10 Most Iconic Anime To Come Out Of The 2010s

While not on the same level as the 90s, the 2010s can be seen as one of the most critical eras for anime. While piracy was still the norm in most circles, the 2010s were when official simulcasts and simulpubs of anime and manga started taking off, which slowly gave anime more accessibility and appeal following the dip in popularity it suffered in the 2000s, and that paved the way for its newfound mainstream success starting from the 2020s.

The 2010s were a great time to be an anime fan, and much of that, of course, is owed to the incredible line-up of anime that fans got to watch. Between stellar adaptations and standout original stories, the 2010s were a decade filled with hit anime after hit anime, and while opinions may vary, it’s easy to see which anime was the top show of its respective year, especially with so much time to reflect on the decade.

Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt (2010)

Studio Trigger’s Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt stars Panty and Stocking Anarchy, two angels kicked out of heaven for their sinful and slovenly ways. The only way for them to get back into heaven is to work with the priest Garterbelt and protect Daten City from evil Ghosts, but Panty would rather have sex with anything that moves, and Stocking would rather stuff herself with sweets, so everyone has their work cut out for them.

Studio Trigger is famous for anime with both gorgeously creative action and utterly absurdist comedy, and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt has them both in spades to the point of essentially being Japan’s take on an Adult Swim cartoon in the best of ways. It’s a series that embodies everything great about Studio Trigger, and 15 years later, its sequel, New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, was even better.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011)

In Shaft’s Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Madoka Kaname’s peaceful life is thrown for a loop when she learns of the existence of magical girls who protect the world from violent monsters called Witches. Madoka has the potential to become a powerful magical girl herself, but as she wavers on the decision, she’s quick to learn that being a magical girl is nowhere near as fun as it seemed to be.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica became an instant classic thanks to its surreal visuals and dark, deconstructive take on the magical girl genre, and it’s to the point that it’s likely the major reason magical girl anime have a fanbase outside of Japan. Even after so many years, there’s never been an anime quite like Madoka Magica, and hopefully, the upcoming Madoka Magica movie will be more than a fitting sendoff.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (2012)

David Production’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is an anthology series centered around the bizarre adventures of the Joestar family, all of whom have names that create the nickname, JoJo. The first season focused on the first two parts of the series: Phantom Blood, which saw Jonathan Joestar fighting to defeat Dio Brando, his evil adoptive brother turned vampire, and Battle Tendency, where Jonathan’s grandson, Joseph Joestar, had to save the world from the Pillar Men, the trio of godlike beings who created vampires to begin with.

It took 25 years for the legendary JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure to get a proper anime, and sure enough, David Production perfectly brought the story to life with its stellar animation and stunning direction, including the anime’s signature gimmick of constantly changing color palettes. The anime helped make JoJo a household name, and with the Steel Ball Run anime here, it’s bound to get even bigger.

Kill La Kill (2013)

In Studio Trigger’s Kill la Kill, Ryuko Matoi transfers to the elite Honnoji Academy in the hopes of finding the person who murdered her father, but her quest for vengeance puts her in the crosshairs of the all-powerful student council and their fascist leader, Satsuki Kiryuin. Armed with only a scissor blade and a sentient school uniform, Ryuko has to fight her way through the student body for answers, but the truth ends up being crazier than anything she could have imagined.

The entire premise of Kill la Kill makes it come across as an incredibly goofy romp, and it certainly is, but it’s also perfectly balanced out by a combination of stunning visuals and strong character writing filled with a surprising amount of heart. There was plenty of hype for Kill la Kill as the first full-length anime from Studio Trigger, and it more than delivered in every regard.

Haikyu!! (2014)

Production I.G’s Haikyu!! stars Shoyo Hinata, a boy who’s determined to become a great volleyball player despite his short height, just like his hero, the legendary “Little Giant”. Unfortunately, Hinata’s inability to properly use his talents is a major hurdle to overcome, and making things even harder is how his would-be rival, Tobio Kageyama, ended up going to the same school as him, but they just might make a better duo than they thought.

With an all-star staff in charge of the anime, Haikyu!!’s anime never failed to capture the intensity of the original manga, whether it was in the kinetic energy of the matches or in the dramatic character work, making every episode an amazing sight to behold. Sports anime don’t usually get a lot of attention, but even then, it’s easy to see why Haikyu!! remains a legend over a decade after the fact.

