A curated ranking and analysis of the most perfect anime series released in the past two decades, examining their narrative depth, artistic innovation, and cultural impact. The piece highlights four standout titles-Violet Evergarden, Made in Abyss, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, and Hunter x Hunter-exploring how they push the boundaries of animation and storytelling.
Anime is much more than just cartoons. It has given birth to timeless series like One Piece, Dragon Ball Z, and Naruto — shows that have become not only staples of Japanese animation but also global phenomena.
While these legacy titles continue to define the medium, the past two decades have brought in a new generation of anime that pushes storytelling and artistry even further. Whether it's a lighthearted opposites-attract romance, a pair of children embarking on an unforgettable fantasy adventure, or a tale of revenge gone wrong, anime commits fully to its ideas and executes them with confidence.
In the spirit of these modern additions, here are the most perfect anime of the last 20 years, ranked. 10 'Violet Evergarden' Violet Evergarden finds humanity in the aftermath of war. After surviving the devastating Great War, former child soldier Violet Evergarden struggles to understand the final words spoken to her by the person she cherished most.
Taking a job as an Auto Memory Doll at CH Postal Services, she writes heartfelt letters that give voice to the emotions others struggle to express. Violet Evergarden is a masterpiece in exploring the power of human emotion. At the beginning of the series, the detached Violet cannot understand even the simplest expressions of love.
But through the tender art of letter writing, the former"killing machine" gradually learns that being human is not defined by her past actions, but by her capacity to empathize with others. 9 'Made in Abyss' Made in Abyss is an anime homage to eldritch horror. Orphaned cave raider Riko dreams of following in the footsteps of her legendary mother, the White Whistle Lyza, who vanished deep within the mysterious Abyss.
After discovering Reg , an amnesiac robot boy seemingly born from the chasm's depths, the two pack their bags for a descent of a lifetime. Reminiscent of fantasy adventures like His Dark Materials, Made in Abyss isn't fooled by its cutesy, lighthearted visuals. The anime introduces a merciless realm with creatures waiting to kill Riko and Reg.
In an abyss that generations of seasoned explorers have failed to conquer, it may be the courage and curiosity of two children that finally uncover its deepest secrets. 8 'Kaguya-sama: Love Is War' Never put your heart on your sleeve in Kaguya-sama: Love Is War. At the prestigious Shuciin Academy, brilliant student council president Miyuki Shirogane and wealthy vice president Kaguya Shinomiya are secretly in love with each other.
The problem is that they're too proud to admit their feelings — the first to do so loses. In this romantic battlefield, Miyuki and Kaguya engage in Sherlockian psychological mind games, each trying to force the other into making the first romantic confession. It's a delightfully cheesy opposites-attract affair.
But beneath all the ridiculous schemes, the two genuinely understand each other in ways no one else can, leading to some of the anime's most heartfelt moments amid its nonstop running gags. 7 'Hunter x Hunter' Hunter x Hunter is the essential coming-of-age anime. After learning that his father, Ging, is not dead but a legendary Hunter, 12-year-old Gon Freecss leaves Whale Island to follow in his footsteps. To become a licensed Hunter.
Gon must survive the notoriously deadly Hunter Examination, where he faces dangerous trials and finds the father who abandoned him. Hunter × Hunter starts like a goofy, kid-friendly adventure, but that's just a facade. As Gon and his friends grow closer throughout their journey, their friendship is tested by brutal psychological and emotional trials. Its battle system is one of anime's most creative, rewarding strategies and clever use of abilities over raw power.
You never know which character—especially the seemingly weaker ones—will outsmart even the deadliest monsters. COLLIDER. Collider · Quiz Collider Exclusive · Middle-earth Quiz Which Lord of the Rings Race Do You Belong To? Hobbit · Elf · Dwarf · Man · Orc Middle-earth is home to many peoples — the courageous, the ancient, the stubborn, the ambitious, and the wretched.
