Top Achronological Order Anime Recommendations

DEATH NOTE

Also known as Death Note.

Studio: MADHOUSE
Status: Finished
Genres: Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

Light Yagami is a genius high school student who is about to learn about life through a book of death. When a bored shinigami, a God of Death, named Ryuk drops a black notepad called a Death Note, Light receives power over life and death with the stroke of a pen. Determined to use this dark gift for the best, Light sets out to rid the world of evil… namely, the people he believes to be evil. Should anyone hold such power?

The consequences of Light’s actions will set the world ablaze.



Tags: Crime , Detective , Anti-Hero , Fugitive , Male Protagonist , Police , Philosophy , Primarily Adult Cast , Memory Manipulation , Noir , Gods , Urban Fantasy , Primarily Male Cast , Urban , Unrequited Love , Shounen , Kuudere , Espionage , Amnesia , Yandere , Conspiracy , Tragedy , Assassins , Suicide , Acting , Time Skip , Youkai , Achronological Order , Feet

NARUTO

Also known as Naruto.

Studio: Studio Pierrot
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy , Supernatural

Naruto Uzumaki, a hyperactive and knuckle-headed ninja, lives in Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf village. Moments prior to his birth, a huge demon known as the Kyuubi, the Nine-tailed Fox, attacked Konohagakure and wreaked havoc. In order to put an end to the Kyuubi's rampage, the leader of the village, the 4th Hokage, sacrificed his life and sealed the monstrous beast inside the newborn Naruto.

Shunned because of the presence of the Kyuubi inside him, Naruto struggles to find his place in the village. He strives to become the Hokage of Konohagakure, and he meets many friends and foes along the way.



Tags: Ninja , Shounen , Criminal Organization , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Orphan , Super Power , Revenge , Martial Arts , Found Family , Philosophy , Primarily Child Cast , Shapeshifting , Necromancy , Ensemble Cast , Kaiju , Battle Royale , Bullying , Slapstick , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Achronological Order , Travel , Unrequited Love , Anachronism , LGBTQ+ Themes , Death Game , Estranged Family , Gender Bending , School , Assassins , Love Triangle , Anthropomorphism , Gambling

NARUTO: Shippuuden

Also known as Naruto: Shippuden.

Studio: Studio Pierrot
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy , Supernatural

Naruto: Shippuuden is the continuation of the original animated TV series Naruto. The story revolves around an older and slightly more matured Uzumaki Naruto and his quest to save his friend Uchiha Sasuke from the grips of the snake-like Shinobi, Orochimaru. After 2 and a half years Naruto finally returns to his village of Konoha, and sets about putting his ambitions to work, though it will not be easy, as he has amassed a few (more dangerous) enemies, in the likes of the shinobi organization; Akatsuki.



Tags: Ninja , Shounen , Criminal Organization , Male Protagonist , Super Power , Revenge , Tragedy , Orphan , Coming of Age , Martial Arts , War , Conspiracy , Philosophy , Cultivation , Fugitive , Ensemble Cast , Time Skip , Politics , Necromancy , Gods , Terrorism , Military , Achronological Order , Swordplay , Anti-Hero , Anachronism , Kaiju , Travel , Aliens , Unrequited Love , Shapeshifting , Slapstick , Gender Bending , Estranged Family

BLEACH

Also known as Bleach.

Studio: Studio Pierrot
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Supernatural

Ichigo Kurosaki is a rather normal high school student apart from the fact he has the ability to see ghosts. This ability never impacted his life in a major way until the day he encounters the Shinigami Kuchiki Rukia, who saves him and his family's lives from a Hollow, a corrupt spirit that devours human souls.

Wounded during the fight against the Hollow, Rukia chooses the only option available to defeat the monster and passes her Shinigami powers to Ichigo. Now forced to act as a substitute until Rukia recovers, Ichigo hunts down the Hollows that plague his town.

