Homepage

The 7 Most Popular Anime Series

1. Naruto Shippuden

Starting way back in 2002, this juggernaut of an anime franchise has recently begun to wind down with an epic finale to its second series, Naruto Shippuden in the movie, The Last: Naruto the Movie. Just because there's no regular Naruto anime series now, doesn't mean its completely finished though. A special movie focusing on several characters' future children called, Boruto: Naruto the Movie, came out in 2015 and there's a good possibility that more films and specials may be on the way.

If martial arts, magic, and demons are your thing, this humorous, dramatic and action-packed series may be for you.

2. One Piece

Welcome to the best-selling single-author comic in the world, as acknowledged by the Guinness World Records themselves.

One Piece features a blend of action and story with a slightly more generous helping of comedy. Running continuously since its launch in 1999 and now with well over 600 anime episodes and several One Piece movies, this anime about a crazy group of pirates has attracted a loyal fan base that has continued to grow more and more every year.

One Piece began as a manga series written by Eiichiro Oda since 1997, and in 1999, it was adapted into an ongoing popular anime series produced by Toei Animation. The story chronicles the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, an ambitious yet kind and rather dense young man who has eaten the Gum-Gum Fruit (Gomu Gomu no Mi), turning him into a Rubber Man. He dreams of following in the footsteps of his childhood hero, Captain "Red-Haired" Shanks, by becoming a great pirate. In fact, he plans to find the titular treasure and become the new "Pirate King." Said treasure was left by Gold Roger, the greatest pirate who ever lived and the previous Pirate King, and his dying words have spurred the world of One Piece into an age of piracy, as pirates from all around the world set sail for the Grand Line, the place where the One Piece is most likely hidden.

3. Fairy Tail

Ever wondered what would happen if J.K. Rowling or Enid Blyton ever wrote an anime? The result would be something like Fairy Tail (not Fairy Tale) which follows an eclectic band of magic-wielding guild members on mystical adventures full of monsters, evil wizards and revelations both world-shaking and personal.

The animation may not be the best Japanese animation has to offer but Fairy Tail more than makes up for it with its contagious positive energy and a massive supporting cast of original characters.

4. Pokemon

While designed for the younger anime fan, the Pokemon anime continues to be popular with Pokemon fans of all ages, many of whom have been watching since its launch in the late 90s and others who are just discovering it for the first time.

Due to the soft reboot the series performs every few years where all but the main characters of Ash and Pikachu are replaced as they move to a new region, the Pokemon anime is very easy to jump into and enjoy from almost any episode and the numerous Pokemon movies require very little knowledge before diving in.

5. Dragon Ball Z

Even though this long-running classic series had finished several years ago, Dragon Ball Z continues to be one of the most popular anime series regardless of generation.

Featuring a mix of martial arts, Chinese culture, comedy, and science fiction, Dragon Ball Z is a great series for almost any age group and with the recent re-release of the series on Blu-ray and a brand new anime series called, Dragon Ball Super, now is a great time to dive in.

6. Sailor Moon Crystal

Definitely one of the most famous Japanese animated series that has affected popular culture all over the world, Sailor Moon is back with a completely new anime series that follows the original Sailor Moon manga a lot more closely than the 90s anime which took quite a few creative liberties with the source material.

The new series, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal (or Sailor Moon Crystal for short) is constantly one of the most watched TV shows on online streaming services such as Hulu and Crunchyroll where it streams for free and old and new fans are experiencing the classic characters as never before.

7. Bleach

While this long-running anime series has since been canceled in Japan due to its rapid decrease in viewership, Bleach continues to remain popular abroad with episodes of the series and the Bleach movies constantly ranking high on both streaming sites and DVD sales charts.

Set in modern-day Tokyo, Bleach follows the story of high school student Ichigo (which means strawberry in Japanese) who becomes a Soul Reaper and must battle demons while protecting those he loves. While the show can suffer from a lot of filler episodes, what it lacks in pace it more than makes up for in style with some great characters designs, hot music tracks, and some impressive racial diversity among the series' main cast.