Most Popular Anime Genres & The Titles That Defined Them

Key Takeaways

• Anime genres cover a wide range, from comedy to romance and sci-fi, with iconic shows like Sailor Moon defining each.
• Classic anime like Dragon Ball and One Piece have defined shonen anime, setting the template for future series.
• Different genres like josei and supernatural offer unique perspectives, with series like Nana and Elfen Lied exploring mature themes.

Anime isn’t a genre in and of itself. Rather, it comprises series and films of all kinds with the distinct style of Japanese animation. The top anime genres vary with what shows are popular at the moment, but they typically feature the same elements of comedy, romance, or science fiction. There are many genres of anime for shows to be classified under, from more obscure ones like iyashikei to well-known staples like shōnen.

In each genre lies at least one of the most popular anime of all time, from Sailor Moon to Naruto. These iconic, top-watched shows are excellent ways to explore each anime category. To get a good feel of what each genre of anime has to offer, check out the top animated series that define their specific subgroup.

Updated October 19, 2024 by David Heath: Anime isn’t exactly going to make someone the hottest figure on the market in either the East or West. But it’s become more commonplace than it was in the past. More people grew up with Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon on TV and enjoyed One Piece and Escaflowne despite their bowdlerization. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure went from being an obscure manga that inspired an insane Capcom fighting game, to inspiring exhibitions at the Louvre.

That said, not all anime are created equal. Some series get more attention than others, as they either set the template its successors all followed, or became the most popular and accessible series in its genre. So, this list has received more top dogs of anime’s most popular genres, from some of its mainstays to some surprisingly widespread examples.

1 Kodomomuke – Doraemon

Japan’s Favorite Piece Of Kids’ Stuff

Anime got popular in the West when it showed that animation wasn’t just for kids. That’s why a lot of early 1990s releases were heavy on blood, sex, and swearing. But the people behind them often got into animation through the more child-friendly stuff, or “kodomomuke.” Naruto‘s ninja-based drama, One Piece‘s political piracy, and Great Teacher Onizuka‘s education through delinquency all began with their creators checking out Doraemon as kids.

Starting life as a manga in 1969, the adventures of the titular time-traveling robot cat and his friend Nobita have been animated multiple times over the decades. The most famous of which is the 1979 series, which lasted until 2005, when Shin-Ei Animation started all over again with a fresh series. Its kiddy fun was enough to endear people across Asia, from Japan to India, leading the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make Doraemon its Anime Cultural Ambassador in 2008.

2 Shōnen – Dragon Ball

How One Ki-Blasting Monkey Boy Defined a Genre

Given the global outpouring of love fans showed when Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama passed away in March 2024, it’s safe to say his show about the life and times of an aggressive monkey boy touched the hearts of millions, if not whole nations. Dragon Ball Super‘s finale with Goku fighting Jiren led to the Mexican government sponsoring public watch parties across the country, causing a minor international incident when the Japanese government asked them to stop, which they didn’t.

Beyond that, Dragon Ball has practically defined shōnen anime as we know it today. The beef fests in Fist of the North Star faded by the end of the 1980s, but Dragon Ball lasted throughout the decades, inspiring more series about plucky boys growing stronger through their encounters (e.g. One Piece, Naruto, My Hero Academia). Its classic fights, character designs, humorous quirks, and even its flaws, are recognizable all around the world, and even people who don’t watch anime know what a ‘Kamehameha’ is.

3 Shojo – Sailor Moon

Power in Femininity

Of course, this entry was going to be Sailor Moon. It may not be every shojo fan’s cup of tea, but for many more, it’s the end-all, be-all, greatest shojo/magical girl anime to ever exist. The show certainly became popular enough to make Usagi, the titular moon-based punisher of evil, essentially anime’s mascot. Alongside the other Sailor Guardians, she must protect the world from Queen Beryl and her energy-stealing minions.

Aside from inspiring multiple sequels, reboots, remakes, games, toys, and more, the series inspired more shows with female leads in its wake, like Revolutionary Girl Utena, Tokyo Mew Mew, and Star Vs The Forces of Evil. It even inspired other magical shows like Steven Universe, and not just for its sparkly aesthetic. The series was ahead of its time in featuring dark turns a la Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and progressive social themes like Sailor Uranus and Neptune’s romance, and the trans-themed Sailor Starlights.

4 Josei – Nana

Putting Women’s Struggles in Animation

Similar to shojo series, josei targets a female audience but caters to adults rather than kids and teens. While there is often a romantic subplot roaming around, chasing after handsome men is not the entire focus of this genre. It can focus on grown-up interests (Chihayafuru‘s focus on karuta), or tackle real-life issues in a way that makes life-or-death situations in other genres seem small by comparison, like in Nana.

