We've seen several lists of the best anime of all time. Researching these lists I noticed a great diversity of culture and tastes in relation to the Western ranking and the Japanese ranking. With that in mind, I decided to make a comparison with these 2 rankings to get ideas about cultural differences.
Unlike the list BAD, crunchyroll and other sites share, I decided to make this list in an organized way, without repeating the season of a certain anime as they usually do. The work that wins an anime adaptation, no matter if one season was better than the other, will appear in the ranking only once following the list correctly. We're not going to go in descending order as usual either, we want you to see this anime rankings from a different perspective.
The 50 best anime of all time Japan vs West
Japan | Western | |
1 | Tiger & Bunny | Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood |
2 | Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (2011) | Gintama |
3 | Love Live! | Steins;Gate |
4 | Code Geass | Hunter X Hunter |
5 | Cardcaptor Sakura | Clannad |
6 | Osomatsu-san | Haikyuu!! |
7 | Gintama | Code Geass |
8 | Joker Game | Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu |
9 | Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu | Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso |
10 | Neon Genesis Evangelion | mushishi |
11 | Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka? | cowboy bepop |
12 | Mobile Suit Gundam | Hajime no Ippo |
13 | Digimon Adventure | Natsume Yuujinchou |
14 | Psycho-Pass | Suzumya Haruhi |
15 | Sword Art Online | Monogatari Series |
16 | Clannad | One Punch Man |
17 | girls und panzer | Great Teacher Onizuka |
18 | Haikyuu!! | Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann |
19 | Detective Conan | Bakuman |
20 | Hyouka | death note |
21 | Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood | Fate (zero, stay night) |
22 | Shingeki no Kyojin | monster |
23 | Uchuu Senkan Yamato | Ansatsu Kyoushitsu |
24 | Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Jojo no Kimyou na Bouken |
25 | Bungou Stray Dogs | Ping pong |
26 | Prince of Tennis | Shingeki no Kyoujin |
27 | Cowboy Bebop | Boku no Hero Academia |
28 | Steins;Gate | Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin |
29 | Natsume Yuujinchou | Boku dake ga Inai Machi |
30 | Fate (stay night, zero…) | Kuroku no Basketball |
31 | Hoshi no Ko Poron | Hana year |
32 | K-On! | Shokugeki no Souma |
33 | Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu | Uchuu Kyoudai |
34 | Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann | Ghost in the Shell |
35 | Lupine III | one piece |
36 | Monogatari Series (Bakemonogatari) | Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu |
37 | Ghost in the Shell | slam dunk |
38 | Hibike! Euphonium | Re: Zero kara hajimeru isekai seikatsu |
39 | Free! | Saiki Kusou no Psi-Man |
40 | Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso | Usagi Drop |
41 | Shirobako | Mob Pyscho 100 |
42 | Pokemon | nana |
43 | Sailor Moon | Baccano |
44 | Re: Zero kara hajimeru isekai seikatsu | Chihayafuru |
45 | Katekyo Hitman Reborn! | Neo Genesis Evangelion |
46 | Yuu☆Yuu☆Hakusho | Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica |
47 | The [email protected] | magician |
48 | Mob Psycho 100 | Psycho-Pass |
49 | one piece | Shirobako |
50 | macros F | Yuu☆Yuu☆Hakusho |
Honorable Mentions
I didn't put films that appeared among the 50 that were in the case of Kimi no na Wa, Koe no Katachi and the films of Studio Ghibli.
After 50, some notable anime in japanese list are: Angel Beats!, Mushishi, Rakugo Shinjuu, Kuroko no Basket, Anohana, Hunter x Hunter, Kill la Kill and InuYasha.
At western anime list some notable names that stayed after 50 were: No game No Life, Nodame Cantabile, Toradora, Berserk, NHK ni youkoso!, higurashi no naku koro ni kai and angel beats.
My opinion on the ranking
I believe that during this vote, many are influenced by the moment or the current trend. Some chose nostalgia, while others do not fully have the ability to decide which anime to choose at the time of voting.
Another thing I noticed is that the ranking doesn't have the most popular anime or the ones with the most audience on Japanese TV. Possibly this vote was made among Internet users of a certain age and did not fully cover as it should.
In the Japanese ranking I missed Uchuu Kyoudai who was always present among the 5 highest-rated anime of the week during its exhibition.