The Ten Best MAPPA Anime, Ranked

So you’re sick of waiting around for more Chainsaw Man, too, huh?

Or maybe Attack On Titan? Same, honestly. I’ve been curled up in fetal position in the corner of my room rubbing my chest whispering, “You’re safe, Pochita. It’s me. It’s just me. We’ll make it out of this, I swear.” Waiting is hard. Really hard. So hard that I’m actually catatonic. I can barely type. I dictated to this article to my cat. It took us ten years to get it right. And the final episode of Attack On Titan STILL hasn’t come out yet.

So I figure the least I can do is give you some other MAPPA anime while we wait. Spoiler alert, you’re gonna recognize the top-scoring entries on this list. And that may re-traumatize you into waiting-induced catatonia again. But you wanted me to rank them, so rank them I will.

10. Kids On The Slope

This beautiful anime is from the mind of Shinichiro Watanabe, the same man who directed Cowboy Bebop and, my personal favorite anime, Samurai Champloo. Kids On The Slope is the story of two high school boys in 1960s Japan who are bonded together by their love of jazz. While less action-packed than its predecessors, the story features the same complex characters and beautiful animation for which Watanabe’s work is known.

9. Zombieland Saga

This is why I love anime. What’s the plot of this gem? A group of zombie girls decide to band together to form a … well, band. To save their town from bankruptcy with the power of music. How’s that for a premise? Who wouldn’t want to watch this? The anime has been praised for its unique blend of comedy and horror. Also, the songs are total bops.

8. Terror In Resonance

This dark series centers around two teenage boys who carry out a terrorist attack in Tokyo to expose government corruption. I mean, they probably could have just followed a couple politicians around with an iPhone and gotten the same result. But that’s a little less exciting now, isn’t it?

7. Kakeguri

This anime appeals to the budding gambling addict in all of us! It’s about a group of kids who attend a high school where they bet both their fortunes and their futures in high-stakes gambling competitions. What happens in high school, stays in high school. Didn’t you learn that in … well, high school?

6. Dororo

Dororo is an equal parts adorable and violent anime about a young orphan trans boy named Dororo. He accompanies a teenaged ronin, Hyakkimaru, on his quest to reclaim his body parts, which were stolen by demons. Whenever Hyakkimaru kills a demon, he get a part back! But how does he fight demons with no body parts? Simple! He uses prosthetic limbs filled with knives! The anime is set in the Sengoku period of Japan, where warring states clashed in a chaotic struggle for control of the country.

5. The God of High School

This anime started as a South Korean webcomic before being adapted into a full series! It follows a group of high school students who are competing in a martial arts tournament to save the world. So no pressure. Listen, I get it. High school can be overwhelming. I was there once! I could barely make it past Algebra II. How the hell was I supposed to study martial arts and save the world on top of that? These kids better figure it out.

4. Yuri!!! On Ice

This anime is GAY and I LOVE it. It’s about a young Japanese figure skater named Yuri who is defeated at the Grand Prix Final. In order to mount a comeback, he enlists the help of the famous Russian figure skater, Viktor Nikiforov. And then they fall in looooooove. This anime is groundbreaking for its overwhelmingly positive portrayal of a MLM relationship. It’s a huge win in a genre where queer characters are often missing, marginalized, or outright mocked.

3. Jujutsu Kaisen

I’m gonna come out and say it. This show is a Naruto clone. And a good one. It’s a story that centers around a knucklehead kid with a demon inside of him, a brooding dark haired prodigy who serves as his friend/rival, and a girl who wants to beat both of them over the head with a hammer. They attend a high school where they are trained to use the dark art of Jujutsu sorcery. Jujutsu is very useful for defeating evil creatures called cursed spirits. Okay, so it ain’t quite Naruto, but it’s damn close. Nevertheless, the action sequences are stunning.

2. Chainsaw Man

The man. The myth. The ripcord-chested legend. This series chainsawed its way into the hearts of fans across the globe within the past year. The story centers on a boy named Denji, who is indebted to the yakuza after the death of his deadbeat father. He decides to make some extra cash hunting devils, which are evil beings who personify human fears. After being mortally wounded in battle, he forms a bond with his pet Chainsaw Devil, Pochita, and becomes a human/devil hybrid called Chainsaw Man! He is then picked up by a group of government-sanctioned devil hunters who operate out of Tokyo. His mission? Do what he does best: kill devils.

1. Attack On Titan

What did you expect? Of COURSE this show is gonna be number one on this list. Attack On Titan cemented its status as a pop culture phenomenon about a decade ago and has been going strong ever since. Granted, the first three seasons were made over at Wit Studio. But MAPPA’s been animating the hell out of the (very long) final season.

The show beings with a young boy named Eren Yeagar, who lives with his friends and family in a walled city. Why does the city have walls? Because there are man-eating giants roaming the countryside who would totally devour humanity otherwise. One day, a pair of powerful and seemingly intelligent Titans break through the outer wall of the city, resulting in the death of thousands of people—including Eren’s mother. Eren makes a vow to eradicate all Titans from the planet, and volunteers to join the Titan-fighting regiment of the military in order to do so.

However, as the series progresses, he and his friends find out the dark secret origins behind the titans and the very city they live in! Eren’s priorities change a bit!

(Featured Image: MAPPA)

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