Curated Anime
Anime - Japanese animation - may refer to where it was produced, to the animation and direction style, or main target market.
For now I separated anime and cartoon in my curation for their two distinct styles of animation.
Anime in Japan is prevalent and a substantial part of culture; at least much more so than cartoons or animation in the west.
Animation provides its very own opportunities and challenges over physical filming.
With how big the industry is in Japan, you have a wide range of genres. Be it sports, daily life, heartfelt stories, adventures, action, sci-fi, social, emotional, …
I categorize them in a ranking based on the 10-point system of AniDB, and my evolving subjective evaluation of what they mean.
- 10/10 - exceptional, general recommendation without reservation
- 9/10 - great, outstanding
- 8/10 - very good
- 7/10 - good, enjoyable with flaws
- 6/10 - can be worthwhile
Because the list grows over a long time, experience increases/changes, and the products change over time much older evaluations may not necessarily be using the same baseline and ranking criteria. I update them if and when I rewatch them.
Exceptional (10/10)
-
series
A Place Further Than the Universe
2018Rating: 10 -
series
Bunny Drop
2011Rating: 10 -
series
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
2022Rating: 10 -
movie
From Up On Poppy Hill
2011Rating: 10 -
movie
Howl’s Moving Castle
2004Rating: 10 -
movie
In This Corner of the World
2016Rating: 10 -
series
Interviews with Monster Girls
2017Rating: 10 -
movie
Kagami no Kojou
2022Rating: 10 -
movie
Kiki`s Delivery Service
1989Rating: 10 -
movie
Laputa Castle in the Sky
1986Rating: 10 -
movie
Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms
2018Rating: 10 -
movie
Mirai no Mirai
2018Rating: 10 -
series, movie
Mushishi
Rating: 10 -
movie
My Neighbor Totoro
1988Rating: 10 -
movie
Only Yesterday
1991Rating: 10 -
movie
Porco Rosso
1992Rating: 10 -
movie
Princess Mononoke
1997Rating: 10 -
series
Shirobako
2014Rating: 10 -
studio
Studio Ghibli
1986-2014Rating: 10 -
movie
Suzume no Tojimari
2023Rating: 10 -
movie
Tales From Earthsea
2006Rating: 10 -
series
Terror in Resonance
2014Rating: 10 -
movie
The Cat Returns
2002Rating: 10 -
series
The Eccentric Family
2013, 2017Rating: 10 -
movie
The Secret World of Arrietty
2010Rating: 10 -
series, movie
Violet Evergarden
2018 2019 2020Rating: 10 -
series
Vivy: Fluorite Eye`s Song
2021Rating: 10 -
movie
When Marnie Was There
2014Rating: 10
Great (9/10)
-
series
86 Eighty-Six
2021-2022Rating: 9 -
movie
A Silent Voice
2016Rating: 9 -
series
Arknights: Prelude to Dawn
2022Rating: 9 -
series
Barakamon
2014Rating: 9 -
series
Bloom into You
2018Rating: 9 -
series
Darker Than Black
2007, 2009, 2010Rating: 9 -
series
Girls` Last Tour
2017Rating: 9 -
series
Heavenly Delusion - Tengoku Daimakyo
2023Rating: 9 -
series
Jobless Reincarnation
2021Rating: 9 -
series
Lycoris Recoil
2022Rating: 9 -
series
March Comes In Like a Lion
2016-2017Rating: 9 -
OVA 3x1h
Mardock Scramble
2012Rating: 9 -
series
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid
2017 2021Rating: 9 -
series
Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit (2007) (10)
2007Rating: 9 -
movie
No Game No Life Zero
2017Rating: 9 -
series, movie
Non Non Biyori
2013, 2015, 2018, 2021Rating: 9 -
series
Now and Then, Here and There
2000Rating: 9 -
series
O Maidens in Your Savage Season
2019Rating: 9 -
movie
Ocean Waves
1993Rating: 9 -
series
Odd Taxi
2021Rating: 9 -
movie
Patema Inverted
2013Rating: 9 -
series
Ping Pong The Animation
2014Rating: 9 -
movie
Pom Poko
1994Rating: 9 -
movie
Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
2008Rating: 9 -
series + movies
Psycho Pass
2012-2020Rating: 9 -
series,movie
Saga of Tanja the Evil
2017, 2019, 2021Rating: 9 -
series
Shimoneta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn`t Exist
2015Rating: 9 -
movie
Summer Wars
2009Rating: 9 -
series
The Ancient Magus` Bride
