The 25 Best Anime Series on Hulu
Photo Courtesy of Hulu
Hulu has an excellent reputation for having an incredible collection of TV simulcasts, and impressively, this has extended to anime for several years. These, of course, come packaged with the service’s trademark commercials, but you could default to far worse places to find your anime fix: there are currently more than 200 series available on Hulu, besting Netflix by a fairly significant margin. The selection isn’t anything to scoff at either; there are a lot of classics mixed in with more obscure fare for those wanting to wet their feet in less well-known shows.
Below you will find our personal guide to the best of the best available on Hulu, tailored to appeal to a variety of audiences. It’s a wonderful place to start for newbies, and you can’t go wrong with any of our cherry-picked selections here.
1. Cowboy Bebop
Every debate over whether or not Cowboy Bebop—Shinichiro Watanabe’s science-fiction masterpiece—is the pinnacle of anime is a semantic one. It is, full stop. Its particular blend of space-based cyberpunk intrigue, Western atmosphere, martial arts action, and noir cool in seinen form is unmatched and widely appealing. Its existential and traumatic themes are universally relatable. Its ragtag group of bounty-hunting characters are complex and flawed, yet still ooze cool. The future it presents is ethnically diverse and eerily prescient. Its English dub, boasting some of America’s greatest full-time voiceover talents, somehow equals the subtitled Japanese-language original. Its 26-episode run was near-perfect, and episodes that might have been filler in another series are tight, taut, and serve the show’s thesis even as they do not distract from its overarching plot, which is compelling but not overbearing. It’s accessible to new hands and still rewards old-timers with every repeated watch. Yoko Kanno’s magnificent, jazz-heavy soundtrack and score stand on their own. Its opening credits are immaculate. It’s an original property, not an adaptation. It feels like a magnum opus produced at the pinnacle of a long career despite being, almost unbelievably, Watanabe’s first series as a director. It is a masterwork that should justly rank among the best works of television of all time, let alone anime. We eagerly await a rival. We’re not holding our breath (though Netflix recently made a live-action adaptation). —John Maher
2. Mob Psycho 100
Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama is a psychic of unquestionable talent. Unfortunately, that’s about all he has going on in the skills department. Based on a web manga by One (One-Punch Man), Mob Psycho 100 is a psychedelic blend of coming-of-age tropes and Ghost Adventures , following Mob as he and his fraudulent mentor Reigen solve supernatural problems in Seasoning City. The show’s animation, courtesy of Bones (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, My Hero Academia), maintains film-quality action sequences and trippy, technicolor style throughout, but what really makes it a cut above the rest is its seemingly forgettable star. Mob starts off as an unremarkable boy who just wants to be normal. His dedication to live everyday to the fullest is infectious, and by the end, he’s got a hearty cast of confidants and companions. Mob Psycho 100 might attract you with its wackiness, but its moments of emotional clarity will keep you coming back. —Austin Jones
3. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
For many, Brotherhood is the essential anime experience, and it’s easy to see why. A more faithful adaptation to Hiromu Arakawa’s mega-popular manga series, Brotherhood contends with loss, grief, war, racism and ethics in mature and unique ways, ahead of its time in nearly every aspect. What’s more, the show is paced perfectly, with neatly wrapped arcs that lead into each other and bolster a greater global narrative on selected themes. Brotherhood is just the right length, never overstaying its welcome and proving how versatile and malleable the conventions of shounen anime can be.
Brotherhood has a sizeable cast of characters all of different nationalities and ideologies, with motivations that often oppose one another—the show manages to use these moving forces to form factions, alliances and foils that flow in multiple directions, paralleling the often messy, always chaotic nature of human relationships during wartime. The show’s emotional core revolves around the plight of the Elric brothers, Ed and Alphonse, two alchemists sponsored by the authoritarian Amestris military. It’s not your classic military drama, though, as Ed and Alphonse quickly learn how far Amestris’ authoritarianism stretches.
Where Brotherhood excels lies in the sensitivity it expresses for every one of the characters’ fighting for their desires and contending with their mistakes, with particular highlights on the plights of minorities and women. Ed and Alphonse struggle with the fallout after attempting forbidden alchemy to revive their recently deceased mother. Later, their childhood friend Winry is portrayed heroically for acting as an emergency midwife. Scar, initially introduced as a brutal serial killer, is one of the last remaining indigenous Ishvalans, an ethnic group purged during a colonial war at the hands of Amestris—his odyssey continues to ring more and more resonant as we stray further into a post-terror world. It’s why the series continues to wow today: it eschews cliche to make cogent points on human consciousness. —Austin Jones
4. Fruits Basket (2019)
Both the 2001 and 2019 anime adaptations of Natsuki Takaya’s classic Fruits Basket shojo manga are available for streaming on Hulu. The first anime was cut short early in the manga’s run (Takaya didn’t like the changes made and didn’t allow a second season despite fan demand), so it’s the more faithful, more recent adaptation you’ll want to watch to get the full story.
