Considering how anime went from being only on a single channel in the middle of the night to being a major category on Hulu and Netflix, it’s safe to say it’s experienced quite the boost in popularity. It’s glow-up is rivaled only by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that was already popular last decade.

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And with anime having become more popular, unsurprisingly we’ve gotten more of it. We literally can’t seem to get away from it these days. But since there’s so much of it, which ones are actually the best? Well, this list aims to take a look at ten of the best series of the last decade, to give everyone a good idea of what series they should go back and check out before we enter 2020.

10 K-ON

A simple four-panel comedy manga created by Kakifly, K-On followed a group of young girls attending the all-girl Sakuragaoka High School who all joined the light music club to keep it from being disbanded. The group is small, and overseen by the school’s music teacher, and the manga follows them as they go from high school to university, guided by their love of music. Carrying on the 2000s trend of Cute Girls Doing Cute Things, K-On also popularized the idea of anime series following characters with a love of music that continues even today in series like Forest of Piano and Carole & Tuesday.

9 ATTACK ON TITAN

attack on titan scouts Levi, Eren, Mikasa

Eren Yaeager is a young man who spent his entire life inside the walls of his city, as they’re the only thing that keep humanity safe from the massive, human-eating creatures known as Titans that have nearly wiped out all of humanity. But when the Titans finally destroy the wall to his town, destroying his city and his life, he joins the elite unit known as the Survey Corps to get his revenge and wipe out the Titans once and for all. Filled with more twists and turns than almost any other series on this list, Attack on Titan was at one point the anime to watch, and it’s still easily one of the most beloved series of the decade.

8 FATE/ZERO

Promotional poster for Fate/Zero; two characters battling in front of a purple background.

In 2006, Studio Deen gave us an adaptation of the popular dark fantasy light novel by Type-Moon, Fate/stay night. While popular worldwide, it ran as a simple season and that was that. But Fate/Zero, based on the prequel light novel by Gen Urobuchi and animated by ufotable, was a far different story. Telling the story of the Fourth Holy Grail War, it sees the mage families of Fate/stay night in the war prior to that story, setting up the plotlines which pay off in future series. This series is so important it revitalized the franchise in the world of anime, resulting in multiple series and films that have continued even into 2019.

7 REINCARNATED AS A SLIME

Cast of That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime

Going back as far as the 80s, there’s been a dominant genre to anime. The 80s had mecha and science fiction. The 90s had action series. The 2000s had slice of life. And the 2010s have had “isekai”--tales about characters from our world becoming trapped in another. Most isekai are just excuses to live out geeky power fantasies...and Reincarnated as a Slime isn’t different in that respect.

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It’s lead character Rimuru is almost comedically powerful, capable of tearing through almost any threat that challenges him...but the story isn’t about that. Instead, it sees Rimuru learn to navigate this new fantasy world after being forced to leave his humanity behind, gathering all the monsters of the nation under him to create a peaceful kingdom. Reincarnated as a Slime is filled with beautiful animation, likable characters, and an engrossing well-developed world that makes it a perfect comfort food watch.

6 ONE PUNCH MAN

One-Punch-Man-Season-2-Poster-header

Though anime typically favors longer series, Madhouse’s twelve-episode adaptation of ONE’s One Punch Man manga became a sensation almost from the premiere of the first episode. Poking fun at the concept behind most action anime series and their stories of endless growth and characters seeking to reach their potential, One Punch Man introduces us to Saitama, a character who’s reached his potential...and can no longer find joy in life. He’s after battles which can push him to his limit...but finds every fight over after he delivers a single punch. Filled with unique characters and some great comedy, the only thing that holds this series back from being better is the comparatively poorer adaptation of the second season from JC Staff.

5 HAIKYUU

Shonen Jump has been on fire all decade, and it’s because of series like Haruichi Furudate’s Haikyuu that they’ve become even more impossible to stop than usual. The series tells the story of Shouyou Hinata, a diminutive teenager with a love of volleyball who gains a life-long rival in Tobio Kageyama, a man known as “King of the Court”. But when the two both wind up on the same team in high school, they find themselves forced to work together, helping one another to improve and make their club the best in Japan. Haikyuu epitomizes what makes sports anime work, with a focus on camaraderie, teamwork, and character development.

4 MY HERO ACADEMIA

It was only a matter of time before someone decided to base a shonen series off of superheroes. My Hero follows Izuku Midoriya, a young man who initially has no superpowers until his actions inspire the greatest superhero, All Might, to pass his powers down to him. From there Midoriya joins U.A. High School and studies to become the greatest hero ever. What makes My Hero work is that Kohei Horikoushi is a true master of character development, making you understand and root for all of the U.A. High students for different reasons. The biggest criticism of the series is that it doesn’t do anything “new”, but that’s only because the series executes the classic shonen tropes perfectly, resulting in one of the most finely tuned battle shonen ever created.

3 JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE

If nothing else, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is certainly the most meme-tastic anime series of the decade. The manga series by Hirohiro Araki plugged along for over two decades, with only an OVA and a film to show for it before the anime series came along. Fortunately, David Production has lovingly brought this wonderful story to life in all of its delightful weirdness and awesomely flamboyant characters.

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The franchise follows the Joestar family line, individuals with incredible power who wind up battling dangerous supernatural villains. What makes the series stand out is Araki’s willingness to tell complete stories with one protagonist before shifting to an entirely different group, all while maintaining the same level of quality.

2 DEMON SLAYER

The newest manga and anime on this list, Koyoharu Gotoge’s Demon Slayer caught on like wildfire. A large part of this is Ufotable taking their already incredible animation talents to an entirely new level. But equally important is that Demon Slayer may have the most likable male and female leads of the decade: a pair of siblings who lived simple lives in the country before a monster transformed the sister into a demon. From there, Demon Slayer sees Tanjiro, the brother, try to find a way to restore his sister Nezuko to normal, all while keeping other humans safe from demons.

1 HUNTER X HUNTER

There’s no more perfect battle shonen series in this decade than Yoshihiro Togashi’s Hunter x Hunter. For people who’ve wanted a world where strategy matters just as much as power, Togashi has created that world, and made it dangerous, so anyone who thinks they can succeed with only power alone often meets a quick end. Things begin with Gon Freeces, a young boy who learns his father is a Hunter, people who take on fantastic, impossible jobs. Realizing this, Gon decides to become a Hunter as well to learn why his father left him, but the story quickly becomes so much more than this. Togashi creates this massive world where adventure and danger are around every corner in equal measure, and every week it aired gave viewers a thrilling exploration of it.

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