Anime Tier List: Most Popular Anime Ranked [2023]

We are going to be ranking some of the most popular anime series of all time.

Anime is a big source of entertainment in Japan and throughout the World. There are different types of anime based on their target audience, for example, there are Kodomo Anime for Kids, Shojo for Girls, Shonen for Boys, and Seinen, or Josie for an older audience.

There is no discrimination, rather the preference of the watcher, that what kind of anime the individual likes to watch. The Anime Tier List is constituted with the purpose to help the viewer choose the best anime based on their liking.


Key Points

  • There are a total of 26 entries in our article.
  • Each entry is ranked on the basis of their storylines and character development.
  • You will observe Naruto: Shippuden, Attack on Titans, One Piece, and Death Note in higher ranks.
  • Among the lowest are Pupa, Blue Period, and Gibiate.

Summary

Before we dive any further, the following table shows the rank of all anime.

S RankA RankB RankC RankD Rank
Naruto: ShippudenDeath NoteInazuma Eleven G0Boruto: Naruto Next GenerationsPupa
Attack on TitansNarutoJujutsu KaisenBakiBlue Period
One PieceOne-Punch ManBleachUltimate MuscleGibiate
PokémonHaikyuNaruto SD: Rock Lee & His Ninja PalsHigh School DxD
Say “I Love You”Tokyo GhoulSchool Days
Dragon Ball ZClassroom of the Elite
Inazuma Eleven
Demon Slayer

S-Tier

anime tier list
S Tier.

The S-Tier contains some of the most top-notch, iconic, or most-hyped anime to watch, having some of the most enjoyable, heartwarming, and entertaining storylines, the best-developed characters with whom the watchers instantly form a bond and feel emotionally connected. If you are a new watcher, these animes will surely be a feast for your eyes.

Naruto: Shippuden

Tell me how does this sound for a story plot? A demon nine-tailed fox living inside a boy in a ninja village named the Village Hidden in the Leaves, where deadly and fearless ninjas are always looking for an opportunity to jump into action and showcase their moves and fighting capabilities. Naruto: Shippuden in our opinion, is easily the most top-rated anime in the most popular animes list if there is even a list of that sort, and is therefore added to the S-Tier of the Tier List.

It is the second anime in the whole Naruto anime franchise, the main lead of the anime Naruto Uzumaki is seen to come back to his home in the Village Hidden in the Leaves from his vigorous training with his master Jiraiya.

Release Date
February 15, 2007
MyAnime List Rating
8.3
Genre Action, Comedy

Attack on Titans

In a world where the human race is on the brink of extinction, due to their mass slaughter by notorious monsters like creatures called Titians, under these tedious circumstances the few humans left alive must take shelter behind enormous walls if they want to survive, which makes these Titans even more fearful and vicious in their quest to taste human flesh, not out of hunger but pure pleasure.

As there appears to be a glimmer of hope for survival, and this hell of reality begins to fade away, an enormous Titan manages to breach the so-called impenetrable outer wall, which causes some horrific events, the loss of human life and utter destruction, in the midst of all the chaos we meet Eren Yeager, one of the main leads in the series, who pledges to eradicate these human eating savages, by joining the Survey Military Unit, who fights these so-called Titans, outside the protection of the walls.

Release Date
April 7, 2013
MyAnime List Rating
8.53
Genre Action, Fiction

One Piece

One Piece was an easy pick for us to be added to the S-tier of our Tier List, and is also one of the longest-running anime series with over one thousand episodes. The series follows the story of a young boy, named Monkey D. Luffy, who aspires to be a sea-robber or in other words a seasoned pirate.

Curious about how the pirate era began? Well, the Pirate King Gold Rogers who has achieved a fortune in his lifetime, in his last moments just before his execution talks about his beloved treasure the one-piece, that whoever wants it can have, it’s all in one place its where I left it.

The anime focuses on the evolution of the whole pirate era. Years later the story of our beloved Monkey D. Luffy begins who by the way is no ordinary human, on the other hand, possesses some impressive superpowers due to the consumption of a magical gum-gum fruit. Now, since the anime revolves around pirates, the anime focuses on our main hero and several other well-put characters.

