What is Seinen anime?
Seinen is an anime genre that typically appeals to more mature members of the anime community – though its fanbase can be much broader, spanning across people in their twenties all the way up to those who are fifty. It’s often described as “mature” or “serious”, but it doesn’t necessarily mean dark and depressing like shounen. Seinen tends to have less action than other genres, with stories focusing on character development rather than plot twists. The main characters tend to be older men, although there are exceptions. There are also many seinen series that feature younger male protagonists.
Seinen anime is a very diverse genre. There are some action-packed anime to choose from and others that have more grounded topics like politics, sports or science fiction, but regardless of what the topic may be within this category, there are pieces that stand out while others seem less prominent. This list will highlight the best titles worth your time if you’re looking for something new in this space!
Drifters
In Drifters, humans are transported into a world with fantasy creatures and summoned to fight against “Ends” who desire the destruction of humanity. The story follows Toyohisa Shimazu as he gets lost in this new land during an intense battle between his troops and some otherworldly beings bent on destroying humanity called Ends.
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Kingdom
In the Warring States era of China, two war orphans (Xin and Piao) train to become great generals one day. Piao was a body double for Ying Zheng and was took the life of during an attack; Xin swears revenge. The series follows his rise up in the Qin military while helping Ying Zheng pursue his dream: unify China with no more bloodshed! But becoming a great general is not so easy- it’s full of challenges only our protagonist can face head-on.
Non Non Biyori
From the unadulterated wit of a first grader to the quirks and struggles of living in rural areas, Non Non Biyori chronicles everything from average days to extraordinary moments. Based on manga penned by Atto and illustrated by Iruka Shiomi, this story follows five students who live together as classmates of the only school and the only class in that area.
Grand Blue
Iori Kitahara is a young college student who moves to the coast for school. As he enters this new life, Iori learns that his uncle’s diving shop has vastly different hours than what he thought they were when it came to work and playtime. With tons of hilarious moments already in place, Grand Blue takes you on an even more whimsical journey with its mature storyline–a seinen anime worth checking out for comedy anime fans that are looking for new depths to explore!
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Black Lagoon
The action seinen Black Lagoon is a dark and gritty anime with a unique sense of humor. The story takes place in Thailand, where offense lords rule over the law. This twisted city has one businessman who joins up with Black Lagoon, a group of mercenaries, to get revenge on his former employer after he betrayed him. Watch how this guy adapts to these new surroundings, as well as some intense moments that will blow you away!
Space Brothers
Space Brothers is a show that has you careening through space, and it’s not all fantastical flights of fancy. It follows two brothers who have made the promise to become astronauts since they were kids—but in adulthood, things haven’t turned out as expected for Mutta Nanba. In contrast, his younger brother Hibito moves closer to their dream by going on a mission towards the moon. The plot kicks off when Mutta loses his job at an automotive company and finds himself presented with another chance at becoming an astronaut once again. This wonderfully informative anime feels more grounded than others but still keeps you captivated throughout each episode!
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Bungou Stray Dogs
Bungou Stray Dogs is not only a fashionably supernatural series but also one that sets up its premise right from the start and targets an audience who are willing to stick with it. The story follows a group of supernatural detectives known as the Armed Detective Agency. They have various types of powers which they use in their dangerous cases – too hard for police to take on themselves.
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Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War
This lighthearted series depicts what happens when two brilliant but stubborn youths in love try to outsmart each other to win in the game of love. Student council president and ace student Miyuki Shirogane has to watch his back because heiress Kaguya Shinomiya wants him to confess his love first, so she can dominate their relationship. But this clever guy is not about to give in and find that Miyuki might be hiding secrets.
Parasyte -The Maxim
Shinichi Izumi is a 16-year-old high school student who falls sufferer to an alien parasite. The parasites fail to take over his brain and instead end up in his right hand, unable to relocate to the brain. Shinichi names this parasite Migi. In order for the pair to survive, they must learn how to coexist with each other while defending against any threats that may come their way.
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After the Rain
At Garden Cafe, a job she takes to help pay her tuition, Akira Tachibana develops feelings for the manager, Masami Kondou. He is kind and has a genuine concern about his customers, which draws her in despite their age gap. Akira Tachibana is a reserved high school student and former track runner, but now she cannot race as well because of an injury. Even though classmates think Akira is attractive, she doesn’t want to date any boys around her age.
