Do you want to see the best anime? We spent almost the entire year of 2021 exploring best anime on crunchyroll, Netflix, Funimation, and other streaming services best animes 2020 to compile our selection of the best anime shows. Our specialists have chosen different genres of shows that they enjoy keeping our selection as diverse as possible. We continually update this section to include fresh anime that you’ll want to try out popular animes.
Anime has never been more popular, and now there are far too many ways to enjoy it. Netflix develops its anime, but best animes Funimation and Crunchyroll, which the same company now owns, have extensive catalogs. With so many distinct anime to choose from, selection can be difficult. Therefore this collection amine to watch is here to help you choose the finest of them.
So, here are our anime list picks best animes for the Other best anime to watch right now.
Best anime: 30 Best anime series
1. Demon Slayer
No best anime listing in 2021 would be complete without discussing the greatest shonen anime of the time, which is now available on Netflix. While the sleek action is evocative of Naruto’s greatest moments, Demon Slayer distinguishes out for being suspenseful. Everything changes for Tanjiro Kamado, a young man who lives in Taisho-era Japan, as demons murder his entire family. Nezuko, his sister, appears to live, but she turns into a monster. Nezuko, clinging to her humanity, refuses to assault Tanjiro, providing him hope of recovery. There’s no better way to locate one than to be a demon slayer.
The plot isn’t particularly complex, but the sibling connection between Tanjiro and Nezuko provides a solid foundation for the entire series. Tanjiro, in particular, is an endearing character, the kind of good-hearted kid you wouldn’t anticipate in such a harsh tale. Kimetsu no Yaiba manages to breathe new life into a tired setting and features high production standards throughout, from best new anime animation to voice acting and soundtrack.
2. Barakamon
Barakamon best anime emphasizes rural lifestyle, the belief that people still create true ties and choose to become a part of a society when they are out in the countryside. Seishuu Handa, on the other side, isn’t moving from Tokyo to a small Japanese island where airplanes only arrive every few weeks. Handa was a talented calligrapher whose fame was rising until he attacked a critic. His image is now in shambles, and he is experiencing an acute artistic block, both of which could be alleviated by a vacation.
Handa realizes as soon as he comes that none of the locals, notably the young Naru, a ball of energy who’s become Handa’s new playmate, are going to let him do his task in privacy. Handa learns important factors of himself and how to get over his worries and goals for long enough to make work that has lasting influence all through the series.
3. Violet Evergarden
Violet Evergarden, one of Netflix’s initial blockbuster anime, created an entirely new universe with its Telesis continent. For years, two countries have been at odds. When it’s over, a “war doll” is abandoned: Violet Evergarden, an android created for the fight but has since developed emotions. She needs to get a new meaning now since the battle is over, so she works for a postal service that also promises to have its employees effectively ghost-write messages for their clients. These messages are emotional matters, and Violet is often unaccustomed to these feelings, so she must first hear to and comprehend her clients’ difficulties before assisting them in the mental recovery process.
This isn’t a lighthearted comedy; it’s about the new anime 2021 challenge of appropriately confronting and processing emotions. It’s about the tragedies of battle and the relief that comes with a sense of closure. Violet Evergarden is 13 episodes of painfully exquisite therapy, and if you need a bit of a cry, this new anime 2020 is the series for you.
4. Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru
Any good sports anime will keep you on the edge of your seat, hooked to every play and every moment of team camaraderie. On the other hand, long-distance track sprinting isn’t always a game that makes people breathless with excitement. Therefore Production I.G., a company that knows its sports, dials it back a notch.
Meet Kakeru, a previously ace sprinter who lost his buddies and club due to a high school incident. As a university student, he is offered to live in a run-down dorm. It comes out that the hostel is home to forced members of a running club, all of whom have been recruited by Haiji Kiyose to compete in the Hakone Ekiden, Japan’s most renowned collegiate relay race.
