Television series
Kekkai Sensen
Kekkai Sensen is a stylish action anime about supernatural misfits protecting New York after interdimensional gates tear the city open. It's kinetic, visually inventive, and gloriously weird—packed with fight choreography, personality, and a jazz-inflected energy that makes every episode crackle. For people who want their anime beautiful, strange, and never boring.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you want a rowdy ensemble of mismatched heroes trading jokes between gleefully bloody fights, and you enjoy a city whose oddball rules get wilder the longer you look.
Skip it if you need a tidy, linear plot or quiet moments, since this one runs on constant noise, rapid jumps between characters and jokes that rarely let the mood settle.
What it asks of you: Its shape is brisk and loud: twenty-five minute episodes, two seasons, and a steady stream of fights and quips that asks you to keep up rather than settle in.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Jujutsu Kaisen2020
A team of gifted fighters battles supernatural threats in a modern city, with jaw-dropping animation and fight sequences that rival film budgets. The character dynamics are genuinely warm beneath the chaos.
But The plot takes a while to find its footing, and early episodes rely heavily on genre beats you've seen before. Also just—shonen length commitment.
Mob Psycho 1002016
Absurdly inventive action animation meets genuine emotional depth. A shy psychic teenager just wants a normal life, and the show respects that even as it lets loose with spectacular set pieces.
But The comedy can feel scattered, and the middle sections meander. Also pretty niche in its sensibilities if you're not already a fan of this studio's oddball humour.
Black Lagoon2006
High-octane crime anime set in a lawless port city, mixing gunplay, betrayal, and gallows humour. Supremely confident in its style and never talks down to you about violence or morality.
But Extremely graphic and morally grey. If you want clear heroes and happy endings, this isn't it. Some episodes prioritize spectacle over story.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Kekkai Sensen
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Durarara!!2010
Both are urban fantasies where supernatural and mundane collide in a specific place, using ensemble casts and stylistic energy to make cities feel like characters themselves.
An ensemble anime set in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district where a headless biker, underground doctor, and street gang members all intersect in a whirlwind of rumour, violence, and connection. Dizzyingly structured and genuinely alive.
But The narrative bounces between fifty characters across a dozen threads, and it takes real patience to untangle. Some threads go nowhere and others won't resolve for seasons.
More like this (8)
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood2009
A sprawling fantasy adventure with meticulous world-building, extraordinary character work, and action sequences that genuinely matter. Anime at near-peak ambition and execution.
But It's a 64-episode commitment and the early arc is slower than later seasons. If you want just weird and fun without the philosophical weight, you'll feel the drag.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners2022
Neon-soaked 2070s Night City, stunning animation, and a story about ambition and corruption that breaks your heart in ten episodes. Every frame looks like concept art.
But It's violent, cynical, and ends where you don't want it to. The pacing is breakneck and doesn't always let you breathe between set pieces.
Hataraku Maou-sama!2013
A demon lord gets stranded in Tokyo and has to work at McDonald's. Utterly charming, genuinely funny, and weirdly heartfelt about the mundane. Proof that great anime doesn't need massive budgets.
But It's light and domestic in a way that might feel slight if you're after spectacle or depth. The comedy is very anime-specific and won't land for everyone.
Michiko e Hatchin2008
A runaway woman and abandoned boy forge an unlikely bond across Japan, drawn in gorgeous, expressive animation. Tonally complex—equal parts vulnerable and adventurous, never sentimental.
But It's episodic and meandering, which some will find liberating and others tedious. There's a tonal shift halfway through that divides the audience.
Kill la Kill2013
Pure visual audacity: an action anime that treats the medium like it's made of rubber and neon. Absurd, passionate, and totally unashamed about being exactly what it is.
But The fanservice is relentless and weaponized into the plot in ways that will feel gross to many viewers. Also occasionally more interested in spectacle than clarity.
Carole & Tuesday2019
Two girls try to make it as musicians on Mars. Gorgeous animation, a joyful soundtrack, and genuine warmth. Sometimes anime can just be about hope and friendship without irony or cynicism.
But The plot is thin and the second half loses momentum. If you need hard sci-fi logic or high-stakes drama, this will feel like filler.
Paprika2006
Both bend physics and logic for emotional truth. Where Kekkai Sensen finds weirdness funny, Paprika finds it terrifying—same inventive DNA, opposite temperature.
A dreamscape thriller where a psychiatrist's experimental technology bleeds between dreams and reality. Visually hallucinogenic, narratively intricate, and genuinely disorienting in the best way.
But It's deliberately confusing and gets more chaotic as it goes. If you need linear plot clarity or grounded reality, you'll be frustrated.
Chainsaw Man2022
Both are about misfit teams doing impossible work in dangerous supernatural cities, but where Kekkai Sensen is baroque and jazzy, Chainsaw Man is feral and punk—same chaos, different fuel.
A teenage boy fused with a chainsaw demon hunts monsters for a shadowy government agency. Kinetic, bizarre, darkly funny, and visually reckless in the very best way.
But Gratuitously violent and crude, with sexual violence used as plot fuel. The tonal whiplash between comedy and graphic horror will exhaust some viewers.
