There’s more anime now than ever before. While canonical classics continue to release new installments and spin-offs, new stories are also emerging and grabbing hold of fresh audiences all the time. This means there’s something for everyone, whether you prefer watching pirates searching for legendary treasure or adults reckoning with loss and heartbreak.
Though it can be fun to explore new worlds, there’s also something special about revisiting the places you know best. Sometimes you just need to hang out with the characters you already love and the stories that still excite you. But the special thing about a comfort watch is that it looks different depending on the person. For some, it’s a cozy or laugh-inducing time; for others, it means watching pain and bloodshed — after all, anime is especially good at putting characters through the wringer to see how they power through. Thankfully, we’ve got you covered no matter what brings you solace.
Below, check out a few of the anime that superfans turn to again and again.
Aggretsuko
Death metal is not a genre of music that many would associate with comfort — but it is for the adorable, anthropomorphic red panda Retsuko. Singing it at karaoke is her main outlet for channeling her rage over her stressful office job and demanding boss. These very relatable tensions are why watching Aggretsuko can feel so soothing: Retsuko’s catharsis is so palpable that her death metal outbursts become more charming than grating.
BEASTARS
Toto, we’re not in Zootopia anymore. Talking animals are one of the oldest subjects of animation, but Beastars upends all expectations. In this world of anthropomorphic animals, the difference between carnivores and herbivores is a matter of life and death. Stylistically, Beastars blurs the lines between coming-of-age story, interspecies romance, serial-killer crime saga, and bloody action. Once you’ve seen the whole series, there are new elements to pick up on every rewatch.
Castlevania
Video game adaptations are becoming increasingly popular, and Netflix’s Castlevania anime was at the forefront of that wave. The experience of playing those time-hopping horror games is replicated in both Castlevania — where we watch a team of adventurers come together to battle Dracula — and Castlevania: Nocturne, which picks up with their descendants decades later in another historical period. In both shows, the Gothic atmosphere is immersive and a pleasure to spend time in whenever you’re in a spooky mood.
DAN DA DAN
Showing Dan Da Dan to someone who’s never seen anime before would probably be as overwhelming as giving a Cool Ranch Dorito to a medieval peasant. But for the seasoned viewer, this series’ mixture of creepy sci-fi aliens, horror-producing ghosts, and teenaged romantic entanglements (each of which could fuel a spin-off anime series in their own right) is joyfully chaotic.
DEATH NOTE
With its villainous protagonist, killer premise (literally), and unexpected plot twists, Death Note stands apart from most other shonen anime. The plotting is so intricate that even on rewatch you might genuinely wonder if Light Yagami will get away with his serial-murder-by-notebook this time — and it’s always fun to spend more time with the lovable antagonist.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Demon Slayer is already one of the most successful anime franchises of all time — and it shows no signs of slowing down. This year’s Infinity Castle film, which broke box office records in the U.S. as well as in Japan, is only the first of a planned theatrical trilogy that will serve as the series’ grand finale. There’s no better way to prepare for the coming fireworks than to rewatch the series.
Detective Conan
Detective Conan, one of the longest-running anime franchises of all time, can attribute its success to how it manages to enthrall on multiple timescales. Each episode is self-contained, with its own fascinating mystery to solve, while the series as a whole keeps picking away at the overarching question of whether the pint-sized protagonist can ever return to his normal form. The episodic approach makes it immensely fun to watch — and rewatch — dipping in and out whenever you want.
Devilman Crybaby
With only 10 episodes, Devilman Crybaby makes for a pretty easy rewatch. Well, maybe “easy” is the wrong word, since Masaaki Yuasa’s adaptation of Go Nagai’s Devilman manga is bursting with blood, death, and terrifying demons. But whenever you’re in the mood to give yourself over to the spirit of the Sabbath, there’s much horrific beauty to be found in this demonic onslaught.
Dragon Ball DAIMA
Even for anime fans who have been watching variations of Dragon Ball since childhood, Dragon Ball DAIMA is full of surprises. In the final series created by Dragon Ball architect Akira Toriyama before his death, DAIMA reverts Goku and friends back to children while also sending them to the Demon Realm, a never-before-seen world full of new characters and monsters. Toriyama clearly relished returning to the tone and dynamics of early Dragon Ball, so watching DAIMA is a satisfying way to honor the late master’s legacy.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
There are two Fullmetal Alchemist anime, but true fans know that the second, Brotherhood, is the superior choice, faithful as it is to Hiromu Arakawa’s manga. That’s not just a bias in favor of the creator’s vision; the original story of the Elric brothers’ struggle against Father and his homunculi is always fun to experience again.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Whether you’re playing a Dungeons & Dragons campaign with friends or rewatching The Lord of the Rings for the millionth time, fantasy sagas can often feel like they last forever. But what happens after the One Ring is destroyed, or, in this particular case, after the Demon King is defeated? Stories end, but life goes on, and that’s what Frieren is all about. The titular elf mage’s journey to learn more about old friends makes Frieren more melancholic than most adventure anime, but it’s heartwarming nonetheless.
Gurren Lagann
No matter how many times you’ve seen it, the premiere episode of Gurren Lagann — in which young dreamers Simon and Kamina discover a mecha in their post-apocalyptic underground village, allowing them to break through to the surface and finally see the sky for the first time — remains pretty much perfect. The sense of exhilaration achieved in the first episode continues throughout the series — which, at 27 episodes, is pretty impressive. Epic battles, big plot twists, and multiple time skips add to an endlessly satisfying anime experience.
