Last updated: April 07, 2022
The conception of anime or animated movies in Japan in the 1900s was meant to provide a source of entertainment for the kids. The schools and the government in Japan had a stronghold on the kids and maintained that they should not watch any forms of entertainment media meant for adults. As a result, an anime culture was propagated for the kids.
Today, anime has collected a legion of fans from different walks of life. Even though it is no longer targeted solely for kids, there is much classic anime that should be watched for their nostalgic fervor. They remind us of a time when things were not so complicated.
Each of these anime in the list of Top 35 Best Anime for Kids has a rich plot that will keep even the adults invested in them.
1. Dragon Ball Z
Aired On- April 26, 1989
Episodes- 291
Dragon Ball Z is one of the most known franchises in the world. It has a passionate fandom that is literally and figuratively attached to every element of this show. It has been adapted from the Dragon Ball Manga Series. It ran for a whopping 291 episodes and spawned two equally successful sequels.
Like the manga, this anime also follows Goku. After the end of the previous series, we find Goku content and happy in his life with his family. The opening changes everything as he realizes the purpose of his life. This purpose goes against everything that he has ever believed.
He comes to know that he is a part of a kind of extraterrestrial species called Saiyans, and he is here to cause the utter and complete destruction of everything on this Planet. Goku has always been the protector, so this feels like a huge roadblock in every way possible. He has to choose between his destiny and his soul and being the hero he is, he decides to protect the place he has called home for so long.
Ths series also features a popular character, Vegeta. This character quickly made a place in the hearts of fans. To date, his development has been regarded as the greatest in anime history.
2. Yu-Gi-Oh!
Aired On-April 4, 1998
Episodes-27
This anime was adapted from the manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Kazuki Takahashi. It is a mixture of a lot of things – a coming of age story, a mystery as well as fantasy. It aired 27 episodes and was followed by a movie.
It follows a boy named Yugi Mutou who solves a millennial puzzle. This creates an alter ego in him completely different from him. This alter ego gets him through many hurdles by playing card games.
Yugi is a kind and timid boy. This gets him bullied around a lot. One day he solves a mysterious puzzle. The success gives him a spirit inside him that is quite opposite of him. He is outgoing and blunt. From then on, whenever Yugi or his friends face someone who does not have a clean heart, the spirit challenges him to a duel of sorts in the form of a card game. This card game is called Shadow Games. This game can bring out the true side of anybody’s soul.
A sort of mystery later shrouds the character of Spirit itself, as new information begins to come about the Spirit’s past. This forces Yugi and his friends themselves to dabble in the Shadow Games.
3. Sailor Moon
Aired On-March 7, 1992
Episodes-200
The anime Sailor Moon is based on a Japanese shōjo manga series of the same name. It was written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It follows Usagi Tsukino who suddenly transforms into Sailor Moon and now has to lead some people known as Sailor Soldiers. They are protecting an artifact known as “Legendary Silver Crystal”, which, if placed into the wrong hands, will destroy the solar system. It ran for 200 episodes and multiple seasons.
Usagi Tsukino is an underachieving 14-year-old girl. One day she transforms into a Sailor Princess magically, destined to save everyone. She doesn’t want this fate as she desires normalcy and believes that all of this has happened just because she came across Luna. What she doesn’t realize is that there is a history and she is meant to take these reins in her hands.
She has to save the Magical Artefacts especially from Queen Beryl who summons various monsters throughout the series. She gets her Sailor Soldiers in the form of the timid but intelligent Ami Mizuno (Sailor Mercury), the hot-headed Miko Rei Hino (Sailor Mars), the tomboyish but romantic Makoto Kino (Sailor Jupiter), and the aspiring idol Minako Aino (Sailor Venus).
4. Naruto
Aired On-October 3, 2002
Episodes-720
Naruto is an anime based on the manga of the same name. It was written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It is one of the biggest franchises in the world. Naruto has spawned many adaptations from sequels to movies. It has 720 episodes in total.
The story has a clear divide – one part deals with Naruto’s pre-teens and the other his adult life. It has been widely regarded as one of the most influential pieces of work in pop culture.
Naruto in its essence is the coming of age story of Naruto. He is everything we want in our ‘ideal’ superhero. He is charming but not rude and has a sense of relatability attached to him as he needs to work for everything he has ever gotten. He dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village.
The most unique thing associated with his life is that the cause of the destruction of his childhood is in him. The Nine Tails Fox that takes away his parents from him is in him. He has never been told the extent of its power and how it can affect him, but the mere knowledge of it gives us an interesting lead with a sympathetic background.
