Japanese Animation Series That Can't Be Missed

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There are so many popular Japanese animation series that it's hard to choose which are the best. However, there are some that keep turning up on lists of favorite anime shows over and over again. While a few of these shows are okay for younger viewers, many contain mature content and should be watched only by older teens and adults. Once you've chosen a new series to try, it's usually not that hard to find it on licensed anime streaming platforms.

Dragon Ball Z

Kids just getting started watching Japanese animation may want to check out Dragon Ball Z. The series has been going on for a long time and has the typical theme of good versus evil. It promotes loyalty, trustworthiness, and teamwork. It's the story of a boy, Goku, and his friends. Goku discovers he's from another planet and helps to defend Earth from alien invasions and gods using his powers. This is a sequel to the earlier Dragon Ball series.

Attack on Titan

In this anime series, a boy decides to take on the titans who are killing off the humans on Earth after they kill his mother and destroy his town. The titans are giants who enjoy eating humans. The few remaining people live in a city with extremely high walls to help protect them. Eren joins the military to fight back.

Cowboy Bebop

People who watch anime online often enjoy Cowboy Bebop. This series is about the various adventures of a group of bounty hunters in the future. It takes place in space after the earth is no longer livable. It has an excellent soundtrack and very good character development. It mixes comedy and action, as well as including elements of science fiction and westerns.

Naruto

This series follows three teenage ninjas as they go through their training. The main character, Naruto, dreams of becoming the strongest ninja but isn't very talented until he discovers he has the Nine-Tailed Fox inside him. Then he becomes stronger as he can draw on the strength of the Fox. His ninja team goes on missions to help the villagers and get more complicated missions as they get better in their training.

Full Metal Alchemist

Two brothers decide to use alchemy to try to bring their mother back from the dead, but one ends up losing his whole body and the other his arm and leg instead. Then they have to try to find the Philosopher's Stone to get back their bodies.