Kaoru settles into married life with her otaku husband, Hajime.
Best Slice of Life Anime for Comfort and Calm
With comedy, drama, romance, and more, slice-of-life anime brings day-to-day moments to a whole new level.
With the show exploring various aspects of love, including the compromises that marriage requires, this couple is easy to get attached to. Luckily, the series is a speedy rewatch, with each episode sitting at just under 3 minutes.
5 Daily Lives Of High School Boys
A Fun Look At The Mundane
Daily Lives of High School Boys
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2012 - 2012
- Studio
- Sunrise
- Creator
- Yasunobu Yamauchi
- Number of Episodes
- 12
This one is just as the title suggests as it follows a group of boys living out their high school days. Whether it's playing pretend or dealing with the opposite sex, the show makes fun of, but also sheds light on, some very real situations that boys find themselves in when they're at that age.
Viewers are with the main characters all the way through their graduation. However, Daily Lives of Highschool Boys stays at a tight length of just 12 episodes, giving little reason not to come back when fans are feeling nostalgic for their younger days.
4 Attack On Titan
Everything Is Connected
Attack On Titan
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2013 - 2023-00-00
- Studio
- Wit Studio, MAPPA
- Creator
- Hajime Isayama
- Number of Episodes
- 94
Attack on Titan is one of the series responsible for anime's most recent spike in mainstream popularity. This show's wanton disregard for expectations, as Erin Yaeger and the rest of the Survey Corp zip through the skies to defend their home from the threat of the Titans, is truly captivating.
Attack on Titan: The Last Attack Reveals Exclusive Images Of Post-Credit Scene
Attack on Titan: The Last Attack will be released internationally soon. Ahead of that, more images of the post-credit scene have been revealed.
That said, it's the suspense and mystery that will keep fans coming back. Well, that, and the series' impressive, if not sometimes overwhelming, interweaving of the most pertinent story beats that were often foreshadowed seasons in advance.
3 Nichijou
Gags That Never Get Old
Nichijou - My Ordinary Life
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2011 - 2011
- Directors
- Tatsuya Ishihara
- Writers
- Jukki Hanada
- Studio
- Kyoto Animation
- Creator
- Keiichi Arawi
- Number of Episodes
- 26
While Nichijou isn't the first or latest gag-based slice-of-life anime out there, it is one of the best to have done it. Here, viewers will meet a medley of characters as they live out their not-so-mundane lives in a rural Japanese town where weird seems to be the norm.
The episodes are definitely on the meatier side for shows like this, with 26 half-hour episodes full of silly jokes. However, in a world where the 5-minute mini-episode seems to have become commonplace, Nichijou shines through, letting the viewer bask in its absurdity for a while longer.
2 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
One Of The Greatest Of All Time
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2009 - 2010
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- Bones
- Creator
- Hiromu Arakawa
- Number of Episodes
- 64
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is the story of two brothers just looking for a normal life again after making the mistake of messing with a power they didn't fully understand. This redo of the series more closely follows the FMA manga, and is the definitive way to experience one of the greatest anime stories out there.
Full Metal Alchemist: The Homunculi, Explained
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There are some incredibly memorable moments here, like the battle between Roy Mustang and Envy, or the infamous Nina Tucker scene. But at the end of the day, it's the incredibly paced drama that will draw viewers in, bring tears to their eyes, and make them want to do it all over again.
1 FLCL
Short, Sweet, And Full Of Meaning
FLCL
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2000 - 2001-00-00
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- Gainax, Production I.G, Production GoodBook, Signal.MD, NUT, Revoroot, MontBlanc Pictures
FLCL (aka. Fooly Cooly) is, at its core, a coming-of-age story, but it's one that takes a number of immediate detours to deal with some formidable, world-destroying threats. There are rare moments of solace, sure, but they play second fiddle to the action.
The show was clearly made with a fun-first mentality, but that's not to say there aren't things to give onlookers something to think about, as FLCL deals with themes of maturity, sexuality, and change. This is by far the shortest entry on this list, running for only 6 episodes (not including the less-popular sequels), making it the quickest and most enticing anime rewatch there is.