Fruits Basket’s fantasy rom-com story follows Tohru Honda, an orphan high school girl living with the Sohma family, who are cursed to transform into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac when hugged by members of the opposite sex. It’s a silly setup, but one which affords each of its quirky characters significant depth and goes to some impressively heavy emotional places. Fruits Basket will make you laugh and cry, and maybe even inspire you to be a better person. —Reuben Baron
5. Hunter x Hunter
There are countless shonens (and American TV shows, even) that focus on a group of young characters using supernatural abilities and deductive reasoning to problem-solve. Hunter x Hunter is a rare find among this homogeneous archetype because of its attention to detail and emotional investment. This anime is filled with whimsical subplots that don’t always end with a major event, but let you know characters in this world were alive before you started watching them.
Hunter x Hunter begins with Gon Freecss, as he sets out on a journey to become a Hunter. He’s your typical savior-figure protagonist unique to shonen, but fortunately he keeps the annoying, repetitive mantras to himself. His determination to see the best in people becomes a marvel of the series, and his dedication to others drives the plot. He makes friends with a young boy from a family of assassins, and their polarized dynamic creates a connection that makes the series inspiring. The compelling relationship between these two boys demands emotional investment from you. Yoshihiro Togashi, who wrote and illustrated the manga, emphasizes their youth and inexperience by pitting them against much older, more experienced villains, and introduces powerful mentors that help them evolve. He’s meticulous about tailoring his characters’ abilities to their personality, but everyone draws their strength from resolve. The feats of pure determination you’ll witness in this anime will change you.
Togashi has struggled with a medical condition for some years, but he claims the manga is far from over. Hopefully, the remastered anime gets a seventh season soon. —Jarrod Johnson II
6. Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon taught so many girls that they can be saccharine saviors, and that kindness is the ultimate weapon. Usagi Tsukino never sheds her more unseemly traits, but experiences tremendous growth over Sailor Moon’s five-season span. The plot cycle can get a little repetitive, but Sailor Moon features some really strong lady characters, including all of the Outer Guardians and villains like Black Lady (Chibi-Usa’s evil, grown-up persona) and Queen Nehelnia, whose childhood loneliness spawns true evil. Make sure to watch every season for even more statements on gender and sexuality! —Sarra Sedghi
7. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
For some time, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure has been the anime I turn to when I need some R&R. Not that anything about it, at least at first glance, is particularly chill. It’s an anime full of men built like classical sculptures arguing as loud as they can over psychic battles they’re having, seemingly in molasses-slow time. What feels like hours encapsulates little more than a minute in JJBA’s universe. The anime is so much more than that, though; it’s a journey that spans a century and obliterates the rules of how to tell a traditional adventure story, taking liberal inspiration from Indiana Jones, Versace, classic rock, and any other fleeting interest of mangaka Hirohiko Araki to make an explosive hodgepodge of fast-paced absurdity, a language you’ll pick up on quickly and soon fine cozier than Sailor Moon. There’s a reason JJBA continues to be one of the most influential pieces of media to come out of the anime world. –Austin Jones
8. Puella Magi Madoka Magica
If you’ve never heard the term “deconstruction” applied to anime, this is where to begin. This series takes the light-hearted “magical girl” archetype and completely juxtaposes it with a reality so grim it feels dystopian. The superpowers that usually empower characters become an unrelenting source of anxiety and peril which leads to grim ends. Emotionally investing in these brave young women will be a masochistic practice once you learn the truth about what it means to be a magical girl. There’s also only one season, which makes for a quick and convenient watch. —Jarrod Johnson II
9. Gurren Lagann
Up until the release of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Gainax had always been a studio perilously skirting the line between disaster and success. The runaway success of Neon Genesis Evangelion had buoyed the studio from the brink of disaster, and in the intervening years Gainax found itself again in need of another boon. Hiroyuki Imaishi’s directorial television debut, a “hot-blooded” and “unconventional” super robot anime that functioned as a spiritual successor to the studio’s prior works like Gunbuster and Evangelion. With boundless charisma, meteoric stakes, and exponential heaps of absurd spectacle that laugh in the face of sensibility, Gurren Lagann delivered Gainax another cult classic and became the launchpad for the studio’s own successor, Trigger. On the height of Gurren Lagann’s success, Imaishi and co. pierced through the heavens and showed the world just who the hell they were. —Toussaint Egan
10. Sonny Boy
Sometimes, when you’re bombarded with the fifth derivative fantasy RPG world of the season, it can feel like the anime industry is sorely lacking in novelty. But then a show like Sonny Boy comes along, an original series that crackles with weirdo energy as it barrages viewers with experimental sights. Helmed by director Shingo Natsume (One Punch Man, Space Dandy, Tatami Time Machine Blues) and animated by Madhouse, its narrative follows a crew of teenagers who find themselves ripped into another dimension unbound by the rules of our reality.