Ten questions will determine which race truly claims your soul. The answer may surprise you. Or it may confirm what you already suspected. 🌿Hobbit 🌟Elf ⚒️Dwarf ⚔️Man 💀Orc FIND YOUR RACE → QUESTION 1 / 10COMFORT 01 What does your ideal day look like?
How we rest reveals as much as how we fight. AA long meal with good company, a pipe, and absolutely no unexpected adventures. BWalking through ancient forests, composing verse, watching the stars emerge. CDeep underground, the clang of hammer on anvil, crafting something that will outlast me.
DTraining, planning, preparing — there's always something that needs defending. ETaking what I want and making sure nobody tries to take it back.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 2 / 10TIME 02 How do you feel about the passing of time? Our relationship with mortality shapes everything we value. AI have watched ages come and go. Time is a river I observe, not chase.
BThe days blur pleasantly. I don't think about it much — there's always second breakfast. CLife is short. I want to leave something behind — a name, a legacy, a deed worth singing.
DTime means little underground. What matters is the work, and the work is never done. ETime is something stronger things take from weaker ones. I intend to be the stronger one.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 3 / 10INSTINCT 03 Danger is approaching. Your first instinct is to: Fight, flight, or something in between — it's more revealing than you'd think. AHide, and hope it passes. I'm no hero — and I'm fine with that.
BStand your ground. Someone has to, and it might as well be me. CFade into the background and observe. Knowledge before action.
DCharge straight at it. Hesitation is just fear wearing a sensible hat. EDig in, fortify, and wait. Ground is everything — never cede ground.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 4 / 10TREASURE 04 You stumble upon a great treasure. What do you feel? What we desire — and what we do about it — is the true test. AMy heart swells — this is the work of my kin, and it belongs in my hands.
BExcited, but nervous. I'd rather it not cause trouble. Can I just leave it? CMine.
Obviously mine. Why is this even a question? DBeautiful. Something this ancient deserves to be preserved and admired, not hoarded.
EA resource — and resources should serve those with the vision to use them. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 5 / 10COMMUNITY 05 How important is community and belonging to you? No race of Middle-earth is truly alone — but some prefer it that way. AEverything.
My neighbours, my village, my people — they are the point of it all. BI cherish my kin deeply, but I feel connected to all living things, not just my own kind. CI'll protect my people with everything I have — but I don't need anyone else's approval. DI prefer a tight-knit clan bound by loyalty and shared toil over any grand fellowship.
ECommunity is a pack. You're either dominant or you're used. I know which I prefer.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 6 / 10AMBITION 06 How ambitious are you, honestly? Ambition is neither virtue nor vice — it depends entirely on what you want. ADeeply. I want to build something great, reclaim something lost, or leave a mark on history.
BI seek mastery and perfection — not power over others, but excellence in all I do. CHonestly? I mostly just want a quiet life and for things to not go wrong. DCompletely.
I want to dominate, and I don't see any point in pretending otherwise. EAmbitious within my craft. I want to make the finest thing ever made by my people's hands.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 7 / 10NATURE 07 Where do you feel most at home in the natural world? Middle-earth is vast — and every race has its place within it. AAncient forests, still pools, places where the world feels oldest and wisest. BRolling green hills, good soil, somewhere you can grow things and watch them thrive.
CUnderground — caves, mines, tunnels. The dark doesn't bother me. It's where things are made. DOpen plains, mountains, the kind of landscape that makes you feel the weight of history.
EBlasted wastelands, smoke, ash. Somewhere harsh enough to keep soft things away.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 8 / 10STRENGTH 08 What kind of strength do you most respect? Every race defines strength differently — and they're all at least a little right. AThe strength to carry on when everything is telling you to stop. BThe strength of stone — immovable, reliable, tested by pressure and time.
CThe strength to lead others and bear the cost of that responsibility. DGrace under pressure — calm, precise, and lethal when it needs to be. EBrute force. Everything else is just philosophy for those who lost.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 9 / 10LEGACY 09 What do you want to leave behind when you're gone? Legacy is the story we tell ourselves about why any of this matters. ASongs, poetry, beauty — something that outlasts the memory of who made it. BThe knowledge that my corner of the world was a little safer and kinder because of me.
