Classic anime all have their place in the history of this medium, with titles like Fist of the North Star, Sailor Moon, the 1997 Berserk anime, and certainly Dragon Ball ranking among the greats. More recently, the shonen “big three” defined the late 1990s through the 2000s and beyond, with their anime series launching between 1999 and 2004. That means the next phase, the 20 years from 2006 to now, needs its own masterpieces.
There are so many titles that can get a spot among the modern classics or masterpieces, with the list of honorable mentions being a lengthy one. It’s encouraging to see just how many anime from the past two decades have a fair shot at masterpiece status, with every runner-up or honorable mention already feeling like an 8/10 or higher. Honorable mentions such as Dandadan, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, My Hero Academia, and Konosuba are quite good as it is, while the true masterpieces are in a league of their own.
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Oshi No Ko Twists the Idol Genre With Revenge, Rebirth, and Dark Romance
Aqua and Ruby Must Not Waste Their New Lives
Oshi No Ko claims the last spot among the last 20 years’ worth of true masterpieces thanks to its stunning blend of genres, to start with. Most anime can juggle at least a few genres, such as comedy, action, and supernatural, but Oshi No Ko can mix together even more genres than that and make them work seamlessly together. That’s how this anime masterpiece feels like so many series in one, combining the idol industry’s dark side, romance, drama, comedy, coming of age, mystery, and revenge.
What is more, Oshi No Ko is one of a few true masterpieces to ponder the true meaning or purpose of one’s own life, which is always a resonant angle to pursue. In Oshi No Ko‘s case, the twins Aqua and Ruby Hoshino are pressured to make the most of their new lives after their unexpected rebirth, with Ruby taking a risk flying high while Aqua chases after revenge because he can’t allow either himself or Ai’s killer to leave the matter alone.
Gurren Lagann Beat the Best Mecha Anime as a Parody
Comedy is the Key to the Best Giant Robot Action
Not unlike its fellow satire anime titles Konosuba and Gintama, the beloved Gurren Lagann managed to outdo the genre it’s making fun of. That’s not to put the serious mecha anime down, but to elevate Gurren Lagann as one of the last two decades’ greatest titles. After all, the very idea of colorful giant robots fighting is intrinsically silly, so fans need anime like Gurren Lagann to flaunt that fact.
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As opposed to the fantastic yet grim Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gurren Lagann is an earnest, positive anime that celebrates the twin powers of hope and friendship. Now more than ever, that kind of eager optimism is what fans need to see so they too can feel ready to break through any barriers to reach the heavens above.
Kaguya and Miyuki Feel Like Real People With Real Growth
Plenty of rom-com anime have a strong angle or concept to explore, such as the Nakanos all pursuing their dreams in The Quintessential Quintuplets, regardless of who wins the harem. Komi Can’t Communicate has charming themes of connecting to others and remaking one’s social life because it’s never too late. The best rom-com is Kaguya-Sama: Love is War, both because of the execution and characters.
The characters themselves are richly written from the very start and only get better from there in Kaguya-Sama. Kaguya and Miyuki are fully realized in their desires, insecurities, clever tricks, and friendships, and their romance feels so smooth and fun as it evolves. Meanwhile, the Kaguya-Sama anime also treats fans to a hilarious narrator/referee in both sub and dub, along with some of the best gags in any anime genre.
Fruits Basket’s Remake Tells a Compelling Tale of Forgiveness and Freedom
Emotional Liberation Has Never Hit so Hard
The original Fruits Basket launched in 2001, and it’s both too old and not good enough to have a place among the last 20 years’ true masterpieces. That’s why romance/drama fans adore the 2019 remake, which fully adapts the original Fruits Basket manga as a top-tier shojo title. The visuals, voice acting, script, and pacing are all what fans wanted all this time.
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The content does most of the heavy lifting, with Fruits Basket using romance and friendship as the mere vehicle for the real humanistic themes here. Characters like Kyo and Yuki grapple with everything from self-doubt and imposter syndrome to painful forgiveness, breaking free of emotional abuse, and much more. That makes the endgame romances and emotional liberation feel like such incredible successes, even cathartically so.
