Best Anime of All Time

A masterwork. So carefully crafted, the slower paced and seemingly inconsequential first handful of episodes made retroactively essential, its annoying characters and their quirks similarly endearing and amusing within just a few episodes. Steins; Gate undoes its own flaws, which you don't often see.
The simple yet elegant music warrants a mention too, punctuating very well ('Believe Me' is a track that I could listen to for hours). This is a gruelling rollercoaster, examining the butterfly effect.
The series ended after 24 episodes, which I consider a perfect ending. The team came back later with an epilogue, an OVA that some consider not part of the canon, which I agree with, mainly due to it being a little unnecessary (not bad per se, just not needed). So I can't really tie that to the season. For its consistency, how it will be even better on a second viewing by its nature, Steins; Gate is #1.

Unparalleled for its first 25 episodes (particularly those first dozen), and if it had ended there, Death Note would be #1. But the last third was quite underwhelming and sucked the life out of the series. Still, those 1st two-thirds are so impressive that Death Note averages out as better than nearly any other anime, and I can stop there on a rewatch. A cat-and-mouse game between two geniuses, one determined to rule the world in anonymity while the other, a detective, looks to hunt him down.

Such a solid range of characters between the heroes and the villains, lots of intrigue too.
Repetitive dialogue would be the main flaw (I didn't need to be reminded of Edward's desire to get his brother's body back a hundred times over) yet other than that, few complaints. FMA:B is at the top of a lot of anime lists for good reason.

For such an old and relatively under the radar show, you need a very solid opening to draw new viewers in and it delivered in spades. For a battle shonen, the initial arc is very subversive, not what you'd expect at all.

After that, to call Yu Yu Hakusho action packed would be putting it mildly; episodes consist of one scrap after another. A total lack of filler as well, which is remarkable for a 100+ episode series. Though more interpersonal material, depth for the main cast was rather delayed, both were there eventually, and the villains certainly had their focus on top of that. The 2nd half actually became rather poignant. Well paced combat, not dragged out, solid main crew, memorable antagonists as well.

The supernatural elements are supposedly much more prevalent in the manga, where they're sparing in the anime and might leave you scratching your head by the end (the last 2 episodes being pretty wild and random). Hearing Guts' haunting theme got me into the series and the ethereal journey as well as the fate of one of the main characters is something that I'm unlikely to forget.

For just a 10 episode series, each episode being 20 minutes long, it certainly got a lot done. Exhausting, rather perverted (as so many anime bizarrely tend to be), it deserved more episodes to better smooth out the narrative in my opinion, however I was thoroughly impressed with it overall. Better to want more episodes than fewer. Considering its imdb score when compared to the others in my top 10, I think it's somewhat underrated.

1995 is ancient for tv, so I was pretty stunned with what they were doing back then, covering child soldiers, their understandable PTSD and depression as well as the indifference from the adults who need these kids to do their duty for the sake of humanity. Its characters became archetypes for so many in the following decades of anime. I will say that it couldn't fulfil its potential in terms of what they were setting up, the last maybe 5 or 6 episodes being pretty bizarre. Entire episode montages that were hugely jarring, some ludicrous character turns and the notorious final 2 episodes that saw the budgeting issues result in 20 minutes screenshots for the most part, punctuated by the creator's breakdown and sudden obsession with psychology.

With all series, anime in particular, you've got to weigh the good with the bad and rate it overall, and for what Evangelion was for the most part, I cannot not recommend it.

I found Parasyte to be refreshingly mature, reminiscent of Death Note in many ways; its setting, some of the music and other than one or two lapses, a steady sense of logic. It's also centred around a young man coming into his own, changing as the series goes on. While I liked the first half more than the second, it wasn't night and day by any means, the divide typically seen when a statement like that is made.

Tonally it's pretty light hearted, which makes its many savage moments quite stark. While it's not one that'll hook you on its story like the above series, the character interactions are engaging and when combined with the show's willingness to kill main characters, the overall impact of Akame ga Kill is much more profound than I initially expected it to be capable of.
It's fun, very watchable, imaginative in its use of powers and I liked it more and more as it went on.

S1 showed potential, although it was a little shallow for my liking, bogged down with so much time wasting in an already short season. Still, it's optimistic, colourful, easy to watch and has good action scenes.

I've seen both films, which were quite refreshing after S1, feeling like extended episodes with some spectacular animation too.

