Top 15 Most Popular Anime Of All Time, Ranked

You can’t go wrong with the most popular anime of all time! If you’re a true anime fan, you’ve probably seen them all. These titles were chosen for their iconic status and their popularity among anime fans. If you’re new to these addictive Japanese cartoons, this is a great place to start. These anime series have millions of fans all over the world. They are frequently rewatched and recommended to others.

Also, check out Best Isekai Anime of All Time (July 2022)

As you all know, It is not very easy to narrow this kind of list down to only 15 anime, and to rank them on top of that… aargh, so don’t start sending me death threats because your favorite anime didn’t make the list. This list is solely based on my opinion and what I’ve witnessed over the years so just deal with it. And let me know in the comments what’s an anime that you think, should’ve made the list.

15. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

After a horrifying alchemy experiment fails in the Elric household, brothers Edward and Alphonse are thrust into a terrifying new reality. Ignoring the alchemical principle that prohibits human transmutation, the boys attempted to resurrect their recently deceased mother. Instead, Alphonse’s body disintegrated, while Edward lost a leg and then sacrificed an arm to keep Alphonse’s soul in the physical realm by binding it to a hulking suit of armor.

Pinako Rockbell and her granddaughter Winry come to the brothers’ aid. Winry, a bio-mechanical engineering prodigy, uses “automail,” a tough, versatile metal used in robots and combat armor, to create prosthetic limbs for Edward. After years of training, the Elric brothers set out on a journey to find the Philosopher’s Stone, a powerful gem that allows an alchemist to defy the traditional laws of Equivalent Exchange.

As Edward becomes a well-known alchemist and earns the moniker “Fullmetal,” the boys’ journey entangles them in a growing conspiracy that threatens the fate of the world.

14. Jujutsu Kaisen

Yuuji Itadori, a high school student, spends his days either indulging in baseless paranormal activities with the Occult Club or visiting his bedridden grandfather in the hospital. However, when he unknowingly comes into contact with a cursed item, his leisurely lifestyle takes a strange turn. After swallowing the said item, revealed to be a finger belonging to the demon Sukuna Ryoumen, the “King of Curses,” Yuuji finds himself thrust into the world of Curses—dreadful beings formed from human malice and negativity.

As he discovers his own newfound powers, Yuuji witnesses firsthand the threat that these Curses pose to society. When he is introduced to the Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School, he begins to walk down a path that he will never be able to return to—the path of a Jujutsu sorcerer.

13. Sword Art Online

Since the release of the innovative NerveGear, gamers all over the world have had the opportunity to experience fully immersive virtual reality. Sword Art Online (SAO), one of the console’s most recent games, provides a portal into the wondrous world of Aincrad, a vivid, medieval landscape where users can do whatever they want within the bounds of their imagination. Gaming has never felt more alive since the release of this worldwide sensation.

When SAO’s creator traps thousands of players inside the game, the idyllic fantasy quickly turns into a brutal nightmare. The “log-out” function has been removed, leaving the only way out to complete all of Aincrad’s one hundred increasingly difficult levels. To make matters worse, any in-game death becomes permanent, effectively ending the player’s life in the real world.

While Kazuto “Kirito” Kirigaya was fortunate enough to be a game beta tester, he quickly discovers that, despite his advantages, he cannot overcome SAO’s challenges alone. Kirito joins forces with Asuna Yuuki and other talented players to face the seemingly insurmountable trials head-on. However, with difficult bosses and menacing dark cults impeding his progress, Kirito discovers that such tasks are much easier said than done.

12. Tokyo Ghoul

A sinister threat is invading Tokyo: flesh-eating “ghouls” who look exactly like humans and blend in. Ken Kaneki, a reserved college student, hides his face in his books to avoid hearing about the growing crisis. When an attractive woman named Rize Kamishiro approaches him and asks him out on a date, his solitude is shattered.

Kaneki discovers while walking Rize home that she isn’t as sweet as she appears and that she has led him on with sinister intent. He awakens in a hospital after a tragic struggle to learn that his life was saved by transplanting the now-deceased Rize’s organs into his own body.

Kaneki’s body begins to change horrifyingly, transforming him into a human-ghoul hybrid. Kaneki clings to his humanity as he embarks on his new dreadful journey in the evolving bloody conflict between society’s new monsters and the government agents who hunt them.

11. Attack On Titan

Centuries ago, monstrous humanoid creatures known as Titans slaughtered humanity to near extinction, forcing humans to hide in fear behind massive concentric walls. What makes these giants truly terrifying is that their desire for human flesh appears to be motivated by pleasure rather than hunger. To ensure their survival, humanity’s remnants began to live within defensive barriers, resulting in a century without a single titan encounter. That fragile peace is quickly shattered when a colossal Titan breaches the supposedly impregnable outer wall, reigniting the battle for survival against the man-eating abominations.

