The 40 most popular 2010s japanese TV shows, ranked. Click any show for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Doctor-X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon
2012 · JP
Daimon Michiko is a 37-year-old freelance surgeon who is part of a questionable “doctor placement service” that has her wander from hospital to hospital. The harsh environment at the hospitals led many doctors to retire from their positions, forcing hospitals to make use of said program to fill the empty spots at least temporary. However, Michiko doesn’t look like a doctor at all with her flashy clothes and eccentric attitude. In the first episode she raises objections to a certain operation which is planned to be done by the head of a hospital who hasn’t performed an operation for a very long time. This causes Michiko to incur odium at the hospital, however, everyone becomes frozen when Michiko points out the outdated skills of the director. She also holds a scrupulous compliance when it comes to her working hours, never does any unnecessary chores that don’t require a medical license, and couldn’t care less about the power struggles within the hospitals. Nobody knows how she acquired such a top-level skill that allows her to claim exorbitant sums as reward, but her private life is an even greater mystery to everyone around her. Tanaka plays a rookie surgeon, Uchida an anesthetist, Kishibe the head of the placement service, and Ito the head of the surgical department of this institution.


Mob Psycho 100
2016 · JP
Shigeo Kageyama, a.k.a. "Mob," is a boy who has trouble expressing himself, but who happens to be a powerful esper. Mob is determined to live a normal life and keeps his ESP suppressed, but when his emotions surge to a level of 100%, something terrible happens to him! As he's surrounded by false espers, evil spirits, and mysterious organizations, what will Mob think? What choices will he make?


Black Kite
2013 · JP
Yasu's mother passed away when he was very young and his father abandoned him. Yasu's wife, Misako, also lost both her parents when she was young. The two spend their days in happiness, watching their young son, Akira, grow up. Unfortunately, a freakish accident occurs that results in Misako sacrificing her life to protect her son. Yasu loses himself in grief and remorse, but recovers as he vows to raise his 3 year-old son as best as possible.


JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
2012 · JP
Follow the intergenerational feud between the Joestar Family and various forces of evil, the most prominent of which is Dio Brando and his followers.


Hunter x Hunter
2011 · JP
Gon, a young boy who lives on Whale Island, dreams of becoming a Hunter like his father, who left when Gon was still young.


Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-
2016 · JP
Natsuki Subaru, an ordinary high school student, is on his way home from the convenience store when he finds himself transported to another world. As he's lost and confused in a new world where he doesn't even know left from right, the only person to reach out to him was a beautiful girl with silver hair. Determined to repay her somehow for saving him from his own despair, Subaru agrees to help the girl find something she's looking for.


Chihayafuru
2011 · JP
Chihaya Ayase has spent most of her life supporting her sister’s model career. When she meets a boy named Arata Wataya, he thinks Chihaya has potential to become a great karuta player. As Chihaya dreams of becoming Japan's best karuta player, she is soon separated from her karuta playing friends. Now in high school, Chihaya still plays karuta in the hope that she will one day meet her friends again.


Ace of the Diamond
2013 · JP
Scouted for his potential, brash left-handed pitcher Eijun Sawamura joins baseball powerhouse Seido High to become the undisputed ace of the team.


World Wonder Ring Stardom
2011 · JP
Stardom World is the VOD network for World Wonder Ring Stardom. WWR Stardom is a Japanese women's promotion started in 2011 featuring matches of many varieties including high speed octane action, long brutal brawls, and even costume battle royals. In 2019, the promotion was acquired by Bushiroad and has since become one of the top wrestling promotions in Japan.


Haikyu!!
2014 · JP
Inspired by a small-statured pro volleyball player, Hinata creates a volleyball team in his last year of middle school. Unfortunately the team is matched up against the "King of the Court" Tobio Kageyama’s team in their first tournament and inevitably lose. After the crushing defeat, Hinata vows to surpass Kageyama After entering high school, Hinata joins the volleyball team only to find that Tobio has also joined.


Puzzle & Dragons
2018 · JP
The story is set in modern day Japan following the growth of the protagonist Taiga Akashi, an elementary school kid who wants to be a professional gamer someday.


Classroom of the Elite
2017 · JP
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji enrolls at the prestigious Tokyo Koudo Ikusei Academy, but is assigned to Class 1-D, where students with behavioral problems are housed. The school awards points equivalent to 100,000 yen per month and allows unusual freedom in classes, masking a more complex system.


March Comes In Like a Lion
2016 · JP
This is a gentle tale about people trying to regain something. And it is a tale of battle. Rei Kiriyama had lost his family in an accident when he was young. Now he is a 17-year-old pro shogi player who is burdened with deep loneliness. Rei lives alone in an old town in Tokyo, but after becoming acquainted with three sisters, Akari, Hinata and Momo, he begins to change little by little...


