Jujutsu Kaisen
Top 15 Popular Anime Series
If you’re on the hunt for great fights, solid visuals, and awesome characters, then Jujutsu Kaisen is just for you. Built on the backs of classic Shonen like Naruto and Neon Genesis Evangelion, the show follows Yuji Itadori, a goofy high school student who one day finds himself possessed by the evilest curse of all time, Sukuna.
Itadori is then given the choice of execution or hunting down the rest of Sukuna’s fingers and digesting them (I know, gross) in order to get rid of the evil curse for good. Despite the fact that he’ll still be executed once he gets them all, Yuji agrees, and an epic adventure that uncovers an entirely new world of spirits and curses begins.
The thing that really makes Jujutsu Kaisen so popular is how it manages to take all of the cliches of shonen and hone them into something really enjoyable. Even though it doesn’t have the deepest plot, the characters and story are written, how things are paced, and so much more make for a hell of a ride.
Jujutsu Kaisen is available on Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll.
One Punch Man
Top 15 Popular Anime Series
Most storytelling conventions would cast the protagonist as the underdog always fighting an uphill battle who is only able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat through sheer willpower. One Punch Man bucks this trend fantastically by presenting to us a character who is so overpowered, he himself is annoyed by it.
That character is Saitama, a superhero who cannot fly or use mythical powers of any kind. He’s just strong. So strong, in fact, that he defeats most of his foes with a single punch. His apathy and lack of gumption set a unique tone, and despite the best efforts of the villains that stand before him, villains who get an A+ for effort, all will fall to the might of the one punch man.
It is available for viewing on Hulu and Netflix.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean
Top 15 Popular Anime Series
Yes, this is indeed a JoJo’s reference, as just like all of the other stories that came before it in the series, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean is one of the most popular animes in the entire industry. This time around, we follow Jotaro Kujo’s estranged daughter Jolyne Cujoh, fresh off a 15-year sentence at Green Dolphin Street Prison after being set up by her ex-boyfriend.
Now out, Jolyne is set on living the rest of her life as a free woman. Unfortunately, fate has other plans, throwing obstacles such as parallel universes, evil Stand users, and, of course, Dio Brando, who is now in the form of a green homunculus called the Green Baby.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean is full of all of the great action and comedy the series has become known for over the years, as well as a slew of interesting new characters, ranging from everything from an inmate who falls in love with her to an evil, amnesic weather reporter.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean is available on Netflix.
My Hero Academia
Top 15 Popular Anime Series
It’s hard enough for Saitama to qualify as a superhero with nothing more than his exquisite strength, so one can only imagine how lousy Izuku Midoriya must feel: born into a world where powers are the norm, he was gifted with none whatsoever. Nada. Bupkis. His is the power of… participation, really. Regardless, he doesn’t give up and enrolls in a school for heroes in training.
My Hero Academia is a compelling piece of narrative based on the unexpected challenges and twists that life takes for Izuku as he learns that perhaps there is more power residing deep down within him than he ever thought possible. Anyone who has ever felt overwhelmingly average can surely relate.
Enroll in My Hero Academia via Crunchyroll, Hulu or the Funimation website. …Don’t literally enroll, though. It’s not a real school, guys.
Vinland Saga
Top 15 Popular Anime Series
What is a true warrior? That is the question that Vinland Saga asks. On the surface, that may sound like a simple question, but anyone who has watched this anime knows that there’s so much more to it, which is what makes the show so great.
Vinland Saga is a classic tale of revenge, as we follow a young boy, Thorfinn, who is set on defeating the man who killed his father. The twist is that he must work for this man, Askeladd, completing a bevy of different tasks in order to earn the honor of dueling him.
While a bit more grounded in reality, the action of Vinland Saga is fast, fluid, and satisfying, featuring some of the best fights in anime. Alongside this, the story is top-notch, as many more narratives unfold parallel to Thorfinn’s quest for revenge that make for a compelling historical tale.
Darling in the Franxx
Top 15 Popular Anime Series
Nothing like a good old mech suit anime to get the blood pumping, eh? Darling in the Franxx may sound one X short of something a bit unsavory, but it is in actual fact based on a post-apocalyptic future where our very survival is threatened by beasts called klaxosaurs. Yes, klaxosaurs. Just go with it.
Humanity’s last hope lies within paired children who pilot the Franxx, one of whom, a presumed prodigy known as Hiro, flunks out of the academy for failing to synchronize with his partner. He joins up with the elite pilot Zero Two, a mysterious girl with klaxosaur blood in her veins and a name that sounds like it was the brainchild of an edgy thirteen-year-old.
You can watch Darling in the Franxx via Crunchyroll, Hulu or Funimation.
My Dress-Up Darling
Top 15 Popular Anime Series
Slice-of-Life anime really have to do something special to stand out nowadays, as it seems like everyone is trying to create the next big series that everyone can relate to. While it may have some fan service-heavy moments, My Dress-Up Darling is arguably one of the most wholesome and adorable animes to come out in the genre in a while.
My Dress-Up Darling is all about Wakana Gojo, a first year high school student that dreams of becoming a hina doll craftsman, just like his grandfather. Due to this hobby, and a shy personality, the teen is a bit of a loner, spending most of his time creating clothes and hina doll parts in his room. That all changes the day he meets Marin Kitagawa.
One of the most beautiful and popular girls in school, the unlikely pairing of Kitagawa and Gojo comes to be when she notices how good at sewing he is. When she asks him to help her follow her dream of becoming a cosplay model, the two begin to bond over the passion.