2017Rating: 9 -
The Dangers in My Heart
2023Rating: 9 -
series
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
2016, 2018, 2019Rating: 9 -
series
The Eminence in Shadow
2023Rating: 9 -
movie
The Garden of Words
2013Rating: 9 -
series
The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash
2024Rating: 9 -
series
To Your Eternity
2021Rating: 9 -
series
Train to the End of the World
2024Rating: 9 -
series
Uncle from Another World
2022Rating: 9 -
movie
Weathering With You
2019Rating: 9 -
movie
Whisper of the Heart
1995Rating: 9 -
movie
Wolf Children
2012Rating: 9
Very good (8/10)
-
series
7th Time Loop- Villainess Married to Worst Enemy
2024Rating: 8 -
series
A Centaur`s Life
2017Rating: 8 -
series
A Sign of Affection
2024Rating: 8 -
movie
Akira
1988Rating: 8 -
series
Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian
2024Rating: 8 -
series
And Yet the Town Moves
2010Rating: 8 -
series
Ascendance of a Bookworm
2019, 2020Rating: 8 -
series
Attack on Titan
2013, 2017-2023Rating: 8 -
series
Banana Fish
2018Rating: 8 -
series
Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad
2006Rating: 8 -
movie,series
Berserker
2013, 2016, 2017Rating: 8 -
series,movie
Blue Exorcist
2011, 2012, 2017Rating: 8 -
series
Bocchi the Rock!
2022Rating: 8 -
series
Call of the Night
2022Rating: 8 -
series
Chainsaw Man
2022Rating: 8 -
series
Death Parade
2015Rating: 8 -
series
Dorohedoro
2020Rating: 8 -
series
Fairy Gone
2019Rating: 8 -
series
Fractale
2011Rating: 8 -
series
Frieren
2024Rating: 8 -
series
From Me To You
2010, 2011Rating: 8 -
series
Gate
2015Rating: 8 -
series
Girls Band Cry
2024Rating: 8 -
movie
Goodbye, Don Glees!
2022Rating: 8 -
series
Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions
2016Rating: 8 -
series
GTO - Great Teacher Onizuka
2000Rating: 8 -
series
Handyman Saitou in Another World
2023Rating: 8 -
series
Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway
2021Rating: 8 -
series
Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu (2019) (8)
2019Rating: 8 -
movie
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas
2018Rating: 8 -
series
Insomniacs After School
2023Rating: 8 -
series
Iroduku: The World in Colors
2018Rating: 8 -
series
Jellyfish Can`t Swim in the Night
2024Rating: 8 -
series
Laid-Back Camp
2018, 2020, 2021Rating: 8 -
series
Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero
2023Rating: 8 -
movie
Magical Sisters Yoyo and Nene
2023Rating: 8 -
series
Maid Sama!
2010Rating: 8 -
series
Makeine - Too Many Losing Heroines
2024Rating: 8 -
series
Mieruko-chan
2021Rating: 8 -
movie-shortstories
My Neighbors the Yamadas
1999Rating: 8 -
series
My Teen Romantic Comedy: Fucked Up
2013, 2015, 2020Rating: 8 -
series
My Wife Has No Emotion
2024Rating: 8 -
series
No Game No Life
2014Rating: 8 -
series
Occult Academy
2010Rating: 8 -
series
One Off
2012Rating: 8 -
series
One-Punch Man
2015, 2019Rating: 8 -
series
Onimai: I`m Now Your Sister!
2023Rating: 8 -
movie
Origin: Spirits of the Past
2006Rating: 8 -
series
Oshi no Ko
2023Rating: 8 -
series
Parallel World Pharmacy
2022Rating: 8 -
series
Planetes
2004Rating: 8 -
series
Please Tell Me! Galko Chan (2016) (8)
2016Rating: 8 -
series
Prison School
2015Rating: 8 -
series, movie
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai
2018Rating: 8 -
series
Reincarnated Into a Total Fantasy Knockout
2022Rating: 8 -
series
Relife
2016Rating: 8 -
series
Sasaki and Peeps
2024Rating: 8 -
series
Shadows House
2021, 2022Rating: 8 -
series
Silver Spoon
2013, 2014Rating: 8 -
movie
Sing a Bit of Harmony
2021Rating: 8 -
series
Skip and Loafer
2023Rating: 8 -
series
Snow White with the Red Hair
2015Rating: 8 -
series
Sounds of Life
2019Rating: 8 -
series
Spice and Wolf
2008, 2009Rating: 8 -
series
Spy x Family
2022Rating: 8 -
series
Super Cub
2021Rating: 8 -
series
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
Rating: 8 -
series
The Apothecary Diaries
2024Rating: 8 -
series
The Devil Is a Part-Timer!