It’s a crazy scheme, best anime shows of all time but the series follows you from a group of young people who refuse to even consider it to hesitant training and, eventually, the race. Each of them is dealing with personal concerns, and if there’s one thing you won’t anticipate from a sports anime, that’s one of them bawling like a baby if one of them achieves success. Run with the Wind has a lot of emotional complexity, and it’s refreshing seeing an anime like this focus on young men’s difficulties instead of high school students.
5. 3-gatsu no Lion
If you’re at a crossroads in your lives, if you’re lonely and perhaps a little disappointed, 3-gatsu no Lion best anime will come as a bit of something like a gut punch at first. 3-gatsu no Lion, on the other hand, is one of the few anime that confronts such challenging feelings, making it a must-see. It follows the narrative of Rei Kiriyama, a 17-year-old great shogi player who collapses under the burden of pressure put on him by fellow star players and his new family.
Rei was never a proper adolescent, and he has no idea how to cope with the isolation he suffers as a consequence. A chance meeting with three sisters, Akari, Momo, and Hinata, is about to change that. Momo is determined to help Rei reclaim his life and discover what it is to be a member of a family.
Even what is the best anime if Rei tries to push the boundaries of his emotional maturity, it’s lovely stuff. 3-gatsu no Lion does an excellent job of having you cheer for him as a man and a shogi player as he matures.
6. Death Parade
Death Parade is a 12-episode anime series that seems like a Satoshi Kon film. Two strangers enter a strange bar via an elevator with no clue how they got there and are forced to play bar games towards death while bartender Decim stands by, unmoved. But Chiyuki, Decim’s new female secretary, is far more sympathetic; will she be able to put an end to the incomprehensible torture?
Death Parade is based on a unique and captivating concept, with what anime to watch excellent animation and each episode delving into the story of a different character. It’s dramatic, shocking at times, and extremely unforgettable.
7. Chihayafuru
An best anime sports anime will turn you into a fan of the storyline, characters, and game. Games like go and shogi are sports, so Chihayafuru, a series about a card game, is also a sport. It surely exudes the same zeal. Karuta is the name of the card game in question, and it is all about remembering poems. If that doesn’t seem extremely compelling, magic anime on hulu that’s because the program is well aware that it has a lot of explaining to explain a rather obscure sport to its characters and audience.
Chihayafuru succeeds in demonstrating the attractiveness of karuta through its no-nonsense heroine Chihaya, who, when she likes anything, gets up for it no matter whatsoever. It also portrays karuta in a manner that makes you question how, of all stuff, this game can function that well in an anime. Granted, new gen anime it’s all a little niche, but that’s part of the appeal. You’ll be presented with a facet of Japanese culture that you might otherwise overlook.
8. One Piece
It’s nearly difficult to have even a vague interest in anime without running upon One Piece. It’s modeled on the world’s most popular manga, which has been around for years and is still unfinished. Overall, it’s a harrowing experience, but it’s also a tribute to writer Eiichiro Oda’s work. The tale of Monkey D. Luffy, who wants to become a pirate king and acquire the fabled treasure One Piece, is basic at its core, but Oda created a fantastic universe around it and tried his best to present you to all of its elements.
Luffy assembles a group of characters he goes through thick and thin, develops tougher in body and brain, and creates alliances with nearly as many people as he opposes. One Piece has it all, whether that’s mystical fruit that grants abilities, merfolk, or a world-spanning battle, and just glancing at the artwork of Luffy and his companions won’t give you a clue as to how deep it goes. Yes, there’s a lot to cover in 2021, but there’s a reason why this series is so famous. If you’ve seen it as a youngster, you’ll be astonished at how much of an impact the new Funimation dub creates.
9. Re: Zero
The Sekai anime genre is full of protagonists who are suddenly transported to some other world and have all the strength that any good power fantasy merits. Whereas other isekai have tweaked the formula significantly, it’s difficult to match the pure horror that Re: Zero manages to communicate daily.
It’s difficult to talk about best anime Re: Zero without giving anything away, but it’s essentially a dark portrayal of life in another universe. Natsuki Subaru, the hero, is unpleasant at moments, but his hardships make him a fascinating character throughout the series.
