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And now I continue my top ten shonen anime lists numbers 1-5. For numbers 6-10, see this article.

5.) Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

Video by: OnyxAMVs on YouTube.

This anime is a really moving story that centers on the bond of two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric. Set in a world that is reminiscent of early 1900’s Europe, the story follows these two young alchemists with a tragic past. Alchemy, a science of transmuting one object or particles into another, follows a strict code of equivalent exchange, or transmuting something of equal value to something else. On trying to resurrect their dead mother, the brothers come to understand this harsh truth about equivalent exchange for what could ever equal the price of a human life? Alphonse loses his body, and his soul is bonded to a nearby suit of armor by his older brother Edward in order to save him, and Edward loses an arm and a leg. Edward, after gaining two mechanical limbs, grows determined to get back what was lost, especially his brother’s body. He joins the state alchemists, alchemists who fight for the king of their nation, in the hopes of gaining access to important information about the philosopher’s stone, a mythical stone that gives the wielder enormous powers. Together the two brothers go on a journey in search for this stone, and along the way, they come to realize that something is very wrong with the organization they are apart of.  On top of that, human looking creatures called Homunculus, beings who represent each of the seven deadly sins, are coming out of the shadows, and wreaking havoc on the world around them.

I was immediately drawn to this story because it is a very human story of two children wanting to bring back their dead mother, and meeting tragic consequences. Their bond is so well portrayed and beautiful. There are also some very thought provoking questions asked throughout the series like what is the true price of a human life? How far would you go to bring back someone you love, and when do you draw the line? It also gets into social issues that I think has a lot of modern day relevance like the extermination of the people of Ishval by the state alchemists at the command of the king. It begs the question of do you blindly follow orders, or do you question what you are asked to do if it’s something you don’t believe in?

I also loved how very flawed the characters are. Roy Mustang is a good example of this. He is a well known state alchemist, and Edward’s superior officer, but he had to do some pretty awful things in the Ishval war. He is an ambitious character who is not afraid to be open about his ambitions to get to the top of the command chain, but he also tries to set things right and atone for some of his acts in the war and confronts the corruption in the military.

Overall, this series is thought provoking, tragic, and at times, heartwarming and funny. If you want a good drama that will work its way into your heart, watch Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

4.) Inuyasha

Video by: MayonakaNoRyuu on YouTube.

This is one of the first animes I started watching after an old roommate of mine raved about it years before. It is an older anime, but it has such a good dramatic story line, and one of my favorite romantic story lines out of all of them. I’m not into things that have too much romance, but Inuyasha is a good mixture of romance, drama, and action.

Inuyasha follows the adventures of the half demon Inuyasha from medieval Japan, and a human girl from the modern era named Kagome. The story begins with Inuyasha breaking into a temple, and stealing the Shikon jewel, a legendary jewel whose powers will allow him to become a full demon. Priestess Kikyo, who is in charge of keeping the jewel safe and out of the wrong hands, stops Inuyasha from getting away by shooting a magically enchanted arrow.  The arrow hits its mark, and pins him to a tree killing him (or so we think) in the process. The Priestess then collapses and dies. With her dying breath, Kikyo’s last request is for the Shikon jewel be burned with her body.

500 years later, fifteen year-old Kagome, who lives at the same shrine with her family, is attacked by a centipede demon, and  dragged into a sealed off well.   When she climbs back out of the well she finds that she has been transported back in time to medieval Japan, where she finds Inuyasha pinned to the tree. It has been fifty years since the Priestess Kikyo has died. Kagome comes to find out that she is the reincarnation of Kikyo’s soul, and has many of her same powers as well as the shikon jewel sealed inside her.   The centipede demon finds her, attacks and manages to rip out the shikon jewel.   Inuyasha is awakened by Kagome’s screams for help, and is freed by Kagome, where he promptly defeats the centipede demon, and then turns on Kagome, in order to get the jewel. With some help from Kaede, Kikyo’s younger sister now an old woman, Kagome gets Inuyasha under control. Then the unthinkable happens: the jewel is shattered and the pieces scattered throughout the land, and it is up to Kagome and Inuyasha to find the pieces before they fall into the wrong hands.

What I loved about this anime was how many genres it has in it. It’s a love story, it’s a drama, it’s a time traveling story, it’s an action/adventure, and it has its comedic moments. The tragic love story between Inuyasha and Kikyo is well done, and the blossoming love story between the sometimes recalcitrant Inuyasha and spunky Kagome is wonderful to watch unfold.