Release Date
October 20, 1999
MyAnime List Rating
8.69
Genre Action, Comedy

Pokémon

Pokémon is a no-brainer to be added to our Tier List. The world is filled with these absurd creatures called Pokémon, having a wide array of abilities, personalities, and appearances, which are caught by Pokémon trainers and trained to the best of their abilities.

Ash Ketchum, a young ten-year-old boy has always aspired to be Pokémon Master, however, a mishap struck as all the Pokémon available for beginners have been claimed and all that remains is a rebellious Pikachu, which is an electric-type Pokémon.

If there is any chance for Ash to fulfill his dream he must try to bond with Pikachu and work alongside his new partner. The anime follows the journey of Ash and Pikachu to become the very best there is. Pokémon has the potential to be the best fantasy anime and can be a great entertaining show for the viewers.

Release Date
October 12, 2013
MyAnime List Rating
7.37
Genre Crossword Puzzle Cue

Say “I Love You”

Say “I Love You” is added to the S-Tier of Tier List and is one of the best romance anime we’ve seen to date. The anime begins with a tragic incident, in which one of the main characters Mei Tachibana is ratted out by her friends for the death of their beloved class pet. Which causes some major trust issues for Mei, as she is of the fact that your friends are the ones to stab you in the back, and lives in this reality drawing herself away from any possible human contact.

One day she stumbled upon a school stud named Yamato Kurosawa. Yamato finds Mei interesting and insists on becoming Mei’s friend, soon after a major incident in which Yamato kisses Mei, she starts to develop feelings for him. After finding out about the feelings both hold for each other, the two start dating.

Release Date
October 7, 2012
MyAnime List Rating
7.4
Genre Romance

Dragon Ball Z

First coming out in 1986, this anime series starts with Dragon Ball, where a Girl name Bulma is set on a quest to collect the mystical ornaments named dragon balls, as the collector of these dragon balls is said to be granted a wish if all the seven dragon balls are to be collected.

On her journey, Bulma stumbles into Goku who at the time is a little boy, intending to become a strong martial artist in order to take part in the upcoming Martial Arts Tournament and is also the possessor of one of the dragon balls.

Goku and Bulma set off on the journey of a lifetime to achieve their respective goals and to stop anyone from abusing the unimaginable power of the dragon balls.  Coming to Dragon Ball Z, Goku is now all grown up, married, and a father. Goku is confronted by Raditz who presents himself as Goku’s long-lost brother and tells him that Goku is one of the mightiest and power Saiyan races, which has now gone extinct.

Release Date
April 26, 1989
MyAnime List Rating
8.2
Genre Adventure, Fantasy

A Tier

anime tier list
A Tier.

A-Tier of our Anime Tier List has some great mentions, these animes are a must-watch in our opinion. These are some of the best anime to enjoy watching, having some of the best story plots, notable characters, and a cherishing fan base.

Death Note

Death Note is for sure one of the best horror anime we’ve watched until now. A man with the power of a Shinigami, a Japanese Death God, who can kill any person in any way he pleases just by seeing the person’s face and knowing his name. One day, a Shinigami named Ryuk,  bored of his life in the Shinigami Realm, Drops into the human world with the curiosity that how would a human use a Death Note, a mystical notebook which grants its owner the power of a Death God.

Ryuk drops the Death Note into the human world, which is picked by the main Hero of the series, Light Yagami, an ordinary high schooler who is bored with his ordinary life and pledges to use the power of Death Note, to eradicate evil and aims to become the new god of the world. He undertakes the name of Kira to execute his assassinations, making death by a heart attack his signature execution.

Release Date
October 4, 2006
MyAnime List Rating
8.6
Genre Mystery, Thriller

Naruto

In the land of the fire, there exists a Village Hidden in the Leaves, whose ninjas possess the Will of Fire, and are feared by entire nations, though apart from all this there also lives a boy named Naruto Uzumaki who possesses the spirit of a daemon fox, whose aim is to become a fearless ninja and achieve the title of Hokage. It is the first anime of the whole Naruto anime franchise and is very well received by the audience.

It is good to see back how our favorite characters were back in the day, it is also a quite heartwarming feeling to see these characters achieve so much, due to their strong will and belief. Naruto has played a key role in the character development of the entire anime franchise and has created some of the most cherished characters. The anime is full of action and is one of the best anime to stream on Netflix to watch.

