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Entertainment September 7, 2017
We guarantee you'll be hooked on at least one of these.
Photo by @sabaku_____ via TwitterAs a fellow anime lover, I’ve got some of the best action anime that will change your life.
Now that people are finally getting on the action anime train, they have quickly realized that there are literally millions of anime to choose from.
There are anime that weave in heart-breaking stories between epic multi-episode fights. Notwithstanding, there are anime that only care about debilitating fight scenes that only use narrative as a way to connect them.
Other anime focus more on the characters’ narratives and only use the fight scenes as a way to enrich their stories. To make your journey easier through the Japanese animated world of action, I’ve created a list of the best action anime you will absolutely love.
To add icing on the cake, I even included the best action anime with strong and amazing female leads and a diverse character list (people of color, LGBTQ representation, etc.).
So, skip the trial and error phase and just put your viewing experience in my hands. I can promise that I’m not false advertising any of these shows. I’ve watched them all, and they’re all pretty bad ass. Trust me.
So scan through, write down the ones that seem interesting and enjoy.
Full Metal Alchemist
This anime will have you either sobbing, laughing or biting your nails in angst. This story of brotherhood, persistence, love and honor grips you with every second. The moment you think you have the story down, it will come back and surprise you with emotions you didn’t know you had. It’s a story that follows a long, raging guerilla warfare that spends just as much time showing an epic battle as they do writing the story connected to it. Because of this, each battle holds a lot more weight.
There is one rule in alchemy: equal exchange. This means what you intend to create must receive an equal sacrifice first. With a transmutation circle and the right elements, one could come very close to a god. However, without a philosopher’s stone, it’s simply give and take. You give something valuable and take whatever the Alchemy gate of life and death decides to give back.
The young prodigy alchemist, Edward Elric, didn’t understand this before he tried to bring his mother, Trisha Elric, back from the dead. The ignorance cost him his brother’s body, his right arm and a rotting set of bones that was supposed to be his mother. Now, Ed’s on a mission to find the philosopher’s stone and do whatever it takes to get his brother’s body back.
One-Punch Man
This has to be, hands down, the best action anime of 2015. Don’t argue with me, argue with 2015’s anime selection. It satirizes the hero trope in most action anime. It follows the story of Saitama, a man with strength and agility that’s literally out of this world, who wants to be a hero. However, he doesn’t want to be a hero for the people. This is a completely selfish hero that wants to beat up bad guys and save the world because he feels like it. His adversaries have never shown to be any competition, so why not?
In this world, heroes are monetized and placed in a pipeline created by the Hero Association. There are four different classes that organize heroes depending on their intelligence and strength. Heroes in C-class, the lowest class, have athletic abilities but they usually don’t have powers.
Heroes in B-class, the next best class, can either be super athletic or have relatively weak and limited powers. Whereas, heroes in A-class are usually very powerful and smart heroes with cool powers like laser-beam eyes. And for heroes who are geniuses and/or with powers on a god-like level, they are placed in S-class. This class of superhero only comes out when the world’s in danger.
Saitama starts in C-class because he didn’t do too well on his written test. And for the entire series, he just goes around saving people and defeating bad guys with one (maybe two) punches. Even though this sounds like it might lead to boring fight scenes, it’s quite the opposite. It ranks as the best action anime in this category because the fight scenes are epic.
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
This anime has amazing fight scenes, don’t get me wrong. However, Lelouch’s story pulls all action scenes together. There’s always a huge story behind each fight that adds to the narratives threaded through the overarching plot. Lelouch isn’t what you think of when you think hero. He doesn’t have a bleeding heart. He’s coolly objective, so much so, that you might actually come to hate him. However, you’ll have no choice but to respect him.
In this world, the Holy Britannian Empire takes over Japan and strips all Japanese citizens of their freedoms, depreciating the once thriving country to a zone simply called, Area 11.
During the war negotiations, cold Emperor Charles zi Britannia exiled his son and his sister to the Area 11, after someone murdered their mother. The emperor needed a bargaining tool with Japan and he didn’t want to deal Lelouch or his sister, so he killed two birds with one stone.
For years, not one member of his family would reach out to him. Until finally, burning with hatred and betrayal, Lelouch is spurred to begin his mission of freeing Japan from the oppressive regime of Britannia and get revenge on his ex-royal family. This story revolves around a boy who started with everything, was left with nothing and refuses to let those who hurt him go unchecked. It’s a game of chess between him and an entire country, and he cannot lose.
Michiko e Hatchin
One crazy, reckless woman and a stubborn, fearless young girl on a road trip spell disaster for everyone involved. And the troubles Michiko and Hatchin get into are just that. This story will surprise you with the depth of emotion it will bring out of you. Michiko and Hatchin challenges the saying, “Blood is thicker than water” and explores the unique bond between two characters who grow to love and grudgingly respect one another. You may think this story all revolves around the one man they’re looking for, but it’s so much more than that.
On the run for a murder charge, Michiko breaks Hatchin out of her abusive foster home, on a mission to track her father who conveniently happens to be the love of her life. He was her peace and she will do anything to get it back. However, the police will also do anything to take her down. They will even go as far as to work side by side with Satoshi Batista, the blood thirsty gang leader of the “Monstro Preto.”
The series follows both Michiko and Hatchin in their joint and separate journeys of self-discovery. They are on a time crunch and must always stay on the move. There’s no time to settle down and get attached to anyone or anything. But this fact doesn’t keep them from doing it anyway.
Samurai Champloo
This show ranks as the best action anime ever, hands down. No matter who you ask, somewhere in everyone’s top 10 will be this anime. Why? Because it’s perfect. I mean it. You name anything you want in an anime and this has it.
Romance? Check. Beautiful animation? Check. Long and epic fight scenes? Check and check.
The unique, relatable and wildly hilarious characters act as enough reason to watch it. Although Samurai Champloo ended way too early, at least you can enjoy the first season.
Two samurai, Jin and Mugen, run away from their personal troubles get manipulated by a teenage female server, Fuu, who has been itching for a reason to find her long lost father. Once both men contribute to her losing her job and she bails them both out of trouble, she finds her excuse.
She doesn’t know her father’s name or even what he looks like. All she has to go on is a distinct sunflower smell that always clung to his body. Therefore, all three of them travel around the country, hunting for the samurai who smells of sunflowers. Little do they know, they aren’t the pursuers … they’re actually the prey.
So, what do you think? Which one of these action anime suggestions best suit you? Honestly, if I were you, I would just go for them all. Exhaust this list. It’ll last you for at least a year (or four to six months, depending on your free time) and you will give the anime world more time to come out with the next season or all new amazing anime.
If you have any shows you would add to this list of best action anime, share your ideas below! I could always use a new show to watch. And I’m sure the other readers would enjoy your contributions as well.
