Hunter x Hunter is one of the most popular anime series, especially within the shōnen genre.
Its main appeal lies in its character relationships, specifically that between the protagonist and deuteragonist, Gon Freecs and Killua Zoldyck.
The two boys first meet while taking the arduous "Hunter Exam" — a deadly test designed to determine those capable of holding the esteemed title of "Hunter." During the first phase of the exam, Gon, an optimistic kid on a mission to find his father, sticks up for Killua, an assassin prodigy, after another contestant questions his usage of a skateboard. Killua immediately becomes enamored with Gon, and after discovering they're the same age (12), the two become an inseparable pair.
Gon and Killua's relationship grows into an extraordinary friendship, but its bulk is shouldered by Killua. His self-sacrificial nature, his journey toward self-worth, and his incredible complexity makes Killua the most popular and beloved character in Hunter x Hunter, and arguably, in all of anime. His growth is extremely well-written, and he becomes a character one attaches themselves to with great empathy throughout the story.
Shueisha
Killua's characterization is intricate, epitomizing nature vs nurture. When introduced, Killua seems to be a normal child just like Gon. But soon, his upbringing as an assassin is revealed, and he's not just any assassin–Killua is a member of the Zoldyck family, infamous for their efficiency and capabilities in the business of killing. He was raised to be the family's heir, subjected to constant training from birth in both assassination skills and torture.
But unlike his family, Killua doesn't have interest in the family business. In fact, Killua is a very naturally compassionate individual, determined to make up his own way in the world, outside of his family's plans for him. In an effort to find what it is he truly wants, Killua abandons his family and teams up with Gon after the Hunter exam to help him find his father.
Through their adventures together, Killua's true, self-sacrificing nature comes to the forefront time and time again. One of the best examples of this takes place during a high-stakes dodgeball game against a group of powerful criminals on death row—a game necessary for the boys to win in order to meet Gon's father.
The boys devise a strategy wherein Killua holds the ball and Gon hits it with spectacular strength. In the middle of the game, another teammate notices that Killua's hands have become extremely damaged from being in such close, repeated contact with Gon's power at full blast. Killua brushes it off, but a different teammate pulls Killua's hands out of his pockets to show the truth. He'd kept them there to keep Gon from noticing his injuries, knowing how essential their victory is for Gon's journey and not wanting to distract or hold back his friend. He even withdrew protective covering from his hands so that Gon's hit would be stronger.
Killua is also held dear because of his fierce devotion toward the ones he loves, which lies in such massive contrast with the environment he was raised in. Throughout the show, this devotion is primarily demonstrated in his relationship with Gon, but towards the end it is seen, perhaps in an even greater capacity, with his youngest sister, Alluka. She possesses the remarkable power of granting wishes, but they often come with devastating consequences, even more so if her requests are not granted. Because she is essentially considered too dangerous, the Zoldycks keep her locked away in their mansion, until she is rescued by Killua.
Killua ZoldyckMANGA PLUS by Shueisha
In the anime's final arc, Killua aims to rescue Alluka from his parents' mansion, where the Zoldycks have locked her away due to her remarkable and terrifying power to grant wishes with potentially devastating consequences.
Unlike the rest of his family, Killua doesn't shun her for her capabilities, but rather loves her as a person. After reuniting, he promises to keep her safe and swears he'd never forgive anyone who tries to hurt her, family or not. With Gon, Killua mostly kept his most protective sentiments inside, but with Alluka, his natural devotion has free reign.
Killua is able to express himself openly to Alluka, indicating just how much Killua has grown and how comfortable he's become with himself throughout the series. Furthermore, Alluka is a canonically trans character, and while the other Zoldycks regularly misgender her, Killua never does, even loudly exclaiming, "Alluka's a girl!"
Killua Zoldyck has one of the deepest character transformations in Hunter x Hunter. At the beginning, Killua is a directionless boy, following the whims of either his family or Gon without any true path of his own. By the end, he's learned his worth, no longer carrying the weight of others' expectations. He is self-aware and follows his own personal mission, as opposed to the Zoldycks' or Gon's. Killua's overall journey is heart-wrenching, relatable, and overwhelmingly satisfying. He is a character one cannot help but be proud of.
Great villains can make or break any story, and anime just so happens to have some of the best. From over-the-top galactic conquerors to sociopathic high schoolers and psychotic fathers, anime villains are a diverse bunch.
So as an anime fan with a useless screenwriting degree, I'm ranking the best anime villains based on how complex they feel as characters and how well they function within the larger narrative.
Also, Berserk's Griffith would have been at the top of this list, but there's never been a particularly great Berserk anime adaptation, so I decided not to include him. Oh, and I haven't watched Monster yet, so Johan Liebert isn't on the list either. Yeah, I'm a heathen, I know.
PS: A lot of spoilers follow. Please don't read any entries from series you'd rather not be spoiled on.
Itachi Uchiha is the older brother of Naruto's best friend/rival, Sasuke, and we're introduced to him through Sasuke's sole desire and goal in life: to kill him.
Itachi certainly seems like a monster. Hailing from the prestigious Uchiha clan, Itachi was once considered one of the most talented young ninjas in the Leaf Village, even being promoted to Anbu rank (essentially special ops) at only 11 years old. Then Itachi snapped, murdering the entire Uchiha clan save for Sasuke, and subsequently defecting from the Leaf Village to join the criminal organization Akatsuki.
