Top 10 Best Anime Series of 2023 to Geek Out Over, Ranked

Anime fans, 2023 has been a great year for us! There have been lots of new shows and awesome episodes to enjoy. It’s true, we’ve had to say goodbye to some old favorites. However, their final episodes gave us plenty to cheer about.

Plus, there have been some exciting new series that have really made a mark. So, let’s dive in and take a look at the top 10 best anime series of 2023.

Best Anime Series of 2023, Ranked

10. Tokyo Revengers

Season 2 of the time-traveling Tokyo Revengers ended early this year, with Season 3 having just premiered. The show follows the timid Takemichi Hanagaki, who can travel back in time to 2005 to change the future for his former flame Hinata Tachibana. Takemichi’s mission also meant getting mixed up in street gang feuds.

During the second season, Takemichi and the Tokyo Manji Gang go up against what would be the gang’s most formidable enemy yet, the Black Dragons. Led by the incredibly brutal Taiju Shiba, the Christmas showdown also sees Takashi Mitsuya take on a prominent role, especially as his vice-captain Hakkai Shiba also happens to be Taiju’s younger brother.

Takemichi also reveals his time-leaping abilities to Chifuyu Matsuno, as they seek to take down the Black Dragons, despite Mikey’s orders. Both of them resort to even working with Tetta Kisaki, who, as we know in the future, murders Chifuyu and nearly kills Takemichi.

In the recently premiered Season 3, the series features the most anticipated arc yet. Toman finds itself going up against an even more formidable enemy, the Yokohama Tenjiku gang, led by Izana Kurokawa.

9. Trigun Stampede

The sequel of the 1990s anime series Trigun. Stampede also takes some inspiration from classic anime series, like Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell. The space Western series follows Vash the Stampede, who’s somehow got a bounty on his head. Despite being a gunslinger, the chaotic Vash refuses to kill people.

8. Bungo Stray Dogs

Perhaps one of the most iconic, and also one of the best anime series of 2023 so far. Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 aired in July 2023, following the successful Spring 2023 anime lineup. The show takes place in Yokohama and centers on the Armed Detective Agency members. Over the course of the show, the group is fighting to protect the city from the mafia.

The anime follows Atsushi Nakajima, who can transform into a white tiger at night when the moon is out. What also makes this series interesting is its inclusion of historical poets, authors, and even modern-day adults with superpowers. Think F. Scott Fitzgerald and Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

7. Mushoku Tensei

Mushoku Tensei’s Jobless Reincarnation Arc, to be exact. Its second season premiered in July 2023, getting fans hyped for what’s to come for the cast of characters. The Jobless Reincarnation storyline follows a 30-something who dies and is reborn as Rudeus Grayrat.

Rudeus was born to two loving parents and eventually learns the ways of magic and swordplay with an adult’s mind. Fans are cheering for Rudeus to succeed in a coming-of-age journey that may also see him finding true love.

Season 2 saw Rudeus having matured from the events of the first season, and is set on finding his mother. Along the way, Rudeus also attends a school where he meets some old friends while making new ones.

6. Vinland Saga

The long-running Vinland Saga is one of the best anime series of 2023 so far. Vinland Saga follows Thorfinn, the son of a conquered warrior who is serving the same people who killed his father. Incidentally, Vinland Saga is also animated by MAPPA, the same studio that brought to the small screen Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan, and Chainsaw Man.

The second season comes four years after the first season premiered, with a focus on Thorfinn’s guilt and grief from his childhood.

5. Hell’s Paradise

Add Hell’s Paradise to your must-see anime series this year. Set in Edo-period Japan, an assassin named Gabimaru the Hollow is captured and manages to survive getting executed. But his kidnappers give him a chance to get a pardon if he can find the magical elixir of life and bring it back to the Shogunate. The magical elixir was believed to be on the dangerous exotic island of Shinsenkyo.

Only if he and a group of other death row criminals succeed will he be cleared of all his former crimes. However, there’s a catch: He has to travel and return with his executioner Sagiri. All the while braving the potential dangers posed by the island and its inhabitants.

4. Jujutsu Kaisen

One does not simply list down the best anime series of 2023 without including Jujutsu Kaisen. With its second season having premiered in the summer of 2023, fans were hyped with the return of Yuji Itadori and the rest of the cast of characters. Season 2 followed the successful Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie, which included flashbacks of Satoru Goju in his younger years and his relationship with Suguru Geto.

The flashbacks saw the two during their time as young sorcerers. However, that storyline is short-lived as it only prepared fans for the anticipated Shibuya Incident. Suguru and Mahito carry out a plan that involves dropping a veil over Shibuya to drop the people inside and force Gojo to appear.

3. Bleach

After 17 seasons, Bleach comes to an end with its final season. It’s not one of the best anime series of 2023 for nothing. Its Thousand-Year Blood War storyline continued when Part 2 premiered in July 2023, soon completing its 18th season. Fans will see Ichigo Kurosaki fight to protect the world from King Yhwach’s menace.

Ichigo will once again encounter more Quincy foes as his old allies join in the fight with him.

2. Attack on Titan (Season 4, Part 3)

Fans of Attack on Titan are now anticipating the final leg of the anime, set to premiere in the coming months. Its fourth and final season was split into several parts, with the fourth and final part airing this year to bring the story to an end.

Eren Yeager has become the series’ prominent anti-hero. Eren uses the Founding Titan’s power to destroy the non-Eldian world while fulfilling the destiny of his people. At least that’s how Eren sees it. Unfortunately, many of his former friends and allies are forced to fight him in order to save what’s left of the world.

1. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

Specifically, the Swordsmith Story Arc is what made Demon Slayer one of the best anime series of 2023. The third season of Demon Slayer already aired on April 9, but for those looking to binge or rewatch, anticipate this particular arc. The latest arc followed its Entertainment District Arc.

Tanjiro Kamado and his friends are visiting a reclusive village. The village is where Nichiren’s swords are forged and Tanjiro will meet and come across new friends and new enemies. Just when Daki and Gyutaro were already as brutal as the Upper Moon 6, Tanjiro will soon be dealing with higher-ranked Moons.

The development of Tanjiro, and his relentless pursuit of saving his sister, adds a layer of depth and complexity that keeps viewers hooked. The series’ ability to consistently deliver high-quality storylines has earned it widespread acclaim and the title of the best anime series of 2023, in our list.

And there you have it – our picks for the best anime series of 2023! From long-awaited finales to exciting new series, there’s been something for every anime fan this year.

Remember, the rankings are based on popularity and viewership in 2023, as well as our own opinions and tastes can differ. So whether your favorite made the list or not, the most important thing is to enjoy the journey these incredible stories take us on. And if your favorite didn’t make the list, let us know in the comment section below!