Release Date
February 15, 2007
MyAnime List Rating
7.98
Genre Action, Fantsay

One-Punch Man

Did you ever want to become a superhero to defeat evil and save the world? Yes, for sure most of us did, the same is the case with our main lead of the anime Saitama, who had a dream to become a superhero. In his pursuit to accomplish his goal, Saitama undergoes some very demanding training, with ultimately becomes the cause of his hair loss.

It is the due result of his difficult training, that Saitama becomes so strong that no enemy until now can defeat him, on the contrary, Saitama can defeat the enemy by a single punch, hence the name One-Punch Man. It is one of the best comedy anime we’ve seen, yet regardless of all the comic scenes the anime also packs some great action and is a justifiable addition to the A-Tier of our Tier List.

Release Date
October 4, 2015
MyAnime List Rating
8.50
Genre Comedy

Haikyu

Haikyu is among the best if not the best sports anime ever produced. It is the story about the will, determination, and hard work of a young boy named, Shouyou Hinata. Regardless of having a small stature, young Hinata makes it into the school’s volleyball team and plays an important role in reviving the school spirit of volleyball. They eventually make it to a high-profile event, and their opening match proves to be their last, in contrast, this defeat isn’t able to break Hinata’s will and he vows to continue playing the game he so dearly loves.

Haikyu is one of the amazing animes on Netflix to watch, it very well engages with the audience, it is motivating, encouraging, and greatly entertaining. The character development is also done very well, apart from the main leads, the side characters in the anime are developed in such a way, that they have their sense of presence. Haikyu truly is one of the greats and is added to the A-Tier of the Tier List.

Release Date April 6, 2014
MyAnime List Rating
8.44
Genre Comedy, Sports

Tokyo Ghoul

Tokyo Ghoul is one of the best horror anime out there and it is a treat for the viewers who are into the concept of monsters filled with blood lust and craving for human flesh. The anime has a very interesting story plot, A Society in which, these savages (ghouls) can freely roam on the streets and can attack and feast on your flesh at any moment they please.

The tragic story of our main lead Ken Kaneki begins with a simple date, but he is unaware of the fact that his partner is a bloodthirsty ghoul, and the only interest she has in him, is in ripping him apart and feasting on his flesh.

Luckily, before this ghoul called Rize Kamishiro, can kill Ken, some large metal beams fall on her and she collapses. Ken, is badly hurt and if there is any chance for him to survive an emergency transplant of some organs is to be operated, for which the doctor uses Rize’s body parts, turning Ken into some kind of Human-Ghoul hybrid. Unfortunately, the problems are far from over, as he remains in complete agony, trying to keep his blood lust in control to which he finally succumbs and acts like the savage he has become.

Release Date July 3, 2014
MyAnime List Rating
7.79
Genre Dark, Fantasy

Classroom of the Elite

Class of the Elite is rather a unique take on the high school genre. The Japanese Government has invested in the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing School, a school where the respective students are assessed on rather unique merits and have to follow some relay absurd rules.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing School is not your ordinary high school and works differently, Firstly the school provides its students one hundred thousand yen each of its students, in light of some very unique rules the cash amount may vary, firstly because of the concept of private points, where one private point is equal to one yen and the class points, which are based on the ranking of the class in a specific term, and one class point is equal to hundred yen.

Release Date July 12, 2017
MyAnime List Rating
7.9
Genre Thriller

Inazuma Eleven

Inazuma Eleven is added to the A-Tier of our Tier List and it follows the story of the legendary Inazuma Eleven soccer club, which once dominated the whole soccer scene, and is now on the verge of being disbanded. Mark Evens the captain of the Inazuma Eleven, and the grandson of the legendary goalkeeper, David Evens, must do everything possible if there is to be any chance of survival for this long-neglected soccer club.

Inazuma Eleven is one of the greatest sports anime ever produced. The anime follows the journey of Inazuma Eleven soccer club, from being in the shadows of their past greatness to becoming the best soccer club in the whole country and has also introduced some of the most well-developed characters, with the likes of Mark Evens, Axel Blaze, Jude Sharp, Eric Eagle, and many others, Inazuma Eleven also has some of the best comedy anime arcs which keeps the audience entertained.

