Note: Our eight recommendations page has been replaced by this reformatted and more up-to-date listing, which is also replicated under our anime recommendations page.
Below are our staff’s selections for series that we recommend to Christian viewers. Growing from our original list, the series given below contain information about the shows that you may find pertinent as you select which series to watch or to show your families. The list is ever-growing, and we invite you to give your own recommendations in the comment section below. At the bottom, we’ve also included other recommended anime with few details, divided by age appropriateness.
Bunny Drop (Usagi Drop)
Clannad (Clannad)
Kino’s Journey (Kino no Tabi)
Haibane Renmei (Haibane Renmei)
My Ordinary Life (Nichijou)
Now and Then, Here and There (Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku)
Puella Magi Madoka Magica (Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica)
Trigun (Trigun)
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Bunny Drop
Usagi Drop
Daikichi’s grandfather has just died and the young professional’s family can’t stop bickering – not about what to do with Grandfather’s possessions, but what to do about the old man’s six-year old illegitimate child, whom the family has just discovered. Even without any experience of his own, and seemingly not a family man at all, Daikichi makes the decision to rear the little girl, and what follows is one of the most simple, sincere, and heartwarming series in all anime.
(2011 ~ 11 episodes)
Watch if you:
(+) Enjoy series that are moving
(+) Like shows centered around modern family issues
(+) Like cute kids
Skip if you:
(-) Get bored easily
(-) Dislike angular, sketchy art styles
Biblical Themes:
(+) Emphasis on sacrificial love
(+) Demonstration of concern for the helpless
Content to Look Out For:
(-) Slight alcohol consumption and discussion of Rin’s parentage may trouble parents
Read articles about Bunny Drop. Stream legally for free here or purchase on Amazon or Right Stuf.
Clannad & Clannad: After Story
Clannad & Clannad: After Story
Tomoya is the kind, but delinquent son of an alcoholic single father. Nagisa is the shy and sickly, but determined daughter of loving parents. When they meet one day on the road to school, little did they know that their lives, and that of the group of friends they would make, would become intertwined in tale that is both romantic comedy and fantastical. One of the most beloved franchises of recent years, Clannad and its sequel, After Story, starts like most series in the genre, introducing a male protagonist and a series of female characters, each with very different personalities, who might somehow become the object of our hero’s affection. But Clannad transcends the others by taking the viewers on an extraordinary journey past high school and into real life, including the pain, loss, and tragedy that can beset and paralyze us.
(2007 ~ 47 episodes, 2 OVAs, 1 movie)
Watch if you:
(+) Are a romantic at heart
(+) Like zany comedic moments
(+) Enjoy long series that cross multiple genres
Skip if you:
(-) 52 episodes is too long for you
(-) Like your stories firmly grounded in realism
(-) Don’t want to cry
Biblical Themes:
(+) Strong emphasis on love toward family, friends, and even enemies
(+) Themes of love and redemption
Content to Look Out For:
(-) Mystical content plays major role throughout
(-) Some alcohol consumption and violence (mostly comedic)
(-) Brief bad language
Read articles about Clannad. Stream legally for free here or purchase on Amazon or Right Stuf.
Kino’s Journey
Kino no Tabi
Anime episodes are often self-contained, and this is especially true of Kino’s Journey. The fable-like story follows the title character as she travels from country to country in an unknown world. The show is wonderful at expressing the human condition in all it’s sin and depravity, but it also reveals the beauty of the world and of people.
(2003 ~ 13 episodes, 1 OVA, 2 movies)
(2017 REMAKE ~ 12 episodes)
Watch if you:
(+) Like something you can watch an episode at a time
(+) Want to watch something that will make you think
(+) Enjoy a mixture of drama, social commentary, and action
Skip if you:
(-) Get bored easily
(-) Prefer an extended, driven, continuous story
(-) Dislike a simplistic, exaggerated art style
Biblical Themes:
(+) Christ-like sacrifice
(+) Moral dilemmas that can be related directly to pieces of Scripture
Content to Look Out For:
(-) Minor language
(-) Obscured, occasional blood and frequent violence
Read articles about Kino’s Journey. Stream legally for free here or purchase on Amazon (original / 2017) or Right Stuf (original / 2017).
