Interest Stacks

One of the first "true" moe and CGDCT shows that exploded fandom at the time. Star was the first truly memetic anime, especially because of how freely the characters talked about contemporary otaku culture and the mentality of the audience.

If you discussed tsundere in the 00s then this show was most likely the main focus of it. Shana wasn't the first tsundere show, but it was the first show to introduce millennials to it, especially in the form of the now little-used "Shana-clone" archetype. It was also one of the first shows to build the fame of the Dengeki Bunko anime, as well as influencing the "ordinary Japanese schoolboy" memes.

The first "true" isekai anime in the modern sense. At the time, most western viewers didn't even know the term existed, so the idea of ​​a guy in a fantasy world who wasn't self-insert seemed fresh. Also, this show is responsible for the previously mentioned "Shana-clone" meme, as Louise looked and acted like Shana, even voiced by the same VA.

An anime whose premise seemed to be just made for the 00s edgylords. A rare villain protagonist, near-gothic stylistics and edgy MC who had a fantastic means of taking revenge on any people he despised. Is there anything else needed? Also don't forget about Death Note, which has become one of the rare anime memes that have transcended the fandom and become associated with anime for many adults. For example, in my country, journalists still create scandals because of children who write down their classmates in notebooks.

It's hard to believe now, but in our time this show was considered extremely controversial, mainly due to the unusual idea of ​​moe for us and the fact that the girls were more busy eating cakes than music. What are you talking about? CGDCT? What's this? I still remember the days when 10 points to this show was considered something like trolling.

Probably the most popular show of the 00s, which was something like the overhyped seasonals of our time. To the point that the word "narutard" was widely used by snobs to harass any young fans, and the phrase "I will become hokage" was considered the height of trolling. At the same time, people, especially children, really adored this show and it is even considered one of the biggest legends of action shonen anime to this day.

If you were as edgy as a Death Note fan but wanted something more global or even political, then CG was for you. This is also the first show from Okouchi where the protagonist made a revolution against the boomer father, which added to this show a separate edgy beauty as well. If you were a gay-loving girl who liked to make gay ships out of male characters, you're welcome too. Thanks, CLAMP.

The 00s were not the most inclusive times, especially for children's media, so the main dose of yuri in our time was filled with a Class S show about romantic friendship. It was still one of the most iconic and influential shows in the genre, but at the time none of us even realized it, just preferring to create memes (or ship girls to each other) because of how the idea of ​​extremely homoerotic female friendship seemed to be unusual for us.

As in the previous case, few people knew that this show was actually a not-so-subtle satire on a genre that had long existed in Japan. So much so that the scriptwriter (who later became the scriptwriter for Love Live, if that tells you something) just took and squeezed all the possible clichés of the genre into one anime. We didn't know it and took it as a serious lesbian melodrama, no less.

Pretty ironic, although people hated moe at the time, we loved a lot of the shows that were obviously like that from the start. A cute squid girl who acts like an idiot and gets hit on the head by other cute female characters? You get the idea. However, that doesn't make this show worse because of it and we really enjoyed watching this franchise.

Naruto's main rival for the title of "most popular shonen anime" of those years, and for a while the show did have a reputation for being more mature and of better quality. Well, until Tite Cubo started trolling my fandom and the show was rudely canceled due to problems with the original manga. However, we finally got the adaptation of the last arcs in October of this year, so maybe it wasn't so bad?

This anime has become a literal legend thanks to the broadcast on Jatix, especially in my country where every anime fan knows OP by heart. Diverse cast, well-written shonen fights, and the ultimate edgy villain, it was legendary at the time.

Wow, cute girls brutally kill each other! Wow, horror anime! Wow, this is actually about time loops! Something like that. Higurashi has become synonymous with horror anime for any 00s viewer for a reason. What can I say, some still consider any anime about time loops or provincial horrors to be a clone of this show.

Before we knew about things like CGDCT and moe, our school girl shows were just that kind of anime. Since the choice was not big, before the appearance of KyoAni girls, somewhere around 90% of memes with anime girls consisted only of this show. Also, it is thanks to this show that we have such a meme as waifu.

Before fujoshi pretended all male characters in MHA were gay, they had a show like Reborn! Naturally, this doesn't make the show any worse (well, unless you're a die-hard slash shipping hater), but it's rather ironic that the show's female audience was so broad that when the writer decided to add fanservice for the guys, it was met with huge complaints.

Now this show has a rather controversial indirect reputation due to the involvement of fans in various disputes over ratings, but in modern times it has been one of the most iconic shows, especially in the US, which you can see from the first place on MAL TOP. The good quality of shonen, the themes close to Western audiences, and the lack of controversial content make this show quite timeless.