Fueled by hatred and his drive for revenge, Sasuke ultimately defects from the village, too, in search of power at any cost. Sasuke ultimately succeeds in his mission, finding Itachi and killing him in a battle where, strangely enough, Itachi doesn't actually seem to be trying. Only after his death do we finally learn the truth.
Itachi never actually betrayed the Leaf Village. The Uchiha clan had been planning a coup and, due to his rank, Itachi was given a choice: Either the Uchiha clan would be wiped out entirely, or Itachi could take the burden upon himself and spare Sasuke whilst preserving the family name. Itachi chose the latter but, racked by guilt, decided that he deserved to be killed by Sasuke as punishment for his actions. Moreover, Itachi acted as a double-agent in Akatsuki, protecting the Leaf Village until his dying breath.
So...Itachi is not actually a villain. He's a tragic, selfless hero and the bestest boy in all of Naruto. At the same time, so much of Naruto's plot is predicated on the idea of Itachi being a villain that he deserves to be included based on impact alone. But, again, since he's not a real villain, he can't, in good faith, be ranked any higher.
Quite possibly the biggest piece of sh!t in all of anime, Shou Tucker inspires unprecedented feelings of unabashed hatred. Shou is not a fun villain, or a cool villain, or even a particularly fleshed out villain. After all, the dude is an extremely minor character who only appears in a few episodes. But...Christ on a pancake, this man is an unforgettable douche canoe.
When we first meet Shou Tucker, he presents himself as an unassuming, soft-spoken single father. He also happens to be a State Alchemist who specializes in bio-alchemy, and he's best known as the first person to create a talking chimera. It's for this reason that Edward Elric visits Shou's home in hopes of picking his brain for potential leads on restoring his and his brother's, Alphonse's, bodies.
Shou is hospitable, allowing Ed and Al access to his library. They meet his adorable daughter, Nina, and the family dog, Alexander. All is well and good, at least on that first visit. It should have ended there.
Alas, Ed and Al return to Shou's house later on to discover that Shou, frustrated that he hadn't made a scientific breakthrough in two years, alchemically fused Nina and Alexander into a talking chimaera. Also, that first talking chimaera was his wife, because apparently Shou's entire MO is remorselessly experimenting on his own family.
Ed beats the crap out of him and the alchemist serial killer, Scar, murders Shou soon after, but, oh lord, he deserved so much worse. Shou Tucker might not be the most interesting villain from a character standpoint, but he is, perhaps, the single most irredeemable villain on this list.
In stark contrast to its cutesy aesthetic, Puella Magi Madoka Magica is an incredibly disturbing deconstruction of the Magical Girl genre (i.e. Sailor Moon). Naturally, this also means that the adorable cat-rabbit-esque creature, Kyubey, is a lot more than just your typical animal mascot.
In the world of Madoka Magica, humans are unknowingly plagued by evil creatures called Witches that hide themselves in invisible labyrinths, feeding off human misery and spreading curses. Of course, the only thing that can defeat a witch is a magical girl—a young girl blessed with magical, transformative powers.
Kyubey is the arbiter of these magical girl powers, appearing before young girls and offering to grant their deepest wishes in exchange for their souls. Upon forming this contract, the girls' souls will be transferred to a tiny gem which becomes the source of their magical girl powers.
Now here's the twist: Witches are actually magical girls whose soul gems have become corrupted by negative emotions—an inevitability for all magical girls. Therefore, all magical girls eventually become witches who must be killed by fresh magical girls. For Kyubey, this death cycle is the entire point of magical girls.
See, Kyubey is actually a member of an emotionless race known as Incubators, who have been tasked with staving off the eventual Heat Death of the Universe. Human emotions apparently defy thermodynamics, which make them a great source of energy production for this cosmic task.
Thus, Kyubey exploits the emotions of young girls during a time in their life when he deems them most volatile, harvesting their emotional energy and eventually sacrificing them in order to a achieve a larger goal. His actions aren't malicious, as he doesn't understand emotions or even human morality in the first place. And sure, it's for the greater good of the universe. But still, major yikes.
Frieza is the quintessential shonen villain—a wildly overpowered space emperor who wants nothing less than universal domination.
In fact, Frieza is practically the definition of a villain you love to hate. He doesn't have a tragic backstory or a complex character arc. He's just an arrogant d!ckhead with the firepower to back it up. There's something to be said for a villain who actually feels fun to watch.
Even within the larger context of Dragon Ball Z, Frieza stands out as the most memorable bad guy. On top of being the big bad who killed Goku's father, Bardock, and slaughtered the Saiyan race, his personality is just so douchey. He literally started the whole "This isn't even my final form!" shtick, transforming his body over and over again because he just has that much power.
He's so powerful, in fact, that Goku needs to transform into a Super Saiyan for the first time in order to defeat him. So, in essence, Frieza is responsible for pretty much all of the narrative elements that DBZ is best known for. Also, Frieza's character design is just really cool. Props to the OG.
Sensui is the central antagonist of Yu Yu Hakusho's Chapter Black Saga—a bizarre arc wherein Yusuke—the Human World's primary "Spirit Detective"—finds himself pitted not against demons, but rather against a group of deranged humans with strange powers. Sensui acts as the group's leader with the ultimate goal of opening up a massive portal to the Demon World in order to purge humanity.
