Top 10 Guilty Pleasure Anime

Here's a list of anime I take shame in liking. These anime might be considered lame, stupid, or perverted, even ones I know are bad, but for some reason I like them.

Let's start this list, shall we?

The Top Ten

Pokémon

Pokémon, abbreviated from the Japanese title Pocket Monsters and currently marketed in English as Pokémon: The Series, is a Japanese anime television series adapted for international audiences. It was first broadcast in Japan on April 1, 1997, and in the United States on September 8, 1998.... read more

I used to like this show when I was a kid, but now it's kind of weird. Seriously, they never explain what a Pokemon is, what a Pokemon master is, or why Ash wants to be one, etc. The characters are kind of stupid. But if I have all these complaints against the show, why do I like it? It's easy: the Pokemon battles. Enough said.

I feel bad about how people tend to hate this show. It's doing its job being relevant to the games, but differently!

My favorite anime! It used to be a guilty pleasure, but now it's something I'm proud of!
Fruits Basket

After losing her mother in a tragic accident, 16-year-old Tohru Honda goes to live with her grandfather. However, when his house undergoes renovations, she chooses not to trouble her friends or extended family. Instead, she secretly moves into a tent in the nearby woods and tries to maintain her normal... read more

I swear if any of my guy friends found out I watch this, they would laugh so hard. It is quite a popular shoujo, I hear. Full of bishies, sweet but corny dialogue, and funny elements.
Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. The series was originally serialized in Nakayoshi magazine from 1991 to 1997. The story was collected into 18 tankōbon volumes containing 52 individual chapters.... read more
Burn-Up Excess X
Bleach

Bleach is a Japanese anime series based on Tite Kubo's manga of the same name. The anime adapts the first 54 volumes of the manga and includes four anime-original arcs that aired alongside and between the main story arcs.
The story follows Ichigo Kurosaki, a high school student with the ability... read more

Like Rosario + Vampire, I took no shame in liking this. I really tried to hate this show, but it was so good. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I really wanted to hate this, but I really wanted to know how it ends. The fact that I've seen all of the anime three times, watched the movie five times, and keep an entire shelf of the manga makes me a total fan of this show.

I have an elitist taste in anime, and I know this is just another generic shonen. That being said, I honestly don't know why I like this, but I do for some reason.
Rosario + Vampire

Premiering in 2008, this anime series is adapted from a manga by Akihisa Ikeda. It follows a human boy who accidentally enrolls in a school for monsters and becomes involved with a vampire girl. The series blends romantic comedy with supernatural and fantasy elements.

I actually take no shame in liking this, but I swore, I swore that I would never watch an anime that is loaded with fan service after watching The Familiar of Zero. (I didn't hate it, but I just can't take an anime that has so much sexual innuendo.)
Princess Princess

This is one anime title I would always recommend, but the story was kind of stupid. Say what you want, but an all-boys school that dresses up pretty boys to look like girls just to cheer up the other students is just weird. This is probably the reason why you shouldn't send your kids to single-gender schools - they will be messed up for life. Other than that, I think all the other students at that school are gay. Enough said.
Loveless

Sure, even though this anime has a pedophile (I don't think Soubi is bad, mind you... I loved the concept of this anime completely), I enjoyed it very much. The characters were very interesting, the magic was cool, and the art was awesome. I found this anime to be very pleasurable. I admit that I feel like a total pedo for watching it, of course.
Carnival Phantasm

Carnival Phantasm is a comedy OVA series based on the Type-Moon gag manga Take-Moon by Eri Takenashi, the author of Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens. The series parodies characters and storylines from Type-Moon's visual novels like Fate/stay night and Tsukihime. It was first released in 2011 to commemorate... read more

Ha ha ha... This is damn funny. How can the Holy Grail War turn into a game show? Laugh out loud. Other than that, all the characters were kind of OOC, which is probably one of the funniest things about this anime.
Free!

Free! is a Japanese anime television series directed by Hiroko Utsumi and produced by Kyoto Animation in collaboration with Animation Do. The show premiered in July 2013 and follows the stories of competitive swimmers. It has since spawned multiple seasons, films, and a dedicated fan base.

The Newcomers

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Popee the Performer

Popee the Performer (Japanese: ポピーザぱフォーマー, Hepburn: Popīza pa fōmā) is a Japanese anime series of computer-animated shorts. It was produced for Kids Station, one of the all-anime satellite television channels in Japan.
The show was created by the husband-and-wife team of Ryuji Masuda (writer,... read more
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Love Live! School Idol Project

Love Live! School Idol Project is a Japanese multimedia project co-developed by ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine, the music label Lantis, and the animation studio Sunrise. The project began in 2010 and follows a group of schoolgirls who become idols to save their school from shutting down. It... read more

Surprised this isn't here, not gonna lie.
It's... well, nothing totally original nor groundbreaking by any stretch. Still, there's something about Love Live! that manages to attract an audience. Some of the songs are admittedly good (coming from a metalhead, mind you), and it's nice to see the main cast's relationships and interactions with one another.
Also, it's fun to see some weird and mundane antics at times, especially when they're spliced together.
Overall, not the greatest, but it's nice to watch if you want something to pass the time. It's a watchable anime at the very least.

