35 Best Anime of All Time New and Old in 2022

35 Best Anime of All Time New and Old in 2021
©吾峠呼世晴/集英社・アニプレックス・ufotable

 

Anime has become a popular part of Japan ever since it first got introduced; many people visit the country just to get a glimpse of where their favourite anime film is originated. There are various Japanese animations produced and released each year, the first ever film produced will take you back to 1917. However, Astro Boy was the first well-known Japanese animation that was widely popular among Western audiences. Most anime started off as manga, a comics or graphic novels, and later adapted into anime series.

            We have compiled a list of 36 Most Popular Anime in 2021, whether you think you have seen it all or not, this list will come in handy for any anime fans. This list is perfect for beginners as well as a diehard anime fan, not only that it includes some of the best, brand new anime series in 2021, but it also combines some classic anime films of all time. If you are finding it hard to find new anime films to watch, this list will not disappoint you!

 

 

 

1. Attack on Titan

 

 

One of an all-time classic Japanese animation, it was originally released as a manga in 2009, the first anime version was aired in 2013. It has ever since become one of the most well-known Japanese anime series of all time. A story where the giants rule the world. It is set in a world where humanity lives inside cities surrounded by three enormous walls that protect them from the gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to as Titans.

The huge wall with the height of 50 meters is to prevent invasion in exchange for freedom outside the wall. Eren Yeager, a 10-year-old boy who dreams of an unseen world on the other side of the wall, he vows to exterminate the Titans after a Titan brings about the destruction of his hometown and the death of his mother.

 

 

2. My Hero Academia

 

 

My Hero Academia is about a young boy Izuku Midoriya and other heroes fighting against other Villains by using their superpowers quirks. My Hero Academia is also popular among international anime fans since the anime is inspired by American style Superhero comic rather than classic Japanese anime. The series focuses on Izuku Midoriya, a young man who dreams of becoming a hero despite being bullied by his violent childhood friend Katsuki Bakugo for lacking a Quirk.

 

 

3. Demon Slayer

 

 

Demon Slayer is inspired by the Japanese manga – Koyoharu Gotouge, the anime is set in the Taisho period in Japan. In the anime, Taisho is the time where demons exist with human beings. Tanjiro Kamado, the main character finds that his family is killed by the attack of demons and his only survived sister has turned into a demon.

The demons are former humans who sold their humanity in exchange for power, they feed on humans and possess supernatural abilities such as super strength, magic and regeneration. Demons can only be killed if they're decapitated with weapons crafted from an alloy known as Sun Steel (Nichirin), injected with poison extracted from wisteria flowers, or exposed to sunlight. Tanjiro decides to become a demon slayer to restore the humanity and cure his sister from the curse.

 

 

4. Haikyu!!

 

 

Haikyu!! Is a Japanese manga illustrated by Haruichi Furudate. The story follows Shoyo Hinata, a boy who was fascinated by the volleyball sport and became a great volleyball player despite his small frame. In the first and last official game of junior high school, where he finally participated in the headwind, Hinata's team was defeated by Tobio Kageyama, a genius player nicknamed "King on the Court". Each season unfolds his journey to become a great volleyball player, as well as his revenge on Tobio Kageyama. It is a great sport anime series that is highly rated.

 

 

5. Re: Life from

 

 

An anime written by Yayoiso, the story revolves around 27-year-old Arata Kaizaki, who has been unemployed for several years; bouncing between one job to another, while only working part-time at a convenience store. His existence takes a sharp turn when he meets Ryou Yoake, a member of the ReLife Research Institute, who offers Arata the opportunity to change his life for the better with the help of a mysterious pill. He took the bill without any hesitation; he woke up and find himself going back in time to his 17-year-old self. The experiment is supposed to provide a chance to experience youth once again and, in the process, giving him a chance to fix whatever went wrong in his life.