Release Date
August 22, 2008
MyAnime List Rating
7.6
Genre Sports

Demon Slayer

The next anime on our Tier List is Demon Slayer. The anime is based on the tragic revenge story of a young boy named, Tenjiro Kamado who sells coal to provide for his family. One day a tragic turn of events takes place in the life of this young boy when he finds that his entire family has been brutally wiped out by a demon, and to make the matter even worse his younger sister the sole survivor from the entire incident, has been cursed and transformed into a demon herself.

Out of anger, hatred, and revenge young Tenjiro pledges to become the Demon Slayer to avenge his family and find a cure for his younger sister and turn her back into a human.

Release Date April 6, 2019
MyAnime List Rating
8.5
Genre Adventure, Dark

B Tier

Fairly good animes
B Tier.

The anime in the B-Tier of the Tier List is rather decent, these are good animes yet not as good when compared to the anime in the S-Tier and the A-Tier. These animes have a relatively good storyline and some worth mentioning characters, though they still do a relatively weak job of entertaining the due audience. 

Inazuma Eleven G0

Inazuma Eleven Go for many weebs is among the best sports anime, having said that, the reason we have added Inazuma Eleven Go into the B-Tier of the Tier List is that despite being a pitch-perfect anime, in our opinion it still can not outrun the success of its prequel the Inazuma Eleven.

The anime takes place after ten years of the triumphant success of the Inazuma Eleven led by Mark Evens and follows the story of the main lead Tenma Matsukaze, who is a new transfer student at the Reimon High School, and due to his passion and love for the game of soccer, he joins the school team.

 

Release Date May 4, 2011
MyAnime List Rating
7
Genre Sports

Jujutsu Kaisen

Jujutsu Kaisen is among the best anime on Netflix in terms of action and fighting, it follows the story of  Yuji Itadori, a young cocky high schooler who is either at the clubs or with his sick grandfather at the hospital, interestingly his life takes a turn for worst when he unknowingly eats a cursed item, one of the fingers of the Sukuna Ryoumen, the King of Curses, causing a number of supernatural events to occur.

Yuji finds himself being dragged downed to the debts of the accursed world, and with his days numbered Yuji decides on a secret organization Jujutsu Sorcerers to track the remaining nineteen fingers of Sukuna Ryoumen, in order to eradicate this deadly curse forever.

Release Date
October 3, 2020
MyAnime List Rating
8.65
Genre Adventure, Dark

Bleach

Bleach in the opinion of some viewers can be among the best horror anime to watch, The story of the anime is based on Ichigo Kurosaki, who accepts the powers of Rukia Kuchiki, to become a soul reaper to protect his family from a corrupt soul, agreeing to be a soul reaper, Ichigo also assumes the responsibility to track down and kill the hollows which threaten to destroy his beloved town, anyhow he is not alone in this fight against hollows as he is joined by his friends each with their abilities.

It is an iconic show, yet we have added it to the B-Tier of our Tier List, because in our opinion the anime lacks the feel and excitement when compared with the likes of Death Note, Demon Slayer, etc.

Release Date October 5, 2004
MyAnime List Rating
7.9
Genre Action, Adventure

Naruto SD: Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals

Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals is a legendary anime and is one of the best comedy anime for anyone to watch and have a good time with. Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals is the spinoff of one of the most famous animes, Naruto. Welcome to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, home to some of the most fierce and skilled ninjas in all of Land of Fire.

The main lead of the anime is not Naruto Uzumaki, rather interestingly, Rock Lee is given the limelight, whose dream is to become a full-fledged shinobi, even if he can not use ninjutsu or genjutsu, despite his lack of ability to control chakra, lee is an extremely valuable ally to Village Hidden in the Leaves. In the anime we see the ninja world from the perspective of Rock Lee, the way trains under his goal-driven teacher guy, goes on missions alongside his teammates Neji Hyuga and Ten Ten, and has some great endeavors.

Release Date April 3, 2012
MyAnime List Rating
7.16
Genre Comedy, Action

School Days

School Days is added to the B-Tier of our Tier List, the series could have been among the best romance anime for the rom-com audience partly due to the epic finale the series had, otherwise the series is quite criticized in the anime community. The plot of the anime follows a classical high school romance when Makoto Itou falls for the beautiful Kotonoha Katsura, at the commencement of his freshmen year.

