What makes a good top 10 list?
Definitely not kissing ass or saying only what you want people to hear to avoid backlash or criticism.
A good list should be honest, straightforward, and most of all, your own personal view of your favourite 10 anime.
Let’s do just that.
Here’s my top 10 anime of all time as of 2024.
1. Jormungand
Jormungand is the anime people seem to overlook in the action category. It’s similar to Black Lagoon, but goes deeper and is more specific about its story.
I liked Jormungand a lot more than Black Lagoon and will always put it in my list of top 10 anime.
Arms dealing. That’s what this anime is about, and with a millionaire extrovert who loves clowning around, is a fun leader, and rolls around the world with bodyguards making money, it’s as entertaining as it sounds.
2. Railgun Franchise
Toaru Majutsu No Index is a franchise consisting of:
- The index series.
- The railgun series.
- The accelerator series.
- And recently, Mental Out and the villain group ITEM (novels).
While Index is the best selling light novel of all time, Railgun is superior in my eyes when talking about the anime.
The fights, the action scenes, the drama, and the main characters.
In general, Railgun is leagues above most shounen or action/superpower series and I stand on that.
3. Skip Beat
Skip Beat is another anime people miss when talking about romance or shoujo types of anime shows.
This series was released well over a decade ago and has a female protagonist called Kyoko Mogami. At first, she’s a “simp” for her boyfriend, but after being dumped superficially, she changes.
She steps through the front door of showbiz, literally, as her way of getting revenge against Sho, the guy who dumped her and who is also in showbiz.
The anime evolves into something more wholesome but relatable and clever as far as its writing. You can’t make anime like this anymore in 2024 and beyond (hardly).
4. Code Geass
Lelouch Lamperouge almost dies, gets the power of GEASS at the most critical moment, and we get to see his brilliance shine from start to finish of this anime.
He’s the better protagonist and better version of Light Yagami. For strategy and tactical anime, there is no competition with Code Geass.
This series is in my top 5, not just my top 10 or top anything.
5. Re:Zero
Subaru Natsuki might be one of the most realistic protagonists ever made in the anime industry. He’s a protagonist who isn’t overly powerful and so it makes him more realistic.
In a world full of elves, demons, monsters, and killers, Subaru is forced to respawn after death to certain checkpoints until he’s able to “conquer” the plot and move forward, regardless of the outcome.
Re:Zero set the stage for high quality Isekai the moment it dropped after 2015-2016.
6. Saiki K
The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K is just too fucking funny to ignore from a top 10 list, or even top 5. It’s like the modern Gintama but without the fan service or the over dramatics.
Kusuo Saiki is a psychic. He was born this way. He has a device used to dampen his immense power so he can live a relatively normal life. He only wants to introvert, but he hardly gets the chance to.
He has on occasion changed the fabric of the world all because he was bored or annoyed, and is comedically more powerful than the strongest of characters (similar to Saitama).
7. Akame Ga Kill
The best anime there will ever be when it comes to assassins, assassinations, action, pursuing and targeting the government to bring about world peace, and things of that nature.
In this very imperialist, savage society where people are beheaded for even mentioning the government’s name, the anime is purposeful from the beginning and even uses humour well when it counts.
It makes the average shounen look silly and out of touch with the usual “power of friendship” that Akame Ga Kill refuses to rely on.
Related: Why Akame Ga Kill Is Better Than The Average Shounen Anime (Like Naruto)
8. Death Note
Death Note is an anime I didn’t watch for years until before or during the pandemic. Indian fans begged me to watch it. I wasn’t disappointed.
Light Yagami is a little sh*t of a character who is smart but bored with school, and the death note makes him unhinged, gives him a god complex, and gets on his high horse.
the moral aspect of his character is “Punishing” bad people, but you realize when he punishes whoever he dislikes that it’s not justice, it’s madness.
This is what makes Death Note such a good anime, and contrary to popular opinion, Misa Amane’s involvement made things better as it shook things up.
9. Clannad
Clannad season 1 is more than decent. It’s a great anime series. You learn a lot about Tomoyo Okazaki, a guy who is relatable in his own right.
You then learn about Nagisa, who is a sort of sickly girl. And many others who have their own stories and add to the emotional aspects of this Kyoani series.
Season 2 is where this anime shines the most, bleeds the most, and ultimately makes you the saddest based on the traumatic experiences.
It’s truly a masterpiece and It’s unacceptable to say otherwise.
10. Magi: Labyrinth Of Magic
And lastly, there is the Magi series. Labyrinth Of Magic is my favourite of the two seasons (3rd season hasn’t been adapted yet).
You have Aladdin, the kid who is “the chosen one”. A typical shounen cliché but his character is interesting.
You have Alibaba, the blonde guy, who seems to have bad luck but he’s a good person deep down who has a complicated relationship with one of his best friends Cassim.
Then there is Morgiana, the ex slave girl who even after being freed, sees herself as having no worth and willingly becomes a slave again (temporarily).
This speaks to her long term trauma and the fact her self esteem was beaten out of her from young.
Her “race” is also based on Africans which is referenced with her home place being “the dark continent” and other details.
Magi hits on so many levels for relatability, content, emotions, sadness, trauma, and the many experiences people go through. It’s a severely underrated series.
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In the end, these are my top 10 anime of all time and this may change in future but it’s unlikely.
With the anime being produced in 2024 and beyond like Undead Unluck, there is a chance greater anime could surface, but for now I don’t see it.