 

 

6. Gintama

 

 

Gintama is a Japanese anime series directed by Yoichi Fujita. The main characters, Gintoki, Shinpachi, and Kagura living in an alternate-reality, where the Amanto, aliens from outer space, have invaded Earth and taken over Japan. As a result, a prohibition on swords has been established, and the samurai of Japan are treated with disregard as a consequence. However, Gintoki Sakata, still possesses the heart of the samurai. Him and his odd group of friends take on odd jobs in an alternate version of feudal Japan that has been conquered by aliens.

 

 

7. Clannad

 

 

Clannad is less known worldwide, so if you’re finding a unique anime to watch, this one will get you hooked. Clannad is a Kyoto Animation’s masterpiece that is recommended for all types of anime fans. The story is about Tomoya Okazaki, a third-year high school student who is giving up on his school life. The first part of the anime released in 2007-2008, the story follows the daily life of Tomoya and heroine Nagisa in their ordinary high school routine. The second part released in 2008-2009, this is where it reaches the climax and become more entertaining. It has 44 main episodes, definitely worth a watch!

 

 

8. Fire Force

 

 

Fire Force is illustrated by Atsushi Ohkubo, the story is about Shinra Kusakabe, a third generation pyrokinetic youth who gained the nickname "Devil's Footprints" for his ability to ignite his feet at will. He joins Special Fire Force Company 8, which features other pyrokinetics who dedicated themselves to end the Infernal attacks for good while investigating Companies 1 through 7 for potential corruption in their ranks. Shinra begins to learn that his younger brother's abduction during the fire that killed their mother 12 years ago is caused by a mysterious Doomsday Cult that is behind the Infernal attacks.

 

 

9. Code Geass

 

 

Code Geass is a popular anime series, it started with the first season which was released in 2006-2007. The story takes place after the Holy Britannian Empire's conquest of Japan on August 10th, and it is now called area 11. Destructive robotic weapons called Knightmares are used to ensure control over the civilians. The black prince, Lelouch vi Britannia stands out in opposition to the gigantic Holy Britannian Empire after granted the supernatural power named Geass.

 

 

10. Bungo Stray Dogs

 

 

Bungo Stray Dogs is an anime about a kid who was kicked out of his orphanage, Nakajima Atsushi has no place to go and no food to eat. While standing by the river, on the brink of starvation, he rescued a man who was attempting suicide. That man is Dazai Osamu, he is a member of a very special detective agency. Then, Nakajima’s life has changed for the better.

 

 

11. Jojo Bizarre Adventure

 

 

The universe of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a reflection of the real world with the existence of supernatural forces and beings. In this setting, some people are capable of transforming their inner spiritual power into a Stand; another significant form of energy is Hamon, a martial arts technique that allows its user to focus bodily energy into sunlight via controlled breathing. The narrative of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is split into different parts with independent story lines and different characters. The 8 different parts will take you onto a great adventure that is totally worth the watch!

 

 

12. Jujutsu Kaisen

 

 

Jujutsu is written by Gege Akutami, surrounding the character Yuji Itadori, who is an unnaturally fit high school student living in Sendai with his grandfather. He regularly avoids the school track team due to the time commitment required for it, despite his innate talent for the sport.

Yuji decided to join the Occult Research Club; due to the freedom it gives him. The turning point is where his grandfather instils two powerful messages within Yuji on his deathbed, he told Yuji: "because you are strong, always help people" and "die surrounded by people". These two ideas seemingly stem from his grandfather's own regrets. The anime unfolds Yuji journey to follow his grandfather wishes.

 

 

13. The Quintessential Quintuplets

 

 

The series follow the daily life of a poor high school student, Fuutaro Uesugi, a second-year student who comes across a private tutoring gig with high pay, but his clients are his classmates. In fact, all five are quintuplets, each gorgeous but also on the brink of flunking out of school. At the very beginning of the story, it shows that Fuutaro will marry one of the Nakano Quintuplets, but the identity of the bride is unknown until near the end of the story. The series slowly unfold the love story between Fuutaro and one of the Quintuplets.

