Japanese animation has become very popular around the world in recent times. From the very beginning of human civilization, man has always sought and established countless worlds outside this real world through anime series.
They have made each unique world from their own perception and imagination. The purpose behind creating all the fictional characters is to be able to relate to them.
Here are some of the best fantasy anime of all time.
1. Quanzhi Fashi (Full-Time Magister)
Quanzhi Fashi or the Full-Time Magister is a top rated Action Fantasy anime written by an author called Chaos.
The storyline has been developed around the main character recognized as Mo Fan. Setting of the story is interesting.
The protagonist faces difficulties in living firstly from his family being poor with a disabled sister. Afterwards, Mo Fan’s world turns into a place where magic has taken place all around instead of science and technology.
As a result, social value starts depending on magical powers and battles against monsters live stronger than usual lifestyles.
In such a circumstance, Mo Fan opportunely gets admission into a Magic school and learns to apply two most powerful drills. That’s how he finally overcomes his sufferings.
2. Made in Abyss
Made in Abyss is a Japanese horror adventure manga series written and illustrated by Akihito Tsukushi which provide characters a wide range of roles.
An Abyss is something of a gaping chasm extending down into the earth full of mysterious creatures and relics.
The story follows a young girl Riko, daughter of an Annihilator, who wishes to explore the Abyss not knowing the harsh reality hidden in it and is only permitted to roam around the upper layer. In doing so, she meets a robot disguised as an ordinary young boy named Reg with no memory of his bygone discoveries.
The two then decide to run an experiment into the chasm in order to regain the robot’s lost memories.
3. Fruit Basket
Sometimes abbreviated as “Furuba or Fruba”, this Japanese manga series Fruits Basket was written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya.
It talks about a girl named Tohru Honda, orphaned and forced to leave her grandfather’s house out of unkindness and renovations. In course of time she has found a place worthy of living, with her known classmate Yoki Soma and her cousin Shigure who is living with a curse.
They are possessed by a spirit called Chinese Zodiac and turn into animals in certain cases including being weak, stressed, embarrassed and hugged by the opposite gender.
However, Tohru’s acceptance and positive cooperation of Soma’s abnormality help fading gradually. Tohru meets the Zodiac spirits and sets out to break the curse, letting the Soma’s feel free.
This heartwarming anime series is beset with strong themes of friendship and gives building up inner strength and spiritualism with viewers.
4. Re Creators
Produced and animated by TROYCA, this single season anime revolves around a high school student, Sota Mizushino whose life gets changed when he meets his favorite anime’s protagonist Selesia Upitilia as his computer stretches him into the anime’s world while watching it.
There in the anime world, he witnesses a battle. He meets several characters there including a mysterious girl wearing a military uniform. Soon after his return to his real world he finds several other characters from different anime series gathered and transported into the real world to save the universe from destruction.
The show is well known for its way in showing how a fictional world echoes the real world and presents that creations themselves are meant to be fictional characters who enter our world which is considered a land of gods where creators of other dimensions live.
5. Kobayashi – San Chi no Maid Dragon
This particular anime contains the story of a young girl, Kobayashi, a stoic computer programmer who lacks feminine feature mostly for her flat chest and later on her life handles some dragons.
However, once on her way leaving for work, she notices a frightening sight, a head of a dragon that immediately transforms into an energetic young girl dressed in a maid’s outfit.
Soon she finds out that this is the dragon named Tohru whom she met and saved the previous night on a drunken excursion. Tohru repays her savior’s kindness by being a maidservant in Kobayashi’s home sometimes.
Another dragon, Kanna also comes to stay with them and they both bring up horrifying and troublesome situations pushing Kobayashi into nothing but a crazy situation.
Despite all these, Kobayashi starts taking them as family and things proceed at a right pace with characters having bouncing off another and taking in quieter moments.
6. Tokyo Ghoul
This Japanese dark fantasy series is written and illustrated by Sui Ishida.
Tokyo Ghoul centers around an alternate reality of ghouls, human looking creatures living among human locality in secrecy and survive by eating human flesh.
The story proceeds with a school boy Ken Kaneki who finds himself as half ghoul after encountering Rize Kamishiro revealing herself as a ghoul. He has been transformed into half ghoul as some of Rize’s organs have been transformed into him, thus, starts leading ghoul’s life by learning their ways to survive.
It has very enlightening lessons for it teaches one to accept everything that life throws at him. It goes through changing perspectives in relationships and overcoming different obstacles.
7. Fullmetal Alchemist
Written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa, the Japanese manga series Fullmetal Alchemist takes place in a fictional country named Amestris where Alchemists exercise the ability to create almost anything of their wishes through Transmutation Circle.
The two major characters Edward and Alphonse Elric finish their alchemy training and attempt to bring back their dead mother, Trisha that eventually backfires on them losing their leg and body respectively. However, they manage to overcome their lost parts and start searching for their goals through much hardship and investigations.
This series is a well illustration of issues like social problems, brotherhood, family and war. On one hand, the two brothers being orphans and adopted by Pinako Rockbell shows society’s behaviour towards orphans, on the other, Scar’s (Ishbalan serial killer) hatred and backstory reveals facts about war.
