To create this list, I used a weird strategy, I confess.
I used My Anime List’s categories – Top Airing, Top Upcoming, Top TV series, Top Movies, Most Popular, and Most Favorited and also I mixed in my own opinions. All this to create a very comprehensive list for 2020 anime needs of my readers! 🙂
This list is going to contain the following categories:
⭐ Top Airing (2)
⭐ Top Upcoming (2)
⭐ The Best-Rated (3)
⭐ Most Favorited (1)
⭐ Most Popular (3)
⭐ Top Movies (1)
This way, I will include what definitely should not be missed (and not just when it comes to upcoming, but generally speaking) and what needs to be watched for sure in 2020 (by far)!
For obvious reasons, I don’t always include the first one in the category from MAL– I am taking my personal recommendations into account. 🙂
Ladies and gentlemen, these are the 10 greatest anime series to watch (in 2020).
10. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
📢 Category: The Best-Rated + Most favorited
General traits
⭐ for shounen fans
⭐ contains a unique storyline
⭐ has a great cast of characters
Synopsis
The story centers around an alchemist prodigy, Edward Elric, who is trying to find a way how to restore his brother’s physical body which disappeared after a failed transmutation.
9. Death Note
📢 Category: Most Popular
General traits
⭐ mysterious/ psychological anime
⭐ has a likable antagonist
⭐ mind games
Synopsis
The main character, Light Nagami is a very intelligent high schooler who randomly discovers a supernatural and powerful notebook called Death Note, which was dropped into the world of mortals by a Shinigami (Death God) named Ryuk.
The death note grants its owner the power to kill anyone whose name is written there – the only conditions to be met are to know the person’s face and name. Light becomes obsessed with the idea of creating a world without evil and starts using Death Note obsessively to achieve that – but nothing is without consequences. The hunt to catch Light begins.
8. Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T (A Certain Scientific Railgun 3rd Season)
📢 Category: Top Airing
General traits
⭐ sci-fi (advanced technology) combined with action
⭐ the third season of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun
⭐ various unique special abilities and characters to discover
Synopsis
Toaru Kagaku no Railgun is a spinoff series that focuses on the third strongest Level 5 esper, Misaka Mikoto, also called Tokiwadai’s Ace due to being at the top of Academy City. Misaka gets into real trouble after investigating rumors about the existence of Level 5 clones purposedly used for horrid experiments.
7. Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season
📢 Category: Top Upcoming
General traits
⭐ isekai
⭐ the second season of Re: Zero
⭐ a melting pot of genres such as drama, romance, mystery, action, and fantasy that is darker than you would expect
Synopsis
Subaru Natsuki gets summoned to a new world only to get murdered along with his new female companion. Soon after he awakes and finds himself in the exact same situation he had been right before he got murdered. And the day starts to repeat all over again.
6. Kimi no Na wa.
📢 Category: Top Movies
General traits
⭐ non-intrusive romance
⭐ has a touching and compelling story
⭐ beautiful and emotional OST
Synopsis
Imagine waking up in a completely different body and place – scary, right? That’s exactly what happens to Mitsuha Miyamizu and Taki Tachibana. The two swap their bodies unwillingly, with no understanding of what happened or how.
To understand this strange phenomenon and find the answer they need, the two start searching for one another.
5. Shingeki no Kyojin
📢 Category: The Best-Rated, Most Popular
General traits
⭐ a lot of action, shounen
⭐ raw emotions
⭐ a diverse variety of characters and meaningful dialogues
Synopsis
Eren Yaeger’s life turns upside down after the wall protecting his village from Titans (monstrous humanoid creatures) gets breached, bringing havoc on the whole village behind. He loses a close relative in a very gruesome way and witnesses first hand the atrocious power of Titans.
After this traumatic experience, driven by anger, Eren decides to dedicate his life to the eradication of Titans by enlisting into the Survey Corps, an elite military unit that fights the Titans outside the protection of the remaining walls.
Read also: 7 Anime Like Attack On Titan (Shingeki No Kyojin)
4. Sword Art Online
📢 Category: Most Popular
General traits
⭐ a perfect anime for gamers (mainly if you love MMORPG)
⭐ a sweet romantic story (no polygamous harem stuff) in the package
⭐ Asuna is a perfect waifu
Synopsis
The anime takes place in the year 2022 when every gamer’s dream became real – gamers can connect to an MMORPG game called Sword Art Online through helmed called NerveGear, which can simulate user’s senses via their brain and thus they can experience and control their in-game character with their minds.
The main character named Kazuto Kirigaya (Kirito in-game name) is a very keen gamer and so he is, of course, hyped to join the world (even though he was already beta-testing SAO before). 10 000 players who logged the first time soon finds out that the mad creator disabled the logout button and the only way how to get out is to beat 100 floors of Aincrad where are dangerous creatures, bosses and the outside world is often hostile as well because players are not always good people.
To make things more complicated, if your health bar in the game drops to zero you also die in real life too.
What could go wrong, right?
3. Kami no Tou (Tower of God)
📢 Category: Top Airing
General traits
⭐ based on a popular South Korean webtoon with the same name
⭐ a unique art
⭐ a rich world-building
Synopsis
Tower of God centers around a boy called Twenty-Fifth Bam, who has spent most of his life trapped beneath a vast and mysterious Tower, with only his close friend, Rachel, to keep him company. When Rachel enters the Tower, Bam manages to open the door into it as well, and faces challenges at each floor of this tower as he tries to find his closest companion.
(Source: Wikipedia)
2. Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai?: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen
📢 Category: Top Upcoming
General traits
⭐ a rom-com
⭐ a light-hearted anime with very slow romantic progression
⭐ stubborn characters playing mind games
Synopsis
The story revolves around two top-ranked student council representatives, Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomya who are both respected by their peers for their grades and elegance.
The two could be considered a perfect couple, but even though they have developed feelings for each other they are also both determined to manipulate the other party to confess their feelings first and win the love war they have started.
1. Hunter x Hunter
📢 Category: The Best-Rated
General traits
⭐ for lovers of shounen
⭐ a wonderful cast of characters, a fascinating plot and many interesting special powers that are unique to each character
⭐ a never-ending hiatus 😀
Synopsis
Hunter x Hunter centers around Gon and his friends, particularly his best friend, Killua, who had used to be a childhood assassin before he took the hunter exam. Both Killua and Gon eventually become licensed Hunters – a title that has its own perks which can help you track beasts, individuals or treasures easily.
The two of them are trying to get stronger and fulfill Gon’s goal to find his father while encountering dangerous enemies and problematic situations.
