Best Action Anime: Top 100+ Action Anime to Watch

Here we have gathered the top 100 action anime for you to watch. Whether you're a newbie or a hard-core fan of action anime, you're likely to find some amazing new shows to watch from this list. As there is no strict definition of action anime that everybody would agree on, you can recognize the ones that belong in this category by looking for epic battles, hero duels, car chases or other thrilling scenes. If you can find those elements in anime, most likely it belongs in the genre of action anime. This list has ranked the action anime list in order according to votes of anime fans just like you, who are keen on action anime shows. You can also add your favourite show on the list if it's missing currently, so other anime fans can also find it.

  1. 1
    High School DxD

    High School DxD  is a Japanese light novel series written by Ichiei Ishibumi and illustrated by Miyama-Zero. The story centers on Issei Hyodo, a perverted high school student from Kuoh Academy who is killed by his…

  2. 2
    Black Butler

    Black ButlerCiel Phantomhive, a thirteen-year-old boy (as of chapter 14) head of the Phantomhive household, an aristocratic family known as the Queen’s Guarddog. He is tasked with solving crimes in London’s underworld. Ciel has formed a…

  3. 3
    Date a Live

    The series begins with a strange phenomenon called a “spatial quake” devastating the center of Eurasia, resulting in at least 150 million casualties. For the next 30 years, smaller spatial quakes plague the world on an irregular…

  4. 4
    My Hero Academia

    My Hero Academia (Japanese: 僕のヒーローアカデミア Hepburn: Boku no Hīrō Akademia) is a superhero[9] manga series written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. It has been serialized…

  5. 5
    Sword Art Online

    Sword Art Online (Japanese: ソードアート・オンライン Hepburn: Sōdo Āto Onrain) is a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. The series takes place in…

  6. 6
    The Seven Deadly Sins

    The Seven Deadly Sins (Japanese: 七つの大罪 Hepburn: Nanatsu no Taizai) is a Japanese fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Nakaba Suzuki. It has been serialized…

  7. 7
    Seraph of the End

    In 2012, the world allegedly comes to an end at the hands of a “human-made” virus, ravaging the global populace and leaving only children under the age of thirteen untouched. It is at this time that vampires emerge from the recesses of…

  8. 8
    Naruto

    A powerful fox known as the Nine-Tails attacks Konoha, the hidden leaf village in the Land of Fire, one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries in the Ninja World. In response, the leader of Konoha, the Fourth Hokage, seals the fox inside…

  9. 9
    Tokyo Ghoul

    The story follows Kaneki Ken, a college student who barely survives a deadly encounter with Rize Kamishiro, his date who reveals herself as a ghoul. He is taken to the hospital in critical condition. After recovering, Kaneki discovers that he…

  10. 10
    No. 6

    The story takes place in a dystopian city known as “No.6”. Shion, a boy raised in the elite and privileged environment of his home, gives shelter to another boy, who only gives his name as “Nezumi” (or…

  11. 11
    One Piece

    One Piece (Japanese: ワンピース Hepburn: Wan Pīsu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha‘s Weekly Shōnen…

  12. 12
    Hunter X Hunter

    The story follows a young boy named Gon Freecss, who was told all his life that both his parents were dead. But when he learns from Kite, an apprentice of his father Ging Freecss, that he is still alive and has since become an accomplished…

  13. 13
    Highschool of the Dead

    Highschool of the Dead, known in Japan as Apocalyptic Academy: Highschool of the Dead (Japanese: 学園黙示録 HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD Hepburn: Gakuen Mokushiroku Haisukūru obu za Deddo), is a…

  14. 14
    Death Note

    Death Note (Japanese: デスノート Hepburn: Desu Nōto) is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. The story follows Light Yagami, a high school…

  15. 15
    Naruto Shippūden

    Naruto (ナルト) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who searches for recognition from his peers and the village…

  16. 16
    Fairy Tail

    Fairy Tail is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It was serialized in Kodansha‘s Weekly Shōnen Magazine from August 2, 2006 to July 26, 2017, with the individual chapters collected and published into…

  17. 17
    No Game No Life

    Sora and Shiro are two hikikomori step-siblings who are known in the online gaming world as Blank, an undefeated group of gamers. One day, they are challenged to a game of chess by Tet, a god from another…

  18. 18
    Attack on Titan

    Attack on Titan (Japanese: 進撃の巨人 Hepburn: Shingeki no Kyojin, lit. “Advancing Giant”) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. The series began…