Tags: Swordplay , Shounen , Super Power , Afterlife , Ghost , Male Protagonist , Exorcism , Urban Fantasy , Demons , Ensemble Cast , Time Skip , School , Memory Manipulation , Kuudere , Cannibalism , Royal Affairs , Achronological Order , Anthropomorphism , Language Barrier , Ninja , Tanned Skin , Rescue , Tomboy , Reincarnation , Kaiju , Centaur , Time Manipulation , Dissociative Identities , Spearplay , Fugitive , Clone , Disability , Tsundere , Guns , Vampire , Ojou-sama , Age Regression , Amnesia , Isekai , Reverse Isekai

Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai

Also known as I Want to Eat Your Pancreas.

Studio: Studio VOLN
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

Spring time in April and the last of the cherry blossoms are still in bloom. The usually aloof bookworm with no interest in others comes across a book in a hospital waiting room. Handwritten on the cover are the words: "Living with Dying." He soon discovers that it is a diary kept by his very popular and genuinely cheerful classmate, Sakura Yamauchi, who reveals to him that she is secretly suffering from a pancreatic illness and only has a limited time left. It is at this moment that she gains just one more person to share her secret.

Trying to maintain a normal life as much as possible, Sakura is determined to live her life to the fullest until the very last day. As her free spirit and unpredictable actions throw him for a loop, his heart begins to gradually change.



Tags: Tragedy , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Classic Literature , Rehabilitation , Achronological Order , Unrequited Love , School

Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica

Also known as Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Studio: Shaft
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Mahou Shoujo , Psychological , Thriller

One night, 14-year-old Madoka Kaname has a terrible nightmare - against the backdrop of a devastated city, she witnesses a girl fight a losing battle against a dreadful being lingering above, while a cat-like magical creature tells Madoka the only way to change such tragic outcome is for her to make a contract with him and become a magical girl.

The next day, the teen's dream seemingly becomes reality as the girl she saw in her dream - Homura - arrives at Mitakihara Middle School as a transfer student, mysteriously warning Madoka to stay just the way she is; but when later on she and her best friend Sayaka encounter the same cat-like magical creature from her dream - who introduces himself as Kyubey - the pair discovers that magical girls are real, and what's more, they can choose to become one. All they must do is sign a contract with Kyubey and agree to take on the duty to fight abstract beings called 'witches' that spread despair to the human world, and in return, each one of them will be granted any single wish they desire. However, as Homura's omen suggests, there might be far more to becoming a magical girl than Madoka and Sayaka realize...

Notes:
- Due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the broadcasts of episodes 11 and 12 were delayed and were later aired as a double feature on April 21, 2011.

Tags: Magic , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Cosmic Horror , Witch , Primarily Female Cast , Time Manipulation , Urban Fantasy , Time Loop , Philosophy , Alternate Universe , Primarily Teen Cast , Yuri , Henshin , Coming of Age , Survival , Primarily Child Cast , Aliens , Urban , Mixed Media , Kuudere , Gods , Yandere , Suicide , Anti-Hero , Denpa , Guns , Swordplay , Spearplay , School , Tomboy , Achronological Order , Archery , Anthropomorphism , LGBTQ+ Themes

86: Eighty Six

Also known as 86 EIGHTY-SIX.

Studio: A-1 Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Mecha , Sci-Fi

Called “Juggernaut,” these are the unmanned combat drones developed by the Republic of San Magnolia in answer to the attacks by the autonomous unmanned drones of the neighboring Empire of Giad, the “Legion”. But they’re only unmanned in name. In reality, they are piloted by the Eighty-sixers—those considered to be less than human and treated as mere tools.

Determined to achieve his own mysterious ends, Shin, the captain of Spearhead Squadron, which is comprised of Eighty-sixers, continues to fight a hopeless war on a battlefield where only death awaits him.



Tags: Class Struggle , War , Military , Tragedy , Dystopian , Survival , Ensemble Cast , Seinen , Politics , Post-Apocalyptic , Female Protagonist , Proxy Battle , Philosophy , Robots , Guns , Male Protagonist , Real Robot , Conspiracy , Primarily Teen Cast , Memory Manipulation , Artificial Intelligence , Achronological Order , CGI , Necromancy , Unrequited Love , Gore , Lost Civilization , Suicide , Travel , Kuudere , Super Power , POV , Body Horror , Nudity

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Diamond wa Kudakenai

Also known as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable.