Run With The Wind
In the world of sports anime, there are a lot of things that happen. In most cases, we see baseball or tennis, but in this anime, it is running! Kakeru joins a ragtag group of runners, but they are determined to win the Hakone Ekiden. The only problem: They’re not very good at running! Haiji dreams of winning this mega-race and will have his work cut out for him as he tries to whip them into shape if they even stand a chance in such an intense race.
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Berserk
In the Berserk anime, viewers are introduced to Guts and his journey with a sword-for-hire group called Band of The Hawk, led by Griffith, who is charismatic and entrancingly androgynous. It starts out as a military tale that gradually becomes darker. Still, it maintains its sense of adventure before getting more unbelievable towards the end when tragedy tears this band apart over lust for power.
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March Comes In Like A Lion
This anime follows Rei Kiriyama, a 17-year old professional Shogi player who moves to Tokyo in order to seek freedom from his tense life. When he visits the shop of his grandfathers’ wagashi store and meets three sisters there with whom he forms a precious bond, watch how it makes him a better person as we learn about more ways for interacting with people.
In This Corner of the World
In This Corner of the World paints a colorful yet haunting depiction of everyday life in Japan during one of the darkest periods. The movie showcases how ordinary Japanese people persevered and had fortitude as they lived through these turbulent times. Suzu Urano is a pure and kindhearted young girl who loves to draw. Growing up in the outskirts of Hiroshima, she is more than happy to help out at home, but when she becomes of age, Suzu leaves her beloved hometown for an unfamiliar household where war looms closer every day. When peace gives way and brutality enters their own backyard, how will this young bride survive?
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Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is a series that’s set to follow members of Section 9, an elite unit created by Japan for dealing with high-tech offenses. The main protagonists are Daisuke Aramaki and Motoko Kusanagi. They run into all sorts of interesting cases as they battle offense on cyborgs while also delving deeper into their own past together.
Erased
Boku dake ga Inai Machi aka ERASED is a story about Satoru Fujinuma, the 29-year old manga artist who has had this unusual and mysterious power called Revival. This ability allows him to go back in time to prevent accidents and tragedies, but now he finds himself sent way back into 18 years ago – before his powers existed at all! He realizes there that what happened in the future may be related to one of his classmates’ , so it follows him as he tries to find out what really went on while saving many lives along the way.
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Monster
The tension is palpable in this game of cat and mouse between a psychopathictaker of lives and the man trying to stop him. The psychological thriller anime starts out focused on Dr. Tenma, an elite neurosurgeon who decides to take a gamble one day, choosing to perform surgery on a young boy rather than the town’s mayor. As his social standing quickly diminishes and he falls from grace with everyone around him, it becomes clear that there are more things at stake than just saving lives. The story takes a darker turn when, years later, the boy he saved has turned out to be a psychopath.
Saint Oniisan
Saint Young Man features Gautam Buddha and Jesus Christ, founders of Buddhism and Christianity, as roommates in Tokyo while they experience this modern society. To fit into Japanese ure without blowing their cover: these two holy figures adopt new identities to pass unnoticed among the people; what follows are misunderstandings and comedy.
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Ping Pong The Animation
The aforementioned anime, Ping Pong the Animation, stands out from many other for its incredibly unique art style that is perfectly matched with the show’s fast-paced ping pong action. The protagonist Makoto Tuskimoto has little motivation beyond loving his sport, while friend Yukata Hoshino wants to be the best ping pong player in the world. This avant-garde work follows pair as they compete and come to terms with themselves and who are not like any others.
Gangsta
Nicholas Brown and Worick Arcangelo are known in the city of Ergastalum as “The Handymen,”: mercenaries for hire. Contracted by both powerful mob syndicates and police alike, they have to be ready and willing for anything- after all, these guys know what it’s like on both sides! Recently completing a job that was determined too messy or complicated to handle themselves – taking the life of local pimp Alex Benedetto who had been designated their latest sufferer-, The Handymen add lady of the evening Alexandra Benedetto into their ranks; protecting her from forces that want her gone out of this decrepit the nether regionhole called home.