While at first it bears a resemblance to The Drifting Classroom or Lord of the Flies, it quickly carves out its own psychedelic space, stringing together a unique collage of tone pieces and interesting philosophical diatribes that make it transfixing from episode to episode. Admittedly, the density of its imagery and the way it largely abandons traditional plot structure will be off-putting to some, but if you’re on its wavelength, it hits hard. This story may seem cold at first, but underneath it all is a deeply sincere coming-of-age tale that builds out affecting relationships between this group of outcast teens. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything else quite like Sonny Boy, and I mean that as the highest praise. —Elijah Gonzalez
11. Samurai Champloo
Drawing on a variety of influences, from chanbara films to hip-hop music, and oozing with self-confident flair, Shinichiro Watanabe’s Samurai Champloo is simply one of the coolest television programs in recent memory. Mugen and Jin are two rival swordsmen who, after being saved from execution by a former tea waitress named Fuu, resolve to help her find the mysterious “samurai who smells of sunflowers.” From there, they journey across this fictionalized rendition of Edo-era Japan, encountering those struggling to get by in a heavily stratified society. Through its anachronistic fusion of contemporary influences and a historical setting, the series explores the frictions between the existing conservative social order and those who butt up against these stifling forces, such as our rebellious protagonists.
It combines serialized and episodic storytelling, its one-offs tied together through its ostentatious style, dashes of early 2000s ‘tude, and frequent focus on portraying the lives of marginalized peoples. This all makes for a series that is generally breezy, thanks to the great rapport between its central trio, but that isn’t afraid to cut to the bone of various issues. Combine that with its excellent soundtrack, which was influential to the lo-fi hip-hop scene, and duels that channel the look of old-school samurai flicks, and it’s easy to see why the series was such a hit. —Elijah Gonzalez
12. Bloom Into You
While many anime and manga fall on their face in their depictions of queer romance, Bloom Into You avoids many of the most common stumbling blocks, portraying the burgeoning relationship between its leading heroines with care. The story begins after Yuu, a freshman in high school, runs into Touko, a popular girl in line to become the next student council president. As the two begin to fall for each other, things become complicated by Yuu’s confusion over what it means to be in love and Touko’s survivor guilt over a personal tragedy. One of the series’ greatest strengths is how its direction extrapolates the mental state of its characters, using visual metaphors to capture Yuu’s alienation regarding romantic feelings and Touko’s unresolved grief that pushes her away from others. These two working through the dissonance between external expectations and how they truly feel ties in with the series’ broader exploration of the social stigmas faced by those in queer relationships. Additionally, its representation of multiple LGBTQ+ pairings, including one between adult women, provides a greater range of perspectives while also pushing back on longstanding harmful stereotypes in anime that portray being gay as an “adolescent phase.” There are a few blunders, but this story captures the authenticity of Yuu and Touko’s love, its strong aesthetic identity making their feelings hit home. While the adaptation doesn’t cover all of the source material, the manga has a perfect conclusion and is a must-read for fans of the show. —Elijah Gonzalez
13. Kill la Kill
Kill la Kill was Studio Trigger’s first TV anime and a reunion for director Hiroyuki Imaishi and writer Kazuki Nakashima of Gurren Lagann fame. Just as over-the-top as Gurren Lagann and about five times as horny, Kill la Kill swaps giant robots for super-powered school uniforms made from alien life fibers—the most powerful of which have to leave a lot of skin exposed or else they’ll overpower the wearer.
