The Best TV Shows on ANIMAX

Every ANIMAX Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Across the timeline from 1981 to 2018, ANIMAX has presented audiences with over 20 captivating shows. Leading the pack on ANIMAX are Ninja Hattori-kun and Super Pig, with their initial broadcasts in 1981 and 1994. Our curated list, current as of October 2025, showcases over 20 of ANIMAX’s highest-rated series.

  • InuYasha
    InuYasha (2000)8.6

    Kagome Higurashi is a modern day young girl who lives with her family by the old Higure shrine. Unbeknownst to Kagome, she is the reincarnation of priestess Kikyo and posseses the "Jewel of Four Souls" (the Shikon jewel). One ill-fated day, Kagome locates an ancient well near her home and is abruptly transported through the well and into a feudal Japan, inhabited by demons. There, she encounters Inuyasha, son of a powerful demon father and a human mother, who is pinned to a tree by an enchanted arrow.

  • My Family
    My Family (2002)8.6

    A light hearted comedy based on the about the daily life of a "normal" Japanese family. The Tachibana family consists of a housewife mom, a salary-man dad, and teenager Mikan and Yuzuhiko.

  • Hell Girl
    Hell Girl (2005)8.2

    A supernatural system allows people to take revenge by having other people sent to Hell via the services of a mysterious entity and her assistants who implement this system. Revenge, injustice, hatred, and the nature of human emotions are common themes throughout the series.

  • Ninku
    Ninku (1995)8.0

    The story in Ninku is about an odd-looking 12-year-old named Fūsuke (Fūsuke of the wind) who is a powerful warrior from the Ninku school of martial arts, a style that mixes ninjutsu and karate. It is explained that before the present time in the story that those who could use Ninku were targeted by an evil empire and the Ninku corps were formed to combat the menace. The names of the corps were taken from the twelve Chinese zodiac animals (Eto) and each captain of the corps was called the zodiac animal Ninku master (Etonin). When the war was over, the Ninku were defeated and almost all of them were killed since they were useless and were also dangerous for the rulers. At the beginning of the story, three years later, Fūsuke, the young former captain of the 1st Ninku corps and controller of the wind and Hiroyuki, his flatulent penguin, start searching for the other Ninku captains...

  • Initial D
    Initial D (1998)8.0

    Takumi’s job as a tofu delivery boy has turned him into one of the most formidable drivers around. Behind the wheel of his Eight-Six, he’s one with the road—and his life shifts into high gear when the underground street racing world takes notice. Drivers from across the region are lining up for a shot at the new guy. Takumi’s not just focused on winning—he’s out to prove he’s the best.

  • Monster Farm
    Monster Farm (1999)8.0

    Genki is a boy who loves playing the Monster Rancher games and one day he's somehow transported into the world of the video game where he meets the girl Holly and the monsters Mochi, Suezo, Golem, Tiger and Hare. Together, they are searching for a way to revive the Phoenix, which is the only monster capable of stopping the evil Moo.

  • Witchblade
    Witchblade (2006)8.0

    Masane Amaha and her daughter Rihoko are on the run from a government child welfare agency that wants to take Rihoko away from her mother. They are caught and Rihoko is taken away. Meanwhile, Masane is attacked by an advanced weapon that can disguise itself as a human being. When faced with the danger, a strange light emits from her wrist and she transforms into a powerful being. She becomes involved in a power struggle between powerful organizations, with her at the center of their attention because she holds the greatest power of them all, the legendary Witchblade.

  • KochiKame
    KochiKame (1996)7.9

    Ryotsu Kankichi, or Ryo-san for short, is an unconventional cop working at the local police station who loves money. Together with famous celebrities like Nakagawa and Reiko, his strict boss Police Chief Ohara, and other wildly unique characters, he gets everyone caught up in all sorts of hijinks!

  • Excel Saga
    Excel Saga (1999)7.9

    Hyperactive Excel does anything and everything to try to please her lord, Il Palazzo, who wants to take over the planet. Excel’s misadventures takes her and her partner, the ever-dying Hyatt, all over the world, meeting several strange people as they go. Everything is bizarre and goofy, as any kind of anime or entertainment genre gets mocked and spoofed.

  • The Asterisk War
    The Asterisk War (2015)7.8

    Invertia was a meteor storm that caused an unprecedented disaster during the 20th century. Because of this disaster, numerous cities around the world were destroyed. However, within the meteor, an unknown element called mana was discovered. It allowed human technology to make rapid strides giving rise to a new species of super-powered humans, the Star Pulse Generation (Genestella). The Festas (Star Warrior Festivals) host battles between Genestella at a city of six academies called “Rikka,” also commonly known as “Asterisk.” Scholarship student Ayato Amagiri transferred into Seidoukan Academy in order to fulfill his own wish, swearing he too will fight in this city.

  • Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea
    Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea (2013)7.7

    Long ago, all humans lived beneath the sea. However, some people preferred the surface and abandoned living underwater permanently. As a consequence, they were stripped of their god-given protection called "Ena" which allowed them to breathe underwater. Over time, the rift between the denizens of the sea and of the surface widened, although contact between the two peoples still existed. This show follows the story of Hikari Sakishima and Manaka Mukaido, along with their childhood friends Chisaki Hiradaira and Kaname Isaki, who are forced to leave the sea and attend a school on the surface. There, the group also meets Tsumugu Kihara, a fellow student and fisherman who loves the sea. Hikari and his friends' lives are bound to change as they have to deal with the deep-seated hatred and discrimination between the people of sea and of the surface, the storms in their personal lives, as well as an impending tempest which may spell doom for all who dwell on the surface.

  • Saint Seiya: Saintia Sho
    Saint Seiya: Saintia Sho (2018)7.6

    The whole Sanctuary was misled into danger due to the civil war instigated by the Gemini Gold Saint, Saga. Our story begins right after the end of those events... This is a story of the girls protecting Athena. These are the records of love and fierce fights they meet while opposing destiny on their way to maturity...

  • Super Pig
    Super Pig (1994)7.1

    One fateful day, Karin, a junior-high student, found what she thought was an injured piglet. However, the piglet was just exhausted from hunger. After the piglet regained his health by eating Karin's apple, he revealed that he is a prince, Tonrariano III, from a planet called Booringo. Tonrariano wanted to reward Karin for helping him and so he transformed her into a pig with superpowers. Karin was not at all pleased with the gift because she wanted to become a pretty superheroine like "Cutey Chao" (a parody of Cutey Honey), not Super Pig. Reluctantly, she became more interested in her role as Super Pig when she found out that she can turn into someone like "Cutey Chao" if she can collect 108 pearls through doing good deeds for other people.

  • Samurai 7
    Samurai 7 (2004)7.0

    As villages perish under the thumb of a cruel race of warriors, a young priestess named Kirara travels the countryside gathering stray samurais.

  • Ninja Hattori-kun
    Ninja Hattori-kun (1981)6.5

    11-year-old Kenichi Mitsuba is an average kid who goes to secondary school and struggles with his studies, he is very stubborn and is very lazy and therefore always ends up frustrating his parents and teacher. He loves to find an easy way of things. He befriends Hattori Kanzo, a ninja from the Iga Clan, and he becomes part of the Mitsuba family along with his brother, Shinzo and his ninja dog, Shishimaru. Hattori helps Kenichi with his problems, and constantly keeps an eye on him, as a good friend. The main antagonist Kemumaki, a Koga ninja and his ninja cat, Kagechiyo always troubles Kenichi, mainly because of their feud over one girl, Yumeko. Kenichi asks Hattori to take revenge as a recurring storyline in many episodes. Although Hattori is a good friend, Kenichi sometimes fights with Hattori due to misunderstandings created by Kemumaki. Sometimes Jippou, Togejirou and Tsubame help him.

  • Galaxy Angel
    Galaxy Angel (2001)6.5

    The Angel Brigade, an elite branch of the Transbaal Empire military, are assigned to search for The Lost Technology, mysterious items from the past that hold unknown powers. Led by the soon-to-retire Colonel Volcott O' Huey, the Angel Brigade travel to different planets using their specially designed Emblem Frame ships to search for Lost Technology. Unfortunately, they often mess up somehow and end up getting into all kinds of awkward and troublesome situations.

  • Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO
    Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO (2004)6.5

    The year is Universal Century 0079. Oliver May is a technical officer in the Zeon 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit , in charge of testing new military technology. Stationed in the Jotunheim, a civilian transport ship that was converted into military use, Oliver must head into battle and experience the One Year War, only this time from the perspective of a weapon tester who struggles to make an impact on an evolving war during changing times.

  • Tsugumomo
    Tsugumomo (2017)6.5

    Kazuya Kagami never goes anywhere without the precious "Sakura Obi" his mother gave him. One day a beautiful, kimono-clad girl named Kiriha appeared before him. Kiriha naturally began to live with Kazuya in his room. Then there's Chisato, Kazuya's childhood friend with glasses and a ponytail, who meddles in his affairs. Soon there's also an overprotective older sister who seems to want to take baths with him. Jumble in a huge-chested priestess, a good-looking sorceress named Kokuyoura, beautiful women, and hot girls, and Kazuya's happy, embarrassing, confusing life begins…

  • Cheeky Angel
    Cheeky Angel (2002)4.3

    Cheeky Angel is a comedy romance action manga series by Hiroyuki Nishimori. The story revolves around the adventures of 15-year-old schoolgirl Megumi Amatsuka, a popular and beautiful tomboy that always get into fights with a secret: she used to be a boy. Originally a serial in Shōnen Sunday, it has been collected in 20 tankōbon volumes and adapted as a 50-episode anime series. In 2001, the manga won the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen.

  • Crush Gear Turbo
    Crush Gear Turbo (2001)4.0

    After losing almost all their members, the Tobita Crush Gear club is facing extinction. Kouya who dreams of being a Crush Gear Fighting Champion doesn't want to see the club become extinct and will do whatever he can to keep the club running and become a Crush Gear Champion.