Top 20 Most Popular Anime Of All Time

 

these are the top 20 most popular anime

of all time

that's right for this list we're going

to be looking at the anime that are

commercially successful the world over

and ranking them on both their sale

figures as well as how beloved they are

within fan communities

what's your favourite anime of all time

let us know in those comments

number 20 : code geass 

exiled from his home of britannia in japan which his nation has conquered lelouch seeks to

instigate a rebellion and take revenge

on his father and his homeland what's

happening here is

to accomplish this he utilizes the

show's title ability kiosks to make

anyone he sees do exactly what he tells

them as well as leading a rebellion as a

masked vigilante in a giant neck

i am

zero code gears casts a wide net and has

a little something for everyone from

mecha fans to fans of psychological

battles to those who enjoy school anime

reeling them all into one exceptional

series and with its revival movie and

other projects it appears kia's hype is

at an all-time high

number 19 : one punch man 

who says superheroes have to be serious saitama

may look goofy and unimpressive and he

becomes a superhero for fun

but it just so happens he's the

strongest one alive

his ability to defeat nearly any

opponents with just one punch earns him

disbelief and occasional admiration as

his attempts to turn pro lead to many

intense and often funny battles it's

raining out so let's get this over with

the series's wonderful contrast between

serious action and comedic moments is

emphasized through superb animation and

expertly crafted fight scenes and being

featured on both netflix and tsunami in

the states it's no surprise it became so

widespread killer move serious series

serious punch

number 18 : Sword Art Online

sure online you can hate on it

all you want but the original works

still stand as one of the highest

selling light novels of all time

something that seemed to translate to

the first season of the anime upon

release

trapped inside a virtual video game

world players kirito and asana have to

traverse a gauntlet filled with enemy

players monsters and the occasional

awkward love scene

no wait i didn't

i mean i i just its immense polarization

has only served to earn it more

attention which might explain how it's

landed itself multiple spin-offs and

sequels and they just keep getting

better

i will survive 

number 17 : bleach

 i've come here to rescue you

got it a supernatural shonen battle

series bleach follows ichigo kurosaki a

human tuned soul reaper whose conflicts

with other worldly foes take him and his

friends into various dimensions of the

afterlife

the show's emphasis on youthful

rebellion really strikes a chord with

younger viewers and it's great fight

scenes an enormous cast of characters

ensure that older demographics find

something too and i can't allow myself

to get beaten by someone like you

while bleach may have fallen off sharply

in popularity towards its conclusion the

highs are still fondly remembered by old

fans and joyously discovered by new ones

and we can't wait for the anime

continuation this won't be the last time

that i'll see you

so who cares how many times i say it

that's for sure 

number 16 : full metal Alchemist 

franchise you don't get recognized as one of the 

greatest anime of all time without doing 

something right

when the original series exploded onto

the scene it captivated fans everywhere

with the elric brothers tale of

redemption the artistic portrayal of

alchemy as well as the characterization

of the fearsome homunculi

then along came brotherhood and ramped

everything up to 11 with a narrative

much more akin to creator hiromu

arakawa's original work i became

convinced i could solve everything with

alchemy

but i couldn't possibly have been more

wrong its philosophical views and

amazing action scenes have cemented it

as a top tier series that many anime

lovers consider sacred

number 15 : neon genesis evangelion

one of the most influential and critically

acclaimed mecca anime series of all time

neon genesis evangelion depicts the

tribulations of shinji ikari as he's

forced to battle massive angels by his

diabolical father

i'll do it

i'll pilot it evangelion combines

psychological examinations of its

fundamentally flawed characters with

some excellent mecha action and plenty

of symbolic imagery

it or adore it the series introduced a

whole generation to the medium while

also turning it on its head earning it

an enduring popularity and several

remakes and sequels

and with netflix now holding the license

it's even more accessible than ever

number 14 : fate stay night 

franchise are you worthy to be

my master a massively successful

multimedia franchise which began as a

visual novel series the fate franchise

usually follows a succession of powerful

muji who engage in battles with one

another using summoned spirits in order

to attain the holy grail which will

grant them one wish

the series has had a huge number of

sequels spin-offs and tie-ins across

various media and the anime have proven

especially popular

the top-notch animation and wide variety

of entry points has made it very

accessible and therefore well liked and

it doesn't hear that fake grand order is

one of the most popular apps in japan

what's this for

thank you

no the thanks go to you 

number 13 : sailor moon franchise 

it was the first successful shojo anime to hit the

western mainstream the titular character

is considered to be one of the greatest

female superheroes of all time and has

since acted as a benchmark for numerous

other series that have followed in her

footsteps

i shall write wrongs

and triumph over evil

and that means you so yeah sailor moon

is a big deal her empowering example to

young girls remains nothing short of

inspirational while the fight scenes and

romantic elements could still be enjoyed

by plenty of other demographics

it's little surprise she and the rest of

the senshi came back for an encore 20

years later via sailor moon crystal

number 12 : detective conan

with over 8000 episodes under its belt over 20

movies and zero signs of slowing down

there is only one truth and it's that

conan's crime solving exploits are

likely going to outlive us all

something of a national treasure it's

maintained its place as the fourth

highest selling manga of all time for a

fair while now with over 200 million

copies sold

we're not sure how many more crimes that

the pint-sized detective can solve by

this point but given how there's still

no end in sight the anime is bound to

continue its steady stream of success

number 11 : my hero academia 

one of the more recent anime sensations

sweeping the globe my hero academia takes 

place in a world where most people have

superpowers

this story follows deku a once powerless