There’s much to like about the world’s history, which is slowly revealed during each episode. This is not an anime for the weak of heart, but it is a must-see for those ready to grit their teeth when challenges arise.
10. Aggretsuko
It’s not easy to grow up. It can be downright stressful at times. You’ve got a lot of expenses to pay, office politics to cope with, and social ties to keep up with. You either need to let out a guttural extreme metal scream as a kind of release… or risk collapsing. It’s a good thing Retsuko, the shy protagonist of this delightful Sanrio anime can accomplish just that.
Aggretsuko is terrifyingly relatable, and anyone who feels discouraged by modern life’s demands should see it. It brilliantly highlights anime no a variety of scenarios that we’ve all experienced at some point in our life, from working under a tyrant employer to attempting to please your matchmaker mother. Aggretsuko, in an amusing and sometimes heartbreaking way, holds up a mirror to the entire world.
While Retsuko may appear to be an ordinary office worker, her secret is that she can howl like the best death metal vocalists in the world, and it’s the only reason she stays sane. Aggretsuko is an amazingly therapeutic and calming anime.
11. Pokémon
If you’ve never seen Pokémon previously, you might not want to start at the top and binge-watch the entire series. But perhaps you should see it, and not just for nostalgia reasons. The Pokémon anime is more than simply a savvy marketing technique for a video game series; it’s also a genuinely enjoyable pleasure. It spawned an entire genre of episodes centered around teenage characters making incredible friends, assisting others when they can, and, of course, competing in Pokémon competitions.
Pokémon maybe a children’s cartoon, but the lessons it teaches are timeless. Aside from that, the animation is excellent, and the seemingly endless variety of little creatures is a marvel in itself.
12. Your Lie in April
Kōsei is a young pianist prodigy, but his mother’s death causes him to have a nervous breakdown, preventing him from playing. He doesn’t appear to enjoy anything since he is depressed. One day, his buddies pull him to a nearby violin competition when he hears Kaori, a young girl with a compelling personality who ends up breaking him out of his routine. Kaori, on the other hand, isn’t without her issues.
Your Lie in April is a deeply moving story about sadness, love, and sickness. Instead of being a lunatic pixie dream girl who exists solely for the benefit of Kōsei, Kaori and Kōsei’s relationship is defined by a give-and-take connection. It’s a narrative about enjoying life to the fullest and letting go of worries without downplaying how difficult things can be.
13. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
Never has a title more suited a show than ‘Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure,’ since that is precisely what it is. It certainly is an anime that elicits a strong love or hate emotion in many individuals, from capturing Hirohoki Araki’s distinctive graphic style to plot lines and scenes that may frequently be labeled as camp.
You follow various members of the Joestar household through numerous decades throughout eight seasons. Jonathan Joestar’s conflict with his archenemy Dio Brando begins in the late nineteenth century with English aristocrats. Mixed martial arts, vampires, and Japanese interpretations of England abound. There would be more paranormal events than you can shake a stick at as descendants of the Joestar family attempt to not only stop the Brandos and also save the world with their powerful fists. It doesn’t make good sense, but you have to see it to understand it.
14. Mob Psycho 100
Thanks to Studio BONES’ unrivaled animation, inventive characters, and then a whole lot of emotion, Mob Psycho 100 is easily the best action show of the last several years. Mob is a middle school student with amazing psychic abilities, which he inevitably utilizes to combat other psychics in bizarre battles. However, most popular anime 2020 unlike most similar shows, Mob Psycho 100 is a remarkably thorough character piece, notably in its second season.
Mob is a compassionate soul that cares profoundly about becoming a nicer person without abusing his psychic abilities. Reigen, his tutor, has no psychic abilities but is a serial con artist who provides frequent comic relief. Mob Psycho 100 is more intelligent and thoughtful than any of its competitors, and it manages to surprise you at every step. Also, it’s more animated. The writer got his start with the fantastic parody show One Punch Man. Mob is superior.