The Ancient Magus' Bride
2017 · JP
Hatori Chise has lived a life full of neglect and abuse, devoid of anything resembling love. Far from the warmth of family, she has had her share of troubles and pitfalls. Just when all hope seems lost, a fateful encounter awaits her. When a man with the head of a beast, wielding strange powers, obtains her through a slave auction, Chise's life will never be the same again. The man is a "magus,"a sorcerer of great power, who decides to free Chise from the bonds of captivity. The magus then makes a bold statement: Chise will become his apprentice--and his bride!


Kingdom
2012 · JP
In the Warring States period, young orphan Xin vows to aid King Zheng of Qin in his quest to unify China by becoming a general himself.


High School DxD
2012 · JP
Issei Hyodo is your average perverted high school student whose one wish in life is to have his own harem, but he's got to be one of the unluckiest guys around. He goes on his first date with a girl only to get brutally attacked and killed when it turns out the girl is really a vicious fallen angel. To top it all off, he's later reincarnated as a devil by his gorgeous senpai who tells him that she is also a devil and now his master! One thing's for sure, his peaceful days are over. In a battle between devils and angels, who will win?


Sword Art Online
2012 · JP
In the near future, a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online has been released where players control their avatars with their bodies using a piece of technology called Nerve Gear. One day, players discover they cannot log out, as the game creator is holding them captive unless they reach the 100th floor of the game's tower and defeat the final boss. However, if they die in the game, they die in real life. Their struggle for survival starts now...


Beyblade Burst
2016 · JP
Middle schooler Valt Aoi, with his Beyblade Valkyrie (Valtryek), faces off against friends, classmates, and rivals to become the world's number one Blader.


My Husband is a Cartoonist
2010 · JP
The 82nd NHK Asadora is Gegege no Nyobo. The story is based on a 2008 autobiography by Mura Nunoe, the wife of Gegege no Kitaro mangaka Mizuki Shigeru. The story revolves around the life of the married couple, told from the perspective of Mura. --Tokyograph


Tokyo Ghoul
2014 · JP
Ken Kaneki, a bookworm college student, meets Rize, a girl his own age with whom he shares many interests.


Black Clover
2017 · JP
Asta and Yuno are two orphans who want the same thing: to become the Wizard King. Locked in a friendly rivalry, they work hard towards their goal. While Yuno excels at magic, Asta has a problem uncommon in this world: he has no powers! But, on the day they receive their grimoires, they surprise everyone. To reach their goal, they’ll each find their own path to greatness—with or without magic.


HANAKAPPA
2010 · JP
In the lush Yamabiko Village lives a family of Kappas who grow unique flowers on their heads. While the adults have permanent blossoms, a young kappa sprouts a different "whatever flower" every day until reaching adulthood. Chaos constantly erupts in the village as the villainous Kurobaya Chobei gang schemes to steal the "Waka-ran," a rare, youth-restoring flower, leaving everyone wondering what will bloom next. And what on earth will the little kappa’s flower turn out to be?


Bungo Stray Dogs
2016 · JP
Stalked by a beastly white tiger, Atsushi Nakajima has no idea that the menace lives inside him—a power that catches the attention of the Armed Detective Agency. Using inhuman abilities to combat crime, this team takes Atsushi under the wing of their most eccentric member, Dazai. Together, they tear through mafia-muddled mysteries while enemies keep an eye on the tiger’s lofty bounty.


Nogizaka Under Construction
2015 · JP
Nogizaka46 is making a big leap forward right now! Their activities range from live performances, varieties, dramas, movies, and models. In order to give these girls even more momentum, this program will challenge various projects that bring out new aspects and charms of the members!!!


Fruits Basket
2019 · JP
After a family tragedy turns her life upside down, 16-year-old high school student Tohru Honda takes matters into her own hands and moves out… into a tent! Unfortunately for her, she pitches her new home on private land belonging to the mysterious Soma clan, and it isn't long before the owners discover her secret. But, as Tohru quickly finds out when the family offers to take her in, the Somas have a secret of their own—when hugged by the opposite sex, they turn into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac!


Kaguya-sama: Love Is War
2019 · JP
Considered a genius due to having the highest grades in the country, Miyuki Shirogane leads the prestigious Shuchiin Academy's student council as its president, working alongside the beautiful and wealthy vice president Kaguya Shinomiya. The two are often regarded as the perfect couple by students despite them not being in any sort of romantic relationship.


Attack on Titan
2013 · JP
100 years ago, the last remnants of humanity were forced to retreat behind the towering walls of a fortified city to escape the massive, man-eating Titans that roamed the land outside their fortress. Only the members of the Scouting Legion dared to stray beyond the safety of the walls – but even those brave warriors seldom returned alive. Those within the city clung to the illusion of a peaceful existence until the day that dream was shattered, and their slim chance at survival was reduced to one horrifying choice: kill – or be devoured!


Mr. Osomatsu
2015 · JP
The lives of the now 20-something NEET Matsuno sextuplets and the bizarre adventures they find themselves into in the modern day.


