The Best Anime That Have Gotten Better With Age

Table of Contents

Summary

Anime has a rich history evolving with each season, shaping genres with engaging stories and immersive worlds.
Classic anime like Ghost Stories have endured time, offering entertaining narratives blending humor and horror.
Timeless series like Cowboy Bebop and Claymore set a high standard with excellent animation, pacing, and storytelling.

Anime has a long and illustrious history, dating back to the creation of Osamu Tezuka and the Astro Boy animations. For over a hundred years, anime has evolved, adapting to the times while creating incredible stories and bringing thousands of worlds and characters to life. With each passing season, new anime innovate and reshape entire genres with engaging stories and immersive worlds.

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While the future of anime is bright, there are many classic anime that still hold a large amount of weight as permanent fixtures in the medium. Series that have stood the test of time and still hold up even among currently released series. Here are some of the best anime that have gotten better with age.

8

Ghost Stories

A Hilarious Combination Of Creativity And Voice Acting

Ghost Stories

Release Date: 2000 – 2001
Network: Fuji TV
Directors: Johei Matsuura

Ghost Stories was adapted from a children’s book series that retold Japanese folk tales in a comedic adventure format. A group of middle school students gets more than they bargained for as they investigate the bizarre occurrences that emerge around their school.

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Having to face off against evil spirits and powerful demons, the close-knit group of friends gives it their best. Ghost Stories is accompanied by an incredibly colorful style of voice acting that makes the series the classic it is. With dark humor and meme-level one-liners, Ghost Stories retains the exact same level of entertainment as when it was initially released.

7

Claymore

An Action-Packed Fantasy Series

Claymore is a violent and brutal fantasy series set during a medieval era in a fictional world where powerful demons called Yoma plague the world. An elite group of female warriors is tasked with protecting humanity by utilizing the dark power of the Yoma itself.

The story follows Clare on her mission of revenge as she struggles to avoid crossing the line between human and monster. Claymore paved the way for many action anime and has incredible pacing and animation that still hold up to this day. It has been a hot topic among anime fans to receive a remake in the same vein as Trigun Stampede.

6

Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex

A Dive Into A Cybernetic World And The Rise Of AI

The Ghost in the Shell franchise is a futuristic exploration of the escalating conflict between humanity and technology, as one seeks to replace the other. The main character of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Motoko Kusanagi, serves as a human cyborg with a completely synthetic body but a human mind.

In Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Kusanagi confronts a cyber-terrorist who seeks to destabilize society and plunge the world into chaos. Kusanagi engages in fierce investigations while struggling with her own unique existence. Ghost in the Shell is a classic franchise, with the Stand Alone Complex series offering a phenomenal narrative experience that reveals more on subsequent viewings.

5

Gungrave

An Intense Revenge Story Between Monsters And Men

Gungrave has transcended anime and branched out into video games due to its classic story. The anime follows a strong bond between two main characters, Brandon Heat and Harry McDowell, who rise from street dogs to become top men in a criminal organization.

The two lead separate paths; Brandon becomes the top-performing hitman, while Harry takes on a leadership role. Their strong bond breaks due to betrayal and love, and as the world changes, the crime organization unleashes an unspeakable evil. Gungrave is a noir-focused action anime with a unique narrative that stands out from the crowd and consistently entertains.

4

The Big O

A Mysterious Story Wrapped in Robot Vs. Robot Action

The Big O

Release Date: 1999 – 2003
Network: WOWOW Prime, Tokyo MX, Chiba TV
Directors: Ikuro Sato, Tooru Kitahata, Kazuyoshi Katayama, Masakazu Obara, Sumio Watanabe

It takes an incredibly unique story for a mecha anime to stand out among giants such as Robotech or Mobile Suit Gundam. The Big O succeeds where many others fail by enveloping a futuristic setting in a crime-noir theme. In a futuristic world that was forced to forget the past after a disastrous event, Roger Smith serves as a negotiator who handles high-level crimes as a third party.

With highly advanced old-world technology constantly falling into the wrong hands, Roger Smith also serves as a Dominus, the pilot of a giant mech, to combat terrorists and crime lords who acquire dangerous devices. The story is a slow burn that maximizes its mystery with what caused the world to forget the last forty years of history, what the Megadues mechs are, and why they were created.

3

Cowboy Bebop

A Futuristic Story With A Classic Crime Theme

Cowboy Bebop is widely regarded as one of the greatest anime series of all time. The story is set in a distant future where humanity has finally reached the stars. However, times don’t change much, as the life of a gunman is still a profitable one.

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Spike Spiegel is an ex-syndicate hitman-turned-bounty hunter after being excommunicated. The story follows Spike’s stoic journey as he attempts to move on from a past that has become inextricably linked to him. Cowboy Bebop is a masterpiece whose animation, soundtrack, and storytelling all surpass those of more recent anime series.

2

Hellsing And Hellsing Ultimate

A Different Take On The Best Vampire In Fiction

Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate are series that deserve much more attention, as they seamlessly blend action, horror, and supernatural elements with a perfect balance of violence and story. The Hellsing organization, founded by the legendary vampire hunter, protects England from the monsters that go bump in the night.

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Sir Integra Hellsing leads the organization with her loyal servant, Alucard. The king of Vampires carves a brutal path through all would-be immortals in search of satisfying his thirst for battle while training a fledgling vampire and facing off against an enemy from the past. Hellsing stands as one of the most underrated anime gems, and it only improves with every rewatch, serving as a standard for vampire anime that inspired all those that came after, such as the Castlevania series.

1

Yu Yu Hakusho

A Classic Among Classics

The story of Yu Yu Hakusho was created by the legendary Yoshihiro Togashi, known for his other classic series, Hunter X Hunter. Yu Yu Hakusho follows high school delinquent Yusuke Urameshi on the day of his death and entanglement in the conflict of the Spirit World.

Urameshi transforms from a violent punk to a spirit detective, facing off against powerful demons and monsters to protect the Spirit World and the land of the living, alongside his group of trusted allies. Yu Yu Hakusho has received an abundance of praise, and rightfully so, as it boasts an incredible story and one of the best tournament arcs in all of shonen manga.