Much like Shonen action and adventure series, another popular genre of Anime is magic and fantasy with many incredible light novels and Manga, there is whole host of Magic and Fantasy that have been produced and animated. Magic and Fantasy opens up so many avenues from different worlds and dimensions as well as types of magic, it is a genre that has world wide appeal.
There are so many greats series to choose from picking just ten was not easy, but much like action and adventure some magic and fantasy series can be considered for other genre entries so many great series may appear on other lists. Now that's out the way lets start our top ten;
10) Tenchi Muyo War on Geminar
Kenshi Masaki was taken from his home planet, transported to a distant galaxy and captured by a gorgeous princess. This royal beauty claims Kenshi as her personal servant and lends him out to all of the ladies at her prestigious boarding school. When Kenshi doesn’t have his hands full with serving the ladies, he can be found training for a looming intergalactic mech battle.
If you are of a certain age, you may remember the original Tenchi Muyo series which is considered to be a classic that you should definitely watch. This series is not a follow on from that series, rather a parallel universe to the other Tenchi Muyo series. There is great deal of both action and comedy in a Sci-fi framing with some awesome Mechs to boot, plenty for every anime fan.
Based on Techi Muyo Series although it is an original work written by Hideki Shirane
Studio: Anime International Company
Released: 2009
9) Konosuba
Whilst trying to save a girl, shut-in Kazuma Sato is killed in a traffic accident, but at least he died a hero... or so he thought, after hearing the truth of his death and how disappointingly brief his life was. The Goddess Aqua is tasked to see him into his afterlife. Aqua asks if he would like to go to another world instead and become a real hero, plus he can bring one thing with him.
This is not a clean wholesome series that you will want to sit down and watch with the family, as you certainly don’t want to be explaining some of what goes on. However that's where the fun from this series comes from, our poor main protagonist is just so hard pressed for any luck at all and when he does have luck its all bad luck and there in lies the comedy of this series.
Novel Series written by Natsume Akatsuki
Studio: Studio Deen
Released: 2016
8) Akame Ga Kill
Under the rule of a tyrannical empire, Tatsumi, a young swordsman leaves his home to save his poverty stricken village. He meets a girl named Akame, an assassin who was bought, brainwashed and trained to kill by the Empire. Akame is a member of the secret assassin group called “Night Raid” who use special weapons called Teigu. Together, Tatsumi and the members of Night Raid confront the corrupt empire
Strange unique weapons, action packed series, a hero with strong sense of justice and Kick ass female fighters, yep this series just about covers everything you need for good action and adventure, fantasy anime. The series is not as innocent as it would first seem there are a few darker notes to this series and the villains are just so evil, its easy to support the heroes.
Based on Manga written by Takahiro
Studio: White Fox
Released: 2014
7) Misfit of Demon King Academy
The Demon and human races had battled for 2,000 years, the demon king Anos Voldigoad made a deal with the human hero, Kanon to sacrifice his own life to ensure peace could flourish. Promising to reincarnate 2,000 years later, royal demons now harshly rule over lower class hybrid demons in a society that values Anos's pureblood descendants, finding that magic as a whole has begun to decline result of the peace he created, Anos decides to reclaim his former title of Demon King, to do so he must graduate from the Demon King Academy where he is labelled a total misfit.
This a fun series, where the main character is completely overpowered he is almost the one punch man of Demon Kings, the story is where you will find the suspense for some interesting twists. There are some great characters although many a cliché but the formula works really well here, there is some great chemistry between the characters. There is plenty of story and action to keep the viewer engaged, one thing I like about this Demon King Harem series is that there is little to no fan service.
Based on Novel Series written by Shu
Studio: Silverlink
Released: 2020
6) Saint Seiya (Series)
In ancient times, a group of young men devoted their lives to protecting Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom and War. These men were capable of fighting without weapons—a swing of their fist alone was powerful enough to rip the very sky apart and shatter the earth beneath them. These brave heroes became known as Saints, as they could summon up the power of the Cosmos from within themselves.
Here is true classic anime for this list, Saint Seiya has been synonymous with Anime since the late 80s early 90s harking back to the days of Saturday Morning TV shows. As I've stated on many of these lists I love shows that do link into ancient myth and this show does just that. There have been many shows and series related to Saint Seiya series so it can confusing to watch but I’ll do my best to help. The first series is Knights of Zodiac, this series has been remade using digital anime for Netflix, my personal opinion is the Netflix remake is horrible, I hate the new digital style animation, the original 86 series is far superior. There are then 4 movies all connected to the first series. There was then another four part movie series which were a squeal to the original series and is referred to as the The Hades chapter. There is also a side story series connected to this series of OVA’s, Saint Seiya Gold. There is also one final film connected to this series known as the Heaven Chapter. Saint Seiya Omega series is a follow on to the original series, but is a completely original series not based on any Manga. There is two part series known as the Lost Canvas which acts as prequel to the main series. Finally there is the Saint Shou series which is also a side series although the continuity is a bit of a mess.
