The Top 10 Most Influential Anime of the 2010s
Written by Aesthel
With the 2020s officially coming to a start, many people have been taking the time to look back on the last decade and see how far we’ve all come over those years. lt’s also a good time to look back at some of our favorite things to come of the last 10 years. One hotly debated subject over the last ten years has been the best anime. While this list that we’ve compiled here may not necessarily be our favorites or what we consider to be the “best” shows, these are the top ten shows that we feel have had the biggest impact on anime as a genre over the last decade. Note that this list is examining the top anime series of the decade, so it will not be touching on anime films at all.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Puella Magi Madoka Magica was one of the first big examples of anime made to subvert expectations. Just look at that picture. Do you see how cute they all are? Look how cute that little cat thing is! You just want to love it right? Wrong. Madoka Magica is well known as a brutal and depressing series, but it also played a role in the revival of interest in magical girl series. For us and many others, it also helped establish the “rule of three”, AKA; always watch three episodes of a series before you decide to stop watching it. In this series, episode three is what really launches the story into its darker undertones and creates a lot of interest as the viewer generally has no expectation for this going in. Madoka Magica is also an original anime, meaning it was not based on a pre existing manga or story, and it could have been an inspiration for studios to consider more original stories in their seasonal anime line ups.
Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan’s anime debut marked a big point in the world of anime and the world of cosplay. It was hard to find any convention around that time that didn’t have an abundance of Attack on Titan cosplayers in their uniforms. Attack on Titan brought an era of darker and more violent series to the 2010s. Though it’s popularity has definitely faded over the years since it’s first season came out, this series definitely made it’s mark and changed the scene of anime for the decade.
Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online is definitely not a show without it’s issues, but there is no denying the mark it has made on the world of anime. Going back, it seems the boom of Isekai genre anime all started here with Sword Art Online. Without the strides of Sword Art Online, we would not have the shows of the Isekai genre that we have now. And because of shows like SAO and those that followed it, there was also a huge boom in shows intended to subvert expectations of the Isekai genre; those like Konosuba, which has a humorous take on the genre, or those like Re: Zero, Overlord, and The Rising of Shield Hero, which all take darker approaches to the genre.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
It’s hard to go anywhere without someone inevitably making some sort of JoJo reference. This series has definitely made it’s mark on the world of anime over its long run, and as it continues to work it’s way through the series other parts we are sure that the influence will only continue! JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure tells the generational story of the Joestar family and their…. bizarre adventures. Seriously, trying to explain JoJo to someone who knows nothing about it is one of the hardest things to do. Especially if you’re trying to explain a scene out of context. It just sort of happens, but you love every moment of it. Some things that we love about this series are the crazy character designs, the way the series plays around with colors and patterns, and the absolute craziness of it all!
Free!
Free! Iwatobi Swim Club was definitely not the first ever in the “sports anime” genre, but boy have we seen a spike in sports anime since it’s release! Free! is totally unashamed of it’s fan service (just look at all those shirtless anime guys), but it was kind of refreshing to see some fan service based around male characters rather than the stereotypical female character fan service that we so often see in anime. Free! first gained popularity when a commercial for the project went viral, soon leading to the announcement of a full animated series and eventually sequels and movies too. These days you could name just about any sport and find an anime about it, from mainstream sports like basketball, football, and volleyball, to other more obscure things like ping pong, ballroom dancing, badminton, and biking.
Love Live!
Love Live! School Idol Project was HUGE for the idol genre of anime. It drew so many more people to the genre through it’s cute characters, stories, and catchy J-Pop inspired music. Love Live! now has two series, the original which tells the story of μ's, and the follow up series: Love Live! Sunshine!!, which tells the story of younger Idol Club and band, Aqours. As Love Live! grew in popularity, so did other idol series like Bang Dream! Girls Band Party, Show by Rock, and the Idolmaster series. Like many things in the 2010s, as popularity grew so did the need to subvert the genre. This led to shows like Zombieland Saga, which comes off as a typical idol show at first until the main character gets hit by a car within the first few minutes of the show.
My Hero Academia
There’s basically no escape from My Hero Academia these days. It has been compared to other anime shows with phrases like calling it “the new Naruto”. My Hero Academia has a wide cast of unique characters, an engaging story, great animation, voice acting, and music. What’s not to love about it? The series has taken the anime world by storm as it has quickly climbed to be one of the biggest and most popular anime out there right now!
Yuri on Ice
Some influence from Free! Iwatobi Swim Club can be found in this anime highlight, Yuri!!! On Ice! While Yuri on Ice also falls into the genre of sports anime, it by far stands out among the crowd. While many sports anime have been criticized for their “queer baiting” , Yuri on Ice faces those concerns head on by focusing a large part of the show on the romantic relationship between it’s two main characters Victor and Yuri. The impact of this show can be felt through the anime world as it has broadened the discussion on topics of same sex relationships and slowly led to more depictions of LGBTQ+ people in anime today. Yuri on Ice has also been praised for it’s animation, especially during the segments of figure skating.
Kill La Kill
Kill la Kill still feels very unique among anime to this day. Despite this, it made a huge impact on anime as a whole! It was the first series produced by Studio Trigger, who is now a well known name in the business of anime having also created things like Little Witch Academia, Darling in the Franxx, and Promare. The studio is known for their stylized animation and humor; both of which are very present here in Kill la Kill. Kill la Kill does a great job with it’s more “mature” themes and visuals while also holding onto an almost child like charm to give the viewer a feeling of having fun while watching the show.
Reader’s Choice:
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
This actually came as quite a surprise to us! Much of the debate over “Anime of the Decade” started with Crunchyroll’s announcement of Demon Slayer as their top pick for the decade. Many people argued this, seeing as Demon Slayer has only come out at the very end of the decade. Despite that, when we held our own polls across the Cosplay Realm social media, Demon Slayer by far came out on top, receiving the most votes of any anime! While this show has definitely made it’s impact with it’s beautiful animation, music, and story telling; we are expecting to see a lot more of that impact on the genre of anime as a whole going into the 2020s. How do you think that this show will change the scene of anime?
Other than Demon Slayer, some runner up shows voted by the Cosplay Realm audience include;
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
One Punch Man
My Hero Academia
Space Dandy
Devilman Crybaby
Violet Evergarden
Noragami
Darling in the Franxx
Zombieland Saga
Re: Zero: Starting Life in Another World
Do you agree with our list? Or is there another anime that you think has been more influential than those listed here? We love hearing from you guys, so let us know what you think! Want to have your voice heard in future polls by Cosplay Realm? Be sure to follow our social media for all of the latest updates! Cosplay Realm can be found on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!