The most interesting part of the equation, however, is the fact that Sensui was Yusuke's "Spirit Detective" predecessor. In other words, Sensui went from a man tasked with protecting the Human World from demons to a man hellbent on allowing demons to destroy it. But why?
Earlier in his life, Sensui's sense of right and wrong was incredibly black-and-white. He believed that humans were good and demons were evil, and therefore he wholeheartedly believed in his role as humanity's protector. Everything changed when a mission lead him to crash the Feast of Human Vices, an event wherein wealthy humans with criminal connections tortured demons for pleasure. This role reversal shook Sensui to his core, leading him to slaughter all of the humans in attendance. The experience also caused him to develop post-traumatic dissociative identity disorder (which, yeah, isn't how DID actually works, but fine), splitting his personality across multiple personas.
Soon after, Sensui sought out a video tape called Chapter Black, which contained real-life footage of all of humanity's worse atrocities. After watching Chapter Black, Sensui concluded that humanity was just as bad, if not worse, than demons, and in order to atone for killing so many demons who might have been innocent, he must rid the world of humanity.
Scarily enough, Sensui's actions and worldview make a lot of sense given his circumstances. Humans, especially the wealthiest and most powerful ones who hold the most influence in society, are oftentimes exceedingly evil. Perhaps, then, humanity doesn't deserve to be protected. This holds true now more than ever.
The wonderful thing about Light Yagami is that, alongside being one of the most cold-blooded villains in all of anime, he's also the kind of character who makes you question your own morality.
Prior to the start of Death Note, Light is a normal, albeit extremely intelligent, high school student. Then, one day, a bored shinigami named Ryuk drops a mysterious notebook for Light to pick up. The titular Death Note includes instructions, primarily: "The human whose name is written in this note shall die."
While skeptical at first, Light decides to test it out on various criminals and convicts, quickly learning that it is, indeed, real, and that he now holds a vast amount of power. Thus, Light decides to use the Death Note to purge the world of evil and reshape society in his image. Except Light's actions don't go unnoticed, and as criminals begin dying en masse, the world's greatest detective, L, decides to track down the mysterious killer.
To an extent, Light's actions are understandable. While many of us might not feel comfortable admitting it, it's not an uncommon sentiment that the world would be better without a lot of the most awful people. It's also hard to feel too much sympathy for the murderers, rapists, and worst offenders of humanity.
But as Light continues his mission to purge the world of evil, his actions become less and less defensible. The crimes he's willing to kill people over become pettier and pettier. Worse, any time an investigator comes to close to finding out his true identity, he kills them too, justifying it as being for the greater good, of course.
Eventually the truth becomes clear: Light is a sociopath, and his moral trappings are an excuse. He can never truly purge all evil from the world, since as long as he's still alive, evil will continue to exist.
But the question remains: How many of Light's actions can we justify; and more importantly, what would we do in his shoes?
JoJo's Bizarre Adventureis chock full of over-the-top villains, which is why Yoshikage Kira feels like such a breath of fresh air.
Kira isn't a showman. He's not the kind of bad guy who toys with people or desires recognition for his evil deeds. No, Kira is a simple department store worker who is content to live a quiet life in the small town of Morioh, occasionally eating his favorite sandwich and always going to bed by 11PM. Oh, and he's also a paraphilic serial killer obsessed with women's hands.
Kira is an especially wonderful villain because, from a character standpoint, he feels exceedingly real. His primary motivation (other than killing people) is to be left alone so that he can adhere to his routine. It's a relatable, understandable motivation, even if the reasoning behind it is really evil.
And, make no mistake, Kira is evil. He's perfectly willing to kill anyone who gets in his way, including young children. He spends a good portion of the show masquerading as a family man whose likeness he stole (after murdering the guy, of course), residing with the man's wife and son and ruining their lives.
His powers are absolutely wild, too, possessing the ability to turn anything he wants into a bomb, and the secondary ability of being able to briefly reverse time. Kira is both a terrifying and seemingly unstoppable villain while simultaneously being one of the most realistic, disturbingly relatable villains (especially for introverts). If you've ever dreamt of living a quiet, simple life, you and Kira are mostly on the same page. Well, except for the serial killer obsessed with women's hands part.
It's hard to truly think of Vinland Saga's Askeladd as a "villain."
Make no mistake, this isn't an Itachi scenario. Askeladd is, undoubtedly, a very bad person. But Vinland Saga is a mature series that fully realizes how grey humans can be.
As the leader of a band of Danish mercenary vikings, Askeladd kicks the series off by agreeing to assassinate a noble former viking named Thors. Upon ambushing Thors and his crew (including Thors' young son, Thorfinn), Askeladd agrees to a fair duel against Thors. Thors makes it clear that he doesn't want to kill anyone, and all he wants if he wins is to leave peacefully with his crew. Askeladd quickly realizes that he can't beat Thors in a fair swordfight, so instead has one of his men take Thorfinn hostage and then commands his archers to riddle Thors with arrows. Then, after killing Thors, Askeladd honors the terms of Thors' "fair" duel and lets the rest of the crew go free.
This sort of behavior is typical for Askeladd. He's cunning and dishonest, willing to do whatever it takes to succeed in his goals. At the same time, he's morally complex, and sometimes even empathetic.
