20 Best Adult Anime, Ranked (2024)

Anime is a surprisingly nuanced medium of art that truly has something for everybody. While many of the most popular anime series tend to be made for younger audiences, there are plenty of incredible anime that adults can appreciate as well. In fact, many of the best anime series address concepts and themes that are really best understood by a more mature audience.

Anime even has its own separate category for adults called "seinen," but some of the absolute classics can appeal to both kids and grown-ups alike. Not only are there plenty of anime specifically made for adults, but there are also enough unique genres in adult-oriented anime to be enjoyed by every kind of fan.

Updated on April 16th, 2024 by Louis Kemner: This list of the best adult anime has been updated to adhere to CBR's current publication standards and features five more entries for adult anime fans to check out. There are plenty more anime series that will appeal to grown viewers with deep themes, twisted stories, and brutal action.

20 Tokyo Ghoul Stars a Tormented Half-Other Protagonist, Ken Kaneki

Tokyo Ghoul is a seinen anime based on the ultra-popular manga of the same name, written and drawn by Sui Ishida. Tokyo Ghoul is a "monster hunter" anime like Chainsaw Man and Demon Slayer, except both sides of the conflict are humanized, creating a compelling moral dilemma.

Tokyo Ghoul Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.79
• IMDb: 7.7
• Anime Planet: 4.14/5

Protagonist Ken Kaneki will become a half-other character, a one-eyed ghoul, and embark on an idealistic crusade to bring peace to both humans and ghouls. Ken is aware that both sides have a mix of innocent people and monsters, but that's no reason for anyone to suffer. Ken will face resistance from each side, but he will keep it up and strive to fix his "wrong" world one bloody battle at a time. It's a cool watch, but Tokyo Ghoul's anime butchered the original anime somewhat, so it ranks last among the best mature anime out there for grown viewers.

Tokyo Ghoul

Tokyo Ghoul took the world by storm when it debuted during the summer of 2014. Studio Pierrot does some wonderful work adapting author Sui Ishida’s dark fantasy series. Tokyo Ghoul isn’t for the faint of heart. This anime combines several genres such as horror, psychological thriller, action, and drama to great success.

Genre

Animation, Action, Horror

Language

English

Number of Seasons

4

Debut Date

July 3, 2014

Studio

Pierrot

19 Grand Blue Turns College Life Into One Big Party

The short but sweet Grand Blue anime is fairly obscure compared to more mainstream seinen titles, but it's still a great watch for adult anime fans looking for some solid comedy. College students, in particular, may appreciate Grand Blue's cast of college students who party it up every other night at their coastal university.

Grand Blue Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.43
• IMDb: 7.8
• Anime Planet: 4.18/5

Protagonist Iori Kitahara is a college freshman who just joined the diving club, and to his shock, the club's members are total party animals with their beer-soaked, nudist antics. Iori will get himself into all kinds of trouble along the way, but at least his cousins are around to support him. He will also make some wacky new friends like Kohei, who's a passionate otaku, and Aina, who is infamous for her ultra-heavy makeup persona.

Grand Blue Dreaming

Comedy

Adventure

A college student spends his year at the seaside town of Izu, having fun on the beach with his school friends.

Cast

Yuma Uchida

Studio

Zero-G

Streaming Service(s)

Amazon Prime Video

18 Death Parade Challenges Teens and Adults to Confront Their Inner Darkness

Death Parade only slowly reveals its secrets as a smartly written adult anime series. At first, it feels like another "death games" anime where familiar games are turned into something horrific. Fans will eventually see that the games played in the Quindecim bar are actually psychological tests designed to dtermine their afterlife.

Death Parade Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.15
• IMDb: 7.8
• Anime Planet: 4.16/5

Decim the bartender is less interested in torturing his hapless visitors and is more interested in exposing their true selves and their honest ideas to themselves and to other people. The anime will also gradually reveal where exactly these bar guests are coming from, which will be a bit of a shock for new fans.

