Fifty Most Critically Acclaimed Anime

Below I have compiled a list of what I believe to be the top fifty most critically acclaimed anime series and movies. The number next to the anime indicates an average score taken from 30 of my most trusted friends and anime critics. An anime must receive an average rating of 8.5 or higher to make its way on to this list. It is perhaps best not to think of these as the most critically acclaimed anime, but to think of them as the most universally liked anime instead. In other words, the chances of you falling in love with these anime is extremely high. Ongoing anime will not be included, unless it is a remake of an older anime, in which case I will take the best score given to either version. Also, I have only included scores from critics that have fully completed each series.

1. Legend of the Galactic Heroes (9.960) - 25 Seen
2. Monster (9.771) - 24 Seen
3. Cowboy Bebop (9.600) - 30 Seen
4. Mushishi (9.400) - 25 Seen
5. Dog of Flanders Movie (9.200) - 5 Seen*
6. Ghost in the Shell Franchise (9.185) - 27 Seen
7. Aria the Origination (9.143) - 7 Seen*
8. Samurai Champloo (9.089) - 28 Seen
9. Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal (9.087) - 23 Seen
10. Berserk (9.068) - 24 Seen
11. Baccano! (8.931) - 29 Seen
12. Mononoke (8.869) - 19 Seen
13. Kino’s Journey (8.826) - 23 Seen
14. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (8.813) - 16 Seen
15. Grave of the Fireflies (8.800) - 25 Seen*
16. The Twelve Kingdoms (8.792) - 12 Seen
17. Mind Game (8.781) - 16 Seen
18. Planetes (8.765) - 17 Seen
19. Rose of Versailles (8.750) - 12 Seen
20. The Tatami Galaxy (8.750) - 12 Seen
21. Texhnolyze (8.731) - 13 Seen
22. Space Battle Yamato Franchise (8.714) - 7 Seen
23. Kaiba (8.688) - 17 Seen
24. Zipang (8.667) - 4 Seen
25. Macross (8.667) - 15 Seen
26. Now and Then, Here and There (8.658) - 19 Seen
27. Akira (8.654) - 26 Seen
28. Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (8.643) - 14 Seen
29. Moribito: Guardian of the Sacred Spirit (8.618) - 17 Seen
30. Hajime no Ippo (8.600) - 15 Seen
31. Fullmetal Alchemist (8.574) - 27 Seen
32. From the New World (8.571) - 7 Seen
33. Hunter x Hunter Franchise (8.563) - 8 Seen
34. The House of Small Cubes (8.563) - 16 Seen*
35. Revolutionary Girl Utena (8.556) - 9 Seen*
36. Princess Mononoke (8.540) - 25 Seen
37. Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo (8.528) - 19 Seen
38. Serial Experiments Lain (8.526) - 19 Seen
39. Millennium Actress (8.526) - 20 Seen
40. Gurren Lagann (8.517) - 29 Seen*
41. Kaiji (8.500) - 16 Seen
42. Master Keaton (8.500) - 6 Seen
43. The Beast Player Erin (8.500) - 6 Seen*
44. Princess Tutu (8.500) - 4 Seen*

*Indicates that I either found the anime unappealing, or that I have not yet completed it.