Death Parade
First aired: 2011 | Episodes: 74
Where to watch it: Hulu, Funimation
A show of just 12 episodes, Death Parade feels like something like a Satoshi Kon movie. Two people enter a mysterious bar through a lift, with no idea of how they ended up there, and have to play bar games to the death – as bartender Decim looks on, utterly unmoved. But Chiyuki, Decim’s new female assistant, is much more empathetic – can she stop the inexplicable torture?
Death Parade is built on a novel and compelling idea, and it features great animation and offers an examination of a new character’s story within each episode. It’s emotional, sometimes shocking and very memorable.
Chihayafuru
First aired: 2011 | Episodes: 74
Where to watch it: Crunchyroll
A excellent sports anime will turn you into a fan of the plot, characters, and sport. Games like go and shogi are sports, so Chihayafuru, a show about a card game, is a sport as well. It surely exudes the same zeal. Karuta is the name of the card game in question, and it is all about memorizing poems. If that doesn’t seem particularly compelling, that’s because the program is well aware that it has a lot of explaining to do in order to explain a rather obscure game to its characters and viewers.
Chihayafuru manages to show the appeal of karuta via its no-nonsense heroine Chihaya, who, once she enjoys something, stands up for it come what may. It also presents karuta in a way that really maykes you wonder how this game of all things could work that well in an anime. Sure, it’s all a bit niche, but that’s the great thing. Here, you’re introduced to a part of Japanese culture you might otherwise miss out on completely.
One Piece
First aired: 1999 | Episodes: +1003
Where to watch it: Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix (US)
It’s nearly difficult to have even a passing interest in anime without running upon One Piece. It’s based on the world’s most popular manga, which has been around for decades and is still unfinished. Overall, it’s a harrowing experience, but it’s also a tribute to author Eiichiro Oda’s work. The story of Monkey D. Luffy, who wants to become a pirate king and acquire the legendary treasure One Piece, is basic at its core, but Oda created a fantastic universe around it and takes his time introducing you to all of its elements.
Luffy builds a crew of characters who go through thick and thin together, he grows stronger in body and mind, and he forms alliances with just as many characters as he makes enemies of. Whether it’s magical fruit that gives superpowers, merfolk or world-spanning war, One Piece truly has it all, and just by looking at it art of Luffy and his friends, you wouldn’t fathom the depth One Piece hides. Yes, it is a lot to get into in 2021, but this show is super popular for more than one good reason. If you’ve watched it as a kid, try it again with the new Funimation dub, you’ll be surprised what difference it makes, too.
Barakamon
First aired: 2014 | Episodes: 12
Where to watch it: Funimation
Barakamon promotes rural living – the idea that out on the countryside, people still form real bonds and agree to become part of a community. However, that isn’t the reason Seishuu handa moves from Tokyo to a remote little Japanese island where flights only land every couple of weeks. A promising calligrapher, Handa’s star was on the rise, until he assaulted a critic. Now his reputation is in tatters and he suffers from severe art block, both problems a getaway should solve.
The minute he arrives, Handa realises none of the villagers are planning to let him do his work in peace, especially not the small Naru, a bundle of energy who’s made Handa her new playmate. Throughout the series, their bond grows, and Handa learns important things about himself and how to let go of his fears and ambitions for long enough to create art with a lasting impact.
gatsu no Lion (March Comes In Like A Lion)
First aired: 2016 | Episodes: 44
Where to watch it: Crunchyroll
If you’re at a point in life when you don’t know where to go next, if you’re lonely and maybe a little disillusioned, 3-gatsu no Lion will at first be a bit of a gut punch. But 3-gatsu no Lion is one of those rare anime that face up to difficult emotions like this, and that makes it an absolute must-watch. It tells the story of the 17 year-old Rei Kiriyama, an elite shogi player who buckles under the weight of expectations fellow top players and his foster family place on him.
Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World
First aired: 2016 | Episodes: 41 (Ongoing)
Where to watch it: Crunchyroll
The isekai genre of anime is filled with characters who end up transported to another world and are instantly gifted with all of the strength any good power fantasy deserves. While there have been other isekai that twist that formula slightly, it’s hard to beat the sheer terror that Re:Zero manages to convey so regularly.
It’s tricky to discuss Re:Zero without spoiling any of it, but it’s basically a very dark version of life in another world. The hero, Natsuki Subaru, is incredibly obnoxious at times, but his struggles throughout the series turn him into a fairly likeable protagonist.