Dragon Ball Super (2015)

Toei Animation’s Dragon Ball Super is the canonical sequel to the legendary Dragon Ball anime. Four years after defeating Majin Buu, Goku’s newfound peace is disrupted when he meets Beerus, the God of Destruction and the strongest being in the universe, and it’s through their meeting that Goku and his friends are thrown onto new adventures and obtain new powers the likes of which they could never dream of.

After Dragon Ball’s initial revival with two movies in 2013 and 2014, an entirely new anime in Dragon Ball Super was filled with incredible hype, and while it didn’t start on the best foot, it wasn’t long before it became an action-packed story worthy of following Dragon Ball’s legacy. Dragon Ball Super has more than earned its place in the franchise, and that will become even more apparent with the premiere of the Galactic Patrol saga.

Mob Psycho 100 (2016)

Bones Film’s Mob Psycho 100 is a world where people can develop powerful telekinetic abilities, and the young Mob has abilities so powerful that he has to suppress his emotions to control them. Because of that, Mob just sees his powers as an inconvenience for impressing his crush and living a normal life, but he’ll still have to fall back on them to save his friends from one new threat after another.

As another series from ONE of One-Punch Man fame, Mob Psycho 100 strikes a perfect balance between goofy comedy and surprisingly heartfelt character writing, and the anime perfectly showcases that with some of the most creative and beautifully surreal animation of any recent anime. It’s both a great action story and a great coming-of-age story, and overall, it’s easy to see it as ONE’s magnum opus.

Re:Creators (2017)

In Troyca’s Re:Creators, a mysterious woman known only as the Military Uniform Princess starts bringing anime characters to life, and whether they become her followers or keep to themselves, their very existence brings about nothing but chaos. All of Japan, possibly even the world, is on the verge of destruction, and the only one who can do something about it just might be mild-mannered Sota Mizushino through his mysterious connection to it all.

Re:Creators boasts a star-studded team of Fate/Zero director Ei Aoki and Black Lagoon creator Rei Hiroe, and sure enough, it resulted in an anime with heartfelt meta commentary about the medium and incredible action and visuals accompanying it at every turn. Re:Creators is currently lost media, but if it ever returns to streaming, fans would be remiss not to give it a shot.

Zombie Land Saga (2018)

In MAPPA’s Zombie Land Saga, Sakura Minamoto was on her way to becoming an idol when she was suddenly run over by a truck, and a decade later, she and six other girls were revived as zombies by the eccentric Kotaro Tatsumi. The reason he did so was, surprisingly, to turn them into an idol unit to revitalize the Saga prefecture, and their quest to do so is as weird as one could expect.

Zombie Land Saga excels thanks to its utterly absurd premise and the genuine heart that balances it out, all of which is taken even further by featuring the exact sort of phenomenal music that’s to be expected from an idol anime. When people talk about the best MAPPA anime, they usually only talk about Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, or Attack on Titan, but overall, Zombie Land Saga more than deserves to be in that conversation.

Carole & Tuesday (2019)

In the Martian city of Alba City, Bones Film’s Carole & Tuesday sees the eponymous Carole Stanley and Tuesday Simmons cross paths and form a connection over their shared love of music, specifically music made by humans instead of AI. The two of them then decide to form a band and take the music world by storm, and sure enough, that’s only the beginning of the impact they end up having.

Befitting its music-themed narrative, Carole & Tuesday boasts an incredible soundtrack of original songs, arguably the best soundtrack from legendary director Shinichiro Watanabe, and it does wonders to complement a narrative filled with fun characters, emotional drama, and political commentary that’s still relevant so many years later. There’s never been an anime quite like Carole & Tuesday, and it’s no wonder that it was one of the best anime of the 2010s.

Release Date

2019 – 2019-00-00

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Tsuyoshi Tobita, Satoshi Takafuji, Noriyuki Nomata, Shohei Miyake, Tomomi Kamiya, Takahiro Hasui, Naoki Murata

Writers

Shinichiro Watanabe, Aya Watanabe, Deko Akao, Keiko Nobumoto, Kimiko Ueno, Yasuhiro Nakanishi, Yuuichi Nomura

•