Death Parade

TV-MA

Drama

Mystery

After death, humans go to either heaven or hell. But for some, at the instant of their death, they arrive at the Quindecim, a bar attended by the mysterious white-haired Decim.

Release Date

January 10, 2015

Cast

Rumi Okubo , Yoshimasa Hosoya

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

1

Studio

Madhouse

Creator

Yuzuru Tachikawa

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu , Crunchyroll

17 Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Is Relatable For Working Adults

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is a subversive, comedic, and graphic newer anime that will resonate strongly with 20-somethings and younger 30-somethings who feel worn out from the daily grind of working life. Protagonist Akira Tendo, age 24, has spent a few years at an exploitative company in Japan and sees no way out -- but then the zombies will take over.

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.84
• IMDb: 7.6
• Anime Planet: 4.03/5

Far from being terrified at the undead hordes, Akira will see a miraculous chance to escape his dreadful working life and start crossing off items on his personal bucket list, now that no one can stop him. Along the way, Akira will seek out his old friend and make a few new friends, all so they can survive together and make the most of the apocalypse.

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

TV-MA

Comedy

Action

Survival Horror

Zombie

A worker in a foreign finance company is bullied and worked around the clock, before a zombie outbreak finally makes him feel alive.

Release Date

July 9, 2023

Cast

Shūichi Uchida , Makoto Furukawa , Tomori Kusunoki

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

1

Studio

Bug Films

Creator

Haro Aso

Number of Episodes

10

16 Death Note Invites Debate About the True Meaning of Justice

Even if Death Note is a shonen anime based on a shonen manga of the same name, adult anime fans will enjoy it just as much as teenagers, if not more so. Death Note is the legendary story of Light Yagami the antihero and his quest to rid the world of crime by killing criminals with his supernatural notebook, and in so doing, become Kira, the would-be god of justice.

Death Note Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.62
• IMDb: 8.9
• Anime Planet: 4.3/5

The Death Note anime isn't just a cool crime thriller. It's also a chance to re-examine what ideas like justice and morality really mean, and such terms can be slippery and fuzzy when viewed through the lense of Death Note. The story will have a solid conclusion for Light and his quest, but the door will still be open for anime fans to discuss what justice and righteousness actually mean -- if they can be defined at all, that is.

Death Note (2006)

TV-14

Animation

Crime

Drama

Original title: Death Note: Desu nôto.
An 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.

Release Date

October 21, 2007

Cast

Mamoru Miyano , Brad Swaile , Vincent Tong , Ryō Naitō , Trevor Devall

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

1

Studio

Madhouse

Production Company

D.N. Dream Partners, Madhouse, Nippon Television Network (NTV), Shueisha, Video Audio Project (VAP)

Number of Episodes

37

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll , Amazon Freevee , Hulu , Tubi , Netflix , Peaco*ck , Prime Video , The Roku Channel

15 Planetes Explores Space In a Realistic Way

Some sci-fi anime series are meant purely for dazzling entertainment, such as the sprawling Gundam franchise, while relatively grounded anime like Planetes feel a little different. Planetes is more realistic science fiction that has a slow, deliberate pace as it questions humanity's place in outer space. It's a technical narrative that may appeal to fans of movies like Gravity or The Martian.

Planetes Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.26
• IMDb: 8.1
• Anime Planet: 4.05/5

Protagonist Hachirota Hoshino works in a junk-collecting ship in space and sometimes visits the Moon, but he dreams of far more. He wants to embark on humanity's greatest missions to map out the frontier of outer space, but it won't be easy getting a slot in such a mission. And if humanity isn't careful, that ever-growing field of space junk will make further space travel impossible anyhow. It's a cool mature anime for fans of hard sci-fi, though its appeal may be a tad limited, so it ranks fairly low among the very best anime for adults.

Planetes

TV-14

Drama

Sci-Fi

Ai Tanabe joins the Debris Section of the Technora Corporation as they work to remove the debris left around Earth. As Ai tries to accommodate to space life, she learns more about her crew on the dilapidated 'Toy Box'.

Release Date

October 4, 2003

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

1 Season

Characters By

Kazunari Tanaka, Satsuki Yukino, Ai Orikasa

Creator

Ichirō Ōkouchi

Producer

Yosh*taka Kawaguchi, Atsushi Yukawa, Tomoyuki Uehara

Production Company

Sunrise

Number of Episodes

26 Episodes

14 Black Lagoon Is a Thrilling Tarantino-Style Action Thriller

Black Lagoon is often compared to director Quentin Tarantino's hard-hitting, stylish action movies. Indeed, Mr. Tarantino has taken a few cues from anime, so it goes both ways. Any adult anime fan who loves action thrillers and crime thrillers will have fun with Black Lagoon, an R-rated seinen anime about violent crime in Southeast Asia's waters.

Black Lagoon Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.03
• IMDb: 7.9
• Anime Planet: 4.12/5

The protagonist, nicknamed Rock, was once a salaryman in Japan, but now he's thrust right into the criminal underbelly of the fictional city Roanapur. He's joined by the crew of the Black Lagoon ship and its mercenary crew, including the aggressive, emotionally distant Revy, who's almost like a tough, protective foster sister to him. Bullets, drugs, betrayal, and gruesome crime are a daily reality in Rock's new world, so he must be ready -- or else.

Black Lagoon (2006)

TV-MA

Action

Adventure

A 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.

Release Date

April 8, 2006

Cast

Megumi Toyoguchi , Brad Swaile

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

2 Seasons

Creator

Sunao Katabuchi

Producer

Jun Nishimura, Mitsutoshi Ogura, Junya Okamoto

Production Company

Black Lagoon Committee, Geneon Entertainment, Madhouse

Number of Episodes

24 Episodes

13 Wotakoi: Love is Hard For Otaku Shows True Love in the Workplace

Plenty of romantic comedy anime series are aimed at teenagers, thus all the teenage characters in so many romance series. Still, there are some series geared for adult viewers, including the charming josei anime Wotakoi: Love is Hard For Otaku, starring a cast of 20-somethings who work together at a modern office.

Wotakoi: Love is Hard For Otaku Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.94
• IMDb: 7.5
• Anime Planet: 4.16/5

Hirotaka, Narumi, Taro, and Hanako all share a secret passion for otaku subculture, something they keep secret from everyone else. The only people who understand them are each other, hence their strong friendships and soon, their wonderful romantic escapades, too. It proves that even in adulthood, people need time to face their insecurities and carve out their own niche in the world, a relatable endeavor for any anime fan.

Wotakoi: Love Is Hard For Otaku

TV-14

Comedy

Romance

Romantic Comedy

A gaming otaku and a fujoshi reunite for the first time since middle school at work.

Release Date

April 12, 2018

Cast

Miyuki Sawashiro , Tomokazu Sugita , Arisa Date , Kent Itō

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

1

Creator

Fujita

12 Nana is About Two Memorable Women Named Nana

Nana is often heartwarming, sad, and silly all in the same episode. It's a tale of two girls—both named Nana—who happen to meet on a train to Tokyo. Though they have the same name, these two girls couldn't be more different, and they truly become the Yin to the other's Yang in almost every way imaginable.

Nana Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.55
• IMDb: 8.5
• Anime Planet: 4.15/5

Both Nanas are complex, interesting, and lovable characters whose struggles with making it in a new city, finding the balance between love and sex, and learning how to be there for their friends, are all things that any adult could find relatable. For fans of romance, comedy, music, or all three, Nana is a classic series that new and old fans of anime can't miss.

Nana (2006)

TV-MA

Drama

Romance

Musical

Two ostensibly opposite women, both named Nana, become roommates in Tokyo and grow inseparable. However, their relationship is jeopardized as the harsh realities of adult life take shape.

