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I am Yu Alexius. I talked about Chinese anime (donghua), Japanese animations; sharing anime reviews, updates, and recommendations.

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10 Most Phenomenal Anime of All Time

bl-anime-psychoweird
 Naruto New Three Way Deadlock
 Naruto New Three Way Deadlock
What makes an anime phenomenal? This is usually a very common question that we encountered every time we see any blog posts about phenomenal anime. Aside from the fact that it must be very popular, which I believe many people nowadays simply thought that phenomenal and popular anime are just the same in spirit. However, a phenomenal anime have that depth that even majority of the most popular anime series of past and present didn’t have. It is like a precious gem hidden in a pile of copper or silver, if not rocks. A phenomenal anime must be revolutionary, in a sense of ideas and theme imposed on its story, it must be able to produced a new wave of once in a lifetime trends, endure popularity through the test of time, embraced the hearts, spirits, and minds of its viewers. It must be remarkably extraordinary in a sense that its fandom evolved into a cult following that couldn’t be easily swayed by new trends from other popular anime series.

By Era

In every era, there’s always those certain anime series that leaves a mark in our mind and hearts. Those anime are considered phenomenal, acknowledged to be the best of their respective eras. In fact, some anime from past eras, even those from 70s and 80s can still compete with the popularity of today’s anime series proving that they endured the test of time. These anime eventually became legendary in the anime history.
The following are the best anime from every eras starting from 1970 up to the present.

Early decades – 1979

  •  Maetel.full.337108 10 Most Phenomenal Anime of All Time
  • Space Battleship Yamato (Uchu Senkan Yamato)
  • Galaxy Express 999 (Ginga Tetsudo Suri Nain)
  • Lupin III
  • Astro Boy
  • Mobile Suit Gundam
  • Cyborg 009
  • Doraemon

 

1980-1989 Period

  • Dragon Ball
  • Saint Seiya
  • City Hunter
  • Fist of the North Star
  • Ranma ½

 

1990-1999 (The so-called “Golden Era of Classic Anime”)

YuYu Hakushu
Yu Yu Hakusho
  • Sailor Moon
  • Neon Genesis Evangelion
  • Pokemon
  • Cowboy Bebop
  • Weiß Kreuz
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!
  • Digimon Adventure
  • Yu Yu Hakusho
  • Flame of Recca
  • Hunter X Hunter
  • One Piece
  • Slam Dunk
  • Berserk
  • Rurouni Kenshin
  • Cardcaptor Sakura

 

2000-2009 (New Era of Classic Anime)

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
  • Samurai Champloo
  • Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
  • Code Geass
  • Gurren Lagann
  • Naruto
  • Baccano!
  • Death Note
  • Bleach
  • Monster
  • The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
  • Fairy Tail

 

2010-Present (The Modern Era of Anime)

Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan
  • Sword Art Online
  • Attack on Titan
  • Tokyo Ghoul
  • Re:Zero
  • Food Wars!
  • Yuri! on Ice
  • My Hero Academia
  • Haikyuu!

 

Another way to categorized these phenomenal anime is by its group.

The World Masterpiece Theater

An anime staple with series based on different famous and classic storybook, among its phenomenal show includes the following:
Little Prince Cedie
Little Prince Cedie

 

  • Heidi, Girl of the Alps 
  • A Dog of Flanders
  • Anne of Green Gables
  • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
  • Princess Sarah
  • Little Prince Cedie 
  • My Daddy Long Legs
  • The Bush Baby
  • Romeo’s Blue Skies
  • Remi, Nobody’s Girl 

 

Studio Ghibli Masterworks

There’s also those classic anime films from Studio Ghibli that immortalized Hayao Miyazaki’s status as the master animator and anime director. Among their best and most famous anime includes:
Spirited Away
Spirited Away
  • Spirited Away
  • My Neighbor Totoro
  • Graveyard of the Fireflies
  • The Whisper of the Heart
  • Howl’s Moving Castle
  • Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
  • Ponyo
  • The Tale of Princess Kaguya
  • The Wind Rises

Also Read:

  • My Top 20 Anime Films of All Time

 

By Genre

We could also categorized anime by genres and the following are the best and definitely popular anime series on its respective genre.

Science-Fiction:

  • Steins;Gate

Shounen:

  • Hunter x Hunter

Seinen:

  • Berserk

Shoujo:

  • Kaichou wa Maid-sama!

