The 10 Best Anime that Every Guy Needs to Watch
Anime has been around for more than half a century in the commercial sense; Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy launched a phenomenon that would go on to become one of the largest and most lucrative industries in the artistic and entertainment departments. Anime series come in all shapes and sizes, some of which are more famous and some of which are less. Over the years, the world of anime has evolved to include a much larger potential audience, but there are still a lot of series that could be labeled as being for boys, and for girls. This does not mean that they are mutually exclusive, but rather some are simply more for one group than they are for the other, although anyone can watch them. In this article, we are going to talk about those from the first group.
The topic of this article is going to be those anime series that are more for guys and boys than they are for girls. As we have said, this list does not mean that girls cannot or should not watch these shows, on the contrary, the topics they focus on and the characters they are portraying are a lot closer to (younger) boys than they are to girls. The list is going to contain a total of 10 titles, and we’re going to tell you a bit about them and why they fit the category.
1. One Piece
Original Run: October 20, 1999 – present
Number of Episodes: 1011
What it’s about: Twenty-two years after Gol D. Roger’s execution, the interest in the One Piece treasure is waning. Many have given up on it, some even wonder if it really exists. Although pirates are still a threat to the locals, the Navy has become more effective in countering their attacks on all four seas: East Blue, North Blue, West Blue, and South Blue.
However, this change did not deter Monkey D. Luffy, a young boy, from wanting to become the successor to the legendary Roger. He will thus set off on an adventure, giving himself the first objective of creating a crew in order to reach the Grand Line sea, where the fever of the “great wave of piracy” continues to rage, and where many big names in the piracy are in pursuit of the One Piece, supposed to be on the last island of this great sea, Laugh Tale.
Why you should watch it: Every boy has, at some point in their life, wanted to be a pirate. Probably. And that is basically the main idea behind One Piece, where the protagonist is a boy who wants to become not just a pirate, but the King of Pirates. One Piece is a great and typical shonen title that is beloved by all genders but is definitely a series that needs to be seen if you’re a boy.
2. Cowboy Bebop
Original Run: April 3, 1998 – June 26, 1998
Number of Episodes: 26
What it’s about: In the year 2071, the crew of the spaceship Bebop travels the solar system in search of bounties. In the slang of the time, these bounty hunters were called “cowboys.” Most episodes revolve around a bounty; however, the focus of the story is on each character’s past and more general ancient events, which connect as the series progresses.
The first story is that of Spike Spiegel, a former member of a criminal organization, the Red Dragons, who is haunted by a love triangle he experienced with his former teammate in the Red Dragons, Vicious, and a mysterious woman named Julia.
Why you should watch it: Cowboy Bebop is undoubtedly a seinen title and is a show whose universal nature makes it great for all genders. Still, if you do like your usual stereotype here and there, Cowboy Bebop has more elements that are closer to a male audience, if you remove the philosophical aspects that are universal, that is. But, nevertheless, Cowboy Bebop should be enjoyed by all, but if you’re a guy – you definitely need to check it out.
3. Bleach
Original run: October 5, 2004 – March 27, 2012
Number of episodes: 366
What it’s about: BLEACH follows Ichigo Kurosaki. He is a young man gifted with the ability to see spirits. His life undergoes a drastic change when a Shinigami named Rukia Kuchiki crosses his path in search of a Hollow. During the battle with the spirit, Rukia is seriously injured and is forced to transfer part of her powers to Ichigo, who accepts the Shinigami’s proposal in an attempt to protect her family.
However, during the transfer process, something goes wrong and Ichigo absorbs all of Rukia’s powers, becoming a full-fledged shinigami. Having lost her powers, Rukia gets stuck in the world of the living until she regains her strength. Meanwhile, Ichigo replaces Rukia in her duties as Shinigami, battling the Hollows and leading the souls to the realm of the afterlife, known as the Soul Society.
Why you should watch it: Of course, Bleach is a major shonen title and although both boys and girls loved it, its focus on fighting and action is something that is closer to a boy’s mindset. Still, this is one of the “Big Three” anime titles and there is no doubt that anyone should love it, regardless of your gender.
