• Kill la Kill - Our heroine, Ryuko, brings the fight to the powerful school government of Honnouji Academy in this over-the-top drama about anti-fascism. But can she solve the cold case of her father’s murder? Against all odds, Ryuko and her collaborators struggle to bring down the tyrannical government. The series draws a sharp contrast between the poor underbelly of society and the well-fed and -housed abettors of the fascist government. The show features themes of self-discovery and identity. Barely yuri.

• Akiba Maid War - Our heroine, Nagomi, brings the fight to the roving maid gangs of Akihabara in this over-the-top drama about organized crime. Against all odds, the crew struggles to keep their maid cafe open and end the brutal cycle of violence in a world of cutthroat competition. The show features themes of self-discovery and identity. Not a yuri, but it should have been.

• Black Lagoon - Our heroine, Revy, brings the fight to all sorts of mercenaries, thugs, and straight-up Nazis in this over-the-top drama about organized crime. Their smuggling ring performs episodic jobs that will have you on the edge of your seat. The series draws a sharp contrast between the criminal underbelly and the rest of society with the incipient romance between Revy and Rock, the salaryman she kidnapped. The show features themes of self-discovery and identity. This show is not yuri, although it would be better if it was.

• Birdie Wing (season 1 ONLY) - Our heroine, Eve, fights for her fellow orphans’ livelihoods using her mystical golf powers in this over-the-top drama about organized crime. The series draws a sharp contrast between the criminal underbelly and the rest of society with the incipient romance between Eve and Aoi, Eve’s rich-girl rival. The show features themes of self-discovery and identity. Unfortunately, season 2 fell off hard.

• Pop Team Epic - Our heroines, Pipimi and Popuko, take on rival Youtubers, the Bamboozle Gang, in this over-the-top drama about organized crime. There are some other things that happen in this anime too. In a rarity for this list, this show does not particularly feature themes of self-discovery and identity.

• Migi & Dali - Our heroes, Migi and Dali, are twin orphan brothers and highly skilled infiltrators. But can they get revenge for their mother’s murder? And can they avoid being found out by their adoptive parents? Find out in this over-the-top drama about the secrets lurking in this small town. The show features themes of self-discovery and identity. This show is not yuri although it does feature moderate trans themes that are not handled too poorly, all things considered.

• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Our heroine, Motoko, is a highly skilled infiltrator. She’s also a semi-robotic cop who owes her body to the company store. Her elite unit of cybercops performs episodic jobs that will have you on the edge of your seat. The series explores how mass movements and beliefs can arise due to coincidence or a common exposure to the right information at the right time. While its science-fiction setting is fantastical, the series has become more relevant than ever in the post-truth, AI-enabled world of today, although it takes itself a bit more seriously than our own world seems to. Trans people and people with chronic illnesses in particular are likely to find the motif of being in debt and treated differently because of their body hits close to home. The show also features themes of self-discovery and identity. This show is mostly not yuri.

• Flip Flappers - Our heroine, Cocona, is bamboozled by Papika into going on episodic adventures in the surreal parallel worlds of Pure Illusion to collect the seven wish-granting dragon balls against another shady organization that wants them too. The show is spectacular and full of perfectly chosen, luscious colors. Like Ghost in the Shell, this show explores the nature of reality in an increasingly unreal world. The show features themes of self-discovery and identity. Despite moderate pacing issues, this show is an All Time Fave.

• Bloom Into You - The show is nothing but themes of self-discovery and identity and it is genuinely life-changing. Go watch it, even if you don’t usually like yuri.

During my brief anime phase, these are the ones worth mentioning:

1, on a whole tier above the rest: Mob Psycho, such a great piece of work without any of the cringe anime tropes. I wish this anime existed when i was younger, it might’ve saved me from a depressive crisis.

2: Odd Taxi is a gem, great characters, very unique artstyle, great story and a banger of a soundtrack. Also no cringe anime tropes, what more do you want!

3: Diamond is Unbreakable (JoJo), while all of JoJo is worth a spot i think this part is just above all the rest. Unique artstyle with such a rich color palette (feels like a LSD trip ngl), my favorite villain and has the best episode i’ve ever seen that legit made me cry from laughter. (the restaurant episode)

Honorable mentions: kaguya-sama, demon slayer, bluelock.

I’m not going to make a list but Thunderbolt Fantasy is amazing and everyone should check it out.

