Fantasy anime series
Mention fantasy anime series and you’ll probably think of titles such as The Seven Deadly Sins, as well as heroes and monsters. But the fantasy genre comprises much more than just that. We have come up with 9 fantasy anime series that you should add to your watch-list.
1. Fairy Tail (2009-2019)
Image credit: IMDb
Fairy Tail follows the story of 7 individuals – fire dragon slayer Natsu Dragneel, celestial wizard Lucy Heartfilia, powerful swordswoman Erza Scarlet, ice mage Gray Fullbuster, wind dragon slayer Wendy Marvell, and the flying cats, Happy and Carla.
Their story begins with Natsu and Happy meeting Lucy in the Kingdom of Fiore. They save her from being duped by an imposter who was, coincidentally, posing as Natsu. Natsu and Happy then invite Lucy to join their guild – Fairy Tail – and she gets to know the rest of the members.
Image credit: Fairy Tail Wiki
Natsu, Lucy, and Happy team up to take on mission requests from the common folk of Fiore in exchange for jewels. Some of their tougher missions see the team engaging the help of Gray, Erza, Wendy, and Carla.
Through various missions, the trio meets other mages and guilds spread across the Kingdom of Fiore. They also battle against evil creatures, dark guilds, and demons, all whilst trying to protect their family and friends.
Image adapted from: AdanteYuroku
Every day is an adventure with the Fairy Tail members. Watch to see how everyone grows and improves, how their bonds are strengthened through the test of time, and how they band together to stand up against their greatest foe in an epic battle nearing the end of the series.
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Comedy, Adventure, Shounen
Length: 9 seasons, 328 episodes, 9 OVAs, 2 movies
Available on: Crunchyroll, Funimation
2. Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic (2012 – 2014)
Image credit: IMDb
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic follows Aladdin, a powerful mage who can make use of both the Rukh – a special bright essence that can be turned into magic power – inside and outside of him to fight. Aladdin embarks on a journey of self-discovery together with Ugo, a blue Djinn whom he has known since birth.
Djinns are entities with impressive magical prowess, and they usually reside in Dungeons – places filled with traps and treasure that are almost impossible to conquer.
Image credit: IMDb
The Djinn that resides within will only submit to the person who cleared their dungeon, and whom they deem worthy of being their King’s candidate. Once conquered, the Djinn will be absorbed into an item known as a Metal Vessel, to be wielded by the conqueror in battles.
Image adapted from: SINBAD
As Aladdin travels to different places, he first befriends Alibaba, a young and righteous sword user. They soon get involved in various conflicts on their journey and meet other strong individuals with their own visions – Sinbad and his Seven Seas alliance, the Kou Empire, the Reim Empire, as well as many others.
They battle against each other as foes, then together as allies – all for the sake of finding out how the cycle of life and the existence of the mystical Rukh works in their world, to safeguard the lives of the people, and to build a united world without any further bloodshed.
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Magic, Adventure
Length: 2 seasons, 25 episodes each
Available on: Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation
3. Sword Art Online (2012 – 2020)
Image credit: IMDb
Sword Art Online (SAO) follows the story of Kazuto Kirigaya, known as Kirito in-game, and Asuna Yuuki. The two get trapped in the game’s world, known as Aincrad, together with thousands of other players.
Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of SAO, informs the trapped players that the only way out is to clear the game by completing the 100 levels. However, there’s a catch: if they die in the game, they die in reality too.
Image credit: IMDb
Kirito acts as a lone wolf and sets out to complete the 100 levels without a guild. Meanwhile, Asuna joins the leading guild, Knights of the Blood Oath.
Kirito and Asuna find their lives intertwined as they both put their lives on the line to fight the monsters in Aincrad and save everyone who is stuck in the terrifying virtual world.
Image adapted from: Bols
They fall in love and later become Aincrad’s strongest fighters. Kirito and Asuna meet and befriend many others in SAO and form close bonds with them as they fight for survival.
But their adventures and struggles won’t end in SAO – in fact, SAO was just the beginning of their many battles and trials ahead.
Genre: Romance, Action, Fantasy, Adventure
Length: 4 seasons, 96 episodes, 2 movies
Available on: Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation
4. Re: Creators (2017)
Image credit: IMDb
Re:Creators’ setting can be considered every creator’s dream and nightmare combined into one. Sota Mizushino, the male lead, is a young aspiring author who reads manga and watches anime to learn from other creators.
Mysteriously, Sota finds himself teleported into the world of Elemental Symphony of Vogelchevalier, a mecha-action anime he had been watching. And when he returns to his reality, he discovers that characters from various games and anime franchises have started to appear in his world.
Image credit: IMDb
The 2 most important characters are Selesia Upitiria, a royal knight from the mecha anime, as well as a girl who’s dressed in a military uniform and claims to have come to liberate all the fictional characters. The latter is shrouded in mystery and her motives may not be as pure as she makes them out to be.
With the sudden influx of 2D characters in his world, Sota has to face his past and that causes him to struggle between choosing the right thing to do and making amends for his past mistake.
Image credit: IMDb
Re:Creators is a must-watch fantasy anime that blurs the lines between fantasy and reality by bringing the creators and created characters together in one environment. Watch to find out the identity of the mysterious military girl, how she is connected to Sota’s past, and how Sota will handle all the 2D characters that have come to life.
