Summary
- Anime availability has increased on streaming platforms, offering a wide range of subbed and dubbed content.
- Beginner-friendly anime like Aggretsuko and informative series like Dr. Stone are recommended for various tastes.
- Iconic titles like Cowboy Bebop and Dragon Ball Z are pivotal for understanding anime's cultural impact.
Anime exploded in North America in the 90s thanks to cartoon blocks like Toonami. Over the years, their presence on basic cable broadcasts only became more prevalent. Now it’s easy to watch virtually any anime, with both subbed and dubbed content on platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Crunchyroll, and more.
One could argue that there may be too many choices now. What should beginners start with? What should veterans see next? Some of these recommendations blend together, but they are not all about the best of the best. Instead, these recommendations are worth watching because of what they brought to the genre over the past few decades. It’s more of a history lesson and a sample platter of important anime that made a cultural impact, with a few oddballs thrown in for good measure. It's hard to rank these anime, as they all offer something different, but wide appeal and lasting impact will factor into their ranking.
7 Experimental Anime From The 1990s
The '90s produced some all-time great anime, some of which took quite a few risks and chances.
8 Aggretsuko
A Work Place Comedy
Aggretsuko
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- 2018 - 2023-00-00
WHERE TO WATCH
Aggretsuko is a great place to start for anyone not accustomed to anime, and a great example of what the slice-of-life genre is like. Even though the characters are adorable anthropomorphic animals, their stories couldn’t be more relatable.
Retsuko is a Red Panda who works in a dead-end accountant job where it seems like no one respects her. Through trials, she learns lessons along the way, deepens relationships, and sings metal on the side. It’s one of those key anime that can actually help people understand their own issues if they too have stressful office jobs.
7 Dr. Stone
How Do Magnets Work?
Dr. Stone
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- July 5, 2019
- Studio
- TMS Entertainment, 8PAN, Die4Studio
- Creator
- Riichiro Inagaki
- Number of Episodes
- 69
Dr. Stone has a unique take on an apocalyptic disaster, as one day all of humanity is turned to stone. Thousands of years later, Senku, an aspiring young high school scientist, frees himself from his stone prison and discovers that humanity still exists, but they live in small pockets and are more akin to cavemen.
While some of the science is a bit fantastical, it is an educational anime that goes through how it might be possible to make soda or cellphones from nothing. Each new discovery is more wondrous than the last, and Senku's inventiveness is why it’s worth a watch.
6 Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma
You’ve Never Seen Food Like This
Food Wars!: Shokugeki No Soma
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- 2015 - 2020
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- J.C.Staff
- Creator
- Yūto Tsukuda
- Number of Episodes
- 86
Food shows started to explode in the late 2000s between shows like Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Man vs. Food, Worst Cooks in America, and so on. For all those people who love food shows, Food Wars is a must-watch, as it takes the level of creativity and adoration surrounding food and cranks it up to a hundred.
The Greatest Mecha Anime Of All Time
The mecha anime genre's stories of bombastic battles with giant robots are best told in these series, including Gundam and NGE.
It’s safe to say no one has seen anyone dream of being covered in honey or exploding their clothes off after trying a dish on a show like Hell’s Kitchen. It’s funny and informative, and food has never looked this good before.
5 Lupin the 3rd Part 4: The Italian Adventure
A Character Born From The 70s And Still Going Strong
Lupin the 3rd Part IV: The Italian Adventure
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- August 30, 2015
- Cast
- Tony Oliver, Richard Epcar, Lex Lang, Michelle Ruff, Doug Erholtz, Cassandra Lee Morris, Michael McConnohie
- Seasons
- 7
Lupin is a cultural icon in Japan, and a character who will seemingly never die. Instead, he is reinvented time and time again to adapt to new eras. The core concept between each series and movie follows Lupin the 3rd, a master thief, who goes on capers for the love of the chase. Lupin the 3rd Part 4: The Italian Adventure is the best place to start, as it begins a new revival for the character. To understand anime and perhaps even Japan as a country, a Lupin anime is necessary to digest.
4 Attack On Titan
Understanding The Phenomenon
Attack On Titan
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- 2013 - 2023-00-00
- Studio
- Wit Studio, MAPPA
- Creator
- Hajime Isayama
There’s no escaping the cultural impact that Attack on Titan has had over the past decade, but the anime is now finally over, along with the manga. It is an action series that is just as gripping as a live-action show like Game of Thrones, with plenty of horror elements too. No key characters are safe, which is a lesson that viewers learn quickly. There’s nothing quite like the nightmares within this post-apocalyptic fantasy world wherein giant human-like titans hunt humans and devour them in giant gulps.
3 Cowboy Bebop
An Anime For All Types
Cowboy Bebop
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 1998 - 1999
- Directors
- Yoshiyuki Takei, Ikuro Sato, Hirokazu Yamada
- Studio
- Sunrise
- Number of Episodes
- 26
Cowboy Bebop is a relatively short anime with only one season, so it doesn't require a lot of commitment. The main characters get introductory episodes and some key backstory plot points, but most episodes are standalone adventures about a bunch of bounty hunters in space.
The Best Sci-Fi Anime Ever, Ranked
Mecha, cyberpunk, and space operas, science-fiction anime come in many shapes, and the genre's best shows represent Japanese animation at its peak.
For a 90s anime, the quality of its animation and storytelling outdoes even some modern examples. It’s a good example of a futuristic anime that is grounded, and one that is well-liked by both anime and non-anime fans.
2 Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team
A Standard For Mechs
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team
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- 1996 - 2013-00-00
WHERE TO WATCH
Mechs are a big part of anime, and there’s no mecha franchise bigger than Gundam. Diving into most of the standalone and interconnected seasons can be a daunting task, as most have over fifty episodes apiece. That’s where Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team comes into play.
There are only twelve episodes, the animation quality is high since this is an OVA, and the mechanized battles and the overall story are more grounded than most seasons. Viewers can think of it as a war show fought with mechs instead of on-the-ground soldiers.
1 Dragon Ball Z
One Shonen To Rule Them All
Dragon Ball Z
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 1989 - 1996
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Akira Toriyama
- Number of Episodes
- 291
There is probably not a bigger anime than Dragon Ball Z, nor will there ever be. The manga and anime debuted in the 80s and gained popularity in the West in the 90s. Because it has been around so long, it has become integrated into popular culture.
It’s not the most sophisticated action anime of all time. There’s a lot of yelling, smashing of fists, and energy blasts without a lot of strategy, but it’s like the Rosetta Stone of Shonen anime. Without Dragon Ball Z there would be no My Hero Academia, Naruto, Bleach, and so on, which is why it is a must-watch.
6 Best Adventure Manga You Probably Never Heard Of
This is a list of atypical adventure manga that readers might never have heard of, but that are great reads.