4. Dragon Ball
Original Run: February 26, 1986 – April 19, 1989
Number of Episodes: 153
What it’s about: Dragon Ball tells the story of Son Goku, a little boy who is very good at martial arts, and who has a mysterious monkey tail. He meets a young woman named Bulma, and the two go together in search of the Dragon Balls (seven magic crystal balls that allow, if they are united, to invoke the dragon Shenron, then offering to grant the wish of the one who pronounces a specific formula in front of him). Meeting many adversaries along the way (most of them being competitors in the quest for the famous balls, often with selfish or even evil intentions). Some of whom later become allies, such as Yamcha or Ten Chin Han.
Why you should watch it: Well, no one save for boys actually watched Dragon Ball in the beginning. This is the shonen title for many around the world, and the first Japanese anime that actually became a global hit. The series is still popular even today and is enjoyed by a much wider audience, but this masterpiece focusing on martial arts is definitely something that boys need to check out.
5. Pokémon
Original Run: April 1, 1997 – present
Number of Episodes: 1,214
What it’s about: The Pokémon animated series follows the adventures of a young boy named Ash and his faithful Pokémon Pikachu. Ash travels the Pokémon world to obtain the supreme rank of “Pokémon Master”; to achieve this, he captures and trains Pokémon, in order to earn eight badges. The duo is often accompanied by a pair made up of another young boy and a young girl.
In Pokémon Sun and Moon, Ash will no longer have a “travel” companion at all since he must pass the various trials on each island and therefore has no “companions” strictly speaking but rather a classmate. During the episodes, the group is confronted by a criminal organization calling itself Team Rocket. This organization attempts to steal and capture other Trainers’ Pokémon or Legendary Pokémon.
Why you should watch it: Although the concept was never exclusively for boys – as there were a lot of female Pokémon trainers – it wasn’t until the later seasons and games that the Pokémon universe expanded to be more female-friendly. Initially, it was all about Ash and every boy wanted to be Ash, so that is why Pokémon was a title for all boys who wanted to become Pokémon Masters, and why today, it is a title for everyone who wants to be a Pokémon Master.
6. Demon Slayer
Original Release: April 6, 2019 – present
Number of Episodes: 34
What it’s about: Demon Slayer is set in Taishō era Japan, Tanjirō is the eldest son of a family of coal merchants whose father has passed away. To meet his needs, he left to sell charcoal in town. Despite the difficulties of life, the family manages to find little happiness in their daily life.
One day, due to rumors circulating about a man-eating demon hanging around after dark, he is unable to return home and ends up spending the night with a Good Samaritan in the city. Only, everything changes on his return when he finds his family massacred by a demon. Nezuko, one of his younger sisters, is the only survivor but she has been transformed into a demon. She initially attacks Tanjirō, but she continues to show signs of human emotions and thoughts, which is when a demon slayer named Giyū Tomioka steps in.
Why you should watch it: As far as Demon Slayer is concerned, the title is more universal than most other titles on this list, but since it does – ultimately – focus on fighting, swords, and killing monsters, it might be better suited for boys, but just a little bit. Anyhow, the title is one of the most popular ones of the modern era and we definitely think that you should check it out.
7. Jujutsu Kaisen
Original Run: October 3, 2020 – March 27, 2021
Number of Episodes: 24
What it’s about: One of the most famous entries on this list. The plot of Jujutsu Kaisen takes place in a world where curses are created from the negative emotions of Humans. Thus, to protect places with a high concentration of these emotions such as schools or hospitals, these infrastructures have a relic, a receptacle of a curse, because we can only fight against curses with a more powerful curse.
These are invisible to human eyes except for a handful of people, for example, exorcists. The exorcist’s job is to eliminate the curses and thus protect the people from them, but this is not without risks, because these plagues can be more or less powerful.
Why you should watch it: As it usually goes with newer shonen titles, they are aimed at a larger audience and are not gender-focused like they were before. Still, one cannot deny that Jujutsu Kaisen‘s combination of action and fighting is much closer to boys than it is to girls, which is why – as a boy – you definitely need to watch it.