  19. 19
    Kill la Kill

    Honnouji Academy (本能字学園 Honnōji Gakuen) is a fictional high school situated in Tokyo Bay, Japan on the island of Honnō City. The school is dominated by its fearsome student council led by Satsuki Kiryuin. Its…

  20. 20
    Steins;Gate

    Steins;Gate is set in 2010 in Akihabara, Tokyo, and follows Rintaro Okabe, a self-proclaimed “mad scientist”, who runs the “Future Gadget Laboratory” in an apartment together with his friends Mayuri Shiina and Itaru…

  21. 21
    Fate/stay night

    The story revolves around Shirō Emiya, a hardworking and honest teenager who unwillingly enters a to-the-death tournament called the Fifth Holy Grail War, where combatants fight with magic and Heroes throughout history for a chance to have their…

  22. 22
    Assassination Classroom

    Assassination Classroom (Japanese: 暗殺教室 Hepburn: Ansatsu Kyōshitsu) is a Japanese comic science fiction manga series written and illustrated by Yūsei Matsui. The series was serialized…

  23. 23
    Noragami

    Hiyori Iki is a normal middle school student until she was involved in a bus accident while trying to protect a stranger. This incident causes her soul to frequently slip out of her body, and she becomes aware of the existence of two parallel…

  24. 24
    Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

    Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Japanese: 鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST Hepburn: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Furumetaru Arukemisuto) is an anime series adapted from the Fullmetal…

  25. 25
    Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero

    The story follows a world where several young men and women regularly find themselves spirited away to a world of sword and magic called Alayzard. Those who survive and return are typically gifted with magic abilities. An international training…

  26. 26
    One-Punch Man

    One-Punch Man (Japanese: ワンパンマン Hepburn: Wanpanman) is an ongoing Japanese superhero webcomic created by ONE[5] which began publication in early 2009.[6] The series quickly…

  27. 27
    Blue Exorcist

    Blue Exorcist (Japanese: 青の祓魔師エクソシスト Hepburn: Ao no Ekusoshisuto) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazue Katō. The manga has been serialized in Jump…

  28. 28
    Future Diary

    Yukiteru Amano is a 14-year-old shy, daydreaming loner who observes life and jots down the events on his cell phone. His only friends are Deus Ex Machina, the God of Space and Time, and his assistant Muru Muru. Deus transforms Yukiteru’s…

  29. 29
    Angel Beats!

    Angel Beats! takes place at a high school acting as a limbo for teenagers who have died, but experienced hardships or traumas when alive that they must come to terms with and accept before being given a second chance at life. Those in the…

  30. 30
    Bleach

    Bleach (Japanese: ブリーチ Hepburn: Burīchi) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. Bleach follows the adventures of the hotheaded teenager Ichigo…

  31. 31
    Elfen Lied

    Elfen Lied takes place in Kamakura and Kanagawa, and focuses on the “Diclonius”, a newly mutated species. Their appearance is similar to humans, but with several differences, namely horn-like protrusions on the…

  32. 32
    Log Horizon

    By its eleventh expansion pack, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Elder Tale (エルダー・テイル Erudā Teiru) has become a global success, with a user base of millions of players. However, during…

  33. 33
    Mahouka Koukou No Rettousei

    The series is set in a world with an alternate history, where magic exists and has been polished through modern technology. However, the ability to use magic is determined by genetics, limiting the number of magicians in existence. Following…

  34. 34
    Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka?

    Ayumu Aikawa is a zombie who was once an ordinary high schooler resurrected by a necromancer named Eucliwood Hellscythe after being murdered by a serial killer. As he tries to make the best of his undead life, he encounters a…

  35. 35
    Akame ga KILL!

    Tatsumi is a fighter who, accompanied by his two childhood friends, sets off to the Capital in search of a way to make money to assist his poverty-stricken village. After being separated from his friends in a bandit attack, Tatsumi…

  36. 36
    Heaven’s Lost Property

    Tomoki Sakurai is a perverted teenage boy whose motto is “Peace and quiet are the best”, and often has dreams of meeting an angel. He finds it difficult to live in comfort when he has to put up with Sohara Mitsuki, his next-door neighbor…

  37. 37
    Samurai Champloo

    A young woman named Fuu is working as a waitress in a tea shop when she is abused by a band of samurai. She is saved by a mysterious rogue named Mugen and a young rōnin named Jin. Mugen attacks Jin after he proves to be a…

  38. 38
    Sword Art Online II

    In 2022, a virtual reality massively multiplayer online role-playing game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online (SAO) is released. With the NerveGear, a helmet that stimulates the user’s five senses via their brain, players…

  39. 39
    The Devil Is a Part-Timer!