Yes, this is one of those ridiculous fanservice anime where large chunks of the plot are mainly excuses to get everyone as naked as possible as much as possible, but Kill la Kill is as funny and thrilling as it is utterly shameless. The action and plot twists move at a rapid pace, the stylized cartoony animation is great, the distinctive characters you’ll either love or love to hate, and the story’s overall messages are strongly anti-fascist. Critics can argue all day whether Kill la Kill is feminist, sexist, or a strange mix of both, but whatever it is, it’s extremely entertaining. —Reuben Baron
14. Akudama Drive
By its final episode, Akudama Drive had completely subverted my expectations. Not because it ever deviated from the punk sensibilities of its first episode, but because of how convincingly it managed to communicate its ideas while staying true to its over-the-top neon-drenched presentation. The story follows Swindler, a girl sucked into the criminal justice system for a minor misdemeanor that she didn’t actually commit, as she falls in with a crew of hardened convicts following the orders of a mysterious third party. Dreamed up by Danganronpa creator Kazutaka Kodaka, this cyberpunk series has more constructive things to say about its dystopian backdrop than it has any right to, considering its characters don’t even have names and are instead adorned with monikers like Hoodlum or Cutthroat as if they were playable characters in a particularly degenerate videogame.
But despite its intensely-exaggerated presentation, the show delivers one of the most scathing indictments of the criminal justice system and policing that I’ve seen on television, its repudiations of fascist cops and uncaring authoritarian systems ringing out like a belting chorus you’d hear surrounded by studded leather in a seedy dive. It doesn’t convince through lengthy monologues on political theory but by a visceral feeling, specifically of a jackboot pressing down on a neck. Akudama Drive is deeply angry, but it processes that rage towards a deep-seated belief in the possibility of change and the construction of something new. In short, it’s proof that style and substance don’t need to be mutually exclusive. —Elijah Gonzalez
15. Kaguya-sama Love Is War
From the start, Kaguya-sama Love Is War quickly proved to be one of the most visually inventive and gut-busting anime around, its non-stop gags conveying the lengths that its two protagonists were willing to go to avoid confessing their true feelings. Here Kaguya and Shirogane, the heads of the student council at an elite high school, come up with increasingly intricate schemes to make the other slip. Their heavily calculated ploys are brought to life with frenetic, art-style-switching creative fervor that accomplishes the difficult task of keeping a single gag fresh through dozens of episodes.
However, although it’s carried by the strength of its animation and comedy up front, later seasons give its cast depth by establishing their previous hardships and current struggles. Most pointedly, these trials and flashbacks clarify the deeper reasons why many of its characters are in love in the first place, with past moments of kindness and inspiration bubbling to the forefront. It turns out that there are more interesting reasons for why Kaguya and Shirogane engage in psychological skirmishes than just being prideful, boneheaded teens. While its maelstrom of aesthetically expressive gags hasn’t let up, this series’ ambitions have grown with its protagonists, transforming a humorous romp into a genuinely affecting romance story. —Elijah Gonzalez
16. Chainsaw Man
Going into Fall 2022, it’s fair to say the most anticipated show in a stacked season was MAPPA’s adaptation of Chainsaw Man. As someone who recently devoured the manga (as well as almost everything else written by author Tatsuki Fujimoto) and whose brain was subsequently filled with a chorus of revving chainsaws, I shared that borderline unreasonable degree of anticipation. Thankfully, this adaptation has largely captured the soul of Fujimoto’s work so far, providing nearly everything fans of the series and first-timers could have hoped for. It’s transgressive, hilarious, and brutal, frequently all of these at once, and is defined by flawed but frequently lovable characters who exist in a bleak alternate-universe ‘90s where powerful monsters called devils wreak havoc.
Although studio MAPPA’s highly polished aesthetic seems like it would clash with the scratchy, off-kilter sensibilities of its source material, its cinematic flourishes feel in line with the author’s obsession with movies. And more importantly, the fluid character animation helps convey that in this world, tenderness and humanity exist within a razor’s edge from heartbreaking violence. When the scales tipped in Episode 8, and it was made clear this tale is a tragicomedy, one where death can strike anyone at any moment, MAPPA proved they have the chops to deliver what makes the manga so special. While this story won’t be for everyone due to its protagonist’s immature aspirations and its penchant for extreme violence, Chainsaw Man is a wholly unique ride. —Elijah Gonzalez
17. Kimi Ni Todoke
It’s hard not to be cynical about anime at times—many are so carefully focus-grouped to pander to specific audiences that they can feel clinical in their expression of human emotion, even when they lean on the sentimental. Every once in a while, though, a show comes around that feels genuine in its tenderness and undeniable in its honesty. Kimi ni Todoke is one such show. A romantic comedy in the purest sense, Kimi ni Todoke follows a young girl named Sawako Kuronuma who is feared and ostracized by her classmates because of her resemblance to Sadako from Hideo Nakata’s The Ring. Contrary to her appearance, Sawako is a mild-mannered and gentle person who has a hard time standing up for herself.