Now this version is considered bad or at best meh due to the release of more expensive and popular things like UBW, but then it was our only Fate and people loved it. The innocent old days when we were really into Saber as waifu instead of complaining about the newer fate girls as Saber clones.

Now this show is more infamous for it than considered any guilty pleasure, but in this day and age it really was incredibly memetic. I still remember when it was considered the height of humor to recommend this show as a sibling family melodrama.

Not as extreme as the previous example, but also has its fair share of heated discussions. Most of the time it was really popular as an adaptation of the interesting and funny LN about otakus, until people suddenly realized that it really was meant to be total incest show. Not surprisingly, the "true ending" of the work was published as a doujinshi from the author himself.

One of the first and most famous "our" sports anime classics. This show is also one of the driving forces behind the "Jump Bishonen Syndrome" phenomenon, where male characters and their relationships are deliberately portrayed in shoujo or bait-ish style to attract a female audience.

A show that was a meme even before the very concept of memes became something popular. So much so that many people still consider Kamina to be their big brother and expect every new show from Trigger to be at least a little bit like it.

Western fans have always loved shows made with love for Western culture, so it's no surprise that Eureka, with its urban and hippie inspiration, made this show so special for us. And yes, it also has robots on the boards!

There was no Danmachi in our time, so our action show about the feminine MC that the whole female cast loves was Hayate. Also, it's just a very good teen comedy.

We didn't have the Witch of Mercury in our day, but we did have this show. However, you will find them very similar anyway, as mikos is the second biggest source of inspiration (copying) in G-Witch after Utena. Especially a series of moments in the first season and a whole arc from the second, including most of the development of Guel. And yes, like the other shows on this list, Kannazuki no Miko was the source of a number of popular memes like miko pose (hello again to "some scenes" from the Witch), the infamous flute rape, and the up until 2022 reputation for incarnating the gay mecha. Also, it will also be interesting for yuri fans that this show claims to be the first mainstream action yuri show outside of the previously strictly limited taboo romance and lesbian moe part of the market.

Probably the most famous purely musical anime of our time. At that time, we had almost no idols or even Bushi, so an anime about a rock band that also copied the tropes of Hollywood films about musicians really felt like something unforgettable and fresh. Especially the ending, which has been used for AMV on YouTube for a long time.

One of the most famous harems of the era, actually making Sena one of the most popular waifu in the 00s. To the point where she was actually the poster child of the popular female character.

We didn't have Love Live at the time, but we did have Strike Witch, which people watched for similar purposes, even though it wasn't an idol show. A bunch of different cute girls for all tastes with all sorts of yuri bait-ish relationship dynamics and lots and lots and lots of moe. Of course, this show was also incredibly memetic, mainly because of the rather cheesy way the creators took off all the girls' pants and skirts.

Another truly cult, but unfortunately now more or less forgotten anime. It was this show that at one time made “desu” a meme, and also gave birth to an entire subculture of fans of the show, of which at one point there were more tnan Love Live fans now.

If To Love Ru was the epitome of the silly harem in general, then Rosario to Vampire can be called a classic of the silly fantasy harem with a school of monsters. Long before Iruma. Unfortunately, the second season was too rushed and went quite far from the manga, despite the iconic soundtrack and still good comedy.

The most famous and significant show about female “super friendship” of our time, practically embodying the then idea of ​​​​ideal camaraderie among women. Unfortunately, the author was forced to interrupt the manga due to illness, and attempts to expand the franchise were forgotten over time. Although you can still periodically come across this manga or anime among the favorite titles of millennials and sluggish debates about whether there was some kind of “double bottom” here or not.

The main tear-squeezer of the generation together with Angel Beats. Many people appreciate only the second season, although the anime is basically one of the best nostalgic anime about life in high school.

The embodiment of a wholesome all-female slice of life for the 00s audience. Also, the anime was so popular that the mangaka even became a BFFs with a cast of the main characters of this show. Ironically, despite the show's certain "reputation", the author was already quite annoyed with yuri shipping, which resulted in a somewhat strange rushed ending and an infamous romance arc in her next all-female manga.

The main horror movie and purveyor of the "scary Japanese girls" of the generation, and this is long before Yami Shibai and Another.

Number two on the list of the first meme shows of KyoAni, one of the first anime to become a meme and an international phenomenon. Naturally, largely due to the memorable direction of the Kyoto adaptation and the professional approach in all elements of the show.

Nowadays we have Fruits Basket as the most hyped shoujo romance, but back then that was Kimi ni Todoke, basically the epitome of every possible girly anime trend in the 00s. To such an extent that for many years this manga and anime were as strongly associated with their demographics as Naruto was with shonen.