5. Pokemon
Aired On-April 1, 1997
Episodes-1,109
If you don’t know what Pokemon is, you have surely been living under a rock. The anime was developed out of a series of video games and is still running to date. It has spawned into toy series and manga besides the anime. It premiered on TV Tokyo on April 1, 1997. It has till now aired 22 seasons, with the 23rd season set to come out on Netflix.
It follows Ash as he dreams of becoming the best Pokemon trainer in the world. He starts off his journey with a very reluctant Pikachu but wins him over by his passion and love. Throughout the series, his passion comes into play many times. We see him win battles completely out of his hands just based on his sheer never give up attitude. He wins over friends as well as several Pokemons through this attitude.
This ensemble also includes Misty and Brock. Both of them bring a very different energy to this anime. Misty’s strict, no-nonsense attitude in comparison to Brock’s laid back and flirty nature is responsible for some of the funniest moments in the program.
We also have Team Rocket, who, though traditional villains, are successful in endearing themselves to the show’s fanbase.
6. Cardcaptor Sakura
Aired On-April 7, 1998
Episodes-70
The anime Cardcaptor Sakura was based on the manga of the same name. It is written and illustrated by the manga group Clamp. It aired for 70 episodes all over the world, but its American version garnered a lot of criticism due to the removal of certain elements.
It follows Sakura Kinomoto, who suddenly discovers certain magical cards and unleashes it into the world, without knowing their catastrophic nature. She undertakes the responsibility of getting these cards back. Each of these cards grants different magical powers, and can only be activated by someone with inherent magical abilities.
All of these magic cards can take their forms. So, whenever Sakura goes to a battle with them she has to fight these personifications. In this pursuit, Cerberus, the Guardian of the Cards acts as her guide, while her best friend and second cousin, Tomoyo Daidouji films her exploits and provides her with both battle costumes and morale support. Sakura’s older brother Toya Kinomoto watches over her while pretending that he is unaware of what is going on. Another character Syaoran Li arrives, who acts as her adversary initially and starts collecting the cards himself.
7. Beyblade
Aired On-January 8, 2001
Episodes-50
Beyblade is an Anime developed from a series of toys. At first, a manga series was created out of it with the same name. The manga was written and illustrated by Takao Aoki. In the late 2000s, its craze was incomparable so much so that the rights for a live-action movie on that subject were also bought.
This anime follows a group of 4 boys, fighting to make their name in this competitive sport called Beyblade. They want to establish their place. They come from varying backgrounds, but all have come together and formed this team called Bladebreakers because of one goal – world domination.
The series was focused on themes like friendship, passion, and competitiveness. Every player played with every bit they had in them in the battles.
The series made Tyson, Ray, Max and Kai household names. The anime does a very good job of developing these characters, as the viewers themselves start to feel an intimate connection with them.
8. Dragon Ball
Aired On-February 26, 1986
Episodes-153
Dragon Ball is the first series to come out of the popular manga of the same name. It is one of the highest-grossing franchises of all times having earned close to 20 billion dollars. It has over the years become a staple of Japanese culture. Dragon Ball aired for over 153 episodes all across the world.
Dragon Ball follows Goku in his formative years. He has always been a loner, desperately trying to find his purpose in life. He gets it when a teenager named Bulma arrives in his life and asks him on an adventure of a lifetime. She asks him to come with her and find several orbs called Dragon Balls that will summon a wish-granting dragon.
He also begins training under Master Roshi in the anime along with Krillin to enter a tournament that hosts the most legendary fighters in the world. Then he follows it up with the arc of facing the Red Ribbon Army. Throughout these adventures, he loses his friends and experiences some serious moral dilemmas.
The anime provides a lot of things like great character development, amazing setting, and a mixture of genres like fantasy and action. Various portals have characterized it as “one of the most memorable animated action/comedy series of all time.”
9. Naruto Shippuden
Aired On-October 28, 2009
Episodes-500
Naruto Shippuden is the second installment produced by the famous manga titled Naruto. It takes place 2 and a half years after Naruto has finished up his major arc of part 1 about Nine-Tailed Fox. It is airing to date and has produced 500 episodes in total.
After 2 and a half years of hard training, Naruto has come back to his village to meet his companions and superiors. He wants to start his life afresh and continue on other adventures with his team through the new abilities he has garnered by the hard training of these 2 years.
In this installment we see Naruto trying to come to terms with a lot of changes. He has been known life as an underdog and now, having gained the respect of his fellow citizens, he has more to prove than ever. The new challenges give him a lot of scopes to grow and truly embrace his destiny of becoming a future Hokage.