Release Date

April 5, 2006

Cast

Romi Park , Toshiyuki Morikawa

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

1

Studio

Madhouse

Creator

Ai Yazawa

Number of Episodes

47 + 3 Recaps

11 Psycho-Pass Asks Hard Questions About Security and State Surveillance

The dark sci-fi anime series Psycho-Pass, sometimes stylized as PSYCHO-PASS, is a futuristic adventure in a world where crime is dealt with in entirely new ways. In those future years, the Sibyl System, which monitors everyone to accurately who's going to commit a crime and when. Then, law enforcement agents like Akane Tsunetori can capture them or take them out with high-tech weapons.

Psycho-Pass Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.34
• IMDb: 8.2
• Anime Planet: 4.17/5

Akane is an idealistic but troubled young woman on the force, and as the rookie, she has only scratched the surface of what it's like to deal with criminals who haven't yet committed a crime. Akane may soon find herself questioning the entire system and its ways, and when she finds the mind-bending truth of the Sibyl System, her entire world will be turned upside down.

Psycho-Pass

TV-MA

Anime

Crime

Science Fiction

Thriller

Believing in humanity and order, policewoman Akane Tsunemori obeys the ruling, computerized, precognitive Sibyl System. But when she faces a criminal mastermind who can elude this perfect system, she questions both Sibyl and herself.

Release Date

October 12, 2012

Cast

Kana Hanazawa , Takahiro Sakurai

Studio

Production I.G

See Also

Is Watching Anime Bad for Your Mental Health?

Creator

Tow Ubukata

10 Berserk (1997) Is a Fine Taste of the Original Manga Classic

Berserk is often seen as the ultimate nihilistic manga/anime franchise, and while that's partially true, its themes of redemption and finding a personal meaning to life are far too pronounced to write off. Guts is truly the most tragic protagonist in anime, living in an unforgiving world where his own death, as well as that of those around him, is imminent.

Berserk Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.58
• IMDb: 8.7
• Anime Planet: 4.12/5

Despite the inherent meaninglessness of the life Guts finds himself living, he has no choice but to keep going, choosing to create his own meaning and assign his life his own purpose in the process. Berserk is well known for having some of the most graphic and disturbing scenes in anime and is certainly not for kids. Fans may dive even deeper into this grim dark fantasy world in author Kentaro Miura's original Berserk manga, the definitive Berserk experience. Still, many adult anime fans may agree that the comparatively flawed 1997 Berserk anime should be counted among the best anime for adult viewers, ranking roughly in the middle.

Berserk (1997)

TV-MA

Anime

Action

Fantasy

Guts, 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.

Release Date

October 7, 1997

Cast

Marc Diraison , Kevin T. Collins , Carrie Keranen , Michelle Newman , Christopher Kromer , Jeff Ward , Mark Sebastian , J , David Brimmer , Sean Schemmel

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

1

Writers

Yasuhiro Imagawa

Franchise(s)

Berserk

Directors

Naohito Takahashi

9 Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Tackles Deep Philosophy and Has Cool Sci-Fi Action

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is one of the most recognizable pieces of art that anime has produced. Full of awesome action and interesting characters, it's perhaps best known for its willingness to question the implications of transhumanism through its main character, Motoko Kusanagi, aka Major.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.41
• IMDb: 8.5
• Anime Planet: 4.15/5

Major is the kind of strong, serious female protagonist that is largely absent from anime, making her a true breath of fresh air. Fans will come for Ghost in the Shell's sci-fi themes and intense action, and they'll stay for the deeper implications of what its story presents. Motoko and her allies at Section 9 will take on the Laughing Man, a brilliant cyber criminal who keeps taunting them from the shadows of society. Aside from that, Section 9's members will embark on other, equally intriguing sci-fi adventures with famously deep themes and philosophy.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

TV-MA

Science Fiction

Action

Crime

The futuristic adventures of a female cyborg counter intelligence agent and her support team.