After Thors' son, Thorfinn, decides to stow away on Askeladd's ship with the intent of killing him in a fair duel, Askeladd essentially brings Thorfinn onto his crew. Knowing that Thorfinn is fueled by the desire to kill him, Askeladd uses the promise of duels to incentivize Thorfinn to work with him. Throughout the years, the two develop a strange relationship, akin to a mentorship or even a father-son bond, albeit one where the son always wants to kill the father.
Meanwhile, Askeladd engages in a series of maneuvers on the political front, positioning himself as the vassal of one of the Danish King Sweyn's two sons, Canute, and attempting to engineer Canute's succession to the throne. We later learn that Askeladd grew up as the illegitimate son of a powerful Danish viking and a Welsh slave. Witnessing the severe mistreatment of his mother and the Welsh people, Askeladd grew to hate the Danes and ultimately murdered his father.
It becomes clear that, in supporting Canute, Askeladd's ultimate ambition is to foster peace for the people of Wales. It also becomes clear that Askeladd sees himself in Thorfinn and, in a sense, truly believes that he deserves to die at Thorfinn's hand.
Throughout his journey, Askeladd does some truly unforgivable things. He murders women and children while securing food and shelter for his own crew. He even tortures a civilian.
And yet, in the end, Askeladd dies a hero's death. After learning that King Sweyn plans to invade Wales and murder Canute (in a bid to secure succession for his other son, Harald), Askeladd feigns madness, murdering King Sweyn by his own hand and sacrificing his life to Canute. In doing so, Askeladd saves Wales and facilitates Canute's succession to the throne. He even offers Thorfinn the chance to deliver the final blow (Thorfinn refuses), using his dying breath to urge Thorfinn to move forward and not repeat the same cycle of hatred that he propagated.
Hunter x Hunter's Meruem—the main antagonist of the Chimaera Ant arc—seems to cover the same exact archetype as DBZ's Cell. He's an insectoid monster capable of absorbing and integrating the powers of other living creatures, with the sole directive of ruling the world.
In a traditional shonen anime, Meruem would be a one-note character defined almost exclusive by his terrifying powers. The arc would be largely spent hyping up Meruem's insane abilities, which would finally be revealed in-full during a final one-on-one blow-out with the protagonist.
But Hunter x Hunter is far from a traditional shonen, and the Chimaera Ant arc essentially functions as a deconstruction of its genre.
Indeed, Meruem starts off as a cold, calculating monster who has no qualms about killing and eating anyone, be they men, women, children, or even other members of his species. But despite having no sense of humanity, Meruem isn't just physically powerful; he's also ridiculously intelligent.
Upon conquering a small nation and devising a plan to turn the population into a high-quality food source, Meruem grows bored and decides to pass his time by challenging the nation's top minds to various board games. Despite having never played any of these games before, Meruem learns quickly and easily defeats all of his opponents, constantly relishing in his own superiority.
Then Meruem meets Komugi, a young girl considered to be the world's best player of a tile-based strategy game called Gungi. Komugi is blind, clumsy, and very physically weak, and yet no matter how many times they play, Meruem cannot beat her at Gungi. Eventually, the constant losses begin to shake Meruem's sense of identity.
Up until this point, Meruem had always been the best at everything he ever attempted. As far as he knew, no creature alive could match his immense physical strength or his superior intellect. Now, here was this powerless girl who, at first glance, struck Meruem as a poor specimen even amongst humans. And yet she was better than him at something.
Meruem becomes obsessed with playing Gungi against Komugi, skipping meals and even de-prioritizing his master plans of world domination. Komugi enjoys playing Gungi with Meruem, too, expressing that her only real talent is the ability to play Gungi and how playing with him gives her purpose. As the two continue their games together, Meruem grows to genuinely care about Komugi. This, in turn, causes his perspective on life to shift.
Eventually Meruem realizes that he can never know what kind of talent, potential, and unique skills a person may possess, and instead of conquering the world and killing people for food, he will instead become a benevolent ruler who protects the weak.
Through all of this, the protagonists have been gearing up to take Meruem down. Isaac Netero, the most powerful Hunter in the world, challenges Meruem directly. But at this point, Meruem doesn't want to fight, instead sitting down and telling Netero that he'd rather spare his life, as his goal is now to create a just world for humans. Netero won't listen, going all out against Meruem and, ultimately, sacrificing his own life to set off a poisonous nuclear explosion.
Meruem survives the blast, but soon realizes that he has been poisoned and will die soon. Reassessing what's important to him, Meruem decides that the only thing he cares about is spending his remaining time with Komugi. He goes to her and asks her to play more Gungi with him.
After a few matches, he admits that he's going to die shortly and that, despite it being his last wish to continue playing with her, he doesn't want her to get infected, too. Komugi doesn't respond. She just continues playing. Meruem dies in her arms.
As a villain, Meruem absolutely defies all tropes. He's set up as the ultimate shonen monster, but he never even displays his powers in a battle. Instead, he transforms from a heartless monster into a being capable of love. Meruem's character arc is unlike that of any villain in any other story I've ever heard of. It is, at its core, a story of hope and how love has the potential to change even the worst of us. Meruem's final moments are, without a doubt, the saddest, most heart-wrenching scene I have ever experienced in...anything, really.
There are good villains, there are great villains, and then there's Meruem—an all-powerful insectoid monster whose death is capable of making a grown man sob.