We also have other characters like Sakura, Sai, Sasuke, and many more. The series has all of its predecessor’s charm with a little layer of maturity.
10. Digimon: Digital Monsters
Aired On-March 7, 1999
Episodes-54
Digimon Adventure, known in European countries as Digimon: Digital Monsters, has been a long-running franchise in Japan. It is based on the virtual pet of the same name. The series’ success has led to several sequels and adaptations.
Digimon follows seven children being transported to a different world known as the Digital World. They gain access to this digital world in front of their summer camp, where they befriend several Digimon (Digital Monsters).
They have to struggle and fight a lot to survive here. In doing so they fall in love with this alternate universe, which has given them so many opportunities. Hence, when they come to know they are “DigiDestined”, children chosen to save the Digital World, they vow to do everything possible to save this world.
In this, they are helped by their Digimons who now can Digivolve past their current level. It makes for a good series as unlike other series aimed towards children it doesn’t shy away from difficult topics like science fiction stories and societal themes.
11. One Piece
Aired On-October 20, 1999
Episodes-900
In today’s day and time, One Piece can well be considered as the representative of Japanese anime in the world. Since its premiere on October 20, 1999, it has aired more than 900 episodes.
It follows young Monkey. D. Luffy as he embarks on an adventure to gain the treasure One Piece so that he can be called the greatest Pirate of all times. His body also gains the properties of rubber after he unintentionally eats a Devil Fruit. He gains many allies and interesting characters- a talented swordfighter named Roronoa Zolo; Nami, a thief who has a talent for sea navigation; Usopp, a big liar who has an affinity for inventing; Sanji, a warrior, and a cook; Chopper, a sentient deer who is also a skilled physician; and Robin, a former member of Baroque Works.
The biggest thing that works for this anime is how rich it is in terms of characters. There are characters of various flavors that profoundly enhance the depth of the series. The Straw Hat Pirates become a family and their dynamics shift from being selfish and individually oriented to supportive, which is also very interesting to withhold.
12. Doraemon
Aired On-April 1, 1973
Episodes-602
In the early 2000s, Doraemon was at its height of popularity. So much so, that every child wished for an earless robotic cat named Doraemon. It has been the highest-rated kids’ show in many countries.
The show deals with a robot named Doraemon, who comes back from the future to help his owner’s Grandfather Nobita Nobi, an amicable is a very average guy, doing very poorly in his academics. His failures affect his family in the 22nd century. To rectify this Doraemon has been sent from the future to help him sort out his life. The other characters in this ensemble include Shizuka – Nobita’s crush, Gian- a bully and a heinous singer, and Suneo- a rich boy with many toys. It has the setting of classic children show.
Every episode follows a very similar pattern. Nobita falls into trouble, Doraemon solves it with his gadget, and Nobita gets selfish. This selfishness causes him to overuse the gadget and leads to an array of problems.
Many consider Nobita to be a very special character as unlike other lead characters he is not anything extraordinary but just like normal people dealing with regular emotions. This portrayal has been seen as reasons for its appeal as well as the contrary, especially in the United States.
13. Sonic X
Aired On-April 6, 2003
Episodes-78
2020 should probably be known as the year of Sonic The Hedgehog as it probably will be the last Blockbuster movie of the year. Before Sonic The Hedgehog, there was Sonic X, the anime series based on the video game.
Produced by TMS Entertainment, under the partnership with Sega and Sonic Team, and directed by Hajime Kamegaki, Sonic X initially ran for fifty-two episodes, broadcast on TV Tokyo from April 6, 2003, to March 28, 2004.
Sonic X begins with Sonic being stranded on Planet Earth after he comes here with a group of anthropomorphic animals to save one of their friends from their enemy Doctor Eggman. While in a confrontation with Doctor Eggman, a man named Chris comes and saves Sonic from the doctor’s clutches. Due to their actions, they become bonafide celebrities.
Though highly rated Sonic X has been subjected to certain criticisms, such as its American localization and some characters. Its story and aesthetics have received constant praise. The series was popular in the United States and France, though less so in its native Japan.
14. Voltron
Aired on -September 10, 1984
Episodes – 124
Voltron is a Japanese-American series that features a legend of defenders, especially skilled and trained to restore peace across the universe. Voltron is an adaptation of a comic from the same name. It takes place upon a time when Voltron, a super robot piloted by men was known as the Defender of the Universe. It was big and mighty. Voltron was admired by the good and feared by evil. It was responsible for ensuring peace in the universe. A galaxy alliance was formed on Planet Earth, along with some other planets. However, the peace treaty was on the verge of compromise when evil started lurking in the universe. Voltron was needed once again, to fight this evil and protect the treaty. The series was produced by World Events Productions, with Jack Angel as King Zarkon, Lennie Weinrib as Prince Lotor and Hunk, Neil Ross as Pidge and Keith, Peter Cullen as Coran, Michael Bell as Sven and Lance, BJ Ward as Allura and Tress MacNeille as Merla. The series was created by Toei Animation. Voltron went on to have several other adaptations and spin-offs later.