CFear. A reputation that means nobody ever dares come for mine. DA name remembered. A deed that made a difference at a moment that mattered.
EA masterwork — something crafted so perfectly it becomes the standard all others are judged by. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 10 / 10TRUTH 10 Be honest — what do you actually want most out of life? The truest question always comes last. APeace.
Safety. Good food, good friends, and no one asking me to save anything. BTo matter. To be part of something larger than myself, even at great cost.
CEternity — to witness all ages, to remember everything, and never be forgotten. DDominance. To never again be at the mercy of anyone or anything. EMastery of my craft and the respect of those who know the difference between good work and great work.
REVEAL MY RACE → Middle-earth Has Spoken You Belong To… The race that claimed the most of your answers is your true kin. If two tied, both are shown — you walk between worlds. ◆ A TIE — YOU WALK BETWEEN TWO RACES ◆ 🌿 Your Race The Hobbits You are, at your core, a creature of comfort, community, and quiet joy — and there is nothing small about that.
Hobbits are proof that heroism does not require ambition, that the bravest heart can beat inside the most unassuming chest. You value good food, warm hearths, close friends, and a world that stays largely untroubled by dark lords and quests. When adventure does find you — and it will — you rise to it not because you sought it, but because the people you love needed you to. That is not ordinary.
That is the rarest kind of courage in all of Middle-earth. 🌟 Your Race The Elves Ancient, graceful, and carrying a weight of memory most mortals cannot fathom, you are one of the Elves. You see the world in its fullness — its beauty, its impermanence, the unbearable ache of watching everything you love eventually fade. You pursue perfection not from pride, but because excellence is how you honour the time you have been given.
Others may see you as remote or melancholy. They are not wrong, exactly. But they mistake depth for distance. You feel everything — which is precisely why you have learned to carry it so quietly.
⚒️ Your Race The Dwarves Stubborn, proud, fiercely loyal, and possessed of a work ethic that would exhaust most other races before breakfast — you are Dwarf-kind through and through. You do not ask for approval and you do not offer it cheaply. Your loyalty, once given, is given for life. Your grudges last longer.
You love deeply and defend ferociously, and the things you build — with your hands, with your sweat, with generations of accumulated craft — are made to last. Not for glory. Because anything worth doing is worth doing properly, and you have never once done anything by half measures. ⚔️ Your Race The Race of Men Mortal, ambitious, flawed, and magnificent — you belong to the most complicated race in Middle-earth, and that complexity is your greatest strength.
Men are capable of cowardice and extraordinary bravery, of cruelty and breathtaking sacrifice, sometimes within the same breath. You feel the urgency of your finite years, and it drives you. You want to matter. You want to leave something behind.
You fall, and you rise, and the rising is what defines you. Tolkien called mortality the Gift of Men — not a curse, but a fire that burns bright precisely because it does not burn forever. That fire is you. 💀 Your Race The Orcs Brutal, survivalist, and contemptuous of anything that can't defend itself — you answered with the instincts of an Orc, and there is a certain savage honesty in that.
You do not dress up your desires in polite language or pretend you want things you don't. You want power, survival, and to never be at the bottom of any hierarchy ever again. Orcs are not evil by nature — they were made from something that was once good, and broken into this shape by forces they did not choose. What remains is fierce, territorial, and deeply aware that the world is not kind.
You've made your peace with that. The question is what you do with it. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 6 'Vinland Saga' Vinland Saga sets off with a story of revenge. After witnessing the murder of his legendary father, Thorfinn dedicates his life to avenging him by killing the cunning Viking mercenary Askeladd .
Forced to fight alongside the very man he despises, Thorfinn earns the right to challenge him through honorable duels, all while becoming consumed by the brutal realities of war. Despite being a Japanese anime, Vinland Saga surprises audiences with its accuracy to 11th-century Viking culture, as well as the politics surrounding the Danish invasion of England.