Following a horrific personal loss at the hands of the invading creatures, Eren Yeager dedicates his life to their abolition by enlisting in the Survey Corps, an elite military unit that combats the merciless humanoids outside the walls. Eren, his adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman, and his childhood friend Armin Arlert join the Titans’ brutal war and race to find a way to defeat them before the last walls fall.

10. One Punch Man

Saitama, who appears unimpressive, has a rather unusual hobby: he is a hero. Saitama relentlessly trained for three years to pursue his childhood dream, losing all of his hair in the process. Saitama is now so powerful that he can defeat any foe with a single punch. However, the fact that no one can match his strength has caused Saitama to face an unexpected problem: he is no longer able to enjoy the thrill of battle and has grown quite bored.

Saitama one day catches the attention of Genos, a 19-year-old cyborg who witnesses his power and wishes to become Saitama’s disciple. Genos suggests that the two become certified heroes and be recognized for their positive contributions to society by joining the Hero Association. Saitama, who is surprised that no one knows who he is, agrees quickly. Saitama embarks on a new journey as a member of the Hero Association, meeting new allies and facing new foes in order to relive the thrill of battle.

9. Spy x Family

Corrupt politicians, fervent nationalists, and other warmongering forces constantly jeopardize the fragile peace between Ostania and Westalis. Regardless of their plots, renowned spy and master of disguise “Twilight” complete dangerous missions one after the other in the hope that no child will have to witness the horrors of war.

Twilight assumes the alias “Loid Forger,” an esteemed psychiatrist, in the bustling Ostanian city of Berlint. His true intention, however, is to gather intelligence on prominent politician Donovan Desmond, who only appears in public on rare occasions at his son’s school, the prestigious Eden Academy. Loid enacts his master plan by enlisting the help of unmarried city hall clerk Yor Briar as his wife and adopting the curious six-year-old orphan Anya as his daughter. He’ll enroll Anya in Eden Academy, where he hopes she’ll excel and allow him to meet Donovan without raising suspicions.

Unfortunately for Loid, even a man of his abilities struggles to play the role of a loving father and husband. And, just as Loid is keeping his true identity hidden, Yor, an underground assassin known as “Thorn Princess,” and Anya, an esper who can read people’s minds, has no plans to reveal their own. Despite the fact that this picture-perfect family is built on deception, the Forgers gradually realize that their love for one another is more important than anything else.

8. My Hero Academia

The emergence of “quirks,” or newly discovered superpowers, has been steadily increasing over the years, with 80 percent of humanity possessing abilities ranging from element manipulation to shapeshifting. This renders the rest of the world powerless, and Izuku Midoriya is one such person.

Since he was a child, the aspirant middle schooler has desired to be a hero. Izuku’s unfortunate fate causes him to admire heroes and take notes on them whenever he can. But it appears that his perseverance paid off: Izuku meets the number one hero and his personal idol, All Might. All Might’s quirk is an inherited ability, and he has chosen Izuku to be his successor!

Izuku enrolls in UA High, a prestigious high school known for its excellent hero training program, after months of arduous training, and this year’s freshmen look especially promising. With his strange but talented classmates and the looming threat of a villainous organization, Izuku will quickly discover what it truly means to be a hero.

7. Death Note

The human world is polluted by heinous murders, petty thefts, and senseless violence. The realm of death gods, on the other hand, is a mundane, unchanging gambling den. Light Yagami, a brilliant 17-year-old Japanese student, and Ryuk, the sadistic god of death, share one belief: their worlds are rotten.

Ryuk releases his “Death Note” into the human world for his own amusement. Light comes across it and laughs at the first of its rules: the human whose name is written in this note will die. The temptation is too strong, and Light experiments by writing a felon’s name, which disturbingly reenacts his first murder.

Aware of the terrifying godlike power that has fallen into his hands, Light—dubbed “Kira”—follows his wicked sense of justice with the ultimate goal of purging the world of all evildoers. The meticulous mastermind detective L is already on his tail, but as Light’s brilliance rivals L’s, the grand chase for Kira becomes an intense battle of wits that can only end when one of them dies.

6. Demon Slayer

Tanjirou Kamado has carried the burden of supporting his family on his shoulders since his father’s death. Despite living in poverty on a remote mountain, the Kamado family leads a relatively peaceful and happy life. Tanjirou decides to go down to the local village one day to make some money selling charcoal. On his way back, Tanjirou is forced to seek refuge in the home of a strange man, who warns him of the presence of flesh-eating demons in the woods at night.

