samurai time travel anime

Top 10 Time Travel Anime [Updated Best Recommendations]

Time is a construct that no single human being can escape. We’re born, we grow old and we die. However, that won’t stop us from imagining ourselves in positions where we can freely manipulate our influence on history by manipulating time itself. A trope that has seen itself in virtually all storytelling media and features in some of the most influential anime, we’ve decided to drop a list of some of our favourite time travel anime, featuring characters who are able to change the course of history. In many cases, it isn’t as simple as changing a single event, creating some of the most compelling stories. Without wasting anymore time, we present to you Top 10 Time Travel Anime. Please be aware that this is an updated list and the other lists can be found below.

10. Oda Nobuna no Yabou (The Ambition of Oda Nobuna)

• Episodes: 12
• Aired: July 2012 – September 2012

17-year-old Sagara Yoshiharu finds himself travelling back in time to Japan’s Sengoku Era, finding out that all the famous Samurai lords who populate the history books in the modern era are cute girls. He meets Oda Nobuna, Oda Nobunaga’s female counterpart, who then recruits him to be her substitute for her aide, Kinoshita Tokichiro, who was killed by a rival clan. Using his knowledge of history and some of the technological advantages of the modern era, Sagara assists Nobuna in her very well-documented mission to unify Japan under her banner.

Without giving much away as to why he’s there, Oda Nobuna no Yabou follows Sagara into the reaches of the past, retelling a pivotal story in the history of Japan, with a few twists, of course. Being the history nerd that he is, Sagara takes to the Sengoku Era like a fish to water, or more like the protagonist of some sort of role-playing game. Steadfast in his duties so as to avoid changing the tides of history, Sagara assists Nobuna in her quest to take all of Japan.

• Episodes: ???
• Aired: July 2018 - ???

Located far away from Japan’s mainland is the island of Urashima, a place where its inhabitants live carefree lives. However, 5 years prior to the events of the series, the three great families of the island fell into disrepute and it severed all connection to the Japanese archipelago, leading to its slow and steady decline. The only individuals capable of saving the island are the daughters of the three great families; however, they remain conflicted. Things become interesting with the sudden appearance of a man claiming to be a time-traveller; one capable of changing Urashima’s fate.

Combining the time-travel plot device with an amnesia trope brings you Island, a somewhat politically-inclined permutation of the tried and tested time travel concept. The mysterious time-travelling stranger is Sanzenkai Setsuna, a man who washes ashore one day with no idea of who he is; however, his upbeat persona and one memory remain: he is a time-traveller tasked with saving the island of Urashima from an unsavoury end. But how will he do it with missing memories?

• Episodes: 13
• Aired: July 2016 – September 2016

Takamiya Naho begins her first day as a sophomore in high school in a not-so-great fashion as she wakes up late. Dashing to school, she arrives at her desk, finding a strange letter addressed to her. The letter comes from none other than herself, 10 years in the future. Highly sceptical of the letter and its contents, Naho’s attitude changes when it accurately describes several events which happen that day, particularly the arrival of transfer student Naruse Kakeru. Future Naho expresses several regrets in her letter, hoping that her younger self can do better with a heads-up of what is to come, expressing vehemently the need to keep an eye on Kakeru. Using the letter as a guide, Naho uneasily navigates the territory her future-self failed to the first time around.

Quite the emotional rollercoaster, Orange brings a refreshing element to the time-travel trope, making use of messages from the future as a means of altering the past, rather than the characters themselves time-leaping. The series brings together romantic elements in addition to some heart-wrenching moments which we are all too aware of when it comes to shows of this nature.

7. Break Ups

• Episodes: 1 (movie)
• Aired: 2009

The short film follows the trials and tribulations of a young couple who are consistently in an on and off relationship with each other. One day, the two stumble upon a time machine which consequently takes them to various points in history, visiting particular junctures in their relationship. The slice of life animation is technically a Korean production and the animation style is evidently different from the general feel of anime.

Break Ups are unusual in the time-travelling trope given the fact that the characters happen upon the object which allows them to go back in time and the machine itself really only takes them back to certain parts of their lives together as a couple. Available on Crunchyroll, the short film is an interesting change of pace within the time travel trope and contrary to its short runtime, it leaves a lasting impression.

6. Doraemon (2005)

• Aired: April 2005 - ???

As a result of his haplessness, Nobi Nobita’s descendants as far off as in the 22nd century find themselves in a state of poverty. In order to raise the Nobi family’s social status, their time-travelling robotic cat servant, Doraemon, takes it upon himself to go back in time to Nobita’s youth and undo the damage that plunges the family into poverty. However, Doraemon is quite dysfunctional himself and while he makes the child Nobita’s life infinitely more exciting, it still remains to be seen if he can truly do what he set out to do in his mission to the past.

Doraemon’s influence is widespread and many are familiar with the blue time-travelling cat. In fact, he is quite celebrated as an anime character and even features as one of the ambassadors of the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics, alongside Shounen legend, Son Goku. The anime itself first aired in the 1970s and was rebooted in 2005, running ever since. Unfortunately for the older series, it was poorly preserved, never released other than on television and nearly all the 1973 series’ footage was destroyed. Nonetheless, we can still enjoy Nobita’s adventures with his robotic feline friend.

5. Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu (The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi)

• Episodes: 14
• Aired: April 2006 – July 2006

Meet Kyon, a regular high school student who has no belief in any supernatural phenomena and would rather just live a normal life. He attends the same school as the highly eccentric and energetic Suzumiya Haruhi, a girl who is committed to breaking out of a dreary high school life by finding anything unusual: from aliens to ESPers, Haruhi and the new club she’s formed, the SOS Brigade, will find them all! Unfortunately for Kyon, Haruhi has taken an interest in him too, forcing him to join the club alongside the soft-spoken Asahina Mikuru, the stoic Nagato Yuuki and the somewhat popular Koizumi. To his surprise, all three of these club members are abnormal – a time-traveler, an ESPer and a cyborg have all taken up the role of guardian of Suzumiya, whom they have identified as the unknowing god of this realm. In order to avoid any calamities due to Haruhi’s emotions, the club members of the SOS Brigade humour her in any and all of her wacky activities in an attempt to maintain the current order of the world.

While not an out-and-out time-travelling anime, The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi is an anime which garnered much attention for its application of the time-travel trope. The infamous Endless Eight arc of the series’ second season is eight episodes which were more or less the exact same thing animated over and over due to the series’ main characters being caught in an infinite time loop which repeated itself over 15000 times until Kyon found a way out. The arc is still talked about to this day by fans of the series. Aside from the aggravating time-loop which gave Haruhi much attention, the series features Asahina Mikuru, its very own time-traveller whose older self appears to Kyon at some point during the series.

4. Sakurada Reset

• Episodes: 24
• Aired: April 2017 – September 2017

Asai Kei is a high schooler who lives in the seaside city of Sakurada, where the inhabitants are born with special abilities. One day on the school rooftop, he meets Haruki Misora, a stoic girl with the ability to reset everything around her up to three days prior. Her ability renders everyone completely oblivious to the reset, including herself. However, Kei has his photographic memory and, choosing to join their powers, Kei and Misora decide to join their school’s Service Club in order to help people in their town. However, their club is soon employed by the Administration Bureau, an organisation fixated on managing the abilities of the town’s inhabitants for their own desires. Kei and Misora may soon find out that there is more to what happens in Sakurada than meets the eye.

Sakurada Reset sets a limiter on the time travel trope it employs and to that end, there is a great potential for a lot of difficulty that the protagonists much endure in order to do the good that they desire to do. The series is incredibly interesting and the application of supernatural abilities central to the events of the series creates quite the worthy explanation for the manipulation of time which forms such an integral part of the series.

3. Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu (Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World)

• Episodes: 26
• Aired: April 2016 – September 2016

One night, high school shut-in Natsuki Subaru decides to head over to the nearby convenience store in order to buy a few things, but when he steps out, he finds himself in the market district of a town in an alternate world. Modelled on the fantasy worlds he’s familiar with in the games that he plays, Subaru quickly takes to the hero role he believes he is there to fulfil, but not much longer after his arrival, he is attacked by bandits and subsequently killed. To his surprise, Subaru finds himself back in that same market and he’s attacked by the same bandits, but this time around, he is saved by a white-haired beauty named Satella. Satella is travelling in search of the thief who stole her family insignia, and out of gratitude for her help, Subaru decides to join her in her search. When they finally find the individual responsible, Subaru and Satella are both brutally murdered. Subaru awakens to the same sight: the same market, the same bandits attack him again and yet again Satella comes to his aid as history inexplicably repeats itself.

Re:Zero came in a year filled with stories of time travel; however, this particular rollercoaster came with plot-twists and emotions galore! Subaru’s Return By Death very closely mimicked the checkpoint save model which many games employ and in that capacity, his deaths often heralded a return to an earlier point in time. Subaru had no control whatsoever over which point in time to which he returns and much of the anime shows a frustrated Subaru coming to grips with his own death, as well as the deaths of many others on several occasions. This quickly wears away at him and to that end, Re:Zero will torture the viewer… and Subaru, of course.

2. Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time)

• Aired: July 2006

Konno Makoto is a high school senior who isn’t quite coming to grips with the demands of her future. She ebbs between the pressure applied by her teachers for her to take charge of her own future, and the sunny days she spends with her friends. Makoto’s life changes when she accidentally finds out that she is capable of literally leaping through time. Her mundane life becomes complicated as Makoto quickly learns about the drawbacks of playing with time, as well as the consequences of her newfound ability.

Quite the classic as far as the time travel trope is concerned, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a seemingly unassuming narrative which quickly becomes convoluted as the days Makoto relives begin to weigh heavily on her and her own decisions begin to have dire consequences. With the power to freely navigate the ever-flowing stream of time, Makoto is put through quite a lot emotionally as her power isn’t the only thing she deals with.

1. Steins;Gate

• Aired: April 2011 – September 2011

Okabe Rintarou is a self-proclaimed mad scientist who rents out a room in a building in Akihabara, where he and his friends (whom he dubs “lab members”) create “future gadgets” as a hobby. Alongside Shiina Mayuri, his childhood friend, and perverted hacker friend Daru, Okabe spends his time messing around with their most interesting invention yet: the Phone Microwave. The device has the strange ability to turn bananas into piles of green gel. While not very promising in terms of scientific breakthroughs, strange things begin happening after the Phone Microwave’s creation and soon enough, the contraption turns out to be able to send emails into the past which alter the flow of history. Soon realising the true gravity of their creation, Okabe must navigate the various consequences that come with the manipulation of time.

With Steins;Gate: 0 freshly entering its second cour, it is of no surprise that the first anime gets a mention on this list. Intense on so many levels, Steins;Gate is an incredible story that brings together elements of comedy and suspense in a character-driven plot that will shake you to the core. With time travel as its core theme, Steins;Gate throws you into an intricately woven plot with many twists and turns and an exploration of the consequences of time travel like none other. The series is well-deserving of the top spot on this list – just don’t let CERN know that.

Final Thoughts

Like we said before, time travel is a concept which exists in all forms of storytelling and as human beings, our current helplessness against the flow of time brings us to think up incredible stories. Maybe we wish to be free of it, maybe we wish to control it – whatever the reason behind our fixation on the concept of time, the fact remains that the resulting anime can be completely engrossing. Have we forgotten to mention your favourite time travel anime? Drop a comment below and tell us about it – if you’ve got the time.

Author: Hoshi-kun

I’m South African, harbouring an obsession for anything remotely related to Japan, mostly anime, of course. I draw sometimes. Some people call me Naledi, it’s my real name, or something like that. People think I’m stoic because I don’t smile often (I do sometimes). I like languages. Hoshi-kun and Naledi are the same side of the same coin.

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Top 5 Anime by Hoshi-kun

If there’s anything people ponder about at one point or another, it’s a variation of some sort relating to time travel. Maybe it’s travelling to the ancient past to observe what life was like. Maybe it’s travelling to the more immediate past to witness historical events or observe certain people alive during that time. Maybe it’s travelling to some point in the future to see what happens to humanity. Whatever the case, it’s an idea that is very difficult to get your head around, leading to multiple ideas and theories as to what might happen if it was ever attempted.

There are multiple anime that depict these ideas. Some are more detailed in their approach to a resolution, such as exploring the idea of multi-verse theory or the consequences that result in not thinking through your actions. Others focus more on other aspects of the anime and leave time travel as just another tool in the story. Here are the top 10 examples of time travel used in anime.

10. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

• Aired: May 22, 2009 - Sep 11, 2009

Although this anime may be about a group of students having supernatural adventures due to the main character’s unique ability to warp reality, it does have a unique take on time travel, even if it’s controversial. In what’s become known as the “Endless Eight arc” in the 2nd season, this anime does succeed in demonstrating the idea of time looping, or repeating the same events over and over. In this case, most of the 2nd season has the same few weeks looped for years and years as the characters experience the same events and do the same things repeatedly with no change whatsoever. If you’re a fan of Groundhog Day in terms of witnessing a character repeat the same day over and over again as well as the “slice of life” anime tone, this is the anime for you.

9. In Search of the Lost Future

• Aired: Oct 4, 2014 - Dec 20, 2014

This anime may start off as something of a “slice of life” anime at first as we are introduced to the main cast of characters attending Uchihama Academy participating in school events and beginning to move to a new building due to increased numbers. However, a mystery slowly begins to unfold in the old building, and we eventually see the main character, Sō Akiyama, wrestle with premonitions of the future showing his friends in danger. As Sō struggles to attempt to rescues his friends, including his closest friend Kaori Sasaki, and resolve the mystery, the tension only continues to build until the final reveal. If you’re a fan of both time travel and mystery, this is certainly an anime worth checking out.

• Episodes: 25
• Aired: Apr 4, 2016 - Sep 19, 2016

This anime is a great example of the time travel theme of returning back to the same spot in order to redo something over and over. After mysteriously arriving in a strange land only to get beat up by some thugs, Subaru Natsuki meets a beautiful girl only to get killed by a mysterious darkness alongside said girl. However, Subaru suddenly awakens to the same exact scenario of confronting the same thugs and meeting Satella. Re:ZERO is a great time travel anime not only because it does not have any plot holes as a result of time travel, but also keeping the viewer engaged as Subaru gets more and more desperate in his attempts to fix his mistakes and redo everything. If you enjoyed the movie Source Code for its similar take on time travel, this is definitely worth watching.

7. Noein: To Your Other Self

• Aired: Oct 12, 2005 - Mar 29, 2006

In the near future, a struggle is taking place between 2 different dimensions: the good guys, La'cryma, and the bad guys, Shangri-La. A group, known as Dragon Calvary, is dispatched throughout space and time to search for the Dragon’s Torque, seen as the only thing that can stop the invasion from Shangri-La. One of those members, Karasu, meets his past self and his friend 15 years in the past, which appears to be a promising lead…

Noein’s time travel mechanics revolve around the idea of how different dimensions can result due to different actions that are taken. This is especially important, as the series takes a more “character driven” approach to what happens as opposed to a “plot-driven” approach. As a result, you have a beautifully crafted series that achieves what it set out to do. If you’re a fan of the time travel genre who would also like more of the quantum aspect involved, this would be the anime to check out first.

6. Charlotte

• Aired: Jul 5, 2015 to Sep 27, 2015

This anime may focus a fair amount on kids with magical powers who lose them when they become adults or overuse them, but one of the main characters, Shunsuke Otosaka, has the power to send his mind back in time to change the past, resulting in some key events unfolding. This is a unique take on travelling back in time, as most anime have the characters going back physically either through a time machine or some other unique way. To go back through the mind alone is a trend that may start to appear more and more as time goes on. If you were a fan of the time travel method used in X-Men: Days of Future Past, then this anime may be the one for you.

5. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

• Aired: Jan 7, 2011 - Apr 22, 2011

Again, another example of an anime that upon first glance you would not expect a complicated theme to be explored. Yet one of the “Magical Girls”, Homura Akemi, sets out to prevent the harm of another Magical Girl by going back in time. A big lesson regarding time travel is demonstrated here, though: sometimes the changes you set out to make are impossible to achieve, no matter how hard you try. If you’re a fan of the idea of how time travel doesn’t necessarily work out in the end as well as cuteness, Puella Magi Madoka Magica delivers in spades.

4. Dragon ball Z

• Episodes: 291
• Aired: Apr 26, 1989 - Jan 31, 1996

Yeah, this may be a shounen anime at heart, but considering you have one of its biggest arcs revolving around a time traveler from the future arriving to save Goku and his friends from androids as well as an android travelling back to the past to absorb the very androids themselves, it’s impossible to ignore this aspect. Not to mention Dragon Ball Super currently featuring one of the strongest characters in anime who can turn back time 3 minutes at will. Time travel may not be approached in this anime as the “main topic” so to speak, but if you want to watch an anime where time travel is still fun and interesting despite being a secondary focus, then look no further than DBZ.

3. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

• Episodes: 1
• Aired: July 15, 2006

This movie serves as the definitive example for what someone would probably do when realizing they can go back in time for the first time, making it that much more believable. Makoto Konno isn’t someone who has plans for going back in time. On the contrary, she tries to figure out what to do with her new ability as she goes along, only to learn the hard way what the consequences of her actions are. It is only by the sudden arrival of a character we wouldn’t expect that Makoto truly learns how to treat this new power. If you want to watch a believable experience in terms of what an average teen would do with time travel, then watch this movie.