Steins;Gate
First aired: 2011 | Episodes: 24 + 1 OVA and 1 alternate episode
Where to watch it: Netflix (UK), Funimation (US)
Adapted from the visual novel of the same name, Steins;Gate follows self-described mad scientist Rintaro Okabe and his band of misfit friends as they accidentally invent a device that can send text messages back in time. In its early episodes, you’d be forgiven for mistaking the show as a slice-of-life comedy – its main character an irritating mix of pompous jerk and goofball klutz that makes him pretty hard to like.
As the story progresses, though, Steins;Gate reveals a hidden depth. As you learn of the underlying traumas that haunt its characters, Okabe is revealed to be more sympathetic and noble than he first appears. And as their experiments with time travel take a dark turn
Megalo Box
First aired: 2018 | Episodes: 13
Where to watch it: Crunchyroll
Megalo Box, which was established to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the boxing manga Ashita no Joe, isn’t very complicated. Megalo Boxing is a popular sport in which fighters engage while wearing metal frames called Gears to improve their combat ability. A young fighter enters an elite competition in order to leave the slums and earns unexpected popularity by battling Gearless.
The reason to watch Megalo Box is its unparalleled, effortless sense of style. Its retro design, its eclectic soundtrack, its defiant end title card proclaiming “not dead yet…” There’s a likeable cast of characters, sympathetic backstories and moral quandaries, to be sure, but the joy here is rooting for the underdog as he survives a series of brutal, frenetic battles.
Death Note
First aired: 2006 | Episodes: 37
Where to watch it: Netflix
When high school student Light Yagami discovers a book that can kill anyone whose name is written in it, he sets about creating his idea of utopia—offing high profile criminals in an effort to eradicate crime. As the legend of a mystical killer of killers grows across the world, an eccentric detective known only as ‘L’ sets about trying to bring him down. What follows is a fascinating game of cat and mouse, as Light and L battle to discover each other’s identity.
Despite its fantastical concept, Death Note is an accomplished crime thriller. The convoluted rules of the Death Note itself are slowly unveiled, giving you the chance to appreciate the depths of Light’s scheming. And the way L goads Light into making mistakes – even just revealing more information then he intended – is always a delight. The second season takes a drastic dip in quality, but those first 25 episodes are masterfully constructed.
Mob Psycho 100
First aired: 2016 | Episodes: 25
Where to watch it: Crunchyroll, Funimation
Mob is a middle school kid who happens to have incredible psychic powers, and he inevitably uses them to fight other psychics in outlandish battles. But Mob Psycho 100 deviates from most series of its kind by being a surprisingly deep character study, especially in its second season.
Mob is gentle to his core, and cares deeply about growing up into a better person without taking advantage of his psychic gifts. His mentor, Reigen, has no psychic powers but is an inveterate fraud and constant comic relief.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
You can’t go wrong with either animated version of Fullmetal Alchemist, but the second adaptation of the manga, Brotherhood, is ultimately the better of the two. It stays faithful to the manga’s plot and moves briskly through an imaginative story that weaves together politics, mystery, war, and science (or, let’s be real, basically magic). The heroes and villains using alchemy to reshape their bodies and the environment makes for spectacular and clever fights, and you can count on animation studio Bones to always make it look great. Brothers Alphonse and Edward Elric are the anchor, a pair of wunderkinds searching for a mythical philosopher’s stone to repair the damage they caused to themselves in a transmutation gone horribly wrong. What starts as a grand adventure slowly and confidently expands into a deeper story, as concerned with the morality of war and political corruption as it is flashy action scenes.
Samurai Champloo
First aired: 2004 | Episodes: 26
Where to watch: Hulu, Funimation
Samurai Champloo follows the same loose structure as Cowboy Bebop, with a trio of misfits – wild ronin Mugen, quiet and precise ronin Jin, and chipper young girl Fuu – encountering all kinds of oddball situations as they travel across the country.
Most episodes are standalone adventures, but Fuu’s central quest to find ‘the Samurai who smells of sunflowers’ gives it structure, popping up every so often. The characters all have their own mysteries that slowly unravel over the 26 episodes, and the action scenes are some of the most stylish samurai battles ever animated.
Hunter X Hunter
First aired: 2011 | Episodes: 148
Where to watch: Netflix, Crunchyroll, Hulu
A beloved adaptation of one of the most beloved shonen manga of all time. Hunter X Hunter starts out conventionally: young boy Gon goes on an adventure and meets an odd cast of characters undertaking the Hunter’s Exam, a ridiculous test of endurance, smarts, and fighting ability that leaves most dead and a select few licensed to basically go anywhere in the world and do anything they want.