Over the years, I’ve noticed the amount of American young adults who enjoy anime has increased. Though most people remember shows like Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon, most only really watched anime as a child. Now that we are in college, we can appreciate more sarcastic and generally more intelligently deep shows. But for now, let’s focus on action in Anime.
I’ve created a short list of my favorite action anime that first time watchers will love. Some of the shows have subtitles because they are spoken in Japanese and some of them can be found Dubbed in English. I suggest at least watching one subbed for every show you watch dubbed.
Ok, so this is first on the list mainly because the saga is so well known, BUT Dragon Ball Super is very good. The Goku you probably remember from childhood is now reaching to be as powerful as a god. He has two sons now and, practically, everyone is married with children, including Gohan.
CONS: The fighting scenes are so drawn out. Because the show is currently being added on to, every week on Crunchyroll there’s a new episode. It can get tiring. Believe me.
This show follows a 13-year-old boy named Gon who is from a small island. He wants to become a ‘hunter’, (which is basically an international police officer, or archaeologist, or doctor depending on the type of hunter the person decides to be), so he can find his father who left when he was young. It’s action packed and so adorable that you’ll fall in love with Gon as well as Killua.
CONS: There are scenes where adults state they want to go out with Gon, even though he is about 13 or 14. Some anime societies see teenagers as literal young adults, even though it’s still looked down upon to date a minor, with consent it’s somewhat acceptable.
3. Bleach
Bleach is another throwback action anime with a great story line. The main character, Ichigo, battles Hallows (ghosts with no soul who try to eat souls) in order to protect his city and the children who live in it.
CONS: This show gets really repetitive. The secondary characters rely too much on the main character and because of that it can get annoying to watch. But, it has 15 seasons, so if you want a long show, go for it.
Another easy-to-watch anime where the main chacters are fighting demons. The story follows twins who become exorcists, and in the first couple episodes you find that they are both the sons of Satan himself. This, obviously, gets in the way of them being taken seriously as exorcists.
CONS: The second season is confusing because it jumps back in time. I still haven’t finished it because of that reason alone.
5. FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
This is probably my favorite anime to watch because the storyline is so well developed. It follows two brothers who used alchemy to bring back their mother from the dead. During the process, Edward lost two limbs, but Alphonse lost his entire body. Until they find a way to get their body parts back, they go on an adventure to save their country and fundamentally the world.
CONS: It gets very saddening towards the end, it brings you really down just to build you back up.
These are not the ONLY good action anime shows. Generally, I found these to be easy to watch and really enjoyed them. Let us know if you find any anime in the action genre that you like via Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram!