The Best Original Anime (Not Based On A Manga Or Light Novel)

Anime has a history spanning over half a century. The medium broke through in the West through works like Dragon Ball Z. By the 2010s, it was an established part of hobby culture. Most anime series are adaptations of long-running mangas or light novels, and many serve to advertise their source material. Most of the time, they lack a proper ending.

Some anime, however, are created as entirely original properties. They are often lavishly animated and feature self-contained narratives with a definite ending. Here are the eight best anime series that weren’t based on pre-existing manga or light novels.

8

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Shaft

Madoka Magica is a magical girl anime with a twist. It’s no surprise once you see the credits: the series was written by Gen Urobuchi, best known for his dark and thought-provoking visual novels. True to form, Madoka Magica has a jarring tonal shift early on. What starts as a fairly innocent magical girl story quickly becomes a gripping dark fantasy narrative.

This anime is endlessly compelling and visually spectacular to boot. It was one of 2011’s most acclaimed anime, thanks to its moving plot and magical girl razzle-dazzle.

7

Kill La Kill

Trigger

Trigger’s triumphant debut, Kill La Kill tells the tale of a spunky schoolgirl who takes on authority and wins. Kill La Kill looks the way a hack-and-slash video game feels: it’s hectic, fast-paced, and stylish. It also spawned many memes, with its edgy protagonist being treated as a counterpart to Shadow the Hedgehog: both have a red-and-black motif and epic theme songs.

This anime is also known for its offbeat humor and incredible English dub. We recommend watching it dubbed the first time so you don’t miss any of the hilarious visual gags. Don’t worry: this is an anime you’ll definitely want to rewatch.

6

Angel Beats

PA Works

Angel Beats isn’t simply a sad anime. It’s mired in heartache, a 13-episode reflection on life with all its tragedies and hilarities. It’s eccentric yet thought-provoking, featuring the ghosts of high school students who died too soon.

The anime’s handling of its subject matter is tactful and inspirational. Angel Beats’ protagonists are unable to move on until they’ve fulfilled their desires; such a series encourages us to live our own lives to the fullest. A few episodes in, it also features one of the best and most realistically animated concerts in fiction. Girls Dead Monster rocks as hard as any real band.

5

Darling In The Franxx

A-1 Pictures, Trigger, Cloverworks

Although Zero Two is a popular anime character, her show doesn’t get enough credit for its genuine artistic merit. Darling in the Franxx is one of the most enjoyable and original anime featuring mechs.

More than its character designs and beautiful music – including an opening produced by Hyde of L’arc en Ciel fame – Darling in the Franxx is compelling for its hard-hitting story. Halfway through, there’s a plot twist to make Hideo Kojima’s head spin. The series’ matter-of-fact presentation of LGBTQ+ themes deserves credit, too.

4

Cowboy Bebop

Sunrise

The quintessential 90s anime and a masterpiece of weekly format storytelling, Cowboy Bebop captures the human spirit within its 26 episodes. It is funny, sad, badass, resigned, and everything in between. This cross-genre series has transcended its medium with its artistic merit.

It also deserves credit for helping anime gain popularity at the turn of the millennium. Cowboy Bebop had a spectacular English dub and animation smooth enough to rival life itself: it captured hearts not just in Japan, but the world over.

3

Samurai Champloo

Manglobe

Where Cowboy Bebop gave us a taste of the real folk blues in space, Samurai Champloo took urban hip-hop to feudal Japan. This anime is every bit as entertaining, if not more so, as its sister series. It continues Shinichirō Watanabe’s ethos of bringing the music of an anime to life through inspired storytelling.

It’s also one of the funniest anime out there, even in the original Japanese dub. Samurai Champloo’s humor translates worldwide: if you don’t laugh during the J-J-Jin scene, you weren’t paying attention.

2

Gurren Lagann

Gainax

Gurren Lagann is one of the finest sci-fi anime ever made. Its stellar animation, absorbing story, and lovable characters make it essential viewing. This is Gainax’s greatest triumph, surpassing even the studio’s most popular work, Evangelion.

Gurren Lagann’s energy can be summed up in the scale of its final battle, where giant robots grow to the size of half the observable universe. Heroes and villains scream full-throated war cries, entire galaxies are picked up and thrown, and still, people wonder why anime has such a loyal fanbase.

1

Code Geass: Lelouch Of The Rebellion

Sunrise

The only thing wrong with Code Geass is that this anime is so good that many others are rendered obsolete after watching it. This is where anime peaked as a medium: 2000s art styles, punk rock energy, dark storylines with high school protagonists, and giant robots fighting full-scale wars.

Code Geass’ quality can only be explained as alignment of the stars. Some of the anime industry’s best and brightest minds worked on this show, allowing it to take all that was good about mecha and push it to another level. Lelouch himself is simultaneously one of anime’s greatest protagonists and villains.