100 Essential Anime A Definitive Guide to the Most Influential Anime Series Ever Made

Dragon Ball is the widely known and beloved Japanese franchise created by Akira Toriyama. The Dragon Ball manga franchise has been serialized in Shonen Jump since 1984, along with a few long running anime series starting with Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and more recently Dragon Ball Super.

Pokemon is a Japanese media franchise that features a shared universe throughout various media. Originating from the video games series developed by Game Freak that first appeared on Game Boy; Pokemon is widely loved for the growing list of "pocket monsters" that live alongside humans within the franchise's universe. The popularity of the franchise expands into the collectible trading card game, animated series, and much more, making it one of the biggest media franchise in the world.

My Hero Academia is a popular Japanese franchise that began as a manga series created by Kohei Horikoshi, later being adapted into an anime series. My Hero Academia features a universe filled with various eccentric superheroes who fight evil with abilities called "Quirks", with a focus on the aspiring Izuku Midoriya who is one of the few people without a "Quirk". Taken under the wing of the hero All Might, Midoriya is given the opportunity to be the hero he always dreamed of being and attends the prestigious hero academy U.A. High School.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a highly popular Japanese media franchise that first aired in Japan in 1995 with a successful anime series. Following Shinji Ikari, a teenage youth who is tasked with piloting giant mecha, called Evangelion, against city destroying beings called Angels. The franchise explores various religious and psychological themes that that have provided various memorable moments. Neon Genesis Evangelion is a commercial and critically successful franchise that continues to receive acclaim for the impact it continues to have.

Attack on Titan is a popular manga and anime series written by Hajime Isayama. The franchise has become a cultural phenomenon since its introduction and has become one of the bestselling manga series of all time. Attack on Titan revolves around a world where giant man-eating creatures called Titans force humanity to live behind walls for safety. Eren Yeager sets his sights on exterminating the Titans after losing his home to them. Expanding beyond the iconic manga and anime series, Attack on Titan has been extremely successful in the merchandising world as well.

Cowboy Bebop is a late 1990s Japanese anime series created and animated by Sunrise that takes inspiration from various neo-noir and Western themes. Set in the year 2071, the story centers around a group of misfit bounty hunters who are part of the crew on the Bebop spaceship. Due to the critical and commercial success of the anime series, the Cowboy Bebop franchise quickly grew in popularity and continues to be considered a classic amongst many in the industry today.

Sailor Moon is popular Japanese media franchise based on the Shojo manga series created by Naoko Takeuchi. The series centers around Sailor Guardians who must battle against villains who look to cause the universe harm. Sailor Moon has expanded into a highly popular anime series along with other media forms that continued to popularize the franchise. Sailor Moon is a critically and commercially successful brand that regularly produces merchandise that continues to generate sales.

One Piece is an extremely popular Japanese franchise that began as a manga series created by Eiichiro Oda. The story follows Monkey D. Luffy throughout his various adventures as a pirate along with the memorable allies alongside him. This comedic action franchise is the bestselling manga series in history and has expanded to other media formats with terrific success, including a popular anime series and various anime films.