• Aired: Jan 8, 2016 - Mar 25, 2016

The newest example of a time travel based anime, Erased focuses on Satoru Fujinuma using his special time travel ability to prevent bad things from happening to those he cares about. In this case, the focus of the time travel aspect is mainly on the mystery of how his ability suddenly jumps to going back years in the past as opposed to seconds. With the protagonist being a 29 year old male suddenly gifted with said ability as well as a new focus on the time travel element changing within the series, this anime is worth checking out if you’re curious as to a new take on the time travel genre.

• Aired: April 6, 2011 – September 14, 2011

No doubt which anime was going to be #1. Steins;Gate earns that spot for a reason: the setup of the time travel aspect, the combination of different takes on it, the different reactions of the characters to it as they slowly learn what it means, and the resolution at the end that ties back into the beginning without nay plot holes. As time passes, Steins;Gate will serve as the benchmark as to not only how to properly do a time travel related anime, but also serve as a basic framework in terms of how to properly tell a time-travel related story. If you have not seen this anime yet and are a lover of time travel, then wait no longer.

Time travel is a complicated concept to nail down. With so many aspects, possibilities, and a high likelihood of going wrong if not executed correctly, it’s a wonder why there are so many anime that choose to use it. However, if done correctly, the payoffs can be huge, as you can not only have an incredible adventure that unfolds with great characters along for the ride, you can also create a story that ultimately is fun to watch. These are the top 10 anime that best convey time travel. Are there any that are missing? Is there an anime that is ranked too high or too low? Let us know in the comments!

Author: Ian Williams

Hi, my name's Ian. I grew up in the United States, but I've traveled to and lived in many different countries, including Scotland, Japan, and New Zealand. Some of my hobbies include reading, writing, chess, running, playing video games, and watching anime. I started getting more into anime after watching Dragon Ball Z on Toonami as a kid, and have been hooked by the amazing stories and characters in anime ever since.

Top 5 Anime by Ian Williams

Have you ever wished that you could view the statue of liberty before it changed colors or watch the broadcast of Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moon, live? You could even go back to feudal Japan, like Kagome did in Inuyasha, and see a world full of yokai (monster) and other dangerous things. There are many different events throughout history that I would love to see, if I could travel through time. Which brings us to this list of the top 10 time traveling anime.

In this list, you will be reading about different anime that have taken the concept of time traveling in their own way. While most of the time, they will purposely travel in time, other times, they will be picked up by the hands of fate and played with.

• Aired: October 2004 – March 2005

The phrase “wrong place at the wrong time” could summarize Zipang for us. As the latest destroyer, Mirai, travels into a fierce storm that does little damage to the ship, but the storm is a rouge time vortex that sucks the Mirai and all of her crew into the past during the middle of the of the biggest war in human history, World War II. Now, it is up to Captain Umezu Saburo to get his ship and crew back to their own time, without interfering with history too much.

Time travel can be tricky and the consequences of a single mistake years ago, could change what you know about the present. Luckily, the Captain of Mirai knew this and tried to stay out of history’s events. Leaving it to be the first choice for the entrance to Time Traveling anime.

9. Arata naru Sekai: World's/Start/Load/End (World’s End)

• Episodes: OVA (30 minutes)
• Aired: October 2012

A rite of passage for most high school students is the graduation trip. Some students go off to tropical paradises while others just take a trip to the big city. Arata, Hongou, Arisa and Ichimiya take a trip to their own town. Doesn’t sound that exciting, until you see what has happened to the once pristine town after 6,000 years.

Methods of time traveling can vary from show to show. Sometimes we are not even shown the explanation behind the time traveling. These girls are shot out of their time and are put into a world that they never expected to be the future, for without humans around, the earth could take strange turns.

8. Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)

• Aired: May 2009 – September 2009

A whirlwind with long hair tied up in a yellow bandana, that is the best for Haruhi Suzumiya, for her logic is far out there and even the wises person in the anime, Kyon, can’t figure out what she is doing half the time. This is an anime where the main character, Haruhi, drags her friends around to do anything that she thinks of and sometimes her imagination can run wild.

It is almost like Haruhi can conjure up anything out of her imagination, even a Time Traveler who joins her school and becomes a slave of Haruhi’s whim. Though, it’s not all bad for Mikuru Asahina as she sometimes likes the outfits that Haruhi dresses her up in.

In the second season, the mechanics of time traveling come into play with most of the season portraying the repetition of the same few weeks for almost 43 years. Bringing the possibilities of a time loop into this list. Where sometimes that loop is set up to fix something, this time it was set up for fun, even if Haruhi didn’t realize it.

7. Noein – Mou Hitori no Kimi e (Noein: To Your Other Self)

• Aired: October 2005 – March 2006

When a man in a black trench coat appears before you, you should run for you don’t know who that might be. Haruka was lucky because the man in the black cape was Karasu, the furture version of her high school friend Yu Goto. Karasu was sent back to find the Dragon Torque and to fend off the agents of Shangri-La, people from a alternative future, where Haruka was already killed for who and what she is.

The time traveling in Noein shows us that many different actions can cause different dimensions to appear. Even if the event that caused the branch to split was not that long ago, a small change could drastically alter the course of time and have major repercussions with the world around it. If Captain Saburo wished, he could have changed the outcome of World War II with his accidental time traveling. The agents from Shangri-La showed us the outcome of what a change in history could do to in our future. Which brings it to number seven of this list.

6. Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku (Now and Then, Here and There)

• Aired: October 1999 – January 2000

Now and There, Here and There is another anime that the main character finds himself in a new time, surrounded by a harsh environment and harsher people. Shuuzou Matsutani tries to find his way back to his time and go home. Getting the help from Lala-Ru, a blue haired girl, he sets out to survive, and in doing so, he helps those who have to live in the harsh future.

Now and Then, Here and There shows us another version of what the future may bring if we don’t change our actions and protect the environment. Once the world turns into that from Fallout, there is no real hope. The time traveling in Now and Then, Here and There comes from the future, where they can grab people and bring them back from the past. Almost like the teleporters in Star Trek, just temporal-porters.

5. Charlotte

• Aired: July 2015 – September 2015

Life is tough sometimes and when you have magical powers, it doesn’t really make life any easier. In Charlotte, some teenagers have gained magical powers from a mysterious source. But, they are not going to take over the world, for once they become an adult their powers fade. Though, to control a child with magical powers would make any adult powerful, so an academy was built to protect those kids with powers. The builder of Hoshinoumi Academy is a secretive man who doesn’t want to be in the memories of anyone again.

Without giving away too many spoilers, one of Charlotte’s key plot devices is a person with the power to send his mind back in time to change the past. Charlotte spends some time explaining what happens as a result of this persons’ time traveling. Hopefully, you’ll agree why this new show is up high on the list of Time Traveling anime.

4. Mirai Nikki (The Future Diary)

• Aired: October 2011 – April 2012

Imagine that you are given the power to always know what your loved one is always doing, before they do it. Now, think if your stalker had that power instead! The Future Diary centers on the idea of a powerful god, the God of Time and Space, who gives his power to different people. Those people have to fight to survive. When Yukiteru Amano starts receiving messages from his future self, he teams up with Yuno Gasai, to hopefully survive this whole game/battle together. But, Yuno’s intentions are not as honorable as they may seem.

Time traveling can be good and harmless, but The Future Diary takes the concept to a darker place with the whole “Fight to Survive” aspect, but it does give us a new take on what time traveling can be. The time traveling in The Future Diary is limited to around 10 minutes. Which leaves you open for major insolvencies if you’re in trouble stretching further back than that limit.

3. Toki o Kakeru Shoujo (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time)

• Episodes: Movie (98 minutes)

High school is the time of a young girl’s life. Makoto is a normal high school girl who loves baseball and her normal high school life. Unfortunately for Makoto, that all changes one day when she is alone in the chemistry room. She hears something in the teachers’ area and goes to investigate. Finding a small metallic walnut. As she looks down at the walnut, something falls over behind her, scaring her, causing her to trip. She lands on the walnut and finds herself in a time vortex. Waking up on the floor of the chemistry room, she thinks nothing of it, until she wrecks her bike, flying through the air and almost getting run over by a train. But, something weird happened that caused her to relive the past few minutes of her life.

Time Travelers need to keep good track of their toys, or who knows who will pick it up and cause havoc in the time stream. Luckily for the owner of the walnut shaped T.A.R.T.I.S., Makoto didn’t abuse the power too much… or destroy the universe. Time traveling should be for the professionals.

2. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

• Aired: January 2011 – April 2011

There have been many “Magical Girl” anime and each one has its own spin on an enemy and an ally. Now, when the enemy you have to fight, is a soul stealing witch, then you must count on your little fluffy friend, Kyuubey. The only thing Kyuubey wants is the crystals from the evil witches, what could be so wrong with that? To help fight the witches, Kyuubey grants his little magical girls anything that they could wish for. One of those little magical girls received the power to travel through time.

With the power to time travel, Magical Girl Homura Akemi sets out to stop the evil of the witches from harming another Magical Girl. However, she tries so many times that she becomes cold and the changes she wishes to make are impossible to achieve. Time, just can’t be changed sometimes. That is what this anime tells us about the hazards and rules of time traveling.

What can go wrong when a self-proclaimed mad scientist tries to fix his microwave? Luckily, you get a working microwave that can still heat up your leftover meatloaf from last night. Unlucky… or maybe lucky, you also get a time traveling device that allows you to send messages back to your past self. Each text that is sent, slightly changes the past until, Rintarou Okabe, discovers how it works. Then he really messed up Akihabara, the wonderland for Otaku all around the world. Left with a broken microwave, Rintarou has to repair what he wrecked.

This is not a happy-go-lucky anime where the lead character gets rich and lives a happy life. Instead, Rintarou’s life will not be the same. Each text he sends changes the very world he lives in and not every text that is sent can change what is meant to be.

This is an anime full of laughs and heartache by bringing you into its grasp like a hurricane playing with a butterfly. It drags you into the action and breaks your heart by the time it’s done.

Steins;Gate, is said to be the prime example of what a time traveling anime should be. It is what other sci-fi anime should look to become. Of course, you have older anime that has dealt with time traveling, Inuyasha for starters. Even Dragon Ball Z has had some time traveling. But Steins;Gate is currently the top among Time Traveling anime.

Time is not something that should be messed with. Even if you can achieve miraculous things with it, the little butterflies that you could make are numerous and unpredictable. A simple action in your past, could completely change your life, and not always for the best. Anime, such as Steins;Gate and Charlotte, show what could happen if you mess with time traveling, both good and bad.

As the anime Zipang showed us, it is sometimes best to just stay out of the course of time and let the events that happened, happen. Other time traveling anime, like Inuyasha, Now and Then, Here and There and World’s End, just pretend that the events in the previous time don’t really affect the future time line.

Is there another great anime series that is based on time travel that you want to share? Let us know in the comments below!

Author: Zack Ringler

My name is Zack Ringler, just like it is written on all of my articles. I come from America, Indiana to be precise. I work for the Board of Education in Utsunomiya Japan. Heard of it? Didn’t think so. I am a teacher, writer and game designer with my first game “Moonshine Run” going on Kickstarter later this year. You can learn more about me on my facebook by looking up my name or just adding /zringler to the end of the facebook URL. Hope you like what you read, later.

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25 Best Time Travel Anime Series & Movies

Here’s a question: what’s your favorite time travel anime? Is this type of science fiction even full of good books?

Time travel anime is one of the more popularly used story hooks in modern anime and it can take unique shapes!

It doesn’t have a lot of great titles every season like isekai does, but it’s not hard to find some good ones.

From tradition time travel anime stories ( Steins;Gate ) to ones that use “time reset” ( Re:Zero) , there is no shortage of creativity at play.

Check out my list below if you’re in the mood for some twists and turns that will blow your mind (or even small bits of time travel in an otherwise normal anime).

And fair warning: (in some cases) there will be surprises ahead. Some of these books are about time travel, and it’s a big part of the plot or a big surprise.

If you don’t want to know more, just skim the names and pick one that sounds interesting.

Here are some popular time travel anime that fans should watch.

Table of Contents

25. Natsu-iro no Sunadokei (Sandglass of Summer Colors)

This anime is quite old. Really old, like.

But even though its character designs, animations, and general quality haven’t held up over time, it’s still a good show with more time travel than Nobunaga Concerto.

Sandglass of Summer Colors is based on a Princess Soft computer game called a “visual novel” (VN) that came out in 2002.

Also, there are only two episodes because it is an OVA . Still, the show is interesting.

Yes, it’s about a teen boy again. This time, his name is Kotaro Makimura.

But in this case, Kotaro travels through time by waking up in the next school year and then going back and forth to different days of his summer break.

He finds out some very strange things about his girlfriend, Kaho Serizawa, as a result. It gets deep.

24. Buddy Complex

Sunrise launched a mecha game with a lot of action in 2014, but it wasn’t another part of their long-running Gundam series.

It’s called Buddy Complex, and its appealing trio, interesting story, and solid execution set it apart from other games in the same genre.

At the beginning of Buddy Complex, the main character , Aoba Watase, is almost killed by a huge robot from the future.

Hina Yumihara saves him and takes him 70 years into the future so he can learn about beating robots and maybe stop himself from dying.

Can he return to his real past? Or is he stuck in a future where armed forces fight each other?

23. Doraemon

Yes, Doraemon is a time-traveling anime, and it’s a pretty good one.

Some people say that the time travel is just a trick. But I really love what they did with it in the anime.

The story isn’t about someone trying to save a bleak future by going back to the past.

No, it’s about Sewashi Nobi from the 22nd century sending his grandpa Nobita Nobi a cat robot to make his life better, which is great.

Doraemon has shown that this style can be good for kids with 1,700 episodes.

Also, who wouldn’t want a four-dimensional pouch that can pull out different sized gadgets?

22. Punch Line

After Garo: The Animation and Zankyou no Terror, Punch Line was the third original anime made by MAPPA. Zankyou no Terror is one of my all-time faves.

No, I didn’t think Punch Line was at all a modern classic .

It didn’t have the same level of seriousness or ambition as those other shows.

But Punch Line took a creative risk that should be praised and even reevaluated by anime fans.

I know it’s silly, but I don’t care.

How stupid! It has to do with ghosts, nosebleeds, and poop shots.

Also, as a spirit traveling through time, the OP can’t look at underwear. If not, a rock would kill all life on Earth right away. That’s cool.

21. InuYasha

I have another piece from Sunrise Studio to show you.

Before Naruto , Bleach , and Fairy Tail came along, InuYasha was one of the most popular shounen books, and it does have time travel.

The story of Kagome Higurashi takes place in old Japan, hundreds of years ago. The only change is that instead of a general, he meets a man with white hair and dog ears.

Also, it’s not hard for either Kagome or Inuyasha to go between current Japan and feudal Japan.

And I recommend InuYasha because it is one of the best shounen shows ever. Can you go back in time?

20. Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara (Iroduku: The World in Colors)

Original anime is one of my favorite things. To keep going with a story you’re not sure will work takes a lot of guts.

It isn’t based on a comic, light novel, or video game, so it doesn’t already have fans.

Iroduku: The World in Colors wasn’t just an original anime, though.

It was a visually creative and beautifully drawn show, and it was clear that P.A. Works put a lot of effort into it.

It’s a mix of science fiction, magic , and school drama .

A grandma sends her emotionally distant granddaughter 60 years back in time, but she doesn’t say why.

And now that she’s back in 2018, Hitomi Tsukishiro, a young girl, has a lot to learn about self-discovery and how to connect with other people. Go see it.

19. Charlotte

Look, I get it — Angel Beats was a great anime series.

All of the kids on that show became my favorites in just 13 episodes.

Also, I’m sure that most people will never forget how it ends.

Since then, people have been begging Jun Maeda to do something similar.

So Charlotte joined the competition, but it wasn’t as good as Angel Beats or Clannad .

Still, Charlotte is a school drama with time travel and other skills that has its moments.

Also, this is a new anime, and I think the best parts make up for the story and pacing problems by the end.

18. Natsu no Arashi (Summer Storm!)

It’s interesting that I didn’t see this until last year, even though it came out ten years ago.

But hey, this is a great example of the saying “better late than never” because it is a great mix of time travel and comedy .

Again, Natsu no Arashi is about a young boy who meets a pretty girl.

But Sayoko Arashiyama isn’t like other teenagers at all.

Hajime Yasaka gets a picture of her when she was in her 60s. This means she might not even be a teenager.

What’s happening? And why does Sayoko still look young?

You should look at Natsu no Arashi. Since it was made by Shaft, you can expect it to look good.

17. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry)

We’re getting closer to the top spot, so let’s be extra careful. I did say there might be spoilers, so be ready.

When They Cry tricks its viewers into thinking that it is just another generic anime with a guy as the opening theme and a bunch of cute girls .

It turned out to be a murder riddle with a time loop on top of that.

Also, it might be the only anime that is both scary and goes back in time.

One minute, you see a bunch of happy kids playing together. The next thing you know, they’re covered in blood and have angry looks on their faces.

I hate what happened to the anime version here, even though the animation quality and consistency of the movie Orange: Future was much better.

I read the book, and there were parts in it that could have made the anime a classic.

But the anime didn’t live up to or go beyond what was expected.

Orange wasn’t much better than normal. But it is still good enough to be here.

If you liked the anime and how it made you cry and laugh, you might also like the manga, which is much more beautiful and emotional.

15. Kimi no Na wa. (Your Name.)

Yes, this is a very big surprise.

I’m sure you’ve already seen the highly acclaimed movie or read the book with the same name, which broke records all over the world.

People gasped in the middle of the movie because it was about time travel. Kimi no Na wa seems to be about just two people who live in different places… But people didn’t know that they lived in different times as well.