After meeting an open-minded boy, Kazehaya, on her first day of high school, Sawako begins a quest to broaden her social prowess My Fair Lady-style. Much like Eliza Doolittle, Sawako becomes an asset of many people’s lives and eventually the object of Kazehaya’s affection. Kimi ni Todoke eschews clichés endemic to most shoujo series and depicts a truly equitable relationship, one built on closeness and genuine feelings as opposed to cheap tricks or contrived storytelling devices. It’s one of anime’s most quintessential romances. —Austin Jones
18. Spy x Family
Spy x Family is an action-comedy that has quickly taken the anime world by storm, largely thanks to the adorable antics of one Anya Forger. We follow Loid Forger, an undercover agent in the Cold War-esque city of Berlint, who is forced to form a “fake” family and infiltrate an enemy country’s political circles to avert war. He ends up adopting Anya, an orphan with telekinetic mind-reading abilities, and—at least on paper—marrying Yor, an assassin working for a rival government. While its premise may sound similar to self-serious prestige TV like The Americans, Spy x Family is a (mostly) light-hearted spoof of the nuclear family that is deeply hilarious, often cool, and sometimes touching.
So far, Wit Studio and Cloverworks have gone above and beyond to bring this adaptation to life, and the first season is full of well-delivered gags that I still find myself randomly chuckling over months later. While Loid is technically the protagonist, Anya is the star of the show, as she oscillates between being a little goblin and a precious bean attempting to help her dad with his mission of avoiding a war. And in addition to the many goofs, it convincingly portrays a found family who find solace in each other. Thankfully, the second season once again demonstrates the series’ ability to operate as both a tense spy-thriller and family comedy. As long as its production doesn’t run into issues (something which is unfortunately quite common given the state of labor in the anime industry), it will continue to be must-watch television. —Elijah Gonzalez
19. Oshi No Ko
After bursting onto the stage with a gut-punch of a premiere, Oshi No Ko continued to successfully portray both the magic and ills of the entertainment industry from a clear-eyed perspective. It’s difficult to provide an overview of this one’s plot without giving away key elements of the first episode, but the story follows the famous idol Ai, an ascendant talent in the music group B-Komachi, as well as her children Aqua and Ruby, who are also attempting to break into show business. One of the series’ greatest strengths is its ability to represent the joys that this field can bring while also revealing the exploitative underbelly that defines these spaces. We witness the type of backroom deals, casual misogyny, and brutal labor conditions that plague those attempting to make a living doing this work, but we also see the personal satisfaction that comes from an inspired performance, and how music can brighten people’s lives. The cast is similarly nuanced and features many women whose goals and backstories are respectfully handled, from Ai’s quest to find genuine connection through making music, the former child actor Kana’s insecurities due to past disappointments, or Miyako’s presence as a supportive stepmom. Although elements of its “reincarnation” premise make for some uncomfortable moments early on, and there is a storyline that arguably bears too much resemblance to a real-life tragedy, Oshi No Ko generally does justice to its heavier topics, delivering a well-considered critique of entertainment spaces alongside triumphant moments that foreground the power of art and performance. —Elijah Gonzalez
20. Tatami Time Machine Blues
Did you know The Tatami Time Machine Blues is now streaming on Hulu? Judging by the almost complete lack of social media chatter about it, it seems even fans of The Tatami Galaxy, the 2010 Masaaki Yuasa-directed anime miniseries to which this is a sequel, have missed this news. As for the show itself, this is a small-scale comedy about using time travel to solve relatively minute problems, closer to The Girl Who Leapt Through Time than Doctor Who in scope (to compare with two stories that get referenced in the show). Some of the students who find out about the time machine have ambitions to travel back to the Taisho, Edo, and Jurassic eras, and some even succeed, but all the action on-screen is set within the confines of the college campus and mostly in the present day.
