30 BEST ANIME SERIES (for adults . . . mostly)
The 30 best ADULT ANIME list. I'm a writer and animator so the qualifying elements used to make this list have a lot of production quality, art, fight choreography, story structure and dialogue factors taken into account.
If I leave off someone’s favorite show (which is inevitable), I apologize. I don't mean to offend. This is more or less a guide to help adults navigate the sea of anime out there. I hope this helps. It will grow to 100, and I'm working on sifting through the piles. As it stands, these are the 30 anime that have made the Coulter Rail Cut so far.
If I leave off someone’s favorite show (which is inevitable), I apologize. I don't mean to offend. This is more or less a guide to help adults navigate the sea of anime out there. I hope this helps. It will grow to 100, and I'm working on sifting through the piles. As it stands, these are the 30 anime that have made the Coulter Rail Cut so far.
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- CreatorHideaki AnnoStarsMegumi OgataMegumi HayashibaraKotono MitsuishiA teenage boy finds himself recruited as a member of an elite team of pilots by his father.Shinji Ikari is a shell of a boy. Mysterious, terrifying goliaths called Angels attack a Neo Tokyo that is desperate to defend itself. Shinji's father is the creator and commander behind humanities combined efforts and blasphemous science that has birthed the Evangelion. Shinji is told to pilot it and kill to save humanity. If he does not, he has no use and will be discarded to a life of solitude. This is just the tip of the ice berg and the entrance of the labyrinth.
A true classic of the genre. The technical tenacity of the world created and the intricacy of the storyline are matched only by the earth shattering battles and gloriously violent choreography that set the standard for Mecha anime today. - CreatorKentaro MiuraStarsMarc DiraisonNobutoshi CannaCarrie KeranenGuts, a wandering mercenary, joins the Band of the Hawk after being defeated in a duel by Griffith, the group's leader and founder. Together, they dominate every battle, but something menacing lurks in the shadows.An action packed tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, laced with knights, demons, castle politics, very truthful characters, and topped off with an ending that makes the Rapture look like a high school prom.
- CreatorHiromu ArakawaStarsKent WilliamsIemasa KayumiMatthew LeonhartTwo brothers search for a Philosopher's Stone after an attempt to revive their deceased mother goes awry and leaves them in damaged physical forms.The original "Full Metal Alchemist" excelled in all the categories of quality. Then its older brother "Brotherhood" came along and mastered those areas. This is something you can watch with your kids and not feel insulted. If you doubt the series in the beginning, be patient, you'll be rewarded with a "Game of Thrones" level saga that has no drawback or weakness in its armor. A unique boast and achievement indeed.
- CreatorGorô TaniguchiIchirô ÔkouchiStarsJun FukuyamaTakahiro SakuraiJohnny Yong BoschAfter being given a mysterious power to control others, an outcast prince becomes the masked leader of the rebellion against an all-powerful empire.Unique art style, and character design, intense Mecha battles, and a game of chess that spans the whole series. If you're turned off by fads of anime, this show has a counterpoint to all of them. Give this series a wide birth and let it do its work. You'll be proud to fathom the experience.
- StarsShirô SaitôAtsuko TanakaOsamu SakaThe futuristic adventures of a female cyborg counter intelligence agent and her support team.One of the most intellectually stimulating and technically relevant shows ever created. Beautiful animation quality, realistic characters, driving music, and concepts that would make Steven Hawking clear his schedule for pondering time.
Taking the time to understand the technology being presented, the moral and political implications that come with it, and asking us what's left of individuality and humanity once the majority of your existence is synthetic, is so very, very worth it. - CreatorRyôgo NaritaStarsMichael C. PizzutoJ. Michael TatumCaitlin GlassA crazy fantasy caper involving alchemists, immortals, gangsters, outlaws and an elixir of immortality, spread over several decades.Baccono is a rarity in anime to be sure. It's a smartly crafted nonlinear story that's driven by some of the best original characters. There are charming mobsters, sinister alchemists, morbid assassins and a motley crew of refreshingly comedic and oddly deep disenfranchised riff raff from the streets of 1920's America. Impressive animation, impeccable storytelling and fresh characters make this a series not to overlook.
- CreatorShin'ichirô WatanabeHajime YatateStarsKôichi YamaderaUnshô IshizukaMegumi HayashibaraThe futuristic misadventures and tragedies of an easygoing bounty hunter and his partners.The anime adventures of Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon. Cowboy Bebop has extremely likable characters, sharp animation, highly stylized music that every other show has tried to copy since, and a perfect blend of drama and downright coolness. This is the original. Except no substitutes.