Having said that, all this one-sided love takes a swift turn when another girl from his class, Sekai Saionji, finds out about Makoto’s feelings for Kotonoha, interestingly instead of ratting him out, she keeps her silent even offering Makoto to set him up with Kotonoha.

The anime follows the lives of these three teenagers and the confusing love triangle between them.  It is an all in all teen series, where the characters make some bad decisions causing a failure in relationships. It is a fairly good anime with some refined characters, animations, following love, enthusiasm, and drama.

Release Date
July 3, 2007
 
MyAnime List Rating
5.5
Genre Comedy, Romance

C Tier

Below Average Animes
C Tier.

The C-Tier of the Best Anime Tier List consists of the anime that are below average in our opinion, the weak storylines and the basic characters also don’t do much to change one’s perspective. These anime are good still nothing too much to get excited about.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

Your mind must be boggling as to how an anime from the most popular animes franchise is in the C-Tier of our Tier List, but the matter of fact is that Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is all talk and no game, the ninja world has changed dramatically, the society has modernized on a large scale, and the essence of the traditional Japanese culture and tradition has all died out.

Instead of ramen and other Japanese local foods we see the characters indulging in fast foods, for ninjas to travel by train is also an absurd concept, furthermore, the relevance of our favorite Naruto characters has been reduced to make way for one, therefore the anime has seen a large decrease in its fanbase.

The anime feels almost a below-par experience when compared to its predecessors, the story arc in the anime almost feels irrelevant, and the new characters are not very well developed, nevertheless still, the anime is a host to some of the most badass anime fights, which is sadly not enough to pull this anime above the C-Tier on our Tier List.

Release Date April 5, 2017
MyAnime List Rating
6.07
Genre Adeventure, Fantasy

Baki

Baki is added to the C-Tier of our Tier List and is an anime with a relatively weak storyline, which is based on a classic father-son rivalry. The main lead in the series is Baki Hanma, a professional fighter who seeks to become a sensational fighter, for this purpose he must defeat his father, who is considered to be the best fighter ever lived.

The anime has adapted to the second arc of manga in which Baki has to fight the extremely vicious and soul-crushing death row inmates, whose power are so overwhelming that they have never lost a fight, though at the same time due to their extremely strong physique and high power levels have taken the thrill out of fighting and they now have placed their hopes in Baki seeking some challenging competition.

It has some decent anime characters with the likes of Youjiro Hanma, biscuit Olivia and many others. Baki is a decent anime, to which one may opt out of boredom.

Release Date September 30, 2021
MyAnime List Rating
7.3
Genre Action, Sports

Ultimate Muscle

The story of the anime is a typical good vs bad scenario, where in the past a group of superhumans possessed with evil came to earth with the intention to conquer the human race and failed miserably in their attempt when they had to go toe to toe with the muscle league, another group of superhumans who swore to protect the earth against any evil who dared to threaten the peace on earth.

Due to the efforts of the muscle league, the evil superhumans got defeated in their objective to conquer the human race and peace remained on planet earth. However, after twenty-eight long years, a new evil force has come to earth with the same objective, Similarly, the muscle league has grown old and is in no shape to fight, the only option there remains is to train a new generation of fighters, if there is gonna be any chance for the human race to survive.

Ultimate Muscle could have been one of the best fantasy anime, However, the weak animations and poor plot holes proved otherwise and are therefore added to the C-Tier on the Tier List.

Release Date September 14, 2002
MyAnime List Rating
6.91
Genre Comedy, Action

High School DxD

High School DxD is an anime based on demonic reincarnations and fallen angles. The story of the anime is based on a boy named Issei Hyoudou, a normal high schooler who is extremely unmotivated and is far from achieving anything meaningful in life.

Issei always dreams about having a girlfriend one day, and things definitely take a turn for the best when a beautiful girl asks him out on a date – thus, little did he know that his date is a fallen angel who brutally murders him – Issei is soon revived from the dead as the devil’s servant, and has his own demonic powers.

Release Date January 6, 2012
MyAnime List Rating
7.34
Genre Romance

D Tier

Time Wasters
D Tier.

The animes that are added to the D-Tier of our Anime Tier List are a complete and utter disappointment. These are so poorly executed that they are not even worth mentioning. 

