The best seinen animes – Complete list

Seinen, one of the various genres of anime. In this genre, drama is common, with a lot of netorare. I personally like them because of the maturity they possess. After all, it is a genre aimed at adult men. Remember that anime can be found on My Anime List.

Unlike shounen anime, seinen usually doesn’t have much ecchi or unrealistic things. Of course, it all depends on the subgenre. But it’s sad that seinen often aligns itself with romance and drama. A certain part of these animes makes us cry like children. At least that’s my case; I don’t know if it’s yours.

Boku Dake Inai Machi – Investigative Seinen

When a tragedy is about to happen, Satoru Fujinuma returns several minutes before the accident occurs. However, when he is unjustly accused of murdering his mother, Satoru is sent back 18 years into the past.

Soon, he realizes that the murder may be related to the kidnapping and murder of one of his classmates, the lonely and mysterious Kayo Hinazuki, which happened when he was a child. This will be his chance to set things right.

Comments

For those who enjoy time travel, this is one of the best seinen anime released recently (it still doesn’t surpass Steins;Gate). I must emphasize that it does not have the science fiction genre, so don’t expect that. But the romance and drama genres are included and are quite present in the plot.

By the way, it’s a very good anime for those who like protagonists trying to do incredible things. Some contradictions, losses, tragedy, mystery, among other elements, are present in this anime. I highly recommend it, and not just me.

Btooom – An action and suspense seinen

Ryouta Sakamoto is unemployed and lives with his mother; his only achievement is that he is the top player of the popular online video game in Japan, “Btooom!” However, his peaceful life is about to change when he finds himself trapped on an island in the middle of nowhere, with a small green crystal embedded in his left hand and no memory of how he got there.

To his astonishment, someone has decided to recreate the game he loves so much in real life, with the stakes being life or death. Armed with a bag full of unique bombs known as “BIM,” players are tasked with killing seven of their fellow participants to obtain their green crystals, used as proof of their victory, in order to return home.

Comments

What happens when you are the best at an online game? Usually, this doesn’t affect real life too seriously; at most, you participate in tournaments of this game and similar ones. But would you be the best if you played this game in real life?

This is exactly the dilemma that Btooom tries to convey to us. Several people are forced to play a game for their lives. A Battle Royale game. And coincidentally, or not so coincidentally, the protagonist is the best player of the game that inspired this Battle Royale.

Kiseijuu – Action and psychological seinen

Suddenly, they arrived: parasitic aliens that descended upon Earth and quickly infiltrated humanity, burying themselves in the brains of vulnerable targets. These insatiable beings gain total control of their host and can transform into a variety of forms in order to feed on unsuspecting prey.

Shinichi Izumi, a sixteen-year-old high school student, is a victim of one of these parasites but fails to dominate his brain, ending up in his right hand. Unable to move, the parasite, now called Migi, has no choice but to rely on Shinichi to stay alive.

Comments

Honestly, I wanted a bit more romance and fan service in this anime. Although there is a couple that reaches the end, it almost doesn’t matter in the plot. It feels more like something natural and of little importance to the audience. I don’t know about the Japanese, but I wanted much more fanservice in the couple’s scene.

Well, I also wanted Issei to stop being Issei in High School DxD, but that’s impossible. But aside from this complaint, there is no other. By the way, a strong protagonist with no questionable points, good action scenes, good drama, only praises for this work. I recommend it for those who like these elements.

Hellsing – A very strong seinen anime

Hellsing, an organization specialized in dealing with supernatural threats, is called to eliminate a vampire that is turning the villagers of Cheddar into ghouls. To put an end to this, the leader of the organization, Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, dispatches her most formidable asset: a powerful vampire known as Alucard.

Armed with just a single weapon, Alucard wreaks havoc on the monsters plaguing Cheddar. However, a young police officer, Seras Victoria, is caught in the chaos and is mortally wounded as a result. Taking pity on the girl, Alucard gives her a choice: die as a human or live as a vampire.

Seras accepts his offer and begins a new life as a member of Hellsing.

Comments

Who hasn’t heard the legend of Dracula? But this is the best version of all. After all, this is the version of Dracula that is the most sadistic and evil that exists. However, it gets even better when he encounters a strong adversary.