15. Dragon Ball Z Kai
Aired on – April 5, 2009
Episodes – 97
Dragon Ball Z Kai is a revised series version of the anime named Dragon Ball Z. the ‘Kai’ in the title is a synonym for ‘updated’ or ‘altered.’ The main aim of the series is to focus on the Japanese audience as it involves complete and brand new recordings by the original Japanese cast. Even the opening and the closing themes have been updated and altered. The closing scenes include credit for newly added villains such as Vegeta, Dodoria, Raditz, Frieza, Nappa, the Ginyu Force, and Zarbon. The series is heavily edited to focus on Akira Toriyama’s backstory as reflected in the Manga. The filler material in the original series is missing in the adapted one, thus resulting in a more fast-paced story, devoid of any damaged frames. Dragon Ball Z has 8 parts, with 3 more parts of The Final Chapters. It is directed by Yasuhiro Nawatari and Yasunori Koyama. The music is made by Kenji Yamamoto, Norihito Sumitomo, and Shunsuke Kikuchi. The sound effects were directed by Satoshi Motoyama and Yukio Nagasaki and produced by Fizz Sound Creation’s Hidenori Arai.
16. Detective Conan
Aired on – January 8, 1996
Episodes – 900 continuing
Detective Conan is also known as Case Closed. The series features the story of the protagonist named Jimmy Kudo, who is a high school detective, helping the police to solve cases. One such case leads him to an underground team called the Black Organization. He is attacked by the members and they ended up forcing him to drink a poison that has been developed by them. Instead of dying, however, Jimmy ends up turning into a kid. He takes up the name Conan Edogawa to hide his true identity and starts living with his friend Rachen Moore and her father Richard, who is also a private detective. Conan goes on to assist Richard in his cases and also enrolls in an elementary school to keep up with his disguise. He forms a club thereafter making some friends and names it the Junior Detective Club. Later, he encounters a new transfer student in his school, named Anita Hailey, who comes out to be the person developing the poison. She was also made to ingest it and turned into a kid. She ends up becoming a part of the Junior Detective Club. Together they track down the Black Organization.
17. Hamtaro
Aired on – July 7, 2000 (Japanese ver.), June 3, 2002 (English ver.)
Episodes – 296 (Japanese ver.), 104 (English ver.)
Hamtaro was originally made as a children’s comic book and was later adapted into an anime series. The series portrays the life of a pet hamster, owned by a 10 years old girl named Hiroko Haruna (also known as Laura Haruna in the English version). Hamtaro is a curious creature by nature. To satisfy his curiosity, he ventures out each day and makes friends with other hamsters. Together, they form a clan named The Ham-Hams. They meet at a clubhouse made by the Boss named Taisho. 3 anime was aired in Japan. It also has 4 movies and several other specials. There are also video games of the same series. The franchise was a hit and by the end of 2002, it had grossed over USD 2.5 million only via merchandise sales. The series got rebooted with a new title called Tottoko Hamtaro Dechu. Hamtaro was serialized in Shogakukan magazine. It was illustrated by Ritsuko Kawai. The English adaptation was published by Viz Media. Multiple other animes were produced under the name of TMS Entertainment and were later released on TV Tokyo. The English version was primarily dubbed by The Ocean Group.
18. Yo-kai Watch
Aired on – January 8, 2014
Episodes – 214
Yo-kai Watch revolves around the life of Keita Amano, an ordinary primary school student. Keita is driven by his curiosity and this leads him to a forest when he goes on to venture deeper into the woods. While he was on his stroll, he came across a mysterious object in the form of a capsule. Out of the depths of the capsule, emerges Whisper, a ghost-like creature. Whisper was imprisoned for 190 years and after being finally freed by a kind student, he granted Keita a yokai watch. Whisper, a yokai himself, assigns himself to be Keita’s guardian, protecting him from all kinds of evil and the supernatant. The watch enables Keita to interact with other yokai. Together with the trio – the yokai Whisper, the cat spirit Jibanyan and a simple kid Keita, embark on a journey where they interact with the supernatural dimension, helping others and fixing the mistakes other yokai make. Not only this turns Keita into something special but he encounters various adventures that give him life lessons and invaluable experiences. The main cast includes Haruka Tomatsu, Tomokazu Seki, and Etsuko Kozakura.