It follows two girls who share the same name, but have little else in common, living together in Tokyo as they subsequently become inseparable besties, supporting each other’s dreams. Nana Osaki seeks fame and fortune through her rock band, while Nana Komatsu is more interested in cultivating her love life. Unfortunately, the closer they come to their aspirations, the more their friendship is jeopardized, leading them to make some difficult decisions.

5 Seinen – Berserk

The Epitome of Brutality

Seinen is to shōnen what josei is to shojo. It typically caters to an audience of men 18 and older, but can still be relatable to many other viewers, as well, because it also deals with complex themes and grown-up interests. However, the content can be more extreme, with more blood and adult content, which can make it a no-go area for the squeamish. For example, Fist of the North Star, a series featuring a constant array of exploding heads and body parts, is still a shōnen series. Berserk is seinen because it manages to go into worse places than that.

However, it’s more famous as a manga as each of its animated adaptations is compromised to one degree or another. Even the beloved 1997 series is a truncated, censored version of the “Golden Age” arc done on the cheap. However, it still reigns as one of the most iconic and popular seinen anime for its grittiness, action, and impressive characters. Guts’ time spent with Griffith and Casca, and their horrific end, goes into the nature of revenge, ambition, and love. It’s also heavy on blood, murder, and assault, so viewers should tread carefully.

Updating Swords and Sorcery to Steampunk Science

Berserk could also count as the genre’s most iconic fantasy anime, but that would be greedy. As influential as it is, there is no shortage of fantasy anime to rival it, particularly for viewers who fancy something dramatic but not as heavy as Guts’ tortured life. Something like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which combined mystical spells with steampunk technology, as Edward Elric seeks to restore his brother Alphonse’s human body by finding the Philosopher’s Stone.

It’s become one of MAL’s highest-rated anime shows, as the Elric Brothers’ quest was a unique blend of fantasy and sci-fi elements, which it used to produce heartbreaking moments (“Ed…ward…”), shocking twists, and grand battles. The only show like it was…Fullmetal Alchemist, the 2003 series that was made while the manga was still being produced. It arguably did the first half of FMA‘s story better than Brotherhood, but took the plot in its own, stranger direction for the second half.

7 Isekai – Sword Art Online

Logging into Another World

Isekai likely needs little introduction at this point. It’s been booming since the early 2010s, inspiring its own crazes like villainess stories and dating game tales. But it’s technically just a new iteration of portal fantasy stories, where the main characters enter a new world through some mysterious means. It could be a fantasy land, a video game world, or both like the series responsible for the boom: Sword Art Online.

It follows Kirito as he goes from being a beta tester for the aforementioned VR MMORPG to becoming one of its best warriors, defending its fantasy world of Aincrad from all threats with the help of his friends. The show has faced a fair amount of backlash and criticism for unoriginal characters and repetitive plots, but its core ideas inspired many more series. Since its release, dozens of other shows involving virtual worlds or video-game-like settings have sprung into popularity, including the beloved That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime.

8 Sci-Fi – Cowboy Bebop

Exploring Humanity and the Solar System

Sci-fi practically made anime what it is today, as its earliest stories, like Astro Boy, Giant Robo, etc, were all about robots, aliens, and humanity’s place in relation to them. Still, they are shows from the 1960s based on manga from the 1950s. Iconic as they are, they’ve aged. But some sci-fi anime can last a good while, as Cowboy Bebop, a show from 1998, is arguably as strong today as it was when it was broadcast 26 years ago.

On the surface, it follows the charming Spike Spiegel and his ragtag crew of bounty hunters traveling through space to make some cash. Underneath the hood, it sees how humanity in all its shapes and forms has spread across the solar system, and how this new interstellar world has affected them back. The show is equal parts serious and intense, and fun and easy-going, appealing to millions of fans worldwide.

9 Mecha – Mobile Suit Gundam

Truly Super Robots

Mecha may have gotten its start with Giant Robo and Mazinger Z, but it took Mobile Suit Gundam to make it an iconic part of anime. Alongside Astro Boy, Sailor Moon, and Goku, MSG‘s RX-78-2 Gundam mech practically represents the medium as a whole, with Yokohama previously having a lifesize model of it standing in its city. It’s since been taken down, but fans can see a similar model based on Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn in Odaiba, Tokyo.

The original series, following Amuro Ray using the RX-78-2 to defend against the Principality of Zeon, debuted in the late 1970s and would inspire more mecha series to come. Beyond the multiple different Gundam series (Gundam Wing is a popular one), its focus on the casualties of war, and use of teen protagonists would inspire the darker Neon Genesis Evangelion. While its lighter elements would inspire Macross and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

10 Sports – Haikyuu!!

Taking Volleyball to the Top

Wait, Haikyuu!!? Sure, it’s one of the most popular sports anime around, and its third season became the highest-rated sports series on MAL. It’s certainly the best volleyball series around, as Shoyo Hinata aims to follow the ‘Little Giant’s lead and become an ace volleyball player despite his height. It’s got funny characters, neat budding friendships, and nail-biting competitions that crank up the tension.