Studio: david production
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Mystery , Supernatural

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Diamond wa Kudakenai adapts the fourth part of the JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken manga series.

It's the year 1999, 11 years after Jotaro Kujo's desperate fight against DIO in Egypt. Jotaro meets with Josuke Higashikata, the illegitimate son of his grandfather Joseph Joestar. He discovers that Josuke also has the same "Stand" power and that a new threat is surfacing in Morioh City.



Tags: Super Power , Urban Fantasy , Urban , Surreal Comedy , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Time Loop , Ensemble Cast , Delinquents , Time Manipulation , Body Horror , Gore , Ghost , Tragedy , Body Swapping , Afterlife , School , Memory Manipulation , Achronological Order , Yandere , Revenge , Aliens , Disability

Durarara!!

Also known as Durarara!!.

Studio: Brain's Base
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Mystery , Supernatural

In Tokyo's downtown district of Ikebukuro, amidst many strange rumors and warnings of anonymous gangs and dangerous occupants, one urban legend stands out above the rest—the existence of a headless "Black Rider" who is said to be seen driving a jet-black motorcycle through the city streets.

Ryuugamine Mikado has always longed for the excitement of the city life, and an invitation from a childhood friend convinces him to move to Tokyo. Witnessing the Black Rider on his first day in the city, his wishes already seem to have been granted. But as supernatural events begin to occur, ordinary citizens like himself, along with Ikebukuro's most colorful inhabitants, are mixed up in the commotion breaking out in their city.



Tags: Urban Fantasy , Gangs , Urban , Ensemble Cast , Dullahan , Achronological Order , Delinquents , Crime , Female Protagonist , School , Mythology , Yandere , Male Protagonist , Motorcycles , Orphan , Otaku Culture , Amnesia , Anti-Hero , Seinen , Swordplay , Heterosexual , Bullying , Incest , Suicide

Nichijou

Also known as Nichijou - My Ordinary Life.

Studio: Kyoto Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Nichijou primarily focuses on the daily antics of a trio of childhood friends—high school girls Mio Naganohara, Yuuko Aioi and Mai Minakami—whose stories soon intertwine with the young genius Hakase Shinonome, her robot caretaker Nano, and their talking cat Sakamoto. With every passing day, the lives of these six, as well as of the many people around them, experience both the calms of normal life and the insanity of the absurd. Walking to school, being bitten by a talking crow, spending time with friends, and watching the principal suplex a deer: they are all in a day's work in the extraordinary everyday lives of those in Nichijou.



Tags: Surreal Comedy , Episodic , Slapstick , School , Female Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Parody , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Achronological Order , Robots , Camping , Shounen , Body Horror , Drawing , Tsundere , Love Triangle , Football , Guns

Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun

Also known as Toilet-bound Hanako-kun.

Studio: Lerche
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Drama , Mystery , Supernatural

"Hanako-san, Hanako-san... are you there?"

At Kamome Academy, rumors abound about the school's Seven Mysteries, one of which is Hanako-san. Said to occupy the third stall of the third floor girls' bathroom in the old school building, Hanako-san grants any wish when summoned. Nene Yashiro, an occult-loving high school girl who dreams of romance, ventures into this haunted bathroom... but the Hanako-san she meets there is nothing like she imagined! Kamome Academy's Hanako-san... is a boy!



Tags: Ghost , Youkai , Mythology , School , Female Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Afterlife , Male Protagonist , Urban Fantasy , Tragedy , Twins , Episodic , Shounen , Exorcism , Ensemble Cast , Femboy , Heterosexual , Slapstick , Achronological Order , Conspiracy , LGBTQ+ Themes , School Club , Mermaid

GREAT PRETENDER

Also known as Great Pretender.