Usually the most epic fights in anime are the ones between the main hero and the baddest villain.
Showdowns in the vein of Goku vs. Frieza are the culmination of entire story arcs. These are the fights where the villains pull out their most terrifying powers, and the heroes draw on everything they've experienced so far in order to transcend their abilities and, more often than not, develop a new final form.
But while the headline fights might be the bread and butter of anime hype, sometimes the undercard matches are incredible in their own right. Long-running anime series are particularly great at fleshing out side-characters who would most likely get shoved to the side in a lot of other kinds of stories, and sometimes their battles hit even harder than those of the main heroes.
Here are some of the best anime fights that don't feature the main protagonists.
*Major spoilers for Hunter x Hunter and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5 follow.
Rock Lee vs. Gaara (Naruto)
We don't know a ton about Rock Lee or Gaara before going into their fight. The battle takes place early on in the series as part of the Chunin Exam, wherein young ninjas from different ninja villages come together in an attempt to graduate from their junior rank. During the third stage of the exam, students must fight one another in a sparring match, and sure enough, Rock Lee and Gaara get matched up.
Rock Lee, with his bushy eyebrows and goofy green bodysuit, seem like a borderline joke character. Gaara, on the other hand, is introduced as a stone-cold killer. In the only prior scene where Gaara fights, he's ambushed by a group of rival ninjas and promptly slaughter them all without lifting a finger. In short, putting Rock Lee against Gaara at such an early point in the series felt immediately unfair. Undoubtedly, Rock Lee would be used as a likable, good-natured punching bag in order to make Gaara seem all the more scarier.
Then the fight starts, and Rock Lee goes all in on Gaara. Throughout the fight, we discover that Rock Lee can't actually use ninjutsu or genjutsu (illusionary techniques), but he has worked harder than anybody else to master taijutsu (body techniques). Essentially, Rock Lee is the best at hand-to-hand combat.
Still, Gaara's sand powers are too great, and Lee's skill and training ultimately fail to best Gaara's monstrous abilities. But due to Rock Lee's insane skills, a fight that might have otherwise played out as a one-sided beatdown instead played out as one of the craziest, coolest bouts in the series.
Netero vs. Meruem (Hunter x Hunter)
Hunter x Hunter's Chimaera Ant arc is essentially a deconstruction of the typical shonen "strongest creature alive" storyline (exemplified by Dragon Ball Z's Cell Saga). In this fight, Meruem, an insectoid monster bred to subjugate the world, has achieved unprecedented levels of power. At the same time, though, he has begun to question his own morality and has come to the conclusion that when he does ultimately conquer the world, he will be a benevolent ruler who aims to find the value in every living thing.
Netero is the leader of the Hunter organization, and arguably the strongest Hunter alive. In a typical shonen series, Netero would fall in battle to Meruem so that the protagonist could step up to defeat the ultimate foe. But Hunter x Hunter is far from a typical shonen.
The battle plays out almost anti-climactically. Meruem refuses to fight, not wanting to hurt Netero. Meanwhile, Netero pulls out every move he can. Eventually, Meruem steps up and it immediately becomes clear that he is far too powerful for Netero to ever even come close to beating. So, after his ultimate move falls short, Netero—presumably the "good guy"—detonates a weapon of mass destruction, killing himself and dealing substantial damage to Meruem.
The most incredible part of the Meruem/Netero fight is the way that it subverts expectations of character roles, putting Meruem, the uber-powered monster, into the role of a pacifist, and Netero, the "hero" who spent his whole life training in combat, into the role of the deceitful bad guy.
Doppio vs. Risotto (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
Perhaps one of the most bizarre fights even in a series full of bizarre fights, the Risotto/Doppio match-up in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind is absolutely bonkers.
Risotto is the lapsed leader of a group of mafia hitmen seeking revenge on his boss over the murder of one of his men. Doppio is a weak, cowardly, mentally unhinged young man who also happens to be the alternate personality (or, more specifically, alternate soul-half) of said mafia boss.
Risotto's powers are amongst the most grotesque in all of JoJo's. His Stand, Metallica, allows him to manipulate iron through magnetism at short range. His ability to manipulate iron means that he can do things like, oh, create razor blade from the blood inside someone's face–which he does.
Doppio spends the majority of their fight getting absolutely brutalized by Risotto. Like, razor blades coming out of his face. But Doppio has a trick up his sleeve, and that trick is being delusional enough to believe that a frog is a telephone. Upon catching a frog, Doppio has a "phone call" with his other half, the brutal mob boss Diavolo, who allows Doppio to use his Stand, King Crimson, to manipulate time. Yeah, this battle is absolutely off-the-wall.
Keiji Fujiwara, the incredibly talented voice actor behind Leorio from Hunter X Hunter, Axel from Kingdom Hearts, and Reno from the recent Final Fantasy VII Remake, has passed away at age 55.
Immediately recognizable for his distinct, raspy voice, Fujiwara possessed an unmatched ability to imbue manly characters with just the right dose of goofiness and heart.
Chances are high that anyone who loves anime or video games has enjoyed Fujiwara's voice in a prominent way. Alongside Leorio, Axel, and Reno, other major roles include Ardyn from Final Fantasy XV, Maes Hughes from Fullmetal Alchemist, Hannes from Attack on Titan, and Esidisi from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
In Japan, Fujiwara was also known for dubbing Robert Downey Jr.'s movie performances, most notably Iron Man in all of the Marvel movies, as well as Heath Ledger's Joker in Batman: The Dark Knight.
