The Anime list/chart was a pretty big undertaking (and attempt) for me to organize and “rate” various Anime. In some ways, it is more detailed than you would see on other websites; in other ways, it doesn’t even hold a candle to them (some websites have 40+ genre categories, I only have 20). I had to take some liberties when assigning criteria to these anime to create a stable sorting system. I am sure some of the ways that I have organized & structured the list can be improved or changed, but this works for now.

To appease those who wonder “what does that classification actually mean?” (and to also help myself stay consistent), I give you this page. Here, I will breakdown what I personally had in mind when picking these categories & ratings to help clarify and hopefully justify my decisions.

Name of Anime + Alternative Name

Most Anime have both a Japanese and English (Translated) title. The title chosen for the “Name of Anime” is the language title that it is more commonly referred to as, while “Alternative Name” is the other language.

Year + Manga

What year did the Anime first debut? Does the Anime have an accompanying Manga version? Note: It is important to check – out Manga release dates in terms of story & quality. For more information on the subject, check out my post Light Novels to Manga to Anime.

A Vs. M

Which is better, the Anime, the Manga? Or, are they Both-S (both good for the same reasons) or Both-D (both good for different reasons)? This is the first category that is more my opinion that fact. Generally speaking, I have mostly watched Anime (hence this website) but I do generally try to look into the Manga version of the story. Why? because there can be major differences that make it better or worse than the Anime. Again, refer to Light Novels to Manga to Anime for more info.

Dub + S Vs. D

Is there an English dubbed version of the Anime? If there is, is it better than the Japanese version with English subtitles? I do speak Japanese, but generally watch Anime with the subtitles due to helpful translation of words that I never had to learn. That being said, I am not basing my choice on whether it is inconvenient or not to have to watch the screen and the subtitles at the same time. 1) I have been watching subbed anime for a long time and it is easy for me and 2) I’m also following along with my own Japanese so I’m not completely lost when not reading the text. To me, what is important is how the voices sound and if the meaning/tone/inflection/etc. make the story and dialogue better. So that is a big NO to the English voice movie Princess Monoke’s Prince Ashitaka and a NO to the Japanese voice of show Black Clover’s Asta.

Genre List & Summaries

What main genre’s does this Anime fall under? The interesting things is that there are tons of differnet genres out there and a single Anime could techincally have 10+ genres. So, to keep it simple (though there is nothing reallt simple about this entire website) I am only focusing on the top 3 genres for an Anime. I have 20 that I will be pulling from (including a “N/A” if the Anime has only 1 or 2 genres). Here are the genres and what I am thinking of when I categorize them:

Action	Generic category for fighting; also includes factors like explosions, high speed movement, fighting, etc
Adventure	Involves lots of movement to new, far away locations and/or lots of travel time on or off the screen
Comedy	Story is more centered on humor through props, character design, situations, and language than usual
Fantasy	Magic worlds, powers, etc. Mythology and Folklore is very prominent; not usually set in present times
Game	The plot revolves solely or partially on the use of a game, whether it’s a board, card or video game
Harem	Indicates that the protagonist (usually a guy) is surrounded by women wanting his attention, love, etc.
Historical	Based in historical times like Edo/Tokugawa periods in Japanese history; usually with Samurai genre
Horror	Very intense stories involving suspense, death, etc. Audience/protagonist feel hopeless, sad or scared
Kids	Genre that usually indicates light humor/action suitable for all ages; simple stories geared towards kids
Magic	Characters have special powers obtained through chants, charms, etc; manipulate natural environment
Martial Arts	Action that involves a specific martial art, real or not; usually follows a person/group and their training
Mecha	Fighting/Story revolve around robots/machines; can be a single machine or a war fought with machines
Mystery	Keeps viewers guessing with hidden clues/unexplained events while the protagonist searches for answers
Romance	Follows the creation, progression and unfinished romantic relationship between two characters
Samurai	Usually tied to Historical genre, but can be futuristic; involves sword fights and some concept of bushido
Sci-Fi	Typically involves one or more of futuristic technology, aliens/monsters, or traveling/living in space
Space	Majority of the story/plot involves events in/related to space; explores future possibilities of life in space
Sports	Focuses on a sport, fictional or not; character(s) are usually weak/novices and train hard to improve
Super Power	Category when the main protagonist(s)/antagonist(s) have special powers, i.e. super strength, speed, etc.
Supernatural	Spirits, Demons, etc. Usually the present time, with a group having knowledge of a kind of “underworld”

Audience + Anime Experience

What type of audience is the Anime for (Everyone, Teens, Young Adult, Adult)? What should your exposure to Anime be (Novice, Intermediate, Advanced)? For movies in the U.S.A, we use the MPAA rating system (G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17). These ratings are about the intensity of the subject matter (like sex, language, drugs, violence – looks like my list huh?) However, western audiences and cultures are very different than Japanese, especially when it comes to what is deemed inappropriate or “too much.” I already address those levels in the scoring section of my list; I am more interested in “who are/were the authors trying to appeal to?”And even if you fit that physical/mental demographic, how much Anime should you have watched for you to experience what the author intended? Some Anime can be watched and appreciated by all ( like Kiki’s Delivery Service), while some won’t have the same impact if you watch them too early (like One Punch Man). Remember, I am looking for people to have positive experiences, so I am trying to lay the best foundation of information to foster that.

