Do you need speculative fiction set in a fictional universe, often inspired by real world myth and folklore? You’ve come to the right place! This “best fantasy anime shows” list will give you the best of the bests! All based on fan ratings (IMDb) but in alphabetic order !

Best Fantasy Anime Shows:

Ancient Magus Bride

Chise Hatori, after having been ostracized by both her relatives and partially by society, decides to sell herself at an auction in order for somebody else to take her in and have a new place she could eventually call home. At the auction, she’s sold for 5 million pounds, in London, to Elias Ainsworth, a 7-foot-tall humanoid with an animal skull for a head. The series deals with a romantic slice-of-life storyline in a surreal and supernatural light.

Berserk

Set in a medieval Europe-inspired dark fantasy world, the story centers on, a lone mercenary and Griffith, named Guts, the leader of a mercenary band called the “Band of the Hawk”. Guts, is a baby found beneath his dead hanging mother, is adopted by the mercenary Gambino. Raised as a mercenary, Guts eventually kills Gambino and flees as his adoptive father becomes cruel.

Death Note

The story follows the young Light Yagami, a teen genius who discovers a mysterious notebook named the “Death Note”, which belonged to the Shinigami Ryuk, and grants the user the special ability to kill anyone whose name is written within it pages. The series centers around Light’s subsequent attempts to use the Death Note to carry out a worldwide massacre of individuals whom he deems immoral and to create a crime-free society, using the alias of a god-like vigilante named “Kira” and the subsequent efforts of an elite Japanese police task force, led by enigmatic detective L, his biggest rival, to defeat him.

Fruits Basket

Fruits Basket tells the story of Tohru Honda, an orphan who, after meeting Yuki, Kyo and Shigure Soma, learns that 12 members of the Soma family are possessed by the animals of the Chinese zodiac and are cursed to transform into their animal forms. When they are weak, stressed or when being kissed by a person of the opposite sex who is not possessed by a zodiac spirit. As the series progresses, Tohru learns of the hardships and pain faced by the grieving members of the Soma family and, through her own generous and loving nature, helps heal their emotional wounds.

Fullmetal Alchemist

The steampunk world of Fullmetal Alchemist is primarily designed after the European Industrial Revolution. Set in a fictional universe in which alchemy is a widely practiced science, the story follows the journey of 2 alchemist brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, who search for the Philosopher’s Stone to restore their bodies after an unsuccessful attempt to bring their mother back to the life using alchemy.

Goblin Slayer

In a fantasy world, adventurers come from all over to join the Guild. They complete contracts to earn gold and fame. An inexperienced priestess joins her first adventure game, but is in danger after her first contract involving goblins goes awry. While the rest of her party is wiped out or taken out of service, she is rescued by a man known as the Goblin Slayer, an adventurer whose sole purpose is to eradicate Goblins with extreme prejudices.

Inuyasha

In modern Tokyo, Kagome Higurashi lives on the grounds of his family’s Shinto shrine with his mother, grandfather and younger brother. On her 15th birthday, while searching for her cat, Kagome is dragged into the bone-eating pit encased by a centipede demon emerging from it. But rather than hit rock bottom, Kagome finds himself in another universe parallel to his universe – but in the past, during the Sengoku period in Japan. Inuyasha ranks among the best fantasy anime shows!

Kobayashi-San Chi No Maid Dragon

As office worker and programmer Kobayashi prepares for work, she is greeted by a large dragon right outside her front door. The dragon immediately transforms into a human girl in a maid outfit and introduces himself as Tohru. It turns out that on a drunken excursion into the mountains the night before, Kobayashi had encountered the dragon, who claimed to be from another world. Subsequently, Kobayashi had removed a sacred sword from Tohru’s back, earning his gratitude. Tohru having nowhere to stay, Kobayashi offers to let the dragon stay at her house and become her personal maid, to which she agrees.

Little Witch Academia

Little Witch Academia takes place at Luna Nova Magical Academy, a prestigious school for young girls training to become witches. Having been inspired by a witch named Shiny Chariot, a girl named Atsuko “Akko” Kagari enrolls at Luna Nova Magical Academy to become a witch, but struggles due to her non-magical background. This all changes when she discovers the Shiny Rod, a powerful magic relic left behind by Chariot. LWA ranks among the best fantasy anime shows!

Made In Abyss

An orphan girl named Riko lives at the Belchero orphanage in the town of Orth. The city surrounds a strange giant hole that sinks deep into the earth, commonly known as the Abyss. The Abyss is home to artifacts and remains of a long-extinct civilization, and is therefore a popular hunting ground for the so-called Cave Raiders, who undertake difficult and dangerous descents into the mist-filled pit to retrieve the relics that ‘they can find. Returning from the Abyss can be dangerous as the “Curse of the Abyss”, a mysterious and potentially fatal disease, manifests itself during the ascent.

Magi

After being isolated for his entire life, a boy named Aladdin travels the world with his “friend” Ugo, the Djinn contained in Aladdin’s flute, until he meets Alibaba Saluja, a young man aiming to explore. one day the neighboring dungeon Amon and claim its treasures. Aladdin and Alibaba eventually become friends and conquer Amon together, despite the ruthless opposition of Jamil and his slave warriors: Morgiana and Goltas. After a desperate fight, Aladdin and Alibaba push Jamil away and help Morgiana break the mental chains that bind her to her former master.

Maria The Virgin Witch

Set in France during the Hundred Years War, it follows Maria, who is one of the most powerful witches of her time. She intervenes against warring nations by using her Succubus and Incubus familiars to manipulate opposing factions, as well as large-scale illusions, all with the goal of helping the people and keeping the peace. As a result, she has won the appreciation of several villagers and the hostility of the Church, which considers her a heretic.

Natsume Yuujinchou

The chapters have been compiled into twenty-six bound volumes. The series is about Natsume, an orphaned teenager who can see spirits, who inherits from her grandmother the notebook she used to bind spirits under her control. The Book of Friends of Natsume was a finalist for the first Manga Taishō award in 2008.

Somali And The Forest Spirit

The world is ruled by spirits, goblins, and all kinds of strange creatures. Human beings are persecuted to extinction. One day, a golem and a lonely human girl meet. This is a record of the couple, one a member of a ruined race, the other a forest keeper. He chronicles their travels together and the bond between father and daughter, but the golem can only live for a year or so, he must find other humans in order to have him with his own race before he dies.

Tokyo Ghoul

The story follows Ken Kaneki, a student who barely survives a fatal encounter with Rize Kamishiro, his date who reveals himself as a ghoul and tries to eat him. He was taken to hospital in critical condition. After recovering, Kaneki discovers that he has undergone an operation that has turned him into a half-ghoul. This was accomplished because some of Rize’s organs were transferred to his body, and now, like normal ghouls, he has to consume human flesh in order to survive. Ghouls who run a cafe called “Anteiku” welcome him and teach him how to manage his new life as a demi-ghoul. Some of his day-to-day struggles include integrating ghouls into society, as well as hiding his identity from his fellow humans, especially his best friend, Hideyoshi Nagachika.

Where to read/watch them?:

Now that you know more about the best fantasy anime shows, simply look at where you can actually enjoy them: Here.