But some may flinch at it being described as ‘genre-defining’. It’s a young pup compared to famous boxing shows like Hajime no Ippo and Tomorrow’s Joe, or Slam Dunk, which caused a whole generation of Japanese viewers to take up basketball. However, those series were also arguably better in their original manga form, with their anime being harder to find or not as well-paced. As a complete package that represents the best of sports anime while being easier to find online, Haikyuu!! is a great place to start.

11 Adventure – One Piece

Leaving Landlubbers Behind on the Shore

Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates’ quest to find Gol D. Roger’s hidden hoard of treasure has been going on for 25 years now. Longer still for people who stuck to the manga, which began in 1997. It’s been going on for so long that the anime series is going to receive a remake, The One Piece, before it has even ended. The manga is winding down now, and the anime will follow suit, but the remake means Luffy and co. will be sticking around for much longer.

Still, it didn’t become one of the longest-running anime of all time for nothing. One Piece has been a continual series of ocean-faring adventures from the start, where its protagonists travel across the seas, facing off against powerful enemies with a broad range of skills and tricks up their sleeves. It’s practically the perfect anime for fans of adventure shows.

12 Drama – A Silent Voice

The Bully Becomes the Bullied

Not all popular anime are action-packed or humorous, as many stellar storylines focus on serious issues and sentimental content, focusing substantially on character development. It would be tough to find someone who has watched A Silent Voice and not shed a tear at some point, as this moving narrative is an emotional rollercoaster dealing with depression, disabilities, suicidal tendencies, and the brutality of bullying. There is not a lot of lighthearted content in this movie, but it is certain to leave the audience with a warm fuzzy feeling by the end!

Shoko Nishimiya struggles to integrate into her new school and becomes an easy target due to her hearing impairment, with Shoya Ishida enthusiastically participating in tormenting her. When things go too far, Shoya gets a taste of his own medicine when he is ostracized by his classmates and begins to obsessively grapple with his intense guilt while trying to somehow earn Shoko’s forgiveness.

13 Romance – Fruits Basket

Love Blooms in the Strangest Situations

One of the most popular genres of film and television of all time, animated or not, is romance. People love watching people fall in love, in all sorts of circumstances and fictional worlds. One anime that sticks out above all the rest when it comes to romance is Fruits Basket, a show based on a best-selling rom-com manga. It sees Toru, a young girl who lost her parents, move in with the Souma family, where the boys suffer from a curse that briefly turns them into animals from the Chinese Zodiac if they’re hugged by a girl.

With that premise, it’s safe to say the show is more than an average teen romance story. Through its magical premise, it deeply explores each of its incredible characters and highlights important friend and family relationships as well as romance as Toru learns more about the Soumas and tries to help undo their curse. This show is guaranteed to make audiences blush, in a good way!

14 Boys Love – Given

Bringing Harmony to a Broken Heart

Fruits Basket is great for the straights, but what does the LGBTQ community have? Though popular in Japan since the start of the medium, Boys’ Love stories have been on an upswing in the West thanks to the likes of Yuri!!! On Ice and Junjou Romantica, though not always in the most constructive of ways. Given stands out as it feels less like it’s using BL to tantalize readers, and more to give them a strong, romantic story.

It’s essentially about the ins and outs of an amateur rock band. When Ritsuka, the reluctant guitar teacher to classmate Mafuyu, hears the guy sing during a jam session with his bandmates, he’s so moved by his singing that he insists he becomes their singer. But Mafuyu is unsure, as he’s still dealing with the trauma of losing his boyfriend to suicide. He’s been trying to express himself and play his late boyfriend’s guitar ever since. His attempts to come to terms with this, with Ritsuka’s help, made it one of anime’s most moving love stories, let alone in BL.

15 Girls Love – Revolutionary Girl Utena

A Revolutionary Romance

Revolutionary Girl Utena is a lot of things. It’s a fantasy drama, a deconstruction of fairy tales, an examination of sexuality, morality, and abuse, and one of the key inspirations for Steven Universe. But it’s also ultimately about one girl trying to win the heart and trust of another. Inspired by a prince who helped her out following her parents’ deaths, Utena aims to become a prince herself by entering Ootori Academy.