15. Ping Pong the Animation
Most sports anime is a cozy, trope-y leisure program with a pleasant cast of characters ready to plod along for a couple of hundred episodes. Ping Pong the Animation is no exception despite depicting a traditional story about two buddies attempting to become great ping pong players. And it’ll most likely look nothing like any other anime you’ve seen yet. Masaaki Yuasa kept the good anime manga’s graphic style, with rough and exaggerated figures and scenes split up into sections like a comic, directed by Taiyo Matsumoto.
It may appear ugly initially but stay with it to see the animation develop into vibrant, bizarre ping pong games that represent the characters’ psyche as much as the sport’s actual action. Ping Pong has a lot of charm, but it’s the friendship between Smile and Peco that sets it an all-timer.
17. Cowboy Bebop
The all-time best anime golden ticket. Cowboy Bebop is a TV show about a group of misfit bounty hunters who scrape by as they travel through our solar system. The genre is as diverse as the cast: it mainly falls into the western space category, yet one episode may focus on treasure hunting, the very next on thriller, and then the next on yakuza drama.
Cowboy Bebop is occasionally goofy and strange, yet it is generally more mature than other anime shows and more delicate with its ideas than Japanese writers are. There’s a purpose it’s so popular that a live-action Netflix adaptation was made more than 20 years after it was first aired.
18. Neon Genesis Evangelion
Evangelion is so huge, so significant in Japanese culture’s past that it’s worth viewing nonetheless even if you don’t care for mecha programs about enormous fighting robots, which Eva is at its core even if you despise protagonist Shinji Ikari, a miserable adolescent who can’t cope with his puberty, daddy issues, or the bizarre save-the-Earth situation in which he finds himself.
Even if you’re upset that, by the conclusion, Evangelion hasn’t quite figured out how to tie up the loose ends of the secrets, themes, and characters it’s built up along the way. Evangelion has so much: it’s rich with religious imagery, psychoanalysis, and what-the-hell situations that have influenced innumerable games and anime since the 1990s. We ensure that after viewing Evangelion, there will be at least one connection in whatever you’ve viewed or played that will make you think, “Aaah, now I get it.”
19. My Hero Academia
The greatest shonen fighting series on the market right now. My Hero Academia is an anime adaptation of the X-Men, except that most humans, instead of a select few, gain Quirks or odd abilities. The show follows a group of high school students preparing to become the next generation of superheroes, and it’s a great binge-worthy option thanks to a lively cast and quick pacing.
My Hero Academia is shamelessly serious best anime, which could be cheesy in the hands of the wrong people, but it succeeds here, and you’ll be pumping your fists when hero Midoriya and his friends fight with all their might. The fact that My Hero stars an honest-to-god wiser, more sophisticated take on Superman than anything we’ve seen in a film or television rendition of the DC hero is perhaps the most startling aspect of the film. All Might is a priceless gem.
20. Haikyu
Don’t worry about it. Please don’t mind! When good anime Haikyu’s high school volleyball team loses a point, they say to one another. That positivity permeates the entire series, which portrays volleyball as a fascinating sport in existence. Haikyu is a traditional sports anime that has been fine-tuned, featuring a cast of underdogs who connect over their love of the game as they battle against increasingly proficient rival schools.
At the heart of the program, the juxtaposition of pint-sized, eternally hyperactive spiker Hinata and haughty setter Kageyama, who become an unbeatable duo when they learn how to work along. You don’t have to be interested in volleyball to enjoy this show. They’re just great young men who know how to win.
21. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Both animated versions of Fullmetal Alchemist are excellent, but Brotherhood, the second production of the manga, is the superior of the two. It sticks to the manga’s premise and travels quickly through an innovative story that blends politics, mystery, battle, and science. The heroes and villains employing alchemy to modify their bodies and the surroundings make for beautiful and smart battles, and animation company Bones always delivers.
The anchor is a couple of wunderkinder named Alphonse and Edward Elric, who are looking for a legendary philosopher’s stone to heal the harm they made themselves in a transformation gone tragically wrong. What begins as a great adventure gradually and confidently develops into a deeper story, equally concerned with the ethics of war and political wrongdoing as it is with showy action scenes.