Fujiwara was a master of his craft and he will continue to survive through his unforgettable performances and the lives those characters touch. Rest in peace, Keiji Fujiwara, and thank you for all your amazing work.
Thanks to streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu, it was suddenly possible to watch multiple episodes of a single TV series in one sitting without the interruptions of commercials. As the way we watched TV changed, so too did the kind of shows we watched. Gone was the overabundance of vapid, sugary-sweet sitcoms, and in came the era of political satire, dramatic comedies, and searing commentaries on everything from abortion to Hollywood. Summarily, the 2010s saw a golden age of television. Here are our 50 favorites, with the top 25 and bottom 25 listed in alphabetical order.
The Top 25 TV Shows of the 2010s
Atlanta
Atlanta first aired in 2016, with Donald Glover's Earn learning that his cousin Alfred has released a hit song under the stage name Paper Boi. Since then, the show has followed Earn's struggle to navigate different worlds as he takes over managing his cousin's burgeoning music career while also trying to be a good father to his daughter, Lottie, and to prove himself to Van, his ex-girlfriend and Lottie's mother. The show uses varying perspectives to flesh out the city of Atlanta and the complexities of being black in America with surreal touches that highlight the real-world absurdity. Yet despite the heaviness of much of its subject matter, it frequently manages to be among the funniest shows on TV.
Barry
For anyone who ever wondered whether or not SNL-alum Bill Hader could carry a serious TV show, Barry answers with an overwhelming "yes." To be clear, Barry is technically a dark comedy, or perhaps a crime comedy-drama, but Bill Hader brings a level of unprecedented seriousness to his titular character that oftentimes makes the show feel like a straight tragedy.
Playing a hitman who wants to leave his life of crime behind in order to pursue a career in acting, Bill Hader imbues Barry with an earnestness that makes us as an audience truly want him to succeed. This likability serves to make Barry's violent acts all the more disturbing. Barry's greatest success is its ability to effortlessly fluctuate between the quirks of life as a struggling actor in LA and the violent inclinations of a man who murders for a living and can never really escape that truth. It's one of the best character studies currently on TV and is sure to cement Bill Hader as an extremely versatile A-list talent.
Baskets
Baskets premiered on FX in 2016, telling the story of Chip Baskets, an aspiring clown played by Zach Galifianakis, who is moving back to Bakersfield, California to live with his mother after a failed stint at clown school in Paris. Galfianakis' talent for melancholy slapstick makes the show by turns hilarious and touching, but it's his mother Christine Baskets—artfully portrayed by Louie Anderson—whose simple enthusiasm for small-town life makes the show one of the best of the decade. Watching Christine, Chip, and his twin brother Dale (also Galifianakis) heighten relatable family drama to exquisite absurdity never gets old.
Black Mirror
Nothing would be the same without Black Mirror. Though its later seasons have been inconsistent in quality, its earliest contributions were digital horror at its finest, with some of the episodes being downright visionary in terms of how accurately they predicted the near future. From the nostalgic visions of virtual afterlife in "San Junipero" to the eerie foresight of "Nosedive" and its digital ranking systems, Black Mirror made an indelible impact.
Bob's Burgers
Whatever you've heard about Family Guy or South Park, Bob's Burgers is the true successor to the golden age of The Simpsons. The Belcher family offers an update to The Simpsons' satirical view on middle class family life that reflects how America has changed since the 90s—slightly more urban, with less overt child abuse and a lot more economic precarity. And just as with the best seasons of The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers maintains a touching core of familial love and solidarity amid the absurd hijinks and veiled political commentary. Throw in the added value of the frequently hilarious, occasionally moving musical numbers, and Bob's Burgers easily secures a spot as one of the best shows of the decade.
Bojack Horseman
In terms of the quality of its writing, BoJack Horseman outdid itself season after season. What began as a parody of Hollywood's excesses quickly turned into a searing, and boundary-pushing meditation on depression, addiction, and what it means to change (or to be unable to). Increasingly self-aware and conscious of its hypocritical tendency to obsess over the misadventures of an evil but sympathetic celebrity, thereby glorifying them while criticizing them, BoJack Horseman is the political, devastating, timely, often hilarious show about an animated horse that none of us knew we needed. It's buoyed by the strength of its secondary characters, from the workaholic Princess Carolyn to asexual Todd to self-loathing Diane, and altogether the show takes deep-rooted fears that many share and refracts them in a funhouse mirror that's impossible to look away from.
Broad City
Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson began producing an independent web series about their struggles to "make it" in New York City in 2009. Soon, Amy Poehler took interest in the series, and it moved to Comedy Central in 2014. The smash hit comedy was not only laugh-out-loud funny, but a beautiful portrait of a genuinely healthy, supportive female friendship—something TV has historically seen little of. Broad City can be credited for helping to usher in a new generation of female comedy creators and has become a cultural touchstone for millenials.
Catastrophe
Catastrophe, created and written by the show's stars, Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan, is one of the realest, grossest, and funniest takes on love and the mess of life. Two people entering middle age meet and hit it off, they spend a reckless night together, and when she gets pregnant, they decide to make things work—not realizing how complicated that will be. It's a simple enough premise, but the cutting dialogue and the absurd comedy that plays out as two near-strangers build a life together make Catastrophe one of a kind.