Video by: SakiraChan on YouTube.

And then there are the villains, who are interesting and maniacal. There is Inuyasha’s older half-brother Sesshomaru, who is a full blooded demon, and hates his younger half-brother. Sesshomaru starts as a villain who really doesn’t have a lot of redeeming qualities, but over the course of the series grows into a character that is likable and understandable as his attitude towards Inuyasha changes. And how can I forget the main villain Naraku, who is the main instigator for many of the problems in the story. He was responsible for turning Kikyo and Inuyasha against each other, and destroying their relationship as well as cursing Miroku’s grandfather and all the male descendants of his family with the wind tunnel in their hands, and so much more. Naraku is clever and ruthless in this series which makes him a good villain to face off with the heroes.

Overall, if you want a good, clean drama with a lot of action and a beautiful love story, this one is for you.

3.) Attack on Titan

Video by: Shiro Amv

From the moment I started watching Attack on Titan, it took my breath away. If a series can make me cry in the first episode (as Naruto and several others have done), then I know its going to be a good one, and Attack on Titan or Shingeki no Kyojin, does not disappoint. It follows the lives of three young people, Mikasa Ackerman, Eren Yeager, and Armin Arlert, as they struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. In this world, the remaining human race is forced to live behind three walls that guard the last of the human territory against the titans, giant humanoid looking creatures that eat people. In the very first episode, a colossal titan kicks a hole into wall Maria, the first wall of defense, letting a horde of titans in, and humanity now has to fight to survive.

What I liked about this anime is how quickly I became invested into the characters. They’re human and fragile. They make mistakes and have to make hard calls like Jean realizing what the true weight of a leader really is when he realizes that his orders led to some of his comrades dying. I will admit that I cried when Eren’s mother is killed in front of him, and how tragic the entire story is. I loved that Mikasa is a stoic, strong female lead who inspires young girls to be the same. I love that Armin is smart, and uses his intelligence in clever ways, proving that sometimes brains can overpower brawn.

This is an anime that I would call beautiful, but brutal. It reminds me of a steam punk walking dead. You have tragic losses and brutal deaths, but there is also great triumphs, and epic heroes: heroes like Levi, a former thug turned into a scout regiment hero. Levi is many people’s favorite character because he is such a super bad ass in the series.  I love him because he has such a tragic past and history, and he is also not afraid of rushing into the mouth of danger.  He is a force to be reckoned with in the series.  The video below is a wonderful tribute to Levi, showing his bad ass moments, but also his sad past.

Video by: Ace TheLastFlame on YouTube.

This anime is not afraid to take you to very dark places in the human psyche and in the story line. People die brutal deaths in this series, and there are twists that you will not see coming (or at least I didn’t).   It’s tragic.  It’s triumphant.  It’s brutally beautiful.

And how can I not mention how beautiful the artwork in Attack on Titan is. The colors used and the artistry in this anime are very impressive. There are times when I think something looks realistic. And I am in love with the soundtrack for this anime. I have the soundtrack on repeat on my phone. It’s achingly beautiful and heartpoundingly epic. My favorite songs are: Reluctant Heroes, Vogel Im Kafig, E.M.A., Counterattack, and two songs which are on a different album still tied to AOT which are Weight of Lives and The Dogs.

This is definitely a must see for anime lovers out there, and for people who have never watched anime before. There are several people who I’ve introduced to this series that have never seen anime before, and absolutely love this series. If you like the Walking Dead, you will more than likely like this one. But beware, this is not one for those who are faint of heart.

2.) Naruto/ Naruto Shippuden

Video by: Iampkbeast on YouTube.

Now the Naruto series is probably my favorite series. I have seen several of the episodes many times, and love to re-watched certain arcs like the Pain arc or Shikamaru’s arc or the Chunin exams arc.

Naruto chronicles the life of a young ninja named, obviously, Naruto. When he was a baby a destructive nine-tailed fox was sealed inside him in order to save the Village Hidden in the Leaves from destruction. In the process, Naruto’s parents were killed, turning him into an orphan on the very night he was born. Naruto later becomes the town pariah. Despite his hard childhood, he perseveres against all obstacles thrown at him and becomes a hero that everyone can love.