This could all easily be done in live-action or on stage—which makes sense, given that the story is a reworking of screenwriter Makoto Ueda’s 2001 play and 2005 live-action film Summer Time Machine Blues. What the medium of animation brings to The Tatami Time Machine Blues is a stronger sense of character. No live actor, even in extensive make-up, could possibly embody the devilish Ozu as well as the anime version, with his tall angled eyes and pointy-toothed smile. Even characters with more realistic features, like the laid-back time traveler Tamura, make strong impressions via design alone. Additionally, the animation here is as great as one expects from the high standards of the Science SARU studio. You can easily binge all six episodes of The Tatami Time Machine Blues in one afternoon, but I just wish it was easier for people to find out about and get into this series, because there’s a lot of fun to be had with it. Perhaps with a time machine…. —Reuben Baron
21. Parasyte
Not to be confused with the similarly-titled but differently-spelled Best Picture winner, the 2014 anime Parasyte is an adaptation of Hitoshi Iwaaki’s classic horror manga. Alien invaders have arrived on Earth and are taking over human hosts. Shinichi Izumi is almost taken over by one of these parasites, but it fails to enter his brain, leaving him with a talking, shape-shifting alien controlling his right hand. Nicknaming the creature Migi, this hybrid duo has to work together to battle other parasites. The series’ combination of grotesque body horror, well-animated action, and a bit of humor makes for a compelling watch, and was clearly an influence on future hits such as Jujutsu Kaisen. —Reuben Baron
22. Id: Invaded
Id — Invaded is an intoxicating show that could rapturously trap even casual anime watchers in its intricate web. Part police procedural, part science fiction, Id follows a disgraced detective, Narihisago, who solves crimes by diving into a virtual reality constructed from residual cognitive particles. Though it has a semi-episodic format, the overarching plot slowly unravels the mystery behind Narihisago’s imprisonment, the death of his family, and the slippery movements of the elusive “serial killer maker” John Walker.
The show strikes a near perfect balance among sentimentality, incisive philosophizing, and extreme, hyperbolic situations that are reminiscent of both Stand Alone Complex and AI: Somnium Files. It’s a show that feels cozily familiar, and spins an enigmatic tale that keeps viewers guessing while remaining wryly humorous. Id — Invaded is easily one of 2020’s most bingeable shows. —Austin Jones
23. Ouran High School Host Club
Largely a satire of the shoujo genre, Ouran High School Host Club blatantly employs and often twists our expectations of animated romantic comedies. The story follows Haruhi Fujioka, a normal girl attending the illustrious Ouran Academy on a hefty scholarship. A pragmatist who disagrees with shallow lifestyles, she’s mistaken as a boy because of her disheveled hair and slouchy outfits. She ends up indebted to the school’s host club, where they all slowly realize Haruhi is a woman (not that she hid it, per se) and is tasked with masquerading as a man to serve as a host until she pays back what she owes. —Austin Jones
24. Undead Unluck
Undead Unluck has quickly proven to be one of the more quietly bonkers action anime in recent memory. Similar to Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure before it, this series is about duels between opponents with outlandish abilities, resulting in puzzle-box battles that are as much about brains as brawn. But perhaps even zanier than these powers is how its worldbuilding slowly reveals the extremes of this setting, nonchalantly dropping exposition bombs that carry all sorts of fascinating implications. We continue to follow Andy and Fuko, a pair who come into the crosshairs of an enigmatic organization that hunts down “Negators,” people who can nullify the rules of reality.
David Productions and director Yuki Yase capture these negation abilities through idiosyncratic editing and layouts that convey the strangeness of these metaphysical powers while also heightening the juicy melodrama surrounding its characters. Although this one was visually impressive from the jump, perhaps the biggest point of improvement is that it’s done a much better job building out the relationship between Andy and Fuko, pairing down the disconcerting “gags” between them in the process. With that unfortunate bit largely tossed aside, the show has continued to build on its avant-garde animation and intriguing premise to deliver an exciting action romp. —Elijah Gonzalez
25. My Hero Academia
Beloved anime My Hero Academia (based on the manga) kicks off with a protagonist who is bullied for not having a superpower (in a world where they are the norm), but who is soon bestowed with a particularly powerful one after, indeed, saving a bully. From there, young “Deku” goes into training at an elite academy where he must balance his schoolwork and friendships with his requirements as a hero.
It’s not too soon to liken My Hero Academia to a quintessential shonen, because the show is heavy on what the genre does best: Izuku is refreshingly emotional (so, of course, he helps his classmates open up enough to alter their lives), and villains are undergoing a renaissance thanks to the fumbles of hero society. It’s a fresh spin on a genre that’s laden with tropes, and—not for nothing—the fights are very good. —Sarra Sedghi and Allison Keene
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