19. My Hero Academia
Aired on – April 3, 2016
Episodes – 88
The plot of My Hero Academia revolves around a boy named Izuku Midoriya. The story takes place in a world where almost everyone is possessed with superpowers, known as “Quirks.” Izuku longs to become a hero and save the world someday. He is constantly bullied by his childhood friend Katsuki Bakugo for lacking a Quick. Both of them idolize the famous and one of the greatest heroes named All Might. They meet him one day and Izuku is one of the few people who are aware of All Might’s critical injury that the latter has been concealing in front of the public eye to maintain his morale. After encountering Izuku’s determination in front of adversity, All Might chooses him to pass his mantle on. He transfers his power known as ‘One For All’ to Izuku. Izuku starts becoming accustomed to his new life while attending UA High School, along with Bakugo and some of his other friends. Suddenly, a threat starts looming over his life as a nemesis of ‘One For All’, named ‘All For One’ sends his apprentice – Tomura Shigaraki – to end all the heroes of the current society.
20. Powerpuff Girls Z
Aired on – July 1, 2006
Episodes – 52
The story for Powerpuff Girls Z takes place in Tokyo City. Professor Utonium, his son Ken and his dog Peach are experimenting in the lab. As they take a tea break, Peach starts playing and accidentally drops food into the vat of Chemical X, turning it into Chemical Z. As the professor and his son attend to the situation, the climate suddenly changes and a series of weather calamities befall many countries around the world. Ken uses the vat to blast Chemical Z into one of the icebergs, the impact of which results in the formation of several black and white rays. Three of these white rays engulf 3 separate girls, turning them into Rolling Bubbles, Hyper Blossom, and Powered Buttercup, the 2 heroines named Powerpuff Girls Z, destined to protect the world from various evil monsters. A white ray also hits Peach who turns into a toy dog with the ability to speak and summon the girl whenever necessary. The back ray, however, engulfs several people in the city, turning them into evil monsters. The team goes on to protect the city, with the help of Professor Utonium, Ken, Peach, the City Mayor Meyer, and his assistant Ms. Bellum from evil.
21. Sailor Moon Crystal
Aired on – July 5, 2014
Episodes – 26
Sailor Moon Crystal portrays the life of a young teenage girl named Usagi Tsukino. Usagi meets a talking black cat named Luna one day. Luna tells her about being the Sailor Moon, a Sailor Guardian, who is destined to fight against the Dark Kingdom, a group of evil villains. Luna advises her to find her fellow fighter – the Sailor Guardians, along with the Princess of the Moon and an artifact known as the Silver Crystal. She meets the rest of the Guardians – Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Mars, and Tuxedo Mask, a mysterious man with a mask. Usagi feels attracted to Tuxedo Mask. A series of events follows and it is revealed that the Sailor Guardians were members of the Moon Kingdom, during the Silver Millenium period during their previous lives. Sailor Moon was the Princess Serenity of the Moon and Tuxedo Mask was the first crowned Prince of Earth, Prince Endymion – and Serenity’s lover. Together, the Guardians defeat the Four Kings of Heaven and kill their leader, Queen Beryl. Then, the Sailor Guardians confront a brainwashed Endymion and the evil Queen Maria, who is planning to spread darkness all over the Planet Earth.
22. Avatar: The Last Airbender
Aired on: February 21, 2005
Episodes: 61 episodes
Avatar, the Last Airbender is one of the best anime made for kids and teens. It has varied and powerful characterization with perfect elements of a Shounen anime. Though the central character of this anime is a teen named Aang, the diverse nature of other characters never fails to amuse the viewers.
In this anime, the world is made of four nations, namely Air, Water, Earth, and Fire. There was a peaceful cohabitation among them until Fire Nation declared war to dominate the other nations. The main protagonist of the story is a twelve-year-old kid Aang, who can control all the four elements. He, along with his friends Sokka, Katara, and Toph, fights for their life. They are joined by Zuko, an exiled king from Fire Nation, who intends to capture Aang so that he can prove his honor to his father. The story continues with Aang’s struggle to master the bending of all the elements while trying his best to survive in adverse conditions.
This anime is an interesting combination of humor, cultural references, an action that makes it a commercial success. Some sensitive social issues like totalitarianism, genocide are represented in a way easily understandable by kids. The representation of the characters like Katara and Toph are way more powerful than many other female characters from the anime world.