But it’s a pity that Alucard has his master and cannot go against him. And the best part is that there are two series, one original and another that is the reboot and continuation of the original. And I have to admit that the reboot is much better than the original, which is a great rarity.

Elfen Lied – Gore seinen anime

Lucy is a special race of humans, known as “Diclonius,” born with a pair of short horns and invisible telekinetic hands that make her a victim of inhumane scientific experiments by the government.

However, once circumstances offer her an opportunity to escape, Lucy unleashes a torrent of bloodshed as she escapes from her captors.

In her flight, she encounters two college students, Kouta and his cousin Yuka, who inadvertently take an injured fugitive under their care, unaware of her murderous tendencies. This act of kindness will change their lives, as they soon find themselves dragged into the dark world of government secrecy and conspiracy.

Comments

Well, I don’t know if it has the harem genre, but it definitely has several girls. Unfortunately, like every MC in harem anime, the guy has a phobia of women. I will never understand this, or rather, I will never understand the Japanese. When the guy doesn’t have a phobia of women, he is a pervert like Makoto from School Days.

But anyway, it’s not a harem, but the drama and psychological genres are strong in this anime. And I’ll warn you right away, don’t be fooled by the cute girls; they are the most sadistic. And prepare to feel a strong urge to jump into the screen and punch the protagonist.

Mushishi – Philosophical seinen anime

“Mushi”: the most basic forms of life in the world. They exist without any goals or purposes other than simply “being.” They are beyond the shackles of the words “good” and “evil.”

Mushi can exist in countless forms and is capable of imitating things from the natural world, such as plants, diseases, and even phenomena like rainbows. This is, however, just a vague definition of these entities that inhabit the vibrant world of Mushishi, as even calling them a form of life would be an excessive simplification.

Ginko pursues rumors of occurrences that could be linked to Mushi, all to find an answer.

Comments

There’s no point in expecting things like action scenes or epic fights between yokai. Get ready for long conversations, but not as long as the Monogatari series anime. And don’t look for romance or jokes; they are not present in this anime.

By the way, if you don’t like anime with a lot of dialogue, philosophy, life lessons, among others, it’s risky that this anime will make you very sleepy. I myself fell asleep watching this anime at the beginning, but it’s a matter of time to get used to its pace. And once you get used to it, things improve a lot.

Monster – Investigative seinen anime

Monster Dr. Kenzou Tenma is a renowned neurosurgeon of Japanese origin working in Europe. Highly praised by his colleagues as one of the great young minds who will revolutionize the field, he is blessed with a beautiful fiancée and is on the verge of a major promotion at the hospital where he works.

But all of this is about to change with a grave dilemma that Kenzou faces one night – whether to save the life of a small boy or the mayor of the city. Despite being pressured by his superiors to perform surgery on the mayor, his morals force him to perform surgery on the other critical patient, saving his life and losing the mayoral position.

Comments

One of the best when it comes to psychological pressure. And I must say, horror and suspense are also strong hallmarks of the anime. I honestly liked the sadistic parts that exist in the story’s villain.

Speaking of which, I liked the villain more than the protagonist. This is a rare thing to happen, but it only happens when the villain is much better in some aspect. But I can fit in as someone who likes villainy and sadistic people. So whether you like it or not will depend on each person’s criteria.

Gangsta – Seinen with action

Nicholas Brown and Worick Arcangelo, known in the city of Ergastalum as the “manual workers,” are mercenaries for hire who take on jobs that no one else can handle.

It used to be a safe haven for “Twilights,” superhuman beings born as a result of a special drug, but now they are being hunted by a fierce underground organization.

This new threat is rising to challenge everything the city represents, and the manual workers will not be able to prevent this impending war.

Comments

Looking for real action anime? This is the anime I reference when it comes to violent fights. After all, the anime takes place in a neighborhood dominated by gangs. Then there’s the fact that there are genetically modified people to be physically stronger.

This could only result in fights everywhere. And the best part is that the protagonists are not innocent or saints. They kill if necessary and often kill because they want to. But the important thing is that they are very original. It’s a pity that the anime has an unexplained ending and left several doubts and an unfinished story.

Kuzu no Honkai – Netorare Seinen

To the outside world, Hanabi Yasuraoka and Mugi Awaya are the perfect couple. But in reality, they only share the same secret pain: both are in love with other people with whom they cannot be.

Hanabi has loved her childhood friend and neighbor, Narumi Kanai, for as long as she can remember, so she is happy to discover that he is her new classroom teacher. However, Narumi is soon noticed by the music teacher, Akane Minagawa, and a relationship begins to blossom between them, much to Hanabi’s dismay.

Mugi was tutored by Akane in high school and has been in love with her ever since. Through a casual encounter in the hallway, he meets Hanabi. When these two lonely souls spend more time together, they decide to use each other as substitutes for those they truly love.

Comments

Not recommended for the weak. If you don’t like netorare stories or unrequited romances, stay away. By the way, drama is the main focus in this anime. There is so much drama and netorare together that in some parts it makes you feel nauseous. I consider myself strong, but I had several outbursts of anger while watching this anime.

But don’t worry, not everything is bad. For those who like couples in their more intimate relationships, you can watch it; so far, it’s the one where I’ve seen couples in their intimacies the most. Yes, intimacies, and if you didn’t understand, there are synonyms like “naughty business,” “H hour,” “sex,” among others. But anyway, for those who like dramas that make you cry, this is the best.

Black Bullet – A half shounen seinen

In the year 2021, a parasitic virus known as “Gastrea” infects humans and turns them into monsters. What remains of humanity now lives within the walls of the Monolith, walls made of Varanium, the only material that can harm Gastrea.

To combat the threat that Gastrea represents, “Cursed Children” – children whose bodies contain traces of the virus that grant them superhuman abilities – officially called Initiators by Civil Security, receive partners called Promoters, people who work to guide and protect the young Initiators.

Comments

This is one of the best anime I’ve ever watched. But at the same time, it’s one of the most revolting of all. And I do not recommend it for lolicons out there. Just giving a light spoiler here, there is a massacre of lolis in the anime. Perhaps due to the presence of lolis in the anime, we sometimes think of categorizing it as shounen instead of a seinen anime.

Yes, and besides that, the protagonist is not one of those who carries every girl. In other words, he only takes what is necessary. Unfortunately, another negative point in the work is its lack of coherence; most of the plot comes out of nowhere and other things are left forgotten. But overall, for those who don’t care much about these things, it’s a great anime.

Other seinen anime

Unfortunately, the list is huge, and we don’t have space to comment on all the seinen anime. With that in mind, let’s conclude the article with a complete list of the most popular seinen anime on the face of the earth. Those that are in bold are some of my favorites; I strongly recommend researching and watching them.

Site administrator’s note: I strongly recommend Uchuu Kyoudai and Steins;Gate; I consider them my favorite seinen, and I think it’s a shame they weren’t mentioned in the article. I recommend watching them directly because the synopsis is not that appealing. We already have an article talking about Uchuu Kyoudai and one about my favorite anime.

• Uchuu Kyoudai
• Black Lagoon
• Ghost in the Shell
• Bungou stray dogs
• Himouto! Umaru-chan
• Drifters
• Working!!
• D-Frag!
• Arakawa Under the Bridge
• Inuyashiki
• Freezing
• 3-gatsu no Lion
• Gokukoku no Brynhildr
• Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom
• Seikon no Qwaser
• Baccano!
• Devilman Crybaby
• Darker than Black
• Afro Samurai
• Psycho Pass
• Gantz
• Fate/Zero
• Death Parade
• One-Punch Man
• Neon Genesis Evangelion
• Berserk
• xxxHOLIC
• JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
• Cowboy Bebop
• Samurai Champloo
• Death Note

Do you like seinen anime?

That’s it. All the seinen genre anime that should be on your My Anime List are here. Don’t like the genre? I can’t do much other than advise you to start liking it. Seinen is not much different from other anime; its main difference is that it is aimed at adults rather than children or young people.

Seinen is definitely one of the best genres for those who are tired of seeing protagonists with a phobia of women. But anyway, don’t forget to share the article on social media to help us. And leave your comment if you have any questions or criticism. Otherwise, thank you for reading this far, goodbye.