1. Cowboy Bebop (カウボーイビバップ)
In 2071, roughly fifty years after an accident with a hyperspace gateway made the Earth almost uninhabitable, humanity has colonized most of the rocky planets and moons of the Solar System. Amid a rising crime rate, the Inter Solar System Police set up a legalized contract system, in which registered bounty hunters, also referred to as "Cowboys", chase criminals and bring them in alive in return for a reward.
It has an average vote of 8.5 on TMDB.
2. Serial Experiments Lain (serial experiments lain)
Lain—driven by the abrupt suicide of a classmate—logs on to the Wired and promptly loses herself in a twisted mass of hallucinations, memories, and interconnected-psyches.
It has an average vote of 8.172 on TMDB.
3. FLCL (フリクリ)
Naota Nandaba is an ordinary sixth grader living in a city where nothing amazing ever seems to happen. After his brother Tasuku leaves town to play baseball in America, Naota takes it upon himself to look after everything Tasuku left behind—from his top bunk bed to his ex-girlfriend Mamimi Samejima, who hasn't stopped clinging to Naota since Tasuku left.
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
4. The Tatami Galaxy (四畳半神話大系)
When a college dropout stops for a late night bite at a mysterious ramen stand, he crosses paths with a self-proclaimed deity of matrimony. This bizarre meeting sends the young man hurtling through a horrifying flashback to his not-so-glorious college days when the influence of a cruel new friend turned him from a hopeless romantic into a mischievous “black cupid.”
It has an average vote of 8.5 on TMDB.
5. TRIGUN (TRIGUN)
Trigun takes place in the distant future on a desert planet. Vash the Stampede is a gunfighter with a legend so ruthless he has a $$60,000,000,000 bounty on his head. Entire towns evacuate at the rumor of his arrival. But the real Vash the Stampede, the enigmatic and conflicted lead character, is more heroic, even though he usually acts like a complete idiot.
It has an average vote of 8.2 on TMDB.
6. Gurren Lagann (天元突破グレンラガン)
In the distant future, mankind has lived quietly and restlessly underground for hundreds of years, subject to earthquakes and cave-ins. Living in one such village are 2 young men: one named Simon who is shy and naïve, and the other named Kamina who believes in the existence of a “surface” world above their heads.
It has an average vote of 8.1 on TMDB.
7. Puella Magi Madoka Magica (魔法少女まどか☆マギカ)
She has a loving family and best friends, laughs and cries from time to time... Madoka Kaname, an eighth grader of Mitakihara middle school, is one of those who lives such a life. One day, she had a very magical encounter. She doesn't know if it happened by chance or by fate yet. This is a fateful encounter that can change her destiny. This is a beginning of the new story of the magical witch girls.
It has an average vote of 8.106 on TMDB.
8. Ergo Proxy (エルゴプラクシー)
In a futuristic world almost barren of life, mankind is confined to mechanized domed cities where A.I.’s control all aspects of life. In this world, humans are no longer born, they are manufactured in a production line; and alongside them live androids known as autoreivs. Within one of these domed sanctuaries named Romdeau lives Re-l Mayer, one of a few citizens who aren’t entirely prevented from thinking. Her grandfather's prominent position and the affection of the scientist Daedalus have left her more free will than is normally allowed, but Re-l has started to question the sanctity of the city and the citizens' perfect way of life. With mysterious beings known as proxies causing havoc and a man named Vincent causing great influence on her life, Re-l must travel outside of the city to find the answers she seeks and discover the mystery behind "the awakening".
It has an average vote of 7.52 on TMDB.
9. Death Note (DEATH NOTE)
Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects—and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But will Light succeed in his noble goal, or will the Death Note turn him into the very thing he fights against?
It has an average vote of 8.6 on TMDB.