S2 is a huge improvement over S1, fixing its flaws and showing me why this series is such a juggernaut. Almost twice as many episodes were made as S1 yet without any sense of filler. Characters were more developed, things got a little darker and it was action packed throughout. Highlights were the tournament and Stain especially.

On S3 and 4, definitely felt them padding out that 25 episode requirement; had they trimmed down to 20, cut out the fat, both seasons would be roughly on par with S2. Still, lots to enjoy, the pacing just isn't as strong.
S5 was frustrating. The pacing was a mess, too many recaps, too much padding and exposition, lacking structure overall too. The Joint Training Arc was good and the villain arc eventually turned out alright but it wasn't enough. The third film I found rather naff, substandard animation too until the third act.

Be wary of the impulse to give up too early; the first few episodes are its weakest, taking a little warming up as it figures out its style, though once it hits its stride? It's reminiscent of MHA, and not just because of the shared voice cast. Watch up to the 4th episode if you're struggling, that showed some of the potential, 9 and 10 if you're still flagging and if 14 and 15 aren't your thing then give up(!).

The pacing of its episodes did bother me, being as little as 15 minutes long because of how much time is wasted. Not one but TWO opening sequences, often a beginning and mid-episode recap (a post-break catch up that hasn't been edited out for streaming services, a minute long too where typically you'd expect 10 seconds) and then a goofy post-credits segment on top of that. Which results in individual episodes lacking time for depth. This is fine for multi-episode battles, which are thankfully frequent, though solo episodes suffer for it.


Still, positives: I like the magic variations, the different factions and class distinctions, the humour and a wide variety of affable characters who each receive focus. The animation's hit and miss (not a popular studio, as I gather) but has plenty of highlights. The consistency in the series' episodes is pretty noteworthy for such long seasons (1-3 are fifty episodes each), especially up to the 120th episode, barring the odd misstep. And while the first 20 eps of S3 were very action packed, the following 30 were mostly a meandering series low point, only 12 of them being notable. Bogged down with multiple recap episodes (why??) and the most inconsequential filler that served to really dampen my enjoyment of Black Clover. Luckily, S4 learned the lessons there.

The protagonist definitely parallels Light Yagami from Death Note again, what with the plotting, voice and general psyche. Albeit without nearly as much resistance, which admittedly didn't hamper my enjoyment. Definitely one of the prettiest anime in terms of the vibrancy of its colours.

S1- Definitely one to stick with, after the first 2 episodes failed to meet my expectations. It struggled to cement what it was trying to do yet by the end, I was pleasantly surprised about how good it had gotten. The premise is similar to One Punch Man.

S2- Only slightly below S1 but really, wasted potential. It took until two-thirds of the way through for Claw to reappear and because zero time was spent developing them, they were undercooked. The boss, the son's abrupt turn and supposed friendship with the brother (they only spoke for 30 seconds!), there was no depth. They had a chance to get really dark and interesting, but instead chose to have fakeouts.
Got a bit talky towards the end too, all of the villains conveniently being convinced not to fight. They shouldn't have wasted time with two eps of Reigan being lonely and a fraud (1 would've sufficed), plus the faux-marathon (it was only a 5k! That's like 1/8th of a marathon!) and college student episodes were needless too. The fight scenes throughout were well done but with better pacing and plot/character development, this season could've been what people pretend it was.

S3- Definitely the weakest season. Felt somewhat aimless (the alien episode was peculiar). The broccoli episodes and the final arc were fine I guess.

The first romance anime I've watched. The 2nd half gets a bit drawn out and the ending is messy, regardless, much better than I expected. I can see why this features highly on others' lists. Some issues that I had with characterisation actually made sense in hindsight, so it would benefit from a second viewing as well.

Devilman Crybaby meets Mob Psycho. Strange place to leave a cliffhanger and some of the audio for the aliens could be frustratingly hard to understand, other than that? Lived up to the hype.

S1- Gratuitous physiques aside, the pacing really made this an absolute breeze to watch, had some laughs too. One of the better opening seasons that I can recall.

S2- Not quite as sharp as S1, with the rehashed quitting subplot that was so quickly undone as well as the silly incapability of telling the 5 apart (even with different hair colours and styles, even after hearing their distinct voices), but still enjoyable.

The film was basically a half season, albeit slow (with a pointless subplot about the biological father) and then the pick itself was rushed. Really disappointed with how this story was concluded but ultimately, it's always about the journey, not the destination. The first 80% of this series was engrossing at least. The subtitles at the beginning of the film spoiled who the bride was too, so turn those off!

