Sorry Dragon Ball Fans, But These 10 Anime Are Way Better
Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball began in 1984, and the franchise has remained strong for decades. Last year’s release of Dragon Ball Daima proved that fans will always want to consume more content about iconic characters like Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and even villains like Frieza. Widely considered as a prominent forerunner to the modern anime medium, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z achieved an unprecedented level of global popularity during the 1980s and 1990s.
That being said, the brilliance of Dragon Ball lies in its simplicity — the character arcs are uncomplicated, the power-ups are predictable, and the storyline rarely veers away from the originally established tropes. Unfortunately, this also makes the legendary series weaker than several of its peers. In fact, there are several anime considerably better than anything in the Dragon Ball franchise, with many of them earning widespread acclaim and garnering massive fandoms unto themselves.
Cowboy Bebop Proved the Sophistication of Anime
Shinichiro Watanabe’s Lazarus recently debuted to critical acclaim, but the anime director’s greatest work has always been Cowboy Bebop. In the span of 26 episodes, viewers are taken on a contemplative journey with versatile pacing — from high-octane space battles to metaphysical explorations of identity. Cowboy Bebop examines its quasi-dystopian world for themes of guilt, friendship, loneliness, and the search for meaning, rendered perfectly through the characters of Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Faye Valentine, and Radical Edward.
The weight of existentialism can be felt throughout the show, a far cry from Dragon Ball‘s repetitive spotlight on limitless escalation. Cowboy Bebop‘s visuals feature some of anime’s best cinematography, crafting an atmosphere in flawless synchrony with what is undoubtedly the series’ highlight: a riveting Jazz-Blues musical score. Unlike Dragon Ball, whose narrative is aimed at less-discerning viewers, Cowboy Bebop demonstrates that anime can be a sophisticated artform.
Kill la Kill Rises Above Its Own Satiric Approach to Shonen
Kill la Kill sounds like the last anime to be mentioned on this list, but it outshines Dragon Ball in pretty much every aspect except nostalgia. The Studio Trigger series is a powerful satire about shonen itself — Kill la Kill feels as if One-Punch Man perfected the parody. The process of anime transformation, with the Super Saiyan being the most iconic, turns into a metaphor for oppression. Although the show overdoes the transformation sequences, the hyperfocus is clearly meant as a sarcastic nod to the same shonen tropes.
In fact, it can be argued that the female Ryuko Matoi is the most shonen protagonist in history, all thanks to Kill la Kill‘s hyperbolization. While it would have never been able to subvert so much without Dragon Ball first establishing the blueprints, Kill la Kill rises above the satire to become a phenomenal story by itself. The combination of parody and surprisingly endearing character arcs marks Kill la Kill as a wildly stylish and thematically complex spectacle, which also plays the role of social commentary.
Neon Genesis Evangelion Dissects the Human Condition
Many anime fans consider Neon Genesis Evangelion to be part of the mecha genre, similar to popular franchises like Gundam and Mazinger. While it technically fulfills the requirements, Neon Genesis Evangelion evolves far beyond these confines. Dragon Ball often defines its cast by individual power levels, whereas Evangelion defines them according to trauma. An infinite array of related memes can be found across the internet, frequently with comments discussing the anime’s admittedly dark subject matter.
Neon Genesis Evangelion takes an extremely deep plunge into the philosophies of life and faith, reframing religion itself through the “Angelic” villains attempting to destroy the Earth. Dragon Ball‘s scope is obviously far more extensive in comparison, but Evangelion‘s painstaking dissection of humanity makes it far grander. Fans who enjoy watching stories about the human condition will be served well by Evangelion — and those confused by the last two episodes can find an easier conclusion to digest in The End of Evangelion movie.
Berserk Established the Dark Fantasy Anime Blueprint
Kentaro Miura’s Berserk manga continues running years after his death, his former assistants having taken over the job. Despite only covering a fraction of the storyline, however, the 1997 anime is still the franchise’s most popular entry. Berserk took brutality to a whole new level, with shocking scenes that would have received a harshly worded X-rating in the US. All forms of violence, be it torture, abuse, or even cannibalism, are showcased with minimal censorship. That said, Berserk‘s gruesomeness is only the first layer of an even more nightmarish world.
Considering Akira Toriyama’s optimistic and lighthearted approach, some fans consider Berserk as the dark antithesis of Dragon Ball. Few anime characters have suffered as much as those in Berserk — and some of them never even find the closure they desperately seek — but that’s exactly what elevates it above Goku’s relatively mild experiences. Characters in Dragon Ball come back to life in the blink of an eye, whereas Berserk subjects fan-favorites to agonies beyond death. It may not be for everyone, but Berserk remains the foundational dark fantasy anime.