- StarsMegumi ToyoguchiDaisuke NamikawaBrad SwaileA Japanese businessman, captured by modern-day pirates, is written off and left for dead by his company. Tired of the corporate life, he opts to stick with the mercenaries that kidnapped him, becoming part of their gang.A bored Tokyo business grunt gives up his life of monotony to join a group of pirates lead by one of the most honestly sexy, tough, female characters in anime . . . scratch that, IN FILM! It's Pulp Fiction wearing cutoff shorts, and an eye patch, driving a torpedo boat, and that's before the story goes anywhere. This anime is accessible to any crowd and is pure fun.
- StarsJessie James GrelleBryce PapenbrookTrina NishimuraAfter his hometown is destroyed and is traumatized, young Eren Jaeger vows to cleanse the earth of the giant humanoid Titans that have brought humanity to the brink of extinction.People live behind mountain high walls, because on the outside there are hulking; lumbering giants that look like skinless humans called Titans. They breach the wall, and a splatter fest of violence erupts. The only defenses are crews of swordsman that use Bat Grapples and zip line to high altitude to conduct sky scraper murder battles. The animation is frightening and the action is beyond intense. It is unfinished at the moment, but since one of the series writers is from "Berserk", you know the story will just get deeper and darker.
- StarsLaura BaileyChiaki OmigawaMicah SolusodSet in the Shinigami technical school, the series revolves around a partnership between a weapon meisters and a human weapons. Trying to reach a ranking of "Death Scythe" they must collect the souls of 99 evil humans and 1 witch.At first glance Soul Eater might seem like it belongs in the Naruto/Bleach pile, but stand fast and give it time. What looks kiddy is actually a masterful art style that resembles Tim Burton's earlier works.
The youth of the series are being trained at an academy to reap souls and eat them. Some of the characters are meisters and wield weapons and the other characters . . . are the weapons. The head of the school is none other than Death himself. It's unique, action packed and truly disturbing at times. The big identifier for this show is art, art, art. It looks fantastic, and you can watch it with the kids without fear of hemorrhaging brain cells. - StarsMamoru MiyanoBrad SwaileVincent TongAn intelligent high school student goes on a secret crusade to eliminate criminals from the world after discovering a notebook capable of killing anyone whose name is written into it.An extremely bored student with an impressive IQ spies a book falling from the sky one day. It's called Death Note and reads with instructions like, "When the holder of this book writes a person’s name in here they will die from a heart attack unless method of death is otherwise specified."
He begins a quest of murder justified by his own ego until an investigator who would make Sherlock Holmes nervous starts tracking him. A game of cat and mouse ensues that boasts the most rewarding and complicated game of chess I've seen. You should see it too.
Great animation, twisted characters, and story evolution that proceeds with the finesse of a bullet train. Death Note is a thrill ride for the mind. - CreatorShûkô MuraseStarsKôji YusaAkiko YajimaLiam O'BrienIn a post-apocalyptic future humans live in peace with androids in a domed city. However, a strange series of murders has intruded into bored inspector Re-l Mayer's life.The world created in the show goes from the sterile emotionless society preserved in a dome, to the deserts of the free willed disenfranchised and the grief-scape beyond. If you like a dark mood and a world that is handed to you in pieces, then enjoy the ride.
The characters are a mystery. All of them. Each with motivations both pure and twisted. They do not unravel to the promise they are capable of in my opinion, but still hold genuine revelations that are rewarding and wholesomely desolate to behold.
The music is some of the best I've heard in anime. Ghostly, uplifting with consequence and melodically tense.
I recommend this to anyone who's ready to break from the norm and take a trip. Whether or not you like what is at the end for the characters is irrelevant in this show. Somewhere along the line I believe this show has a way making you ask question about yourself, and that's always worth the time. - CreatorHiroya OkuStarsHiroshi KamiyaDaisuke NamikawaJohn SwaseyAfter their deaths, two teens are transported to an apartment with an ominous black sphere and must participate in a gory alien-hunting "game."A story about people who die in Tokyo and are then transported to a room where a black sphere provides them weapons, tech suits, and a violent mission. It feels like "Lord of the Flies" running around with sawed off shotgun in a strip club.
It's a psychological experiment, and a cruel peepshow of the human mind, covered in porn obsessed, violent fan service. It's an odd example of a show that works in a bold, intrusive way (if you let it). It's easy to hate, punishing to love, and impossible to ignore.
