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Top 20 Best Time Travel Anime Series & Movies

Here’s a question: what’s your favorite time travel anime? Are there even enough good titles in this sci-fi subgenre?

It isn’t filled to the brim each season unlike with the case of isekai titles, but it’s not impossible to find some great ones.

If you’re in the mood for some mind-boggling twists and turns (or even minor time travel elements in an otherwise typical anime) check out my list below.

And fair warning: spoilers ahead(in some cases). Some titles here have time travel itself as a key turning point or surprise in the series, so if you don’t want to know any more just skim the titles and pick one that interests you!

20. Nobunaga Concerto

I’m going to start with Nobunaga Concerto, an anime that does have time travel — but is also more of an isekai.

This is why I’m including it on my list but, but not the highest for sure. So what’s it all about?

As you may have already guessed, it involves Oda Nobunaga . Arguably one of the most popular Japanese historical figures.

He was a brutal leader, but he was also brilliant and a key figure in the reunification of Japan.

But Nobunaga isn’t the OP. In Nobunaga Concerto, he meets Saburou who mysteriously time travels from the 21st century and looks like him.

Saburou was just an ordinary high school kid, but now he must replace Nobunaga, who wishes to relax in his final years.

19. Natsu-iro no Sunadokei (Sandglass of Summer Colors)

This is an old anime. Like, really old.

But while its character design, animation, and overall quality haven’t stood the test of time, it is a worthwhile show that involves more time travel than Nobunaga Concerto.

Sandglass of Summer Colors is an adaptation of a video game, a visual novel (VN) from Princess Soft that was released way back in 2002.

Also, it only has two episodes; it’s an OVA. Still, it’s an intriguing show.

Yes it once again involves a teenage boy, this time named Kotaro Makimura.

But here, the time travel comes in the form of Kotaro waking up to the next school year, and then going back and forth to specific days of his summer vacation.

Through this he learns some very crazy news about his girlfriend Kaho Serizawa. It gets deep.

18. Buddy Complex

In 2014, Sunrise released an action-heavy mecha title that surprisingly wasn’t another entry to their sprawling Gundam franchise.

It’s called Buddy Complex, and it does enough to distinguish itself from other similar titles with its appealing trio, plot, and solid execution.

Buddy Complex starts with the main hero Aoba Watase nearly getting killed in the hands of a massive robot from the future.

Hina Yumihara saves him, and also takes him 70 years into the future for him to learn all about the fighting robots and possibly prevent his demise.

Can he go back to his actual timeline? Or is he stuck in this future of warring military forces?

17. Doraemon

Yes, Doraemon is indeed a time-travel anime — and quite a good one at that.

Some argue that the time travel aspect is a mere gimmick here. But I honestly love what the anime has done with it.

The story isn’t about a dystopian future and someone who wants to save it by going back to the past.

No, it’s about Sewashi Nobi from the 22nd century sending a cat robot to improve the life of his grandfather Nobita Nobi — and that’s wonderful.

With 1,700 episodes, Doraemon has proven that this subgenre can be wholesome for kids.

Likewise, who doesn’t want a four-dimensional pouch that can bring out all sorts of gadgets of different sizes?

16. Punch Line

Punch Line was MAPPA’s third original anime after Garo: The Animation and Zankyou no Terror, the latter being one of my all-time favorites.

No, Punch Line wasn’t a modern classic in my eyes at all.

It didn’t have the serious or ambitious tone of those previous shows.

However, Punch Line was a creative risk that needs commending — and even a reappraisal from anime fans.

It’s silly but fully aware of it.

How silly? It involves spirits, nose bleeding, panty shots.

Also, the OP has to avoid looking at panties as he travels through time as a spirit. Otherwise a meteor immediately kills all life on Earth. So that’s fun.

15. InuYasha

I’ve got another entry here from Sunrise Studio.

InuYasha was one of the biggest shounen titles before series like Naruto, Bleach, and Fairy Tail took over — and it does have time travel.