boy now granted one by his hero and the

adventures of he and his classmates on

the road to becoming professional heroes

while its superhero roots certainly make

it easy to get into my hero academia

expertly balances a large cast of

diverse and unique characters exciting

emotionally satisfying action and an

intriguing ongoing storyline about the

nature of heroism making for a

fantastically addicting anime and you

can't beat that soundtrack

number 10 : yu-gi-oh

franchise spanning 20

years and counting yukio and its various

sequels focus on characters playing the

dual monsters card game in increasingly

dramatic circumstances

you're too late you're a paladin attack

although their casts vary common themes

and content include their young casts

battling with a card game with real

stakes themes of friendship as well as

various ridiculous hairstyles

the tie-in card game and various video

games and other merchandise have helped

make yu-gi-oh not just one of the most

popular anime but also one of the

highest grossing media franchises ever

number 9 : mobile suit gundam 

franchise i'll kill you

gundam has a much storied history

a seminal mecca franchise the gundam

series pioneered the genre by

emphasizing more real world science

behind the fantastical concept of giant

mecca suits and has been tremendously

influential in anime as well as other

forms of japanese media and its legacy

is still going strong and making history

today

the word gundam has become something of

a byword for giant piloted robots and

when the title of your franchise becomes

synonymous with your genre you know it's

popular

is that the name of the mobile suit or

something else

number 8 : jojo's bizarre adventure 

while the franchise

already had quite a number of fans

stemming from the long-running 80s manga

its popularity wouldn't explode until

the release of the 2012 anime series

spanning multiple generations of the

joestar family this franchise is so

deeply rooted within the anime fandom

that you'd be hard-pressed not to see

the parodies and references that litter

the internet

with five parts already aired and the

latest stone ocean making its way to

netflix as an exclusive the jojo

franchise has certainly made its place

and won't be going anywhere for a long

time

number 7 : attack on titan

like a banner of hell this series

exploded onto our screens and almost

instantly got itself a following of

hardcore fans

blending together visceral action dark

fantasy and mature elements that have

continued to rattle us over the years

humanity's ongoing battle against the

titans has managed to carve itself a

spot as a modern classic among anime

lovers

the manga has sold over 71 million

copies the world over and the anime has

multiple seasons if it keeps up the pace

then it's fair to say a lot of golden

oldies are gonna be dethroned

number 6 : death note

the anime that

struck gold with but a single series

this now legendary title managed to

establish itself as one of the smartest

and most beautifully crafted examples of

the occult detective genre ever put to

both screen and paper

this world is

rotting after finding himself in

possession of a notebook capable of

taking lives genius sociopath student

like yagami vows to fix the world by

cutting away those he views as rotten

only to find himself brought into

conflict with an intellectual equal

known as l i want to tell you

both lead characters have such a

profound impact that there are still

some who see light's murderous actions

as justified while others still insist l

is still the sexiest man alive go figure

i had a feeling you'd say something like

that.

number 5 : pokemon

what started out as

an innovative video game managed to turn

itself into a miniature empire

one that spawned an anime series that

somehow has found a way to keep going

even to this day

hoping to be the best like no one ever

was ash ketchum took the place of the

player as he set out to become a pokemon

master oh hi pikachu

while he hasn't quite managed to achieve

that title yet or escape puberty for

that matter his adventures have still

managed to earn him hundreds upon

hundreds of episodes numerous female

sidekicks and pretty much the guarantee

that sometimes quantity of equality can

win the day

that's an a catchy wrap

knitter and monkey finish

king jolteon dragonite gasoline only

time for

number 4 : kimetsu no yaiba 

 

in such a short amount of time demon slayer

has grown into a mega hit that

absolutely no one saw coming

propelled by its absolutely stunning

anime adaptation by the masters at ufo

table manga sails have been through the

roof surpassing even the latest volumes

of one piece

and to top all that off the movie based

on the mugen train arc not only became

the highest grossing anime movie of all

time but the highest grossing worldwide

film of 2020

even the prime minister of japan is a

fan

number 3 : naruto 

it was saturated with filler episodes and

gained infamy for a few narrative

decisions

you're just bent because you don't have

the guts to do what i do yet through it

all the knuckle-headed ninja persisted

to give us a series that despite its

flaws created a world filled with so

many brilliant moments that fans were

more than happy to push past its hurdles

its manga remains a best seller it

managed to dish out a whole slew of

original movies and even got itself a

sequel series that has surprisingly

managed to capture some of the best

parts of the original

who would have guessed 

number 2 : one piece 

it's the best-selling manga of all

time only just entered the last third of

its epic narrative saga and somehow

managed to blend batshit insane fight

scenes with political poignant

commentary

to say that this property is a

masterpiece would be an understatement

thankfully the crazy quality of the work

hasn't only earned it a die-hard set of

loyalist fans who wait on each new

chapter and episode like hungry wolves

but the way it bypassed all manner of

shonen conventions has made it the gold

standard for all adventure anime that

have come afterwards i'm not going

anywhere

they're coming

they're all coming to rescue me it will

truly be a sad day when luffy has to

hang up his hats

number 1 : dragon ball

franchise redefining the west's

perspectives on how action and animation

can go hand in hand it's fair to say

that this series especially in the case

of dragon ball z was something of a

revolution for many opening the gateway

to the wacky wild and wonderful stories

that could be found in anime

its impact certainly hasn't been

forgotten which might explain why its

sequel series dragon ball super has

managed to recapture the populace's

adoration of goku and his friends as

they take on the might of intergalactic

combatants

plus we're pretty sure that the

kamehameha is now ingrained into the

human race's psyche how's that for

popular.