23. Stitch!
Aired on: October 8, 2008
Episodes: 88 episodes
Stitch! is a science-fiction anime for kids. Aliens and UFOs have always been interesting to kids. When it’s a cute and friendly alien, how can kids not fall in love with it? Stitch is initially introduced in an animation called Lilo and Stitch. When it was made in Japan the character’s name was changed to Yuna.
The main character of this anime is Stitch, an alien who ends up on Earth, specifically, on an island called Izayoi. He finds a spiritual stone and with the help of it, he can be the strongest person on Earth. For that, he needs to do several good deeds. He tries to do so, but his good deed counter often goes down owing to his mischievous nature. The story continues with them trying to fulfill the number of good deeds.
This series leads the viewers to discover the true meaning of friendship. At the end of the series, Stitch realizes that for him, being with his friend Yuna is more important to him than being the strongest person in the world.
24. Dinosaur King
Aired on: September 8, 2007
Episodes: 55 episodes
This anime was mainly meant for young kids. It has elements like fiction, dinosaur characters who eventually become friends with the protagonist Max, and adventure.
The anime is about Max Taylor, son of a famous Paleontologist Dr. Spike Taylor. One morning, he hears a noise of something crashing in the woods. He decides to find it out with his friends Rex Owen and Zoe Drake, together known as D-team. They saw a large egg-like stone with a Triceratops card. The card turns into a real Triceratops when it is rubbed. Max names it Chomp.
These D-team gets to know that Alpha gang is hunting dinosaurs. The alpha gang is headed by Dr. Z, who is accompanied by Ursula, Zander, Ed, Seth, Laura, Rod, etc. They aim to hunt dinosaurs as Dr. Z wants to be Dinosaur King. Eventually, Rex gets a dinosaur named Ace and Zoe gets one Parasaurolophus named Paris. After this, the three friends along with their dinosaur companions set out to collect dinosaur cards from the Alpha team, so that they can save them. The anime shows that they run around the world to save the dinosaurs.
The most wonderful thing about this anime is its amazing combination of friendship and enmity. The friendship between Max and his friends and at the same time with their dinosaur companions is heart-warming.
25. Sugo Chara!
Aired on: October 6, 2007
Episodes: 51 episodes
Human identity and their dream have a complicated relationship. A kid learns to make a goal his dream and then the search for true identity starts from there and goes on throughout the whole life. This issue has been given a fairytale-like approach with the presence of a guardian character in this anime.
Amu Hinamori is an elementary school student who is known as “cool”. As she is extremely shy, she wishes to get enough strength to reborn as her “would-be ” self. One morning she finds three colorful eggs on her bed. Those eggs hatch to have Ran, Miki, and Su – they are her guardian characters. Similar to angels, these characters help Amu to become her “would-be ” self. They will also aid her so that she can fulfill her dream.
For Amu, the sudden change in personality gives her a difficult time to adjust to it. There is a group called Seiyo Elementary Guardians: each of them possesses a guardian angel of their own. People who have a guardian character also can “character-change”. They recruit Amu to find out X Eggs and X characters, which are corrupted forms, so the guardians can purify them.
The cute interaction between Amu and her guardians makes it a favorite of kids. There is also a sincere side of it: the way Amu struggles to adjust to the “would-be” self, which is different from her true self makes this much deeper and thoughtful.
26. Dragon Ball GT
Aired on: February 7, 1996
Episodes: 64 episodes
The anime of the Dragon Ball series has always been popular with children. Dragon Ball GT is not an exception. The central character Goku, his leadership, strength, and courage are the reasons why many kids want to be a part of his journey. Their imagination and adventurous side propelled by Goku’s journey and his fights against negative characters. This series was so popular that it was meant to have 40 episodes, but 24 episodes were added later, considering its rocketing viewership.
The protagonist of the series Goku is transformed into a child mistakenly by Emperor Pilaf. He is compelled to travel across the galaxy to retrieve them. The first half of the series revolves around Goku, Pan, and their companions. In the second half, some most powerful villains of Dragon ball series like Luud Cut, Machine Mutants, Super 17, Shadow Dragons are introduced. The main characters from Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z appear in this part as well.
In Dragon Ball, GT Goku is the positive energy that inspires young kids to have certain positive qualities like courage, strength, value friendship, etc.
27. Go! Princess PreCure
Aired on: February 1, 2015
Episodes: 50 episodes
It deals with every child’s dream of becoming a princess. They fantasize themselves to be a part of a fairy tale. Just like that, a young girl named Haruka Haruno is bullied by her friends from her kindergarten for her dreams of becoming a princess. She meets a boy named Kanata who gives her a special charm. He also makes her promise to never let go of her dream.