Fargo
Anthology series like True Detective and American Horror Story can be really hit or miss, but in the three seasons that have aired on FX since 2014, Fargo has been consistently great. Maybe it has to do with the leisurely production schedule, the all-star cast, or the near-perfect movie that forms the basis for its tone, but whatever the cause, Fargo delivers murderous midwestern tragicomedy better than any show on TV—and nearly as well as the original. Season three, which followed the rivalry of the Stussy brothers—as played by Ewan McGregor—deserves a particular call-out, with season four due next year and featuring Chris Rock, Timothy Olyphant, and Jason Schwartzman.
Fleabag
Phoebe Waller-Bridge's stage-play-turned-two-season-TV masterpiece took the world by storm at the end of the 2010s. In the series, the viewer is made into the protagonist's (an unnamed woman played by Bridge) confidante as she uses sex to cope with grief and complicated family dynamics. As the show progresses, the closely protected inner life of the protagonist begins to reveal itself. Many consider the second season to be an essentially perfect season of television, in large part because of the hot priest (played by Andrew Scott). Fleabag is a funny, searing commentary on what it means to exist as a sexual, complicated being in a world with ever-changing expectations of women.
Grace and Frankie
70 is the new 30, or 20, or whatever arbitrary year of life we as a culture are deciding to glorify for no reason, because age is just a number. If you weren't aware that Jane Fonda glowed with money or that Lily Tomlin is our collective spiritual mother, then Grace and Frankie enlightened you. When two septuagenarian women are told that their husbands are gay and in love with each other, the best phase of their lives begins.
Haikyu!!
It's almost 2020, the world is upside down, and yes, an anime about high school volleyball is genuinely one of the best shows of the decade. Haikyu!!, literally "Volleyball" in Japanese, is about the trials and tribulations of the Karasuno High School Boys Volleyball Team. Unlike pretty much every other high school sports anime out there, Haikyu!! takes a relatively realistic approach to...well...high schoolers playing sports. In doing so, Haikyu!! translates the genuine passion that goes into high school sports and the real dynamics of teamwork, better than any other show I've ever seen.
The protagonist, Hinata, isn't a superpowered Volleyball God; he's an extremely short boy who can't reach the top of the net, but works his butt off because he loves the game. Likewise, all the other boys in Haikyu!! have realistic strengths and weaknesses (both on and off the court) that they work to overcome with help from their teammates. Haikyu!! is an exercise in wholesomeness––there are no villains, just other kids at other schools who love the same sport our boys do––and in a decade full of so much bitterness, it's a much needed dose of medicine.
Hunter x Hunter
For anyone who likes long-running shonen anime, Hunter x Hunter is, without a doubt, the pinnacle of the genre. While the original manga began publication in 1998, and a previous anime adaptation ran from 1999-2001, the 2011 adaptation re-started the series from scratch and, most importantly, covered the Chimaera Ant arc (or season––kind of––for you non-anime watchers).
The entirety of Hunter x Hunter is fantastic, featuring likeable protagonists, dastardly villains, and a brilliantly creative power system called "Nen." But there's a reason the Chimaera Ant arc is often considered the greatest shonen arc ever, and that's because it's a total deconstruction of the genre's tropes and conventions. Everything from the "always optimistic protagonist" to "the ultimate evil villain" is turned completely inside-out. The Chimaera Ant arc is intensely brutal and ultimately poignant, making us question the very nature of what makes us human.
Killing Eve
Phoebe Waller-Bridge can do no wrong, and even if she could and did, I'd probably still clap. The combination of Waller-Bridge's cutting wit and Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer's flawless performances makes for a TV show that never quite lets you find your balance before sending you spinning again. It's dark and surreal, while managing to still be deeply human.
Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Being a professional stand-up comedienne is hard, but being Midge Maisel is wrapping chaos in a designer dress. Created by the fast-talking husband and wife behind Gilmore Girls, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel created a stage for Rachel Brosnahan to showcase her comedic timing and Alex Borstein to be a solid, deadpan pillar within Mrs. Maisel's world of quippy, fast-talking, energy. Also Michael Zegen (Joel) is dead cute.
Mob Psycho 100
While One Punch Man might be manga artist One's best known series (and is fantastic in its own right), his other series, Mob Psycho 100,is profound in a way quite unlike anything else I've seen. The show revolves around Mob, an awkward, unconfident middle school boy with god-like psychic powers. Any other shonen anime would use this premise as a gateway to epic battles (and there are a few, and their animation is absolutely incredible), but Mob Psycho 100 focuses far more on the coming-of-age angle instead.
See, Mob doesn't like his psychic powers because they make him feel weird. So instead of focusing on the one thing he's innately talented at but doesn't like, Mob tries to improve himself in the ways he actually cares about improving––making friends, talking to girls, working out with his school's Body Improvement Club. If anything, Mob's incredible psychic powers are a backdrop for the show's larger message––that no person, no matter what natural abilities they may have, is better than anyone else. Mob Psycho 100 shows that everyone has their own struggles, and that the only person you should ever hold yourself up in comparison to is the person you were yesterday.