Historical accuracy, from naval warfare to battle tactics aside, Vinland Saga is a testament to what it means to be a Viking warrior, arguing that true strength has more to do with restraining your power than unleashing it mercilessly. 5 'Mob Psycho 100' You don't want to mess with Shigeo"Mob" Kageyama in Mob Psycho 100. Mob may be one of the world's most powerful psychics, but all the awkward middle schooler really wants is a normal life.
When he's not attending classes, he's busy exorcising spirits and battling dangerous espers. But first, he needs to get his powers and emotions in check. With so much anime centered on the pursuit of becoming stronger, Mob Psycho 100 is refreshing for going in the opposite direction. All Mob wants is to live like an ordinary middle schooler — a surprisingly relatable goal.
With the guidance of his eccentric spiritual mentor, Reigen , Mob gradually learns to accept both his extraordinary powers and himself, turning the series into a heartfelt story about self-acceptance. 4 'Frieren: Beyond Journey's End' Close Frieren: Beyond Journey's End believes the story doesn't end when the Demon King is defeated. After a ten-year quest comes to an end, the legendary mage Frieren parts ways with her companions and resumes her solitary life.
But as the centuries pass and her human friends grow old, she ruminates on a past life long gone. Most fantasy stories end once the ultimate evil has been defeated. Frieren: Beyond Journey's End instead asks what comes after. What does a hero do when there's no great enemy left to overcome?
For someone with a lifespan as long as Frieren's, the answer can be surprisingly painful. Through her journey with her apprentice Fern , the anime becomes a heartfelt reflection on living in the present and cherishing the people around you before they're gone. 3 'Steins;Gate' Steins;Gate introduces one of the most unconventional time machines in sci-fi: a modified microwave. It's all thanks to self-proclaimed mad scientist Rintarou Okabe and his friends.
But when a seemingly harmless experiment accidentally alters the timeline, the group finds themselves facing deadly consequences and attracting the attention of the powerful organization SERN. Despite its cartoonish aesthetic, Steins;Gate takes time travel seriously. The story draws on real scientific concepts like the butterfly effect, the many-worlds interpretation, and black hole theory, while weaving in internet culture and urban legends that make its world feel surprisingly grounded.
Beyond the science, the anime delivers a deeply human story about grief, regret, and the realization that the past cannot be rewritten without consequences. 2 'Attack on Titan' In Attack on Titan, ten-year-old Eren Jaeger watches helplessly as Titans devour his mother after the Colossal Titan breaches Wall Maria. Consumed by grief and rage, he vows to exterminate every last Titan.
Alongside his childhood friends, Eren joins the elite Survey Corps to fight for humanity's survival and reclaim the freedom that lies beyond the walls. It's nearly impossible to determine who the true heroes and villains are in Attack on Titan, and that's exactly what makes the series so rousing. Every side believes it's fighting for justice, but whether that justice is righteous or misguided is left for the audience to decide.
As the story evolves, it becomes clear that the greatest monsters aren't always the Titans — they can be humans, too. 1 'Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood' Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood begins after a forbidden alchemy experiment goes horribly wrong. In a desperate attempt to bring their late mother back to life, brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric pay a devastating price: Edward loses an arm and a leg, while Alphonse loses his entire body.
Determined to reclaim what they lost, the brothers set out in search of the legendary Philosopher's Stone. As their journey unfolds, viewers witness just how far Edward and Alphonse are willing to go to get their bodies back. While the brothers seek the Philosopher's Stone for personal reasons, others pursue it for immortality or limitless power. That moral conflict makes every step of their journey more gripping, ultimately testing their moral compass.
Like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Action Adventure Fantasy Sci-Fi Shonen Release Date 2009 - 2010 Cast See All Creator Hiromu Arakawa Main Genre Fantasy Seasons 1 Studio Bones Number of Episodes 64 Streaming Service Crunchyroll, Hulu Based On Manga MyAnimeList Score 9.10 Powered by Expand Collapse
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