What are your Top 10 anime?

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.

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 particular order (maybe)

1. Ghost in the Shell (all seasons, even if they had different names)
2. Dragonball Z (you either wanted to be Goku or Vegeta, simple as is)
3. Claymore (short, and holy fuck did it go hard at times)
4. Fullmetal Alchemist (even if it went off-trial, I still loved it!)
5. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (a more-true to the manga release - also dope!)
6. Samurai Champloo (they had Dutch-speaking characters! Also made me learn a bunch of Dutch history and how we used to trade with the Japanese since 1609 because of an Englishman called William Adams (Miura Anjin)!)
7. Alfred J. Kwak (Kwak the Duck - あひるのクワック- my childhood favorite)
8. Ox Tales/Boes (a childhood classic)
9. Dommel/Wowser/Bigger and Better: Dommel & Ron (another childhood classic)
10. Moomins (a Finnish classic!)

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.

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)

Some of these I haven’t watched in a while, so the order could be different after rewatching them:

1. March comes in like a lion
2. Spirited Away
3. Hunter x Hunter
4. Kaguya-sama: Love is War
5. Made in Abyss
6. Oshi No Ko
7. Delicious in Dungeon
8. Ascendance of a Bookworm
9. The Dangers in My Heart
10. Your Lie in April

I like drama and slice of life the most.

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

1. Your Name
2. Spy x Family
3. My next life as a villainess
4. Fruits Basket (2019)
5. Suzume
6. Shangri-la Frontier
7. Ranma ½
8. Zenshu
9. Samurai Champloo
10. So I'm a spider so what

I just started watching anime again recently after not watching much for over a decade, so a lot of mine are newer

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

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.

1. Hunter x Hunter (2011)
2. Neon Genesis Evangelion
3. Monogatari Series
4. Welcome to the NHK
5. Mob Psycho 100
6. Fate/Zero
7. Re:Zero
8. Chainsaw Man
9. Frieren
10. Sonny Boy

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

I just started watching anime in the last 6 months or so, before that I had mostly only seen Ghibli stuff and like DBZ on Toonami when I was 12. Since I started, though, I've been making pretty good progress through shows. Here's my top 10 of what I've watched since I started this project:

1. Bocchi The Rock!
2. Dungeon Meshi
3. Sousou no Frieren
4. MakeIne: Too Many Losing Heroines!
5. Dandadan
6. The 100 Girlfriends Who Really Really Really Really REALLY Love You
7. K-On!
8. The Quintessential Quintuplets
9. Chainsaw Man
10. Gushing over Magical Girls 👀

I'm in the middle of Blue Box and Roshidere right now and they're both pretty good, though I don't think either will supplant anything in this list. I did not expect to like rom-com and slice-of-life stuff as much as I clearly do.

Here's my list of top 10 anime.

Saved you a click (roughly ordered by release date):

• K-On - I didn't think that I would be into the Cute-Girls-Doing-Cute-Things subgenre. K-On changed my mind.
• Konosuba - I enjoyed it so much that I had to check out its source material, making Konosuba the first Japanese light novel I've read.
• Cells at work! - It is entertaining and educational. Apparently, the information presented is accurate too.
• Cautious Hero

• The Demon Girl Next Door - I didn't think I would be into the Magical Girl genre. TDGND changed my mind.
• 86 - It left such a deep impression on me; possibly my top anime. Also, it is my favourite "Gundam" show.
• Belle - This is my favourite anime movie.
• The Witch from Mercury - It brought me back into anime after a long hiatus. Without WfM, I may not have watch a number of other top anime.
• 100 Girlfriends - Its source material is the only long-running manga that I'm following. Also, it's quite possibly the only good harem anime.
• Frieren - It is The Lord of the Rings of anime. I daresay it is the best produced anime so far.

Here are other 10/10 anime that didn't make the list.

Some reasons for some of them not being among my top 10:

• they are not as special - see reasoning above
• they do not have consistently 10/10 seasons - e.g. Bofuri season 1 vs season 2
• they lack rewatchability for me - I have rewatched at least some scenes, if not whole episodes or seasons, of my top 10 anime
• they are simply not as entertaining as my top 10

Right now, the anime that has a shot at making it into my top 10 is Medalist. It could very well be my first 10/10, and my favourite, sport anime.

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.

No particular order

1. Naruto
2. Death note
3. Full metal alchemist brother hood
4. Apothecary diaries
5. Attack on titan
6. Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song
7. Solo leveling
8. 86
9. Monster
10. Pokemon

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.

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.

Am autistic, can't rate favorites in order or other favorites will get jealous, so. In no particular order:

• Ergo Proxy

Knight's & Magic * Made In Abyss * Eighty Six * Samurai Champloo * To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts * The Ancient Magus' Bride * Gurren Lagann * Darling in the FRANXX * Rising of the Shield Hero (season 1) * Eureka 7 * Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress * Fire Force * FLCL * Mob Psycho 100 * KonoSuba * Kill La Kill * Overlord * That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

• Ghost in the Shell (literally all of it. Usually I hate 3-D model CGI but)

Not in any particular order, but of ~500 completed my top MAL scores are these:

1. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
2. Neon Genesis Evangelion
3. Psycho-Pass
4. Cowboy Bebop
5. Dirty Pair
6. Sailor Moon
7. Ghost in the Shell: SAC
8. One Piece
9. Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt
10. Blood Blockade Battlefront

Special shout outs to DanDaDan, Solo Leveling, Sakamoto Days, and Kaiju #8. They're all pretty good, but they're all still ongoing, and I usually gotta rewatch an anime in full once or twice before I'll consider it a favorite.

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. Re:Zero
2. Steins;Gate
3. Fate (Everything except Stay Night and UBW)
4. Saiyuki
5. Summer Time Rendering
6. Horimiya
7. Clannad
8. Made in Abyss
9. Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi
10. Gundam IBO 11.Natsume Yuujinchou
11. Barakamon
12. Re:Creators

I know, that's more than 10. Love em all anyway.

i don't watch much so here's a top 5 instead:

• Serial Experiments Lain
• Revolutionary Girl Utena
• Nichijou
• Bocchi The Rock !!
• Toradora

1. Fate Zero
2. Fate Stay Night Unlimited Bladeworks
3. Garden of Sinners
4. Neon Genesis Evangelion
5. Attack On Titan
6. Future Diary
7. Code Geass
8. Death Note
9. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 10: Fullmetal Alchemist

Though it’s hard to say for certain Fate Strange Fake might knock FMA off the list once the full series releases later this year

Well, looking at my AniList it's these!

1. PLUTO
2. Delicious in Dungeon
3. BARTENDER Glass of God
4. Made in Abyss
5. Kaguya-sama: Love is War
6. Dan Da Dan
7. LOOK BACK
8. Mob Psycho 100
9. 86
10. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

I've been mostly watching seasonals lately. I really need to go back and watch some more classics. That'll bulk up the top of the list, I'm sure.

In no particular order:
Ghost in the Shell. Nausicaa. Samurai Champloo. Cowboy bebop. Neon Genesis Evangelion. Akira. Ninja Scroll. Trigun. One Punch Man. Chainsaw Man. Totoro. Princess Mononoke.

Edgerunners too, but I played cp2020 so it was more of a great realisation of the world than anime for me personally.

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.