In 2026, it’s hard to find an artistic medium that has a more dedicated following than anime. Series like Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, and Pokémon are some of the highest-grossing franchises in the world, due in no small part to the plethora of spectacular anime that have debuted over the years.

There are countless anime that deserve praise for their contributions to the medium, but a select few stand above the rest of their competition.

Vinland Saga Is on Its Way to Becoming an All-Time Great

Vinland Saga is a relative newcomer among major anime, having been released in 2019; however, in only two seasons, the TV adaptation of Makoto Yukimura’s historical manga has produced some of the most well-received anime arcs of all time. Thorfinn’s coming-of-age story pits the violence of Viking life against themes of pacifism, generational trauma, and the human condition, resulting in one of the most mature explorations of the self in anime history.

While Vinland Saga is still a long way from adapting all of Makoto Yukimura’s original manga, the work done by WIT Studio and MAPPA to bring the series to life deserves major kudos. Hopefully, either studio will confirm their involvement in Vinland Saga Season 3’s production in the near future, as it legitimately has a chance to go down as one of the most impressive anime of all time.

One Piece Continues to Build Its Legacy Decades After Its Debut

When the One Piece manga began in 1997, not even the series’ author, Eiichiro Oda, could have predicted the impact that the franchise would have. Almost 30 years later, One Piece is the best-selling manga of all time, and thanks to Toei Animation, its anime adaptation continues to bring in new fans with each passing season.

Monkey D. Luffy and his crew have traveled across the Grand Line for over 1100 episodes, and in the process, they’ve met hundreds of characters, traveled to dozens of islands, and spawned countless memories for anime fans around the world. While criticisms of One Piece‘s pacing are warranted, the anime is incredible at what it does well — especially after over 25 years of practice. Now that Netflix and WIT Studio are both developing remakes of One Piece‘s preliminary arcs, there’s never been a better time to be a fan of the Straw Hat Pirates.

Attack on Titan Pushed Shonen Anime to a Dark New Place

As far as contemporary anime go, it’s hard to find a series with a larger impact than Attack on Titan. The beloved dark anime series shocked audiences upon its debut in 2013, and despite several multi-year gaps between seasons, the story of Eren Yeager and his allies continued to wow fans until the franchise’s long-awaited conclusion in 2023. During its 10-year run, Attack on Titan laid the groundwork for a brand-new wave of dark shonen anime, including new-gen hits like Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man, which heavily borrowed from AoT‘s playbook.

Leaving aside its tremendous impact, Hajime Isayama’s iconic series is still one of the most nuanced shonen anime of all time. Between its brutal action, challenging material, and unique approach to themes of persecution, Attack on Titan is no longer defined by the graphic violence that many fans associated it with during the anime’s early years, instead standing as one of the greatest anime to ever investigate the effects of war. Although the franchise’s polarizing ending did undercut Attack on Titan‘s overall legacy a bit, it’s impossible to ignore how unique the series is as a whole.

Dragon Ball Z Defined an Entire Generation of Anime

There are plenty of anime that deserve credit for the medium’s growth in popularity over the past few decades. However, no series has been more vital to this process than Akira Toriyama’s legendary franchise, Dragon Ball. Since debuting in 1986, Dragon Ball‘s various anime adaptations have spread across the world, and in the process, the series has solidified itself as one of the greatest anime ever.

Although Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z are a bit dated by modern standards, their quintessential story holds up to this day. Whether it’s Goku’s journey from child to father to grandfather, Vegeta’s struggle to accept his burgeoning role as a hero, or Gohan’s reconciliation of his Saiyan and human identities, the series’s subject matter still feels relevant decades after its initial release. Between the franchise’s impact and the success of sequels like Dragon Ball Super and canon films such as Dragon Ball Super: Broly, it would be ludicrous to exclude Toriyama’s flagship series from any list about the best anime of all time.

Mob Psycho 100 Is the Best Comedy Anime of the Modern Era

Mob Psycho 100 might not be as popular as its sister series, One-Punch Man (also written by talented manga author ONE), but as an anime, the tale of Shigeo Kageyama stands head and shoulders above that of Saitama. With ONE’s trademark offbeat comedy and Bones’ eye-popping animation as its backbone, no comedy anime has ever demonstrated more range than Mob Psycho 100, which concluded its story after the release of its third season in 2022.

