Top 15 Best Fantasy Anime of All Time

Ever since the classic poem Beowulf, fantasy has been a huge part of storytelling. These tales often involve great heroes of mankind battling against demons, dragons, or other non-human forces of evil. It is no surprise that the fantasy genre made its way to anime as well.

With only imagination as the limit, the fantasy element in anime has been taken to new heights. Here are MAL's top fantasy anime picks, ranked according to its MAL score.

*Note: This list only takes television shows into account, not movies or OVAs. Additionally, each television show was only listed once.

Best Fantasy Anime List Below

15. Yuu☆Yuu☆Hakusho (Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files)

MAL Score: 8.46 | Episodes: 112

Yusuke Urameshi is a troubled teen, constantly skipping school and picking fights... until he unexpectedly dies, that is. Now he is the Spirit Detective, charged with protecting the Human World from demons who seek to destroy his loved ones, his hometown, and even the entire world.

14. Ookami to Koushinryou II (Spice and Wolf II)

MAL Score: 8.46 | Episodes: 12

In the second season of Ookami to Koushinryou, Lawrence and Holo continue their journey north in search of Holo's hometown of Yoitsu. As the pair work as traveling merchants moving from city to city, their relationship begins to become something more than just mere business.

13. Nanatsu no Taizai (The Seven Deadly Sins)

MAL Score: 8.48 | Episodes: 24

The country of Britannia is protected by the Holy Knights, a group that uses powerful magic to protect their nation. Once upon a time, seven of their number attempted to overthrow the kingdom and were banished, but when the bulk of the knights throw their own coup, rumors begin to circulate that these former knights, The Seven Deadly Sins, are still alive...

12. Kemono no Souja Erin

MAL Score: 8.49 | Episodes: 50

Erin is a young girl being raised by her mother in a village that breeds Touda, a type of large lizard used for war. As she grows, Erin grows from a naive girl into a strong woman, as her life is changed by the tension growing between the two provinces of her home country.

11. Mononoke

MAL Score: 8.50 | Episodes: 12

Evil spirits called mononoke plague feudal Japan, terrorizing the living and causing mayhem. Only one man, the mysterious Medicine Man, has the power to vanquish the mononoke, but doing so requires him to first study the creatures and understand the Form, Truth, and Reason behind them.

10. No Game No Life

MAL Score: 8.51 | Episodes: 12

Siblings Sora and Shiro are masters of video games, viewing the real world as a "boring game". When they are drawn into another world by Tet, the God of Games, the two find themselves in Disboard, a world where all disputes from squabbles to wars are settled by games. Having found their calling, Sora and Shiro set out to defeat Tet himself and become the new gods of games.

9. Magi: The Kingdom of Magic

MAL Score: 8.53 | Episodes: 25

The adventures of Aladdin, Alibaba, and Morgiana continue as they seek to explore Dungeons and gain the power of the Djinns in the Kingdom of Magnostadt and the Reim Empire.

8. Fate/Zero

MAL Score: 8.55 | Episodes: 13

The Holy Grail is said to grant any wish, and three great wars have been fought in its name. On the precipice of the Fourth Holy Grail War, the "Magus Killer" Kiritsugu Emiya is hired to retrieve the Grail for the Einzbern family, but soon finds he is not the only mercenary after the relic.

7. One Piece

MAL Score: 8.60 | Episodes: ?

Gol D. Roger was once the Pirate King, the most powerful and richest pirate in all the world. After his capture, his final words before his execution were that he left all of his treasure in One Piece. Pirates have searched Roger's former territory, the Grand Line, vigorously hoping to find One Piece since his death. The young pirate Monkey D. Luffy also dreams of finding One Piece and with his unusual definition of what it is to be a pirate, he may just succeed.

6. Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan)

MAL Score: 8.61 | Episodes: 25

Centuries ago, mankind was nearly exterminated by Titans, giant beasts who happily consume the flesh of humans. People must now live in giant walled cities to survive against the Titans, who have not been seen or battled in over a century. But when the wall is breached and a Titan invades the city, a new generation must rise as humanity's last defenders.

5. Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume's Book of Friends Sequel)

MAL Score: 8.65 | Episodes: 13

Takashi Natsume is a boy with the ability to see youkai who are invisible to normal people. After his grandmother passed away, he received her Book of Friends, which contains the names of youkai and places them under the power of the book owner. Now seeking to return the names to youkai, Takashi will learn more about youkai as well as a few things he did not know about himself. Despite its whimsical and sleepy subject matter (not an insult), Natsume Yuujinchou has turned into quite an enduring fantasy anime series.

4. Aria The Origination

MAL Score: 8.69 | Episodes: 13

The three friends Akari, Aika, and Alice continue their training to become Prima Undine (professional tour guide gondoliers) as they each form their own unique methods of acting as tour guides for the city. Each girl has learned from advice given by her mentor, but can they now mix that knowledge with their own talents?

3. Mushishi

MAL Score: 8.79 | Episodes: 26

Mushi: the basic building blocks of life. Neither good nor evil, they seek only to exist with no other grand purpose. What are Mushi? And why do they exist with no apparent purpose? Ginko ponders this question as he researches what little is known about the Mushi, hoping to learn not only about them, but also about the meaning of life itself.

2. Clannad: After Story

MAL Score: 9.09 | Episodes: 24

Tomoya Okazaki and Nagisa Furukawa have graduated from high school and are now ready to move on with their lives. Unsure about what he wants to do in life, Tomoya must now discover his own hidden strength, with the support of Nagisa, of course. Along the way, they will deepen their existing bond while also learning to create new ones.

1. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

MAL Score: 9.25 | Episodes: 64

In a world where the rules of alchemy surpass the laws of science, the Elric brothers once made a terrible mistake by breaking the most forbidden of taboos. Having paid a horrific price for their actions, the brothers now seek to correct the mistakes of their pasts and are soon caught up in events on a scale larger than either of them could have ever imagined.