Rotten Tomatoesis easily the review aggregator most people default to when evaluating movies and TV shows. While people should, ideally, form their own opinions, getting a professional review is the easiest way to know if something is worth watching, and with how easy it is for Rotten Tomatoes to gather up reviews, it’s almost always the site people will turn to if they’re looking to evaluate something.
While it’s not without its issues, Rotten Tomatoes is a great site for judging the quality of something, and anime is no exception. With how niche anime is compared to more mainstream media, most anime lack professional reviews, and many don’t have any reviews at all, but amidst all of that,there’s a wide range of anime that are so great that they’ve garnered perfect scores on Rotten Tomatoes. A few of those anime are especially worth highlighting, and if anyone had any doubts about their quality, their Rotten Tomatoes scores will hopefully be the deciding factor.
A-1 Pictures’Solo Levelingtakes place in a world where people can awaken to supernatural abilities and become Hunters to challenge mystical Gates for profit and to protect the innocent, and among those Hunters is Sung Jinwoo, regarded as the world’s weakest Hunter for his E-Rank status. When a near-death experience gives Jinwoo a video game-esque power, however, he’ll use it to slowly become stronger than everyone and find the means to support his family and gain a sense of self-worth.
With a combination of gorgeous artwork and incredibly animated action scenes,Solo Leveling’s revolutionary production values have allowed it to quickly skyrocket to being one of the biggest anime in the world, a reputation that’s nothing but well-earned at this point. There are few anime that are better to watch right now thanSolo Leveling, and its strong Rotten Tomatoes score is a perfect testament to that.
In Madhouse’sParanoia Agent, an overworked character designer is suddenly assaulted while struggling to come up with a new character, and she tells the police that a rollerblading boy with a baseball bat attacked her. While the police initially assume she’s lying, more victims of the same boy, now dubbed “Li’l Slugger”, start cropping up, and what follows is an increasingly surreal exploration into the mystery behind Li’l Slugger’s actions.
Paranoia Agentwas the only TV series produced bylegendary anime director Satoshi Kon, and sure enough,Paranoia Agentis a wonderfully surreal and thoughtful story with plenty of gorgeous animation to go along with it at every turn. Satoshi Kon’s work was unlike anything else in anime, andParanoia Agentis easily one of the best examples of just how talented an artist he was.
Toei Animation’sDragon Ball Daimais the latest installment in the iconicDragon Ballfranchise. A year after Goku defeated Majin Buu, Goku and his friends find themselves turned into children by Gomah, the king of the Demon Realm, and now Goku must travel through the Demon Realm to gather up a new set of Dragon Balls to turn everyone back to normal.
While not the strongestDragon Ballstory when it comes to the overarching narrative,Dragon Ball Daimahas the best combination of creative martial arts action and goofy comedy since the originalDragon Ballanime, and the fact that it’s probably the best-lookingDragon Ballanime of all time makes that especially fun to watch play out. Akira Toriyama sadly passed away beforeDragon Ball Daimacould come out, but fortunately, there was no better way to cap off his legacy.
Studio M2’sPlutois a modern reimagining of the classic “Greatest Robot on Earth” story arc from the legendary animeAstro Boyby Osamu Tezuka. In this take on the series, robot detective Gesicht begins investigating the mysterious murders of the world’s strongest robots by a mysterious figure named Pluto, and in doing so, he uncovers a massive conspiracy that threatens to put the entire world at risk.
WhilePlutospent almost a decade in development, it was well worth the wait, asPlutodoes a phenomenal job of modernizing the iconicAstro Boyanime with its gorgeous art and animation and its mature storytellingfilled with human drama and unflinching commentary on the Iraq War. Manga author Naoki Urasawa is one of the most iconic names inseinenmanga, and the incredible quality ofPluto’s anime shows he deserves all the recognition he’s received, and then some.
In Studio Trigger’sDelicious in Dungeon, Laios Touden’s adventure party is wiped out by a dragon, with Laios’ sister, Falin, even being eaten alive. Laios and what remains of his party need to hurry back through the dungeon to revive Falin, and to deal with a lack of funds, they resort to eating the monsters they encounter in the dungeon, something Laios is all but stated to have just been looking for an excuse to do.