Kagome Higurashi goes back hundreds of years to feudal Japan. The difference is instead of meeting a general, he meets a white-haired guy who also has dog ears.

Also, both Kagome and Inuyasha can travel between modern Japan and feudal Japan with relative ease.

And I suggest InuYasha just because it’s one of the best shounen series of all time. Time travel or not.

14. Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara (Iroduku: The World in Colors)

I have a soft spot for original anime. It takes a lot of guts to push through with a story you don’t know will work out.

It doesn’t have a built-in fan base unlike with adaptations of manga, LNs, and video games.

But Iroduku: The World in Colors was more than just an original anime.

It was a visually imaginative and wonderfully animated series, and it was clear that P.A. Works didn’t just do this half-heartedly.

Think of it as a blend of sci-fi, fantasy, and school drama.

A grandmother sends her emotionally distant granddaughter 60 years back to the past, but she doesn’t say why.

And now that she’s back to 2018(present when released) the young girl named Hitomi Tsukishiro learns all about self-discovery and human connection. Go see it.

13. Charlotte

Look, I get it — Angel Beats was a great anime series.

That was a show that managed to make me love all the students in just 13 episodes.

Plus, I’m confident that most viewers won’t ever forget the ending.

Since then, people have been clamoring for something like it from Jun Maeda.

Well Charlotte came into the fray, but it wasn’t exactly as good as Angel Beats or Clannad.

Still, Charlotte certainly has its moments as a school drama with time travel (among other powers).

Also this is an anime original, and I think the best moments outweigh the pacing and plot issues by the end.

I don’t blame you if you haven’t heard of Zipang.

Despite being released two full years later than Naruto, Zipang somehow sports a more old-school design.

Then again, it’s a fitting choice given the military and historical setting.

Simply put, it’s about a Japanese missile destroyer (a navy warship) called Mirai that gets itself into a storm, but it was no ordinary storm.

Once Mirai gets away from the storm, its crew realizes that they’ve all time-traveled to 1942 — back to the Second World War.

Exciting, right?

Here’s the more interesting part: They must try their best not to change history. But can the crew keep themselves in the background when people are dying left and right?

11. Natsu no Arashi (Summer Storm!)

Interestingly enough, I didn’t catch this until last year — a full decade since its release.

But hey, this is an excellent example of “better late than never” because this is a fine mix of time travel and comedy.

Natsu no Arashi is about, again, a male teenager who meets a beautiful girl.

But Sayoko Arashiyama is far from an ordinary teenager.

She may not even be a teenager as Hajime Yasaka finds a photo of her in her 60s.

What’s going on? And why does Sayoko still look young?

Check out Natsu no Arashi. It’s made by Shaft so expect some visual delights.

10. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry)

We’re getting closer to the highest ranking so let’s be really careful now. I did warn about spoilers, so be prepared.

When They Cry deceives its audience by portraying itself as another generic anime with a guy OP and a bunch of cute girls.

Only for it to actually be a murder mystery with a time loop to boot.

Also, it may even be the only horror and time travel anime out there.

One minute you’re seeing kids playing together, all smiles. The next, they’re splattered with blood and having edgy expressions.

Admittedly I hate what happened to the anime adaptation here (although the movie Orange: Future was way better in terms of animation quality and consistency).

I read the manga, and it had moments that could’ve catapulted the anime as a classic.

But the anime did not meet or exceed expectations.

Orange was just above average. But still good enough to warrant a spot here.

If you think the anime was good and made you cry and laugh, consider the gorgeous and much more emotional manga too.

8. Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu (Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World)

I think Re:Zero is a fine isekai and time travel anime.

It could’ve been like any typical isekai after all the hype for Sword Art Online. But it etched its own place in history.

Re:Zero makes you think that it’s just another guy getting transported to a fantasy world. But the time loop aspect elevates the series to new heights of dread and sheer desperation for Subaru.

It’s not just an escape to a better world with waifu material like Emilia and Rem, it’s overall a really engaging show. And I’m definitely excited for season 2 .