Haibane Renmei
Haibane Renmei
Haibane Renmei focuses on angel-like entities known as haibane, who are born into a world where they work and live among human townsfolk. This beautiful work can easily be viewed as a Catholic vision of the afterlife and features heavy emphasis on the ideas of sin, grace, forgiveness, and love. It’s a powerful work that should be at the top of any otaku’s viewing list, much less any Christian otaku’s viewing list – indeed, it’s a become a classic for any fan of anime exploring deep and emotional themes.
(2002 ~ 13 episodes)
Watch if you:
(+) Like to stray from the generic anime path
(+) Want to watch something that will make you think
(+) Enjoy strong characters and symbolic imagery
Skip if you:
(-) Get bored easily
(-) Prefer more standard storytelling types focusing on action or romance (there is neither)
(-) Need all loose ends tied together by the end of the story (it leaves much room for interpretation by the end)
Biblical Themes:
(+) Christ-like love and sacrifice
(+) The repercussions of sin
(+) Unconditional forgiveness
(+) Contentedness over materialism
Content to Look Out For:
(-) Minor language
(-) Minor blood and disturbing pain (first episode briefly)
(-) Partial nudity (brief side shot of main character naked from an obscured angle; not of sexual nature)
Read articles about Haibane Renmei and visit our study website. Stream legally for free here or purchase on Amazon.
My Ordinary Life
Nichijou
High school students. Unrequited love. An elementary-aged inventor. Exasperated robot assistant. Deer-wrestling principal. Rich boy who rides a goat to school. Um…what? These characters and a number of others fill the world of My Ordinary Life, a great example both of the comedy and slice of life genres in anime. What sets Nichijou apart, perhaps, is two-fold – it’s a creative series that constantly goes for surprising and unexpected gags and it’s a very clean series that can be enjoyed by the family.
(2011 ~ 26 episodes, 1 OVA)
Watch if you:
(+) Schoolgirl slice of life (a la Azumanga Daioh)
(+) Zany humor
(+) Relatable characters
Skip if you:
(-) Want a continuous story
(-) Prefer realism
Biblical Themes:
(+) Wholesome humor
Content to Look Out For:
(-) Very mild homosexual themes (Mio’s manga)
Read articles about My Ordinary Life. Stream legally for free here or purchase on Amazon or Right Stuf.
Now and Then, Here and There
Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku
Perhaps one of the most, if not the most, controversial title on this list. Now and Then, Here and There plays itself off to be, at least in the first episode, the most generic of shounen (aimed toward teenage boys) out there, taking place in a middle school setting at a kendo club. However, don’t let the generic setup deceive you, as this anime is nothing like your generic shounen. Now and Then, Here and There is a short, 13-episode anime that provides one of the most inspiring main characters ever to grace anime from the Christian perspective, witnessed as he works through dozens of deplorable situations that would make any less committed person simply give up and give in. Despite a great amount of questionable implied content, the anime itself is actually relatively clean in comparison, particularly considering the wonderful underlying themes that can be drawn from it.
(1999 ~ 13 episodes)
Watch if you:
(+) Like serious stories exploring difficult situations
(+) Brutally honest social commentary
(+) Want a different take on the shounen genre
(+) Like post-apocalyptic science fiction
Skip if you:
(-) Like happy endings
(-) Prefer more standard shounen
Biblical Themes:
(+) Sanctity of life
(+) Faith that God will bring you through a situation
(+) Sacrificial love
(+) Redemption and forgiveness
(+) Standing up for ideals in an oppressive culture or situation
Content to Look Out For:
(-) Child soldiers
(-) Implied child rape and torture
(-) Blood and violence
(-) Brief partial nudity (young child, harmless and not of sexual nature)
(-) Mild language
Read articles on Now and Then, Here and There. Stream legally for free here or purchase on Amazon.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Mahō Shōjo Madoka Magika
Almost like superheroes for young girls, the “magical girl” subgenre, unique to anime, features girls who fight off the forces of evil, gathering power by transforming into vibrant outfits. A dark series, Madoka Magica is infamous for turning magical girl conventions on their head, while focusing on the significant themes of sin, hope, and salvation.