This show is hard swallow, but undeniably original, worth the risk, and offensive in all the right ways. The characters are hard to love, but if you do, it feels earned. If your easily offended, require concrete storylines, and are not interested in the worst human psychology has to offer, than keep moving. This show has faults, but most are intentional.
Gantz, the enigma. - StarsDaisuke NamikawaEmi ShinoharaSeizô KatôThe series starts off at a tournament where a one armed samurai faces a blind one and quickly flashes back to reveal the history between the two fighters.
- StarsLaura BaileyNana MizukiKôsuke ToriumiThe year is 1614 AD. Two warring ninja clans, each supporting a son of Hidetada Tokugawa as the next shogun, send ten representatives each to fight to the death for the possession Tokugawa government for the winning clan for the next thousand years.
- StarsBob CarterMasami KikuchiRobert McCollumBaki Hanma competes in an underground fighting tournament organized by Tokugawa. Masters of various fighting styles come from all over the world in order to determine who is the strongest fighter on Earth.
- CreatorNorihiro YagiStarsTodd HaberkornStephanie YoungHouko KuwashimaA deadly breed of monster - the Yoma - has only one foe: Claymore. These warrior women, human-Yoma hybrids, can deliver salvation by the edge of a blade for a fee. This is the tale of the Claymore called Clare's solitary path to vengeance.
- CreatorYasuyuki UedaStarsMichael ForestLiam O'BrienPatrick SeitzIn a man-made underground society, descendants of a banished generation vie for control of the crumbling city of Lux. Ichise, an orphan turned prize fighter, loses a leg and an arm to satisfy an enraged fight promoter.
- CreatorShin'ichirô WatanabeStarsKazuya NakaiGinpei SatoAyako KawasumiFuu, a waitress who works in a teahouse, rescues two master swordsmen, Mugen and Jin, from their execution to help her find the "samurai who smells of sunflowers."
- CreatorLynn OkamotoStarsSanae KobayashiChihiro SuzukiMamiko NotoTwo university students come across a seemingly harmless girl named Lucy, unaware that she's actually a mutant serial killer with a split personality.
- StarsMichael C. PizzutoNana MizukiShun OguriThor and his younger brother Rai get sent to a planet for the worst criminals in the Bulken system, where they must survive to see the future of their life
- CreatorKazuya TsurumakiStarsJun MizukiMayumi ShintaniIzumi KasagiMysterious things start happening when 12-year-old Naota meets a strange woman on a Vespa wielding a big guitar.
- StarsBrad SwaileJanyse JaudKelly SheridanKuro, a 12th-century man, flees into the mountains after losing to his brother, where he meets a strange, beautiful woman named Kuromitsu. Kuro falls in love with Kuromitsu but realizes she conceals a dark secret. She is unable to die and continues to live for thousands of years as Japan evolves into a future society.
- CreatorKazuki NakashimaStarsTetsuya KakiharaShizuka ItouYuri LowenthalTwo friends, Simon and Kamina, become the symbols of rebellion against the powerful Spiral King, who forced mankind into subterranean villages.
- StarsMayo SuzukazeJunko IwaoNozomu SasakiIn the era of Japan's Meiji Restoration, an assassin regains his humanity.
- CreatorNaoki UrasawaStarsHidenobu KiuchiLiam O'BrienMamiko NotoTenma, a brilliant neurosurgeon with a promising future, risks his career to save the life of a critically wounded young boy. The boy, now a charismatic young man, reappears 9 years later in the midst of a string of unusual serial murders.
- StarsMamiko NotoRie KugimiyaColleen ClinkenbeardRin Asogi runs a private investigation agency in Tokyo's Shinjuku district, performing odd jobs. Despite attempts at a normal life, she finds herself constantly hindered by the strange cases that come her way.
- StarsYutaka KoizumiYui MakinoMichael C. PizzutoThis surreal dramedy follows Satou Tatsuhiro as he attempts to escape the evil machinations of the NHK.
- StarsJ. Michael TatumLuci ChristianAaron DismukeAn undead school girl must hunt down 108 other undeads with the help of specially trained Buddhist monks, in order to gain entry into Heaven.
- CreatorRyôsuke TakahashiStarsLaura BaileyEric ValeHouko KuwashimaYuji Kaido was diagnosed with a serious disease and since there was no cure for the unknown illness, he was cryogenically frozen.