 

 

14. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

 

 

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya happens to be one of the best anime after 2000s. It was first published as a light novel in 2003, which was adapted into anime in 2006. The anime was created due to a large fan based after the novel was released. The producer tells the story not in a chronological order in order to keep the audiences curious. The story revolves around the daily life of SOS Brigade, which is a school club created by the main character, Haruhi Suzumiya. The plot twist is… she is not a human.

 

 

15. Yuri on Ice

 

 

Yuri!!! on Ice is a Japanese sports anime television series about skating. This anime is produced by MAPPA, directed by Sayo Yamamoto and written by Mitsurou Kubo. The story follows a skater named Yuuri Katsuki who faces a crushing defeat during the Grand Prix finals and heads home, unsure of whether or not he wishes to continue his skating career. After a video of Yuri mimicking Russian figure skater Victor Nikiforov's routine goes viral, Victor decided to become Yuri's coach, much to the disappointment of his coach, his fans, and his fellow Russian skater.

 

 

16. Violet Evergarden

 

 

The famous Japanese animation. Studio Kyoto Animation released Violet Evergarden in 2018, a quality anime series based on the light novel. Violet is an orphaned former child soldier who was enlisted in the Leidenschaftlich army and fought in the war, where she was treated as nothing more than a weapon because of her extraordinary fighting capabilities. After the war, Violet became an Auto Memories Doll at the CH Postal Company, seeking to understand the meaning of the words "I love you," which was said to her by the person she holds dearest, Gilbert Bougainvillea, during the War's final leg.

 

 

17. Kanojo, Okarishimasu 

 

 

Kanojo, Okarishimasu is a romance comedy manga written by Reiji Miyajima which has been serialised weekly in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine sinch July 12, 2017. The story follows college student Kazuya Kinoshita, dumped by his girlfriend for another guy. He attempts to fix the void in his heart through a mobile app called Diamond, he wishes to hire Chizuru Mizuhara, rental girlfriend, to make himself feel better. From their first meeting, she seems to be the perfect girl for him, but is there more to her than what he thinks?

 

 

18. Detective Conan

 

 

Detective Conan is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It was adapted into anime series not long after, this series is about a high school detective, Shinichi Kudo, when Shinichi sees two suspicious men and decides to follow them, he inadvertently becomes witness to a disturbing illegal activity.

When the men catch Shinichi, they dose him with an experimental drug formulated by the Black Organization and abandon him to die. To his surprise he was alive and transformed into a child, he investigates a mysterious organization and solves a multitude of cases while impersonating his childhood best friend's father and other characters. A great mystery that unfolds as you watch the series.

 

 

19. Neon Genesis Evangelion

 

 

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a Japanese anime series, created by Gainax, its first series began in 1995. The anime was written and directed by Hideaki Anno. The series revolve around the organisation called NERV, using large mechas called Evangelions to fight against monstrous beings called Angels. These mechas are piloted by several of the main characters, including Shinji Ikari, Asuka Sohryu, and Rei Ayanami. While the initial episodes heavily focus on religious symbols in reference to the Bible, the later episodes dig deeper into the psyches of each character. 

 

 

20. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

 

 

Satoru Mikami is an ordinary 37-year-old corporate worker living in Tokyo. He is almost content with his monotonous life, despite the fact that he doesn't have a girlfriend. During a casual encounter with his colleague, an assailant pops out of nowhere and stabs him. While succumbing to his injuries, a mysterious voice echoes in his mind and recites a series of commands which he could not make sense of. He reincarnated in another world with a new life as a slime called Limuru.

 

 

21. The Promised Neverland

 

 

Emma, an orphan living in Grace Field House, with other 37 other orphans. They lead a peaceful life, with food, comfortable beds, clean clothes, games and the love of their "Mom", Isabella. Their education is seen as an important part of their development, and Emma with her two best friends Norman and Ray, always excel in the regular exams.