While there, she discovers it has a club of Duelists who fight for control of Anthy, the Rose Bride, who has a great, latent amount of power. Sickened that Anthy is being treated like a literal object, Utena enters the duel to prove her worth as a prince and free Anthy from their control. It sounds simple, but her rivals aren’t jokes, and Anthy isn’t some innocent flower girl waiting for the right person’s hand. It’s a complex, convention-defying series that still holds strong today.

16 Comedy – Ouran High School Host Club

Reverse Harem Hijinks

Many shows feature comedy as a secondary genre, with their primary focus being fantasy, romance, or adventure. Thus, it’s hard to pick just one anime series that captures comedy at its finest. One show that is iconic for its goofy jokes, fantastic banter, and hilarious plotlines is Ouran High School Host Club. It sees Haruhi, a new female student at Ouran Academy, getting mistaken for a boy due to getting stuck with short hair and a guy’s uniform.

Her bad luck continues when she’s made to join the Host Club to pay for a vase she broke by accident. It has some cheesy love elements (the will-they, won’t-they between Haruhi and Tamaki), but it stays true to the lighthearted, over-the-top, and truly wacky nature of comedy anime. The kind-hearted yet spoiled rotten host club boys have the most knee-slapping interactions with the middle-class Haruhi, and their contrasting dynamic makes for incredible comedic situations.

17 Harem – Tenchi Muyo

Surrounded by Suitors

Ouran High School Host Club and Fruits Basket also caught on for inverting the harem genre. Surrounding the protagonist with potential love interests caught on through the classic comic Urusei Yatsura, where Ataru’s pursuit of his childhood friend Shinobu gets complicated by the alien space babe Lum. It led others to make similar stories where one guy, be they humble and sweet or a total schlub, has to charm a lot of ladies for one reason or another.

It’s still a potent genre today, though it’s one of the more cringy ones, as many of its entries are all about fanservice-based wish fulfillment. That’s not necessarily bad in itself, though few people would admit to loving The Quintessential Quintuplets or The 100 Girlfriends as much as they would Tenchi Muyo. Mainly because, on top of its expansive sci-fi lore, Tenchi does care for the surrounding women, whether they’re seeking his heart or are fine just hanging out with him.

18 Ecchi – Golden Boy

Fanservice Fun

Nonetheless, people have been sketching rude bits since the Stone Age. The moment a new medium has been developed, there is someone out there using it to make something saucy. However, some stop short of going straight into adult content and focus more on the funny side of fanservice. For example, before he led manga into dark fantasy with Devilman, Go Nagai found fame by making the first popular sex comedy, or ecchi strip, in Harenchi Gakuen.

Since then, even more restrained fare has usually had some fanservice-based scenes or gags set in them (e.g. Master Roshi gets a “puff-puff” in Dragon Ball). But if viewers wanted an example of ecchi they could talk about without feeling too much shame, Golden Boy has held up fairly well for a 1990s OVA. Kintaro Ooe’s journey from one part-time job to another leads him to different women who, despite his horn-dog nature, he ends up charming either inadvertently or through putting in genuine effort.

19 Gourmet – Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma

The Head Chef of Culinary Cartoons

Fanservice also plays a big part in Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, where there are plenty of ogle-based scenes. Often too much for some people’s tastes. But its main focus is on satisfying their hunger rather than their thirst, as Soma aims to surpass his father’s cooking skills and take over the family restaurant. To do that, he has to last three years at his alma mater, Toutsuki Culinary Academy, and graduate. It’s a feat easier said than done, as aside from its brutal curriculum, its students compete in “shokugeki,” or “food wars” to settle things.

Anime about cooking and food, or gourmet anime, doesn’t seem like a key genre, but it’s more popular than people would think. Outside Food Wars, fans could find a similar premise in older series like Mister Ajikko, or the baking-based Yakitate!! Japan. Toriko went in an even more shonen-based direction, as the titular gourmet hunter seeks rare ingredients to complete his “Full-Course Menu of Life.” Then Oishinbo played the premise straight, with an actual food critic touring Japan in search of exemplary dishes to add to his newspaper’s Ultimate Menu.

20 Musical – Carole And Tuesday

Music from the World of Cowboy Bebop

Countless musicals, in anime and beyond, stick to using music as a device for delivering the plot, even if they’re about musicians and the music business (A Hard Day’s Night broke ground by actually being about a band preparing for a show, with rehearsals and everything). In contrast, Carole and Tuesday revolves everything around their music, with each episode introducing sensational performances accompanied by a breathtaking musical score and some of the most inspired lyrics written for an anime series.

The girl’s passion for melody is utterly contagious as they compete against other talented stars in the Mars Brightest Competition, aiming to prove human passion is something the AI singers can’t replicate. This uplifting series does not shy away from addressing serious topics to create a well-rounded narrative, be it racism, classism, or the treatment of the LGBTQ community (albeit not without controversy).