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Action
Length: 1 season, 22 episodes
Available on: Amazon Prime
5. The Ancient Magus’ Bride (2016 – 2018)
Image credit: IMDb
The Ancient Magus’ Bride follows the story of the lonely, unloved, and desperate Chise Hatori, a young girl who has had a rough past thanks to her family. Feeling lost and helpless, Chise sought to sell herself into slavery just so she can escape to a new environment. She later meets Elias Ainsworth, a mask-wearing man who purchases her for £5M.
Elias saw the magic potential in Chise and wished to develop her abilities by personally imparting his skills and knowledge to her. As a being who is part human and part fae, Elias found it difficult to understand human emotions and relationships, so he hoped to learn more through spending time with Chise.
Image credit: IMDb
The story focuses on the relationship and eventual change in the two main characters, Chise and Elias. It is a beautiful coming-of-age story that touches on sensitive topics such as abandonment, self-worth, overcoming depression, finding one’s purpose in life, and learning to understand people.
Image credit: IMDb
The Ancient Magus’ Bride is not your typical light-hearted fairytale due to the nature of its themes. To fully appreciate Kore Yamazaki’s work, you should watch the 3 prequel OVAs before starting on the 24-episode series.
The OVAs will touch on Chise’s backstory and the circumstances that led to her state at the start of the anime series.
Genre: Magic, Fantasy, Slice of life. Romance, Coming-of-age
Length: 1 season, 24 episodes, 3 OVAs
Available on: Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation
6. Nagi no Asu Kara (2013 – 2014)
Image credit: IMDb
Nagi no Asu Kara is set in a time when humanity has been split into 2 factions – the sea people and the land folk.
A long time ago, mankind lived underwater and served the Sea God, who granted them Ena – the ability to breathe in the ocean. Humans who had longed for the land left the oceans and found residence aboveground.
The sea and land people did not see eye to eye. As time passed, their misunderstandings grew.
One day, 4 young individuals who have lived underwater their whole lives – Hikari Sakishima, Manaka Mukaido, Chisaki Hiradaira, and Kaname Isaki – are made to go on land to study in Mihama Middle School.
Image credit: IMDb
This decision brings great change to not only the 4 childhood friends but also the different generations of the sea and land people. The 4 friends encounter Tsumugu Kihara, a land dweller who is in love with the sea.
Genre: Coming-of-age, Fantasy, Romance, Drama
Length: 1 season, 26 episodes
Available on: Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation
7. Somali and the Forest Spirit (2020)
Image credit: IMDb
Somali and the Forest Spirit is a heartwarming story of Somali and Golem. Somali, a cute and active girl, encounters Golem, a forest being whose life’s purpose is to keep the forest safe.
Although Golem does not understand human emotions, he is inclined to keep Somali from harm’s way and wishes to bring her to the company of humans who can properly take care of her.
Image credit: IMDb
The story’s main focus is the development of their relationship and how they come to deeply care for one another, while also exploring what has led to the hostile relations between humans and the other races.
Image credit: IMDb
Somali, the driving force who pushes the story forward, is not only a bundle of energy but also as curious as a cat. Her tendency to be curious about everything often gets her into difficult situations which call for Golem’s help to save her.
Genre: Fantasy, Slice of life, Adventure
Length: 1 season, 12 episodes
Available on: Netflix, Crunchyroll
8. Flip Flappers (2016)
Image credit: IMDb
Flip Flappers follows Cocona, whose normal life gets turned upside down after she gets involved with an organisation called Flip Flap. She also meets Papika, a bright girl who works for the organisation.
Cocona ends up partnering with Papika to become magical girls, and they take on the names “Pure Blade” and “Pure Barrier” respectively. They strive to fight against evil creatures and collect jewel fragments in the different worlds of Pure Illusion. However, a separate organisation stands in the way of Cocona and Papika as they, too, want to collect the jewels for themselves.
Image credit: @HiMyNameisChair
Follow Cocona and Papika as they work on their combat skills as partners, strengthen their friendship bonds, and work hard to move one step faster than their enemies in their hunt for the powerful jewels.
Genre: Fantasy, Magical girl, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Adventure
Length: 1 season, 13 episodes
Available on: Crunchyroll
9. Endro!
Image credit: IMDb
Endro! is a show that encompasses demons, heroes, swords, sorcery, and the classic good-versus-evil conflict.
Yulia “Yuusha” Chardiet is the current generation’s hero and the one who is destined to defeat the evil Demon Lord. Due to a hilarious turn of events, Yulia and her group of righteous individuals accidentally turn back time to before Yulia became a hero, thereby losing their memories.
The Demon Lord, however, retains her memories. She now takes the form of a young girl named Mao and disguises herself as a teacher in the hero academy.
Image credit: IMDb
Thus begins a fantasy comedy where Mao tries to prevent Yulia and her friends from becoming strong warriors while they try to seek out the Demon Lord to defeat her once and for all.
Genre: Fantasy, Slice of life
Length: 1 season, 12 episodes
Available on: Crunchyroll, Funimation
Fantasy anime to satiate your fantastical desires
With well-animated and intense action scenes, as well as righteous characters with high-level combat skills and magical powers, most fantasy anime series will give viewers an adrenaline rush and a yearning for similar superpowers too. Check out the fantasy anime series listed here for a good dose of make-believe action.
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Cover image adapted from: Fairy Tail Wiki, IMDb, @ravendarkhood