I can still remember how shocked everyone was in the theater, where I saw this movie twice.

There is nothing quite like seeing a Makoto Shinkai movie in a theater, where you can hear and see everything at once. And if you’ve seen Five Centimeters Per Second, you’ll love how it ends.

14. Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei (The Tatami Galaxy)

Devilman Crybaby got great reviews from fans and reviewers all over the world, in part because it was on Netflix .

But I was a big fan of Yuasa’s directing skills even before that.

He is a very skilled man who makes sure that both content and style are way ahead of the rest.

Since it’s about a young man’s life (and love life), there’s a lot going on in The Tatami Galaxy. If you like subtitles like me, you’ll have to read quickly.

See him go through something like Groundhog Day, but in a much more magical and artsy way.

I promise you that it will be a rewarding journey across space, time, and tatami.

13. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

At this point, I don’t know which of my top choices has a big turning point that involves time travel.

In the second part of this series, there is one episode that makes it go from being a good show to being one of the best anime of all time.

You might not agree that it is a “deconstruction” of the magical girl type. But it’s clear proof that Gen Urobuchi could change the game if he had the right team.

Also, this original anime is stunning to look at.

It’s scary, exciting, and full of ideas.

Shaft had a chance to make a classic, and they didn’t waste it.

12. Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was one of Kyoto Animation’s first big hits. In 2006, when the anime community was still small, it took the world by storm.

It was funny, had great characters, a catchy opening song that went viral, and shows that didn’t go in order.

Still, the order of events didn’t make the story any less interesting.

The story’s nonlinear framework gave us a new way to look at how the characters interact with each other. And it made it more fun to watch again in the right order.

You can enjoy The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya after you’ve seen the series (and God bless you if you’ve seen the Endless Eight arc).

If you haven’t heard of Zipang, I don’t blame you.

Even though Zipang came out two years after Naruto, it looks more like something from the past.

The military and historical setting, on the other hand, makes it a good pick.

Simply put, it’s about a Japanese warship called Mirai, which is a missile cruiser. Mirai gets caught in a storm, but it’s not just any storm.

Once Mirai is out of the storm, the crew learns that they have all gone back in time to 1942, which is during the Second World War.

Isn’t that cool?

The most interesting part is that they have to do their best not to change history. But can the team stay in the background when everyone around them is dying?

10. Noein: To Your Other Self

Studio:  Satelight

Episodes:  24

Quick pitch:  In the future, a violent war between two dimensions threatens the existence of space-time. A group called the Dragon Calvary is dispatched to search for the Dragon’s Torque, which is said to be the only thing to stop the war.

9. Mirai Nikki (The Future Diary)

Studio:  Asread

Episodes:  26 + 1 OVA

Quick pitch:  Yukiteru Amano spends his days writing a diary on his cell phone and talking to two imaginary friends, Deus Ex Machina and Murmur.

Deus reveals himself as a god of space and time, and grants Yukiteru a “ Random Diary .” This device shows descriptive future events to Yukiteru and he must use it to survive a deadly battle royale against 11 other people with similar diaries.

8. Thermae Romae

Studio:  DLE

Episodes:  6

Quick pitch:  Lucius is a Roman architect who has trouble coming up with ideas. One day, he discovers a tunnel underneath a spa that leads him to a modern Japanese bath house. Inspired this discovery, he creates a spa based on modern ideas from Japan.

7. Nobunaga Concerto

I’ll start with Nobunaga Concerto, which is an anime about time travel that is also more of an isekai.

Because of this, I’ve put it on my list, but it’s not the best. So what’s going on?

As you might have guessed, it has to do with Oda Nobunaga. Possibly one of the most well-known people in Japanese history.

He was a cruel boss, but he was also smart and a big part of how Japan got back together.

Nobunaga isn’t the OP, though. In Nobunaga Concerto, he meets Saburou, a man from the 21st century who strangely travels back in time to meet him. Saburou looks just like him.

Saburou was just a regular high school student, but now he has to take over for Nobunaga, who wants to take it easy in his last years.

6. Occult Academy

Studio:  A-1 Pictures

Episodes:  13

Quick pitch:  In 2012, the world is invaded by aliens. To stop this from happening, Fumiaki Uchida is sent back to 1999 to prevent the apocalypse from occurring by destroying the Nostradamus Key. In order to find the key, he forms a partnership with Maya Kumashiro, who is a girl with a strong hatred for the occult .

5. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Studio:  Shaft

Episodes:  12 + 3 (kind of remakes / sequel) movies

Quick pitch:  Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki are friends who live normal middle old school lives, but everything changes after they meet a cat-alien named Kyuubey and a transfer student named Homura Akemi.

Kyuubey offers to grant them a wish in exchange of becoming magical girls, but Homura urges the duo to decline or they will enter a world of despair.

4. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Mamoru Hosoda is one of the best anime directors working today, along with Masaaki Yuasa and Makoto Shinkai.

He has also made many other great movies, like Summer Wars, Wolf Children, and The Boy and the Beast, to name just a few.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time works so well because it’s not just a story about time travel.

It thought about how to shape the character and the story as a whole, making the second part more tense and emotional.

Also, I think a lot of us can understand Makoto Shonno. You’re in your last year of high school, and you know that things are about to change, but you don’t know what will happen to you.

It’s scary, funny, and has a heart at its center.

3. Boku dake ga Inai Machi (ERASED)

Putting this so high on my list, am I making a risky choice?

Actually, no.

Sure, not everyone liked how it was changed. I’ll admit that the tension thriller part was a bit too much.

But, like how I feel about Zankyou no Terror, the high points in ERASED are so good that they easily make up for the bad points.

I think it’s a classic, even though it has flaws.

The first episode was a 10/10 because it was easy to keep my attention by the end, when the aspect ratio changed to show how much time had changed. It’s very interesting.

Asian Kung-Fu Generation makes a great opening theme for ERASED, and I still think that Kayo’s birthday scene is one of the most heartbreaking and moving moments in anime.

Also, I don’t like that some people think the show was bad just because the guy didn’t end up with the girl he saved (and tried to save again and again) in the past.

Look, just because you saved someone’s life doesn’t mean you can marry them. You help someone because you should, not because you want something in return.

2. Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World

Re:Zero is a good isekai and time travel show, in my opinion.

After all the talk about Sword Art Online , it could have been like any other isekai. But it made its own mark on the past.

Re:Zero makes you think that the main character is just another guy who goes to a dream world. But the time loop takes the series to a whole new level of fear and hopelessness for Subaru.

It’s not just a way to flee to a better world with waifu characters like Emilia and Rem; the show as a whole is very interesting. I can’t wait for the second season.

1. Steins;Gate

Is there even another show that could be No. 1?

If you ask most anime fans what the best time travel anime is, this is the first show that comes to mind. And with good cause.

Also, Steins;Gate isn’t just praised for being the best time travel show ever.

It’s also in the running for the best anime of all time, usually against FMA: Brotherhood.

Steins;Gate is a great show to watch if you’re new to anime, but it also gets better the more anime you watch.

Some people say it’s overrated, but one thing is for sure: it set the bar for how brilliant and entertaining a time travel anime could be.

Don’t Forget to share it with your fellow otaku’s and bookmark MOW.

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About the Author

Garima Singh

Moshi Moshi everyone! I'm Garima, an anime enthusiast with a passion for sharing my love of anime with others. I've watched over 1000 anime, and I'm always on the lookout for new and exciting shows to watch.

I love everything about anime, from the stories and characters to the animation and music. I'm also a big fan of anime culture, and I love to learn about Japanese culture and history through anime.

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The 21 Best Time Travel Anime Series To Watch

Time travel anime series is a sub-genre of Isekai that can be defined by a few different factors. One of the most important factors is that it focuses on change and progress, as well as the consequences of such changes.

Here we have an all-new top list for you guys, talking about anime series that feature time travel themes in their story. It’s always fun to watch these because they’re always adventure-packed. While the science fiction, romance, and some other genres that come with them are also great! We will be focusing only on those series that should also have a good blend of a good story and good character development.

Therefore, read on to find out about the great series that explores time travel in anime.

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21. meng qi shi shen .

This is a good Chinese time travel anime series that comes with 12 episodes, with genres including comedy, drama, gourmet, and romance, as well as highlighting themes of history, time travel, and more.

Ye Jia Yao is a young chef who has her sights set on becoming the next big chef in the food industry. However, she becomes embroiled in a time-traveling accident and instead finds herself transported back to Imperial China – as an extremely useless girl.

There, The young woman will get kidnapped, but smilingly and witty she managed to negotiate her way out of the sticky situation that she found herself in.

20. Amatsuki

The next anime about time travel I would like to recommend is Amatsuki, a good series that focuses on the story of Rikugou Tokidoki, who gets stuck in an alternate world where evil creatures like demons and the like are ordinary things.

After being trapped and having to possibly die, he learns that he has a “special power” and how to coexist in such a fantasy world. In this story, the motives, coexistence, and thoughts of both demons and humans are fully explored. While some mysteries unfold that are addressed in a clever way that makes the series even more entertaining to watch.

19. Nobunaga Teacher’s Young Bride

With 12 episodes, created by Studio Seven, Nobunaga Teacher’s Young Bride is an amazing anime with supernatural powers , comedy, romance, and harem/school themes.

Nobunaga-sensei was just a normal middle school teacher trying to find love in everyday life. That is until the seemingly random encounter changed the course of his life when he touched some random object in a shed, a small girl appears out of nowhere and asks to sleep with him.

Now, he has a mysterious power that’s not only to make summon Lolis out of nowhere but also to make any woman he touches fall in love with him. As a result of this weird ability, Nobunaga-sensei now has two small girls, a student, a fellow teacher, and a trap, who all eventually want to sleep with him! The show is about nothing but his many love interests and their drama.

18. Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin

Occult Academy is another good Japanese time travel anime produced by A-1 Pictures and Aniplex. It’s a 13-episode about back-in-time themes that I highly recommend, and it combines different genres: mystery, a slice of life, and a nearly powerful supernatural story.

The Waldstein Academy has seen some odd things throughout its history. But a naked guy appearing out of nowhere is a new thing by the standards of this school. Like the iconic movie 12 Monkeys, Occult Academy’s main premise is sending someone back in time to prevent the event that caused the apocalypse.

The protagonist of this story is not exactly an expert operative. With a special cellphone in hand, Fumiaki Uchida is now tasked with destroying the end-of-the-world item… on her own. This sounds like an impossible task, but she’s determined to succeed to save the world.

17. Buddy Complex

Buddy Complex is an anime that brings mecha and time travel themes for one intense watch time. Whether it does this well or not is up in the air, but the combination of giant robots and complex time loops is definitely a unique spin on the two genres.

This story follows a teenager as he travels 70 years into the future. Here he finds himself in a war being fought with giant robots that require two pilots in sync. He quickly forms an alliance with Ace pilot, Dio to help defend their Alliance.

16. Nobunaga Concerto

The idea of traveling back in time to aid legendary historical figures is not new, and Nobunaga Concerto is like anime’s answer to A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.

The story of this historical time travel anime is uncomplicated and romantic , with beautiful themes of loyalty and friendship. The series comes with 10 episodes that chronicle an epic adventure of the protagonist Saburou, who went back in time to the Sengoku era, where he has to take the place of Oda Nobunaga, one of Japan’s most famous warlords. Wouldn’t it be fun if all famous historical figures were time travelers using their modern wiles to become great?

Zipang is another pretty good time-traveling anime show, that starts off the story with a warship from the 21st century leaving port for training exercises but then encountering something that sends them back in time to 60 years ago when Japan was still at war with America.

The series chronicles the crew’s struggles to avoid contact with people from those years so history doesn’t get changed. But how can they avoid people in the middle of a war? It’s usually impossible to do so. Because war means diminished supplies, and this is where things get interesting.

14. Remake our Life!

This 12-episode anime with a time travel theme is based on the light novel of the same name and is produced by the studio “feel”. It spans genres of drama, romance, and a slice of life .

The series is about going back in time and changing what happened before. Some things are easy to change, but other things involve more complicated consequences. Basically, you get a chance to remake your life no matter what’s happened so far.

Kyouya Hashiba is a video game creator who wakes up 10 years ago when he gets the opportunity to turn his life around while doing his best to avoid a catastrophic future.

13. Dr. Stone

Dr. Stone is one of those best time travel anime tv shows that you will love even though it’s already extremely over the top. One day, the human population was petrified in stone three millennia ago – leaving some kids undisturbed. But the most important one of them is Senku and he’s exceptionally clever. His IQ measures over ten billion percent higher than other kids his age.

Now in a time without any aspects of civilization, Senku decides to rebuild society. Armed with his knowledge of science, he embarks on his journey to make miracles happen once again.

12. Iroduku: The World In Colors

Iroduku The World of Colors holds a spell on you from the very first episode. The story is told in such a way that it’s impossible to not get drawn into such an emotional adventure. We can’t express how we feel about this show with just words, but the answer is in Iroduku.

This good time travel anime is from P.A. Works and has 13 episodes that span various genres, including drama, romance, and school. The story is about a girl who travels back in time to attend a school with the young version of her grandmother. The main goal is to open up her heart and get in touch with her closed-off feeling.

Overall, it’s okay to say that this anime tv show is so valid, good recommendation, and can be described as one of the best modern-day fantasies about self-discovery.

11. Mirai Nikki

If you’re looking for an excellent plot, this anime is worth checking out. The story follows Yuki, who has an awesome power — he can read the future through his own personal diary. However, his life will turn upside down when he discovers that there are also some other people with their own diaries who would use their power and kill each other in order to become the next lord.

But, on the other hand, he has someone to protect him. Yuno Gasai, a wild Yandere girl from Yuki’s school with a diary, falls in love with him and is usually seen stalking him… you could say she has the heart of an ‘extreme lover’. The two will team up together to survive the deadly game in which they are thrown in.

10. Inuyasha

Inuyasha is a classic time travel anime series that came out in the early 2000s, but it is still very popular to this day. It follows the adventures of a half-demon who was sealed to a tree and released by a girl from modern-day Japan.

From then on, the girl named Kagome will start an epic journey of traveling to the time of the half-demon Inuyasha. They will fall in love with each other, and along with their friends, they battle all sorts of demons and try to find the shards of a sacred jewel that was shattered into many pieces.

Inuyasha is full of action, adventure, romance, and drama, so it’s definitely worth watching and is perfect for a wide range of ages, I’m sure that everyone will have fun watching it!

9. Madoka Magica 

Madoka Magica is a magic anime series that follows Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki, two high school students with relatively normal lives. That all changes when they meet Kyubey, a small cat-like creature with supernatural powers, and Homura Akemi, their new classmate.

Kyuubey offers them to grant their wishes and in exchange, they will become a magical girl and make their dreams come true. Akemi warns the girls not to accept the offer, but they do it anyway. Thus, a story of despair, hope, and friendship pops up.

Madoka Magica is an anime that chronicles the outcome of being a magical girl and the price one has to pay to make a wish come true. If you think the anime leaves it at that, you don’t know Madoka. But we’ll say no more. Just watch it!

8. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

The series chronicles the daily antics of the female protagonist Haruhi, who likes to get involved with illogic matters often by keeping her friends in unrealistic situations. Most of the time, these situations are completely contrived or convenient.

The show has different personalities come up with really wild topics that result in both happy accidents and disastrous consequences. Yes, Haruhi has many different adventures that range in diversity and intensity. Some were probably pretty disastrous while others were hilarious.

7. Sakurada Reset

The story highlights that all people born in this city have some power. Kei Asai has a particular power, he can remember everything and Haruki Misura can restore time back to some past days. The two work as a team to help the people of the city with complicated issues.

The group starts to get involved with and complete missions for the Administration Bureau – an organization that focuses on managing people with special abilities in Sakurada and controlling important events that happen there. As the plot of the story develops, we find ourselves faced with a lot of new twists and surprises.

This back-in-time anime called “Orange,” is a 13-episode series that spans genres of drama, romance, and school. The show focuses on Naho Takamiya, who has a strange day. She wakes up late and then receives a letter from 10 years in the future!

Naho is by first skeptical of the note she receives, but as the events described start to occur, she starts to believe it really is from her 26-year-old self. The letter details Naho’s future life and how it is full of regrets and agony. Now, she hopes that her younger self can correct the mistakes of the past.

While she is also given the task to keep a close eye on transfer student Kakeru. He’s not around in the future and as such, Naho must be extra careful when making decisions involving him. Relying on The letter, Naho now has the power to take care of Kakeru before she came to regret it once again.

5. Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

Re:Zero is popular anime series based on the light novel of the same name. The protagonist, Subaru Natsuki, has a strange ability that allows him to return from death as long as he has something to save. He is also accompanied by a beautiful female girl called Emilia and two twin sisters called Rem and Ram.

In this new world, Subaru Natsuki, whenever he dies, he starts back in the previous timeline- alive and well. He always goes back to when an issue has started but is armed with the knowledge of the future events that will happen. Can he change his destiny and those of his friends by using this knowledge?

4. Boku Dake ga Inai Machi

We really like time-traveling adventures, and it seems that Erased is among the best psychological anime out there that has strong storytelling combined with the intriguing nature of playing with time. The story follows Satoru Fujinuma, who finds himself sent back minutes before tragedy strikes. Our 29-year-old detached protagonist starts taking advantage of this mysterious ability to save lives.

However, when he was falsely accused of murdering someone close to him, he end up being sent back in time 18 years ago. It soon becomes clear that the murder may be connected to the abduction and killing of one of his classmates when he was a child. This is his chance to make things right for everyone.

