1. Hunter X Hunter
2. Ping Pong the Animation
3. Hajime no Ippo
4. Mob Psycho 100
5. Kaguya-Sama: Love is War
6. Attack on Titan
7. Samurai Champloo
8. Kill la kill
9. Hinamatsuri
10. Gintama

I considered more recent anime (like Frieren/Dungeon Meshi) but I am resisting the urge to succumb to recency bias.

• Little Witch Academia OVA 1 (2013)
• Kemurikusa
• Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na
• 86
• Sousou no Frieren
• Akudama Drive
• YuruYuri S1
• Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica
• ODDTAXI
• Nichijou

…or something like that.

1. Haibane Renmei, Gurren Lagann, and GitS: SAC share first place. Ghost in the Shell changed how I rate shows, because I can’t rate a show 10/10 if it doesn’t stand up to Ghost in the Shell. Haibane Renmei and Gurren Lagann may lack the technical perfection that earned GitS its place, but they affected me on an emotional level more than any others. The quiet melancholy and ultimately positive resolution of Haibane Renmei puts it in first place for me, and Gurren Lagann’s unabashed bombastic glorification of Humanity and complete denial of despair is irresistible to me.

2. A Certain Scientific Railgun got me into anime, so it has to be up there. Since I started the show nearly four years ago, I’ve maintained a streak of watching anime every single day. The Sisters Arc remains my favorite individual portion of anime I’ve ever seen.

3. Mushishi is one of a very few series I would call a flawless masterpiece.

4. Shinsekai Yori led to a great many discussions with both myself and others about what constitutes a “human,” which is maybe my favorite philosophical topic

5. Last Exile perfectly captures my favorite world building technique of just plopping the viewer in the world and not explaining anything, plus Range Murata’s character design is peak

6. Orb: On the Movements of the Earth is a series focusing on astronomers studying heliocentrism in 14th century Poland. The basic concept was tailor made for me specifically. The actual show is less about astronomy, and more about the anonymous figures throughout history who never had their names or particular contributions recorded, but were nevertheless instrumental to building both the time they lived in and the future that came after it. It has the longest review I’ve ever written for a show—usually I struggle to come up with more words to say. Talking about Orb, I struggle to stop writing.

7. ACCA: 13 Territory Inspection Department because I really like the deliberate denial of action. A show about a federal government auditor investigating a potential coup, and there isn’t a single action sequence

8. Read or Die (OVA and The TV), because Yomiko Readman is my wife I like the story and all the characters. I’ve never missed characters after finishing a show like I missed the Paper Sisters

9. Ergo Proxy, because it too raises questions about what is “human,” it too sparked a lot of writing from me, and it raises interesting discussions about theology. I struggle to think of any other shows with a decidedly antitheist vibe.

10. Megalo Box, because the whiplash between the first and second seasons was incredible. Never seen a show go from shounen to seinen like that. I found both seasons compelling, but the second season shot it up to 10/10 for me

1. The Dangers in My Heart
2. Frieren
3. The Apothecary Diaries
4. FMA:B
5. Violet Evergarden
6. Princess Mononoke
7. Spy x Family
8. 100 Girlfriends
9. My Hero Academia
10. Skip and Loafer

Dangers is seriously underappreciated by romance enjoyers dissuaded by the premise, but its one of the best coming of age stories I’ve seen. I’m watching and liking Blue Box and Solo Leveling right now.

MOST BASIC LIST EVER

• Trigun
• Spirited Away
• Dandandan
• Solo Leveling
• Cowboy Bebop
• Nausica and the Valley of the Wind
• JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
• Trigun Stampede
• Bloom into You
• Gurran Lagan

In no order whatsoever:

1. Orb: On the Movements of the Earth

2. Vinland Saga

3. Jujutsu Kaisen

4. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

5. Apothecary Diaries

6. Summertime Render

7. Oshi no Ko

8. Chainsaw Man

9. My Hero Academia

10. Dr. Stone

11. (because I couldn’t decide what to ditch from the list above) Dungeon Meshi

I’m still relatively new to anime, having hated on it for my entire life until I actually gave it a chance in 2021, so keep that in mind with my list. I also have a hard time going in numeric order so these are my unordered top 10.

• Ghost in the Shell (the whole franchise)
• Cowboy Bebop
• Legend of the Galactic Heroes (specifically Die Neue These)
• Attack on Titan
• Spy Family
• Anything by Makoto Shinkai (especially Suzume)
• A Silent Voice
• A Sign of Affection (don’t judge me)
• My Happy Marriage (again, don’t judge me)
• Demon Slayer (reluctantly)

I say reluctantly on Demon Slayer because I have my criticisms of it, but the animation and the overall concept are really enjoyable. I just don’t like the super tropey “WaTeRbReAtHiNg 254th FoRm! MeNtAl ExPlAnATiOnS!” thing. I know that’s pretty common in anime but as a writer and former hater, that still drives me nuts. Show, don’t tell.

As for the two “don’t judge me” ones, I say that jokingly because my preferences are typically for mature, complex narratives more than romance stories but I feel like both of those are really maturely-written for romance anime. A Sign of Affection was utterly wholesome and My Happy Marriage’s Cinderella archetype with magic systems and mild political drama is pretty fun, especially given how gorgeous the art is.

As for GITS, that was my gateway to anime in general. After loving Cyberpunk 2077, I wanted more cyberpunk-themed media. GITS was one of the top recommendations so I decided to break down my barrier and check it out. It ended up completely changing the paradigm for me when it came to anime and it’s still probably my number 1 simply because it’s so heavily philosophical and beautifully-made.