22. Natsume’s Book of Friends
Natsume best anime has had a difficult childhood due to his orphan status and the fact that he can see yokai or demons, which nobody else can. This leaves him a bit of a loner, but his life quickly makes more sense when he gets a book from his late grandmother. She could even see demons too, and in the Book of Friends, she “bound” many of them, including her, which is why they are now pursuing Natsume.
The show’s basic premise is that good anime Natsume searches for these demons to regain their names and unbind them. From episode to episode, and sometimes even minute to minute, it’s a series that manages to be both depressing and uplifting. It’s a slice-of-life series with a mysterious twist, but what makes it special is how it exploits strange encounters to illustrate human stories. The opportunity to witness Natsume develop over several seasons prevents the formula from becoming redundant.
23. Samurai Champloo
The follow-up to Shinichiro Watanabe’s Cowboy Bebop is almost as wonderful. It substitutes samurai-era Japan for space and jazz for delightfully anachronistic hip hop. Samurai Champloo has a similar loose framework to Cowboy Bebop, with a trio of outcasts, crazy ronin Mugen, quiet and precise ronin Jin, and cheerful young girl Fuu experiencing all sorts of different events as they journey all across the country.
The majority of the episodes are stand-alone experiences, but Fuu’s fundamental goal is to discover “the Samurai who smells of sunflowers” provides structure, reappearing from time to time. The characters each have their own stories gradually revealed throughout the 26 episodes, and the combat scenes are among the most stunning samurai bouts ever animated. The music sets the standard for the program, as it does for all of Watanabe’s shows, and his usage of modern hip hop gives Champloo a truly original tone.
24. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Gurren Lagann, Gainax’s boisterous, over-the-top mecha masterwork, epitomizes the Japanese notion of warrior spirit better than any other show. This is the same animation company that brought us Evangelion in the 1990s, yet their approaches to enormous robots couldn’t be more dissimilar. The world of Gurren Lagann starts with humanity hiding below, fearful of the world above. It all comes to a head when huge robots in space throw entire solar systems at each other.
It’s a tale about the strength of the human spirit, never giving up, and then using that will along with a gigantic freaking drill to puncture the skies at every turn. It’s a unique series that can get your heart racing with anticipation while also making you cry in the same minute. It will meet your expectations each time you say it can’t get any more dramatic, emotional, or over-the-top. This is the epitome of unbridled anime action.
25. Mushishi
A sad, introspective series about a traveling doctor specializing in “mushi,” ghostly beings that feel dreamed up from myth and legend. Every episode feels like a reflection on life in some way because they’re all self-contained tales that leave you thinking after 20 minutes.
Ginko, the protagonist, engages with both the sad and every day, imparting knowledge while treating a small boy’s hearing problems or assisting a guy in his pursuit for a legendary rainbow that can be touched. Good anime Mushishi’s attitude to man’s relationship with the environment is calmer and more thoughtful than Studio Ghibli’s films, but commonalities exist.
26. Hunter X Hunter
One of the most well-known shonen manga adaptations of all time. Hunter X Hunter normally begins enough: a young boy named Gon embarks on a journey and meets an unusual cast of characters who are preparing for Hunter’s Exam, an absurd test of endurance, intelligence, and fighting prowess that leaves the majority dead and then chooses few with the freedom to travel anywhere in the globe and do whatever they want.
It’s a lighthearted action series featuring lovable characters from the start, particularly the constantly optimistic, pure-hearted Gon. It takes a while to get to what made Hunter X Hunter a genre classic, with significantly more attention paid to personal development and psyche than to who would out-punch who. It’s a constantly developing series that excels at sowing seeds that will bear fruit in enormous, revelatory times a dozen hours later.
27. Paranoia Agent
A mystery child on rollerblades and wielding a bent metal bat begins striking people on Tokyo’s streets at critical junctures in their lives. What seems to be a horror film is much more. Satoshi Kon, who unfortunately died young of cancer, is known for movies like Perfect Blue and Paprika, which examine the human psyche and effectively use animation methods to blur the boundaries between reality and fantasy.