Studio: WIT STUDIO
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Drama , Thriller

Self-styled “Japan's greatest swindler” Makoto Edamura is mainly targeting elder people and occasional foreign travelers. But when he tries to scam an apparently clueless French tourist in Tokyo, he can't possibly imagine that what looked like just another ordinary job is going to take him all the way to Los Angeles, tied upside-down on the famous Hollywood sign… And he is yet to find out what fate awaits him!



Tags: Crime , Foreign , Anti-Hero , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Urban , Work , Language Barrier , Mafia , Acting , Triads , Filmmaking , Drawing , Drugs , Gangs , Heterosexual , Female Protagonist , Aviation , Guns , Bisexual , Slavery , Tomboy , Detective , Episodic , War , Mahjong , Baseball , Tanned Skin , Nudity , LGBTQ+ Themes , Football , Achronological Order , Terrorism

Ousama Ranking

Also known as Ranking of Kings.

Studio: WIT STUDIO
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy

Unable to hear, speak, or wield a sword, Prince Bojji doesn’t seem like a typical heir to the throne—and his kingdom agrees. But his fateful encounter with Kage, a shadow on the ground, gives him his first true friend. The two set off on a grand adventure and, together, form a bond that can overcome any obstacle...even being king.



Tags: Disability , Coming of Age , Fairy Tale , Conspiracy , Male Protagonist , Language Barrier , Ensemble Cast , Medieval , Tragedy , Swordplay , Bullying , Primarily Male Cast , Seinen , Magic , War , Demons , Gods , Politics , Assassins , Heterosexual , Travel , Gore , Achronological Order , Tsundere , Amputation , Kaiju

Tengoku Daimakyou

Also known as Tengoku Daimakyo.

Studio: Production I.G
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Mystery , Sci-Fi , Thriller

In the year 2024, the world has collapsed. Grotesque monsters lurk amongst the ruins of Japan, while remaining people scrape together what they can to survive. Kiruko, an odd-job girl in Nakano, accepts a mysterious woman's dying wish to take a boy named Maru to a place called Heaven.



Tags: Dystopian , Post-Apocalyptic , Survival , Achronological Order , Seinen , Travel , Tragedy , Body Swapping , Conspiracy , Male Protagonist , Gender Bending , Orphan , Super Power , Gore , Denpa , Unrequited Love , Demons , Body Horror , Artificial Intelligence , Pregnancy , Coming of Age , Guns , Nudity , Suicide , Heterosexual , Female Protagonist , LGBTQ+ Themes , Cyberpunk , Transgender , Kuudere

Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu

Also known as The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Studio: Kyoto Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Mystery , Sci-Fi , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Kyon, your typical high school student, has long given up his belief in the supernatural. However, upon meeting Haruhi Suzumiya, he quickly finds out that it is the supernatural that she is interested in; aliens, time travelers and espers among other things. When Haruhi laments about the lack of intriguing clubs around school, Kyon inspires Haruhi to form her own club. As a result, the SOS Brigade is formed, a club which specializes in all that is the supernatural.

Much to his chagrin, Kyon, along with the silent bookworm, Yuki Nagato, the shy and timid Mikuru Asahina, and the perpetually smiling Itsuki Koizumi, are recruited as members. The story follows the crazy adventures that these four endure under their whimsical leader, Haruhi. The story is based on the light novels by Nagaru Tanigawa.

Note: This entry is for the original 14-episode 2006 airing. The series was further expanded and reordered into a 28-episode series in 2009.

Tags: School Club , Achronological Order , Urban Fantasy , Gods , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Time Manipulation , Aliens , Alternate Universe , Meta , Philosophy , Parody , Male Protagonist , Magic , Female Protagonist , Tsundere , Otaku Culture , Kuudere , Episodic , Kaiju , Filmmaking , Ensemble Cast , Maids , Baseball , Unrequited Love

Violet Evergarden Movie

Also known as Violet Evergarden: the Movie.

Studio: Kyoto Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Slice of Life

While writing other people’s emotions, she may have neglected her own. Violet Evergarden, the child soldier turned Auto Memory Doll, writes letters that evoke the words her clients can’t. But when a terminally ill boy requests her services for his family, her own feelings about love and loss resurface. Now she must confront her past and the death of the Major.



