Top 10 Anime That Changed the World They're not just shows—they're landmarks in anime history.
Join Ashley as we count down the anime that redefined the medium, captured global audiences, and left a permanent mark on pop culture. From genre-defining classics to modern epics, these are the series that blew everyone away and will never be forgotten.
Featured titles include:
Attack on Titan 🛡️
Dragon Ball Z 💥
One Piece 🏴☠️ ...and many more icons that changed the game.
💬 Which of these legendary anime means the most to you? Drop your favorite in the comments and tell us why it stands out
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the anime that have had a major impact on either the medium, pop culture and or the world.
00:3010. Akira When it comes to landmark anime films, Akira stands at the very top. The cyberpunk movie follows teenage bikers, one of whom has developed psychic powers that pose a threat to Neo-Tokyo and the world.
00:4611. Akira quickly achieved a following worldwide and it's often regarded as one of the best animated films ever made. Its impact on the cyberpunk genre as well as on more mature animation as a whole can't be understated.
01:1411. In particular, Akira acted as one of several major gateways for anime coming into the west, especially in illustrating that anime, unlike a lot of western animation at the time, was definitely not for kids.
01:349. Cowboy Bebop Another major western gateway into anime, Cowboy Bebop follows the bounty hunters of the ship Bebop.
01:4210. As they get into various scrapes all over the solar system.
01:5410. Episodic, yet also featuring an ongoing plot that explores the protagonists' pasts, Cowboy Bebop is very accessible to casual viewers, particularly if you discovered it while flipping through TV channels back in the day.
02:0811. The god tier soundtrack, beautiful art direction, and unforgettable characters helped ensure its popularity on both sides of the Pacific. A perfect mix of space western, noir, and a few other genres besides, there's really nothing else quite like Cowboy Bebop.
02:328. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters An ancient Egyptian pharaoh sharing the body of a Japanese teenager and helping him play a trading card game that's essentially UNO with extra steps is a wild concept on paper. But, in practice, it makes for a hugely popular anime.
02:5410. The Yu-Gi-Oh! anime spawned not only a media franchise that continues to this day, with spin-offs and sequels galore, but also plenty of imitators that sought to replicate its game-based anime success.
03:1410. Also, while it certainly didn't invent the trading card game phenomenon, the tie-in card game became a huge success as well.
03:2710. With all that going for it, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters has become a hugely popular and profitable anime worldwide.
03:3410. If you truly want to know, open your mind!
03:4310. Sailor Moon
03:45While the magical girl genre predates Sailor Moon, this 90s anime certainly helped popularize it.
03:52The Sailor Guardians, or Scouts, each have wonderfully distinct personalities, and their battles against evil have proven popular enough to spawn a long-running media franchise.
04:0310. Action anime can often be focused on male leads and aimed at young boys, but Sailor Moon was an early breakout hit with female leads that proved that Shoujo, or young girls' demographic, could be just as successful.
04:2410. Ah, maybe you're the next princess?
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04:31Plus, without Sailor Moon, we doubt that elaborate transformation sequences would be as frequent or complex in anime.
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05:18The dark tone and frequent plot twists give it a similar appeal to other major streaming
05:29hits like Game of Thrones.
05:31It's this kind of appeal that helped Attack on Titan, as well as anime in general, finally
05:36break through from being a niche hobby to becoming the mainstream.
05:52Mecha anime are everywhere, but few have had quite as big an impact as Neon Genesis Evangelion.
06:06The battles of the Ava pilots against the apocalyptic angels are filled with fantastic animation,
06:16plus the religious symbolism, psychological analysis and more proved very popular with
06:22critics and fans.
06:32In addition to influencing plenty of anime that followed with everything from its tone
06:37to character archetypes, Evangelion helped increase the popularity of anime both within Japan and
06:43around the world.
06:44It really says something when, even to this day, people are still discussing its complex
06:49narrative.
06:51For much of the 21st century, thus far, three anime have stood head and shoulders above their
07:05peers in the popular battle shonen genre, One Piece, Naruto and Bleach.
07:17This trio of anime has helped introduce an entire generation to action-packed fights involving
07:22pirates, ninjas and Shinigami.
07:25And while only One Piece has source material and an original anime that's still running, the
07:30other two have spin-offs and sequels continuing to this day as well.
07:43All three have proven enormously influential on the anime that came after them, and some
07:49of them have outsold certain western titles to set incredible records.
07:53They don't call them the big three for nothing.
08:06Number 3.
08:07Pokemon
08:08Although the Pokemon games were plenty successful already, the debut of the anime catapulted the
08:13franchise into a pop culture phenomenon.
08:22Generations have watched Ash catch him, and his shockingly few successors go on journeys to
08:28become the very best Pokemon trainers.
08:30The timeless friendships and hundreds of cute or cool pocket monsters have made the series
08:36incredibly popular with kids and adults worldwide.
08:39Pokemon's cross-media appeal meant that the anime became the first exposure many outside
09:00of Japan had to the medium.
09:02In fact, the Pokemon anime has been a major factor in turning the media franchise into the
09:08single highest grossing on ever.
09:15It's difficult to overstate the effects Dragon Ball Z had in bringing anime to the West, despite
09:37its predecessor's popularity, Dragon Ball Z brought a level of intensity to its action that just
09:43blew away anything that Western viewers were used to, and immediately made 90s kids obsessed
09:49with it and anime in general.
09:59DBZ also had plenty of influence on anime as a whole, as it codified many tropes found in
10:05the battle shonen genre like power-ups, energy beams and transformations.
10:12Oh, and it inspired plenty of memes too.
10:25It's safe to say that anime wouldn't be the same today if not for Dragon Ball Z, nor would
10:30those who watch it.
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10:561 Astro Boy While it's far from being the first piece
11:00of Japanese animation, if there's a single series that can be considered to have begun
11:05the modern conception of what is considered anime, it's Astro Boy.
11:17It was one of the first weekly animated series on television.
11:20Its art style became iconic.
11:22It's an adaptation of an existing manga.
11:25It was also one of the first anime to make it onto US television.
11:29It even began the practice of including anime original material or filler.
11:34Yeah, it wasn't all good stuff.
11:42Some have also accused Astro Boy of normalizing underpaying animators in the anime industry.
11:48Though there's some debate on that.
11:50Regardless, anime, animation and indeed the world owe a lot to Astro Boy.
12:11Is there an earth-shaking anime your surprise didn't make our list?