    The Demon Lord Satan seeks to conquer the world of Ente Isla by annexing its four continents with the help of his demon generals Alciel, Lucifer, Malacoda, and Adramelech. After being confronted by the hero Emilia and her companions after…

  40. 40
    Darker than Black

    Ten years ago, a mysterious spatial anomaly now known as “Heaven’s Gate” appeared in South America, shortly followed by the opening of “Hell’s Gate” in Tokyo altering the sky and wreaking havoc on the landscape.…

  41. 41
    Soul Eater

    Soul Eater (Japanese: ソウルイーター Hepburn: Sōru Ītā) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Atsushi Ōkubo. Set at the “Death Weapon Meister Academy”, the series…

  42. 42
    Dragon Ball Z

    Dragon Ball Z (Japanese: ドラゴンボールZゼット Hepburn: Doragon Bōru Zetto, commonly abbreviated as DBZ) is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. It is…

  43. 43
    Berserk

    Guts (ガッツ Gattsu) is a wandering mercenary who has known war and death since he was born from a hanged corpse and saved by his adopted mother, who died from the plague when he was only three years old. He was raised and trained…

  44. 44
    Psycho-Pass

    The series starts with Shinya Kogami, an Enforcer under Akane’s watch during her first mission. Akane Tsunemori is a new police Inspector at Unit One of the Public Safety Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division. Akane is…

  45. 45
    Code Geass

    Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ Kōdo Giasu: Hangyaku no Rurūshu), often referred to as simply Code Geass, is a Japanese anime series created by Sunrise, directed…

  46. 46
    Durarara!!

    Mikado Ryūgamine, a young boy who longs for the exciting life of the big city, moves to Ikebukuro to attend Raira Academy with his childhood friend Masaomi Kida, whom he has not seen since he was young. After the two meet at the train…

  47. 47
    Shakugan no Shana III

    Shakugan no Shana details an age-old conflict between those who inhabit the Crimson Realm, a parallel universe to the human world. The Crimson Realm is populated by Crimson Denizens who are able to manipulate the Power of Existence, a fundamental…

  48. 48
    Guilty Crown

    High school student Shu Ouma encounters a wounded girl named Inori Yuzuriha, the vocalist of a popular internet group Egoist, taking refuge at his film club’s workshop. The GHQ Anti Bodies storm the workshop and arrest her for involvement with…

  49. 49
    Cowboy Bebop

    Cowboy Bebop (カウボーイビバップ Kaubōi Bibappu) is a 1998 Japanese anime television series animated by Sunrise featuring a production team led by director Shinichirō Watanabe,…

  50. 50
    Claymore

    The series is set on a fictional medieval island where humans are plagued by Yoma (妖魔), humanoid shape-shifters that feed on humans. A mysterious group, known as The Organization, creates human-Yoma hybrids to kill Yoma for a fee. These…

  51. 51
    Magi: The Kingdom of Magic

    After being secluded for his entire life, a boy called Aladdin travels the world with his “friend” Ugo, the Djinn contained within Aladin’s flute, until he meets Alibaba Saluja, a young man aiming to one day explore the nearby…

  52. 52
    Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

    After being secluded for his entire life, a boy called Aladdin travels the world with his “friend” Ugo, the Djinn contained within Aladin’s flute, until he meets Alibaba Saluja, a young man aiming to one day explore the nearby…

  53. 53
    Fullmetal Alchemist

    Fullmetal Alchemist (Japanese: 鋼の錬金術師 Hepburn: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi, lit. ”Alchemist of Steel”) is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu…

  54. 54
    Mob Psycho 100

    Shigeo Kageyama is an average middle school boy, nicknamed Mob (meaning “background character”) for lacking a sense of presence. Although he looks like an inconspicuous person, he is in fact a powerful esper. As he grows older, Mob…

  55. 55
    Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

    The plot of the episodes is primarily based on the Unlimited Blade Works storyline in the Fate/stay night visual novel, in which Shirou Emiya, a high school student and amateur magus living in Fuyuki City, Japan, is dragged…