Not only doesDelicious in Dungeonhave some of the best animation of any Studio Trigger production, but between the strong worldbuilding and incredible character writing,Delicious in Dungeonis an anime that always strikes a perfect balance between thoughtful drama and heartfelt comedy. It’s one of Studio Trigger’s best anime in years, and withDelicious in Dungeonseason 2 in development, there’s plenty more in store for fans old and new.
Studio Khara’sNeon Genesis Evangelionstars Shinji Ikari, a reserved young boy who goes to the futuristic Tokyo-3 to see his father for the first time in a decade. There, Shinji is told that he has to pilot a giant robot called an Evangelion and protect the world from monstrous beings called Angels, all of which gradually take a toll on Shinji’s fragile psyche as each battle pushes his inability to relate to others to its limit.
Neon Genesis Evangelionis one of the most iconic anime of all time for its incredible visuals and direction and thoughtfully dark storytelling, and after 30 years, it still holds up incredibly well. There’s never been an anime quite likeNeon Genesis Evangelion, and anyone who hasn’t already watched it would be remiss not to give it a try.
Sunrise’sCowboy Beboptakes place in a futuristic setting where humanity has begun to live out in space, and going right along with that has been a new wave of crime that necessitates bounty hunters called Cowboys. Among those Cowboys are series protagonist Spike Spiegel and the rest of the crew of theBebop, and the series follows their episodic adventures chasing after bounties to make a living while occasionally confronting the demons of their pasts.
Cowboy Bebop’s stellar writing, animation, and utilization of Western themes in its writing and overall aesthetic have made for one of the most unique stories in all of anime, and the largely episodic format makes it easy for someone to digest it at their own pace. It’s somewhat rare for an anime to leave such a lasting impression without hundreds of episodes behind it, butCowboy Bebopmore than succeeds in that regard.
Madhouse’sFrieren: Beyond Journey’s Endstars Frieren, the virtually unaging elf mage of the adventurer party that defeated the demon lord. While Frieren initially didn’t think much of her time with everyone, the death of the Hero, Himmel, made her realize how much she cared about them, and her regret over letting Himmel die without seeing that pushes Frieren to go on a new journey to learn how to better understand people.
Between its gorgeous art and animation and a narrative that never fails at selling its emotional beats,Frieren: Beyond Journey’s Endis easily the best fantasy anime to come out of modern anime for how effortlessly it balances impeccable visual and narrative storytelling. Few anime of the past few years are as iconic asFrieren, and withFrieren: Beyond Journey’s Endseason 2officially in development, there’s no telling how far it will go.
Bones Film’sFullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhoodis the second adaptation of the legendary manga of the same name. Unlike the originalFullmetal Alchemistanime, which wildly diverged from the source material,Brotherhoodis a more straightforward adaptation of the manga that fully chronicles the Elric Brothers’ search for the Philosopher’s Stone and how it intersects with a massive conspiracy set to destroy all of Amestris.
Not only isBrotherhood’s art and animation just as great as the original anime, if not greater, but by finally following the original manga’s story,Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhooddoes a perfect job of telling a thrilling action story that’s easily accessible while still challenging viewers in the best of ways.Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhoodis often said to be one of thegreatest anime of all time, and overall, it’s easy to see why.
Gurren Lagann
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Gurren Lagann is an anime series set in a future where humans live in underground villages. The story follows Simon and Kamina, who break free to the surface and pilot the titular mecha to fight against oppressive forces.
InStudio Trigger’sTengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, humanity has been forced to live underground for centuries by the Spiral King and his army of Beastmen, something most people aren’t even aware of. When Simon discovers a mysterious robot called a Gunmen, he and his blood brother Kamina end up joining humanity’s fight against the Spiral King, and Simon’s part in it all has him grow into a man that can take on not only the world, but the entire universe.
Gurren Lagannis the most iconic anime from the team behind Studio Trigger, and even after almost 20 years,Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagannis one of the best anime a person can watch, thanks to its great writing and over-the-top action and animation. There’s never been an anime quite likeTengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and it easily stands as thebest anime with a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.
