Trash Taste's Best Anime of the Decade — And Where We Agree

If you follow anime discourse online, you've almost certainly encountered Trash Taste — the podcast hosted by Joey (The Anime Man), Connor (CDawgVA), and Garnt (Gigguk). Their discussions have a way of surfacing the conversations serious anime fans are actually having rather than sanitised listicle takes.

One of their recurring topics is ranking the best anime across a defined period. Their decade debates in particular tend to generate strong opinions because the 2010s and early 2020s produced an unusual concentration of landmark series. Here's our take — informed by their discussions — on the titles that genuinely defined the era.

Watch the Trash Taste crew's anime discussions on their official YouTube channel. Their tier list and ranking episodes are worth watching in full for the arguments behind the picks.

The Titles That Almost Always Make the Cut

Attack on Titan

There is almost no serious decade-ranking conversation that omits Attack on Titan. The series is a legitimate cultural event — it crossed over into mainstream awareness in a way few anime manage and its final arc, whatever your opinion of its conclusion, generated the kind of discourse that only happens around genuinely consequential storytelling. It belongs on any honest list of the decade's best.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Technically a 2009–2010 production, but FMA:B's influence over the entire decade that followed is impossible to overstate. It is still the series most often recommended to people who ask where to start with anime, and for good reason — it is nearly perfectly constructed.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Frieren arrived in 2023 and immediately entered conversations about the best anime ever made — not just the decade. Its approach to time, grief, and the aftermath of adventure is unlike anything else in the medium. Trash Taste members have praised it extensively. Our Frieren collection is here for fans who want something to show for it.

Vinland Saga

Consistently underrated in casual rankings, consistently praised by anyone who has actually watched it. The first season is one of the best-constructed anime narratives of the past ten years. Wit Studio's work here rivals their Attack on Titan output. Our Vinland Saga collection reflects how seriously we take this one.

Demon Slayer

Ufotable made Demon Slayer the most visually spectacular mainstream anime in production. Whatever debates exist about its narrative complexity, nobody argues with the animation. The Mugen Train film became the highest-grossing anime film of all time for a reason. Our Demon Slayer collection covers the series properly.

Jujutsu Kaisen

The Shibuya Incident arc elevated JJK from a popular shonen to something genuinely serious. The willingness to permanently alter its cast — and the animation quality MAPPA brought to those moments — made it unmissable. Browse our Jujutsu Kaisen collection.

The Titles That Deserve More Argument

Berserk (1997)

Predates the decade in question but Berserk's cultural moment — driven by the manga's ongoing influence and the conversation around Miura's death in 2021 — made it one of the most-discussed anime of the 2020s regardless. Our Berserk collection is stocked accordingly.

Dandadan

Too recent to appear in older decade lists, but its trajectory suggests it will be a fixture in future ones. The combination of genres it pulls off shouldn't work as well as it does. Our Dandadan collection is ready for early adopters.

Dungeon Meshi (Delicious in Dungeon)

Studio Trigger's adaptation of Ryoko Kui's manga was one of the best-received anime of 2024 and a perfect example of how much craft can go into an apparently simple premise. It belongs in serious decade conversations. Our Dungeon Meshi collection has merch for fans who know.

What This List Is Missing

Trash Taste's discussions are at their best when they surface disagreement — when someone argues for a title the others have dismissed, or defends a controversial finale. The value isn't the final ranking, it's the argument. Mob Psycho 100, Hunter x Hunter (2011), and Made in Abyss are perennial omissions from casual lists that serious watchers consistently defend.

Make Your Case

The Trash Taste crew have their opinions. You have yours. Whatever your decade picks, our Modern Anime Collection and Classic Anime Collection have merch for the franchises worth defending.

Also worth reading: Best Anime of Fall 2026 and our Berserk watch order guide.