Hunter X Hunter (2011)
Yoshihiro Togashi’s long-running manga about world-traveling treasure hunters was first adapted in 1999, but it’s the 2011 reboot that has earned its place in the anime pantheon. Hunter x Hunter is hardly the only anime to begin with a young boy setting out on a quest to achieve his lifelong dream, but it does so by pitting young Gon Freecss against villains who are just as richly developed as he is. The depth of Hunter x Hunter’s storytelling makes it a pleasure to revisit.
InuYasha
With romantic fantasy novels continuing to dominate bookstores and bestseller lists, it’s a great time to return to InuYasha. The pairing of modern Japanese girl Kagome with the half-demon feudal warrior Inuyasha is as romantic and entertaining as any odd couple from modern romantasy — especially when you throw in the tension with Inuyasha’s first love, Kikyo. But don’t forget to include InuYasha: The Final Act in your watch or rewatch list, which finishes the story of Rumiko Takahashi’s manga.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is the ultimate time-hopping anime, with each story arc following a different descendant of the Joestar family in their centuries-long battle against the vampire Dio. That makes it easy to fire up different seasons to suit your mood. Season 3, aka Stardust Crusaders, is always there when you need a mythological superhero fix, while Season 1 (aka Phantom Blood) packs a punch with its riffs on Victorian gothic stories like Wuthering Heights and Jack the Ripper. And good news: the next chapter, STEEL BALL RUN, is on the way.
Jujutsu Kaisen
There are several classic shonen anime on this list, and Jujutsu Kaisen is steeped in that same history. Its protagonist has a powerful demon inside of him, much like Naruto’s Naruto Uzumaki, and he uses that ability to protect normal humans from demons, just as we see in Yu Yu Hakusho. But Jujutsu Kaisen executes these ideas so well that it’s endlessly entertaining to watch, especially when it comes to the show’s extremely kinetic fight scenes.
Kakegurui
With TV these days inundated by endless ads for legalized gambling, Kakegurui’s depiction of a gambling-focused high school has new resonance. While many characters play the show’s various games for money or status, protagonist Yumeko Jabami gambles for the sheer thrill. Already one of the most vivid new anime characters of the past decade, Yumeko is now downright inspirational for the way she scoffs at money in favor of pure entertainment.
My Hero Academia
One of the world’s most popular superhero sagas wasn’t made by Marvel or DC, and there’s a reason for that. For those of us who have grown fatigued with the past decade of American superhero movies, My Hero Academia makes the genre feel fresh; Izuku Midoriya’s journey from powerless fanboy to world’s greatest hero is always exciting and energizing to revisit.
Naruto
Naruto is one of those anime that has become so enmeshed in modern pop culture that it’s become hard to remember a time without it. But watching the early episodes is a good way to remember what we loved about Naruto and his fellow ninja long before Shippuden and Boruto — not to mention the memeification of the “Naruto run.” Believe it!
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Here’s another anime that has thoroughly embedded itself in modern culture. But the endless parade of “Get in the Robot, Shinji!” memes and screenshots of Gendo Ikari glowering behind his sunglasses can obscure just how fun it is to rewatch Shinji and his friends fighting the Angels (and their own emotions). Plus, EVANGELION: DEATH (TRUE)² and The End of Evangelion are also streaming on Netflix, so you can easily binge Hideaki Anno’s whole saga.
One Piece
The most famous anime in the world is streaming on Netflix alongside both the tie-in movie, One Piece Film: Red, and the ongoing live-action adaptation, but there’s never a bad time to revisit the classic adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates. Eiichiro Oda’s sprawling saga is still going, too, so there are always new treasures to discover.
Record of Ragnarok
There are few anime archetypes more reliably enjoyable than the good old-fashioned tournament arc, in which a wide swath of characters are pitted against each other via one-on-one matches. By making its whole story one big tournament between humans and gods, Record of Ragnarok takes this time-honored trope to the next level. It’s always fun seeing how creators Shinya Umemura, Takumi Fukui, and Azychika meld classic mythological figures like Zeus and Loki with the history and sensibilities of anime, and the newly-released Season 3 brings a whole new round of fighters and battles to enjoy.
Rurouni Kenshin
Everything old is new again, because Nobuhiro Watsuki’s classic saga of a wandering swordsman who renounces violence at the dawn of Japan’s Meiji era has been adapted into anime for the second time. Even if you already love Kenshin and Kaoru, the new series shows them in a more modern light. It also makes the series’ many swordfights even more vivid, with more exciting choreography.
SAKAMOTO DAYS
It’s never felt so relaxing to watch a bunch of assassins beat each other up. Unlike its frequently cited inspiration John Wick, Sakamoto Days features a protagonist, Taro Sakamoto, who actually enjoys his new life as a husband, father, and convenience store owner after saying goodbye to his hitman career. His sunny family life and mentorship of the younger Shin Asakura make for a fun contrast to the bursts of violence that come from his old coworkers who refuse to leave him alone.
Slam Dunk
Slam Dunk’s place in anime history is well established, as it set a high bar for sports anime and even helped popularize basketball in Japan. But Takehiko Inoue’s story of an unusually tall high schooler who picks up basketball to impress a girl — only to end up loving the game for its own sake — is always worth a rewatch. The games are as thrilling as anything on ESPN, and the series’ ’90s aesthetic is a nice throwback to the early days of anime.
The Summer Hikaru Died
It’s been five years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and humanity is still making sense of it. This story of a beloved friend being replaced by something else is a beautiful, fantastical way to reckon with the feelings of alienation and loss that many have experienced since 2020, on top of universal struggles with coming of age. The mood it conjures is totally unique, and since author Mokumokuren created it in 2021 while studying for their high school entrance exams, the series proves that anime still has room for new voices.