Tags: Writing , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Tragedy , Age Gap , Work , Foreign , Travel , Historical , Rehabilitation , Military , Primarily Adult Cast , War , Time Skip , Disability , Steampunk , Family Life , Achronological Order , Ships , Agriculture

Tsurezure Children

Also known as Tsuredure Children.

Studio: Studio Gokumi
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

To those of you out there who never could say "I love you"— This story is about ordinary highschoolers and how love makes them fired up, shaken, laugh, cry, and hurt. Whether things go well or not, this story of adolescence and romance will show you how they spend their precious youth. Every character is the main character here, and you're sure to find one you can sympathize with.



Tags: Ensemble Cast , Heterosexual , School , Episodic , Primarily Teen Cast , Coming of Age , Shounen , Tsundere , Kuudere , Achronological Order , School Club , Love Triangle

Baccano!

Also known as Baccano!.

Studio: Brain's Base
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Mystery , Supernatural

During the early 1930s in Chicago, the transcontinental train, Flying Pussyfoot, is starting its legendary journey that will leave a trail of blood all over the country. At the same time in New York, the ambitious scientist Szilard and his unwilling aide Ennis, are looking for missing bottles of the immortality elixir. In addition, a war between the mafia groups is getting worse. On board the Advena Avis, in 1711, alchemists are about to learn the price of immortality.

Based on the award winning light novels of the same name, this anime adaptation follows several events that initially seem unrelated, both in time and place, but are part of a much bigger story—one of alchemy, survival and immortality. Merging these events together are the kindhearted would-be thieves, Isaac and Miria, connecting various people, all of them with their own hidden ambitions and agendas, and creating lifelong bonds and consequences for everyone involved.



Tags: Mafia , Ensemble Cast , Crime , Achronological Order , Alchemy , Historical , Trains , Urban Fantasy , Foreign , Noir , Primarily Adult Cast , Guns , Urban , Gore , Travel , Heterosexual , Torture , Anti-Hero , Vore , Demons , Surreal Comedy , Meta , Disability

Nisemonogatari

Also known as Nisemonogatari.

Studio: Shaft
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Ecchi , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

First season of the Monogatari Series, part 5/6. Contains the arcs Karen Bee and Tsukihi Phoenix from the Nisemonogatari light novels.

In Bakemonogatari, the story centered on Koyomi Araragi, a third year high school student who has recently survived a vampire attack and finds himself mixed up with all kinds of apparitions: gods, ghosts, myths, and spirits. However, in Nisemonogatari, we pick up right where we left off and follow Koyomi as the psychological twists delve deeper and deeper...



Tags: Urban Fantasy , Surreal Comedy , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Philosophy , Incest , Female Harem , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Urban , Youkai , Nudity , Vampire , Family Life , Feet , Achronological Order , Satire , Meta , Tomboy , Heterosexual , Psychosexual , Tsundere , Kuudere , Super Power , Gore , Ghost , Slapstick , Shapeshifting

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

Also known as When They Cry.

Studio: Studio DEEN
Status: Finished
Genres: Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

After moving into the quiet town of Hinamizawa, Maebara Keiichi spends his days blissfully in school often playing games with his local friends. However, appearances can be deceiving. One fateful day, Keiichi stumbles upon news of a murder that had occurred in Hinamizawa. From this point on, horrific events unfold in front of Keiichi, as he soon learns his close friends may not be all that they seem. Based on the amateur mystery game by 07th Expansion, the story is told in a series of different scenarios.

Tags: Denpa , Alternate Universe , Ensemble Cast , Time Manipulation , Tragedy , Conspiracy , Rural , Achronological Order , Gore , Time Loop , Body Horror , Bullying , Torture , Urban Fantasy , Male Protagonist , Yandere , Twins , Chibi , Mythology , Pandemic , Primarily Female Cast , School Club , Shrine Maiden , Primarily Teen Cast , Police , Historical , Crossdressing , Board Game