Looking back at the many beloved classics anime has produced over the years, there’s a few that just hit different now in 2025 than the years they debuted. Observing how anime has evolved over the years and its impact on society as an increasingly popular form of media, there are some classic series that still hold up today. Some arguably even better than when they initially released. After all, they are considered classics for a reason.
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Rewatching some of these series now, some make one realize that some of them were even more silly than initially realized, whether some of the quips are even funnier now as an older viewer, an Easter egg you hadn’t caught before, or a moment that may not entirely make sense anymore after analyzing the details. Some center on themes that are arguably even more relevant in today’s society than when they’d first been released, such as themes revolving around political strife or subverting societal norms. And as far as classics that hit even better now in 2025, these picks are definitely worth rewatching and considering regarding today’s standards.
1) Death Note
As Ryuk can’t stand the mundanity of the Shinigami Realm, he finally decides to shake things up in his boring, immortal life. When he drops his Death Note into the human world, it’s none other than bright 17-year-old student Light Yagami who stumbles upon it. Questioning whether the macabre rules of writing names to end lives is an elaborate prank, Light decides to put it to the test by writing a felon’s name, which proves the Death Note’s authenticity as Light inadvertently enacts his first murder. Adopting the alias “Kira”, Light justifies his continued use of the Death Note by taking the lives of those he deems evil. But with an enigmatic serial killer gaining notoriety, the mysterious genius detective known as L is hot on Kira’s trail, the chase becoming a battle of wits.
Death Note is a well-known, beloved classic anime by Madhouse that has been a sort of beginner, more mature anime for many coming-of-age anime fans. So much so that it’s been referenced by many other types of media over the years as a familiar anime in general. And revisiting it in 2025 can both bring back the edgy, nostalgic vibe and make a longtime fan realize how silly the series can actually be.
Death Note can be streamed on Netflix, Prime, Hulu, Peacock, Pluto, or Tubi where available.
2) Neon Genesis Evangelion
As Earth is attacked by strange celestial alien beings known as Angels, it’s up to the mysterious scientific organization NERV, headed by Gendo Ikari, to defend humanity through the use of Evangelion, giant piloted humanoid “robots”. When Gendo calls upon his abandoned son Shinji to become one of these pilots, Shinji, alongside fellow pilots Asuka Langley Soryu and Rei Ayanami, faces a lot more at stake than defending humanity from giant monsters, as the secrets behind NERV and Gendo’s ambitions are revealed.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is not only widely renowned as a classic, but one of the best anime of all time. Absolutely packed with metaphysical imagery and psychoanalytic themes, this is a series that only gets more interesting over time and with every watch. With the additional media within the franchise releasing since the initial series, now fans in 2025 create discourse over the canonization between the original 1995 series, The End of Evangelion in 1997, and the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy film series having released from 2007 up until 2021.
Neon Genesis Evangelion can be streamed on Netflix.
3) Sailor Moon
One day, when Usagi Tsukino, a klutzy, crybaby below-average student, saves a cat from danger, her world is turned on its head. As it turns out, the crescent-marked cat Luna actually appeared in order to inform Usagi that she has a certain destiny: to become Sailor Moon, one of the planetary guardians of Earth. Transforming with her magical brooch to transform, she must protect the earth by defeating the evil monsters sent by the Dark Kingdom’s Queen Beryl and find the lost princess of the Moon Kingdom, the other Sailor Guardians, and the Legendary Silver Crystal.
With its iconic characters, monster-of-the-week tropes, magical transformation sequences, and dreamy (accidental) pink hue, Sailor Moon, or Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon / Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, is arguably the most iconic magical girl anime. And looking back on the 1992 series now in 2025, the series is actually pretty ripe with surprisingly hilarious
sh-tpost vibes and iconic quotes, not to mention how the relationship Uranus and Neptune have would be more celebrated in today’s progressive society.
Sailor Moon is available for streaming on Hulu, Tubi, and Pluto TV.
4) Ouran High School Host Club
After accidentally wandering into the wrong place at the wrong time, Haruhi Fujioka ends up being slapped with a debt to the school’s Host Club and must pay it back by becoming a host. The problem? She’s a girl. But that doesn’t stop her from disguising herself as a boy in order to pay off her debt. With the boys assisting in keeping her secret, she becomes close friends with them and ends up truly enjoying her time at the Host Club.
Although Ouran High School Host Club is basically a reverse harem featuring a host club, throughout all of their comedic misunderstandings and misadventures, Haruhi and her peers show their growing bonds, that they genuinely care for one another, and how they wholesomely put their friendships first through thick and thin. Ouran High School Host Club should frankly be even more celebrated as a series now in 2025 than its 2006 debut with the premise challenging gender norms.
Ouran High School Host Club can be streamed on Hulu and Netflix.
5) Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
The Elric brothers, in their endeavor to bring their mother back from the dead, ignored the ban of human transmutation and ended up paying a hefty price. While trespassing the taboo cost Edward an arm and a leg, Alphonse lost his entire body. With their bio-mechanical engineer neighbor and friend Winry able to fit Edward with advanced automail prosthetic limbs, Alphonse had his soul bound to an entire suit of armor in Edward’s attempt to save him. Determined to restore their bodies, they set out to find the Philosopher’s Stone, an item said to allow an alchemist to defy the traditional laws of Equivalent Exchange, and become caught in the middle of a conspiracy along the way.
With secrets, mysteries, and conspiracies in a fantastical, action-packed adventure, the determined brothers face extremely high stakes in their quest. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a classic that has been at the top of the charts for anime in general for many years — and for good reason. Since the original anime debut in 2003 and Brotherhood in 2009, the themes of existentialism, racism, and war are even more relevant than ever.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood can be streamed on Netflix and Crunchyroll.
What classic anime do you think has aged even better over time? Let us know in the comments!
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