When he returns home the next day, he is met with a horrifying sight: his entire family has been slaughtered. Worse, his sister Nezuko, who has been transformed into a bloodthirsty demon, is the sole survivor. Tanjirou, consumed by rage and hatred, vows to avenge his family and stand by his only remaining sibling. Tanjirou will do whatever it takes to slay the demons and protect the last vestiges of his beloved sister’s humanity alongside the mysterious Demon Slayer Corps.

5. Chainsaw Man

Denji’s dream is simple: to live a happy and peaceful life while spending time with a girl he likes. However, this is far from reality, as Denji is forced by the yakuza to kill devils in order to pay off his crushing debts. He is willing to go to any length for money, using his pet devil Pochita as a weapon.

Unfortunately, he has outlived his usefulness and is murdered by a devil in contract with the yakuza. However, in an unexpected turn of events, Pochita merges with Denji’s dead body and grants him the powers of a chainsaw devil. Now able to transform parts of his body into chainsaws, a revived Denji uses his new abilities to quickly and brutally dispatch his enemies. Catching the eye of the official devil hunters who arrive at the scene, he is offered work at the Public Safety Bureau as one of them. Now with the means to face even the toughest of enemies, Denji will stop at nothing to achieve his simple teenage dreams.

4. One Piece

Gol D. Roger was known as the “Pirate King,” the most powerful and infamous person to have ever sailed the Grand Line. The World Government’s capture and execution of Roger caused a global upheaval. His final words before death revealed the existence of the world’s greatest treasure, One Piece. This revelation ushered in the Grand Age of Pirates, with men dreaming of finding One Piece, which promises an unlimited amount of riches and fame, and possibly the pinnacle of glory and the title of Pirate King.

Enter Monkey D. Luffy, a 17-year-old boy who defies the stereotype of a pirate. Rather than the popular image of a wicked, hardened, toothless pirate ransacking villages for fun, Luffy’s motivation for being a pirate is a pure wonder: the prospect of an exciting adventure that will lead him to intriguing people and, eventually, the promised treasure. Following in the footsteps of his childhood hero, Luffy and his crew travel across the Grand Line, encountering crazy adventures, unraveling dark mysteries, and battling formidable foes all in pursuit of the most coveted of all fortunes—One Piece.

3. Dragon Ball

Gokuu Son is a young boy who lives alone in the woods until a girl named Bulma comes across him while searching for a set of magical objects known as the “Dragon Balls.” Bulma hopes to collect all seven artifacts and wish for a perfect boyfriend because the artifacts are said to grant one wish to whoever collects all seven. Gokuu happens to be in possession of a dragon ball, but he refuses to give it up, so Bulma strikes a deal with him: he can accompany her on her journey if he lets her borrow the dragon ball’s power. With that, the two embarked on an epic journey.

They are not traveling alone. They meet the old Muten-Roshi and want to be disciples of Kuririn on the way, with whom Gokuu trains to become a better martial artist for the upcoming World Martial Arts Tournament. However, it isn’t all fun and games; the ability to grant any wish is a powerful one, and there are others who would do much worse than wish for a boyfriend. To prevent those from abusing the legendary power, they train to become stronger fighters, using their newfound strength to help those around them.

2. Pokemon

Pokémon are fascinating creatures with a wide range of abilities and appearances; many people, known as Pokémon trainers, capture and train them, often with the goal of battling others. Satoshi has always wanted to be a Pokémon trainer, but also a “Pokémon Master,” and with his tenth birthday approaching, he now has the opportunity to do so. Unfortunately for him, all three Pokémon available to new trainers have already been claimed, leaving only Pikachu, a defiant Electric-type Pokémon, to roam the streets. However, this chance meeting would lead to a lifelong friendship and an epic adventure!

Satoshi and Pikachu embark on a journey to become the best, traveling across beautiful, sprawling regions with their friends Kasumi, a Water-type trainer, and Takeshi, a Rock-type trainer. However, peril lurks around every corner. The infamous Team Rocket is always nearby, plotting nefarious schemes to steal powerful Pokémon. Satoshi and his friends will have to thwart their efforts while also attempting to earn the eight Pokémon Gym Badges required to challenge the Pokémon League and eventually claim the title of Pokémon Master.

1. Naruto

A huge demon known as the Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox, attacked Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village, and wreaked havoc moments before Naruto Uzumaki’s birth. To end the Kyuubi’s rampage, the village’s leader, the Fourth Hokage, sacrificed his life and sealed the monstrous beast inside the newborn Naruto.

Naruto is now a hyperactive, knucklehead ninja who still lives in Konohagakure. Shunned by the village because of the Kyuubi within him, Naruto struggles to find his place in the village, while his burning desire to become the Hokage of Konohagakure leads him not only to some wonderful new friends but also to some lethal foes.

So that was it for the list, be sure to let us know what’s your favorite anime from this list in the comments below!

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