 

The orphans are allowed complete freedom, except to venture beyond the perimeter wall or gate which separate the house from the outside world. One night, Conny is sent away to be "adopted", but Emma and Norman followed Conny. At the gate, they find Conny dead and discover the truth about their existence in what they thought was a wonderful orphanage. The reality is that they’re being raised as meat for demons. Emma and Norman plan with Ray to escape from Grace Field House with other children, but Norman is taken off to be "adopted". What will they do to save Norman?

 

 

22. To Aru Series

 

 

A Japanese light novel, the story sets in the Academy City, located in western Tokyo. The city has a total population of 2.3 million and about 80% of which are students. A high school student, Kamijou Touma, is also one of the students living in the school city. He is living an unhappy life after being evaluated as "incompetent" as he does not possess any supernatural abilities. However, this is actually because of his right hand, the Imagine Breaker, has the ability to negate any supernatural power andalso negates his own luck.

 

 

23. One Piece

 

 

One of the most famous anime series that has ever been produced in Japan. The anime adaption began two years later after the first manga was released, and over 900 episodes have been aired since then. Generally, the story of One Piece is divided into 10 different parts, beginners will find these series very enjoyable as it takes you onto a joyful ride through the adventurous storyline. It starts with the adventures of the main character Monkey D. Luffy and his crews in the pirate world. He sets sail on the sea in search of the ultimate treasure called “One Piece”.

 

 

24. Angel Beats

 

 

 

Angel Beats! is an original anime that was created by screenplay writer Jun Maeda and directed by Seiji Kishi. A story about Otonashi, who awakens only to learn that he is dead. A rifle-toting girl named Yuri explains that they are in the afterlife, and Otonashi realizes the only thing he can remember about himself is his name. Yuri tells him that she leads the Shinda Sekai Sensen (Afterlife Battlefront) and wages war against a girl named Tenshi. Unable to believe Yuri's claims that Tenshi, a little innocent girl is evil, Otonashi attempts to speak with her, but the encounter doesn't go as he intended.

 

 

25. Hunter x Hunter

 

 

A story of Gon, a young boy who lives on Whale Island and his dream is to become the same "hunter" as his father once was. Gon sets out to become a licensed professional hunter who specializes in fantastical pursuits such as locating rare or unidentified animal species, treasure hunting, surveying unexplored enclaves. He bets his life on the challenge of the "unknown", and met Kurapika, Leorio, and Killua who are aiming to pass the same hunter exam. The anime reveals the series of challenges confronting him.

 

 

26. Assassination Classroom

 

 

It unfolds the story where a powerful creature claims that within a year, Earth will be destroyed by him, but offers mankind a chance to avert this fate. He starts working as a homeroom teacher where he teaches his students regular subjects, as well as the ways of assassination. The Japanese government promises a reward of ¥10 billion to whoever among the students succeeds in killing the organism.

 

 

27. Magi

 

 

Magi is a Japanese anime follows the story of Aladdin, a boy traveling on a mysterious continent. Set out his journey to find a mysterious dungeon with hidden treasure. He met Alibaba during his trip, their aim is to capture the labyrinth in order to obtain the treasure. Throughout the film, Aladdin learns his true destiny as he experiences the various encounters and farewells that occur.

 

 

28. Free!

 

 

Free! is set in the town of Iwatobi, Japan. The story is centred around a high school student, Haruka Nanase, who is a gifted swimmer. After encountering Rin Matsuoka, his childhood rival, his desire to compete in the swimming team escalates. Haruka is faced with the reality that he will be competing against swimmers at his level and higher. Despite this, he commits to continuing his swimming career and to compete on the global level. Let’s see where this journey leads him to!