Josei:

  • Honey and Clover

Slice-of-Life:

  • Natsume’s Book of Friends

Supernatural:

  • Mushishi

Drama:

  • Your Lie in April

Romance:

  • Tsuki ga Kirei

Rom-Com:

  • Ao Haru Ride

Comedy:

  • KonoSuba

Adventure:

  • One Piece

Fantasy:

  • Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Horror:

  • Shinsekai Yori

Sports:

  • Kuroko’s Basket
Now, let’s move forward to the main subject of this post. It’s time to reveal Yu Alexius 10 most phenomenal anime of all time. This could be debatable but at the same time agreeable, as most of this anime is surely included too in the list of other bloggers. The following are the anime series and franchises that doesn’t only manage to accumulate a big amount of cult following and achieved huge popularity but at the same time able to influenced other anime shows and initiated new trends and records in the anime history.

10. Yuri!!! on Ice

original 10 Most Phenomenal Anime of All Time

Both a sport and romance anime, Yuri!!! on Ice finally make a history as it had been widely accepted as a canon homosexual romance anime, taking the Fall 2016 anime lineup like a fiery cold storm.

  • Read: [Viral] Yuri! On Ice – In regards to Love: Eros Live
  • Read: The Best Anime of 2016

9. Pokemon

giphy 10 Most Phenomenal Anime of All Time
Who wouldn’t think that Pokemon is not phenomenal? Everybody can attest on how powerful, popular and enduring the Pokemon franchise is. Pikachu’s charm together with Ash and his friends had been everyone’s buddy since the 90s.

8. Sword Art Online

giphy 10 Most Phenomenal Anime of All Time
In case you are wondering why SAO is in this list, it is simple. Sword Art Online made the light novel adapted anime worth checking out. It brings the light novel material to the limelight.

7. Attack on Titan

attack on titan s1 mikasa titan kill 10 Most Phenomenal Anime of All Time

An anime with one of the best animated fight sequence in the recent years back up with epic music and truly enthralling opening theme song, Attack on Titan is definitely sits atop of every anime in this decade.

  • Read: Attack on Titan Season 3 Announced

6. Death Note

giphy 10 Most Phenomenal Anime of All Time
Having two of the most intelligent characters in anime history together in one anime series is enough to make Death Note a phenomenal title. Yes, who wouldn’t remember L and Light whenever they hear or read the title of this anime.

5. Sailor Moon

tumblr inline nit0c4q7Tf1reu15o 10 Most Phenomenal Anime of All Time
The original magical girls anime is a must in this list. It all started with Sailor Moon and the rest simply follows, even those girl groups and idol groups of today’s generation (j.k.).

4. One Piece

3d513b5e51c246dbb8ecf50b444ecb4f 10 Most Phenomenal Anime of All Time
One of the longest running anime until now, One Piece is the epitome of exciting and worthwhile adventure. It is the world that you wouldn’t care to be lost despite of the fact that dangerous pirates are everywhere.

3. Code Geass

tumblr mrdhj5N36r1sorll2o1 500 10 Most Phenomenal Anime of All Time
One of the most controversial, both political and critical acclaim in every essence; Code Geass is one of those few anime of this millennium that achieved a legendary status. A combination of awesome mecha fights, nerve racking political and philosophical conflict, a fantastic story of true friendship and love, and a truly admirable main character that you’ll hate to hate despite of his actions.

2. Naruto

giphy 10 Most Phenomenal Anime of All Time
This is the chronicle of best ninja anime ever. One of the most popular franchise ever and always compared with One Piece. Naruto franchise is definitely one of the biggest storm of surprises, excitement, and fun adventure that happened in anime history.

1. Dragon Ball Z

tumblr n6ddb2XMaC1r72ht7o1 500 10 Most Phenomenal Anime of All Time
This one needs no explanation. Dragon Ball Z is the father of action anime and definitely on a league of its own that can’t be compared to any other anime franchise. Goku himself is one of the most famous and strongest character in anime history.
With this, we are ending our list of 10 most phenomenal anime ever. Let us know of your opinion in the comment section below.

Last Updated on February 28, 2021 by Yu Alexius

Author

  • Yu Alexius
    Yu Alexius

    Code name: Yu Alexius is an ambiguous entity who loves to talk about anime and Chinese animation in general. An insatiable soul from the Pearl of the Orient, a frustrated writer and a Houtarou Oreki wanna-be. He is a piece of a lunatic and everything crazy.

    View all posts

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Filed Under: Blog November 17, 2017 by Yu Alexius Leave a Comment


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