Paranoia Agent is a collection of rich character studies that, at first glance, appear unrelated but eventually connect to form a broader plot. It’s strange, funny, creepy, and unlike anything else out there. Except for Satoshi Kon’s films, of course. Once you’ve finished with Paranoia Agent, go after them.
28. FLCL
Coming-of-age stories can be approached in a variety of ways. You can gradually examine teenagers’ contradictory emotions and relationships, exhibiting their growth through many meticulous events. Alternatively, you might have your protagonist grow an actual horn out of his head since he’s horny, depict adulthood as a fierce fighting robot, and utilize guitars as overt sexual metaphors.
This is, of all, FLCL, best anime a series so dense in bizarre meaning that most of it will appear strange at first sight. It’s weird, but it’s not all random. From the time Haruko, a crazy, pink-haired Vespa rider, smacks Naota tween inside the head with her guitar and starts his adolescent odyssey, it all signifies something. FLCL doesn’t depict adolescence realistically, but you might not have to comprehend everything to recognize that it beautifully conveys how it feels. It’s all there: wild, overpowering, perplexing, tragic, and empowering. Also, the robot is quite cool.
29. Yuri!!! on Ice
Even now, anime has a difficult connection with a homosexual representation. It’s a source of cheap humor or opportunistic titillation in the worst circumstances. Because of this, Yuri!!! on Ice is quietly groundbreaking in its portrayal of sexuality and gender. After a heartbreaking loss, Yuri, a renowned figure skater, travels to his hometown, only to be startled when his idol emerges and offers to train him.
The blossoming bond between them is complicated and nuanced. The show develops archetypes of the precociously talented, capricious teacher, the silent, devoted student, before gradually destroying them as each character is exposed more thoroughly to the audience and themselves. Although the good anime program is purportedly a sports anime, the show’s wonderfully choreographed, fluid figure skating segments are more about the way it allows its characters to disclose their hidden talents than about the contest. It also has a great opening theme, that’s always a bonus.
30. Steins; Gate
Steins; Gate features self-described mad scientist Rintaro Okabe and his group of misfit pals as they inadvertently build a gadget that can transmit text messages back through time, based on the visual novel of the same title. You’d be excused for mistaking the series for slice-of-life humor in the previous episodes, as the central character is an obnoxious mix of a pretentious jerk and silly klutz who is difficult to enjoy.
Steins; Gate, best anime on the other hand, uncovers a secret depth as the story progresses. Okabe is shown to be more compassionate and honorable than he first seems when you discover more about the deeper traumas that plague its characters. And as their time-traveling investigations take a sinister turn, the program transforms into a compelling, urgent mystery that you won’t be able to put down.
31. Megalo Box
Megalo Box, established to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the fighting manga Ashita no Joe, isn’t very complex. Megalo Boxing is a popular game in which boxers wear metal frames named Gears to improve their combat capabilities. A young fighter enters an elite competition to leave the slums and earns surprising popularity by battling Gearless.
Megalo Box is worth watching because of its unmistakable sense of flair. Its retro style, eclectic soundtrack, and defiant end title board stating “not dead yet…” contributed to the film’s success. To be sure, there’s a amimae nice cast of people, sympathetic subplots, and moral quandaries, but the fun here is pulling for the underdogs as he battles his way through a series of harsh, furious battles.
32. Death Note
When Light Yagami, a high school student, finds a book that can murder anybody whose name is inscribed in it, he sets out to create his utopia by assassinating high-profile criminals to diminish crime. As word spreads throughout the world of a supernatural murderer of killers, an eccentric investigator known only as ‘L’ rushes out to stop him. Following that, it’s an interesting good anime game of cat and mouse as Light and L try to figure out who the other is.
Death Note is a cool animes competent crime story, despite its fanciful idea. The Death Note’s perplexing rules are gradually revealed, allowing you to grasp the depths of Light’s deception. And it’s always a joy to see L prod Light into making a mistake – even if it’s just disclosing more information than he planned. The quality of the second season plummets, but the first 25 episodes anime list are brilliantly produced.