(2011 ~ 12 episodes, 3 movies)
Watch if you:
(+) Like psychological horrors
(+) Want to watch something that will make you think
(+) If you enjoy a dramatically unfolding plot
Skip if you:
(-) Dislike bright colors/big eyes character styles
(-) Prefer “contained-within-an-episode” stories
(-) Aren’t ready to handle major “feels”
Biblical Themes:
(+) Christ-like sacrifice
(+) Discussion of concepts central to scripture (ex. sin and redemption)
Content to Look Out For:
(-) Very mild homosexual inferences, emphasized further in later, separate films
(-) Jarring violence presented in sometimes unrealistic manner
Read articles about Madoka Magica. Stream legally for free here or purchase on Amazon or Right Stuf.
Trigun
Trigun
The western-style science fiction series traces the travels of Vash the Stampede, the most wanted man on a dry planet in desperate need of an alien energy source. When two young women, representing an insurance agent, finds the infamous outlaw, they’re stunned by his seeming ineptitude, silly personality, and womanizing. Vash shows his true colors, though, as he tries to live out his mantra of “Love and peace,” even in the company of a violent “priest” and a growing menace who is seeking Vash, and doesn’t mind killing innocents to get what they desire. Trigun balances the fun of an action-comedy with a plot that explores ideas central to Christianity, such as mercy, salvation, hope, and forgiveness.
(1998 ~ 26 episodes, 1 movie)
Watch if you:
(+) Enjoy equal doses of comedy and action
(+) Like superhero-style stories
(+) If you enjoy a dramatically unfolding plot
Skip if you:
(-) Dislike frequent violence
(-) Do not like science fiction or westerns
Biblical Themes:
(+) Christ-like sacrifice
(+) Emphasis on themes of non-violence and forgiveness
(+) Frequent discussion of the sanctity of life
Content to Look Out For:
(-) Frequent non-graphic violence
(-) Some language
(-) Mild sexual references
(-) A “priest” character who is a violent gunslinger is a major character
Read articles about Trigun. Stream legally for free here or purchase on Amazon or Right Stuf.
Other Recommended Anime
The anime below is recommended by staff for Christian viewers, though again, your mileage will vary on what you deem is appropriate to watch. We’ve divided these anime in roughly four age appropriate groupings: AA for all ages; 7+ for ages seven and older; PT for preteens (some as young as nine or perhaps not until as old as 12); or 17+ for ages 17 and older. But we emphasize that our thoughts on these ratings may differ from your own.
Rating: AA
Bananya+ (stream / purchase)
Working Buddies (stream)
Rating: 7+
Girls und panzer (stream / purchase)
Hiraku no Go (stream / purchase)
How to keep a mummy (stream)
Iroduku: The World In Colors (stream)
The Journey Home (stream)
Miss Bernard said. (stream)
Sands of Destruction (stream / purchase)
Rating: PT
Angel Beats (stream / purchase)
Cowboy Bebop (stream / purchase)
Death Note (stream / purchase)
Dragon Ball Z (stream / purchase)
ERASED (stream / purchase)
Fate/Apocrypha (stream)
Kotoura-San (stream / purchase)
Log Horizon (stream / purchase)
Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet
My Hero Academia (stream / purchase)
Planet With (stream / purchase)
The Promised Neverland (stream / purchase)
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai (stream / purchase)
ReLife (stream / purchase)
Rurouni Kenshin (stream / purchase)
Seki-kun (stream / purchase)
Silver Spoon (stream / purchase)
Snow White with the Red Hair (stream / purchase)
SSSS.Gridman (stream / purchase)
Sword Art Online (stream / purchase)
Toradora (stream / purchase)
Violet Evergarden (stream / purchase)
World Trigger (stream / purchase)
Working!! (stream / purchase)
Rating: 17+
Gate (stream / purchase)
Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal (stream / purchase)
Featured illustration by sat-C (reprinted w/permission)