In no particular order:

• Space Dandy
• Tengan Toppa Gurren Lagann
• Gravity Falls
• One Punch Man
• One Piece
• Lupin III
• FLCL
• Hunter x Hunter
• King of the Hill
• Space Dandy

I don’t have a particular top ten, so I’ll just list a few series that I’ve enjoyed over the years: Detective Conan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Code Geass, Death Note and Grand Blue.

1. Unusual troubles

2. Pootis Engage

3. Attack on Titan Heavy

4. Soldier’s_monkey_and_his_team.adventure

5. Stu_Pidface’s_whimsical_butt_shenanigans.pie

6. Subnormal_halfspy_and_hus_clique_of_handsome_rogues’_entirely_heterosexual_locomotive

7. Stu_Pidface’s_flatulent_extravaganza.egg

8. Merasmus_secksy_fap_evening_gay_speech.foof

9. Some_engineers_make_a_buildin_2day.sylveon

10. Easily_nauseated_engineer_and_the_fabulous_piss_train_to_pyro’s_house.wanker

Nobody mentioned akumetsu.

Disappointing.

Not gonna rank because I’m lazy:

Gurren Lagann - there’s just something awesome about a story where the hero is a literal nobody (and doesn’t turn into a chosen one) that manages to succeed against all odds by sheer force of will and the friends they made along the way. Also the robots are powered by your fighting spirit, so yeah.

Kaguya-sama: it’s funny and they actually get together so it’s great the manga is better though

Shiki - scary story where the characters actually use their brains

Yu-Gi-Oh - other then the Yugi story it isn’t that great but I love it

Violet Evergarden - it was one of the greatest things until that very weird shonen ending

5cm per second - it’s just great. I don’t even know what to say honestly

Danganronpa - the ending season is cool but I much prefer the games. Either way the character designs are awesome.

Ghost in the shell(the movie) - it’s insane how it has both plenty of action and very deep themes of what a human and artificial life really can be.

Full metal alchemist - all I’ll say is that I actually liked both stories they made.

Girls und Panzer - it’s anime girls fighting with tanks. It’s cute, the tanks are awesome and faithful to their real life counterparts, and the music is incredible.

Shiki is so good tho.

I’m a fan of desertpunk one piece and Dragonball. Year Hare Affair (commie bunnies, kinda a chinese axis powers hetalia but better) would be a favorite but only the first season has an english dub (well fandub that I think was translated from chinese to Russian to english)

Also land of the lustrous. It’s about cute nonbinary gemstone people and nothing bad ever happens to them

In no order:

One piece - I’m a manga reader but I’ll tune into the anime for emotional parts. I’ve been a fan of this for about 23 years now. I always recommend the manga over the anime though.

Chainsaw man - I’m a manga reader, I loved seeing it animated, but I think they sort of messed up releasing only 1/3rd of the first arc for season 1. If they finished the first arc in season 1 I bet it would be in everybody’s top 10. I always recommend that everybody just read it.

Haibane Renmei - this is a real piece of art. This is a cozy slow burn with a real emotional wallop for people in a certain headspace. This one genuinely made me a better person.

Serial experiments lain - hard to explain without spoiling it. Super good, super 90’s. Amazing vibe that I don’t think any others have gotten close to replicating.

Mob Psycho 100 - about a psychic boy and his conman father figure. feel good with a good message and a good boy. The characters are fantastic and the animation can get really crazy good. It has some of the best animation I’ve ever seen. It has a lot of genuine emotion put into it.

Frieren - about an near-immortal elf after the journey has already ended. this one is still airing, but I’m loving it. I like the chill vibe and interesting story. I love how emotionally mature it feels. I’m not a fan of over the top anime emotions and enjoy how down to earth and realistic these characters act.

Restaurant to another world - I like watching fantasy people/creatures eat and enjoy our foods.

Akira - although the movie is about 1/3rd of the story with the ending slapped on, it’s still very fun to look at. I wish they had given this story a trilogy of 3x 3 hour movies instead of cutting out characters and only covering the beginning of a wild story. I always recommend people read the manga.

Made in abyss - the author is a weird pedophile but the story and world are so intriguing. It makes me feel dirty watching it but I need to know what’s at the bottom of that damn hole. I’ve been reading it as well and that just makes me feel even dirtier.

Outlaw Star - A rogue with a gun that shoots magic bullets and his weird crew vs a magical taoist space pirate and his weird crew vs. Cyborg brothers all after the greatest treasure in the universe. Its a weird mashup of themes and genres and somehow it all works.

I’m primarily a manga reader and actually watch very little anime. Making that list was actually pretty difficult and my list for favorite manga would be pretty different.