The best anime series of all time, according to IMDb

Like live-action movies and television, the question of which anime is the best or which is the most popular is a complicated one. For many people, the anime that made them fans of the medium will always have a special place in their hearts. That goes double for shows with a large number of episodes, because that kind of commitment must mean the series is good, right? There is also the unfortunate fact that older titles are not easily accessible and therefore not widely known unless you track down a very expensive physical copy or pirate it. For example, “Neon Genesis Evangelion” is widely considered one of the greatest works of anime of all time, but it was virtually unwatchable until a few years ago when Netflix licensed it, meaning you were unlikely to find it on many major anime lists.

All this is to say that it is surprising and expected that the best anime series of all time according to IMDb is “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.” The show is ranked 16th among the website’s top 250 TV shows of all time, with the only animated series ahead of it being “Bluey” and “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

“Brotherhood” is actually the second adaptation of the “Fullmetal Alchemist” manga after the 2000s television show “Fullmetal Alchemist.” Set in a fictional 20th century European-style country, “Brotherhood” follows two brothers who are experts in alchemy. The children lost their mother when they were little, so they decided to break the greatest taboo of alchemy and try to bring her back through human transmutation. As expected, the experiment failed; one boy literally lost an arm and a leg, while the other’s body disintegrated and his soul ended up trapped in armor. The show then follows their adventures as they try to find the mythical Philosopher’s Stone that can restore their bodies again.

As mentioned, Hiromu Arakawa’s “Fullmetal Alchemist” manga was popular enough to merit multiple anime adaptations, first in 2003 and then again with “Brotherhood” in 2009. Both adaptations are also quite acclaimed and considered juggernauts despite their very different approaches to the subject. The “Fullmetal Alchemist” manga, with “Brotherhood” taking a more faithful route and delivering a moving and action-packed shonen story, allows it to claim the title of the best anime of all time, at least on one website.

Interestingly, “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” was also rated the best anime of all time on the popular anime database. My anime list for about a decade, but that barely changed last year when a new show with only a handful of episodes dethroned it. That series is “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End,” one of the biggest premieres of 2023 and the anime every “Lord of the Rings” fan should watch. It’s also an incredible, moving, thoughtful, and incredibly animated show about the passage of time, regret, and friendships, as well as an epic fantasy adventure in a world of demons and dragons.

The premise of “Frieren” is simple. It begins with the evil Demon King killed by a group of heroes, and his decade-long journey finally ends. But while most of the group’s members are eternally bound by friendship and love, the group’s mage, an immortal elf named Frieren, barely recorded their adventure as anything more than a walk around the block—that is, until that one of the other heroes dies of old. Aging decades later, Frieren realizes she never got to properly know her friends, prompting her to embark on a new adventure to reconnect with memories of her old party.

“Frieren” began airing in September 2023 and is now rated by MyAnimeList users as the best anime series ever, followed by “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.” Interestingly, the third place was also taken by a very recent title: not even a show, but a stand-alone special episode in the form of “One Piece Fan Letter”. Its ranking is also well-deserved, as it is the best “One Piece” has produced outside of the original manga (as well as a fantastic ode to the long-running property and the fans who have followed it for decades).

The top five anime of all time on MyAnimeList is completed by the science fiction thriller “Steins;Gate” and the second part of the third season of the cultural phenomenon “Attack on Titan.”

Do these rankings mean anything? Not necessarily, but they do speak to the enduring appeal of shows like “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.” 15 years after its debut, it means something that the show continues to resonate with audiences and be so appreciated.