Written by The 2010s were an absurdly good time to be an anime fan. The tragic anime Your Lie in April made us cry over music, The Devil Is a Part-Timer! made fast food feel like a fantasy adventure, and Psycho-Pass made dystopia look terrifyingly stylish. And those are just the shows that didn’t make this list. The era produced shows that were thrilling, devastating, bizarre, beautiful, and occasionally all four at once.
But which series truly defined the decade? From humanity’s desperate war against monsters to a teenager’s battle with his own emotions, these are the 10 best anime series of the 2010s, ranked by their storytelling, originality, emotional power, influence, and lasting impact.
10. March Comes In Like a Lion Makes Loneliness Feel Uncomfortably Real
Official poster of March Comes In Like A Lion. [Credit: Shaft]
March Comes in Like a Lion is ostensibly about professional shogi player Rei Kiriyama, but its real subject is the crushing isolation of depression and the slow, uneven process of finding connection. Its greatest strength is how honestly it portrays emotional pain without turning every breakthrough into a neat victory. It takes the tenth spot because its deliberately patient pacing and intensely introspective storytelling can make it a demanding watch. But when it connects, few anime of the decade feel this emotionally intimate or quietly devastating.
9. Made in Abyss Hides Its Darkest Horrors Beneath a Beautiful World
Made in Abyss lures viewers into a breathtaking fantasy world before revealing just how merciless that world can be. Riko and Reg’s descent into the Abyss is driven by wonder, but the series’ real power comes from the horrifying cost of exploration. Its world-building is among the decade’s finest, and its atmosphere is nearly impossible to replicate. It ranks ninth because its narrative can feel uneven and its cruelty is not always easy to stomach, keeping it just outside the upper tier.
8. Mob Psycho 100 Proves Emotional Growth Beats Every Superpower
Mob from Mob Psycho 100. [Credit: Bones]
Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama is one of anime’s most powerful psychics, but Mob Psycho 100 is far more interested in whether he can understand himself. The series turns emotional repression, self-worth, and personal growth into its true action scenes, while its eccentric animation makes every battle feel wildly unpredictable. It ranks eighth because its episodic structure can occasionally make the overall narrative feel less consistently monumental than the anime above it. Even so, few series made emotional development this thrilling.
7. My Hero Academia Turns Dreams Into a Shonen Coming-of-Age Story
Bakugo and Class 1-A from My Hero Academia. [Credit: Bones]
My Hero Academia follows Izuku Midoriya, a powerless boy in a world where superpowers are ordinary, as he pursues his dream of becoming a hero. Its strongest moments explore the burden of expectations, the meaning of heroism, and the damage caused by a society obsessed with power. Main characters like Todoroki, Bakugo, Uraraka, All Might, and Aizawa keep the show grounded in their own unique ways. It ranks seventh because its best characters and storylines are genuinely excellent, but its huge cast and uneven pacing sometimes weaken its momentum. Even so, it became one of the defining shonen anime of the decade.
6. Demon Slayer Turns Grief Into a Visually Stunning Fight for Humanity
Gyomei from Demon Slayer. [Credit: ufotable]
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba follows Tanjiro Kamado after a demon attack destroys his family and transforms his sister, Nezuko. Its emotional core is refreshingly direct: family, grief, compassion, and perseverance. But its greatest impact came from combining that simple emotional framework with breathtaking animation and unforgettable action sequences. The series makes you fall in love with the Hashiras like Giyu, Rengoku, Mitsuri, and even empathise with the demons like Akaza, Rui, and the tragic demon-sibling duo Daki and Gyutaro. It ranks sixth because its storytelling is not always as complex as the anime above it.
5. Haikyuu!! Turns Volleyball Into the Most Addictive Anime Battle
Haikyuu!! makes volleyball feel like a battlefield without losing sight of the sport’s technical beauty. Hinata’s explosive ambition, Kageyama’s evolution, and the show’s enormous supporting cast turn every match into a clash of philosophies, weaknesses, and personal growth. Its fifth-place ranking reflects how exceptional it is within sports anime, even if its story occasionally relies on familiar underdog formulas. The series makes you see yourself in all those characters, which is a rare feat in the anime landscape, though its traditional underdog structure keeps it just below the more radically experimental narratives ahead.
4. Vinland Saga Proves Revenge Is the Worst Way to Find Meaning
Thors from Vinland Saga. [Credit: WIT Studio]
Vinland Saga begins as a brutal Viking revenge story before asking a far more difficult question: what happens when revenge is all you have left? Thorfinn’s journey transforms the series from violent historical epic into a deeply searching examination of slavery, guilt, pacifism, and redemption. It ranks fourth because its thematic ambition and character development are remarkable. Its slower second phase may frustrate viewers expecting constant warfare, but that change is precisely what makes the anime so thematically powerful.
3. Steins;Gate Turns Time Travel Into a Heartbreaking Nightmare
Mayuri, Rintaro, and Kurisu from Steins;Gate. [Credit: White Fox]
Steins;Gate begins with eccentric scientists, microwave experiments, and plenty of comedic chaos before slowly tightening its grip around the viewer. Once its time-travel consequences become impossible to escape, the series becomes an agonizing story about guilt, sacrifice, and how much suffering one person can endure to save someone they love. It takes third place because its payoff is extraordinary, though the deliberately slow opening can test patience. Few anime of the decade made emotional devastation feel so meticulously engineered.
2. Hunter x Hunter Builds the Most Brilliant Shonen Adventure
Chrollo Lucilfer from Hunter x Hunter. [Credit: Madhouse]
Hunter x Hunter takes the familiar shonen adventure and keeps asking how far it can stretch. Its battles are won through strategy rather than simple power escalation, its villains can be terrifyingly complex, and its arcs constantly reinvent the show’s tone and structure. The Chimera Ant arc alone pushes the genre into startling philosophical territory. It ranks second because of its extraordinary ambition and depth, but its unfinished adaptation and occasional pacing issues prevent it from claiming the top spot.
1. Attack on Titan Turns Humanity’s Last Stand Into Pure Terror
Attack on Titan is the defining anime of the 2010s because it constantly evolves beyond what viewers think it is. What begins as humanity’s desperate war against man-eating Titans expands into a devastating examination of freedom, nationalism, inherited hatred, war, and the stories societies tell to justify violence. Its mysteries, scale, atmosphere, and willingness to transform its entire premise made it feel like an event and made it worth watching. More than any other series here, Attack on Titan captured the decade’s appetite for spectacle and complexity at once. That combination makes it number one.
Here’s the final ranking:
RankAnimeWhere to Watch1Attack on TitanCrunchyroll, Disney+, Hulu2Hunter x HunterCrunchyroll, Netflix3Steins;GateCrunchyroll, Apple TV (rent)4Vinland SagaCrunchyroll, Netflix5Haikyuu!!Crunchyroll, Netflix6Demon SlayerCrunchyroll, Netflix7My Hero AcademiaCrunchyroll, Netflix8Mob Psycho 100Crunchyroll, Netflix9Made in AbyssCrunchyroll, Netflix10March Comes in Like a LionCrunchyroll
Do you agree with our ranking, or did we leave your favorite 2010s anime too low? Tell us your biggest disagreement in the comments!
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