Death Note Has No Heroes, Only Different Views of Justice
The Killer Notebook Raised Some Intriguing Questions
Death Note is famed for its high-IQ battles of wits in both manga and anime form, with the manga being even stronger thanks to its second story arc being explored in full detail, while the anime skims over it. Even if the anime dropped the ball with part 2, this is still a masterpiece of the last two decades, seeing how Death Note‘s core themes are all on display.
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Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
This is not a cut-and-dried battle of good vs evil, since those definitions are fluid and deep. Light, L, Soichiro, and even Ryuk all have different takes on what is right and wrong and what justice even is, and the viewers may have their own stance as well. No matter who wins or loses the Kira case, fans are urged to think over what all this means and how much power is too much when it comes to fighting social ills.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Asks What Life is Really All About
Life is Whatever People Make of It
Many discussions of the best modern anime, or even the best anime of all time, tend to include the mega-hit fantasy series Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. True to its title, the Frieren anime leisurely wanders the post-demon king world, featuring a heartfelt D&D party whose members explore why they risk life and limb fighting monsters.
Fighting for treasure or glory is one thing, but Frieren the elf and her new human friends are seeking something gentler and more meaningful than that. Everyone here tries not to think too hard about this, but they do toy around with the personal quest of life’s meaning, and the answers arrive on their own accord. Sometimes that’s how it works, with people keeping an open mind until life’s biggest questions offer the answers.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Was Worth the Long Wait
Ichigo’s New Adventure is About Vengeance and the Universe’s Destiny
Like the 2001 Fruits Basket anime, the original Bleach anime is neither recent enough or good enough to be a masterpiece of the last 20 years. In its defense, the first Bleach had many strengths as a cousin to Naruto and One Piece, but its dated animation and constant filler arcs hold it back. None of that is a problem for the shiny new Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War anime.
This is what Bleach always needed to be: a sharply paced, wonderfully animated shonen adventure with hard-hitting fights and stunning plot twists every few episodes. This is Bleach cranked up to 11 with zero padding or diversions, all while the personal and worldly stakes reach astonishing new heights. By no means does Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War reinvent the shonen wheel, but it didn’t need to, either. Fans wanted peak Bleach, and here it is.
Attack on Titan Stunned Anime Fans With its Gory Action and Tense Drama
Eren Dared to Destroy the World as an Antihero Titan
Attack on Titan is another anime mega-hit that simply must be discussed when fans review the best anime of the last few decades. It’s true the fandom isn’t entirely happy with the ending of either the manga or anime, but some fans do appreciate what the conclusion did. At the very least, Attack on Titan‘s ending was a gutsy one, as opposed to the usual narrative of cheerful falling action after the main villain’s predictable downfall.
Attack on Titan only gets better from there as an unforgettable action thriller with giant humanoids, soldiers with desperate tactics, and of course, the gripping mysteries of both the Titans and the world outside Wall Maria. Attack on Titan does all this well as a thoughtful, maze-like action anime with astonishing plot turns and character moments from start to finish.
Edward’s Story Did Everything Right
For some time now, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has been the unofficial king of shonen anime, since pound for pound, it has all other shonen anime beat. Naruto has a cooler combat system and One Piece has more worldbuilding, but nothing tops the thematic density found in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. It almost hurts how this anime directly explores humanity’s best and worst sides, noting mankind as a nuanced entity with sharp contrasts.
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Aside from the heavy thematic elements, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is an undisputed masterclass in anime, shonen or not, with every piece doing its part to make a 10/10 package. The animation is outstanding, the OST is delightful, the character arcs are robust, and the plot moves at a nice pace with ample twists.
Vinland Saga is the Finest Meditation on the Purpose of Life
If Thorfinn Can Find the Way, Anyone Can
The single best anime from the last 20 years is the seinen historical adventure Vinland Saga. This anime and its source manga have not yet ended, but both are on track to deliver a strong conclusion, and the story so far has been a 10/10 narrative anyhow. Vinland Saga is yet another masterpiece anime because it uses colorful genres and hard-hitting plot twists to explore the meaning of life. Thus, it feels both brutal and delicate, depending on the scene.
The central narrative combines a few ideas, including the pointless horror of violence, the fakery of having “enemies,” the futility of revenge, and above all, the true purpose of a life. Not unlike Frieren the elf, Thorfinn Karlsefni had to experience serious personal losses to re-evaluate what his and other lives are really for, and see the actual value in it all. Only then can Thorfinn understand his father’s lessons, and it’s bound to get viewers thinking, too.