2013Rating: 8 -
series
The Fable
2024Rating: 8 -
series
The Faraway Paladin
2022Rating: 8 -
series
The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace
2021Rating: 8 -
series
The Magical Revolution of
2023Rating: 8 -
series
The Rising of the Shield Hero
2019, 2022Rating: 8 -
series
The Unwanted Undead Adventurer
2024Rating: 8 -
movie
The Wind Rises
2013Rating: 8 -
series
The World God Only Knows
2010-2013Rating: 8 -
series
Tomo-chan Is a Girl!
2023Rating: 8 -
series
Toradora
2009Rating: 8 -
series
Ya Boy Kongming!
2022Rating: 8 -
series
Your Lie in April
Rating: 8 -
series
Yuru Yuri
2011-2015Rating: 8 -
series
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead
2023Rating: 8
Good (7/10)
-
series
After the Rain
2018Rating: 7 -
series
Assault Lily: Bouquet
2020Rating: 7 -
series
Back Street Girls - Gokudols
2018Rating: 7 -
movie
Belle
2021Rating: 7 -
series
Black Summoner
2022Rating: 7 -
series
Boarding School Juliet
2018Rating: 7 -
series
Bofuri
2020, 2022Rating: 7 -
series
Buddy Daddies
2023Rating: 7 -
series
By the Grace of the Gods
2020Rating: 7 -
series
Campfire Cooking Isekai
2023Rating: 7 -
series
Cautious Hero
2016Rating: 7 -
series
Danmachi
2015-2022Rating: 7 -
series
Days with My Stepsister
2024Rating: 7 -
series
Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction
2024Rating: 7 -
series
Dead Mount Death Play
2023Rating: 7 -
series
Doctor Elise
2024Rating: 7 -
series
Domestic Girlfriend
2019Rating: 7 -
series
Dr. Stone
2019 2021 2022 2023Rating: 7 -
series
Dungeon People
2024Rating: 7 -
series
Fruits Basket
2019, 2020, 2021Rating: 7 -
series
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
2010Rating: 7 -
series
Go! Go! Loser Ranger!
2024Rating: 7 -
series, movie
Goblin Slayer
2018, 2020, 2023Rating: 7 -
series
Grimoire of Zero
2017Rating: 7 -
series
Hell's Paradise
2023Rating: 7 -
series
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom
2021, 2022Rating: 7 -
series
I Parry Everything!
2024Rating: 7 -
series
I'm Standing on a Million Lives
2020, 2021Rating: 7 -
series
I`m in Love with the Villainess
2023Rating: 7 -
series
In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki
2022Rating: 7 -
series
In the Land of Leadale
2022Rating: 7 -
series
Ishura
2024Rating: 7 -
movie
Josee, the Tiger and the Fish
2020Rating: 7 -
series
Kaiba
2008Rating: 7 -
series
Kaiju No. 8
2024Rating: 7 -
series
Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens (2008)
2008Rating: 7 -
series
Kemono Jihen
2021Rating: 7 -
series
Koikimo
2021Rating: 7 -
series, movie
Konosuba: God`s Blessing on This Wonderful World!
2016, 2017, 2019Rating: 7 -
series
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
2020, 2023Rating: 7 -
series
Land of the Lustrous
2017Rating: 7 -
series
Log Horizon
2013, 2014, 2021Rating: 7 -
series
Mashle: Magic and Muscles
2023Rating: 7 -
series
My Dress-Up Darling
2022Rating: 7 -
series
My Instant Death Ability Is Overpowered
2024Rating: 7 -
series
My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999
2023Rating: 7 -
movie
My Oni Girl
2024Rating: 7 -
series
My Stepmom's Daughter Is My Ex
2022Rating: 7 -
series
Mysterious Disappearances
2024Rating: 7 -
series
Overlord
2015, 2018-2022Rating: 7 -
series
Plus-Sized Elf
2024Rating: 7 -
series
Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon
2022Rating: 7 -
series
Reincarnated as a Sword
2022Rating: 7 -
series
Romantic Killer
2022Rating: 7 -
series
Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence
2023Rating: 7 -
series
Sakamoto - Haven`t You Heard? I`m Sakamoto
2016Rating: 7 -
movie
Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusai
2015Rating: 7 -
series
Saving 80,000 Gold
2023Rating: 7 -
series
Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle
2020Rating: 7 -
series
Summer Time Rendering
2022Rating: 7 -
movie
The Boy and the Heron
2023Rating: 7 -
series
The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy
2023Rating: 7 -
special
The Dragon Dentist
2017Rating: 7 -
series
The Fire Hunter
2023Rating: 7 -
series
The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt
2022Rating: 7 -
movie
The Girl From The Other Side
2022Rating: 7 -
series
The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague
2023Rating: 7 -
series, movie
The Irregular at Magic High School
2014, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2024Rating: 7 -
series
The Legendary Hero Is Dead!