Boku Dake ga Inai Machi is the story of Satoru, who has the power to travel back in time. With this ability, he must learn what happened in his childhood 18 years ago and prevent the deaths of those he cares about both in the past and present.

3. Tokyo Revengers

Tokyo Revengers is among the best newest time travel that has an enticing premise – go back in time to save your friends from a life of crime, despair, and death.

Takamichi is a 26-year-old loser with no future. After finding out his middle school crush had a tragic death, he’s given the ability to challenge fate unknowingly. Takamichi is granted time travel abilities and is sent back to 12 years ago.

When he travels to the past, he collides with two angsty teens, Mikey and Draken, dress up as gangbangers. They are the President and Vice President of a gang responsible for his ex-girlfriend’s death.

2. Oda Nobuna no Yabou

Yeah, that’s right! We have a famous historical time-travel anime series that takes upon themes from the legendary era of the Japanese warlord, Oda Nobunaga .

An unexplained event causes a high school student from modern-day Japan to wake up in the midst of a raging Sengoku period battle. He’s saved by the legendary Hideyoshi Toyotomi, but at the cost of the hero’s life. With his dying breath, the warrior pleads for Yoshiharu to take over as feudal lord in his stead.

Yoshiharu has pledged to do his best to make sure that the course of history stays exactly as it should. After saving a girl who seems to be an alternate reality version of the fabled Nobunaga, Yoshiharu realizes he’s somehow been transported to a new world where most of Japan’s historic warlords are cute girls!

1. Steins; Gate – The best time travel anime ever

Steins; Gate is a well-known time travel anime series due to its depth, intriguing storyline, and fantastic pacing. The show has stimulated many thoughts about traveling in time and the development of technology in relation to causality.

The series starts off, by showing us that the characters can only send messages back in time. However, this fledgling technology will spark the development of a more advanced time travel machine, resulting in many exciting adventures, ups and downs, and memorable experiences.

Steins; Gate is a sci-fi anime that can be recommended to anyone. It has a great story, and it’s very interesting. It has many twists and turns, and it’s not predictable at all.

I'm Mohsin the founder of Bakabuzz.com and Bakabuzz channel on Youtube. We, the BakaBuzz Editorial Team, are true fans of anime, gaming, and manga. We enjoy watching, discussing, and diving into the world of Japanese entertainment. As fellow fans, we share recommendations on what to watch, play, or read. Our goal is to bring our expertise and knowledge to fans like you, creating a space where we can all explore the exciting realms of Japanese anime, manga, and gaming together. All our topics are carefully reviewed by Mohsin, the owner and author behind Bakabuzz's articles on anime, manga, and gaming, boasting 20 years of experience.

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19+ BEST Time Travelling Anime! (Recommendations)

• Updated on: July 25, 2022

Time travelling , everyone once wanted to have the power to time travel in the past or the future to save their loved ones, but until now there haven’t been any signs of time travelling , but time travel is possible in anime.

So here are some best time travel anime that you need to watch if you ever wished to have the power to time travel in real life.

Table of Contents

Table of Content

21. iroduku: the world in colors.

Genre: Drama, Romance Episodes: 13

Anime Storyline :

On a night, Hitomi’s grandmother, Kohaku , fires a spell she has been exploiting for over 60 years and sends Hitomi to the year 2018 when Kohaku was still in high school.

The mission of Hitomi was unclear at that point but Kohaku said that she will know what her mission is when she gets there. As she gets there, Hitomi’s white and black life turns into a colorful one.

She finally started to know what her mission was and the reason she was sent in the year 2018 .

20. Tatami Galaxy

Genre: Mystery, Comedy Episodes: 11

Watashi , Our MC, after wasting his college life by breaking up couples in the campus with his only friend Ozu , starts to realize that he made a mistake. Watashi was given a chance to repeat his college career again.

That led him to go down multiple paths, each filled with life lessons and failures . He started working hard to achieve a happy ending rather than a sad one.

There isn’t much I can tell about this one, as you should definitely go watch it on your own!

Genre: Adventure, Drama Episodes: 24

It was the last year of elementary school, and four friends decided to do a challenge to see who is braver . The four friends went to a graveyard in order to see who is braver than the other.

So the challenge begins. But wait, before it actually begins, Yuu has a controlling mother that does not let her go to the challenge. Luckily, Haruka helps her slip away from her mother and while walking to the graveyard , Haruka notices a silver-haired man following him. 

So now the challenge actually begins. After a while, some strange things appear. The four friends thought they were ghosts and tried to run away but it turns out that they are actually dragon soldiers from the future who have come to protect Haruka , humanity’s last hope.

18. Seikimatsu Occult academy

Genre: Mystery, Sci-fi Episodes: 13

It’s the year 2012 and the earth is getting invaded by some creatures called Aliens .

Maya , who is a former headmaster of Waldstein Academy and with his agent, Fumiaki Uchida , is sent to the year 1999 to prevent the alien invasion from happening in 2012 . They have a mission to destroy some kind of key that will be the cause of the alien invasion . Maya forms a pact to look for the key , in order to destroy it.

They are equipped with special cell phones. If they take a picture of the actual key and it shows a “ Peaceful world ” in the picture, then that’s the key but if the picture shows “ Destruction ” then that’s not the key.

17. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Genre: Drama, Romance Episodes: 1 (Movie)

Makoto Konno is in her last year of high school, but she’s having a really hard time deciding what she wants to do in the future, what university she wants to go to, and what she wants to become when she grows up.

But suddenly Makoto finds something strange, she finds an ability within her that lets her leap through time . Soon later, she finds out that every choice has a different and unique consequence and things aren’t as easy as they seem.

It’s really fun seeing her having fun with her ability.

16. InuYasha

Genre: Action, Adventure Episodes: 167

InuYasha follows the story of a young girl by the name of Kagome Higurashi , who was dragged into a well by a cursed demon. So she should have died right? Wrong.

Kagome was sent 500 years back in time, during the Sengoku period . Also, there was a jewel inside of her body, I forgot to tell that.

After battling with a demon, the jewel inside of her breaks into pieces. Kagome then forms a pact with InuYasha in order to prevent the shattered jewel pieces from getting into the wrong people’s/demon’s hands.

Genre: Action, Drama

Episodes: 26

Mirai is an advanced missile destroyer ship in Japan’s self-defence force. The crew is led by Captain Umezu Saburo and Executive Officer Kadomatsu . One day, while the crew was running to the scheduled training exercises, something strange happened.

Mirai encounters a storm that throws their navigation system in a complete mess .

After a while, the crew find themselves back in June 2, 1942, at the time of world war ll.

14. Nobunaga Concerto

Genre: Comedy, Romance Episodes: 10

“Who cares what happened in Japan’s past? It has nothing to do with my life.”

After carelessly walking on top of a fence on the top floor. Saburou, Our MC , fell. That was expected from the start though.

But wait, he doesn’t die? Saburou was sent back a few centuries in the Sengoku Period . After meeting a samurai, he gets a katana from the samurai he just met and now he has to survive on his own.

Saburou , with the help of his own knowledge, now has to survive in the Sengoku Period .

Yes, Oranges , but not the fruit ones tho.

It was Naho Takamiya’s first day of high school but after waking up later, she saw something strange. She saw a letter but not from her family members..

It was the letter from herself but from 10 years in the future? In the letter, it tells that Naho’s life is painful and full of regrets and Naho from 10 years in the future tells the current Naho the timing of several events that were gonna happen in her life.

Just imagine that you woke up, thinking your life will be good in the future but received a letter from your future self saying your life will be full of mistakes and regrets, oh god!

12. Buddy Complex

Genre: Action, Sci-fi Episodes: 13

Buddy Complex mixes Mechs and Time travelling at the same time and that makes this anime interesting and fun to watch.

A young boy named Aoba Watase is suddenly getting targeted by some strange robot called Valiancer . Aoba was then saved by his classmate Hina Yumihara , who turns out to be a time traveler.

Hina offers Aoba to go 70 years forward in time , in order to prevent Aoba from dying. 

This anime is a great series to watch for the Time-traveling fans and the mech otakus or if you are both a mech otaku and a time-traveling fan then this anime is for you.

11. The Future Diary

Genre: Mystery, Action Episodes: 26

Yukiteru Amano , a lonely high school student who spends her time writing in her phone diary.

Oh wait, she has 2 imaginary friends too, one is a god of time and space by the name of Deus and Murmur , the god’s servant.

Deus gave Yukiteru a future diary, it doesn’t exactly let the actual time change but the diary can predict the future in some ways. This might be a little interesting.

Genre: Mystery, Supernatural Episodes: 12

Time traveling is already a lot of fun but what if you also add some adventure to it? That’s just, a great COMBINATION ! Everyone wished they had the power to even go a few minutes back in time to stop an accident, or possibly, a tragedy . 

There’s a tragedy happening at our MC’s place. Everyone’s scared and screaming, and that’s when our MC comes in. Saturo Fujinuma is able to go back in time before the tragedy was about to happen. With the help of that, Saturo was able to save many lives.

But sadly, Saturo was accused of murdering someone who was close to him, so this time he was sent 18 years past in order to find the cause of this.

This has a large story but i don’t wanna spoil this further.

9. the Ambition of Oda Nobuna

Genre: Comedy, Romance Episodes: 12

This anime follows the story of a 17-year-old boy by the name of Sagara Yoshiharu .

One day he time-travels to the Sengoku Period . 

Why are there so many people who travel to the Sengoku period on this list lmao!

But in this Sengoku Period , there’s a twist. Yes, a twist and that is that every major lord is a cute girl lol! Every anime fan once might have wished to travel to a world filled with cute girls !

8. Sakurada Reset

Genre: Mystery, Supernatural Episodes: 24

Kei Asai , a normal girl who lives in the oceanside of Sakurada , where the inhabitants are a little strange…

They are born with abilities.

One day on the school rooftop, Kei meets Misora Haruki , a strange girl with the ability to reset everything around her the way it was 3 days ago. Is it a strange ability? What do you think? No one knows what Misora resets though.

7. Summer Storm

Genre: Comedy, Romance Episodes: 13

A thirteen year old boy by the name of Yasaka is living with his grandfather during his summer vacation.

One day, Yasaka enters a store only to see a young 16 year old girl getting forced by a man, who was pretending to be hired by the 16 year old girl’s family.

After saving the girl, Yasaka becomes friends with her but later he finds something strange. He found a picture of the 16 year old girl but in her 60s . Strange right?

That girl was not an ordinary one. She has the ability to time travel. Forgot to tell but the girl’s name is Arashi .

6. Magical Girl Madoka Magica

Genre: Drama, Suspense Episodes: 12

Before you watch this anime, just so you know this anime could be a little dark .

Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki both have simple lives. Welp, everyone knows that a time traveling anime can’t be this normal. It is until one day Madoka and Sayaka find Kyubey, a cat-like alien.

The cat offers them that if they become magical girls , he would fulfil any 1 of their wishes. Magical girls are those who shall risk their lives in order to fight the witches that are  invisible to a normal human eye. 

An ally of the cat-like alien , Mami Tomoe ,a magical girl, befriends Madoka and Sayaka in order to make them accept the offer. While on the other hand, another magical girl, Homura Akemi , has to stop both of them from accepting the offer.

5. Your Name

This movie follows the story of a girl by the name of Mitsuha Miyamizu , a normal high school student who wanted to live a life as a boy. Taki Tachibana , who is also a high school student living a busy life while doing a part-time job.

One day, Mitsuha wakes up in Taki’s body while Taki wakes up in Mitsuha’s body, so how does this include time traveling? Let me explain.

The thing is that Mitsuha exists three years before Taki does. They both start to search for each other but Taki later finds out that Mitsuha was dead . The way Mitsuha died was that one day, she saw a comet that was going to hit the town she was living in, and so it did.

4. Re: Zero

Genre: Drama, Fantasy Episodes: 25

Another popular anime on this list.

Really? Do I really have to explain this one too? Welp alright then!

Re:Zero follows the story of Natsuki Subaru , who randomly gets transported into another world. But wait, before you think that this is isekai , yes it is but it includes time traveling.

Whenever Subaru dies, he gets sent back in time. He is basically immortal. He still feels pain though. Subaru uses this opportunity to save many, many lives.

So basically he time travels back in time , wherever his last checkpoint was.

21. Steins; Gate

Genre: Drama, Sci-fi Episodes: 24

This anime has a confusing story in the first few episodes and a lot of people quit watching it.

But wait! Don’t quit yet, if you didn’t understand anything, let me explain the story of this.

This anime follows a story of a mad scientist by the name of Rintarou Okabe , who lives in an old building. Rintarou has 2 other members in his lab. One is a hacker, Daru and Rintarou’s childhood friend, Hashida Itaru.

These 3 make some strange gadgets like a phone microwave that turns a banana into a pile of green gel? But wait, it does require the phone to run so that’s a new invention lmao! Who knew that this phone microwave could be so serious that it can change the flow of the current future they are living in?

2. Doraemon

Genre: Adventure, Comedy Episodes: 1787

Yes, you heard it correctly, Doraemon .

But wait, isn’t this a kids show? And how does this include time traveling ? Wait! Let me explain.

This blue raccoon , I mean this blue cat by the name of Doraemon , comes from the future in order to save Nobita from making mistakes. So this does include time traveling in some way.

Doraemon has the ability to store infinite stuff in his pocket, and the pocket includes some strange gadgets and some useful ones. Like let’s take the door for example, it lets us teleport to any place we want. Pretty useful right? Just like this, there are 100s of useful and strange gadgets

1. Tokyo Revengers

Genre: Action, Drama Episodes: 24

Yes, Tokyo Revengers , one of the most popular anime of 2021. So does this include time traveling? Yes, our MC Takemitchy , who broke up with his girlfriend twelve years ago. But one day when he was watching television, he came to notice the news, and yes, it was about Takemitchy’s girlfriend who died.

Now, Takemitchy gets a flashback of the time he was still dating his girlfriend. Also, the girlfriend’s name was Hinata . He burst into tears and went to Hinata’s brother. But something strange happened.

When Takemitchy shook hands with Naoto , Hinata’s brother, he was sent back 12 years in time.

With that opportunity, he swore to save Hinata from dying.

Comment Or 🔫

So, here we are with some of the best anime that deal with the theme of time travelling . There were a lot of them but we had to narrow our list down to only 21 of them. Which one of them do you like the most? Comment down below and let us know!

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The 24 Best Time Travel Anime To Explore Alternatives

• 20 April 2023

Introduction

The concept of traveling across time has always been one of the most interesting aspects of storytelling, and anime is not an exception to this rule. Anime that takes place in the past or the future can provide viewers with an experience that is both exciting and inventive. This is because the show’s characters are able to move across time. Anime about time travel can be interesting, thought-provoking, and even mind-bending at times. Some examples of these qualities include the exploration of different histories and the consideration of the ramifications of altering the past. This article will provide you with an overview of 24 of the most notable time travel anime series that you can watch in order to satiate your passion for the subgenre. Prepare yourselves to travel through both time and space by fastening your seatbelts and getting ready to take off!

Yumeiro Patissiere

Ichigo journeys back in time to the Meiji era with the assistance of her newly made friends and spirit patissiers. There, she meets the great patissier Henri Lucas and learns the tricks of the trade for creating delectable desserts from him.

Ichigo must triumph over a number of obstacles along the way in order to realize her goal of becoming a pastry chef of world-class caliber. Yumeiro Patissiere is a joy for anime fans of all ages thanks to its wonderful characters, mouth-watering desserts, and time-traveling adventures.

Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL

Yuma Tsukumo, a young kid with dreams of becoming the best duelist in the world, is the protagonist of the popular time-travel anime Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, tells the story of Yuma’s journey. One day, he comes upon a curious piece of equipment known as the “Numbers,” which grants him the ability to call forth strong monsters to assist him in battles.

Yuma goes across time with the assistance of his friends and allies who come from alternate versions of the past in order to retrieve all of the Numbers and keep them from falling into the wrong hands. Along the way, he will also have to engage in combat with a variety of adversaries, including his most sworn enemy, Kaito Tenjo.

lovers of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, as well as lovers of time travel anime in general, should make it a point to watch Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL because of the intense dueling action, complicated plot, and memorable characters it features.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes

The adventures of two extraordinary military commanders, Reinhard von Lohengramm of the Empire and Yang Wen-li of the Alliance are told throughout the series. These characters are tasked with navigating the intricate political and military terrain of their respective factions.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes is widely recognized as one of the best anime of all time and a masterpiece in the subgenre of time travel animation due to the epic scale of its story, the political intrigue it depicts, and the captivating characters it features.

El Hazard: The Wanderers

In this strange realm, Makoto learns that he possesses magical talents and becomes embroiled in a fight between the reigning queen of El Hazard and her defiant sister. In addition, Makoto finds himself in the middle of the conflict. While Makoto and his friends are on their journey back to their own planet, they will encounter many different magical creatures and villains along the road.

They will need to overcome these obstacles in order to succeed. El Hazard: The Wanderers is a fun anime that will undoubtedly leave you with a smile on your face because of its endearing cast of characters, creative world-building, and hilarious adventures involving time travel.

The DC Mini is a potent dream-reading device, but when one of its prototypes ends up in the wrong hands, it unleashes a wave of turmoil as people’s dreams and realities start to converge. The only person who can halt the mayhem is Paprika, a brilliant but odd scientist who utilizes her knowledge of dream therapy to discover the truth about the DC Mini and prevent the end of the world.

Fans of time travel anime and psychological thrillers should not miss Paprika because of its strange imagery, complex plot, and thought-provoking concepts.

Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei

He comes across a particular individual who presents him with the opportunity to recreate his time spent in college but with different options and results. After accepting the offer, the protagonist without a name finds himself trapped in a time loop that causes him to relive his college years but with a variety of new experiences and results in each time.

Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei is a one-of-a-kind anime that pushes viewers to reflect on the decisions they make in life and the outcomes of those decisions through the use of non-linear storytelling, vibrant animation, and philosophical concepts.

Haruko reveals that she is an alien who is on a quest to find the “Pirate King,” and Naota finds entangled in a unique and surreal journey that involves robots, guitars, and time travel. Haruko is on a mission to find the “Pirate King.”

FLCL is a must-watch for lovers of time travel anime who are searching for something new and unorthodox because of the show’s hectic speed, strange characters, and offbeat humor.

Time Travel Shoujo: Mari Waka to 8-nin no Kagakusha-tachi

Mari has been given the mission of locating eight historical personalities who are in possession of the knowledge necessary to save the planet from an impending catastrophe. Along the way, Mari is exposed to the diverse history and culture of Japan, while simultaneously coping with the repercussions that would result from altering the past.

Time Travel Shoujo: Mari Waka to 8-nin no Kagakusha-tachi is an entertaining and enlightening anime that is ideal for anyone who is interested in Japanese history or time travel. The show features characters that are interesting to watch, material that is instructive, and exciting time travel adventures.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Based on Yasutaka Tsutsui’s book of the same name, “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” is a 2006 Japanese animated film directed by Mamoru Hosoda. The movie tells the tale of Makoto Konno, a high school student who discovers she has the power to time travel following an unusual meeting in her school’s science lab. As she experiments with her newly acquired abilities, she learns that changing the past might have unanticipated results.

Youth, friendship, and the effects of our acts are among the issues covered in the movie. Makoto is a likable lead character with genuine challenges, making her easy to support. The animation in the movie is breathtakingly gorgeous, with vivid colors and exquisitely detailed settings that vividly depict the world of the story.

The way “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” strikes a balance between comical and serious subjects is one of its strongest points. The movie is frequently lighthearted and amusing, but it also explores more serious topics like regret, the passing of time, and the value of savoring the moments we have. The movie is a rich and emotionally evocative experience because of this balance of comedy and drama.

Orange: Mirai

In an effort to alter the course of events, Naho and her friends band together to offer Kakeru their support and try to spare him from a horrible conclusion. In spite of this, as they work to change the course of history, they are compelled to face the demons and insecurities that have plagued them throughout their lives.

Orange: Mirai is a must-watch for fans of time travel anime who are looking for an emotionally affecting examination of the human experience. The show’s poignant tale, characters that are easy to relate to, and beautiful animation make it a must-watch.

Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V

When Yuya learns that he has the capacity to travel between parallel universes, each of which has its own distinct history and cast of characters, his life takes a dramatic and unexpected turn for the worse. As Yuya travels across these parallel universes, he will face off against formidable adversaries and attempt to solve the enigma surrounding his own past.

Fans of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise and anyone searching for an intriguing time travel anime should not pass up the opportunity to watch Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V because of the intense dueling sequences, dynamic characters, and deep plot it has.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

A dark and perverse spin on the conventional magical girl genre is Madoka Magica. The narrative centers on a group of girls who, in exchange for having their desires granted, are offered the chance to transform into magical girls and battle witches. But being a magical girl comes with a high price, and the girls quickly learn the horrible reality of their abilities.

The distinctive and artistically gorgeous animation style of Madoka Magica is one of its most prominent features. Traditional animation and experimental creative forms, such as surrealism and avant-garde cinematography, are combined in the series.

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

He does this with the intention of achieving contentment at last. However, as he continues his voyage across time and space, he gradually realizes the significance of staying in the present moment and the effects of his choices.

The Tatami Galaxy is the perfect choice for time travel anime fans looking for a unique and thought-provoking viewing experience because of its peculiar aesthetics, witty dialogue, and important themes that are tackled throughout the entire series.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai

During the course of Keiichi’s investigation into the sinister goings-on in Hamlet, he comes to the realization that he is able to go back in time and alter the way things turned out. However, as he explores deeper into the riddle, he comes to the realization that changing the past will have severe repercussions for the future.

Fans of time travel anime who also appreciate horror and suspense should not miss out on the opportunity to see Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai because of the show’s distinctive characters, dramatic and startling story twists, and unsettling atmosphere.

Re: Creators

While they are struggling to understand their new world and the nature of their existence, they must also face their creators and fight against the forces that wish to control their destinies. This must be done concurrently with their struggle to comprehend their new reality.

Re: Creators is a must-watch for fans of time travel anime who are searching for a new and original take on the genre due to the show’s dynamic characters, deep plot, and beautiful action sequences.

A Certain Scientific Railgun

After Mikoto uncovers a hazardous plot that involves the manipulation of time and space, she is forced to use her abilities, along with the assistance of her friends, in order to put an end to the villains and save the city.

Fans of time travel anime who also appreciate science fiction and superhero stories should definitely check out A Certain Scientific Railgun because of the exciting action sequences, interesting characters, and detailed world-building that the show features.

While she is in training to reach her objective, she must also contend with the mental and physical hurdles that come with becoming a pilot, as well as the prospect of traveling across time.

Gunbuster is an absolute must-watch for everyone who enjoys vintage animation and storytelling, as well as fans of time travel anime. It features breathtaking animation, dramatic action sequences, and a touching plot.

Mirai Nikki

Yukiteru finds out as the game goes on that he possesses a potent talent to anticipate the future, which he employs in an effort to outwit his opponents and stay alive. Along the way, he stumbles across Yuno Gasai, a mysterious girl who ends up being his ally as well as the object of his romantic interest.

Fans of time travel anime who are also fans of psychological thrillers and suspenseful stories should definitely check out Mirai Nikki because of the show’s strong action, complicated characters, and mind-bending plot twists.

Time Travel Tondekeman!

The events that occurred during their time there form the core of the story. As they look for a method to get back to the present, they encounter interesting characters from the past and become involved in exciting adventures along the way. All of this happens while they are trying to find their way back to the present.

Fans of time travel anime who also enjoy comedies and stories about exciting adventures will find that Time Travel Tondekeman! is an absolute must-watch owing to the show’s bright animation, humorous characters, and fascinating storyline. Time Travel Tondekeman!

At the same time that they are debating the moral and ethical repercussions of their situation, they have to negotiate the intricate and perilous political terrain of the conflict and determine whether or not to intervene in the course of history or to allow it to unfold in the way that it did. Zipang is a must-watch for fans of time travel anime who enjoy war stories and alternate history situations.

The historical background of the show has been thoroughly studied, and it presents a realistic picture of military tactics and technology. In addition, the show’s examination of time travel topics provides food for thought.

yu-gi-oh! 5d’s

Yusei needs to break out of prison and discover the truth about the scheme that led to his being locked up, and he can do so with the assistance of his friends and his skill as a duelist. Along the way, he makes the startling discovery that he possesses the power of the fabled Crimson Dragon, a creature that has the ability to bend time and space.

Fans of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, as well as fans of time travel anime in general, should not miss out on watching Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s because of the intense dueling action, interesting characters, and time travel components it has.

Fate/stay night

With the aid of his friends and his abilities as a duelist, Yusei can escape prison and learn the truth about the plot that resulted in his being imprisoned. Along the way, he startlingly learns that he possesses the strength of the legendary Crimson Dragon, a being with the power to change time and space. Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s, with its intense dueling action, intriguing characters, and time travel elements, is a must-watch for lovers of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise and time travel anime in general.

High School DxD BorN

The story recounts their adventures together. Issei is inducted into the devil family of Rias and given the responsibility of assisting in the defense of their realm against a variety of dangers. In the third season of “Born,” Issei and the rest of BorN’s companions are given the mission of traveling back in time to stop a disastrous event from taking place in the present.

For viewers interested in the supernatural and time travel anime, High School DxD BorN is an absolute must-see due to the special way in which it combines comedy, action, and time travel.

Scrapped Princess

Shannon and Raquel, Pacifica’s adoptive siblings and accomplished warriors, guard her. Together, they travel, attempting to elude the Church and learn the meaning of the prophecy. They run into both friends and foes along the road, including a young prince and a gang of ruthless assassins.

Additionally, the series has been turned into a manga and an anime, both of which stick to the same core plot. Strong character development and action-packed combat are hallmarks of the anime adaptation.

Over the years, time travel anime has grown in popularity, with many of them examining the advantages and drawbacks of time travel. The anime on this list offer a variety of various genres and styles, each having its own distinctive perspective on time travel, from action-packed adventures to heartwarming tales. There is an anime on this list for everyone, whether you enjoy romance or science fiction. These time travel anime are sure to enthrall and entertain you with their complex plotlines, engaging characters, and beautiful animation.

So make sure to check out the programs on this list if you’re looking to learn more about the potentialities of time travel while also enjoying some fantastic anime. Each one presents a distinctive viewpoint on time travel and is certain to provoke thought long after the final episode.

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Top 12 Time Travel Anime

Published: 10 Mar 2016 9:53 PM +00:00 Updated: 20 Oct 2021 4:10 AM +00:00

Who doesn’t love time travel and all the convoluted storytelling and intense moral questions that come with it? Despite being a firmly sci-fi/fantasy-esque device, time travel stories can span all kinds of genres- from psychological stories, to adventure stories, to historical dramas and mystery stories. And you can find all these kind of stories in anime and all with the added benefit of weird sci-fi tropes and questions that come with leaping timelines.

Let’s look at some of the time travel anime out there and the unique stories contained therein. Be sure to mention your favorite time travel anime in the comments!

Erased is one of the anime that has everyone talking about this season. 

 The main character is a 29-year-old man named Satoru, who possesses a strange ability he calls “revival”. When someone around him is about to lose their lives, he is sent a few minutes back in the past, at which point he has to figure out how to prevent the loss of life from happening. However, when someone close to him is killed, Satoru is not sent back just a few minutes, but instead all the way back to 1988 and finds himself age 10 once more. He figures this huge time leap is not only so he can prevent the death of the person close to him, but so he can prevent the abduction and murder of a classmate that happened around this time and catch the real killer.

Erased is a tense, well-done mystery that keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat. It deals with heavy issues like child abuse and puts a darker spin on the question of what you’d do if you had a chance to redo your life from childhood. It’s based off a seinen manga ( manga aimed at adult men) so it’s definitely for mature audiences only. The series is going to be 12 episodes long and you can check it out on Crunchyroll. The anime can be viewed on Crunchyroll.

Steins;Gate

 Steins;Gate is probably one of the most well-known time travel anime right now. There's some parallels to be drawn to  Erased - it also centers around a male protagonist going back in time to desperately save someone close to him. However, while  Steins;Gate  is more "science-y" sci-fi.  It focuses on a group of science nerd friends who create a time machine microwave. The protoganist, Okabe, is a self-proclaimed mad scientist and there are a lot of jokes about general fandom and geek stuff throughout (“You guys are the OTP in the fanfic that is my life” is a line from the show that will always make me laugh), but things get super intense when a ruthless organization called SERN notices the groups experiments and comes after them.

Steins;Gat e has a gripping emotional storyline once it gets going and a pretty fascinating look at diverging timelines, but people who have a low tolerance for fanservice and sexual harassment-tinged humor should be warned there’s quite a bit of that early on, and the storyline with a presumably transgender character might verge on uncomfortable territory for some.

Steins;Gate can be found streaming on Funimation's website- there is also an OVA (Original Video Animation) and movie sequel to the series.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a 2006 film that combines the drama of adolescence and time travel perfectly to tell a sweet coming-of-age story. The main character is a high school girl named Makoto, who is thrown in fronts of train when her bicycle brakes fail. However, before she dies, she is suddenly thrown back in time to before the accident. Makoto discovers that she can literally “leap” back in time now- if she jumps off something high enough, she will be thrown into a past timeline. She uses this power as you’d expect any high schooler to- she tries to relive all her fun moments and make her life go more smoothly.

However, her alterations of the timeline start causing unforeseen disasters. For instance, she goes back in time to avoid something bad happening to her and then something even worse happens to someone else. And going back in time to fix this just causes things to further spiral out of control. And things just get more dramatic from there.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time can be purchased on Amazon.

The Tatami Galaxy

The Tatami Galaxy combines slice-of-life and comedy with time travel. The 11 episode anime features a hapless college student who regrets how he lived his life for his first two years at university. Then he finds himself thrown back in time to the beginning of his time at college. Now he has a chance to do it all over. The anime is described as “artistic” and “surreal” and generally has glowing reviews.

The anime can by found streaming on Funimation's website, as well as Hulu.

Zipang is a manga and anime that really touches on the hard ethical choices someone who time travels has to make and combines that with historical war drama. A modern platoon of Japanese soldiers are doing exercises with the US Navy when they are transported back in time to the middle of World War II. They realize with their technology and knowledge of what happens in the future, they could potentially win this war and save the lives of their countrymen.

However, they are aware this would alter the future and potentially destroy the modern, peaceful Japan from which they hail. What’s more, they are confronted with the fact that the milaristic regime of Imperial Japan is not anything like the Japan they know. The crew struggles not to alter the past, but finds themselves drawn deeper into the war.

Obviously, this sounds really meaty from both a political and historical perspective and the anime does seem to try to tackle, or at least acknowledge, the thornier issues of Japan’s past. But since I’m not hugely into military strategy stuff, I can’t say I was able to stick with it or know much about how it goes. But it’s definitely a fascinating concept.

Zipang is available for purchase on Amazon.

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica

Puella Magi Madoka Magica (or Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica ) is a dark magical girl series featuring girls with a wide array of powers and fantastic events, so it’s not suprising that time travel makes an appearance and when it does, it’s extremely heartwrenching.

Madoka is a good example of how time travel can lead to the perspective of things being entirely flipped around.

Madoka is a Funimation property and you can find it streaming on their website as well as Hulu.

Inuyasha is a well-known work by the prolific Rumiko Takahashi. The story centers around a girl named Kagome, who falls into her family shrine’s well and pops out in 1496, during Japan’s feudal era. This is a very fantastical version of Japan, though, one where demons and monsters are real.

Kagome discovers she is the reincarnation of a priestess from this era called Kikyo and oddly enough, ends up befriending the demon boy Kikyo gave her life to subdue. Throughout the story, Kagome travels back and forth between the past and present and struggles to balance both these worlds.

The story doesn’t do much much in regards of Kagome’s actions in the past having any impact on her present day life, but it does focus on the drama of her being a reincarnation of a priestess from a past era quite a bit.

The story was first written in 1996, is very lengthy and features a lot of sexual harassment humor. Inuyasha is available on Funimation’s website.

Sailor Moon R

The second season of Sailor Moon , Sailor Moon R , deals heavily with time travel. A mysterious little girl drops out of the sky one day and it eventually becomes apparent that she’s from a thousand years in the future, where Tokyo is a utopia that has recently been destroyed by a malicious faction of people called the Black Moon. These villains have also traveled back in time, both to pursue this rogue little girl and also to ensure they will rule the future.

This is also the season where the Soldiers meet Sailor Pluto, the guardian of space and time, who commands the ability to control the flow of time directly. While Sailor Moon doesn’t think too hard about the implications of shifting timelines (and this season has plenty of plotlines as a result) this is definitely a fun little romp in the time travel genre with a lot of the wacky tropes you’d expect- like young people interacting with their own future kids and those kids getting to see what their parents were like when they were kids. The time traveling characters also stick around throughout the rest of the series.

Sailor Moon R is available on Hulu.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya features lots of supernatural weirdness, so naturally time-travel is included. Perhaps the most infamous use of time travel is “The Endless Eight” in the second season. The eponymous Haruhi has reality-bending powers she is unaware of, so when she doesn’t want summer to end, she unconsciously forces everyone to relive the last day of summer again and again. This leads to eight episodes that are exactly the same with only slight alterations before one of the characters finally manages to break out of the time loop. Talk about saving animation budget!

Not may anime could get away with such a stunt, but Haruhi is enough of a phenomenon that it kept going strong as a franchise and there’s plenty more time-traveling nonsense to be had.

Haruhi can be viewed through Funimation's website.

Higurashi: When They Cry

Higurashi: When They Cry is a story about a peaceful town that is plagues with mysterious, yearly murders. Basically it’s another murder mystery story where time is constantly being rewound to save someone’s life. It’s hard to get much more into detail without major spoilers, but suffice it to say things are very complicated, dark and horrific.

You can watch Higurashi: When They Cry on Hulu, though it’s only called “ When They Cry ” there.

Fire Tripper

Fire Tripper is a one-shot animation and manga by Rumiko Takahashi that is pretty similar to her more well known time travel anime,  Inuyasha , in a lot of respects. A normal Japanese school girl is thrown back in time to Japan’s civil war era and falls in love with a boy from this past era.

Unlike Inuyasha , however, she meets this boy when he rescues her from an attempted rape, she begins to wonder if she herself may have originally been from this past era and worries she’s related to boy she’s fallen in love with. It’s very weird and a bit like a soap-opera.

Summer Storm

Summer Storm is also known as  Natsu no Arashi . The protagonist, Hajime, befriends a girl who turns out to be a ghost who lived during World War II. She can travel back in time and uses the power to rescue those she knows from dying in air raids. She’s only able to travel back in time if she’s accompanied by a living person who she has a connection with though, and that person naturally is Hajime.

The show apparently has some pretty fanservice-filled episodes, but it’s definitely an interesting concept. The anime can be viewed on Crunchyroll.