The Contenders

Nanbaka

Nanbaka (Japanese: ナンバカ), also known as Nanbaka - The Numbers, is a Japanese anime series based on the web manga of the same name written and illustrated by Shō Futamata. The anime adaptation was produced by Satelight and aired from October 5, 2016, to March 22, 2017.... read more

The concept is so weird and silly, but I can't help but enjoy it.
Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi

I love it, I love it, I love it! But Takano-san just barging into Ritsu's apartment is strange. Still, this is so awesome!
High School DxD

High School DxD is a Japanese light novel series written by Ichiei Ishibumi and illustrated by Miyama-Zero. The story follows Issei Hyoudou, a perverted high school student who is killed on his first date and reincarnated as a devil by Rias Gremory. He joins the Occult Research Club and aspires to rise... read more
Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (Japanese: パンティ＆ストッキングwithガーターベルト, Hepburn: Panti ando Sutokkingu wizu Gātāberuto) is a Japanese anime television series produced by Gainax. The series aired from October to December 2010 on BS Nittele and features a distinct animation style inspired by American cartoons... read more

A show about two angels that get kicked out of heaven and have to fight demons in order to restore their grace! And there's lots of cursing, sex jokes, and shallow characters!
Sign me up!
Sonic X

Sonic X is a Japanese anime television series created by TMS Entertainment. It is based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise published by Sega. The series originally aired in 2003 and features Sonic and his friends being transported to Earth where they battle Dr. Eggman and his robots.

The stories of the 2000s games are so much better than this, and I'd rather watch those on repeat than a full episode, but there's just something special about this show that brings me back to it.
Pretear

This was a great anime, but some people I know keep saying, "No, this is a Sailor Moon ripoff." Well, I have a question to ask all of you: "Is Sailor Moon a male harem?" No. Okay, plus the story is so different. How can this be a ripoff of an anime I hate? (I hate Sailor Moon, guys, so what are you gonna do about it?)
Fairy Tail

Fairy Tail is a manga franchise created by Hiro Mashima. It was adapted into an anime series produced by A-1 Pictures and Satelight, which first aired in Japan on October 12, 2009. The franchise also includes several original video animations and a feature film titled Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess... read more

I watch "Ghost in the Shell," "Cowboy Bebop," and "Samurai Champloo" if I want to see well-written, intelligent anime. I watch "Fairy Tail" when I want to turn my brain off and enjoy endless, pointless fights, stupid humor, and fanservice. (Go, Erza Scarlet!)

I could name 1,000 things wrong with this anime, but it's so watchable and fun. I just keep coming back to it.
Prison School
Kiss×sis

I love this show and its concept. Ako is a bit too needy and desperate in my opinion, so Riko is my favorite of the two. I started watching it to see what everyone was hating it for, and I ended up loving the show as a closet KissxSis fan. No regrets.

I watched the first episode. I kept watching. Enough said.
Is it bad that this anime is my guilty pleasure?!

I definitely would not want someone watching this anime with me. I don't even know why I like it, though - it's really addicting!
Beyblade

Beyblade is a 2001 Japanese anime television series based on Takao Aoki's manga of the same name, which was inspired by the Beyblade spinning top toys. The anime was produced by Madhouse and directed by Toshifumi Kawase. It sparked a franchise that includes additional anime seasons, movies, and a wide... read more

It's stupid but fun. I like Beyblade because it's so ridiculous.
Junjou Romantica
Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!
Hetalia: Axis Powers

Hetalia: Axis Powers is a Japanese webcomic-turned-anime created by Hidekaz Himaruya that debuted in 2009. The series anthropomorphizes countries and depicts them as characters interacting in both humorous and historical scenarios, primarily set during World War I and World War II... read more
Tekkaman Blade II
Gantz

Back then, I took no shame in liking this, but now, looking back, I kind of take shame in it. Probably because the violence in the show is so brutal that it makes me want to puke. Plus, I think the characters in this show are just so terrible that I want to kill them with a salad fork.
But not everyone in the show was bad. I could find two likable characters, which would be Kei Kurono and Joichiro Nishi. Kei, because even though he was a horny douchebag at first, the way he develops is just... wow. Nishi, because even though I thought he was quite scary at first, he became my favorite character in this anime. He kind of reminds me of myself sometimes, but unlike Nishi, I don't hate everyone.
Yeah, say he's emo all you want, but Nishi is the most badass character in this entire anime. Other than that, if those two weren't in this anime, I would have suffered temporary amnesia because I would probably forget how to use my iPad.