2013Rating: 7 -
series
The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies
2024Rating: 7 -
series
The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady
2023Rating: 7 -
series
The Most Heretical - From Villainess to Savior
2023Rating: 7 -
movie
The Place Promised in Our Early Days
2004Rating: 7 -
series
The Quintessential Quintuplets
2019, 2021, 2022Rating: 7 -
series
The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World
2023Rating: 7 -
series
The Witch and the Beast
2024Rating: 7 -
series
The Yakuza`s Guide to Babysitting
2022Rating: 7 -
series
Tsukimichi Moonlit Fantasy
2021, 2024Rating: 7 -
series
Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte
2023Rating: 7 -
series
Undead Murder Farce
2023Rating: 7 -
series
Unnamed Memory
2024Rating: 7 -
series
Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!
2020Rating: 7 -
series
Villainess - All Routes Lead to Doom
2020Rating: 7 -
series
Villainess - Taming the Final Boss
2022Rating: 7 -
series
Villainess Level 99
2024Rating: 7 -
series
Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina
2020Rating: 7 -
series
Welcome to the N.H.K
Rating: 7 -
series
Wonder Egg Priority
2021Rating: 7
Can be Worthwhile (6/10)
-
series
As a Reincarnated Aristocrat - Appraisal
2024Rating: 6 -
movie
Aura: Koga Maryuin`s Last War
2013Rating: 6 -
series
Banished from Hero Party, Quiet Countryside Life
2021, 2024Rating: 6 -
series
Birdie Wing - Golf Girls Story
2022Rating: 6 -
Black Bullet
2014Rating: 6 -
series
Btooom!
2021Rating: 6 -
series
Butareba - Man Turned Pig
2023Rating: 6 -
series
Chillin` in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers
2024Rating: 6 -
series
Fluffy Paradise
2024Rating: 6 -
movie
Fragtime
2019Rating: 6 -
series
From the New World
2013Rating: 6 -
series
High-Rise Invasion
2021Rating: 6 -
series
Id: Invaded
2020Rating: 6 -
series
Jyu-Oh-Sei: Planet of the Beast King
2007Rating: 6 -
OVA 1h
Kase-san and Morning Glories
2018Rating: 6 -
series
Kubo Won`t Let Me Be Invisible
2023Rating: 6 -
series, 4min-eps
Mangirl!
2013Rating: 6 -
series
Maou-sama, Retry!
2019Rating: 6 -
series
Murai in Love
2024Rating: 6 -
series
NieR:Automata Ver1.1a
2023Rating: 6 -
series
Ninja Kamui
2024Rating: 6 -
series
No Longer Allowed In Another World
2024Rating: 6 -
series
Ooku - The Inner Chambers
2023Rating: 6 -
series
Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World
2024Rating: 6 -
series
Pluto
2023Rating: 6 -
series
Problem Children Are Coming from Another World, Aren`t They?
2013Rating: 6 -
series
Sabikui Bisco
2022Rating: 6 -
series
Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts
2023Rating: 6 -
series
Senpai is an Otokonoko
2024Rating: 6 -
series
Spare Me, Great Lord
2022, 2024Rating: 6 -
series
The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today
2023Rating: 6 -
series
The New Gate
2024Rating: 6 -
series
The Twelve Kingdoms
2003Rating: 6 -
series
The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess
2023Rating: 6 -
series
The World`s Finest Assassin Reincarnated
2021Rating: 6 -
series
The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic
2024Rating: 6 -
series
Tower of God
2020Rating: 6 -
series
Unbreakable Machine-Doll
2013Rating: 6 -
series
Welcome To Demon School
2020Rating: 6