7. Kimi no Na wa. (Your Name.)

Yup, this is big spoiler territory.

I sure hope that you’ve already watched the critically acclaimed movie, which also broke records around the world — or that you’ve read the novel of the same name.

Because time travel is what made audiences gasp in the middle of the movie. Kimi no Na wa is seemingly just about two people living in different regions… but what viewers didn’t know was that they also lived in different periods.

I still remember the shock everyone had in the cinemas (because I saw this twice in theaters).

There is nothing quite like the audiovisual spectacle of a Makoto Shinkai film on the big screen. And the ending is so rewarding if you’ve watched Five Centimeters Per Second.

6. Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei (The Tatami Galaxy)

Masaaki Yuasa needs no introduction after Devilman Crybaby garnered rave reviews from fans and critics all over the world, in part because it was available on Netflix.

But even before that, I was a huge fan of Yuasa’s directorial prowess.

He’s a man with impeccable skill, ensuring that both substance and style are way above the competition.

The Tatami Galaxy features rapid conversations (so you have to read fast if you prefer subtitles like me) and there’s so much going on when this is all about a young man’s life (and love life).

Watch him go through some sort of Groundhog Day, but in a much more artistic, magical manner.

It’s a rewarding experience across space and time (and tatami), I promise you that.

5. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

At this point, I’m not sure which of my top picks have time travel as one of its biggest turning points.

This one has a certain episode in the latter half that completely turns it from an impressive series to arguably one of the best anime of all time.

You may not agree that it’s a “deconstruction” of the magical girl genre . But it’s clear evidence that Gen Urobuchi could change the game if he had the right team.

Also, this original anime looks breathtaking.

It’s dark, it’s exciting, it’s inspirational.

Shaft had a classic in their hands and they didn’t waste the opportunity.

4. Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)

As one of Kyoto Animation’s first big hits, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya took the relatively small 2006 global anime community by storm.

It was hilarious, had a stellar set of characters, had a viral opening song, and had episodes that didn’t line up chronologically.

And yet the order of events didn’t ruin the story at all.

The nonlinear structure enabled a new way of looking at the character dynamics. And it made rewatches (in the chronological order) more rewarding.

Once you’ve watched the series (and bless you if you’ve seen the Endless Eight arc) go ahead and enjoy The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya .

3. Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time)

Like Masaaki Yuasa and Makoto Shinkai, Mamoru Hosoda is one of the best anime directors today.

And he’s done many more amazing films besides this one: Summer Wars, Wolf Children, and The Boy and the Beast, just to name a few.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time works as well as it does because of how it didn’t just use time travel as a gimmick.

It thought of how to shape the character and the story as a whole, creating tension and developing emotional impact in the latter half.

Plus I think many of us can relate to Makoto Shonno. Spending the last year of high school knowing that life is about to change, and yet you’re unsure of your own future.

It’s thrilling, hilarious, and has a heart at its core.

2. Boku dake ga Inai Machi (ERASED)

Am I making a controversial choice by putting this so high on my list?

Not really.

Sure, not everyone was a fan of the adaptation. And I admit that the suspense thriller aspect to it was a bit heavy-handed.

But like with how I feel about Zankyou no Terror, ERASED has highs that are so high, they easily make up for the lows.

It’s an imperfect masterpiece in my eyes.

The first episode was a 10/10 with how it easily grabbed my attention by the end with the change in aspect ratio, signifying the drastic change in time… it’s really interesting.

ERASED has a killer OP from none other than Asian Kung-Fu Generation, and I still think that the birthday scene of Kayo is one of the most heart-wrenching yet simultaneously heartwarming moments in anime.

Also, (big spoiler ahead) I dislike that some fans think the show was bad just because the guy didn’t end up with the girl he saved(and attempted to save again and again) in the past.

Look, you don’t just get to marry someone because you saved their life. You save someone because it’s the right thing to do, not because you expect something in return.