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Top 15 Best Time Travel Anime [2024]

By: Author Amar Hussain

Posted on Last updated: January 2, 2024

When it comes to time travel, time paradoxes, and timelines, anime shows either do it right or wrong, and all of these series below do it perfectly, some are even considered masterpieces!

Getting the sci-fi clique and fresh coat of paint, all of these shows and movies make time travel refreshing all over again.

Quick Links

15. Occult Academy

13. sagrada reset, 12. iroduku: the world in colors, 10. remake our life, 9. charlotte, 8. blast of tempest, 7. the girl who leapt through time, 6. tokyo revengers, 5. re:zero –starting life in another world–, 3. rascal does not dream of a dreaming girl, 2. link click, 1. steins;gate, best time travel anime.

17-year-old Maya Kumashiro, and student at Waldstein Academy, crosses paths with Fumiaki Uchida, a time traveler. According to Fumiaki, in 2012, aliens have invaded the earth!

To save the planet, he, along with other time travelers, is going back in time to 1999 to destroy an artifact called the Nostradamus Key , prophesized to cause an apocalypse.

Living in 1999 with her own plans and ambitions for the future that won’t exist, Maya teams up with Fumiaki to help find the Nostradamus Key!

Being an only child, 4-year-old Kun Oota has always been spoiled rotten by his parents.

But when his baby sister Mirai is born, all his parent’s love and attention shift only to Mirai—and he hates it! Kun hates his new sister Mirai!

To adjust to the changes in his life, a girl who claims to be the future Mirai takes Kun on a journey through their family’s past, present, and future .

In this travel through their family, Kun learns why he comes from and the big brother he should become for Mirai.

16-year-old Kei Asai was born and lived in the small town of Sakurada. Not an ordinary town, however, as everyone born, there has superpowers!

With photographic memory ability, Kei forms work together with his friend Misora Haruki, who has the power to reset time!

The two form the Service Club at school in order the use their abilities to help the townspeople.

Kei and Misora might have got more than they bargained for when they got involved with the Administration Bureau, manipulating the town to their own means.

In 2078, despite being from a family of witches, 17-year-old Hitomi Tsukishiro can’t use magic and, after losing her mother, loses her ability to see the joy and colors of the world.

To bring happiness, love, and color back into her granddaughter’s life, Kohaku sends Hitomi back in time 60 years.

In 2018, Kohaku was also 17-years-old going to school with her group of friends and meet her future granddaughter!

So can Kohaku and her friends return the colors to Hitomi’s life, or will she forever be trapped in her new bleak world?

16-year-old Naho Takamiya’s first day back at high school starts off on a weird note: she gets a letter addressed to her from her future self!

10 years in the future, Naho writes about her regrets with her new classmate Kakeru Naruse and asks her past self to be friends with him .

At first, Naho thinks she’s going crazy, but then when Kakeru Naruse transfers to her school on the very same day, Naho has no choice but to accept that the letter is real!

Along with her friends, Naho invites Kakeru into her circle of friends. Naho is worried for Kakeru, however, because, in the future, he’s not alive anymore…

At 28, Kyouya Hashiba hates his life. After losing his chance to get his dream job in the video game industry, he is currently unemployed and living with his parents.

Meanwhile, he is surrounded by people his age who are successful makes him regret never going to art school.

Kyouya wishes he could go back in time to rewrite all his regrets and mistakes. But life doesn’t work that way…or does it? Suddenly, Kyouya wakes up one day to find that he is inexplicably 10 years in the past! Cool!

With a second chance in his hand, Kyouya enrolls at the Oonaka University of Art and pursues the dreams he missed out on in his first run. But will Kyouya be able to change his life for the better, or is everything inevitable?

On the outside, 15-year-old Yuu Otosaka is a charming and smart student, but it’s all an act. He is really a narcissistic and manipulative guy who can fully fully anyone’s body for five seconds.

He uses his ability to cheat on his tests and look like a hero in front of girls.

It turns out, Yuu isn’t the only one with unexplained superpowers. Yuu gets caught by a girl named Nao Tomori, who can be invisible to any person she chooses. Blackmailing Yuu with his cheating away, Nao forces Yuu to transfer to her school, Hoshinoumi Academy.

Here, Nao makes Yuu help her and her comrades track down other supernatural kids abusing their powers .

Yuu reluctantly agrees, and soon, things get much more complicated than it seems, especially when one of their targets has the power to travel back in time!

18-year-old Yoshino Takigawa has kept a big secret from his best friend Mahiro Fuwa: he’s been dating his younger sister Aika. This all comes to an end when Aika is murdered!

Mahiro disappears in search of her killers, and Yoshino tries to moves on with his life. A chance to going back to a normal life ends when a mysterious girl points a gun at Yoshino’s head!

At the last second, he is saved by Mahiro, who tells Yoshino that he has hired Hakaze Kusaribe, a witch, to help him find Aika’s murderer. Hakaze has no at state—the whole world! If her brother finds the “Tree of Exodus,” he can use it to end the world!

Now Yoshino is caught up in trying to save the world and learn the truth of why Aika had to die .

Although 17-year-old Makoto Konno is facing her last year of high school, she has no clue what she wants to do with the rest of her life.

Being pressured by her teachers, Makoto pushes her problems aside and spends her life relaxing with her best friends.

Makoto’s life gets a bit more complicated when she accidentally learns that she has the ability to “time-leap”: the power to leap through time!

At first, Makoto has fun with her new powers but quickly learns the consequences of her choices and trying to untangle all the damage she’s done.

Takemichi Hanagaki peaked after middle school. He had a group of loyal friends and a girlfriend named Hinata Tachibana.

But, 12-years-later, Takemichi is a nobody: working a dead-end job and being made fun of by kids and his younger boss.

Everything gets worse when Takemichi learns that the Tokyo Manji Gang murdered his ex-girlfriend Hinata and her brother.

Unfortunately, Takemichi is also about to meet his end on train tracks.

It’s on the verge of death that Takemichi unlocks the ability to travel through time! Hoping to prevent Hinata’s death, Takemichi uses his powers again to go back in time to face the Tokyo Manji Gang!

One moment, 18-year-old NEET Subaru Natsuki is standing in a convenience store, the next moment, he’s standing in a fantasy world!

He is excited to start his new life in a fantasy world…he quickly gets beat up by a bunch of thugs.

However, Subaru is saved by a half-elf girl named Satella, who he immediately falls in love with…then, he and Satella are both assassinated.

However, Subaru finds himself back where he first started and realizes that he goes back in time every time he dies .

Retaining this knowledge, Subaru meets Satella all over again, and again, and again.

As a kid, Satoru Fujinuma will never forget the faceless killer who murders three kids, including two of his classmates.

Now, Satoru is a 29-year-old manga artist, and the killer has struck again, killing someone precious to him.

Satoru gets falsely accused when he gets suddenly through 18 years into the past.

Finally, at the age of 11 again, Satoru realizes that he can discover the killer’s identity and stop the murders of his classmates!

Sakuta Azusagawa and Mai Sakurajima are a new couple, and things already get complicated when Sakuta’s first crush Shouko Makinohara re-enters his life.

This makes Mai beyond jealous, but Sakuta is confused as to why Shouko is suddenly a grown adult.

Then Shouko is back to when she was in middle school and suffering from her grave illness. What’s worse, the old scar on Sakuta’s chest is worsening whenever Shouko is around him.

Despite going through a rough patch with Mai, Sakuta knows that Shouko needs his help, but what will he lose if he continues to uncover her mystery?

In a small photography shop called Time Photo Studio, Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang can use their superpowers to enter their customer’s photos .

Cheng can control a person’s words and actions inside a photo while Lu can see 12 hours into the future from when a photo is taken.

Each job has its sets of challenges and dangers, but Cheng and Lu are determined to complete are of their jobs!

18-year-old “mad scientist” Rintaro “Okarin” Okabe lives in an old building in Akihabara where he hopes to invent “future gadgets” with his childhood friend and part-time café maid Mayuri Shiina and hacker Hashida “Daru” Itaru.

Their current project: the Phone Microwave. Function: turning bananas into green goop.

When science prodigy Makise Kurisu steps into their “lab,” she helps them out with their Phone Microwave, resulting in the weird trio creating a time machine!

With the beginning to change the past, present, and future, only Okabe is the only that can remember all of the timelines and the consequences of messing with time .

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Netflix’s Time Patrol Bon is a sci-fi anime odyssey about the value of human life

The smallest of actions beget the most profound of consequences

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Share All sharing options for: Netflix’s Time Patrol Bon is a sci-fi anime odyssey about the value of human life

Most time travel stories are either stories of intervention or preservation; following protagonists attempting to either alter the past to correct for something in the future, or doing everything in their power to return to their own time period without drastically altering the past. Time Patrol Bon sits squarely in the middle, which is exactly what makes it a beloved cult classic manga — and a surprisingly prescient adaptation from Netflix.

Based on the manga by Fujiko Fujio, the comic book-writing duo known for creating the beloved Japanese pop culture icon Doraemon , Time Patrol Bon (stylized on Netflix as T.P Bon ) follows Bon Namihira, an ordinary junior school student living in present-day Japan. He inadvertently crosses paths with a time-traveler named Ream from the future and learns of the existence of Time Patrol, a technologically advanced organization that travels through time and space rescuing innocent lives while maintaining the course of history.

It’s only after discovering Bon plays a pivotal role in the history of humanity that they choose not to erase him from history to protect the secret of Time Patrol’s existence; instead they offer him an opportunity to join their cause. Accompanied by Buyoyon, a sassy, ghost-like extra-dimensional creature, Bon joins Ream as her apprentice as they travel across history saving lives while growing into his new responsibilities as a Time Patrol agent.

It’s a fascinating premise, one that naturally begs a question that’s not all that dissimilar from what multiverse stories often broach: What is the value of a single life in the totality of existence? And who, if anyone, should have the authority to decide that? In the case of Time Patrol Bon , that authority is the Time Patrol Research Office, who are dedicated to finding and saving the lives of individuals who will not impact the course of history. In emphasizing the value of good, but otherwise unhistoric people whose lives were cut short on account of tragic accidents, misunderstandings, or overt malice, T.P Bon makes a case for the abiding value of all life in and of itself, as well as the importance of human relationships.

Take the anime’s eighth episode, wherein Bon and Ream are assigned to save one — and only one — kamikaze pilot during the Battle of Okinawa. Torn between his compassion for all human life and his obligation to uphold Time Patrol’s parameters lest he compromise the organization’s mission and very existence, Bon ultimately resolves that saving any life, even if only one life, is a worthwhile and noble endeavor if it can be done. It’s a really profound moment that nails home both Bon maturing into his responsibilities as a member of a Time Patrol, but also the series’ overall humanistic message. To put it another way: Not everything that is faced can be changed, but that’s not an excuse to do nothing. Even the smallest of actions is worth doing if it contributes to lessening the sum of human suffering.

By his own admission, Bon is an average everyday teenager. He doesn’t have any special powers, isn’t especially physically gifted or academically accomplished, and isn’t even all that popular at his school. From a glance, he barely registers as a footnote in the history of humanity, let alone the grand scheme of existence. If someone like Bon can go on to impact the future of humanity, aside from his role as a member of Time Patrol, then anyone can.

It helps that T.P Bon is helmed by respected animator Masahiro Ando, known for his work as a key animator on 1995’s End of Evangelion and Ghost in the Shell , as well as his own 2007 anime film Sword of the Stranger . Such a resume helps the show be all it wants to be: T.P Bon is an excellent blend of whimsical sci-fi spectacle, drama, and occasional edutainment, with stories featuring Bon and Ream rescuing sailors lost at sea, thwarting prehistoric poachers in the Jurassic period, and even inadvertently inspiring the 16th century legend of Journey to the West. In creating a series that strikes the balance between light-hearted adventure and existential meditation, Ando and studio Bones have delivered not only a faithful and worthy adaptation of Fujiko Fujio’s original manga, but one for the ages.

T.P Bon season 1 is available to stream on Netflix.

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Best Anime With Animal Protagonists

• Anime featuring animal protagonists offer unique perspectives and explore themes of survival, coexistence, and friendship.
• From mythical animal packs to anthropomorphic characters, shows like Kimba the White Lion create captivating stories.
• Beastars delves into societal unrest and discrimination through the struggle of humanoid wolf Legoshi, offering compelling viewing.

Anime series led by animal protagonists can often provide viewers with unique character perspectives. Through unconventional lead heroes, these shows create captivating stories, and are able to touch on a variety of intriguing themes concerning different species and lifestyles.

9 Best Manhwa With Animal Protagonists, Ranked

Delving into thoughtful themes such as survival, coexistence, and friendship, these series enjoy the space to provide imaginative explorations of the animal world. In turn, they manage to thematically line-up with more human concerns and themes. Essentially, through the lens of an animal perspective, some of these shows have managed to cross-examine the human condition, making for thought-provoking content in the process. From mythical animal packs to anthropomorphic figures functioning in colorful societies, the following series have covered a wide range of genres and concepts through their use of animals as lead characters.

Kimba The White Lion

Myanimelist: 6.64.

• Initial release: October 6, 1995
• Demographic: Shnen
• Genre: Adventure
• Studio: Mushi Production

This classic series zeroes in on the adventures of the titular hero, Kimba, as he seeks to successfully unite the animal kingdom. From there, Kimba’s long-term goal is to foster a peaceful world in which humans and animals can co-exist.

Born on a zoo-bound ship, Kimba escapes during a devastating storm. As he grows, he learns about both animal and human cultures, and discovers the tragic origins of his father, whose attempts to provide sanctuary to other animals led to his unfortunate demise. Viewers follow Kimba as he begins his quest, following in his late father Panja’s footsteps in bringing animals together, but taking it a step further by seeking peace with humanity. A seminal entry in anime’s long, rich history , Kimba the White Lion remains a charming, imaginative viewing experience today.

Samurai Pizza Cats

Myanimelist: 7.07.

• Initial release: February 1, 1990
• Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi, Action
• Studio: Tatsunoku Productions

This fun, quirky series follows a trio of feline samurai who also happen to have expertise in the art of making pizza. Set in a futuristic city named Edoropolis, the series follows the three cats as they fight crime.

9 Dubbed Anime That Changed the Original Meaning

Edoropolis is a place where a variety of mechanical animals reside. Despite being peaceful on the surface, the sinister Lord Korn has devised a plan to seize power in the area. In response, his rival, Lord Wanko, puts together the dangerous Nyankees, the titular heroes of the series. With its zany, imaginative premise and set-up, Samurai Pizza Cats is an endearingly silly, always-entertaining series that sees the cats tip-toe a fine line of balancing the dangers of samurai life with the hustle and bustle of running a pizza restaurant.

Kemono Friends

Myanimelist rating: 7.54.

• Initial release: January 11, 2017
• Studio: Yaoyorozu

Kemono Friends introduces viewers to Japari Park, where animal/humanoid figures reside. These anthropomorphic animals are fittingly referred to as Friends, and their presence and purpose in the park is initially a mystery.

Best Mystery Anime, Ranked

The series focuses on two Friends in particular, Serval and Kaban. Serval, a feline Friend, notices the mysterious Kaban, and takes a keen interest in finding out what species she belongs to. Bizarrely, this mystery kicks off much of the show’s narrative, including the pair’s budding dynamic as pals. Despite the pleasant start , the series delves into darker fare, as the unsettling truths of the park are unearthed, making for an intriguing viewing experience.

Wolf’s Rain

Myanimelist rating: 7.80.

• Initial release: January 6, 2003
• Demographic: Seinen
• Genre: Post-apocalyptic, dark fantasy, dystopian
• Studio: Bones

This beautifully animated saga takes place in an eerie, post-apocalyptic world . Viewers follow the perilous journey of a pack of wolves as they search for a paradise to retreat to.

The narrative of Wolf's Rain centers around an old legend that claims a gateway to a utopia can open when the world is near its end. For the few who have survived the destruction of the Earth, this mysterious paradise world is their only source of hope. Curiously, it falls exclusively to wolves to be able to locate this mythical land. The series takes on an even more eccentric turn from there, revealing that wolves live among humans , well-disguised thanks to their use of smoke and mirrors. Unsurprisingly, the leading wolves’ journey to paradise is not an easy one, as a variety of threats and nefarious figures get involved. This imaginative series benefits greatly from its richly-detailed esthetics and intriguing core themes.

MyAnimeList rating: 7.82

• Initial release: September 8, 2016
• Genre: Fantasy, coming-of-age, drama
• Studio: Orange

Beastars introduces viewers to a world where anthropomorphic animals are the norm . Unfortunately, the society they live in is full of both prejudice and crime.

The series primarily follows humanoid wolf Legoshi as he struggles to balance his animal instincts with his human emotions. Legoshi goes to Cherryton Academy, where his best friend, an alpaca named Tim, is murdered. Tim's death highlights to viewers the tension between carnivores and herbivores, as Legoshi quickly becomes a prime suspect due to being a wolf. It’s a compelling, often bizarre look at societal unrest and discrimination, with the protagonist struggling to find his identity, making for compelling, often somber viewing.

10 Romance Anime With Non-Human Characters

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Time Travel Anime

Action (5,111)

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Boys Love (178)

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Members Score Newest Title

Doraemon Movie 36: Shin Nobita no Nippon Tanjou

Doraemon the movie: nobita and the birth of japan 2016.