8. Yu-Gi-Oh!
Original Release: April 18, 2000 – September 29, 2004
Number of Episodes: 224
What it’s about: In Yu-Gi-Oh! we follow Yugi Mutō who is a fifteen-year-old who attends the first year at the high school in the city of Domino. His father is always on a business trip, so he lives with his mother and grandfather Sugoroku Mutō, owner of the games store Turtle Game, above which their apartment is also located. Eight years earlier, his grandfather had given him a gold casket, stolen from an Egyptian tomb, which contained the pieces of a gold puzzle inside.
Only now does Yugi manage to reassemble it, after years of hard work; he gets a pendant in the shape of an inverted pyramid (in Egyptian mythology a symbol of doom) called the Millennium Puzzle (in the manga it is also the translation of the original Japanese name, Sennen Puzzle, in English the name is Millennium Puzzle).
On the golden casket that kept it, a text is engraved, according to which whoever completes the Puzzle will become the champion of justice and will have access to the occult knowledge of the Games of Shadows (Yami no Game in original and Shadow Games in English). However, Yugi does not know the whole truth: inside the Puzzle, a spirit is locked up (a pharaoh of 3,000 years ago, as it turns out in the next series Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters).
When an abuse or a wrong is committed in front of the boy’s eyes, the spirit takes possession of his body, challenging the villain on duty to a game of shadows, which, generally, is a strange and dangerous game of his own invention, or readjustments of other games, in some cases, even Duel Monsters.
Why you should watch it: When yours truly was younger, there was no boy whatsoever that did not play Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. This was, at the time, an almost exclusively male game and anime, which makes sense since it’s a shonen title. The audience has since expanded and there are tons of great female players, but Yu-Gi-Oh! was initially a boy’s game and that is why we’re honoring its legacy here.
9. Psycho-Pass
Original Run: October 12, 2012 – December 12, 2019
Number of Episodes: 41
What it’s about: In 2112, in Japan, Sibyl, a computer system, transformed society into a “perfect world”, thanks to the ubiquitous cameras, drones, and scanners, Sibyl is able to analyze and quantify the criminal intentions of a person (named “Psycho-Pass “) and determines who is likely to commit a crime. When a citizen exceeds the norm, the inspectors of the Bureau of Public Security accompanied by their executors (person having an abnormally high “Psycho-Pass”), pursue and apprehend these people to make them undergo therapy, lock them up or shoot them down. square.
This is the world that embarks Akane Tsunemori, a new inspector who has just joined Division 1 of the Public Security Bureau. She wishes to uphold justice truly and loyally, however, she learns that Sibyl’s judgments are not as perfect as her colleagues think.
Why you should watch it: In our experience, boys usually prefer crime and violence over girls. And while Psycho-Pass definitely has some universal philosophical ideas – “some” is an understatement, the show is a philosophical essay in a way – the crime aspect of the show, partnered with a sci-fi dystopian future and a lot of brutal violence is something that is closer to a boy’s mindset, but if you think its exclusive, just remember that the main character is a girl and that Psycho-Pass should be enjoyed by all.
10. Berserk
Original Run: October 7, 1997 – March 31, 1998 / 1 July 2016 – 23 June 2017
Number of Episodes: 25 / 24
What it’s about: Berserk tells the story of the meeting of Guts and Griffith, leader of the Falcon Troop, a band of mercenaries in the pay of the kingdom of Midland. From this meeting will be born an ambiguous friendship, but nevertheless efficient: the presence of Guts, a warrior with the disproportionate sword, will quickly prove essential to the ambition of the young Griffith, swashbuckler and outstanding tactician.
The anime is thus the account of the rise and fall of the Falcon Troop, and of the relation between Guts and Griffith, particularly complex, between the relation of interest (Griffith uses the force of Guts), mutual respect ( both see each other as soldiers), and deep affection (each inexplicably needs the other’s presence).
Why you should watch it: Berserk is generally a classic that all anime fans should watch, and while yours truly knows a lot of girls that love this series, Berserk is definitely more on the masculine side. Guts, the protagonist, is a typical male action hero and the whole world is sometimes excessively brutal and does not care for other sentiments in that aspect.