Top 10 Best Anime Series of All-Time

Anime is a the Japanese art of animation. Anime series and films range from kid-friendly to very adult-oriented and cover all genres - action, horror, comedy, science fiction, etc.

A lot of anime is simply an adaptation of manga, which is a graphic novel style book which is written over a great number of volumes. Others are just great imaginations unleashed on film and TV.

Japanese anime started to catch on in the '90s but has really exploded in popularity over the last 10-12 years. The Japan External Trade Organization says the U.S. market alone is "worth approximately $4.35 billion."

There are two formats for anime - Feature Films and Series. While the only obvious difference is the length of the films, some people prefer series because the characters develop more and the stories are more intricate than a feature-length film allows. The best idea is to sample both because anime includes amazing films and series.

This hub is focused strictly on the 10 Best Anime Series of All-Time. Check out my other hub if you'd like to know what the Top 10 Anime Movies are.

All sub-genres such as fantasy, scifi, horror, etc were considered. My taste leans toward scifi/fantasy but several picks land outside that.

The series I've included are not only ones I've watched (obviously) but the series which have had the most lasting affect on me. If you've watched all of these - great! But my hope is that you'll find something you haven't watched yet.

10. Initial D - Car racing. That's what Initial D is all about - illegal street racing. Car clubs meet on various courses, usually mountain passes, for a chance to race and win respect. And what's street racing without a lot of drifting? The main character is Takumi Fujiwara. He works at his father's tofu shop doing delivery orders. Takumi's car is a Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX, well it's actually his father's car but Takumi does the racing. You can watch some episodes free on Hulu. Check it out!

9. Rurouni Kenshin - Formerly an assassin, Kenshin wanders the countryside offering protection and aid to people. Eventually, Kenshin finds out that his replacement as the assassin of the shadows is planning to take over Japan. Thinking that this may put his new friends in harms way, Kenshin heads out to deal with Shishio Makato.

8. Noir - One of my favorite action series, Noir follows to young female assassins. They're both searching for information on their past. In the meantime they team up to do assassinations under the code name Noir.

7. Ah! My Goddess - Keiichi Morisato, is a college freshman with no luck. After finishing some chores he makes a phone call which changes his life. Suddenly, beautiful goddess Belldandy appears.

6. Mobile Suit Gundam Wing - Conflict has broken out between the Space Colonies and United Earth Sphere Alliance. In an attempt to turn things in their favor, the Colonies send 5 teenagers with Gundams to Earth. Lots of action and explosions.

5. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - I loved the original feature film Ghost in the Shell so when I saw it was a series I knew I had to watch it. It's a science fiction show with lots of great action. The main character Major Motoko is a cyborg working for Section 9. Section 9's job is to hunt down cybercriminals and brings them to justice.

4. .hack//SIGN - In 2007, a computer virus jacked up the internet. Now, people are tied into a massively multiplayer role-playing game (MMORPG) called "The World." The art of hack//SIGN is wonderful and is complemented by a lovely soundtrack. It's a great series for gamers but should appeal to non-gamers too.

3. El Hazard - Four people from Earth have been transported to the wonderful world of El-Hazard. The magical world of El-Hazard is not immune to conflict though. War is about to break out between humans and the insect-humanoids Bugrom. One of the group, Jinnai lands in the Bugrom kingdom and becomes their general. He starts looking for the demon Ifurita so he can destroy Makoto and the other humans. Excellent story!

2. Trigun - Vash the Stampede is a wanted man. He's worth a whopping 60 billion double dollars. Whoa! Vash travels around saving people but his reputation is so out of whack that towns clear out at the mention of his arrival. Vash is a contradictory character but that's part of what makes him so interesting and likeable. The series is full of loveable characters, action, great art and funny scenes. By the way, like Initial D, you can catch free episodes of Trigun on Hulu.

1. Serial Experiments Lain - Lain is a real mind-bender. It's a series that really pushes the limits of reality. Lain is a post-modern cyberpunk series whose main character finds out she is somehow connected to "the wire". It's not the internet, the wire is much more. Lain is a high school girl whose friend emails her after having committed suicide. Apparently, her friend found God in the wire. With Lain, we delve deep into her own thoughts and the network called the wire. The main plot is exciting as are the numerous side-plots. A mind-bending story paired with mind-blowing visualizations is why Lain easily take the top spot.