  56. 56
    Fate/Zero

    The story of Fate/Zero takes place ten years prior to the events of Fate/stay night, detailing the events of the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City.[5] The Holy Grail War is a contest, founded by the Einzbern, Matou, and…

  57. 57
    Deadman Wonderland

    A massive anomaly caused a great earthquake that ravaged Japan‘s mainland and destroyed most of Tokyo, sinking three-quarters of the city into the Pacific Ocean. Ten years later, the story shifts to Ganta Igarashi, a seemingly…

  58. 58
    Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal

    While a raid of bandits slay a group of travelers, a young boy named Shinta is saved from death by a passing swordsman. The swordsman, known as Hiko Seijūrō, is a master of the Hiten Mitsurugi, the strongest of all sword forms. After seeing…

  59. 59
    Hellsing Ultimate

    Hellsing is named after and centered around the Royal Order of Protestant Knights originally led by Abraham Van Helsing. The mission of Hellsing is to search for and destroy the undead and other supernatural forces of evil that threaten…

  60. 60
    Parasyte

    Parasyte centers on a male 17-year-old high school student named Shinichi Izumi, who lives with his mother and father in a quiet neighborhood in Tokyo, Japan. One night, strange worm-like creatures with drills as a ‘head’…

  61. 61
    Gin Tama

    The story is set in an alternate late-Edo period, where humanity is attacked by aliens called “Amanto”, and the samurai of Japan join the battle against the aliens, but when the shōgun realizes the power of aliens, he betrays the…

  62. 62
    Puella Magi Madoka Magica

    In the fictional city of Mitakihara, Japan, a middle school student named Madoka Kaname and her friend Sayaka Miki encounter a small, cat-like creature named Kyubey. It offers a contract in which a girl may have any wish…

  63. 63
    Gurren Lagann

    Gurren Lagann takes place in a future where Earth is ruled by the Spiral King, Lordgenome, who forces mankind to live in isolated subterranean villages. These villages have no contact with the surface world or other villages and are under…

  64. 64
    Pokémon

    Pokémon also known as Pocket Monsters in Japan, is a media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, a Japanese consortium between Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures.[4] The franchise copyright is shared by all three companies, but…

  65. 65
    Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

    The series takes place in the year 2030, where many people have become cyborgs with prosthetic bodies. Primarily set in the fictional Japanese city of Niihama, Niihama Prefecture (新浜県新浜市 Niihama-ken…

  66. 66
    Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple

    The story focuses on Kenichi Shirahama, a 15-year-old high school student and a long-time victim of bullying. At the beginning of the story, he befriends transfer student Miu Fūrinji; and desires to become stronger, he follows her to…

  67. 67
    InuYasha

    In modern-day Tokyo, Kagome Higurashi lives on the grounds of her family’s Shinto shrine with her mother, grandfather and little brother, Sota. On her fifteenth birthday, when she goes to retrieve her cat, Kagome is dragged into the…

  68. 68
    Trigun

    Trigun revolves around a man known as “Vash the Stampede” and two Bernardelli Insurance Society employees, Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, who follow him around in order to minimize the damages inevitably caused by his…

  69. 69
    Rurouni Kenshin

    In the early Meiji era, after participating in the Bakumatsu war as the assassin “Hitokiri Battōsai“, Himura Kenshin wanders the countryside of Japan with a reverse blade katana, offering protection and aid to…

  70. 70
    Drifters

    Shimazu Toyohisa, while involved at the Battle of Sekigahara, manages to mortally wound Ii Naomasa, but is critically injured in the process. As he walks from the field wounded and bleeding, Toyohisa finds himself transported to a corridor…

  71. 71
    God Eater

    As with the Monster Hunter franchise, the gameplay consists of players embarking on various missions to hunt specific monsters. The primary goal of the game is to complete missions by successfully taking out powerful monsters, retrieving…

  72. 72
    Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan

    Rikuo Nura is 3/4 human and 1/4 yōkai, in which he has a human form in the day but transforms into his yōkai form at night. He lives in a house full of yōkai along with his yōkai grandfather. Trying to escape his fate, he does good deeds in…

  73. 73
    Yu-Gi-Oh!

    Yu-Gi-Oh! tells the tale of Yugi Mutou, a timid young boy who loves all sorts of games, but is often bullied around. One day, he solves an ancient puzzle known as the Millennium Puzzle, causing his body to play host to a mysterious spirit with the…

  74. 74
    Btooom!