The Number Ranking System

Here is the backbone of my website (and really where it all kind of started really). When people would ask me for Anime recommendations, I always felt a need to give quick caveats for the positives and negatives. These quickly turned into longer anecdotes and then became sermons. So I to came up with this numbering system to help others gauge what Anime they would enjoy (and then the rest of the guide/list….. and then the rest of the website ….. so I could have all my advice in one place). There are a total of 11 items an Anime can be graded on; 6 are positive and 5 are negative. All of the ranks are based on a 1-5, with 1 indicating a little, and 5 being a lot. The following is a detailed list of what these numbers represent in an Anime: i.e. the difference between a 1, 3 or 5 for “Action.” Most of these are self explanatory, but 3 I should explain are “World” (meaning with the Anime itself, how creative where they in creating a New World that is different from Modern Culture and Non-Fictional elements), “Japanese Culture” (how much of Japanese Culture do you see and feel in the Anime – is it in Japan, a slice-of-life Anime, or cultural references and/or nuances?), and “Uncanny” (Anime can be very different from most types of media – how “out there” and/or weird is the animation, jokes, plot, etc.) Feel free to message me if you are confused or have further questions.

The Positives

Action

Focus	Score of 1	Score of 3	Score of 5
Fighting
Movement
High Speed

Humor

Focus	Score of 1	Score of 3	Score of 5
Jokes
Situations
Animation Style

Story

Focus	Score of 1	Score of 3	Score of 5
Plot
Plot Progression
Characters

World

Focus	Score of 1	Score of 3	Score of 5
Fiction
Interesting
Makes Sense (in Anime)

Romance

Focus	Score of 1	Score of 3	Score of 5
Dating
Relationships
Situations

Japanese Culture

Focus	Score of 1	Score of 3	Score of 5
Set in Japan
Slice of Life
Culture/Nuances

The Negatives

Uncanny

Focus	Score of 1	Score of 3	Score of 5
Jokes
Plot
Art Style

Profanity

Focus	Score of 1	Score of 3	Score of 5
Cursing
Insults
Intense Language

Scary

Focus	Score of 1	Score of 3	Score of 5
Suspense
Jump Scenes
Monsters/Non-Human

Gore

Focus	Score of 1	Score of 3	Score of 5
Blood
Death
Gruesome/Graphic

Sex

Focus	Score of 1	Score of 3	Score of 5
Clothes
Humor
Sex(ual Situations)

Total Score + Percent

If you added all of the positive scores together, and then subtracted all of the negative scores, what number would you get? What is the percent of said score in relation to the “Perfect” Anime (meaning it had all of the good with none of the bad)? These two sections are interesting in what they can represent, but be careful in letting these dictate what you should watch; depending on what you are looking for, these numbers could actually be very rewarding/detrimental to your viewing experience. Yes, the “Perfect” Anime WOULD have a 30 for positive scores, and a 5 for negative scores (giving it a 25/25 = 100%); although I am a firm believer that you don’t need to be raunchy to be funny or have lots of cursing to be mature/interesting, audience members need to decide that on their own. Here are my 3 thoughts: 1) Even though kid shows (like Yu-Gi-Oh!) have title negatives like sexual themes, blood or language, they can end up with a low score (below 10) because they also have low scores for action and romance. 2) Anime geared towards Adults (like Black Lagoon) can have even lower scores than Anime for kids even though they have more action and humor because they have higher intensities (and thus more “minuses”). 3) Some of my favorite Anime are between 10-16 points around the 50% level. What does that say about me? I don’t know, but I don’t know if the “Perfect” Anime exists.

W.A.I.S.A.D (1 +2)

When All Is Said And Done – It’s fun trying to break down the many attributes of any given Anime (I mean, just check out that Anime chart!). However, in hindsight, I realized that in my conversations with others I sometimes over complicated my thoughts on what made an anime “great.” (I mean… again… look at that Anime chart…). These two slots are for the end of my hypothetical conversations. After I have explained all these different aspects of the Anime, really, “Why should you watch this?” What’s fun & interesting about these two categories, is that I am not picking from a pre-determined list. These are entirely open to what I feel makes it a show/story worthwhile: music, character development, you name it.

My Personal Rating

Everyone has their favorites shows. So do I. What is fun (and potentially divisive) about the Journey of the Anime Genre is that it started off with a few classics that everyone loved and has evolved into a wide spectrum of styles and preferences. Fortunately (or Unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), these lists of favorite shows are constantly changing. To me, I recognize my soft spot for the nostalgia of older anime, while I slowly embrace newer shows. I also recognize that there are newer shows that have a huge following and are widely liked that I have struggled to watch or like. I’m okay with that. I hope others are too. I really made these ratings for three reasons. 1) Because I wanted to have a personal list for myself. 2) It helped me organize and prioritize which Anime I wanted to give more information on here on this website. 3) For people to see what I like, the vast variety of shows that I like, and for them to make their own decisions.