Frieren Is Poetry Transformed into Tender Animation
A recent entry, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is heartening proof that the anime medium has begun tackling its many failings. Rather than spend its time on the same old cliches associated with the now-hackneyed Hero’s Journey, Frieren is a tender examination of life after all the quests have been completed. In other words, it begins where most other anime series end. Since the titular protagonist is an immortal elf, she’s the perfect candidate to represent a post-adventure lifestyle through either mainline storytelling or well-curated flashbacks.
Dragon Ball has made countless fans laugh and cry, but it can’t even compare to the emotional landscape explored by Frieren. In the first season alone, this new anime has reached the top of the MyAnimeList rankings, ousting Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood from its long-held #1 position. The cinematic mastery of Frieren is leagues above Dragon Ball, especially the older series, whereas its meditative tone is a refreshing change of pace. If there’s an anime series that could be described as pure poetry, it would be Frieren.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Continues to Reinvent Itself
Given the extremities of exaggeration in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, it’s easy to mistake the anime as a parody. On the contrary, JJBA represents the most flamboyance that shonen has to offer, magnified beyond the limits of common sense. The anime’s multi-part series follows the Joestar Family’s many adventures, but each part comes with its own uniquely delirious flavor. JJBA shows no hesitation when it comes to reinventing itself over and over again, something Dragon Ball only recently attempted with Daima.
Meanwhile, the storylines of Dragon Ball and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure largely obey the same overarching beats. However, a microscopic observation of JJBA reveals the unrelenting nature of the anime’s comedic framework. Things rarely make sense, the abilities are stupidly weird, and the characters verge on surreal territory. JoJo‘s kaleidoscopic dynamism compares favorably to Dragon Ball, which has more-or-less followed the same basic formula for forty years.
Fruits Basket Is Poignant, Layered, and Nuanced
One of the best shojo anime series of the 21st century, the Fruits Basket manga began in 1998, along with One Piece and Hunter x Hunter. The 2006 anime adaptation earned a respective amount of praise, although the 2019 anime remake finally demonstrated its potential. Fruits Basket highlights its characters through multiple lenses, showing them at their peaks as well as their lowest moments. However, it was Fruits Basket‘s heartwarming relatability that sets it apart from Dragon Ball‘s over-the-top storytelling.
Fruits Basket is poignantly intimate, narratively layered, and visually nuanced. Fans are treated to a steady stream of gentle animation, which somehow carries more emotional weight than the vast majority of Dragon Ball‘s explosive sequences. Fruits Basket‘s pacing allows it to completely encapsulate its brief, albeit thought-provoking, tale of breaking curses that haunt generations. Meanwhile, Dragon Ball is still laboring through more arcs without any serious character development.
One Piece Has Perfected the Artform of Shonen
Dragon Ball may have shaped the course for shonen, but it was One Piece that perfected the genre. The only remaining member of the Big 3 that’s still running, the anime has become a global franchise including multiple new TV series. That said, One Piece has one advantage that Dragon Ball could never achieve: consistency. From Romance Dawn to the anime’s ongoing Egghead Arc, it has remained as delightfully innovative as ever.
One Piece‘s setting could function as a masterclass in worldbuilding, while its multipronged plotlines tend to neatly converge without anything serious left out. The themes in Dragon Ball and One Piece are effectively the same: friendship, loyalty, and freedom, with both shows cementing them on a core level. However, it’s the Straw Hat flag that has been used in real-world revolutions, signifying the impact of the anime’s philosophy on freedom. When the dust of the 21st century settles, One Piece will stand clearly above Dragon Ball.
The Tatami Galaxy Is a Successful Experiment in Surrealism
Based on a novel by Tomihiko Morimi, The Tatami Galaxy‘s anime features a single season of 11 episodes. And yet, it seems that viewing college life through the optics of multiversal surrealism can produce a genuinely fine work capable of eclipsing an iconic anime with hundreds of episodes. The anime was an instant hit, receiving critical applause as well as multiple awards — especially the prestigious animation Grand Prize in the Japan Media Arts Festival.
This victory is all the more impressive since The Tatami Galaxy became the first anime series to win this particular award (previous winners included movies like Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke). The series dives into the murky undercurrents of the human condition, ultimately creating a beautifully told coming-of-age story. All things considered, The Tatami Galaxy‘s experimental success helps it stand apart from Dragon Ball‘s formulaic reiterations.
Even if it has lost its status atop MyAnimeList rankings, few fans can deny that Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is one of the greatest examples of the medium. A somehow-stable cocktail of shonen, steampunk, and narrative genius, FMA:B is a work of art that deserved a lot more praise and attention than it received — and it received a ton. The richness of character development thrives on an organically evolving plot, which raises the stakes using a pace that prevents a single viewer from losing interest in the increasingly poignant story.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is naturally superior to its predecessor, but it’s also playing an entirely different ballgame than Dragon Ball. Even the fights are sublimely crafted, especially the final melee that ultimately brings about the best possible endgame for a narrative that had already set high expectations. Although the Dragon Ball fandom will likely always be bigger than FMA:Brotherhood, the latter’s fans are fully aware of their favorite anime’s incomparable brilliance.