Release Date

October 1, 2002

Cast

Atsuko Tanaka , Mary Elizabeth McGlynn , Richard Epcar , Crispin Freeman

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

2

Studio

Production I.G.

Creator

Kenji Kamiyama

Number of Episodes

52

8 Fruits Basket (2019) is All About Love, Acceptance, and Second Chances

Fruits Basket is a series that everyone should see at least once, especially since its 2019 remake properly completes the original story. Fruits Basket's story transcends anime in that it could be equally impactful no matter what medium is used to express it and its timeless themes of loneliness, forgiveness, self-actualization, and confronting one's own inner demons.

Fruits Basket Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.21
• IMDb: 8.6
• Anime Planet: 4.32/5

Though Tohru Honda was orphaned at a young age, her unexpected interaction with the cursed Sohma members of the Chinese Zodiac helped her to rediscover what family is all about. Fruits Basket is a coming-of-age tale that even people who have already come of age can still learn a lot from. Its sparkly shojo visuals may fool fans into thinking it's just another high school anime, but it's actually a complex, sometimes brutally raw look into the human psyche and what kind of trauma it may endure.

Fruits Basket

TV-14

Anime

Comedy

Drama

After Tohru is taken in by the Soma family, she learns that twelve family members transform involuntarily into animals of the Chinese zodiac and helps them deal with the emotional pain caused by the transformations.

Release Date

April 5, 2019

Cast

Manaka Iwami , Laura Bailey , Nobunaga Shimazaki , Jerry Jewell

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

3

Production Company

TMS Entertainment

Number of Episodes

63

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll , Hulu

7 Serial Experiments Lain is a Noteworthy Psychological Thriller

Equal parts disorienting, creepy, and downright confusing, Serial Experiments Lain is the perfect series for fans of experimental, psychological thrillers. Lain doesn't spell out its story or themes in any easily digestible way, instead relying on the viewer to put the work in to figure things out for themselves.

Serial Experiments Lain Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.09
• IMDb: 8.1
• Anime Planet: 3.79/5

As things come into focus though, it becomes increasingly clear that the world of Lain may not be as far-fetched as it first appears. The message and concepts inherent in Serial Experiments Lain's narrative are extremely relevant to today's ever-connected, cyber-centric world—even more so now than they were when the series first came out in the late '90s.

Serial Experiments Lain

TV-14

Horror

Science Fiction

Drama

Strange things start happening when a withdrawn girl named Lain becomes obsessed with an interconnected virtual realm known as "The Wired".

Release Date

July 6, 1998

Cast

Kirk Thornton , Bridget Hoffman , Shō Hayami , Kaori Shimizu , Ryūsuke Ōbayashi , Barry Stigler

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

1 Season

Creator

Chiaki J. Konaka

Producer

Yasuyuki Ueda, Shōjirō Abe

Production Company

Pioneer LDC, Triangle Staff

Number of Episodes

13 Episodes

6 Osho no Ko Is a Dark Twist on the Idol Genre

Oshi no Ko may look like a simple teen comedy anime or a sparkly idol anime, but looks are deceiving with series like this. Oshi no Ko is a dark, brutally honest dive into how exploitative and emotionally draining the idol industry can be, and the entertainment industry as a whole. That industry and its fans can chew up a promising performer and spit out what remains, possibly with lethal results.

Osho no Ko Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.71
• IMDb: 8.4
• Anime Planet: 4.42/5

Oshi no Ko is a complex anime with many themes and messages woven together to create a complex narrative that's best for older anime fans. The famous idol Ai Hoshino is tired of all the lies she tells to her fans about loving them, and when she has a twin son and daughter who aren't what they seem to be, the Hoshinos must try even harder to tell the truth from well-meaning lies they tell to themselves and others.