 

 

29. Banana Fish

 

 

Banana Fish is a Japanese mange series illustrated by Akimi Yoshida. The story line is about Ash Lynx, a teenage boy from the streets of New York City who was raised by the infamous godfather of the mafia, Dino Golzine. Now 17 years old and the boss of his own gang, Ash begins investigating the mysterious "Banana Fish"—the same two words his older brother, Griffin, has muttered since his return from the Iraq War.

However, his journey become more difficult as Dino sends out people to go after Ash at an underground bar where he uses as a hideout. At the same time, he met Eiji Okumura, a Japanese boy who came to interview as an assistant photographer. Both of them help unfold the mystery of "Banana Fish". A must watch anime film that will keep your thinking cap busy.

 

 

30. Naruto

 

 

An all-time classic, whether you are an anime fan or not, you sure have heard of Naruto! The anime series finally came to an end in 2017 after running for over 15 years. The story revolves around Naruto Uzumaki, a village boy from Hidden Leaf Village. Naruto had a dream of becoming the best ninja in the village, following the name of the chief ninja of the village, Hokage. However, everyone underestimates his ability, he is set to prove everyone wrong. Naruto and other Ninja characters battle with various Ninja techniques using the chakra energy. This is a great anime to watch to be introduced into the magical world of Japanese animation.

 

 

31. Fairy Tail

 

 

Fairy Tail is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. The series was adapted into anime film and released in 2009, its third and final series ended in 2019, with 328 episodes released. The series follows the adventures of the Celestial Spirit Mage, Lucy Heartfilia after she joins the Fairy Tail Guild and teams up with Natsu Dragneel, who is searching for the ancient Dragon Igneel.

 

 

32. Nanatsu no Taizai

 

 

Nanatsu no Taizai or also known as “The Seven Deadly Sins” was adapted into an anime television series in 2014. The story is about a band of knights in the land of Britannia who had disbanded ten years earlier after being framed for plotting a coup of the Liones Kingdom.

They are the strongest and cruellest order of Holy Knights in the Kingdom of Lioness. Formed by seven brutal criminals, who had all been convicted for heinous crimes and had carved the symbols of seven beasts onto their bodies. After having been framed for murdering the Great Holy Knight, they were indefinitely disbanded, as well as named as criminals. They are the main protagonists of the series.

 

 

33. Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma

 

 

A story about food wars! It primarily sets in Totsuki Saryo Culinary Institute, an elite culinary school located in Tokyo, Japan. Only a handful number of students are able to graduate from this prestigious institution. Soma Yukihira a young teenager aspires to become a full-time chef just like his father. The story follows his adventures as he interacts with his peers and challenges at the Totsuki school, as well as others in shokugeki competitions. Learning that his father was not only a student of Totsuki, but also the second seat in the top ten students rank, Soma plans on becoming the best at the academy.

 

 

34. Steins; Gate

 

 

Steins: Gate is considered as one of the best anime series in recent years. The story follows Rintarou Okabe, a college student who is sick from his two major illnesses, he rents out a room in a rickety old building in Akihabara to set up "Future Gadget Research Institute", trying to invent a time machine. With fellow lab members: Mayuri Shiina, and Hashida Itaru.

The three invented a "Phone Microwave," which performs the strange function of morphing bananas into piles of green gel. Unexpectedly, the Phone Microwave can send emails to the past, altering the flow of history. As they couldn’t contain their excitement, several events occurred that were not planned. Many fans of Steins; Gate visit the town of the setting: Akihabara, Tokyo.

 

 

35. Tokyo Ghoul

 

 

Tokyo Ghoul is a popular dark fantasy manga published on the Weekly Young Jump in 2011-2014, it was adapted into an anime in 2014. The suspense horror/dark fantasy story is set in Tokyo, with monsters that eat people, where the city of Tokyo is living under fear of the mysterious threat of “Ghoul”. Kaneki, an ordinary college student who loves reading, meets Rize, at a coffee shop. Little does he know that his fate will change overnight. 

 

 

 

 

Source

Animatetimes

 

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