Doraemon and friends run away from their home and travel back in time to the 70,000 years ago where nobody existed to build their ideal private paradise. After they fully relished the freedom in the era, Doraemon and friends bid farewell to their paradise and come back to the present day. However, a few days after they came back home, Doraemon and friends bump into a caveman called "Kukul" in the current era. They find out that the caveman Kukul was accidentally transported forward to the present, and that his tribe called Hikari tribe was attacked and abducted by Giga Zombie and Kurayami tribe after Doraemon and friends left the primitive age. Doraemon and friends decide to go back to the primitive age to save Hikari tribe from the villain. They dive into a grand adventure during their first and the furthest runaway. (Source: Toho)

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de: Maihitoyo

One rainy day, Akane crosses path with a kind young man who tacitly offers to her his coat. On their second encounter, he confesses that he has no recollection of who he is, his name or his past, but feels contented by just being with her. Besotted, Akane sets out to find his name, and to unravel his enigmatic connection with a famous cursed dance rumoured to kill anyone who attempts to perform it. (Source: ANN)

Fire Tripper

On a day like any other, Suzuko meets one of her neighbor's children, Shu, in a park on her way back from school and decides to walk home with him. Tragically, they never make it home. Suzuko and the young boy are caught in a giant gas explosion, though instead of dying instantly, Suzuko wakes up in the middle of a battlefield full of corpses in the Sengoku period. A group of marauding bandits attacks Suzuko, but Shukumaru—a boy who had come to loot the corpses to feed his starving village—saves her. Though they both return to the village, Suzuko refuses to give up searching for Shu and returns to the battlefield every day with Shukumaru trailing behind. Though Shukumaru lacks anything resembling modern manners, she gradually finds herself drawn towards him. Just what fate awaits this young girl in this bloody period in Japan's history? [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Doraemon Movie 10: Nobita no Nippon Tanjou

Doraemon the movie: nobita and the birth of japan.

Nobita wants to run away from home, again. He finds out that there is nowhere for him to go. All the land is owned by someone. His friends end up wanting to run away also, even Doraemon. They figure out that the only way to find land that isn't owned by anyone is to go back in time to when no humans existed. They end up helping a prehistoric boy rescue his tribe from Gigazombie.

Doraemon Movie 16: Nobita no Sousei Nikki

Doraemon the movie: nobita's diary of the creation of the world.

Nobita had to find a topic for his summer break research homework. As he was blaming everything to Adam and Eve for sinning and causing their descendants to suffer (from homework), Doraemon decided to provide him with a gadget to observe the creation of the world so that he may write it in a diary-like report. Suneo, Giant and Shizuka eventually joined them and together they watch over the birth of tribes and civilizations. Meanwhile, the time patrol is looking for an illegal time machine whose controllers accidentally heard Giant speaking of the genesis diary project. They captured Giant and Suneo; leaving Nobita, Shizuka and Doraemon to watch over the genesis set and to rescue them. (Source: ANN)

Kono Yo no Hate de Koi wo Utau Shoujo YU-NO Recap

Recap of the first half of Kono Yo no Hate de Koi wo Utau Shoujo YU-NO series.

Soujuu Senshi Psychic Wars

Psychic wars.

Ukyo Rettsu, a surgeon, treats a mysterous old woman for a mysterious "cancer." The growth turns out to be a messenger from the ancient past of Japan heralding a demonic invasion of the Earth. Ukyo must go back in time and fight the race of ancient demons. (Source: AniDB)

Meiji Tokyo Renka Movie 2: Hanakagami no Fantasia

Sequel to Meiji Tokyo Renka: Yumihari no Serenade, which follows Mei Ayazuki as she travels back in time and falls in love with historical figures.

Toki no Tabibito: Time Stranger

Based on the novel trilogy of the same name by MAYUMURA Taku (眉村 卓), Time Stranger is the story of a bunch of teenagers getting transported back in time through Japan's history, and getting mixed up with samurai shenanigans.

An ordinary high school student named Bon becomes part of a team of time-traveling agents tasked with saving people's lives during historical events that happen across different eras and locations around the globe. (Source: Netflix)

Thermae Romae Specials

Thermae romae.

Bonus episodes included with the BD/DVD. The first episode consists of "Miwaku no Farosu" (Alluring Pharos) and "Sanshimai OL Terumae Satsujin Jiken" (The Three Sisters of Thermae Romae Murder Case). The second episode consists of "Subesube ni Naritai" (I Want to Have Smooth Skin) and "Hitasura Suberitai" (I Just Want to Slip).

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3: Kurenai no Tsuki

Another 100 years has passed since the end the end of Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 2 (200 years after the original anime). In the past that is, very little time has gone by in the future. One day, Kasuga Nozomi encounters a strange boy at her high school, who sends her across time and space to Kyou, a place in another world that bears a strong resemblance to Kyoto towards the end of the Heian period. There, the Minamoto clan ("Genji"), led by Minamoto no Yoritomo, is at war with the Taira clan ("Heike"), led by Taira no Kiyomori. The Heike hope to defeat the Genji by releasing vengeful spirits to disturb the earth`s natural flow of energy and to terrorize the land. The boy is revealed to be the human form of Hakuryuu, the White Dragon God that protects Kyou, who is weakened by the presence of the vengeful spirits. As the Hakuryuu no Miko (Priestess of the White Dragon God), Nozomi allies herself with the Genji because Hakuryuu cannot send her home until his power is restored... (Source: AniDB)

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 2: Shiroki Ryuu no Miko

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 2 takes place 100 years after the original Harukanaru Toki no Naka de story. In the past that is, very little time has gone by in the future. Kyou, which resembles Kyoto in the Heian period, is in turmoil because of a power struggle going on between the emperor and the retired emperor, and the people of Kyou are falling into desperation, fearing the coming of the end of the world. Karin was walking with her friends when suddenly she is brought by the White Dragon to the land of Kyou. She was chosen as the new priestess of the White Dragon and she must fight against the evil with the help of her guardians while meantime, she keeps having visions of a mysterious man...

Buddy Complex: Daremo Shiranai Ashita e

A summary of the Buddy Complex series told from the point of view of Nasu Mayuka.

Are You OK?

The current government is seeking outsiders and granting them positions according to their abilities in order to update their backwards country and create a new world! Zuo Yunqi is just an ordinary young master, but to save his father, he disguises himself as an outsider to join the government. Unfortunately, his disguise is broken by a man hired specifically to identify who's a real outsider and who isn't. In their battle of wits, the two of them end up in many comedic situations and eventually become allies. As the two of them stop a shocking conspiracy, they discover that some of the outsiders have formed their own alliance to revolt against those in power and create a new society of peace and equality. Zuo Yunqi and his friends are forced to join in and become a part of this battle... (Source: Baidu)

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3: Owarinaki Unmei

The war between the Heike clan and the Genji clan continues. This time, Nozomi has to fight a powerful supernatural enemy and make a choice: protect her friends and stay by Kurou's side, or choose her first love, Masaomi, which is the leader of the Heike, and her enemy.

Precure Miracle Leap Movie: Minna to no Fushigi na Ichinichi

The story begins when the protagonist Hikaru meets aliens Lala, Prunce, and Fuwa while watching the night sky. She learns of the "Star Palace," where the 12 Star Princesses of the constellations kept the balance of the universe until they were attacked. Lala is searching for the legendary Precure warriors to help find the 12 scattered "Princess Star Color Pens" and revive the princesses. When Fuwa is captured by an enemy, Hikaru wishes to save Fuwa, and a Star Color Pendent and a Star Color Pen appear to allow her to transform into Cure Star. From then on she works to collect the pens and raise Fuwa, who is the key to reviving the princesses.

God Mazinger

In the ancient, legendary past, the peaceful kingdom of Mu is under siege by the war-like Dragonian Empire. With a woeful amount of fire power and only a giant statue of a deity to watch over them, the young Queen Aira and her people are no match for the Dorado, the Golden King,and his army of dinosaurs. But Aira reaches out to someone who can save them, a warrior from another time and place. That person happens to be Yamato Hino, an average though highly athletic high school boy in modern-day Tokyo. At first Yamato think she’s going crazy when he gets messages from a spectral young woman, but she eventually convinces him to take the plunge… through a mystical portal to ancient Mu. Before the Tokyo teen can get acclimated, Dragonia attacks again, but this time, the dinosaurs and soldiers are repulsed by the giant God Mazinger, now merged with Yamato. Though Mu has achieved it's first victory, they have along way to go, as does Yamato, who will need to over come his own deep character flaws and become a true warrior to save the kingdom and get back home. (Source: Discotek)

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de: Hachiyou Shou Specials

Short clips about what happens after the TV series.

Emblem Take 2

Shinjuku, 1983. A member of the Kaeda Yakuza gang, Akutsu Jouji, has lost in a brawl with a university cheering squad, and begs for forgiveness through bitter tears. Since then, nothing has gone well in Jouji's life, until 10 years later in 1993, his friend was ordered to kill him, and as he ran away he killed himself, ending his miserable life. But when Jouji opened his eyes, he was in Shinjuku in 1983, at the fight with the university students that caused things to go wrong. Now with ten more years of memories and experience, Jouji repels the university students with spirit and wisdom. Now he swears to wear a gold emblem around town, and begins his life anew. (Source: Hokuto no Gun)

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de: Hachiyou Shou OVA

A funny side side story of the series.

Four billion years ago, in the Andromeda Nebula, an ambitious project was launched. An ancient race of aliens, seeing that there was no other intelligent life in the Universe, set their massive supercomputers the task of seeding more races that could grow to sentience. The project was known as the Omega Program. The human race was the result of this project. However, humans were not the only races to grow from the Omega Program, and lurking in the future is the deadliest threat the human race has ever faced. In time, the products of this Program are destined to clash in violent opposition. Hopelessly outnumbered by the technologically superior enemy, Earth has one last hope—the secret fail-safe of the Omega Program—the Delta Boy, living avatar of the supercomputer that began life on Earth. His only problem is staying alive long enough to save his future—and that of all humanity...

Tondera House no Daibouken

The flying house.

The series began in the middle of a game of hide and seek, as a young boy named Justin Casey (Gen) finishes counting and begins searching for his friends Angela (usually called "Angie") and Corkey Roberts (Kanna and Tsukubo Natsuyama). As he searched for the brother and sister in the wooded area, a storm occurred all of a sudden. Justin managed to sneak up on the two before the rain started pouring, forcing them to run for cover. They would eventually find a house in the wooded area, previously unseen according to Justin. At first glance it appeared nobody was home after entering the house, until they discovered a robot named Solar Ion Robot (Kadenchin), or the acronym SIR. They would soon meet the owner of the house, Professor Humphrey Bumble (Dr. Tokio Taimu), who introduced the children to his greatest creation, a time machine. Professor Bumble's attempt at recreating Benjamin Franklin's famous lightning experiment with the use of a kite flying outside the house to get the machine working only led up to SIR's temporary change in personality before sending the entire house on course for the past. The children never realized how long the journey back home would be due to Professor Bumble's misguidance and errors in time travel, but in the meantime they witnessed and participated (with little or no consequences) in numerous events in the Bible's New Testament, from John the Baptist's birth to the rise of the Apostle Paul." (Source: Wikipedia)

Time-traveling lovers Katsumi and Sakura find themselves in the midst of Japan's medieval civil war between the Heike and Genji clans. (Source: AniDB)

Tsuki wa Higashi ni Hi wa Nishi ni: Operation Sanctuary OVA

Naoki Kazumi's parents died in an accident and since he had nowhere to go, he now is living with his cousin Matsuri Shibugaki. One day up on the school's rooftop a girl falls out from the sky. The girl is called Mikoto Amagasaki, and she comes from 100 years in the future, she went back in time with hope to eventually find her missing brother. However , when Mikoto sees Naoki, she end up mistaking him for her brother. (Source: Wikipedia)

Futatsu no Kurumi

Futatsu no Kurumi is a short story following 12-year-old Ayaka as she is teleported back in time to the fire bombing of Tokyo in 1945 and covers her experiences in this very different and unfamiliar environment. (source: saizen-fansubs)

Ryuukyuu Timeline: Mirai Shoujo to Inishie no Ou

Ryukyu timeline: the girl from future and the ancient king.

A historical fantasy that unfolds a mysterious story between a high-school girl from Urasoe and Satto, the king of the Ryukyu Kingdom. (Source: AniDB)

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de: Hachiyou Shou Recap

A recap of the Harukanaru Toki no Naka de: Hachiyou Shou series included on the special "making-of" DVD release of the Harukanaru Toki no Naka de: Maihitoyo movie.

Are You OK? Season 2

This story takes place in ancient Liang, where many locals, upon their deaths, have their bodies inhabited by souls from 2,000 years in the future, transforming into time travelers. These time travelers bring advanced experiences and knowledge to Liang, simultaneously raising suspicions and concerns among the reigning emperor. Amidst the changing tides, a time traveler named Lou Zhu, who advocates for peace, forms a deep bond with Zuo Yunqi, a native member of a prominent family, and attempts to find a path to progress and coexistence for all. However, tensions between the imperial court and radical time travelers escalate rapidly. In an explosive incident, Lou Zhu becomes entangled to prevent mutual destruction but tragically gets buried under a collapsing mountain, and his fate remains uncertain. Half a year passes in the blink of an eye. Seizing the opportunity presented by the major explosion, the emperor orders the eradication of all time travelers, while a radical time traveler organization called the "Pioneers," led by Jiao Jiaoran, seeks to use the upheaval to overthrow the imperial authority and gain an advantage in warfare through the use of modern weaponry. Both sides share a common focus—the legendary Lou Zhu, who is said to be recovering from injuries in the martial arts community.

Ryuukyuu Timeline 2: Tedako no Machi Tanbou

Ryukyu timeline 2: searching for the city of the tedako.

A historical fantasy that unfolds a mysterious story between a high-school girls – Akari, Sarah and Tsubasa – and Satto, the king of the Ryukyu Kingdom. (Source: AniDB)

Kujakuou: Sengoku Tensei

Kujakuou sengokutensei.

A promotional anime for the 2nd volume release of Makoto Ogino's Kujakuou: Sengoku Tensei manga.

Duel Masters King Max

The story of Duel Masters King entered the "next stage" with the new series. The theme of the new series is "time travel." (Source: ANN)

Music video of the song Suki da by YOASOBI.

Heroes of the Ancient Olympic Games

Follow the adventures of Mao, a Japanese teenager and aspiring runner, as she travels back to ancient Greece to learn about the Olympic Games. (Source: olympics.com)

Neko Neko Nihonshi Movie: Ryouma no Hachamecha Time Travel ze yo!

(No synopsis yet.)

Tusin Jeonsaenggi PV

Doom breaker pv.

Promotional video for the Naver Webtoon manhwa Doom Breaker.

Moshi Meta: Moshi Joshikousei ga Metaverse de Miko ni Nattara

Meng Hui Jinsha Cheng

The dreams of jinsha.

Xiao Long is a modern day middle-school student, who, after being transported 3,000 years back in time to the ancient kingdom of Jinsha, discovers his true destiny. Jinsha is a beautiful and magical place but plagued by a mysterious evil energy which its inhabitants fear they can't hold off, much less defeat. After the school boy witnesses the beginnings of the destruction by the forces of darkness on this ancient land, he is overcome with sadness and pledges to help. Upon discovering a special connection with nature, Xiao Long gains the trust of the beautiful young Princess Hau'er and her loyal subjects and together they fight the wicked forces surrounding them to restore peace across the kingdom. Along the way, Xiao Long reforms himself into a courageous boy who forgoes his self-centered behavior to coexist harmoniously with others. (Source: IMDB)

World Heroes

An animated special based on the World Heroes fighting game series by ADK.

Dida Chuanqi

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The 25 Most Popular Anime Of All Time (According To MyAnimeList)

It's hard to choose which anime is the best, thankfully MyAnimeList shows which series fans love the most.

As is the case with any other form of media, watching Japanese anime can be a deeply personal experience, with many series leaving a long-lasting mark on viewers. It's common for fans to take to the internet in support of their favorite series, with sites such as MyAnimeList making it easier than ever for like-minded fans to come together and do so. This allows sites like MyAnimeList to rank the most popular anime of all time according to the fans.

MyAnimeList ranks its titles in several different ways, with the Most Popular tab sorting shows by how many fans have joined a certain anime's community. Each of the top ten most famous anime have upwards of a staggering two-and-a-half million fans, and the top three manage to go over three million. Through the shared community setting, the most watched anime only continue to grow in popularity as more fans gather. With anime constantly growing and changing, the lists shift as new anime rise through the ranks to reach the coveted top 10 most popular anime.

Update on February 8th, 2024 by Louis Kemner: This list has also been updated to adhere to CBR's current publication standards and includes a few brand-new entries as well.

25 Akame Ga Kill! Features A Team Of Assassins

Akame ga kill.

A countryside boy named Tatsumi sets out on a journey to The Capital to make a name for himself and meets a seemingly dangerous group of Assassins known as Night Raid. Their journey begins.

Akame Ga Kill! Anime Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.47
• Anime Planet: 3.9/5

Akame Ga Kill! is a dark shonen action anime that relies on blood, gore, and torture to make its fight scenes more intense and its villains more despicable. Protagonist Tatsumi decided to become an adventurer, only to quickly realize that the world is a brutal place filled with twisted people.

Tatsumi will join Night Raid, a group of assassins who oppose the cruel Empire and its ways, and learn to fight. The members of Night Raid use special rare weapons called Imperial Arms, and they'll need all the firepower they can muster against their even deadlier enemies across the hostile Empire. All this adds up to a pretty cool action/adventure anime, but Akame Ga Kill! lacks that mythical "it" factor that the very best anime have, so it ranks low among the most popular anime ever.

