A couple of weeks ago, or so, at this point I ranked all the anime that I watched in 2025. And I watched a lot of anime in 2025. The trend is continuing this year, though not yet at the same rate that I did in 2025. And I realized, since I did my last ranking of all the anime that I’ve watched, I’ve seen a lot more. So now I have a list, missing three, Wandance, Chained Soldier, and Mushoku Tensei, of all the anime ranked. Which ones are at the top? I even did the rankings live on YouTube, so watch the video below.

All The Anime I’ve Watched Ranked

So I’m not going to do a write-up on all of them. But you can see the top 10 here, and for those, I’m going to be doing a little bit of a write-up. And I’ll probably do something even faster for the top 25 or so, so you know why I like them.

1 Dan Da Dan

Dan Da Dan is a really fun and silly anime, though one that isn’t just all gags and nonsense. The story is what drew me into it from the start. A girl who believes in the paranormal and not aliens, and a boy who believes in aliens and not the paranormal. What happens when they both realize the other one is right? That’s the premise of it, but there is great character development, romance, and a lot of odd situations in the show.

2 Sword Art Online

I know that Sword Art Online is popular to hate on, but I really like it. I think that the characters and stories are generally interesting. And the topics around AI, really, are relevant right now. It also had a chance to do something different with how it handles the start of the anime and the “trapped in a game” trope, and I like how it did that. Is it perfect, no, but I really like what it tries to do and the grandness of the vision.

3 Shangri-La Frontier

I think that Shangri-La Frontier could pass Sword Art Online as time goes on. This is another anime about a video game, but the main character isn’t trapped in it. Instead, he is someone who loves the most garbage games out there, the ones where the mechanisms are janky and the story is annoying. But what happens when he plays a “god tier” game like Shangri-La Frontier? How are his skills going to translate over and is the experience going to change him?

4 Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki

Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki is one that has stuck at the top of my list of anime that I just love. And the new season of it has really helped solidify that. The story of a boy who feels like life is an unfair game feels real. And then him learning about how life can be a god tier game and how to play it is really well done. And I like how it isn’t just this simple story of treating it like a game, but how to treat life with respect. Plus a great cast of characters really make the show.

5 The Apothecary Diaries

This is another anime that could go up, I really loved the first two seasons and immediately after watching them I went to read the manga. This is a slow burn romance story of Mao Mao and apothecary, kind of, and Jinshi who runs the Emperors inner courts. But while there is that slow burn romance, it is also has great mystery elements as Mao Mao is trying to figure out different events that happen in the court and help unravel the mysteries. It’s just brilliantly written and paced wonderfully well.

6 Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

Another slow moving anime, Frieren is just a standout in storytelling. Frieren is an elf who, after the heroes party with her in it has driven off the demons and defeated the demon king, just goes on her way. She doesn’t think about how her life, being so long, compares to those of her fellow companions. And only too late does she start to realize what she has been missing out on. It’s heartfelt and well done with characters that are great again.

7 Kaiju #8

Kaiju #8 is back to a much goofier anime. I love kaiju, they are fun, but what happens if a human becomes part kaiju, and one who has flunked out of the defense force training program multiple times. This is an anime with a lot of humor and heart to it and that combination just makes it a ton of fun. Plus the music in it is great. That moment when the music hits and you know the main character is going to do something awesome just stands out in my head and is so much fun.

8 My Dress-up Darling

This one is another romance anime but it is an anime that is doing a whole lot more than that. Gojo and Marin are from two different worlds, reclusive and popular, but sewing and cosplay draw them together. And their romance is so cute and wholesome, all while centering around cosplays that are generally neither of those things. But the story is just amazing and like I said, the anime is more than just a romance. It is a story about normalizing hobbies that maybe aren’t considered as acceptable and showing off the diverse and wonderful cast of people in them.

9 Kaguya-Sama: Love is War

I like romance anime a lot. A lot of them tell really interesting and fun stories and Kaguya-Sama: Love is War tells it in a unique way. How do two characters who vie for power on the student council fall in love. And in this war for power in the relationship and student council, who will confess their love first, because whomever does is going to lose the war? It’s very humorous, very cute, and Ian Sinclair’s narration is simply amazing as he goes crazy with it in a perfect over the top way for the story.

10 Assassination Classroom

This is another one that has stuck around my list for a long time. I just remember it being so interesting while I watched it. Assassination Classroom has a super goofy premise, an alien who destroyed the moon is practically impossible to kill. So he takes up teaching a class of misfits and one of their goals, for the class is to kill him. But it’s really about the students, what they’ve been through in their lives, and how the teacher, before they kill him, can help them grow and become better people.

11 through 20

11 Trapped in a Dating Sim – Silly fun trapped in a video game, but this time it’s a dating sim.

12 A Returners Magic Should be Special – What happens if you know the future because you’ve lived it? It’s a trope I love.

13 To Be Hero X – Superheroes, but you get your power from how much people trust you and that can control you or erode.

14 From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman – Old man sword fighter who has just trained folks his whole life, doesn’t think he’s that great, but maybe he actually is.

15 Dealing with Mikadono Sisters is a Breeze – A pretty nobody joins the family of three supremely talented sisters, how can help them and bring them back together as a family?

16 The Ossan Newbie Adventures Trained To Death By The Most Powerful Party Became – Old dude adventurer just getting his start, the trope of he doesn’t think he’s great, but he really is.