1. Steins;Gate

Is there even any other anime that could be at the No. 1 spot?

It’s the first show that comes to mind if you ask most anime fans what the best time travel anime is. And for good reason.

Furthermore, Steins;Gate isn’t just lauded as the top time travel series ever.

It’s also in the running as possible the best anime in general, usually in competition with FMA: Brotherhood.

Steins;Gate is both an outstanding gateway show to anime and one that becomes rewarding once you’ve consumed a ton of anime.

Some claim that it’s overrated, but one thing’s for sure: It set the standard for what a time travel anime could achieve in terms of sheer brilliance and entertainment.

Millennial introvert on the lookout for slice-of-life anime, world cinema, and European music. Follow on Twitter @notspencer08

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Whether it's to the past or to the future, time travel can create a whole host of interesting problems. That's why there is so much good time travel anime out there. Most recently, there's the wildly popular 2021 time travel anime  Tokyo Revengers,  which is about a twenty-something who goes backwards in time to save his ex-girlfriend from gang warfare.

But that's not the only exciting time travel anime where lives are at stake. There's also  ERASED, Steins;Gate, Zipang,   Re:Zero  and more. Looking for something less action-oriented? The time travel niche also focuses heavily on human emotions and everyday life. The recent  Remake our Life!  follows an adult getting a chance to redo his college years to get his career on the right track. There's also  Mirai,  an anime movie that's all about family. 

Steins;Gate

Rintarou Okabe is a college kid who calls himself a mad scientist because he has a knack for inventing things with his friends. His latest invention is the Phone Microwave, which seems to do nothing but transform bananas into green gel. But Okabe soon discovers that it can send emails into the past - a function that has profound effects on the present and future. Can he handle the terrifying consequences of messing with time? Or will he inadvertantly destroy everything he cares about? 

• A-1 Pictures

Before an accident, Satoru Fujinuma is usually able to go backwards in time by a few minutes in order to prevent it. One day, his power goes into overdrive, sending him hurtling back to 1988 when he was an elementary school student. This time, the disaster he must prevent is a major one - he has to stop his classmate Kayo from losing her life. This story is absolutely heartbreaking, but it's beautiful and smart, too. 

• CoMix Wave Films

Mitsuha Miyamizu and Taki Tachibana are leading two very different lives - Mitsuha lives out in the country, while Taki is managing a busy city life. The two of them get a taste for each other's lives when they suddenly start waking up in each other's bodies. At first, they're simply baffled by the body-swapping, but they soon realize that they're also travelling through time - with Taki going two years back and Mitsuha going two years forward.

What's more, in Taki's time, Mitsuha and her small down no longer exist, as they were wiped out by a comet. The two of them must work together to change Mitsuha's timeline and save her life.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time  is a film that follows a high school girl named Makoto Konno who is about to graduate but has no real direction in life. When she discovers that she can leap backwards in time, she uses it to do mundane things like get good grades and extend her karaoke sessions. But she soon discovers that her time travel has a negative effect on others - and she has a limited number of leaps left. 

After Subaru Natsuki is suddenly transported to a fantasy world, he discovers that he has one ability - the power to go backwards in time to a 'reset' point whenever he passes away. While this makes him functionally immortal and allows him to redo situations that end terribly, it also means that he has to repeatedly suffer the pain of losing his life. Meanwhile, his new world has plenty of confusing challenges to deal with, whether it's Elsa trying to disembowl him, witches and their acolytes causing chaos, or his new friend Emilia's politcial woes. 

Tokyo Revengers

Takemichi is a twenty-something whose life is going nowhere - that is, until he discovers that he can travel backwards in time. His ex-girlfriend Hina lost her life to gang violence, and with the help of her policeman brother, Takemichi now has the chance to rewrite history and prevent the tragedy from ever occurring. This is much easier said than done - he has to go from a lackey getting pushed around to someone with real influence in the Tokyo Manji gang. Not only that, but he has to discover which events led to Hina's demise, and figure out not just how to protect her, but how to protect the friends he makes as he gets more and more involved with the gang. 