Oshi No Ko

TV-14

Drama

Fantasy

A doctor and his recently-deceased patient are reborn as twins to a famous Japanese musical idol and navigate the highs and lows of the Japanese entertainment industry as they grow up together through their lives.

Release Date

April 12, 2023

Cast

Rie Takahashi , Yumi Uchiyama

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

1 Season

Creator

Aka Akasaka

Production Company

CyberAgent, Dogakobo, Kadokawa, Sentai Studios, Shueisha

Number of Episodes

12 Episodes

5 Vinland Saga is a Medieval Adventure of Grief and Vengeance

Vinland Saga's intense action and realistic depictions of war are not for the faint of heart, but they're also completely necessary to drive home the important narrative that it weaves. As an anime about Vikings, Vinland Saga is also unique in both its setting and concepts, especially considering how it is a work of historical fiction. It even uses some real-life historical figures like Thorfinn and Canute, then puts a fresh twist on them.

Vinland Saga Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.75
• IMDb: 8.8
• Anime Planet: 4.4/5

Thorfinn is easily one of anime's greatest main characters thanks to both his impressive combat prowess and his journey toward growing as a person. It's in this latter sense that Vinland Saga truly distinguishes itself from other seinen series, though its action sequences alone let it stack up with the best of them. It's a thrilling adult anime that's not just about Vikings, but also the meaning of life, redemption, and overcoming personal demons, making Vinland Saga one of the very best of its kind, with just a few being even greater.

Vinland Saga

TV-MA

Anime

Action

Adventure

Following a tragedy, Thorfinn embarks on a journey with the man responsible for it to take his life in a duel as a true and honorable warrior to pay homage.

Release Date

July 6, 2019

Cast

Yûto Uemura , Mike Haimoto , Shinya Takahashi , Alejandro Saab , Hiroki Gotô , Aleks Le , Kaiji Tang , Michael C. Pizzuto

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

2

Studio

Wit Studio, Studio MAPPA

Creator

Makoto Yukimura

Production Company

Wit Studio, Mappa

Number of Episodes

48 Episodes

Streaming Service(s)

Netflix , Crunchyroll , Amazon Prime Video

4 Attack on Titan Boasts Horror, Fantasy, Politics, and a Cool Plot

It's hard to escape the influence of Attack on Titan in the modern anime landscape. That isn't a bad thing, though. Either from the perspective of simple entertainment value or when looking at the deeper concepts it explores, AOT is one of the rare examples of a series that truly lives up to its hype.

Attack on Titan Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.54
• IMDb: 9.1
• Anime Planet: 4.35/5

Much of Attack on Titan serves as a study of the downsides of war that many other battle-oriented anime series aren't willing to look at. It also features some of the best character development in any series, largely in part due to the way that endless fighting affects the soldiers over time. That goes double for protagonist Eren Yeager, who is infamous for morphing from a hotheaded shonen hero to a brutal antihero who will change the world with self-righteous genocide.

Attack On Titan

TV-MA

Action

Adventure

Original title: Shingeki no Kyojin.
After his hometown is destroyed and his mother is killed, young Eren Jaeger vows to cleanse the earth of the giant humanoid Titans that have brought humanity to the brink of extinction in Attack on Titan.

Release Date

September 28, 2013

Cast

Bryce Papenbrook , Yûki Kaji , Marina Inoue , Hiro Shimono , Takehito Koyasu , Jessie James Grelle

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

4 Seasons

Studio

Wit Studios, MAPPA

Creator

Hajime Isayama

Number of Episodes

98 Episodes

3 Neon Genesis Evangelion is a Stunning Deconstruction of Mecha Anime

An undisputed classic, Neon Genesis Evangelion has some of the coolest designs in mecha anime, and its themes are sure to leave viewers thinking long after the show is over. While many experimental series have come before and after it, Evangelion is perhaps most well known for its unyielding ability to throw away everything the viewer thinks they know at the last second, making this a highly subversive anime series.

