Top 50 Anime – 40 through 31

40. Gurran Lagann

This is definitely one of them that falls into the odd category. Gurran Lagann is about mechs and trust, and rebuilding a whole ne world and spirals. A lot of spirals. Why spirals, it doesn’t make complete sense, but it’s from an age where anime like this needed to “mean” something deep without actually being that. But it’s a blast in what it does and the action is cool and fun for it being an older anime. It’s also nice because it’s not too long in what it does.

39. Saiki K

Another one that is very light and fun. This one is all about the slice of life vignettes of a psychic high schooler, and telekinetic, and basically the most overpowered character. But it’s not about him using his powers, really, it’s about how he wants to be normal and how, well, life can’t ever be normal for him. It’s good for a lot of laughs and some of the characters that he meets up with an interacts with are as crazy as he is. Not as powerful, but mainly just crazy and it’s a fun time for that.

Saiki K is one of those anime that is fun to throw on and just enjoy a few little slices of it and then come back for more in a day or two. You won’t lose the plot really, because it is slice of life and while there are a few stories that might show up again, none of them show up that often.

38. Edens Zero

Yup, keeping with the theme of light and goofy, this is a sci-fi anime from the creator of Fairy Tail. And this one I think is more fun for me. Edens Zero basically has some of the same characters in it, but the setting works better. And there’s less filler and less of a commitment to it. So I like that it feels a bit more focused.

It’s all about a boy, man, who is raised by robots. When they eventually stop working he needs to find out about the real world and go searching for a powerful being. It’s definitely got fan service, so does Fairy Tail, and it feels similar in the searching for someone plot line. But like I said, I like it better because it just seems more focused, in a crazy sort of way.

37. Rising of the Shield Hero

A year ago this one wouldn’t have been on my list. I hadn’t made it past the first episode. The first episode tries to be super serious and you don’t really like the main character or any of the other characters. But for me, once I pushed beyond that, it’s a fun isekai. It doesn’t for me stand out as one of my favorites, but there is a lot to enjoy about it.

The main character bounces back from being an edge lord well in it. And the other characters, as you start to meet characters from the world, they are all more interesting. It has a lot of tropes that you’d expect, but not in a bad way. It’s overall a solid and fun watch.

36. Food Wars

Let’s get it out of the way, this is a completely goofy and bonkers anime with the most fan service of any anime on my list. That said, it’s all done around how amazingly amazing or horrifingly horrifying the food tastes in it. And I like it because of the food theme.

The main character is only so likeable in it. But also he’s supposed to be. This is a school where everyone wants to be the best and they battle in food wars. Also he was raised by his father only who is not a remotely good role model for him. I haven’t watched the last season or so because it loses some of the actual food focus for it, but overall, it’s a completely absurd blast.

35. I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World

Not an isekai. I know the title makes this one sound like an isekai, but it’s only dabbling in that. The main character is a nobody. He’s out of shape, he’s not go much going for him. And he’s not really got any family around.

When he thinks he’s about down at the end of it when his Grandfather passes away, he discovers a portal to another world in his Grandfather’s house. There he becomes a new powerful character and person, and that translates into the real world as well. They bounce back and forth between real and fantasy world, and I enjoy it for that. I like an underdog becoming a hero, though, does his look fully need to change, probably not.

34. Toradora

I know my wife has this one rated much higher. It’s a high school anime where two unlikely characters fall in love and it’s really fun, quite funny, and quite heartfelt of a story. I really enjoy the dynamics of the main characters and the surrounding ones as well. Does it feel like something reasonable in real life, probably not, but it’s a well crafted romance. I think the biggest thing is that the main characters are really enjoyable for as absurd as they are. Which, thinking about it, kind of hits on a lot of anime in this genre that I love.

33. After School Dice Club

In all fairness to this anime, I doubt that After School Dice Club would be as high for most people. Why, because it’s about board games, and the story is just fine. The main characters are likable but they don’t always stand out. What I love about this one so much is it’s attention to detail for board games. It isn’t creating some random dumb game, it’s using real games, explaining them, and crafting stories around them. It’s amazing that way as a fan of board games.