10. Welcome to the N.H.K. (NHKにようこそ!)
Sato's life – or what's left of it – is a paranoid mess of conspiracy theories and social anxieties. He's terrified of the outside world; his apartment is overflowing with the remnants of cheap take-out food; and his retinas have been permanently scarred by a steady diet of internet porn. But maybe it's not all his fault. After all, the nefarious N.H.K. is out there, and they’re determined to turn society's fringe-dwellers into a brainwashed lot of jobless, hopeless, futureless recluses.</p><p></p><p>Enter Misaki – a mysterious girl-next-door type who is Sato's last chance to beat-down his inner demons and venture out into the light of day. She's ready to help him overcome his crippling phobias, but Sato would rather cower in his existential foxhole and pretend to work on the demo for his virtual sex game.</p><p></p><p>He’s afraid to face the world. She's strangely desperate to fix a total stranger. Maybe together they can be normal.
It has an average vote of 8.6 on TMDB.
11. Kaiji (逆境無頼カイジ)
Kaiji Itou is a good-for-nothing loiterer who spends his days drinking beer and stealing hubcaps—that is, until he ends up being tricked by his former co-worker. Unable to suddenly repay his friend's huge debt all by himself, Kaiji is offered a shady deal to participate in an illegal underground gamble on a cruise ship. This turns out to be nothing more than the beginning of his new life of hell—thrown headlong into a life-threatening roller coaster of mind games, cheating, and deceit.
It has an average vote of 8.1 on TMDB.
12. Ping Pong the Animation (ピンポン THE ANIMATION)
Makoto 'Smile' Tsukimoto and his friend Yutaka 'Peco' Hoshino have been playing table tennis together since they were kids, but as they enter high school, they find that the game, and how they see it, has changed. Peco, brimming with confidence and energy, wants to be the best in the world, but the reserved Smile has little fighting spirit and doesn't want to sacrifice others' happiness just to win, despite his innate talent. As the two grow, and experience the ups and downs of the sport – and life – they try to figure out exactly who they really are and what drives them to play.
It has an average vote of 8.2 on TMDB.
13. Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師)
Two young brothers are raised as alchemists, but when they are severely injured trying to perform a forbidden act, they begin searching for the one thing that can save them; the fabled philosopher's stone.
It has an average vote of 8.2 on TMDB.
14. Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story (マギアレコード 魔法少女まどか☆マギカ外伝)
Few people know the truth: the world is safe thanks to the Magical Girls who are forced to slay Witches. Even though these girls are putting their lives on the line for a wish, rumors say they can be saved in Kamihama City. That’s where Iroha Tamaki is headed in search of answers; she can’t remember the wish she made to Kyubey.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
15. Bleach (BLEACH)
For as long as he can remember, Ichigo Kurosaki has been able to see ghosts. But when he meets Rukia, a Soul Reaper who battles evil spirits known as Hollows, he finds his life is changed forever. Now, with a newfound wealth of spiritual energy, Ichigo discovers his true calling: to protect the living and the dead from evil.
It has an average vote of 8.4 on TMDB.
16. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険)
Follow the intergenerational feud between the Joestar Family and various forces of evil, the most prominent of which is Dio Brando and his followers.
It has an average vote of 8.6 on TMDB.
17. Kaiba (カイバ)
In a world where memories can be stored like computer data, a young man named Kaiba searches for his lost memories and discovers a connection with a mysterious girl.
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
18. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST)
Disregard for alchemy’s laws ripped half of Edward Elric’s limbs from his body and left his brother Alphonse’s soul clinging to a suit of armor. To restore what was lost, the brothers seek the Philosopher’s Stone. Enemies and allies – the corrupt military, the Homunculi, and foreign alchemists – will alter the Elric brothers course, but their purpose will remain unchanged and their bond unbreakable.
It has an average vote of 8.692 on TMDB.
19. Steins;Gate (Steins;Gate)
A group of friends have customized their microwave so that it can send text messages to the past. As they perform different experiments, an organization named SERN who has been doing their own research on time travel tracks them down and now the characters have to find a way to avoid being captured by them.
It has an average vote of 8.453 on TMDB.
20. Cells at Work! (はたらく細胞)
This is a story about you. A tale about the inside of your body... According to a new study, the human body consists of approximately 37 trillion cells. These cells are hard at work every day within a world that is your body. From the oxygen-carrying red blood cells to the bacteria-fighting white blood cells, get to know the unsung heroes and the drama that unfolds inside of you! It's the oddly relatable and interesting story that is the life of cells!
It has an average vote of 8.1 on TMDB.
