Top 10 Most Successful Anime Franchises
Dragon Ball is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. It made anime popular in America and is based on the manga of the same name by Akira Toriyama. It was dubbed in English on Cartoon Networks Toonami block and still has many fans today. Dragon Ball is the best franchise in every field. Some are good at games, some are good at anime, and some at manga, but Dragon Ball rules in all fields.
Dragon Ball has earned a special place in my heart. It's such a good anime. In my opinion, it's the best anime ever made.
This anime is still going strong to this day, despite its dark years (i.e., Dragon Ball GT).
Pokémon, abbreviated from the Japanese title of Pocket Monsters and currently advertised in English as Pokémon: The Series, is a Japanese anime television series, which has been adapted for the international television markets. It was first broadcast in Japan on April 1, 1997, in the United States... read more There is no competition to the international phenomenon that is Pokemon, and it doesn't look like there will be any time soon! With one of the longest-running anime series, as well as a vast array of video games and merchandise, Pokemon is the most successful anime franchise of all time!
Who doesn't know about Pokemon!
Naruto is an anime and manga franchise Naruto, created by Masashi Kishimoto. The manga was later adapted into a television anime, which was produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex. It premiered across Japan on the terrestrial TV Tokyo and other TX Network stations on October 3, 2002. The first series... read more I know I will be pissing off some One Piece fans because One Piece is more successful in Japan than Naruto. However, on an international level, Naruto is far more successful.
This is the best franchise for sure.
Dragon Ball and Naruto are and will forever remain the most popular anime ever.
One Piece is a manga franchise created by Eiichiro Oda. The manga has been adapted into an original video animation (OVA) produced by Production I.G in 1998, and an anime series produced by Toei Animation, which began broadcasting in Japan in 1999 and has aired 851 episodes to date. I love One Piece. I've been watching it for almost 20 years now. Nothing compares to this anime.
The best! It's long but worth watching. The world-building, character development, and storyline - everything is good!
Attack on Titan, also known as Shingeki no Kyojin in Japanese, created by Hajime Isayama, is one of the most popular Japanese anime series to be released. It was first watched in Japan during 2013 and was dubbed in English to be watched in America in 2014. It is best known for its emotional moments,... read more AoT is a series that is not nice to its viewers. It is a series that is not afraid to be controversial, writing out characters as they are killed off one by one. It encapsulates the meaning of "survival." That is essentially what all life is: a struggle to survive and to fight. Fight. FIGHT!
This is an anime that I go back to and rewatch over and over again, despite the death. But isn't that what makes the story interesting? Season 2 exceeded my expectations!
Death Note is a Japanese television drama anime series based on the manga series of the same name by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.
The show is centered around Light Yagami - a promising highschooler and aspiring detective with a strong sense of "justice".
The Gundam franchise offers a series for every type of viewer. It has a high success rate and innovates with each passing generation. With multiple timelines existing in parallel, there's a strong sense of freedom in the animations of Gundam. I have great respect for this series and hope that its positive trend will continue.
The Gundam franchise, as usual, has a series to appeal to each different user or viewership. It is really good at depicting what is cool and reinvents itself with each passing generation. Plus, the timelines are also not the same in each Gundam-based series. They've done a really nice job with it and should garner respect at some point.
Bleach is a Japanese anime series based on Tite Kubo's manga of the same name. Bleach adapts the first 54 volumes of Tite Kubo's manga series of the same name. In addition, 4 anime-original arcs were broadcast in-between and during the adaptations of original arcs of the manga... read more My second favorite anime (behind Naruto).
I think Bleach is even better than Naruto when it comes to action and TV ratings.
Neon Genesis Evangelion, commonly referred to as Evangelion or Eva, is a Japanese animated television series produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production, and directed by Hideaki Anno.