Neon Genesis Evangelion Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.35
• IMDb: 8.5
• Anime Planet: 4.01/5

Not only are its story and combat a joy to watch, but Neon Genesis Evangelion also has some of the most iconic anime characters ever: Shinji Ikari, Asuka Langley Shikinami (formerly Soryu), and Rei Ayanami. Even though its animation and art style may seem a bit dated compared to more modern series, that only gives it a feeling of haunting nostalgia that makes it come off as simultaneously futuristic and old-school, as though the very concept of time were collapsing into the singularity.

Neon Genesis Evangelion

TV-MA

Action

Adventure

A teenage boy finds himself recruited as a member of an elite team of pilots by his father.

Release Date

October 4, 1995

Cast

Megumi Ogata , Kotono Mitsuishi , Megumi Hayashibara

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

1 Season

Studio

Gainax, Tatsunoko

Creator

Hideaki Anno, Masayuki, Kazuya Tsurumaki

Producer

Yutaka Sugiyama, Joseph Chou

Production Company

Gainax, Nihon Ad Systems (NAS), TV Tokyo, Tatsunoko Production

Number of Episodes

26 Episodes

2 Monster Features a Doctor Who Might Regret Saving a Young Life

​​​​​​​

While Monster is about murder, it's not intrinsically a horror anime. Instead, it examines the psychology of a serial killer and the kind of ideology that can drive someone to continue to commit the most heinous of crimes. When Dr. Tenma is faced with the moral decision between saving a young boy's life and the life of a government official, he chooses the boy. Unbeknownst to Tenma at the time, the choice he made would go on to affect multiple lives in the darkest ways imaginable.

Monster Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.88
• IMDb: 8.7
• Anime Planet: 4.22/5

Monster also explores philosophical questions of morality by allowing the most extreme of ethical examples to play out in real time as part of its plot. Viewers are certain to find themselves questioning what is real and true right alongside Dr. Kenzo Tenma, who worked in a West German hospital in the 1960s, where he met a young Johann Liebert, the future "monster."

Monster

TV-14

Crime

Drama

Dr. Kenzo Tenma, an elite neurosurgeon, finds his life in utter turmoil after following his conscience to operate on a small boy named Johan.

Release Date

September 28, 2005

Cast

Liam O'Brien , Karen Strassman , Richard Epcar , Keith Silverstein

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

1

Studio

Madhouse

Characters By

Naoki Urasawa

Creator

Naoki Urasawa

Streaming Service(s)

Netflix

1 Cowboy Bebop is a Moody, Funny, and Unforgettable Adventure in the Solar System

Despite its hints of romance and comedy, Cowboy Bebop is perhaps most akin to a tragedy. However, it's not tragic in a cheap kind of way but instead presents its brand of heartache in a way that is thought-provoking and introspective. Cowboy Bebop also has one of the best soundtracks in anime history: a jazzy upbeat vibe that somehow perfectly offsets the empty expanses of outer space that Spike and friends traverse.

Cowboy Bebop Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.75
• IMDb: 8.9
• Anime Planet: 4.33/5

Cowboy Bebop is not a series that can only be enjoyed by adults, but it is definitely one whose themes won't be fully understood without the maturity and experience that only adulthood can bring. Cowboy Bebop is the ultimate adult anime partly because it doesn't restrict itself to an adult audience, but instead understands that it can help teach the next generation too, as any adult would. All that means Cowboy Bebop is the smartest, coolest, most memorable, and overall best anime for adults there is.

Cowboy Bebop (1998)

TV-14

Animation

Action

Adventure

Sci-Fi

The futuristic misadventures and tragedies of an easygoing bounty hunter and his partners.

Release Date

September 2, 2001

Cast

Koichi Yamadera , Unshô Ishizuka , Megumi Hayashibara , Steve Blum , Beau Billingslea

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

1

Studio

Sunrise