    Ryōta Sakamoto is an unemployed 22-year-old young man who lives with his mother Yukie. He is one of the world’s top players of the combat video game called Btooom!.[3] One day, he awakes in what appears to be a tropical island, though he…

  75. 75
    D.Gray-man

    The central character is Allen Walker, a new recruit to the Black Order who started training to control his Innocence after it destroyed the Akuma of his late guardian, Mana. The story begins in a villain of the week fashion, where…

  76. 76
    Black Lagoon

    The story follows a team of pirate mercenaries known as Lagoon Company, that smuggles goods in and around the seas of Southeast Asia in the early to mid 1990s.[3] Their base of operations is located in the fictional…

  77. 77
    Hellsing

    Hellsing is named after and centered around the Royal Order of Protestant Knights originally led by Abraham Van Helsing. The mission of Hellsing is to search for and destroy the undead and other supernatural forces of evil that threaten…

  78. 78
    Black Cat

    Set in a fictional universe, Train Heartnet, once an assassin for Chronos, an organization bent on world peace that rules one third of the world’s economy, is now an easygoing Sweeper (licensed bounty hunter) traveling with…

  79. 79
    Tokyo Ravens

    Onmyodou magic was once a powerful technique which was used by the Japanese during World War II. Later, infamous onmyoji Yakou Tsuchimikado performed a ritual known as the ‘Taizan Fukun Ritual’, which will eventually bring out Japan as a…

  80. 80
    Reborn!

    In Reborn! a boy, Tsunayoshi “Tsuna” Sawada, is chosen to become the tenth boss of the Vongola Family, as he is the great-great-great-great grandson of the first Vongola boss—who moved to Japan from Italy. Timoteo, the…

  81. 81
    Yu Yu Hakusho

    Yu Yu Hakusho follows Yusuke Urameshi, a 14-year-old street-brawling delinquent who, in an uncharacteristic act of altruism, is hit by a car and killed in an attempt to save a young boy by pushing him out of the way.[3][4][5] His ghost is greeted by…

  82. 82
    GATE

    One day in modern-day Ginza, Tokyo, a portal from another world suddenly appears and a legion of soldiers and monsters emerge to attack the city. Using more advanced weaponry and tactics, the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF)…

  83. 83
    Certain Magical Index

    A Certain Magical Index is set in a world where supernatural abilities are a reality. Individuals who possess special powers acquired via science are called Espers (Chōnōryokusha). Those Espers who gain their abilities without the aid of…

  84. 84
    Black Bullet

    In the year 2021, mankind is ravaged by the epidemic of Gastrea, a parasitic virus, and is forced to live within the Monolith walls, which are created from Varanium: a metal that is able to subdue Gastrea. Soon, children who were born with the…

  85. 85
    Afro Samurai

    In a feudal yet futuristic Japan, it is said that the one who wields the Number 1 headband is the best swordsman in the world and shall possess god-like powers. Some believe that the Number 1 headband grants immortality.…

  86. 86
    Pandora Hearts

    Oz is the heir to the Vessalius house, one of the Four Great Dukedoms given excessive power by the country’s royalty. He lives a luxurious life alongside his younger sister Ada and valet and best friend Gilbert. This extravagant lifestyle is…

  87. 87
    Gangsta

    The series revolves around two “Handymen” who take on jobs for both the mob and the police force that no one else can handle. The two, named Worick Arcangelo and Nicolas Brown, work in the town of Ergastulum, which is full of mafia,…

  88. 88
    K

    Yashiro Isana has lived a relatively ordinary, simple life. He lives in the technologically advanced Shizume City and attends Ashinaka High School, a notable high school that is located on an island just outside the areas. Yashiro is friendly with…

  89. 89
    Aldnoah.Zero

    In 1972, during the Apollo 17 mission, an ancient alien artifact named the “Hypergate” was discovered on the surface of the Moon, allowing for near-instantaneous travel to and from Mars and the colonisation…

  90. 90
    Blast of Tempest

    The story revolves around Mahiro Fuwa, a teenage high school student whose older step-sister (who was also the longtime girlfriend of his childhood friend Yoshino Takigawa) was mysteriously murdered along with their parents one year before. Mahiro…

  91. 91
    Baccano!

    In New York City during November 1930, Szilard succeeds in recreating the elixir, only to have it stolen by young thug Dallas Genoard. The elixir continually moves around the city because of Dallas, with the three mafiosi Gandor brothers,…

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