Rainbow
The year is 1955; It’s dark, and the air smells of , but a sparkle shimmers in Mario Minakami as he arrives at his new home–a special reform school with six other teens who have been charged with serious criminal activities. They share their cell together while meeting an older inmate named Rokurouta Sakuragi, who was once known for being a boxer but now face criminal charges. Together they form friendships despite facing various injustices by bad guards and doctors throughout their stay there that makes this show both depressing yet heartwarming all at once.
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Vinland Saga
At the center of Vinland Saga is Young Thorfinn, a mercenary who has become accustomed to war and . He looks for revenge against Askeladd, his father‘s taker of life. Thorfinn must fight not only physically but philosophically as well when he finds himself in the middle of an ever-growing conflict between England and Denmark that becomes worse with time. Nordic ure heavily influences this bloody world where people clash aggressively while also pursuing family ties or philosophy on their own terms through these events.
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Land Of The Lustrous
The Land of The Lustrous is a comedy-mystery anime that will have you laughing and crying. You’ll find all the answers about human behavior in this story as it follows mysterious immortal beings known as “Lustrous,” gems inhabiting an Earth-like world destroyed by meteors. The youngest one among them is 300 years old Phos, who has been unable to fight because her condition isn’t up for it yet. She’s assigned to compile an encyclopedia which leads her on a journey into discovering something they can do so their future doesn’t end like how their past did.
Ajin: Demi-Human
You might have heard of the Japanese horror anime, Ajin: Demi-Human. Well, it’s more than just a seinen with its dark storyline and twisted characters. It explores fiction in surprising ways while still telling an interesting story that will make you want to watch every episode until the end! The show follows high school student Kei Nagai who, after surviving an accident where he should’velost life, discovers his true identity as well as how intertwined these demis are.
Hellsing Ultimate
If you’re looking for a new type of show about vampires that will keep your interest, then the nether regionsing is the one! Unlike most vampire movies or TV shows, this organization’s goal is to protect humans. They have an ultimate weapon named Alucard, who can even any odds in any situation.
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Wandering Son
Like many other anime today, Wandering Son features a gender-bender concept. But what if there’s an entirely new take on the same idea? In this case, you’ll get to experience all of the intricacies that make it one of Japan’s finest seinen series! The story follows two childhood friends Shuichi Nitori and Yoshino Takatsuki, who are transgender girls, but they’re considered as some of their school’s prettiest girls. However, when both have to change schools, things become much more diffi for them to adapt.
Akira
Akira is a film that takes place in Neo-Tokyo and explores the dystopia created by psychic children. Akira has been hailed as one of the greatest anime films ever made, with its focus on psychically powered bikers who are fighting for control over Tokyo’s streets.
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Dorohedoro
Dorohedoro is an action seinen anime series that has a pearl-like quality in the ocean of aggressive and intense action. This show blends humor, aggression , and supernatural power struggles with genuine emotional depth to create a story unlike any other you’ve seen before. It follows Kaiman, who finds himself turned into everything he strongly dislikes -a lizard man for as long as his memories can recall-, on the hunt for the sorcerors responsible for their cruel experiments while also trying to figure out what happened all those years ago when it seemed like there was more than one him running around town!
Mushishi
Mushishi is a show that follows Ginko, a wanderer who travels around to fix and aid those with issues involving the mysterious Mushi spirits. Mushishi spans many different tones of voice, whether it be dark or lighthearted. The animation in this anime is breathtakingly beautiful, as are the musical scores which accompany each episode’s individual storylines.
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Inuyashiki: The Last Hero
Inuyashiki is a seinen anime that will make your day with its amazing premise. It can fill you in on an action-packed entertainment along with some life values. Inuyashiki follows the story of two people who both encounter each other in a park as they are suddenly turned into mechanized weapons by bright lights from the sky – one becoming someone who goes around taking the life of people while the other is Ichirou Inuyashiki, an old man mostly ignored by his family and confides in an abandoned Shiba Inu he adopted.
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So, that concludes our list of the best Seinen anime. We hope you anime fans enjoyed going through this list and found it helpful in your search for new shows to watch or revisit. Did we miss a show? Let us know what your favorite is so far by leaving a comment below!