Pupa

If this Tier List was about the worst animes, then Pupa would’ve been among the most popular animes in the top tier to make the cut. Even thinking about this bizarre anime, fills us with disgust. The pupa is one of the worst anime ever, with a mind-boggling story plot and some bizarre characters, It is therefore added to the D-Tier of the Tier List, which is the extreme lowest.

The story of the anime is based on the relationship between an older brother and a younger sister, where the younger sister has fallen ill with infection and in order to survive she must consume some human flesh, while the older brother has gained some regenerating powers, this character description makes a great justification for cannibalism and a disgusting story plot., where the younger sister eats the flesh of the older brother.

Release Date January 9, 2014
MyAnime List Rating
3.29
Genre Horror

Blue Period

The blue period is your average run-of-the-mill, story about a teenage boy who is highly unambitious about the thought that what to become in life. The main lead of the story is Yatora Yaguchi, a high schooler who works hard in school to maintain his academic grades, nonetheless despite all the good grades, Yatora does not enjoy any of the school activities is seeks to find anything which truly fulfilling and provides a sense of accomplishment.

The anime is not appealing in any manner, with a fairly basic storyline, shallow characters, and weak animations. Blue Period is added to the D-Tier.

Release Date September 25, 2021
MyAnime List Rating
7.82
Genre Drama

Gibiate

Gibiate had the potential to be one of the greatest horror anime, seemingly the lack of effort or the misunderstanding of the editors proved otherwise, as the anime was very poorly composed. The story of the anime is based in Japan, in which a disease named Gibiate, causes the infected human beings to into violent monsters and causes havoc,  in the midst of all this chaos a shinobi and a samurai from the Edo Period, manage to time travel to 2030 to meet a scientist, to create a cure for the ill.

The concept of the anime is quite fascinating, still, the storyline and the screenplay are weak and subject to some major plot holes, the poor character development also does not help the cause, and there are some weak characters. Gibialte is added to the D-Tier of our Tier List and is a weaker anime as compared to some of the best animes on the streaming service Netflix to watch.

Release Date
July 15, 2020
MyAnime List Rating
3.8
Genre Fantasy, Action

Comparison Table

NameTierRelease DateMyAnime List RatingGenre
Naruto: ShippudenS15-Feb-078.3Action, Comedy
Attack on TitansS7-Apr-138.53Action, Fiction
One PieceS20-Oct-998.69Action, Comedy
PokémonS12-Oct-137.37Crossword Puzzle Cue
Say “I Love You”S7-Oct-127.4Romance
Dragon Ball ZS26-Apr-898.2Adventure, Fantasy
Death NoteA4-Oct-068.6Mystery, Thriller
NarutoA15-Feb-077.98Action, Fantsay
One-Punch ManA4-Oct-158.5Comedy
HaikyuA6-Apr-148.44Comedy, Sports
Tokyo GhoulA3-Jul-147.79Dark, Fantasy
Classroom of the EliteA12-Jul-177.9Thriller
Inazuma ElevenA22-Aug-087.6Sports
Demon SlayerA6-Apr-198.5Adventure, Dark
Inazuma Eleven G0B4-May-117Sports
Jujutsu KaisenB3-Oct-208.65Adventure, Dark
BleachB5-Oct-047.9Action, Adventure
Naruto SD: Rock Lee & His Ninja PalsB3-Apr-127.16Comedy, Action
School DaysB3-Jul-075.5Comedy, Romance
Boruto: Naruto Next GenerationsC5-Apr-176.07Adeventure, Fantasy
BakiC30-Sep-217.3Action, Sports
Ultimate MuscleC14-Sep-026.91Comedy, Action
High School DxDC6-Jan-127.34Romance
PupaD9-Jan-143.29Horror
Blue PeriodD25-Sep-217.82Drama
GibiateD15-Jul-203.8Fantasy, Action

Verdict

This Anime Tier List is molded with the aim to help the viewer choose the best anime of their liking, the Tier List is comprised of five Tiers from best to worst, with the S-Tier being the best consisting of some of the greatest anime of all time which are an absolute treat to watch, and the D-Tier which is the absolute worst, the anime that is added into the D-Tier in our opinion are a complete waste of time.