We’re a long way from the days of tape trading or even digital fansubs. These days, anime fans get their anime through a handful of streaming services, but there’s one that stands above all the rest in terms of volume of content and overall notoriety.
Coming from small beginnings, in the years since it’s turned into the very official go-to for most anime fans looking to check out a new series, or those looking to get into an older one. So for everyone who has their subscription to Crunchyroll all paid up, here’s a list of some of the best anime you can stream on the service right now!
10 CAPTAIN EARTH
Who doesn’t want to be told their skill at video games is the only way to save the world? That’s how Daichi Manatsu winds up joining a secret organization known as “Globe” battling against the Kill-T Gang, a group that wants to suck mankind of all its energy. Daichi has the ability to pilot the Earth Engine Impacter, a crucial robot in Globe’s plan to battle against the Kill-T Gang.
About as classic a super robot series as possible in an era where these shows are often too pure to exist without tons of excess violence and existential angst.
9 GATCHAMAN CROWDS
The world of Gatchaman needs new heroes to protect it. Fortunately, in the city of Tachikawa, more heroes have arrived. Wearing specialized armor materialized thanks to their spiritual powers, this group battles Berg Katze, an alien that wants to destroy Earth.
It’s a straightforward enough description for the story, but digging deeper there’s plenty of twists and turns to keep anyone watching. G-Force fans everywhere should give this series at least a shot.
8 GREAT TEACHER ONIZUKA
In addition to having one of the greatest opening theme songs in anime history, Great Teacher Onizuka is also an anime classic. As one might have deduced from the title, the series is about a man named Eikichi Onizuka, a former street punk who decides to become a teacher.
Initially wanting to become a teacher to hit on girls, his morals get the better of him and he decides to legitimately become the best teacher possible. Ultimately, GTO is a series about how helping children develop is more important than creating worker bees and reinforcing traditional methods of teaching.
7 KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD
The oldest series on this list, Kimagure Orange Road is proof of the timelessness of good fiction. Orange Road focused on a love triangle between Kyosuke Kasuga, his junior high classmate Madoka Ayukawa, and Madoka’s best friend Hikaru Hiyama.
Oh, and just to make sure no one could get bored following the story of a guy dating one girl while pining for her friend, Kyosuke and his family also have esper powers. This series is worth watching if only to see where so many of the tropes of shonen romance came from.
6 LUPIN THE III PART V
For most of us, our connection to Lupin is that it aired on Adult Swim in the early 2000s. It was an ancient show then, but the legendary thief and his friends had enough charisma to make us watch. But in the 2010s, Lupin has experienced an explosion of popularity.
First with the 2012 Fujiko focus series The Woman Named Fujiko Mine, then with the 2015 series Lupin III Part IV. But the best of these series is easily Part V, which updates the entire cast for the 21st century, and looks into how Lupin can remain the best ever gentleman thief in a world where everyone is always watching everyone else.
5 MAJESTIC PRINCE
Based on a manga series by Rando Ayamine and Hikaru Nijima, Majestic Prince is a rare example of a series that tows the line between being action and comedy without becoming a full-blown parody. The series takes place in a future where humankind has made its way into space.
They’ve achieved countless new technologies, including mastering genetic engineering and creating the Evolved Children, who are forced to come together to battle against the Wulgaru, an empire bent on conquering humanity and using them for their genetic material so they can continue to advance.
4 PHI BRAIN: PUZZLE OF GOD
Kaito is a young man in love with figuring out and solving puzzles. Thanks to his skill with these, he becomes a Solver, and is tasked with battling against the group known as the Puzzle of God to solve Philsopher’s Puzzles around the world. Essentially, it’s like if Yu-Gi-Oh spent the entire series with Yugi trying to figure out the Millenium Puzzle.
Or if the series only had Yugi solving different Millenium Items instead of moving on to a card game which gets more absurd with every new series. In any case, Phi Brain was liked enough to go for three seasons, so only people who enjoy adventures and battles being tactical over physical should apply.
3 ROKKA: BRAVES OF THE SIX FLOWERS
The Braves of the Six Flowers are a group made up of six individuals, each chosen by the Goddess of Fate, to defeat the demon god threatening humanity. But when the group finally assembles, they find there are seven members.
One of the more unique series to come out of the 2010s, Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers perfectly combines action and mystery, as instead of figuring out how they’re going to defeat the series Big Boss, they spend most of the series trying to discover who the traitor amongst them is. A series in desperate need of a second season, this is still a great way to use a weekend.
2 HITMAN REBORN
The long-running manga series Reborn! has a unique premise for a battle shonen: the main character is the child of a mafia leader, and he’s been told he’s next in line to take over.
To prepare him for the role, his family sends Reborn, a literal infant that’s supposedly the Vongola Family’s best and most dangerous hitman. This series is known for spending several episodes setting up the universe and all it’s characters before actually getting into it’s plot, so people who have short attention spans should steer clear.
1 TENJHOU TENGE
Souichiro and Bob are two friends attending Toudou Academy, with intents on taking over the school using their superior strength. Unfortunately for them, they learn Toudou was founded to teach martial arts, with many students possessing skills that should be far beyond the reach of normal humans.
Though this series doesn’t get to finish considering the manga ended several years after the anime, this series is still a great watch for the fight scenes. It’s got one of the most one-sided beatdowns in anime history, and that’s worth the time for any action fan alone.