S1- Despite stretching the limits of absurdity at times, particularly moments earlier on, it really grew on me. While Anya could grate with the screaming, her quieter moments were genuinely funny. There's an eclectic mix of ideas here that works quite well. It's also the first slice of life anime that I've enjoyed.
S2- Less than half the length of the admittedly, very long S1, about a third of S2 was completely lacklustre, the rest of it was decent. Not much in the way of forward momentum though. The film was your typical average, forgettable, extended episode where time would've been better spent on more actual tv episodes. Be aware though that the English dub on Netflix isn't the same as for the tv series; it sounds very similar but it's different, and is so stilted that it's unwatchable, sounding like AI. Go to Crunchyroll or elsewhere for the real English dub.

S1- Incredible animation, memorable characters, great fight scenes and some funny lines.

S2- A step down from S1, sure, particularly in the animation but even then, being on par with typical anime doesn't make it bad. It's just not outstanding as it was in S1. There was also a hesitation to animate impressive fight scenes for the most part as well. Considering the negativity over S2, after finally getting around to watching it? It was fine, really.

S1- Unnecessarily sexualised (aren't all anime, right?) and a bit unbalanced but when it was at its best (episodes 8 and 9), I was taken aback.

S1- Really something else for roughly two-thirds of it. It sets up a good niche for the first 10 episodes, mature and surprisingly dark, before becoming disappointingly childish for the most part, over the course of the next handful of episodes. This is due to the introduction of two silly characters (one of them being pretty unbearable) but hold out; what follows is a 7 episode stretch that's even better than those first 10 episodes. And said annoying character has some of the best scenes in the entire season, shockingly enough!

I particularly like how they deal with character depth; it should be jarring to break up intense battles with extensive retrospective character insight but it works so well, particularly with the villains. Even as they're dying too, which adds so much more weight to the clashes. You don't often see this. The last 5 episodes are a mix of filler, childish again, fine enough and a return to creepy, dark form in the finale. Demon Slayer is all over the place, although it's generally worthwhile.

I have a number of complaints about S2. There were 3 eps that were undercover, but nothing was happening. No real investigating, getting to know or suspect people there. The 6 episode long battle had some real irritating pacing, barrages of exposition, lame flashbacks with terrible dialogue, one of the wives was about as annoying to listen to as Zenitsu was last year as well. And the mouth animation is abysmal, just yapping. Which doesn't make sense when you see how much effort goes into the general animation and action scenes. The battle itself, while bogged down by these factors, was well worth watching. But yeah, it was bogged down.

S3 had the excesses of S2 (needless immaturity, horrible pacing) with none of the heights (animation and impressive fight sequences).

S4 was a new low. Filler's one thing but there was no story to really tell. No character arcs, there was nothing really here. You might point to the penultimate episode but even that was just exposition and the finale was comprised of dreadfully stodgy dialogue; it's been years since I've heard conversations that are this amateurish (and the fans gave it 9.8 on this site!).

S1- Clearly low budget, although the action scenes were well done. It's like Netflix's heist version of The Boys and its first 3 or 4 episodes especially are particularly impressive. I will say that any time the old man was dominant in a scene, the pacing suffered for it, although gauging it as a whole? It wasn't a major issue. Super Crooks to me is what people act like Invincible was, with a fraction of the recognition.

This turned out to be more than I expected (I've only seen S1, for the record). I will say that for a series featuring protagonists no older than 11, it's not an easy thing to keep an older audience engaged, let alone handling their plotting without making said kids seem too grown up. That's quite the tightrope, and while I think it lagged just a little at some points in the middle, The Promised Neverland was a triumph. It was bookended by its best episodes, with its last 2 being particularly noteworthy.

Iconic. Everyone's heard of Evangelion but everyone's watched DBZ. It made an entire generation anime fans without even realising what anime was. Who can forget the Faulconer score, the tension (which notoriously led to a lot of filler), superb animation for the time, the iconic action scenes, characters and voice acting from the heroes to villains.

Better than expected, considering how GT failed comparatively. It has similar highs and flaws (filler) as DBZ, so you should enjoy one if you liked the other. The arcs are pretty decent, starting with Beerus, Frieza, the first tournament, Goku Black and then the last 2 tournaments.

Really enjoyed this when I was younger, probably one of the best theme songs as well. However I think it peaked after the first 24 episodes, meandering a lot after that as the journey to the tournament was way too elongated, before settling into a Gundam-style mould in terms of battles, which was fine enough. The ending wasn't too popular, if I recall.