Anime Nod

Without Dragon Ball, the fighting anime genre as we know it today probably wouldn't exist. Dragon Ball started as a mostly lighthearted take on the ancient Journey to the West. Still, by the time Dragon Ball Z came out, the franchise fully transformed into the archetype of the genre that's influenced much of what came after.

High School DxD is a harem anime with heavy fantasy elements, some romantic beats, and a tremendous amount of fan service. This show earns its TV-MA rating with an endless stream of violence and nudity, so it absolutely isn't for children. It takes the title of best harem anime because it doesn't shy away from what fans of the genre want.

The funniest series out there rely on Japanese puns that don't translate. A prime example is Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, which Western audiences know for its surrealist, nonsensical humor. In the original Japanese, the humor was primarily based on puns and double-talk. Ghost Story is another example where the humor was introduced almost entirely in the dub.

Ponyo, Spirited Away, and others are fantastic, beautiful, and entertaining movies that tweens, teens, and adults can enjoy together. My Neighbor Totoro, which is also a Studio Ghibli film, is the best kids anime because anyone can watch it.