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In the most basic sense, anime is merely the Japanese word for “animation,” whether it’s hand-drawn or computer generated. But in essence, anime is a unique and diverse form of art with as much potential to create meaningful storylines as live-action television or film. Plenty of animes—especially the ones on this list—are more imaginative, more daring, and overall just better pieces of entertainment than what Western production companies churn out on a daily basis.
And yet anime still gets a bad rap, mostly for being a nerdy thing to watch. It’s hard to pinpoint just where this stereotype comes from, but honestly, when the stories are this good, who really cares what everyone else says? Now that Hulu has such a healthy selection of anime episodes and movies ready to stream anywhere, anytime, it’s hard to come up with a reason why you wouldn’t want to try something new.
Anime movies and series are usually long, expansive series or movies that tend to be more creative and ambitious than the type of Western television or Hollywood fare you may be used to watching. Although the animated nature of anime might lead one to assume that the medium is mainly targeted towards children, this is definitely not the case. In fact, the best anime series deal with themes and characters that are intricate enough for any adult to chew on for several hours. Additionally, the freedom of animation means lower budgets and less egos to please, variables that easily translate into fantastical, complex, and entirely original plots and settings. Often, anime will start to veer into science-fiction territory, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t less out-there options to choose from if that genre is not your cup of tea.
In fact, we’ve kept that in mind when compiling this list: Below is what we believe is a wide selection of different genres within the anime medium. It’s a great introductory list for those who are just to getting into the whole thing but also includes some lesser known entries for those looking for something new to sink their teeth into. Happy streaming these Hulu anime movies!
Food Wars! (2015-present)
Director: Yoshitomo Yonetani
Writer: Shogo Yasukawa
You don’t have to be an expert on Japan to know that food is very important to Japanese culture. If you can’t afford a plane ticket to Tokyo or your city doesn’t have a good, authentic Japanese restaurant, look no further than the hilarious Food Wars! for all of your Japanese cuisine curiosities. This anime is about Sōma Yukihira’s dream to become a famous chef and his journey through an elite culinary school. The food is animated well enough to make your mouth water, and the show is written to include realistic descriptions of cooking techniques and processes. In fact, the show consulted with famous Japanese chef Yuki Morisaki to include some of his recipes, so it’s all legit. To watch this anime is to step into a whole new world—but be warned, you’ll probably leave it feeling pretty hungry.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009-2010)
Director: Yasuhiro Irie
Writer: Hiroshi Ōnogi
This 27-episode anime series is a full adaptation of the eponymous manga series by Hiromu Akawa about the Elric brothers, gifted alchemists (a slightly fancier word for magicians) who disregard strict rules of their craft and attempt to bring their mother back to life. In the process, one brother’s soul is detached from his physical body, while the other brother loses a couple of limbs. The rest of the story follows the pair as they search for a way to atone for their magical sins.
Trigun (1993, one season)
Director: Satoshi Nishimura
Writer: Yōsuke Kuroda
Trigun is an often silly, always hilarious satire of a classic Western with seriously dark undertones: think No Country For Old Men meets every Will Ferrell movie combined. Our protagonist is Vash the Stampede, a skilled and deadly gunslinger who destroyed an entire city and subsequently has a 60 billion bounty on his head…who has forgotten all about the destruction he caused and now only preaches peace and love. Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, two insurance agents, follow Vash and attempt to assuage the damage caused by those who follow him around in hopes of capturing him and receiving the bounty. Besides the inherent humor built into its clever plot structure, Trigun also boasts excellent writing that paves the way for surprising and meaningful exploration of themes like morality and justice.
Kids on the Slope (2012)
Director: Shinichirō Watanabe
Writer: Yuki Kodama
Kids on the Slope is the anime equivalent of a John Hughes movie; this coming of age story is heartwarming and emotional, and has none of the sci-fi elements that might traditionally be associated with the word “anime.” Set in the summer in 1966, a group of three high school students find themselves and learn about friendship as they discover a shared passion for jazz. And this is not to mention that the series is produced by the same team behind Cowboy Bebop, which is considered the greatest anime series in the universe by many critics.
Ghost in the Shell series (1995-present)
Director: Various
Writer: Various
Newsflash! Scarlett Johansson is not the original Mira Killian. Who knew, right? Well, millions of people did, but it’s not like movie executives really care about honoring classic stories from other cultures anyway. But thankfully a large part of the expansive Ghost in the Shell franchise is available on Hulu, including two seasons of the Standalone Complex series and the five feature length movies, including the 1995 original. The franchise is set in a high-tech future in which people have computer brains and even entire robot bodies, which are great advancements in general human evolution that also open the door to devastating hacks. The action follows Motoko Kusanagi (Mira Killian’s original Japanese name), a member of the special police task force and a cyborg herself, who is determined to protect her city from hackers.
Steins;Gate (2011)
Directors: Hiroshi Hamasaki, Takuya Satō
Writer: Jukki Hanada
Based on a video game of the same name, Steins;Gate is equal parts dizzying and exhilarating, resulting in an entertaining trip through time and space. When scientist Rintaro Okabe and his friends discover a way to hack a microwave to send messages to the past and thereby change it, things get predictably messy and dangerous. This anime perfectly straddles the line between lighthearted comedy and sinister thriller-mystery, all the while perfectly molding its atmosphere to encompass both moods.
Attack on Titan (2013-present)
Directors: Tetsurō Araki (season 1), Masashi Koizuka (season 2)
Writer: Yasuko Kobayashi
Attack on Titan began as a futuristic manga series wherein humanity must protect itself from titans, who are essentially terrifying, violent giants with an affinity for human flesh. Their protection method of choice are huge walls that surround their cities (#DonaldTrumpStyle). The popularity of the manga helped launch the Attack on Titan anime series, which premiered in 2013 to great critical acclaim and is currently available to stream on Hulu. The anime is unsettling in the most rewarding way possible, complete with impressive animation visuals and terrifying explorations of death and destruction. The series was eventually re-edited into two feature length anime movies titled Attack on Titan—Part 1: Crimson Bow and Arrow and Attack on Titan—Part 2: Wings of Freedom, released in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The second season premiered in April of this year, and a third is scheduled for April 2018.
Cowboy Bebop (1998-1999)
Director: Shinichirō Watanabe
Writer: Keiko Nobumoto
Cowboy Bebop, the first anime to be broadcast on Adult Swim in the U.S., is often considered an anime “gateway drug.” And you should believe the hype: Its entertaining genre-bending brand of sci-fi is really that good. Composed of only one 26-episode season, set in outer space in the year 2071 at a time when Earth has become uninhabitable and other planets have been colonized, a group of bounty hunters/cowboys are hired to help curtail the universe’s rising crime rates by looking for criminals while cruising the universe on their a spaceship called Bebop. It’s an easy-to-understand premise, but it’s also by definition an oblique look into a society via those who live on its margins, which is always an interesting perspective from which to tell a story. The excellent writing is also unafraid to dive deep into larger issues of existentialism, loneliness, and morality, therefore making Cowboy Bebop one of the most robust animated projects of all time.