Wonderful artwork and complex stories of anime are appealing to many people. However, every year more and more anime becomes available outside of Japan. Choosing the next anime you will watch may become difficult, especially for those of us who have limited free time. I am no longer pursuing anime actively, but I have seen many works over the years and would like to recommend to you the ones that I enjoyed the most.
If I had to categorize the ratings it would be “Excellent” from 90 to 94 and “Masterpiece” from 95 to 100. I realize that my rating is biased. To help you make a little more objective assessment, I linked each title to the corresponding Anime News Network page with further resources and distribution of ratings from hundreds of people. You can also visit my resources page with links to anime review sites. I hope you enjoy these anime!
| Title | Rating | Genre |
| Grave of the Fireflies | 98 | War Drama |
| Serial Experiments Lain | 97 | Sci-fi, Spiritual |
| Cowboy Bebop | 97 | Adventure, Drama, Comedy |
| Mushshi | 97 | Drama, Spiritual |
| Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo | 96 | Slice of Life, Drama, Sci-Fi |
| Spirited Away | 96 | Adventure |
| Kiki’s Delivery Service | 96 | Slice of Life |
| Princess Mononoke | 96 | Adventure, Drama |
| Azumanga Daioh | 96 | Comedy |
| My Neighbor Totoro | 95 | Adventure |
| Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind | 95 | Fantasy |
| Now and Then, Here and There | 95 | Adventure, Drama |
| Record of Lodoss War | 94 | Fantasy |
| ROD TV | 94 | Adventure, Comedy, Drama |
| Full Metal Alchemist | 94 | Adventure, Drama, Comedy |
| Millenium Actress | 94 | Drama, Romance |
| Princess Nine | 94 | Sports, Drama |
| Rurouni Kenshin OAVs | 94 | Action, Drama |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion | 94 | Drama, Psychological |
| Only Yesterday | 93 | Slice of Life |
| Whisper of the Heart | 93 | Slice of Life |
| Haibane Renmei | 93 | Spiritual |
| Castle in the Sky | 92 | Adventure |
| Ah! My Goddess: The Movie | 92 | Romance |
| Abenobashi Shopping Arcade | 92 | Parody, Comedy |
| Ghost in the Shell | 92 | Sci-fi |
| Perfect Blue | 92 | Drama, Psychological |
| Macross Plus OAV | 92 | Sci-fi, Romance |
| Cat Returns | 91 | Adventure |
| Akira | 91 | Sci-fi |
Kitsune's Thoughts 