17 Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun – What it’s like to create a manga and all the work that goes into it in a cute romance done in vignettes.

18 My Senpai is Annoying – My boss is annoying, but maybe he’s kind of sweet too, fun comedy romance.

19 Space Dandy – He’s a dandy guy, in space, and his adventures are absurd but so much fun.

20 Steins;Gate – An amazing and heart felt time travel story that does a great job with the time travel and the emotion in the story.

21 through 30

21 Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill
22 The Gorilla God’s Go-To Gal
23 Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie
24 Saiki K
25 Horimiya
26 Mashle
27 Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister
28 Spy X Family
29 The Shiunji Family Children
30 The Water Magician

31 through 40

31 Komi Can’t Communicate
32 New Saga
33 Delicious in Dungeon
34 Food Wars
35 Ghost Hunt
36 I May Be A Guild Receptionist, But I’ll Solo Any Boss To Clock Out on Time
37 I Left My A-Rank Party to Help my Former Students Reach the Dungeon Depths
38 Yamada-Kun and the Seven Witches
39 Tsukimichi
40 My Love Story with Yamada-Kun Lv 999

41 through 50

41 My Roommate is a Cat
42 Witch Watch
43 More Than A Married Couple But Not lovers
44 Summer Time Rendering
45 Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies move to a Starter Town?
46 Dagashi Kashi
47 Our Last Crusade
48 Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything with Low Level Spells
49 The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World
50 Beast Tamer

51 through 60

51 Bofuri
52 Cowboy Bebop
53 Fruits Basket
54 Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
55 Lord of Mysteries
56 Cultural Exchange with a Game Center Girl
57 Once Upon a Witches Death
58 Little Witch Academia
59 Toradora
60 Is it Wrong to Try and Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

61 through 70

61 Let’s Play
62 Restaurant to Another World
63 My Hero Academia
64 Fire Force
65 Edens Zero
66 Bleach
67 Gurran Lagann
68 Rascal Does Not Dream
69 The Devil is a Part-Timer
70 The New Gate

71 through 80

71 After School Dice Club
72 Time Travel Girl
73 Ultraman
74 Soul Eater
75 Kill la Kill
76 The Dreaming Boy is a Realist
77 Berserk
78 The Brilliant Healers New Life in the Shadows
79 Rent-a-Girlfriend
80 Masumune-Kun’s Revenge

81 through 90

81 Don’t Toy with Me Miss Nagatoro
82 Dr. Stone
83 My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds The Heroes
84 The Banished Court Magician Aims to Become the Strongest
85 Bogus Skill <<Fruitmaster>> – About That Time I Became Able to Eat Unlimited Numbers of Skill Fruits that Kill You
86 Full Metal Panic
87 Shy
88 Jujutsu Kaisen
89 Tokyo Revengers
90 Demon Slayer

91 through 100

91 Management of a Novice Alchemist
92 Ancient Magus Bride
93 Love After World Domination
94 I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World
95 A Couple of Cuckoos
96 Rising of the Shield Hero
97 Isekai Cheat Magician
98 Secrets of the Silent Witch
99 My Next Life as a Villainess All Routes Lead to Doom
100 Inuyasha

101 through 152

101 Blood Blockade Battlefront
102 Fairygone
103 The Unaware Atelier Meister
104 The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made
105 Fairy Tail
106 Akame Ga Kill
107 Magmell
108 The 100  Girlfriends Who Really Really Really Really Love You
109 Konosuba
110 Tokyo ESP

111 Laid Back Camp
112 Neon Genesis Evangelion
113 Code Geass: Lelouch Rebellion
114 Reborn as a Vending Machine
115 That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
116 My Darling in the Franxx
117 A Certain Magical Index
118 Kakuriyo – Bed & Breakfast for Spirits
119 How Not To Summon A Demon Lord
120 K-On

121 The Greatest Demon Lord is Reborn as a Typical Nobody
122 Death March To The Parallel World Rhapsody
123 Gamers
124 In Another World with my Smart Phone
125 Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
126 The Detective is Already Dead
127 I Was Reincarnated as the 7 th Prince so I Can My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability
128 D. Gray-Man
129 Cells at Work
130 Sky Wizard Academy

131 Pokemon
132 Why The Hell Are You Here, Teacher!?
133 Blue Exorcist
134 Cautious Hero
135 Overlord
136 Love Tyrant
137 Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero
138 Eureka Seven
139 The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation out of Debt
140 Cardcaptor Sakura

141 Is This a Zombie?
142 The Strongest Sage With the Weakest Crest
143 Raven of the Inner Palace
144 Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles
145 Aria the Scarlet Ammo
146 Am I Actually the Strongest
147 Magi: Adventure of Sinbad
148 Gun Gale Online
149 No Game No Life
150 The Silver Guardian

151 Domestic Girlfriend
152 The Wiseman’s Grandchild

Missing: Chained Soldier and Wandance

Final Thoughts

This is a long list and for the most part, I like these anime quite well. It’s interesting, to me, looking at my list, that a lot of them higher up have pretty strong romance elements to them. I do enjoy a good romance and the storytelling in a good, more serious than comedy, anime romance can be done quite well.

Also looking at the list, and in particular at the top 8 or so, they are all neck and neck. I think in the Top 5, all could easily be #1. And any of those Top 8 could fall into that Top 3 depending on what I’ve watched the most recently or what mood I’m in. Dan Da Dan is one that just really has grabbed me since I started reading the manga and the anime adaptation is just as good.

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