24 Erased Is A Time-Travel Adventure

Erased (2016).

29-year-old Satoru Fujinuma is sent back in time 18 years to prevent the events leading to his mother's death, which began with a series of kidnappings while he was in 5th grade.

Erased Anime Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.3
• Anime Planet: 4.3/5

Fans of Tokyo Revengers , a shonen anime about the hero going back in time to his teenage years to save the day, might also enjoy Erase d. This anime stars the adult lead Satoru Fujinuma, who goes back in time to his youth to save lives. Then he goes back to 1988 after he's wrongly accused of murder, and he wonders if the murder case is connected to the abduction of his childhood friend.

Finding the truth in the past won't be easy, but for the sake of himself and his classmates, Satoru must try his best, and a tense and exciting adventure will soon follow.

23 Angel Beats! Is About School & Unresolved Personal Baggage

Angel beats.

Rebellious teens fight in armed combat against one dispassionate girl's supernatural powers in an afterlife high school.

Angel Beats! Anime Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.06
• Anime Planet: 4.1/5

Angel Beats! may look like a wacky high school anime series with fantasy and light isekai elements, but it's much more than that. Angel Beats! became a top anime series because of its intriguing true premise and its heartfelt themes. Protagonist Yuzuru Otonashi will awaken in a strange, isolated high school where the student council president, Angel Tachibana, is evidently a deadly foe. That means Angel Beats! is no ordinary high school anime , no matter its setting.

However, this school and Angel are not what they seem, and Yuzuru will get to the bottom of it soon enough. He and the other students are in this purgatory-like school because they have unresolved business, and perhaps Angel is not so bad after all — Yuzuru and the other students might actually need her help.

22 Noragami Stars A Cast Of Japanese Gods & Spirits

Minor deity Yato’s life is saved when middle school student, Hiyori Iki, protects Yato from a car accident. This fateful encounter intertwines their destinies and sets them on a journey to change their fortune. This supernatural adventure is not without its moments of humor.

Noragami Anime Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.95

Noragami is a popular fantasy action anime series that should appeal to fans of series like InuYasha , Bleach , Jujutsu Kaisen , and Demon Slayer . Even if Noragami isn't quite an instant classic like the others, it's still one of the most popular anime of the 2010s. It's worth a watch for any anime who's caught up on the must-watch shonen titles.

The story of Noragami starts small, focusing on the obscure minor god Yato and his new human friend Hiyori Iki, who can now see spirits and deities. They make a great team hunting spirits, but later on, many more Japanese gods, including some big names, will enter the picture as a great divine battle unfolds.

21 Bocchi The Rock! Is A Hilarious Comedy About Music And Social Anxiety

Bocchi the rock.

Hitori "Bocchi-chan" Goto is a lonely high school girl whose heart lies in her guitar; she meets Nijika Ijichi and joins "Kessoku Band."

The Real-Life Guitars & Drums From Bocchi the Rock! – And Where to Buy Them

Bocchi the rock scores:.

• MyAnimeList: 8.8
• Anime Planet: 4.33/5

Bocchi the Rock! aired for 12 episodes in the Fall 2022 anime season, where it became a sleeper hit like nothing anime fans had ever seen. Even the original manga's author was shocked by Bocchi 's explosive popularity, suggesting that this wonderful comedy anime has a strong "it" factor that really draws in the crowds. Anime fans can't wait for another season of Bocchi the Rock! and its upcoming movie.

Bocchi the Rock! won over legions of fans with its sharp blend of cool rock music, hysterical humor, "cute girls doing cute things," and its charming underdog story of the skilled but incredibly shy protagonist, Hitori Gotoh/Bocchi. After practicing the guitar alone at home for a few years, Hitori pushed herself to start playing for live audiences and join a band, and it worked — though her overwhelming social anxiety remained a serious challenge to overcome.

20 Re:Zero: Starting Life In Another World Is A Brutal But Fascinating Isekai Romance

Re:zero − starting life in another world.

After being suddenly transported to another world, Subaru Natsuki and his new female partner are brutally murdered. However, Subaru awakens to a familiar scene, meeting the same girl again. The day begins to mysteriously repeat itself.

Re:Zero Anime Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.23

Re:Zero is one of the most popular isekai anime titles out there, even if its premise sounds highly conventional at first. Sure enough, protagonist Subaru Natsuki is a tracksuit-wearing NEET self-insert who ended up in a fantasy world of elves and monsters, but this series found creative and brutal ways to push this familiar formula into new territory.

From the start, Re:Zero tantalized viewers with ongoing mysteries such as who Satella is, how/why Subaru even got here, and why he keeps coming back to life at pre-set checkpoints every time he dies. Everything about Re:Zero makes it an outstanding isekai that's more than the sum of its parts, including a highly debated love triangle between Subaru, the half-elf Emilia, and the popular ogre girl Rem . It's definitely one of the best isekai, but perhaps due to general isekai burnout, Re:Zero actually ranks a bit low among the most popular anime, despite its many strengths.

19 Your Lie In April Is About Music And Healing The Heart

Your lie in april.

A piano prodigy who lost his ability to play after suffering a traumatic event in his childhood is forced back into the spotlight by an eccentric girl with a secret of her own.

Why This High School Music Anime Is Often Mistaken as a Shojo Series

Your lie in april anime scores:.

• MyAnimeList: 8.65
• IMDb: 8.6/10

Your Lie in April is a well-respected tearjerker of an anime. Even if Your Lie in April can easily make anime fans cry with an aching heart, it also has strong themes of rekindled hope, the power of music, and most of all, the power of friendship and love. That makes it a powerfully bittersweet anime and made secure its position as one of the most popular anime of all time.

In Your Lie in April , the teenaged Kosei Arima feels lost and empty, since his abusive mother took all the joy out of playing the piano. Then Kosei will meet the lively Kaori Miyazono, whose burning passion for music will inspire her new friend Kosei to reignite his own love of music — and finally hear the piano's keys once again.

18 Toradora! Is A Surprisingly Dramatic Rom-Com Series

Toradora (2008).

Toradora tells the tale of Ryuji (dragon) and Taiga (tiger) helping each other confess to their crushes.

Toradora! Anime Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.07

While many of the most popular anime of all time are shonen or seinen action series, Toradora! is a finely crafted romantic comedy instead, with enough drama to give the story some much-needed emotional weight. Toradora! shows what happens when two very different people unexpectedly fall in love but aren't fully ready to go the distance until they grow up a little more.

The gentle protagonist Ryuji Takasu had a crush on the genki girl Minori Kushieda, while his tsundere classmate Taiga Aisaka had eyes for Ryuji's pal Yusaku Kitamura. What follows is a bizarre, hilarious, and heartfelt story of four teenagers trying to untangle their confusing romantic feelings and determine what it is they truly want from each other — and themselves.

17 Code Geass Is A Complex Sci-Fi Action Anime About Fighting For Freedom

Code geass: lelouch of the rebellion (2006).

After being given a mysterious power to control others, an outcast prince becomes the masked leader of the rebellion against an all-powerful empire.

Code Geass Anime Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.7

The sci-fi anime series Code Geass ranks highly among the most popular anime of all time, and its antihero, Lelouch Lamperouge, stands as the most popular anime character on MAL. Clearly, this high-IQ action anime is doing a lot of things right with its characters and story, hence its stellar reputation.

Code Geass takes place in the future after the vast Britannia Empire conquered Japan and renamed it Area 11. Lelouch will play both sides of the ongoing struggle to achieve his own lofty goals, making friends and enemies all over the place as he goes. This series has it all: futuristic combat scenes, giant robots, lively characters, heartfelt drama, and the unique power of the Geass in Lelouch's eyes.

16 A Silent Voice Is About Communication & Forgiveness

A silent voice.

A young man is ostracized by his classmates after he bullies a deaf girl to the point where she moves away. Years later, he sets off on a path for redemption.

A Silent Voice Anime Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.93
• Anime Planet: 4.5

A Silent Voice is a highly popular anime movie based on the seven-volume manga series of the same name. It's a romance drama anime that's about not just the consequences of bullying in school, but two people desperately trying to hear and understand one another despite their differences.

In A Silent Voice , Shoya Ishida tormented his classmate Shoko Nishimia in 6th grade, and it cost him dearly when his disgusted classmates alienated him. Years later, in 12th grade, a remorseful Shoya will strive to make amends with Shoko, if she and her family are ready to hear him out and possibly forgive what he has done.

15 No Game No Life Is An Isekai Anime About High-IQ Gaming

No game no life.

Siblings Sora and Shiro make up the most feared team of pro gamers in the world, The Blank. When they manage to beat God himself in a game of chess, they are sent to a world where all disputes are settled with games.

No Game No Life Anime Scores:

• Anime Planet: 4.2/5

No Game No Life is one of the most popular isekai anime titles in the anime industry today and is also one of the most popular anime of all time of any genre. This series is still stuck at just one season, but passionate fans don't mind, because the material they do get is quality over quantity.

No Game No Life stars the foster brother/sister duo Sora and Shiro, who share the identity [BLANK] while playing online games. Now they've been isekai'd to a colorful world where games resolve all conflicts, so Sora and Shiro will eagerly dive right in and conquer this game with their devious tactics. This means No Game No Life ranks near the middle among the most-watched anime of all, though due to its short length and unresolved ending, it can't compete with the industry's very best.

14 Frieren: Journey's End Explores The True Meaning Of Immortality

Frieren: beyond journey's end.

An elf and her friends defeat a demon king in a great war. But the war is over, and the elf must search for a new way of life.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 9.13
• Anime Planet: 4.55/5

Any fantasy anime series can show a Dungeons and Dragons -style team of heroes fighting cool monsters and defeating the obligatory demon king supervillain, but not just any series will show what happens next. Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is all about that under-explored phase of a fantasy hero's life, viewed through the eyes of Frieren the long-lived elf lady. Frieren is an emotionally sensitive kuudere who must contend with the pain of seeing everyone she loves die over the long decades and centuries.

When the story begins, Frieren and her three adventurer friends have already taken down the demon king, so Frieren must decide what her post-adventure life looks like — and actually appreciate the short-lived people around her this time. Humans will come and go in Frieren's long life, so she must truly value and understand them during their short time in the world. All that adds up to an emotionally resonant anime that breathes new life into the fantasy genre, and fans responded with enthusiasm.

13 Jujutsu Kaisen Is A Terrific Horror/Action Anime Series

Jujutsu kaisen.

A boy swallows a cursed talisman - the finger of a demon - and becomes cursed himself. He enters a shaman's school to be able to locate the demon's other body parts and thus exorcise himself.

Is Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie Canon?

Jujutsu kaisen anime scores:.

• MyAnimeList: 8.63
• Anime Planet: 4.5/5

Jujutsu Kaisen ranks among the best anime to watch in the 21st century, being a spiritual successor to Bleac h and a member of the popular "dark trio" alongside Hell's Paradise and Chainsaw Man . The Jujutsu Kaisen anime stars protagonist Yuji Itadori , who just gained curse power and must fight monstrous curses to save humanity.

Jujutsu Kaisen has many things working in its favor, from its intriguing fantasy combat system to its well-designed characters and strong horror/action elements, plus ample humor. The anime also recently got a second season in the Summer and Fall 2023 seasons, and fans can also try out the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie for more fantasy fun.

12 Steins;Gate Is A Smart Anime About Time Travel

Steins;gate (2011).

After discovering time travel, a university student and his colleagues must use their knowledge of it to stop an evil organization and their diabolical plans.

Steins;Gate Anime Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 9.07
• Anime Planet: 4.4/5

Why Steins;Gate Is Considered One of Anime's Best English Dubs

The ultra-popular anime series Steins;Gate is based on a 2009 visual novel game of the same name — a time-bending science fiction adventure that anime fans still love to this very day. Rintaro Okabe is a self-proclaimed "mad scientist" working in Akihabara, Tokyo, where he soon stumbles upon a mystery surrounding Kurisu Makise.

Kurisu seemed dead at first, but she is very much alive, and Rintaro's messages sometimes arrive before he can even send them. Then he learns that his cell phone-operated microwave oven can send D-mails through time, leading to a whirlwind adventure of science, time travel shenanigans, and high-stakes mysteries.

11 Your Name. Is Makoto Shinkai's Anime Movie Masterpiece

Your name (2016).

Two teenagers share a profound, magical connection upon discovering they are swapping bodies. Things manage to become even more complicated when the boy and girl decide to meet in person.

Your Name. Anime Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.84

Your Name. released in 2016 and quickly established itself as one of the most critically acclaimed and popular anime movies of all time, competing well even against the best Studio Ghibli titles. Even now, Your Name. is director Makoto Shinkai 's crowning achievement, though Mr. Shinkai's other movies shouldn't be overlooked.

Your Name. started as a fun body-swap story between a Tokyo student and a girl living in rural Japan, but it soon became far more. The girl, Mitsuha, mysteriously stopped swapping bodies, and the boy, Taki, went on an emotional journey to find and possibly save her at any cost, even though he couldn't remember her name.

10 Hunter x Hunter Introduced The Nen Combat System

Hunter x hunter.

Gon Freecss aspires to become a Hunter, an exceptional being capable of greatness. With his friends and his potential, he seeks out his father, who left him when he was younger.

Hunter x Hunter Anime Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 9.04

Hunter x Hunter is one of the most famous anime of the 2010s, a shonen series that follows protagonist Gon Freecss, who spends the majority of his young life believing that both of his parents are dead. After it's revealed that his father is not only alive, but a renowned Hunter, Gon sets off on a journey to become a Hunter himself, believing it will help him find his father.

Gon has to pass the Hunter Exam before he can set out, and it's here that he meets Kurapika, Leorio, and Killua. They're all incredibly different characters, but they still band together for the sake of their goals, setting off on an unforgettable journey for both the main characters and the viewers. With all Hunter X Hunter has to offer, there's no surprise it's become one of the most popular anime of all time at #10, with nine series proving to be even more popular among mainstream anime fans.

9 Tokyo Ghoul Is A Dark Story Starring A Half-Other Antihero

Tokyo ghoul.

A Tokyo college student is attacked by a ghoul, a superpowered human who feeds on human flesh. He survives, but has become part ghoul and becomes a fugitive on the run.

15 Anime to Watch If You Love Tokyo Ghoul

Tokyo ghoul anime scores:.

• MyAnimeList: 7.79

The premise of Tokyo Ghoul is equally dark and compelling. In a world where ghouls live alongside humans in secrecy, Kaneki Ken is almost killed by his date Rize when she reveals herself as a ghoul and attempts to feed on his flesh. He becomes a half-ghoul during surgery, as some of Rize's organs have been transplanted into him.

Tokyo Ghoul centers around Kaneki attempting to get a handle on his new life as a half-ghoul. While fans of the original manga feel that the popular anime adaptation suffers for how much it attempts to adapt in so few episodes, viewers starting out with Tokyo Ghoul adore it for its action scenes and soundtrack.

8 Naruto Helped Define An Era Of Shonen Action Anime

Naruto Uzumaki, a mischievous adolescent ninja, struggles as he searches for recognition and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the village's leader and strongest ninja.

Naruto Anime Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.99
• Anime Planet: 4.0/5

Naruto is both a gateway anime for many new viewers and one that sticks with them throughout their lives, as it has become one of the most popular anime of all time. The young outcast Naruto Uzumaki dreams of one day becoming the Hokage, a position that demands admiration and respect from everyone in the Hidden Leaf village.

Alongside his teammates, Sasuke and Sakura, Naruto grows exponentially as both a person and a shinobi. Naruto teaches viewers unforgettable life lessons while endearing viewers to its large and colorful cast at the same time, and viewers feel as if they grow up alongside the Konoha 11.

7 Demon Slayer Is A Heartfelt Shonen Fantasy Adventure

Demon slayer: kimetsu no yaiba.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is unarguably one of the best anime in the past year, and one of the best anime of the past decade. Swordsmen that move with the grace of dancers, savage demons imbued with horrific powers and flashes of steel that strike at the perfect moment are hallmarks of this remarkable series.

Demon Slayer Anime Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.49

One of the most popular titles in recent years, Demon Slayer follows Tanjiro Kamado, who comes back home to virtually his entire family having been killed by demons , after being gone for only a single night. The only survivor is his sister, Nezuko, but he horrifyingly realizes that she herself has been turned into a demon.

Demon Slayer puts a heavy focus on the theme of familial bonds, as Tanjiro swears to avenge his family while helping Nezuko hang onto what's left of her humanity. By now, Demon Slayer is one of the most-watched anime series of its generation thanks to its winning combination of fantastic animation, fun characters, great action sequences, and a strong emotional core.

6 My Hero Academia Is An Excellent Superhero Shonen Series

My hero academia.

Usually, anime and manga connoisseurs tell you to read the manga before watching the anime - it’s the equivalent to reading the book before watching the film or TV series. However, My Hero Academia slaps that lesson in the face, making the anime an incredible series to watch without having to read the manga. The story follows Izuku Midoriya, a boy born without superpowers in a world where they have become commonplace, but who still dreams of becoming a hero himself.

My Hero Academia Anime Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.88

My Hero Academia has become one of the most-watched shonen anime since its release. Izuku Midoriy/Deku is a Quirkless kid in a world full of Quirk-powered superheroes, but he never gives up on his dream of wanting to be just like his hero All Might.

After being blessed with an incredibly powerful Quirk from All Might, the number-one Pro Hero himself, Izuku's struggles become about controlling his newfound power without hurting himself in the process. Along the way, he meets not only colorful classmates who support him while chasing their own dreams, but dastardly villains set on destroying the world as well.