Later, when she is in the Noble Academy boarding school she meets Pafu and Aroma, two fairy characters from the Hope Kingdom. The fairies inform her that there is Dys Dark led by Dyspear, a witch. They want to bring despair into the world by taking away all dreams.
The fairies give her princess perfume. She becomes a warrior named Cure Flora, who will oppose Dys Dark. In this mission, she gets companions like Miami Kaido, Kiara Amanagowa, Towa Akagi. They form a group ‘Princess Pretty Cure’ team. They search for dress-up keys needed to open the door so that they can release the dream. Their ultimate mission is to save people’s dreams from despair.
Though this anime is meant for kids, it successfully passes on the message that a princess is not only made out of anywhere, the title of a princess must be guarded by her strong will to help and fight for her people.
28. Tokyo Mew Mew
Aired on: April 6, 2002
Episodes: 52 episodes (in Japanese series)
This anime is an adaptation of ‘Tokyo Mew Mew’ manga. This series has five girls, who transform into superheroines to protect the world. There are several anime series that deal with the mission of saving the world. This type of series is apt for kids because they can fan a child’s latent wish to be a ‘superhero’.
This story focuses on five girls who are infused with the DNA or an animal of endangered species and they get the ability to transform into superheroines to protect the earth from aliens. The plot starts with Ichigo Momomiya, a young girl who attends an exhibition of endangered animals. After an earthquake, she finds herself with four other girls. She saw a strange cat being merged in them. From the next day, her behavior changes to somewhat common to that of a cat.
She gets to know from Ryo and Keiichirou that they are infused with the Iriomote cat DNA that allows them to transform into Mew Ichigo, a powerful cat girl. She sets out to find other catgirls so that they can fight against alien parasites who transform innocent animals into monsters.
This anime is one of the anime that has quite a fan following for years, as the kids got the superheroines of their age who save the world.
29. Heidi, Girl of the Alps
Aired On – January 6, 1974
Episodes – 52
Heidi, a girl of the Alps portrays the life of a young girl named Heidi, who’s parents died in a car accident. She started living with her aunt, Dete. Dete gets a job offer in Frankfurt but would not be able to take her niece with her. So, she takes Heidi to the Alps, to live with her grandfather, Alm-Onji. Alm-Onji has a notorious reputation for killing a man in his youth. However, Heidi wins her way into the old man’s heart and starts living with him and his dog Josef. She also met a boy called Peter, who goes to the mountains with the villagers’ cattle for pastures and his grandmother, a blind old woman, who wishes to have Psalms read to her. Due to Alm-Onji’s notoriety, Heidi lives a secluded life and is not allowed to go to school and is illiterate. Dete comes back from Frankfurt and tells Heidi that a rich business offers to take Heidi in as a companion to her crippled daughter Clara, to which her grandfather objected. Dete still takes Heidi to Frankfurt and abandons her there and Heidi becomes Friends with Clara. However, she becomes homesick soon and the doctor advises her to go back to the Alps. Heidi spends her days there and Clara comes to visit her annually.
30. Little Witch Academia
Aired On – January 9, 2017
Episodes – 25
Little Witch Academia is an anime released in 2017. It is created by Yoh Yoshinari and then produced by Trigger. The series is based on a couple of short films released in 2013 and 2015. The anime takes place in the Luna Nova academy. It is a school to train young witches. The anime series portrays the life of a young witch named Akko Kagari. She is a new student and dreams of becoming a great witch like her idol, Shiny Chariot. The series was announced just after the ending of the last episode of Space Patrol Lucco. It was aired from January and June in Japan and was later picked up by Netflix, where only 13 episodes were streamed in English. The remaining 12 were released later as a second season. The first season has the opening theme as Shiny Ray by Yurika and the ending theme being Hoshi o Tadoreba by Yuiko Ohara. The second season has the opening theme – Mind Conductor by Yurika and the ending theme is Tomei na Tsubasa by Ohara. The series has a total of 25 episodes that were released in the form of DVDs worldwide.
31. Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D
Aired On – April 2, 2008
Episodes – 154
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D portrays the life of Yusei, an inhabitant of Satellite. The anime takes place in Neo Domino City. 17 years ago, a reactor blasted and divided the Planet into 2 parts – the poverty-stricken Satellite and the wealthy, prosperous Neo Domino City. Yusei builds a rocket with which he can escape Satellite and visit Neo Domino city. However, his best friend Jack steals his rocket and dragon – Stardust Dragon – and flies to Neo Domino City. 2 years later, Yusei builds another rocket and secretly flies to Neo Domino City, where he plans to avenge his best friend Jak’s action of betrayal and win back his dragon. Jack has made quite a good name for himself in Neo Domino City under the alias of Riding Duel King. Yusei and Jack duel with each other and Yusei was able to regain control of his dragon. As their dragon’s duel, Jack and Yusei’s arms started to glow and a third dragon emerged who put an end to the battle. It was later revealed that both Jack and Yusei are descendants of the “Signers,” who are destined to fight the Dark Signers at Satellite and save the world.
