10 Best Anime That You Can’t Stop Watching, Whether it’s for their lovable characters, compelling storyline, or gorgeous animation, fans can’t get enough of these anime.
The best anime series also tends to be the most immersive. Once someone starts watching them, it’s hard to walk away and take a break. Even after finishing, fans more often than not feel compelled to rewatch the entire series over and over.
Those who don’t consume anime or manga often question why people love it so much. People tend to dismiss anime because of its common tropes, but the reason people love anime is because of the amazing stories and characters. While it’s true that many anime fail to create a world that pulls people in, some are exceptionally good at it.
Animation and world-building play a huge role in how immersive an anime can be, but what really makes fans feel like they are a part of an anime’s world is how well the characters are written and how good the story is. There are some anime that take this to the next level and feel more real because of it.
Some anime series are recognized for their unique art styles and colorful visual effects, while others are identified by their intense, high-stakes battle scenes and harsh social commentaries. However, plenty of anime series has garnered attention for their lovable characters and nonstop slapstick comedy. These series have stood out and made it impossible for fans to look away.
10 Best Anime That You Can’t Stop Watching
10. Spy X Family Was 2022’s Best Anime Series
Spy X Family was one of spring 2022’s most anticipated releases. Fans are already rewatching the first dozen episodes with its second cour just around the corner. Spy X Family stars Loid Forger, or “Twilight,” a spy tasked with creating a makeshift family, infiltrating one of the country’s top schools, and getting close to an important politician to prevent a war.
Though Loid is technically the protagonist, Spy X Family’s breakout star was Anya, a telepathic young girl whose imagination always runs wild. Her facial expressions have become viral memes. Fans also fell head over heels for Yor, a masterful assassin who has to hide her true identity.
9. Gintama Is A Classic Shonen Parody Series That Makes Tons Of Pop Culture References
Gintama takes place in feudal Japan, but its modern pop culture references made fans feel closer to their favorite characters. Gintama stars Gintoki, a total oddball whose favorite activities consist of lounging around, picking his nose, and eating ice cream, all while reading the latest edition of Shonen Jump. However, he’s also a masterful samurai with a defiant attitude.
In Gintama, aliens invaded the planet. They outlawed samurai and banned people from brandishing swords publicly. However, Gintoki still walks around with a wooden sword. Since he can’t work as a full-time samurai these days, Gintoki makes ends meet by freelancing at his business, Yorozuya.
8. Samurai Champloo Is A Critically-Acclaimed Seinen Hit
The combined might of Fuu, Mugen, and Jin truly cements Samurai Champloo’s greatness. Set during Japan’s Edo period, Samurai Champloo tells the story of three people from wildly different backgrounds coming together. Fuu is a waitress who got harassed by customers, but Mugen stepped in to defend her.
Mugen has a wild fighting style that quickly caught Jin’s attention. Unlike Mugen’s unpredictable swordsmanship, Jin takes a more precise and orthodox approach to fighting. They decided to duke it out and destroyed the teahouse, killing the magistrate’s kid in the process. From there, Fuu, Mugen, and Jin go on adventures across Japan as fugitives. Fans love Samurai Champloo’s main trio and slapstick comedy.
he combined might of Fuu, Mugen, and Jin truly cements Samurai Champloo’s greatness. Set during Japan’s Edo period, Samurai Champloo tells the story of three people from wildly different backgrounds coming together. Fuu is a waitress who got harassed by customers, but Mugen stepped in to defend her.
Mugen has a wild fighting style that quickly caught Jin’s attention. Unlike Mugen’s unpredictable swordsmanship, Jin takes a more precise and orthodox approach to fighting. They decided to duke it out and destroyed the teahouse, killing the magistrate’s kid in the process. From there, Fuu, Mugen, and Jin go on adventures across Japan as fugitives. Fans love Samurai Champloo’s main trio and slapstick comedy.
7. My Hero Academia’s – A boy with no power become powerful
Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia is regarded as one-third of shonen anime’s new “big-three.” My Hero Academia stars Izuku, a Quirkless teenager who dreams of becoming a hero. Though the odds were stacked against him, luck went in his favor for a change during a chance encounter with his idol, All Might, who granted him a Quirk.
Fans love My Hero Academia’s large ensemble cast. Each character stands out, and none of them get lost in the mix. Heroes and villains alike have become fan-favorite characters. My Hero Academia’s worldbuilding is also concise, layered, and well-thought-out. The characters’ designs also play into that, and fans appreciate Horikoshi’s attention to detail.
Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia is regarded as one-third of shonen anime’s new “big-three.” My Hero Academia stars Izuku, a Quirkless teenager who dreams of becoming a hero. Though the odds were stacked against him, luck went in his favor for a change during a chance encounter with his idol, All Might, who granted him a Quirk.
Fans love My Hero Academia’s large ensemble cast. Each character stands out, and none of them get lost in the mix. Heroes and villains alike have become fan-favorite characters. My Hero Academia’s worldbuilding is also concise, layered, and well-thought-out. The characters’ designs also play into that, and fans appreciate Horikoshi’s attention to detail.
6. Haikyuu! Is An Immersive Sports Anime
Haikyuu! is the juggernaut of sports anime. Unlike others in the genre, Haikyuu! doesn’t feature hilariously overpowered super moves that are logistically impossible in real life. Hinata is a relatable protagonist who overcame adversity and proved that no matter someone’s height, they could become a great volleyball player.
Fans love Haikyuu! because every team in the series has memorable characters. Whether it’s Nekoma’s duo of Kuroo and Kenma or Inarizaki’s Miya twins, there are memorable characters on every single team. Even Aoba Johsai’s Oikawa has a few likable qualities. Fans also love that each cast member had an inspiring character arc and that there’s someone in Haikyuu! for everybody to relate with.
5. Naruto – the greatest anime ever
Naruto is one of the greatest anime series of all time. It’s a wunderkind in shonen anime that set the blueprint for most other series that followed. Fans love Naruto Uzumaki’s underdog story and that he always stayed optimistic despite constant prejudice and adversity from others in the village.
Naruto covers several important themes, and many villains are personifications of them. For example, the idea of a neverending cycle of vitriol was the main theme of Pain’s arc. Though the world of tailed beasts and jutsu is vastly different from the real world, many of Naruto’s themes hit a little too close to home.
4. Code Geass – Reincarnation
Code Geass has a stronghold in many avid anime fans’ top five lists, and its popularity is certainly well-deserved. Code Geass introduces a very complex main character. Like many, Lelouch started out with noble ideals of avenging what he lost and conquering a tyrannical government. In the process, however, he became one of anime’s most prolific antiheroes.
It’s impossible to stop watching Code Geass after starting. It has a complex story full of engaging plot twists and well-written, morally ambiguous characters. It’s not a cookie-cutter series in the slightest, and it always keeps viewers on edge.
3. Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War
Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War is one of the most exciting ongoing romantic anime. Though the series has no shortage of running gags, it also has no shortage of psychological elements that keep fans cackling one minute and ready to rip their hair out the next. Kaguya Shinomiya is one of anime’s most popular female protagonists because of her dual personality. One minute she’s delivering stone-cold rejections to Miyuki, the next she’s screaming into her pillow like a fangirl.
Miyuki and Kaguya both like each other, but neither admits it because the first one to confess loses. They put themselves and everyone else around them through the wringer for most of Kaguya-Sama, and it doesn’t even end after the confession. Fans love the series’ unpredictability and that nobody knows what to expect from any member of Shuchiin’s student council.
2. Jujutsu Kaisen – if you like Naruto related
Jujutsu Kaisen broke the internet after its fall 2020 anime premiere. It’s already become a shonen staple with just one season and a film released. Jujutsu Kaisen follows Yuji Itadori after he swallows a cursed finger and enrolls at Tokyo Jujutsu High to fight cursed spirits while keeping the one possessing him in check.
The series is full of lovable characters like the strongest sorcerer on the planet, Gojo Satoru, and the girl of steel, Nobara Kugisaki. Yuji Itadori is a charming protagonist whose hard to dislike, and many of Jujutsu Kaisen’s villains are well-written and infuriatingly likable. Furthermore, Jujutsu Kaisen’s fights never fail to live up to the hype, and MAPPA’s excellent animation further elevates them alongside a killer soundtrack.
1. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure’s
Hirohiko Araki’s Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is one of the most iconic animanga series of all time. It’s been running since the late ’80s, but its popularity has never wavered. Jojo’s has become a cultural phenomenon, and plenty of other anime series have referenced it over the years.
Fans love that Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure always reinvents itself. Each new generation of Joestars ushers in an evolution in Araki’s art style and even more bizarre occurrences. Stardust Crusaders changed the game for shonen anime when it introduced Stands, one of the medium’s most revolutionary power systems. Fans also appreciate Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure’s soundtrack and endless pop culture references.