8. Ancient Magus Bride
Ancient Magus Bride is an animation originated in Japan in the year of 2017. This anime is full of fantasy, mystery, horror and romances and has elements of old English Mythology.
Hatori Chise from her young age was capable of perceiving eerie creatures for some reason which leads to losing her relatives one by one. Finding no other way, Chise, at the age of 15 is sold herself to a mysterious non-human mage called Elias Ainsworth.
Elias treats Chise as her trainee and helps her to know more about herself and to overcome her fear about the world that ruined her life and left her alone in the world.
As the story goes on, Chise’s life with Elias becomes such a life that she has ever dreamed of.
9. Houseki No Kuni
It’s a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Haruko Ichikawa set in a distant future.
The story spans with Crystalline organisms called Gems who are considered immortal dwell in a world destroyed by six meteors.
There runs a war between these crystalline figures and mysterious Lunarians where the Lunarians attack each Gem in order to shatter their body and use them as decorations.
The plot revolves around a young Gem named Phosphophyllite who is helpful and protective. He also tells the rest of the Gems to compile an encyclopedia and tries to help them in the war effort.
10. Log Horizon
Log Horizon, written by Mamare Touno, is a familiar Japanese novel series which later was adapted into the exciting action-fantasy anime of what we are talking about.
The plot is about a place where a vast number of ‘Elder Tale’ gamers all on a sudden find themselves into the game as definite characters. The game features and modes still stayed similar as in a virtual game in real life without any of the functions of death.
If any character dies, it actually leads him to stay at the last home point and seems like they got stuck inside the characters of the game.
The series gives its audience a feeling of realism out of a fantastical adventure.
11. Trinity Seven
Trinity seven is basically an adaptation by ‘Seven Arcs Pictures’, directed by Hiroshi Nishikiori of the original Japanese Shichi-nin no Masho Tsukai fantasy comedy series.
The storyline is not actually very strong, but it has become significant in terms of its characterization. Also, the introduction is quite attractive.
However, the plot starts describing a story when the Sun stops shining and causes a collapse of Arata Kasuga’s town and the inhabitants disappear. However, he manages to stop the ultimate destruction by applying a magical power given by his cousin Hijiri Kasuga.
Afterwards, with the help of other six of the trinity seven, he saves his home and all others.
12. One Piece
Written and illustrated by Eichiro Oda, this pirate adventure Japanese manga series centers around the story of a young man named Monkey D. Luffy who wants to become the king of pirates and sets off on a journey in order to search for the treasure known as One Piece.
In the series, he is frequently considered as dopey and carefree in nature but later becomes serious when his nakama (crewmates) are in trouble.
Meanwhile he attains a rubber made body after accidentally eating the mythical devil fruit considered as having offered the super human power to the eater.
Enjoying a journey, having a good mentor, valuing life and fighting for oneself are some of the messages that ‘One Piece’ gives us. It’s widely considered as one of the most popular anime of all time.
13. Ookami Shoujo to Koushinryou
Ookami Shoujo to Koushinryou also known as Spice and Wolf comprises both economics and romance.
The focus of the story is on a travelling merchant named Kraft Lawrence who tries to gather enough money by peddling from town to town.
Once on his way, he meets Holo, a over 600 years old wolf deity appearing as a 15 year old girl at the town of Pasloe who introduces herself as the goddess of harvest.
Holo expresses herself as someone who’s being hurt or forsaken by the town’s people. She eventually travels with Lawrence and helps him increase his profit.
As the story goes on, they build a strong bond between them by making many adventures together.
14. Tsubasa Chronicles
Beginning with the strong bond of friendship, the Japanese manga series Tsubasa Chronicles, written and illustrated by the magna artist group Clamp, follows how Sakura, the princess of Clow, loses all her memories and how Syaoran, a young archeologist with two of his friends try hard to save Sakura from danger.
Together, they search for Sakura’s lost memory diffused in many places in the feathers’ form that is needed to save Sakura.
While travelling for Sakura’s feathers, they find the need to go through many obstacles.
The whole story pursues the fragility of human relationships and how the existing relationship can be reconstructed by Sakura’s previous love for Syaoran, among other things.
15. Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan is a Japanese dark fantasy anime television series created by Hajime Isayama.
This anime series is set in a town where people live surrounding colossal walls that protect them from man eating giants. The story revolves around Eren Jaeger, his adoptive sister Mikasa Ackermann and their friend Armin Arlelt who after losing Eren’s mother joined the Scout Regiment. They are a group of soldiers stationed outside the walls who are determined to remove the giant humanoid titans from the earth that have brought humanity towards destruction.
The story leaves a message that instead of sitting as a passive viewer, human beings should act in any dire, offensive situation. Additionally, military lessons are taught such as no plan will work except having trust on the commander’s order.
Conclusion
At the end it can be said that with all the Japanese series, you can spend your time fruitfully.
It is very obvious that each of the anime series is created with a distinct purpose with a great story and diverse characters.
Besides having the entertaining and fascinating quality, the most important thing is it’s relatable trait and intercultural aspects.
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