Based on Manga written by Masami Kurumada, Lost Canvas written by Shiori Teshirogi, Saintia Shō written by Chimaki Kuori
Studio: (Saint Seiya) Toei Animation, (Lost Canvas) TMS Entertainment, (Omega) Toei Animation, (Soul of Gold) Toei Animation, (Santita Sho) Toei Animation
Released Saint Seiya 1984, Lost Canvas 2009, Saint Seiya Omega 2012, Soul of gold 2015, Saintia Sho 2018.
5) Plunderer
Everybody inhabiting the world of Alcia is branded by a "Count" or a number written on their body. Depending on how each person lives their life, this Count either goes up or down, when the count hits zero, that person is pulled into the abyss. Hina's mother total drops to zero and she's pulled into the Abyss, never to be seen again. Her mother's last words send Hina on a quest to find a legendary hero from the Waste War, the fabled Ace.
This is one of the most recent Anime on this list, but it is off to a great start, as one of the better new shonen series of the 2019 summer releases. It has a great array of characters and a unique story, I feel this series is well worth checking out.
Based on Manga written by Suu Minazuki
Studio: Geek Toys
Released 2020
4) Hunter x Hunter
Hunters exist to perform all manner of dangerous tasks like capturing criminals and bravely searching for lost treasures in uncharted territories. Twelve-year-old Gon Freecss is determined to become the best Hunter possible in hopes of finding his father, who was a Hunter himself and had long ago abandoned his young son. However, Gon soon realizes the path to achieving his goals is far more challenging than he could have ever imagined.
This is the true quintessential watch of this list for those new to anime, its both fun and serious at the same time, Gon is a classic shonen hero with both a strong sense of justice mixed with a genuine naivety, but don’t worry his friends are always there to give him hand. All of the supporting characters have their role to play and a mixed bag of personalities all helping to aid Gon, in particular Killua who is almost the complete opposite to Gon with much more cynical view of everything.
Based on Manga written by Yoshihiro Togashi
Studio: Madhouse
Released: 2011
3) Demon King Daimo
Akuto Sai enters the Constant Magical Academy, determined to contribute to society by becoming part of his country's highest order of magicians, however his aptitude test labels him a future demon king. As word of his destiny spreads, the school begins to fear him, Akuto is determined to not let his predicted future control his fate, it seems as though everything he says and does only serves to reinforce the fact that he is destined to be the Demon King.
Once you look past all the fan service of this series, you will see that it is much more than just that, this great comedy series that derives a lot of its scenarios from misunderstandings and situational humour. There is actually a really strong plot that keeps you as the viewer wanting to watch more and know more and there not much more you can ask from an anime than to be entertaining and intriguing.
Based on Light Novel by Shōtarō Mizuki
Studio: Artland
Released: 2010
2) Is It wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon
Set in the world of Orario, where adventurers band together and look for treasures in an underground labyrinth known as Dungeons. However, for Bell Cranel, fame and riches are secondary to what he wants to find the most: girls. He soon finds out though, that anything can happen in a Dungeon
This is fun series, that has quite fewer hidden layers to it, the world is incredibly well thought out, the protagonist is easy to root for, its a nice little adventure anime that you can sit and watch with your friends and family. The use of mythical gods is something that appeals to me, so if like me you love mythology and the old gods this should be a series you should check out.
Based on Light Novel written by Fujino Ōmori
Studio: J.C Staff
released: 2015
1) Goblin Slayer
An optimistic young priestess joins the adventurer’s guild where she parties up with three hotshot newbies who’ve taken a contract to destroy a goblin nest. But her quest goes awry in an instant when her team is brutally ambushed inside the goblin’s lair. Wounded and in shock, she’s rescued by a high-ranking adventurer known just as Goblin Slayer, a man dedicated to slaughtering every goblin in existence.
This Anime is not for children, and I was really caught off guard watching the first episode, I thought oh, this sounds like a fun fantasy anime, and don’t get me wrong it is a fun fantasy anime but it is also very dark and they set the tone of the series straight from the off. This is an incredible series that looks at the darker side of fantasy worlds, the protagonist is single minded in his approach to being adventurer with good reason too and this is explored brilliantly. The growth the titular character is going through, from being a loner to having to work with a group is incredibly well thought out, this is an amazing anime that highly recommend.
Based on Light Novel written by Kumo Kagyu
Studio: White Fox
Released: 2018
Of course I highly recommend going and watching as much anime as you can as I always have done, there is so much to check out and now is a better time than any. So many streaming sites out there solely dedicated to anime, such as Cruchyroll and Funimation and even Nextflix, you can also check all 4 and HI Dive, everywhere you look there's somewhere to watch anime.
The Great British Otaku
Andrew More