• Telecom Animation Film

At the start of her sophomore year in high school, Naho Takamiya recieves a letter form herself, ten years in the future. The letter warns her that her new friend Kakaru Naruse is going to take his own life unless she alters the course of history to prevent it. Thus begins her attempts to understand and assuage Kakeru's sadness, and to prevent the terrible future ahead. It turns out that her other friends have recieved similar letters from their own past selves - but is that enough to save the day?

• Studio Chizu

As one might expect from a four-year-old, Kun Oota is having trouble acclimating to the fact that his parents had another baby. Where before he had all their attention, now he has to share it with someone else. In order to help him get used to it, his little sister's older self travels from the future. Together, they go on a journey through time that teaches little Kun about the meaning of being a family - and about his specific role as an older brother. 

Remake our Life!

When 28-year-old Kyouya Hashiba's internship at a gaming company ends, he has no prospects and winds up having to move back in with his parents. He thinks he might have been more successful if he'd gone to art school instead of business school, but you can't redo your life...or can you?

He wakes up one day ten years in the past, and decided to enroll at the Oonaka University of Art. There, he meets a wide range of aspiring artists, and starts the collaborative creative career that he wished he'd pursued in his youth. 

The Tatami Galaxy

An unnamed student in his third year of college gets the chance to relive his college experience. He's convinced that if he can just join the right club and avoid the involvement of his demonic best friend Ozu, he'll be able to have the ultimate amazing college expereince - but every time he tries, some disaster or another happens, and he ends up unsatisfied. Through a series of increasingly surreal adventures, he learns some tough lessons about what's really important in life. 

• Iroduku: The World in Colors

Hitomi Tsukishiro is a depressed teenage girl who no longer sees in color. In order to help her find the joy in life, her grandmother sends her backwards in time by 60 years, and tells her to befriend her younger self. Hitomi does - but she also meets the incredibly talented Yuito Aoi, whose beautiful art helps her see the colors her life has been missing. 

Occult Academy

Fumiaki Uchida is a time traveller from the year 2012. Aliens have invaded, and the only way to stop them is by finding and destroying the agent of the apocolypse, the Nostradamus Key. The only way to do that is to travel back to 1999. There, Fumiaki meets Maya Kumashiro, the daughter of the headmaster of Waldstein Academy. She intitially plans to destroy the academy, but she ends up working with Fumiaki to use the school to help track down the key. 

Nobunaga Concerto

High school student Saburou doesn't care much about Japanese history - that is, until he's flung into the Sengoku period and is suddenly expected to take the place of Nobunaga Oda, the powerful daimyo who overthrew all the other daimyos to unite Japan. With no idea what he's doing, Saburou is going to have to figure out how to uphold his new responsibilities. His modern knowledge will help, but can it possibly be enough?

• Studio Deen

While running regular training exercises, the Japanese Self Defense Force (SDF) encounters a strange storm that sends them hurtling backwards in time to the Battle of Midway on June 4th, 1942. Capain Umezu Saburo and Executive Officer Kadomatsu Yosuke and the rest of their squadron decide that they will interfere as little as possible to avoid altering the future. But when they discover Lt. Commander Kusaka Takumi, XO about to pass away, Kadomatsu can't stop himself from saving a life. Kusaka Takumi's survival will impact history in ways that nobody anticipated. 

Thermae Romae

Thermae Romae  is definitely one of the weirder entries on this list, which is exactly why you should watch it. Lucius Modestus is an architect in ancient Rome who is struggling to come up with new ideas. Hoping to distract him from his slump, his friends drag him out to the bath house. There, he's transported through time to modern Japan. Armed with a ton of new ideas about how to build baths, he returns to his own time and ignites his career. 