32. The Devil is a Part-Timer

This is technically an isekai, fantasy, slice of life, romance, and probably a handful more different genres. It’s about the devil, from this weird realm, coming through to Earth. He loses out of his magic and needs to recharge to return to the war that is raging on in his realm. But how does he live in the real world, he gets a part-time job at McRonalds. Yes, it’s legally different, but you can guess what fast food restaurant this one parodies.

I like the action in it, I like the humor in it, and while not all the episodes are amazing, the show as a whole is a lot of fun. And for being a lot of slice of life, it handles weird random arcs that last several episodes really well. It’s a classic one for me at this point that I need to catch up on the latest season.

31. Don’t Toy with Me Miss Nagatoro

Another one that I really need to watch more of. I love the manga for this one as well. The main character is just a quiet artist in high school. Unfortunately for him Miss Nagatoro, one of his school mates who is younger than him has decided that she likes him and that he is her senpai. Except how she shows it is just messing with him as much as possible. It’s completely absurd, she is at times pushing it too far, but as she realizes that she likes him, the anime and mange shift in a fun way. This one is completely a romantic comedy and one that I enjoy as that background filler type of anime.

Final Thoughts

Which one of these do you like best or do you want to see? Let me know and let me know if there’s anything not on the list yet, that you think I need to watch. This section definitely is a whole lot lighter. But like I said, a lot of that comes from how much I’d want to watch it again. And there are a lot of them that would just be fun to watch again. I do promise there are a few heavier or more serious ones on the list. But it’s not that many.

So maybe that’s a question, what are some more serious anime that I should checkout. I’ve watched the 1997 Berserk, very serious, and that one didn’t make the list. But what else would be a good serious anime to watch?

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5 – Toradora

A cute anime about two classmates who form an accidental friendship. Ryuji freaks everyone out because of how intense he looks, and Tiaga is tiny but makes up for it by being fierce. Will this unlikely duo be able to find happiness in their life or will fate conspire against them? This anime is just cute and a feel good anime that is not super new, but definitely worth checking out. The story is predictable but in a good way and the two main characters are just extremely enjoyable.

4 – Fire Force

Fire Force is more of a standard anime, I would say, in a lot of ways, but it’s still a lot of fun. Spontaneous human combustion is a thing, and when people combust they turn into monsters. There is a special series of Fire Forces who deal with these fires, and these people tend to have powers as well. Fire Force 8, where Shinra, the main character, ends up, is a bit different than the rest. While all of them fight fires and investigate the phenomena of spontaneous human combustion, Fire Force 8 has been tasked with investigating the other Fire Forces in hopes of finding out what secrets they might be hiding.

3 – Fruits Basket

Now, this one isn’t one that I purely watched in 2020. But there was a new season, and Fruits Basket has been climbing up my anime rankings. This is another feel good anime, or at least a peaceful feeling anime. It isn’t about the over the top action, instead it’s about the Chinese Zodiac animals and how they work in the real world, and about Tohru Honda who finds out their secret and it is taken into their family. I think that this anime just gets better as it goes and as the world that they are creating, which is basically just the normal world, grows and is fleshed out. The characters are very likeable and it just works.

2 – Food Wars!

And now we’re back to an anime that is just completely goofy. Food Wars! is about food, and being the best and most creative chef possible. Soma transfers into the most prestigious culinary school in Japan where food wars happens, and he doesn’t make himself any friends by saying that he’ll end up at the top of the class. Much absurdity ensues from there as this school has a weird student hierarchy, even odder personalities and teachers, plus multiple tests and challenges focused on getting people to fail out of the school. I really enjoy this one even with all of the fan service in it.

1 – Sword Art Online – Alicization Part 1

Finally, the best thing I watched thus far this year, and I’m sure that I’ve missed some anime along the way, is Sword Art Online Alicization. There is more of it out, but it’s not on Funimation yet. This continues the world and story that was created throughout the first two seasons of Sword Art Online and through the movie. It still focuses around the same characters, but the twist on what is happening is really good. I think that it successfully takes what could feel like a premise where they are just stretching it out for its popularity and sticks with a really good story. Sword Art Online I think when I do a Top 10 Anime overall list sometime next year will have creeped even closer to the top of that list, it is just consistently good.

What are some of the best anime that you’ve watched this year? I can think of two, A Wise Man’s Grandchild and Gun Gale Online (the SAO spinoff) that I wouldn’t consider that good that I’ve watched, but it’s been a long year and I don’t remember them all.

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