The 40 most popular japanese sci-fi & fantasy TV shows, ranked. Click any show for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Kamen Rider
1971
country: Japan
Takeshi Hongo is a promising young man with a passion for motorcycle racing. However, his dreams are suddenly ruined when he gets kidnapped by Shocker, the evil secret organization planning to dominate the world. After being remodeled into a cyborg, Takeshi escapes and swears to protect the world from the inhuman monsters.


Doraemon
2005
country: Japan
Robotic cat Doraemon is sent back in time from the 22nd century to protect 10-year-old Noby, a lazy and uncoordinated boy who is destined to have a tragic future. Doraemon can create secret gadgets from a pocket on his stomach, but they usually cause more bad than good because of Noby's propensity to misuse them.


Bleach
2004
country: Japan
For as long as he can remember, Ichigo Kurosaki has been able to see ghosts. But when he meets Rukia, a Soul Reaper who battles evil spirits known as Hollows, he finds his life is changed forever. Now, with a newfound wealth of spiritual energy, Ichigo discovers his true calling: to protect the living and the dead from evil.


Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
2021
country: Japan
When a 34-year-old underachiever gets run over by a truck, his story doesn't end there. Reincarnated in a new world as an infant, Rudy will seize every opportunity to live the life he's always wanted. Armed with new friends, some freshly acquired magical abilities, and the courage to do the things he's always dreamed of, he's embarking on an epic adventure—with all of his past experience intact!


Pokémon
1997
country: Japan
Join Ash accompanied by his partner Pikachu, as he travels through many regions, meets new friends and faces new challenges on his quest to become a Pokémon Master.


JUJUTSU KAISEN
2020
country: Japan
Yuji Itadori is a boy with tremendous physical strength, though he lives a completely ordinary high school life. One day, to save a classmate who has been attacked by curses, he eats the finger of Ryomen Sukuna, taking the curse into his own soul. From then on, he shares one body with Ryomen Sukuna. Guided by the most powerful of sorcerers, Satoru Gojo, Itadori is admitted to Tokyo Jujutsu High School, an organization that fights the curses... and thus begins the heroic tale of a boy who became a curse to exorcise a curse, a life from which he could never turn back.


Naruto
2002
country: Japan
Naruto Uzumaki, a mischievous adolescent ninja, struggles as he searches for recognition and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the village's leader and strongest ninja.


Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-
2016
country: Japan
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.


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


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


Dragon Ball Z
1989
country: Japan
Now happily married and with a son, martial arts champion Goku must defend Earth from a series of extraterrestrial invaders bent on destruction.


Naruto Shippūden
2007
country: Japan
After 2 and a half years Naruto finally returns to his village of Konoha, and sets about putting his ambitions to work. It will not be easy though as he has amassed a few more dangerous enemies, in the likes of the shinobi organization; Akatsuki.


Doraemon
1979
country: Japan
Doraemon is an anime TV series created by Fujiko F. Fujio and based on the manga series of the same name. This anime is the much more successful successor of the 1973 anime.


Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
2009
country: Japan
Disregard for alchemy’s laws ripped half of Edward Elric’s limbs from his body and left his brother Alphonse’s soul clinging to a suit of armor. To restore what was lost, the brothers seek the Philosopher’s Stone. Enemies and allies – the corrupt military, the Homunculi, and foreign alchemists – will alter the Elric brothers course, but their purpose will remain unchanged and their bond unbreakable.


The Daily Life of a Part-time Torturer
2026
country: Japan
In a society where torture is legal—and big business—Spirytus dominates the industry with skill, style, and surprisingly cheerful teamwork. Part-timers Cero, Shiu, Mikke, and Hugh tackle “client sessions,” office shenanigans, and even the occasional in-house assassin…all with a smile! Life at Spirytus proves that even in a world of pain, work can still be surprisingly fun!


Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
2023
country: Japan
After the party of heroes defeated the Demon King, they restored peace to the land and returned to lives of solitude. Generations pass, and the elven mage Frieren comes face to face with humanity's mortality. She takes on a new apprentice and promises to fulfill old friends' dying wishes. Can an elven mind make peace with the nature of life and death? Frieren embarks on her quest to find out.


Ranma ½
1989
country: Japan
Ranma Saotome, a teenage martial artist, and his father Genma travel to the 'cursed training ground' of Jusenkyo in China. There, despite the warnings of the Chinese guard, they fall into the cursed springs. From now on, whenever Ranma is doused in cold water, he turns into a girl and a cute, well-built redhead at that. Hot water changes him back into a man again, but only until the next time. To make matters worse, his father engages him to Akane Tendo, a girl who hates boys.


Fate/stay night
2006
country: Japan
Shirou Emiya lost his parents in a fire when he was young and was later adopted by the sorcerer Kiritsugu Emiya. Shirou is drawn into the Holy Grail War summons a female "Servant" known as Saber to protect him and obtain the Holy Grail.


Chiikawa
2022
country: Japan
The story follows the sometimes happy, sometimes sad, and a tad stressful daily life of "some sort of small, cute creature" (Nanka Chiisakute Kawaii Yatsu) known as Chiikawa. Chiikawa enjoys delicious food with bees and rabbits, toils hard every day for the rewards of work, and still maintains a smile.