The OA
Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij's labyrinthine show only ran for two seasons, but it managed to earn a cult following during that time. Deeply weird, profoundly earnest, and full to the brim with observations on the connections between the environment, parallel universes, and technology, the two seasons that we do have are irreplaceable and paradigm-shifting examples of what TV could become, if we let ourselves believe.
Orange Is the New Black
Piper Kerman's post-grad rebellious stage went from a felony to a cultural touchstone. As Netflix's most-watched original series, OITNB boasted a female-led cast and cutting commentary on race, class, and the industrial prison complex.
PEN15
Those who didn't have a gruelingly awkward middle school experience are, by scientific evidence, simply inhuman. Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle tell it best in Hulu original PEN15, which co-stars the real-life BFFs (who also wrote and executive produced together) as 13-year-olds. Here, there's no sugarcoating the calamities of tweenhood, whether they're as trivial as thongs and AIM messaging or as weighty as race identity. All delivered with Erskine and Konkle's razor-sharp wit, it's absolutely hysterical to anyone who's lived past the seventh grade.
Rick and Morty
"To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Rick and Morty. The humour is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theoretical physics most of the jokes will go over a typical viewer's head."
Okay, so first things first, we need to separate Rick and Morty from the Rick and Morty fandom. The Rick and Morty fandom is so annoying that memes making fun of them are barely distinguishable from the things they actually say. But, to be fair, Rick and Morty really is a great show full of smart writing, surprisingly deep characterization, and the exact kind of bizarre, abstract humor that lends itself perfectly to endless memes. No doubt, Rick and Morty will be the defining animated comedy of the 2010s.
Russian Doll
This tightly-wound and big-hearted thriller stars Natasha Lyonne as a jaded New Yorker who gets caught in a loop in time and has to relive the night of her 36th birthday party over and over again. A perfect blend of humor and seriousness, and riddled with quantum leaps and profound connections, it's as satisfying as it is provocative.
Shameless
We fell in love with the trainwreck family the Gallaghers when it debuted on Showtime in 2011. William H. Macy brought so much toxic charm to the abusive and neglectful father Frank Gallagher that we actually found him, if not likable, then good television. Emmy Rossum managed to cause tears and laughter within the same scene, and the entire cast was as impressive as their characters were appalling.
Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan)
After the first season of Attack on Titan premiered in 2013, it received so much hype that even people outside of the anime community were raving about it. The show featured an incredibly high-concept premise, following the last surviving humans as they tried to fight back against giant, man-eating monsters called Titans. Had Attack on Titan stuck to that premise, it would have been top-notch action-horror, albeit not necessarily one of the best shows of the decade.
But Attack on Titan turned out to be so much bigger than its initial premise. As the seasons progressed, Attack on Titan reshaped itself time and time again, leading viewers through an increasingly complex, expertly plotted narrative featuring some of the most compelling characters and intensely emotional moments that I've ever experienced in fiction. At its core, Attack on Titan is a deeply thematic contemplation on war, othering, and humanity's will to survive against impossible odds, alongside the moral sacrifices they oftentimes make to do so.
Shrill
It shouldn't be revolutionary for a show to feature a fat female lead, but it is. Shrill, the brilliant Hulu adaptation of Lindy West's memoir, Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman, gave audiences a badly needed narrative about a woman who is actively seeking to change her life for the better, in ways that have nothing to do with her body. It's funny, it's heartfelt, and it shows a woman getting an abortion and finding it empowering. Woah. Hell yes.
Steven Universe
When Steven Universe first aired on Cartoon Network in 2013, it was a light-hearted and silly children's show with some super-powered action from the Crystal Gems and a lot of silly jokes from their sidekick—the childish titular character. Since then an entire galaxy has been fleshed out around the boardwalk of Beach City where much of the show takes place. Along with the alien gem creatures and their elaborate history, the show has introduced us to a cast of characters that have grown and changed—overcoming insecurities and facing complex questions of love and identity. While Steven matured and developed into a hero worthy of his last name, the show evolved to become one of the best of the decade.
I might enjoy watching Stranger Things, but I'd never shell out $1000+ for a Dustin vs The Mind Flayer 1:6 scale statue or a Demogorgon body pillow. Okay, that's not entirely true, I'd probably buy a Demogorgon body pillow. But if I'm going to spend $1000 on a statue, it's going to be on something like this. And no, that's not just because anime battles are cooler than battles in any other medium (and yes, I actually did buy that).
What sets anime apart from everything else is that, at its best, great anime combines action, fantasy, and humor with gorgeous art and cutting emotional impact in a way quite unlike anything else I've ever experienced. I recommend anime to anyone and everyone, and if you're seriously looking to get into the medium (legally), I'd recommend subscribing to Crunchyroll for its massive library. But for those just starting out, Netflix has a great range of anime series that are sure to show any budding anime buff what the medium has to offer:
Attack on Titan
Kodansha
<p>Arguably <a href="https://www.popdust.com/attack-on-titan-best-anime-2638648372.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">one of the best series ever made</a> (anime or otherwise...just look at the top <a href="https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?title_type=tv_episode&num_votes=1000,&sort=user_rating,desc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TV episodes on IMDB</a>), <em>Attack on Titan </em>is a brutal, complex story about humanity's last stand against mysterious, man-eating monsters called titans. The show steers clear of a lot of anime tropes that typically turn off newer anime viewers, and the plotting is mind-blowing. If there's only one anime you ever watch, make sure it's <em>Attack on Titan</em>.</p>