Mob Psycho 100 follows Shigeo Kageyama as he struggles to balance his life as a psychic and his life as a high school student, documenting the absurd duality of his life at every step along the way. With a stellar supporting cast, tight story, and hilarious sense of humor, it’s one of the most underappreciated anime of the late 2010s, as well as a rare example of a series with a truly satisfying conclusion.

Monster’s Tense Drama Makes It Anime’s Premier Psychological Thriller

Compared to most mainstream anime, Monster‘s story offers a bit of a different payoff. In lieu of the action-heavy tropes that define many shonen and shojo anime, Monster tells a slower-paced, eerie story about neurosurgeon Kenzo Tenma’s nerve-wracking attempt to stop serial killer Johan Liebert, whom Tenma saved from an early death via gunshot years earlier.

Watching Kenzo Tenma struggle to work through the complicated feelings of saving Johan’s life, as well as his increasingly dangerous attempts to stop the serial killer, makes for one of the most exciting psychological thrillers of the 2000s. Even without the spectacle seen in the shonen and fantasy genres, Monster‘s suspenseful drama

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Stands at the Top of the Shonen Mountain

In shonen anime, no series has maintained a stellar reputation among fans for longer than Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The beloved 2000s series rebooted the also-well-received Fullmetal Alchemist, finally giving fans a faithful adaptation of Hiromu Arakawa’s manga.

The story of the Elric Brothers remains one of the most poignant tales in anime history over a decade and a half after its initial release, due in no small part to its quintessential storytelling and relatable cast of characters. From Elric and Edward’s horrific attempt at reviving their mother to Roy Mustang’s cathartic destruction of the Homunculi known as Envy, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood contains some of the most memorable moments in anime history.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Is the Crown Gem of New-Gen Anime

Of all the anime to debut in the last 10 years, no series has received more praise from critics than Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End — and for good reason. With the anime medium saturated with melodrama and high-stakes action, Frieren‘s decision to explore what happens after defeating the final villain feels like a breath of fresh air, and, thanks to Madhouse’s beautiful animation, the story of Frieren and her second adventuring arc has been brought to life in incredible fashion.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is still early in its run, but after only two seasons, it’s already left an indelible mark on the anime world. The fantasy anime is the critical darling of the modern generation, and if it weren’t for two of the most widely praised TV series ever, then Frieren might very well rank as the best anime of all time.

Neon Genesis Evangelion Broke the Anime Mold

As far as popular anime series go, arguably none offers a more nuanced and challenging story than the 1990s mecha hit, Neon Genesis Evangelion. Initially released in 1995 by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production, this Freudian, existential deconstruction of the mecha anime genre completely changed the anime landscape, generating a resurgence that laid the foundation for anime’s international boom in the following decades.

Neon Genesis Evangelion director Hideaki Anno has revisited the franchise several times thanks to the Rebuild films, but nothing quite touches the original incarnation of Shinji Ikari’s strange journey. Between the EVA pilots’ fight against the Angels and Shinji’s evolving relationships with characters like Asuka Langley Soryu, Rei Ayanami, Misato Katsuragi, and Gendo Ikari, Evangelion may very well have the richest story in anime history. Still, one iconic series barely edges it out as the greatest anime of all time.

Cowboy Bebop Is Still Anime’s Gold Standard

In 1998, Sunrise Animation Studio released a brand-new anime from the studio’s up-and-coming director, Shinichiro Watanabe. As Watanabe’s debut as a solo director (after previously co-directing Macross Plus in 1994), expectations weren’t necessarily high for the project, which he titled Cowboy Bebop. Safe to say, Cowboy Bebop & its director shattered those expectations, wowing audiences around the world with its too-cool-for-school tone, stylish aesthetic, and incredible story en route to becoming universally regarded as one of the greatest animated shows of all time.

Cowboy Bebop follows space-faring bounty hunter Spike Spiegel as he tracks down various criminals throughout the Solar System, and along the way, he befriends various characters who join his crew. Despite its episodic nature, Spike’s story proceeds seamlessly across its 26 sessions, resulting in one of the most stylish and evocative TV series of all time. With its beautiful character arcs and incredible direction, Sunrise’s iconic Space Western remains the gold standard for anime series nearly 30 years after its initial release.