Pokémon Horizons
2023
country: Japan
Follow Liko and Roy as they unravel the mysteries that surround them and encounter Friede, Captain Pikachu, Amethio, and others during their exciting adventures!


Agents of the Four Seasons Dance of Spring
2026
country: Japan
When the Agent of Spring, Hinagiku Kayo, is abducted, spring itself vanishes—plunging the world into unending winter. Refusing to give up, her devoted guard, Sakura Himedaka, searches for her for years. When Hinagiku suddenly returns, the two set out to restore the lost season, face the past that tore them apart, and reclaim the warmth they refuse to lose again.


Kaiju No. 8
2024
country: Japan
In a world plagued by creatures known as Kaiju, Kafka Hibino aspired to enlist in The Defense Force. He makes a promise to enlist with his childhood friend, Mina Ashiro. Soon, life takes them in separate ways. While employed cleaning up after Kaiju battles, Kafka meets Reno Ichikawa. Reno's determination to join The Defense Force reawakens Kafka's promise to join Mina and protect humanity.


Yu Yu Hakusho
1992
country: Japan
After dying to save a boy, delinquent tough guy Yusuke Urameshi is granted another chance at life by redeeming himself as a "Spirit Detective."


Puzzle & Dragons
2018
country: Japan
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.


Death Note
2006
country: Japan
Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects—and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But will Light succeed in his noble goal, or will the Death Note turn him into the very thing he fights against?


Attack on Titan
2013
country: Japan
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!


Solo Leveling
2024
country: Japan
They say whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, but that’s not the case for the world’s weakest hunter Sung Jinwoo. After being brutally slaughtered by monsters in a high-ranking dungeon, Jinwoo came back with the System, a program only he could see, that’s leveling him up in every way. Now, he’s inspired to discover the secrets behind his powers and the dungeon that spawned them.


That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
2018
country: Japan
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.


Duel Masters
2002
country: Japan
A mysterious organization is interested in fledging duelist Shobu Kirifuda's ability to bring Duel Master creatures to life. With the support of his friends, Shobu duels with passion, discipline, and heart as he strives to be like his father and become the next Kaijudo master.


Lupin the 3rd
1971
country: Japan
Follow the exciting adventures of Arsene Lupin III, the grandson of the world's greatest thief, Arsene Lupin. Together with Daisuke Jigen, Goemon Ishikawa and his love interest Fujiko Mine, he carries out the greatest robberies of all time, all the while evading the control of Inspector Koichi Zenigata.


Mob Psycho 100
2016
country: Japan
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?


Aria
2005
country: Japan
Set in the early 24th century against the backdrop of the city of Neo Venezia on the planet Mars. No longer the barren red planet, Mars has been flooded, inhabited and is something of a tourist hub for those looking for rest, relaxation and a gondola ride – the primary mode of travel in Neo Venezia. The Undines are professional gondoliers, tour guides for the people passing through. Akari Mizunashi is an Undine in training and this is a piece of her story.


Sword Art Online
2012
country: Japan
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...


Kiteretsu Daihyakka
1988
country: Japan
The main character is a scientific genius boy named Kiteretsu, who has built a companion robot named Korosuke. He frequently travels in time with his friends and Korosuke in the time machine he built. Miyoko is a girl in his neighborhood who is basically his girlfriend. Tongari is his rival, who happen to share some similar traits of Honekawa Suneo. Buta Gorilla is a typical neighborhood bully, who also share similar traits of Gian except that he often antagonizes Korosuke (though they are in grade school).


Inazuma Eleven
2008
country: Japan
Mamoru Endou is a cheerful goalkeeper in Raimon Jr High, with six other players in the team. But there was a day when the team was almost lead to disbandment by Natsumi unless they are able to win the match against the Teikoku Gakuen, currently the best team in Japan. He tried to save the club by gathering four more players to join the team.


High School DxD
2012
country: Japan
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?


The Exiled Heavy Knight Knows How to Game the System
2026
country: Japan
Born into a prestigious family of master swordsmen, Elymas Edvaughn's future shatters when he awakens the so-called "defective" Heavy Knight class. Disowned and cast out, he regains memories of another life—and realizes this world mirrors a VR game he once mastered. Armed with knowledge no one else possesses, he sets out to rewrite his fate and prove the strength of the "weakest" class.


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


The Eminence in Shadow
2022
country: Japan
Shadowbrokers are those who go unnoticed, posing as unremarkable people, when in truth, they control everything from behind the scenes. Sid wants to be someone just like that more than anything, and something as insignificant as boring reality isn’t going to get in his way! He trains in secret every single night, preparing for his eventual rise to power—only to be denied his destiny by a run-of-the-mill (yet deadly) traffic accident. But when he wakes up in a another world and suddenly finds himself at the head of an actual secret organization doing battle with evil in the shadows, he’ll finally get a chance to act out all of his delusional fantasies!


My Happy Marriage
2023
country: Japan
Miyo's abusive family deems her worthless – but together with her powerful husband-to-be, her true self and hidden powers slowly begin to shine.
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.
Science fiction and fantasy on television get to build worlds across dozens of hours, which is why the genre's most detailed universes are TV universes. Effects costs long constrained it; streaming budgets no longer do.