Anime originated in Japan, which is why it is popular there, but it has exploded in popularity around the world since the early 90s thanks in large part to series like Pokemon, Sailor Moon, and Dragon Ball Z, all of which captured the imagination of children. Many of those kids remained anime fans as they grew up, and they gravitated towards series like Naruto and One Piece which are now global brands with hundreds of episodes.
Most popular anime receive multiple seasons because their ratings are good, but not every series is fortunate enough to continue past its inaugural season, which is incredibly unfortunate because they almost always have a lot more story to tell thanks to their respective manga or light novels, and this list will take a look at a few series that deserve some sort of return.
10 Highschool of the Dead
Highschool of the Dead premiered in the summer of 2010, and the anime managed to cover a good chunk of the manga in just 12 episodes. The series is set in modern day Japan and it follows a group of high school students who try to survive a sudden worldwide zombie outbreak with their school nurse and a young girl.
The series is basically an anime version of The Walking Dead, but the main group of survivors are capable of taking on a horde with real and makeshift firearms. Saeko Busujima is the real star when it comes to fighting though because she is the president of the school's kendo club, and she eventually upgrades to a real katana.
9 Yona of the Dawn
Yona of the Dawn debuted in 2014 and ran for 24 episodes, and to say that the series is bad would be a falsehood because the manga is still going strong a decade after its initial release. The series focuses on Yona, the sixteen-year-old princess of Fuuga and the Sky Tribe, who was betrayed by the man she loved when he killed her father in a successful coup.
When she and her good friend are forced to flee, they go on a quest to find the four Dragon Warriors who have special powers that Yona needs on her side if she hopes to save her country.
8 Angel Beats!
Many anime deal with the afterlife, but Angel Beats! does it in such a way that the single season series has become a cult classic despite consisting of just thirteen episodes. The series is set in a type of limbo that is modeled after a high school, and people stay in this school until they are able to overcome whatever trauma or hardships they experienced when hey were alive.
Yuzuru Otonashi is a young boy with amnesia, and after entering the school he is recruited by a girl named Yuri who leads a group of rebels against God.
7 Drifters
In Drifters, several great solders, heroes, and military leaders were plucked out of history and sent to another world, and these historical figures become part of a massive world war. The world contains humans of course, but it also has magicians and several fantastical races like giants, elves, dwarves and hobbits.
The humans are actually on the losing side of the war because the enemy consists of heroes who command an army of monstrous creatures including dragons. The anime can be brutal at times, but it does offer an interesting story with plenty of action.
6 Zodiac War
The Fate series is popular because it pits legendary heroes against each other, and they fight in order to obtain a wish from the Holy Grail. Zodiac War is similar in this regard as twelve mercenaries are fighting to the death in order have their wish granted, but these aren't ordinary mercenaries.
In this world a tournament is held every twelve years, and each mercenary possesses the name and attribute of a specific animal in the Chinese zodiac, and if there isn't a winner within twelve hours, every contestant dies.
5 Killing Bites
People have enjoyed gladiatorial combat for centuries, but these battles take on a completely different look in Killing Bites, as every fighter has the ability to transform into a beast that possesses the appearance and abilities of a specific animal. The twelve-episode series focuses on Hitomi Uzaki, a young white haired woman who is part honey badger.
The series is filled with action which can get really bloody at times, especially since some of the other fighters take the form of a rabbit, lion, tiger, cheetah, cobra, and Tasmanian devil.
4 Baccano!
Baccano! had a sixteen episode run in 2007, and it still hasn't been given a second season despite the fact that the light novel is still enjoying a seventeen-year run. Aside from the unique Jazz inspired soundtrack the anime also implements a non-linear storyline, which sounds like it might be confusing but it makes the anime better.
The entire series takes place on a train and it introduces us to alchemists, immortal beings, gangsters, monsters, and more, and once you see all these characters, you are left wanting more.
3 Deadman Wonderland
Deadman Wonderland had twelve episodes which covered the first 21 chapters of the manga, and it focuses on a young boy named Ganta who is falsely accused of murdering his entire class. He ends up getting sentenced to Deadman Wonderland-a prison that also functions as a carnival which allows citizens to watch the criminals get humiliated and killed for entertainment.
Ganta along with several other Deadmen possess a Branch of Sin which allows them to freely manipulate their blood as a weapon, and we later learn that Ganta's dear friend is actually the person who framed him.
2 Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress
One of the reasons why Attack on Titan is so popular is because of its animation style, and Wit Studio used that same style in their original series, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress. This story takes place during the Industrial Revolution, but just like Highschool of the Dead, all of Japan is dealing with a zombie problem.
These zombies are very different though, as they can only be killed by piercing their glowing hearts. Kabaneri are individuals who became infected yet stopped the infection from reaching their brains, which gives them increased strength and endurance as a result. The anime ended on a cliffhanger and although a second season seemed guaranteed, nothing has happened in the past four years.
1 Claymore
Claymore began its thirteen-year run in 2001 and it maintained a pretty healthy audience for years, which is why we got an anime series in 2007 that covered the first eleven volumes of the manga. The series takes place on a medieval island where people pay a group to send female half-human half-demon warriors to kill demons, and it focuses on a warrior named Clare who starts off as the group's weakest fighter.
The fights in this series are exceptional and fairly violent, and this is especially true in the Northern Campaign episodes. The anime ended on its own terms, but there is still plenty of story and battles that deserve to be animated.