Anime has gone fully mainstream, and the catalogue is enormous — decades of shonen epics, slice-of-life comfort shows, mind-bending psychological thrillers, and a new wave of stunning seasonal releases every few months. Whether you're a first-timer looking for an entry point or a veteran hunting your next obsession, the best anime to watch is the one that fits your taste, not just the loudest one online.
This guide helps you find it without spoiling the journey, then keeps track of exactly which episode you're on.
Anime rewards the committed but punishes the disorganized — drop a long-runner for a month and you'll have no idea where you stopped. The aim here is to help you start something you'll genuinely love and stay with it, season after season, without the friction that leaves so many great series unfinished.
First, decide on length. A tight 12-episode season is a very different commitment from a 1,000-episode shonen marathon. Both can be "the best" — but only one fits a busy week.
Next, lean into genre. Anime's range is its superpower: there's a masterpiece waiting whether you want sports drama, cozy romance, cosmic horror, or political intrigue. Sort by community rating to find the standouts in whatever genre you're craving, and check the year if you specifically want a current-season pick.
Every season brings new contenders, and following them as they air is half the fun — you get to theorize alongside the community week to week. Sort the browse page by newest releases to see what's currently airing.
But if you're new, start with the proven classics. The shows that consistently top community ratings became classics for a reason, and they're the safest bet for falling in love with the medium. Save the seasonal gambles for once you know what you like.
The fastest way to abandon a great series is losing track of where you stopped. With long-running shows especially, "I'll remember" never works. Logging your progress per episode means you can pick any series back up months later without rewatching half of it.
Tracking also makes your taste legible to recommendation engines — the more you log, the sharper the suggestions for what to watch next.
Tastebud indexes a community-rated catalogue you can sort by top rated, newest releases, and more. Filter to your taste, then save what catches your eye to your backlog.
Start with a self-contained, highly-rated series rather than a 500-episode commitment. Browse Tastebud's anime database sorted by "Top rated" and pick something in a genre you already enjoy in other media.
Tastebud lets you log progress per episode for every series you're watching, so you can resume any show exactly where you left off — even after a long break.
Sort the anime browse page by "Newest releases" to surface the current season, then add the ones you want to follow to your watchlist.
Tastebud keeps your anime — and your games, movies, books, music, and more — in one place. Log progress, rate what you finish, and get AI recommendations for what to enjoy next. Free to start.
Create your free account