I had an interesting beginning with Naruto. I work in a bookstore, and at the time I was in charge of the kids department. This was at the height of Naruto’s popularity. I would find Naruto manga volumes in stacks all over the store. At the time, I had no idea what the series was about other than it was about a young boy with blond spiky hair dressed in orange. It got to the point that even my manager, who also knew nothing about the series, made a joke about it. He said that if we were having a bad day, we were having a Naruto 26 day, in reference to the Naruto volume 26 manga cover. After a few years, I saw it was on hulu plus, and decided to give it a go, and now I absolutely love it.

                                                                Naruto is property of viz media.

I love the epic scale of the world that Masashi Kishimoto built. I like that a lot of the characters, like Itachi and Gaara, have a complicated pasts. There are no purely good or purely bad characters; most of the characters fall into the gray area. They have both good and bad traits, pasts, and philosophies. Pain attacks the Hidden Leaf, but he has understandable reasons and a devastating past for it. Neji has good reason to be angry (at first) with the Hyuga main family. Gaara is a scarred little boy with a messed up childhood, and starts out as a psychopath. I will admit that Naruto himself follows most of the traits of a common underdog hero, but then we love those types of heroes just as we love Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker, and so many more.

My ultimate favorite character with a dark past has to be Itachi Uchiha. He is a character that some people consider to be the most controversial character in the series. He slaughters the entire Uchiha clan (his family), leaving only his little brother left alive. His brother, Sasuke, then goes down a dark path of revenge, and eventually finds Itachi and kills him. He then learns that Itachi had reasons for doing what he did. He had to make a heartbreaking decision that weighed the lives of all the people in the village he swore to protect versus the lives of his clan who were planning a coup d’état which would have led to a civil war.  He chose to protect the Village Hidden in the Leaves and prevent an all out war.

Itachi tribute video 1 by: DnManumont on YouTube.

Itachi tribute video 2 by:  Ace TheLastFlame on YouTube.

The series has epic story lines, and epic fight scenes. There are great tragedies from the Uchiha clan massacre to Neji’s sacrifice in the Fourth Great Ninja war. And there are great triumphs as well like Shikamaru avenging his teacher’s murder, and Naruto’s triumph against Pain.

In a way, I think Naruto is accessible to a lot of different people because it centers on the underdog who triumphs over adversity. This is the type of character that a lot of people like, and can relate to because who wouldn’t want to be someone who perseveres through the dark times in their lives, and comes out stronger in the end? It has heart, endearing characters, and engaging story lines. I think this is the reason why I keep coming back to re-watch this series. It’s this accessibility that makes it one of the most popular manga series of all time. So if you are looking for an epic story, Naruto and Naruto Shippuden are for you.

1.) Death Note

Video by: 2010/01/28-Nothingness on YouTube.

Video by: HisokaX on YouTube.

Death Note was one of the first animes that really engrossed me. It is an intense, psychological thriller that centers on Light Yagami, a brilliant high school student, who stumbles upon a Death Note. The Death Note is a supernatural notebook once owned by the Shinigami Ryuk, and whoever writes a person’s name in the notebook while picturing their face that person will die. Light, a genius megalomaniac, takes it upon himself to rid the world of evil people, and become a “god” of the new world order. Now enters the genius detective, known only as “L”, who makes it his mission to bring down Light. The story becomes a chess match between these two geniuses, and all the world are the pieces on the board.

Death Note is not only an intensely dark thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat, but it has thought provoking themes and subtext. What is right, and what can we find acceptable? How does one define “evil”? It has a clever story line, and characters that you come to love and hate. You find yourself hooked by the very first episode, and, even though, there is not a lot of physical fighting involved in Death Note, there is a war of minds that is equally if not more intense.

The artwork is gritty, dark, realistically drawn, and beautiful, which enhances the story line. Much like Attack on Titan, these realistically drawn characters and scenes makes the viewer suspend their disbelief that much more, and you find yourself much more engaged into what the characters were doing. At one point, I actually couldn’t believe that an animated series could have me so tense and literally gripping the side of my seat as I watched it.

Death Note is only thirty-seven episodes long. It has a strong beginning, and strong end. It has surprising and even devastating twists and turns throughout. It is also the best anime I have ever seen.  I may love Naruto and so many others, but this one is on another level of amazing. It is darker than your average television show or anime, and, for some people, that is not their cup of tea, but if you like dark, cerebral dramas that really gets the cogs of your brain moving, Death Note is a must see.