Name any other visual novel franchise that has achieved as much success as Type-Moon's biggest series. It's incredible to think that what started as an eroge visual novel has turned into a series of manga, light novels, anime, movies, video games, and arguably the biggest cash cow among them, the hit mobile game Fate/Grand Order. Did I forget to mention its high popularity in its home country, Japan?
What an amazing world. I look forward to every new season of this series. After my first experience, I became a fan for life.
The Newcomers
Shakugan no Shana is an anime series including three television series, original video animation episodes, and bonus shorts.
Danganronpa: The Animation is a 2013 anime television series based on Spike Chunsoft's murder mystery video game, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc.
Sailor Moon is a Japanese shōjo manga series by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Nakayoshi from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 tankōbon volumes... read more As a shoujo title, it deserves a place in the top 10.
Fairy Tail is a manga franchise created by Hiro Mashima. The manga has been adapted into an anime series produced by A-1 Pictures and Satelight, which began broadcasting in Japan on October 12, 2009. Additionally, A-1 Pictures and Satelight have developed seven original video animations and an animated... read more
Airing initially in 2009, this anime series is based on light novels by Nisio Isin. The series employs unconventional storytelling techniques to narrate the experiences of a high school student encountering various oddities. Known for its unique visual style and dialogue-heavy episodes, it has captivated... read more Fantastic series with very clever writing. The character interactions are fantastic, and the animation is absolutely beautiful. This is my favorite series, hands down.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is an anime and manga franchise originally written by Hirohiko Araki. It centers around the perilous journey of the members of the legendary Joestar bloodline.
One-Punch Man is an ongoing, online, web comic, which was later adapted into a Manga and Anime series . Created by ONE in 2009, It gained popularity, and soon after, went viral in 2012, surpassing 7 . 9 million views . One-Punch Man (OPM for short) focuses on the protagonist Saitama (Who is named after... read more
Yu-Gi-Oh! was aired from 2000 to 2004 in Japan, and 2001 to 2006 in the US. It continues where the Toei Anime Left off. When 10th grader Yugi Muto solves the Millenium Puzzle, Yami Yugi emerges, taking control of him to help his friends. In Duel Monsters, they mostly played children's card games because... read more It's a Japanese-American card game where they use specific game rules. For generations, they have added more cards for duels.
Fullmetal Alchemist is an anime series adapted from the manga of the same name by Hiromu Arakawa. It is about two brothers, Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric, trying to restore their bodies after failing at bringing their mother back to life. It aired in 2003 and was remade as Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood... read more Watching Brotherhood is still, to this day, one of my fondest experiences. What an amazing vision brought to life.
Gin Tama, also styled as Gintama, is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi and serialized, beginning on December 8, 2003, in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump.
Sword Art Online is a series of Japanese light novels written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. In 2012, it received an anime adaptation produced by A-1 Pictures and the SAO Project, and is directed by Tomohiko Ito . The first season is divided into two arcs known as "Aincrad" and "Fairy Dance"... read more Love it or hate it, Sword Art Online is undeniably one of the most successful and popular anime franchises of this decade. It began as a contest entry, then became a webcomic, and eventually a light novel. It's amazing how much this franchise has expanded. With two anime adaptations and a third one on the way, a series of spin-offs - one of which is already set for its own anime adaptation - several video games and mobile games, and, most importantly, its first theatrical anime film, it's undoubtedly successful. Suck it, haters.
“Digimon” is a term commonly used to describe a variety of Japanese anime series based on the Bandai virtual pet brand “Digimon” (Dejimon). As of 2017, there are 7 series: “Digimon Adventure” (1999), “Digimon 02” (a.k.a. “Digimon Adventure 02”) (2000), “Digimon Tamers” (2001),... read more
Beyblade is a 2001 Japanese anime television series based on Takao Aoki's manga series of the same name, which itself is based on the Beyblade spinning tops.
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, often referred to as simply Code Geass, is a Japanese anime series created by Sunrise, directed by Gorō Taniguchi, and written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, with original character designs by manga authors Clamp.