20 Beloved Anime That Are Considered Cult Classics (2024)

Cowboy Bebop

By the year 2071, space travel is an ordinary thing - and so is space crime. Spike Spiegel once belonged to a crime syndicate called the Red Dragon, but these days he's more interested in bounty hunting alongside the rest of the Bebop Crew.

While the crew is having exciting space-faring adventures and taking down criminals, they're also attempting to outrun their pasts. Spike still has some unfinished business with the syndicate, and he's not the only one. From Jet Black to Faye Valentine, every member has something they wanted to leave behind.

• Dig Deeper...The Best Cowboy Bebop Fanfiction, Ranked
• And Deeper...The Live-Action 'Cowboy Bebop' Series Was Cancelled And Fans Have Thoughts
• #225 of 538 onThe 500+ Best Cartoons Of All Time, Ranked

Ghost in the Shell

In the near future, humanity has advanced to the point where they can easily replace their body parts with cybernetics or even implant their entire consciousness into robotic bodies. While this grants humanity some amazing benefits, it also creates a new category of crime.

To deal with these complicated cyber crimes, the government establishes Section 9, a group of independent police officers led by Daisuke Aramaki and Motoko Kusanagi.

• Dig Deeper...Who Would You Cast Instead Of Scarlett Johansson In Ghost In The Shell
• #217 of 447 onThe 400+ Best Animated Kids Movies
• #7 of 122 onThe Best Old School Anime From 1999 And Before

Akira

After a young boy's psychic powers set off an explosion that triggered World War III, Tokyo was destroyed and rebuilt as Neo Tokyo. This new city is a hotbed for gangs, terrorism, and criminal activity. One of these gangs is The Capsules, which is led by Shotaro Kaneda.

One day, Kaneda's closest friend, Tetsuo Shima has an encounter with a psychic who has escaped government confinement. This triggers him to develop psychic powers of his own, and gets him locked up in the same facility. But Tetsuo isn't about to go down that easily. While Kaneda is trying to rescue him and the government is trying to confine him, he's rapidly becoming more powerful - and more ruthless and destructive.

• #64 of 162 onThe 150+ Best Futuristic Dystopian Movies
• #144 of 447 onThe 400+ Best Animated Kids Movies
• #50 of 80 onThe 50+ Best First Anime To Watch For New Fans, Ranked

Samurai Champloo

After Mugen and Jin are nearly executed for fighting in a tea house, they end up getting rescued by Fuu, a young waitress that Mugen attempted to protect earlier. She has a mission for them: to be her bodyguards while she searches for the mysterious “man who smells like sunflowers.”

Neither of them are especially enthusiastic about the idea, but they also aren't about to turn down not getting executed. So, the three of them set out on adventure that will turn out to be far more complex than any of them could have imagined.

• Dig Deeper...The Best Episodes of Samurai Champloo
• #66 of 320 onThe 300+ Best Anime Series Of All Time
• #285 of 576 onThe 500+ Best Animated TV Shows Ever Made

Trigun

Thanks to the reboot that aired in the Spring 2023 anime season, it's possible that the original Trigun will get a little more attention. Even if you do watch the reboot, the original is worth checking out too.

The story centers around Vash the Stampede, a man who supposedly brings destruction wherever he goes. Because of his reputation, he's being followed around by two insurance agents hoping to tabulate the damage he does. Not only that, but he's being targeted by countless people who want to capitalize on his massive bounty.

But Vash is actually a total pacifist. He doesn't want to hurt anyone, but has been forced into doing so by his brother, who has very different ideas about how they should approach humanity.

• Dig Deeper...The 15 Biggest Differences Between 'Trigun' And 'Trigun Stampede'
• #104 of 320 onThe 300+ Best Anime Series Of All Time
• #43 of 86 onThe Best Shounen Anime Of All Time

Perfect Blue

Perfect Blue is Satoshi Kon's first film, and it establishes himself as a key voice in the anime medium. It's a gorgeous film about a J-pop artist who is leaving her group in order to pursue an acting career. At first, she's happy to be pursuing her dream, but things go swiftly downhill.

Not only does her new job in a crime drama turn out to be a lot harder than she thought it would be, but her old idol group seems to be doing a lot better without her. Worse, she's being followed by a stalker who can't accept her new role, and being impersonated online by someone who seems to be more like her than she is. All these factors combine to tear down her identity and make it nearly impossible to distinguish fantasy from reality.

We could have easily listed any of Satoshi Kon's works here. If Perfect Blue doesn't seem like your jam, you could check out Paprika, Millennium Actress, Paranoia Agent, or Tokyo Godfathers.

• #243 of 379 onThe Best Movies Of The 1990s
• #79 of 95 onThe 100+ Best Movies Of 1997
• #137 of 167 onThe 160+ Scariest Psychological Thrillers