32. Speed Racer
Aired On – September 23, 1967
Episodes – 52
Speed Racer is originally a manga, which was later adapted into an anime. The anime became a greater success than the manga and ran for 52 episodes from the years 1967 to 1968. A more modernized version of Mach GoGoGo was produced by Tatsunoko, which was later aired on TV Tokyo. It lasted for 34 episodes. Later, an English version of the anime series was made that was aired on Nickelodeon. The series was named Speed Racer X and was produced by DiC. it was aired in 2002. However, only 11 episodes were aired due to the conflicts between Space Racer enterprises and DiC. Later, a web series named Mach Girl was produced by Tatsunoko Productions, which was created by Suzuka, the daughter of Tatsuo Yoshida. It is a Japanese media franchise about automobile racing. The series was supposed to be printed in the Shonen Book of 1966. However, it was released in the tankobon book produced by Sun wide Comics. It was later released in Japan by the publishing Company Fusosha. The anime series was first aired on Fuji TV and was later broadcasted on Tokyo MX.
33. The Legend of Korra
Aired On – April 14, 2012
Episodes – 52
The series The Legend of Korra portrays the life of the protagonist Korra, who moves to Republic City to learn the sport of airbending from the teacher Tenzin. Tenzin is Avatar Aang’s son. After being trained by him, she enters a pro-bending league where she meets several contestants but befriends a few of the – brothers Bolin and mako and Asami Sato, the heiress to the famous and rich Future Industries, a leading corporation in the field of engineering. Korra was suddenly summoned by the very ambitious politician Tarrlok, who appoints her as the foe of the anti bender, who goes by the alias Amon. Amon is a member of the Equalists. Together with her friends, Bolin, Mako, and Asami Sato, she defeats the anti bender and unmasks him, only to be revealed that the anti bender Amos is Tarrlok’s brother. After Amos has been designated as the Bloodbender, the entire Equalist coup has been destroyed and the predecessor Aang helps Korra to realize her powers and help in restoring the air bending abilities of Amon’s victims. Another sequel to this series was made and was titled Avatar-the Last Airbender.
34. Snow White with the Red Hair
Aired On – July 7, 2015
Episodes – 24
Snow White with the Red Hair centers around the portrayal of Shirayuki, an ordinary herbalist in the kingdom of Tanbarun with one particular feature – her beautiful red hair. Due to her unusual red hair, she was taught to be careful of displaying it since her childhood and that is why she grew up to become a very independent woman. While she was practicing her work in the kingdom, she catches the attention of the Price Raj, who orders her to become his concubine. Shirayuki vehemently rejects such an offer and to save herself, she flees the kingdom of Tanbarun and goes for the neighboring kingdom of Clarines. On her way there, she meets 3 friends, Prince Zen and his 2 aides – Kiki and Mitsuhide. When Zen is poisoned by the apple meant for Shirayuki by Raj, she finds the antidote and helps Zen recover and then accompanies the 3 friends to Clarines. There, she gives the test to become a herbalist in the court and succeeds. The series shows her works and experiments and the love that develops between her and Zen as days go by.
35. Fairy Tail
Aired On – October 12, 2009
Episodes – 328
Fairy Tail is originally a Japanese manga series by Hiro Mashima and it was later serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine by Kodansha. The story portrays the life of Natsu Dragneel, a very well known wizard of the guild Fairy Tail. He is looking for the fictional Earth land for Igneel, a dragon. Earth land is shown to be an alternative reality and a home to several magical guilds where wizards work certain paid jobs with the help of their magic. One such guild on Earth land is named Fairy Tail, where the protagonist and wizard Natsu Dragneel holds his allegiance to. Natsu explores Earth land and goes on the mission of finding out about his adoptive father – Igneel the dragon. During his encounter, he befriends a wizard named Lucy Heartfilia. Their relationship grows as friends and Natsu invites her to join Fairy Tail. In the meantime, Natsu, along with Lucy and his cat-like partner Happy, builds an army of fighters. As a team, they set out on different missions such as fighting criminals, dark and illegal guilds, and the ancient Etherious demons formed by an immortal Zeref, a dark wizard.