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Top 15 Anime About Time Travel Ranked By Plot

15. Occult Academy

13. the tatami galaxy, 12. noein: to your other self, 11. nobunaga concerto, 10. thermae romae, 9. iroduku: the world in colors, 8. summer storm, 7. sandglass of summer colors, 6. punch line, 5. future diary, 4. tokyo revengers, 1. steins;gate – best anime about time travel ranked by plot.

That is the end of our  Top 15 Anime About Time Travel Ranked By Plot

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That’s me, Andreea Blaga, author of the blog https:// anime-everything.com . I work as a content creator in the US. I am also passionate about Japanese Anime.

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25 Best Time Travel Anime Series & Movies

Here’s a question: what’s your favorite time travel anime? Is this type of science fiction even full of good books?

Time travel anime is one of the more popularly used story hooks in modern anime and it can take unique shapes!

It doesn’t have a lot of great titles every season like isekai does, but it’s not hard to find some good ones.

From tradition time travel anime stories ( Steins;Gate ) to ones that use “time reset” ( Re:Zero) , there is no shortage of creativity at play.

Check out my list below if you’re in the mood for some twists and turns that will blow your mind (or even small bits of time travel in an otherwise normal anime).

And fair warning: (in some cases) there will be surprises ahead. Some of these books are about time travel, and it’s a big part of the plot or a big surprise.

If you don’t want to know more, just skim the names and pick one that sounds interesting.

Here are some popular time travel anime that fans should watch.

Table of Contents

25. Natsu-iro no Sunadokei (Sandglass of Summer Colors)

This anime is quite old. Really old, like.

But even though its character designs, animations, and general quality haven’t held up over time, it’s still a good show with more time travel than Nobunaga Concerto.

Sandglass of Summer Colors is based on a Princess Soft computer game called a “visual novel” (VN) that came out in 2002.

Also, there are only two episodes because it is an OVA . Still, the show is interesting.

Yes, it’s about a teen boy again. This time, his name is Kotaro Makimura.

But in this case, Kotaro travels through time by waking up in the next school year and then going back and forth to different days of his summer break.

He finds out some very strange things about his girlfriend, Kaho Serizawa, as a result. It gets deep.

24. Buddy Complex

Sunrise launched a mecha game with a lot of action in 2014, but it wasn’t another part of their long-running Gundam series.

It’s called Buddy Complex, and its appealing trio, interesting story, and solid execution set it apart from other games in the same genre.

At the beginning of Buddy Complex, the main character , Aoba Watase, is almost killed by a huge robot from the future.

Hina Yumihara saves him and takes him 70 years into the future so he can learn about beating robots and maybe stop himself from dying.

Can he return to his real past? Or is he stuck in a future where armed forces fight each other?

23. Doraemon

Yes, Doraemon is a time-traveling anime, and it’s a pretty good one.

Some people say that the time travel is just a trick. But I really love what they did with it in the anime.

The story isn’t about someone trying to save a bleak future by going back to the past.

No, it’s about Sewashi Nobi from the 22nd century sending his grandpa Nobita Nobi a cat robot to make his life better, which is great.

Doraemon has shown that this style can be good for kids with 1,700 episodes.

Also, who wouldn’t want a four-dimensional pouch that can pull out different sized gadgets?

22. Punch Line

After Garo: The Animation and Zankyou no Terror, Punch Line was the third original anime made by MAPPA. Zankyou no Terror is one of my all-time faves.

No, I didn’t think Punch Line was at all a modern classic .

It didn’t have the same level of seriousness or ambition as those other shows.

But Punch Line took a creative risk that should be praised and even reevaluated by anime fans.

I know it’s silly, but I don’t care.

How stupid! It has to do with ghosts, nosebleeds, and poop shots.

Also, as a spirit traveling through time, the OP can’t look at underwear. If not, a rock would kill all life on Earth right away. That’s cool.

21. InuYasha

I have another piece from Sunrise Studio to show you.

Before Naruto , Bleach , and Fairy Tail came along, InuYasha was one of the most popular shounen books, and it does have time travel.