Aikatsu!
2012 · JP
Ichigo Hoshimiya is a regular, ordinary middle school girl. But when her best friend Aoi invites her to join the idol training academy, Starlight Academy, her whole world is turned upside down. As she encounters all kinds of rivals and learns what it takes to be an idol, she uses her Aikatsu Cards to challenge countless auditions.


Laid-Back Camp
2018 · JP
Nadeshiko, a high school student who had moved from Shizuoka to Yamanashi, decides to see the famous, 1000 yen-bill-featured Mount Fuji. Even though she manages to bike all the way to Motosu, she's forced to turn back because of worsening weather. Unable to set her eyes on her goal, she faints partway to her destination. When she wakes up, it's night, in a place she's never been before, with no way of knowing how to get home. Nadeshiko is saved when she encounters Rin, a girl who is out camping by herself. This outdoorsy girls story begins with this first encounter between Nadeshiko and Rin.


Blue Exorcist
2011 · JP
Humans live in the world of Assiah, demons in Gehenna. The two dimensions are not meant to interfere with each other, but demons still possess creatures in Assiah in spite of this. The humans who can fight these demons are known as exorcists. Rin Okumura is a boy who bears the curse of being Satan's illegitimate son. His foster father sacrificed himself to save him from demons. To avenge his foster father's death as well as to prove himself, Rin decides to follow the path of an exorcist and defeat his own father, Satan. To hone his raw skills, Rin enters True Cross Academy to train with other exorcist candidates.


That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
2018 · JP
Corporate worker Mikami Satoru is stabbed by a random killer, and is reborn to an alternate world. But he turns out to be reborn a slime! Thrown into this new world with the name Rimuru, he begins his quest to create a world that’s welcoming to all races.


Cardfight!! Vanguard
2011 · JP
Aichi Sendou is a timid third-year middle school student who has always lived his life looking backwards rather than forward. However, he has a card called "Blaster Blade" that was given to him when he was little, which is the sole thing that sustains him. Then Toshiki Kai, a cool-hearted high schooler, introduces Aichi to a card game called "Vanguard". When participants battle they picture they are on a planet called "Clay", and since Vanguard features a never before seen game system it has become popular around the world. Aichi immediately likes Vanguard, so he begins to play it with his friends Misaki Togura and Kamui Katsuragi, and others like his new rival Kai (who is one of the best Vanguard players). Aichi plays every day and he strives with all his soul and heart to play better, so when he battles Kai, Kai will recognize Aichi's worth.


Overlord
2015 · JP
In the year 2138, virtual reality gaming is booming. Yggdrasil, a popular online game is quietly shut down one day. However, one player named Momonga decides to not log out. Momonga is then transformed into the image of a skeleton as "the most powerful wizard." The world continues to change, with non-player characters (NPCs) beginning to feel emotion. Having no parents, friends, or place in society, this ordinary young man Momonga then strives to take over the new world the game has become.


Cells at Work!
2018 · JP
This is a story about you. A tale about the inside of your body... According to a new study, the human body consists of approximately 37 trillion cells. These cells are hard at work every day within a world that is your body. From the oxygen-carrying red blood cells to the bacteria-fighting white blood cells, get to know the unsung heroes and the drama that unfolds inside of you! It's the oddly relatable and interesting story that is the life of cells!


Ahiru no Sora
2019 · JP
Sora joins the high school basketball club, but his unmotivated teammates don't care about the game. To get anywhere, he has to change their minds.


Toriko
2011 · JP
In a world where gastronomy reigns, Gourmet Hunter Toriko hunts rare ingredients and animals to create his ultimate full-course meal.


Golden Kamuy
2018 · JP
A Russo-Japanese War veteran partners with an Ainu girl to find a treasure stolen from her people, but they’re not the only ones pursuing the gold.


Ascendance of a Bookworm
2019 · JP
When a sickly young girl suddenly becomes obsessed with inventing new things, her family and friends are all puzzled. "What has gotten into Myne?" they wondered, never dreaming that the answer is not a "What" but a "Who": Urano Motosu, a book-loving apprentice librarian who died in an earthquake in Tokyo who somehow found herself in Myne's body! And since Myne's world is still in a medieval stage, where books can only be owned by the elite, the new Myne intends to do everything she can to bring her beloved books to the masses in the time she has left.


Kamen Rider Ghost
2015 · JP
Takeru Tenkuuji, the son of a ghost hunter, is murdered by the evil Ganma and resurrected by a mysterious hermit and bestowns upon him the Ghost Driver and a Ghost Eyecon, an orb-shaped device which can see ghostly creatures like spirits of dead creatures, Ganma, and other Riders. The hermit tells Takeru that he has 99 days to gather 15 additional heroic Eyecons to be brought back to life permanently, and must fight the Ganma as Kamen Rider Ghost to obtain them.
The 2010s were television's abundance decade — streaming originals arrived at scale, prestige drama went mainstream, and 'too much TV' became a genuine complaint.
Japanese television is dominated by anime and the dorama — short, tightly-run seasons that rarely outstay their premise. Anime in particular has become one of the most globally exported forms of television there is.