LOGH Die Neue These was a funny one for me because one of the first anime shows I ever had recommended to me was the original one from the 80s. I couldn’t find anywhere to watch it (legally) and so I never really gave it a go until I got a Crunchyroll sub for a bit in late 2022/early 2023. I ended up semi-bingeing it and I really loved it, the story was great and the setting had all the right classic Star Wars vibes for me (but with a more complex plot behind it all).

AoT became a favorite for me because I was looking for something to give me at least some of the same vibes that Avatar: The Last Airbender did, in terms of the epic scope of it all. Aside from a very awful first half of season 4 (screw Gabi), I really loved that one.

A Silent Voice is a masterpiece, not just of anime, but of storytelling. Not many stories can deliver me a true gut punch but that one did. Same with Shinkai’s works, all of the ones I’ve seen have been phenomenal stories with some of the prettiest art and animation I’ve ever seen.

Bebop is pretty self-explanatory given its reputation. Aside from a semi-underwhelming finale, the world building was great, the art is still some of my favorite and the plot was remarkably well-written.

Finally, we have Spy Family, which is just about the funniest and most wholesome piece of media I’ve ever seen. That one, I’ve even succeeded in getting some family members into, to the point where I didn’t even have to see Code White alone because they wanted to see it.

Here are mine’s:

1.Chainsaw man

2.Cyberpunk Edgerunners

3.Jujutsu Kaisen

4.Undead Unluck

5.Transformers Armada

6.Jojo’s Buzzard Adventure

7.Mashle

8.Kill la kill

9.Fruits Basket

10.Ninja Kamui

No particular order

1. Naruto
2. Death note
3. Jjk
4. Apothecary diaries
5. Attack on titan
6. Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song
7. Solo leveling
8. 86
9. Hells paradise
10. Pokemon

Mine:

1. Bocchi the Rock!
2. Mushoku Tensei
3. Fullmetal Alchemist
4. Attack on Titan
5. Death note
6. Fate/Zero
7. Steins;Gate
8. Cyberpunk Edgerunners
9. Vinland Saga
10. Sword Art Online

I especially love Bocchi the Rock! I’ve watched it many times.

0. 100, 銀魂
1. 100, 日常
2. 95, らき☆すた
3. 95, ひだまりスケッチ
4. 92, のんのんびより
5. 92, けいおん!
6. 91, 苺ましまろ
7. 91, きんいろモザイク
8. 91, あずまんが大王
9. 91, ゆゆ式

Honourable mention: こげぱん (very short). Copied from my little text file where I keep track. Ratings purely based on vibes and emotions nothing objective or weighted sum of categories.

From my AniList which I regurarly use-

1. A Silent Voice
2. Death Note
3. DanDaDan
4. The Apothecary Diaries
5. Monster
6. Spy X Family
7. Mob Psycho 100
8. Black Clover
9. Stein Gate
10. One Punch Man

I actually do top 15 so here 5 more.

11. Parasyte
12. Pluto
13. Kaiju No 8
14. Redline
15. Tomo chan is a girl.

I have 24 anime on my list with a max score, used to watch a lot but haven’t watched in a long time. 10 of my favorites in alphabetical order, trying to also pick some lesser known ones:

1. Chihayafuru
2. Fuujin Monogatari (Windy Tales)
3. Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight
4. Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku
5. Katanagatari
6. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica
7. Ping Pong The Animation
8. Serial Experiments Lain
9. Uchouten Kazoku
10. Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei (Tatami Galaxy)

Based on my MyAnimeList that I haven’t visited in a long while and evaluated how my scoring would have changed until now. Also I rarely watch anime as much as 15 years ago. Just based on those that I gave 8, 9 and 10/10 and reevaluated just now lol.

1. Senki Zesshou Symphogear series
2. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (series)
3. Made in Abyss
4. Kakushigoto
5. Psycho-Pass (first 1. haven’t watched the other seasons)
6. Uchoten Kazoku
7. Jinrui Wa Suitai Shimashita
8. Kill La Kill
9. Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou
10. Serial Experiments Lain
11. Sousou no Frieren
12. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure series
13. Uchuu Patrol Luluco
14. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
15. Steins;Gate
16. Little Witch Academia
17. Madoka Magica
18. Girls Und Panzer
19. Inferno Cop
20. Afro Samurai

It’s hard to pick a top 10. The top 5 on this list are pretty firmly my favorites but after that there are any number of great shows that could’ve filled the latter 5 slots.

1. Redline - This movie showed me that an anime doesn’t need a complex plot to be awesome.
2. LOOK BACK - Really emotional story about two artists.
3. Kaguya-sama: Love is War - So far this is a perfect adaptation of my favorite romance manga, and my favorite comedy manga. I didn’t want to use the term “romcom” simply because I want to emphasize that it excels on both points individually. Here’s hoping they continue on to finish the second half of the story.
4. Gurren Lagann - Much like Redline, this show is just awesome.
5. Skip and Loafer - Extremely charming story about a girl from the countryside getting accustomed to Tokyo life. Season 2 airs later this year so it’s a good time to catch up if you haven’t seen it!
6. Bang Brave Bang Bravern! - Big gay robots.
7. Legend of the Galactic Heroes - Space opera. The worse modern US politics has gotten the more depressing this show has been to watch.
8. Gundam Build Fighters - The most charming Gundam show. Unfortunately some of the jokes and references won’t land unless you’ve watched an ungodly amount of not-quite-as-good older Gundam shows.
9. Eureka Seven - An excellent mech anime held back a little by a slow first several episodes.
10. Mob Psycho 100 - A story about a boy trying to grow up into the best version of himself he can manage.