The best anime on Amazon Prime Video right now

Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball franchise is best known for the sequel Dragon Ball Z, but the original series is still worth watching in 2024. Animated by Toei Animation, Dragon Ball chronicles the colorful exploits of Son Goku, a shockingly powerful young boy with a monkey tail and a mysterious past. 

Along with his companion, Bulma, they clash with many villains on their way to finding the seven wish-granting Dragon Balls. Dragon Ball is a landmark in the manga and anime mediums. Toriyama’s whimsical worldbuilding still shines through, complemented by martial arts-themed action, comedy, and a mix of sci-fi and fantasy.

Sports anime is an increasingly popular niche in the medium, with Tonbo! using golf as its backdrop. Based on Ken Kawasaki and Yu Furusawa’s manga of the same name, the plot focuses on the journey of a young girl named Tonbo Ooi. 

After former pro golfer Kazuyoshi Igarashi looks to move on by taking a job at an island’s development center, he’s amazed by the girl’s incredible talent and rediscovers passion for the sport. Animated by OLM, Tonbo! is well-received for how it uses golf for its story, but more impressive is how character-driven it is. The sport is a great vehicle for the co-leads to grow past their respective life struggles.

Rumiko Takhashi’s Inuyasha was a manga classic of the 1990s, and its anime adaptation did it justice in the 2000s. Animation studio Sunrise is behind the anime series, telling the story of 15-year-old Kagome Higurashi and time-traveling exploits to Sengoku-era Japan. 

She meets the half-dog, half-demon Inuyasha, teaming up to prevent the fragments of a powerful jewel from being used for nefarious purposes. Inuyasha is an anime classic and remains one of the best shonen adventure series in the medium. The series earned praise for its entertaining mix of action, adventure, Japanese fantasy, and romance elements.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, alongside other adaptations like Delicious in Dungeon, shows high fantasy excels in anime. Based on Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe’s manga series, Frieren follows the quest of the eponymous elven mage. Generations after Frieren’s heroic companions defeat the Demon King, she takes in a new apprentice and seeks to fulfill her late friends’ requests.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is acclaimed for its soothing and vibrant fantasy world. It also bucks the trend of heroes banding together to defeat a world-ending threat. Instead, Frieren opts for a quieter but no less emotional approach, portraying a main character struggling to face mortality.

Anime fans looking for a lighter and more comedic diversion should look into Cromartie High School. Production I.G animates this adaptation of Eiji Nonaka’s manga series, telling the story of mild-mannered Takashi Kamiyama’s attempts to survive Cromartie High School.

He does the unthinkable by enrolling in a school infamous for its delinquent student body and getting into hilarious antics with his friends. Cromartie High School earned praise for its eccentric and gag-style sense of humor. The episodes are quick-paced yet concise, which suits the series’ oddball comedy while never overstaying its welcome.

Syun Matsuena’s Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple is a charming action-comedy, and its anime adaptation stays true to that tone. Animated by TMS Entertainment, the story sees the unassuming Kenichi Shirahama become desperate to overcome his relentless bullies.

All hope seems lost until he befriends classmate Miu Fūrinji, who invites him to her grandfather’s dojo to learn from its eccentric martial arts masters. Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple is campy and melodramatic, but its zany cast ensures the simple premise is endearing. The balance of fast-paced action and comedy makes this anime a breezy watch.

From the creator of the widely beloved One-Punch Man, this supernatural action-adventure and comedy series also received a stellar adaptation. Based on the webcomic and manga adaptation written and illustrated by One, Mob Psycho 100 is about a telekinetic, yet otherwise unassuming middle school boy dubbed Mob who struggles socially to find the joys common to a kid his age.

Animated by studio Bones, Mob Psycho 100 has an impressive balance of various tones. It manages to be equal parts action-packed, laugh-out-loud funny, and sincerely emotional in its storytelling. The coming-of-age themes at the core of Mob’s story are what make this anime relatable, grounded, and emotional.

Animation studio Production I.G has built an esteemed reputation for its sports anime adaptations, and that holds for Aoashi. Adapting the manga by Yūgo Kobayashi and Naohiko Ueno, this series tells the story of a youth soccer player named Ashito Aoi — infamous for his reckless playstyle and short temper — who’s humbled after he’s scouted to try out for a high school team in Tokyo.

Now that he no longer has the benefit of having a team built around his talents to stroke his ego, Ashito must grow as a person and a player to prove himself among a squad of skilled players. Like other similar series adapted by Production I.G, Aoashi has been praised for telling an investing and down-to-earth story through the lens of sports.

While the first anime adaptation was solid in its own right even though it eventually diverted from the original story, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is the definitive version in terms of sticking to the source material. Animated by the creative team at Bones — who also produced the first anime adaptation — Brotherhood follows Hiromu Arakawa’s manga faithfully. It’s set in an Industrial era-inspired dark fantasy world where alchemist brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric set out on a quest to find the fabled Philosopher’s Stone.

The duo are desperate to use it to restore their bodies after a grisly attempt to resurrect their mother. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is one of the most widely acclaimed manga and anime of the 21st century, lauded for its detailed worldbuilding, creative use of fantasy elements, and immensely rewarding character arcs.

One of the more refreshing shounen anime adaptations as of late, To Your Eternity is tasteful mix of fantasy and touching drama. Based on the manga of the same name by Yoshitoki Ōima, the story is about an immortal entity dubbed Fushi who travels across the world using their supernatural abilities to take the forms of various characters over centuries.

To Your Eternity has a similar mellow tone as anime/manga series like Mushi-Shi when using its fantasy elements to tell intimate character-driven stories about the people Fushi meets. However, the series’ wonderful exploration of the human condition is also complemented by some entertaining action that shounen fans will feel familiar with elsewhere.

Writer and illustrator Satoru Noda’s Golden Kamuy has been one of the best seinen manga series in recent years. It had an overall fulfilling run and well-earned finale, and the anime adaptation has done it justice so far. Golden Kamuy is set in early 1900s Japan in the aftermath of the Russo-Japanese War, with veteran Saichi Sugimoto and his newfound friend and Ainu native Asirpa teaming up in a race against time to find the indigenous peoples’ hidden gold treasure.

It’s an excellent period-piece anime that balances sincere character drama with occasional comedic relief. The series features a diverse cast of characters, each with deep motivations that explore themes of post-war traumas. Animation company Geno Studio adapted the first three seasons of the TV show, with Brain’s Base helming the upcoming fourth and final season.