The story of Kagome Higurashi takes place in old Japan, hundreds of years ago. The only change is that instead of a general, he meets a man with white hair and dog ears.

Also, it’s not hard for either Kagome or Inuyasha to go between current Japan and feudal Japan.

And I recommend InuYasha because it is one of the best shounen shows ever. Can you go back in time?

20. Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara (Iroduku: The World in Colors)

Original anime is one of my favorite things. To keep going with a story you’re not sure will work takes a lot of guts.

It isn’t based on a comic, light novel, or video game, so it doesn’t already have fans.

Iroduku: The World in Colors wasn’t just an original anime, though.

It was a visually creative and beautifully drawn show, and it was clear that P.A. Works put a lot of effort into it.

It’s a mix of science fiction, magic , and school drama .

A grandma sends her emotionally distant granddaughter 60 years back in time, but she doesn’t say why.

And now that she’s back in 2018, Hitomi Tsukishiro, a young girl, has a lot to learn about self-discovery and how to connect with other people. Go see it.

19. Charlotte

Look, I get it — Angel Beats was a great anime series.

All of the kids on that show became my favorites in just 13 episodes.

Also, I’m sure that most people will never forget how it ends.

Since then, people have been begging Jun Maeda to do something similar.

So Charlotte joined the competition, but it wasn’t as good as Angel Beats or Clannad .

Still, Charlotte is a school drama with time travel and other skills that has its moments.

Also, this is a new anime, and I think the best parts make up for the story and pacing problems by the end.

18. Natsu no Arashi (Summer Storm!)

It’s interesting that I didn’t see this until last year, even though it came out ten years ago.

But hey, this is a great example of the saying “better late than never” because it is a great mix of time travel and comedy .

Again, Natsu no Arashi is about a young boy who meets a pretty girl.

But Sayoko Arashiyama isn’t like other teenagers at all.

Hajime Yasaka gets a picture of her when she was in her 60s. This means she might not even be a teenager.

What’s happening? And why does Sayoko still look young?

You should look at Natsu no Arashi. Since it was made by Shaft, you can expect it to look good.

17. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry)

We’re getting closer to the top spot, so let’s be extra careful. I did say there might be spoilers, so be ready.

When They Cry tricks its viewers into thinking that it is just another generic anime with a guy as the opening theme and a bunch of cute girls .

It turned out to be a murder riddle with a time loop on top of that.

Also, it might be the only anime that is both scary and goes back in time.

One minute, you see a bunch of happy kids playing together. The next thing you know, they’re covered in blood and have angry looks on their faces.

I hate what happened to the anime version here, even though the animation quality and consistency of the movie Orange: Future was much better.

I read the book, and there were parts in it that could have made the anime a classic.

But the anime didn’t live up to or go beyond what was expected.

Orange wasn’t much better than normal. But it is still good enough to be here.

If you liked the anime and how it made you cry and laugh, you might also like the manga, which is much more beautiful and emotional.

15. Kimi no Na wa. (Your Name.)

Yes, this is a very big surprise.

I’m sure you’ve already seen the highly acclaimed movie or read the book with the same name, which broke records all over the world.

People gasped in the middle of the movie because it was about time travel. Kimi no Na wa seems to be about just two people who live in different places… But people didn’t know that they lived in different times as well.

I can still remember how shocked everyone was in the theater, where I saw this movie twice.

There is nothing quite like seeing a Makoto Shinkai movie in a theater, where you can hear and see everything at once. And if you’ve seen Five Centimeters Per Second, you’ll love how it ends.

14. Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei (The Tatami Galaxy)

Devilman Crybaby got great reviews from fans and reviewers all over the world, in part because it was on Netflix .

But I was a big fan of Yuasa’s directing skills even before that.

He is a very skilled man who makes sure that both content and style are way ahead of the rest.

Since it’s about a young man’s life (and love life), there’s a lot going on in The Tatami Galaxy. If you like subtitles like me, you’ll have to read quickly.

See him go through something like Groundhog Day, but in a much more magical and artsy way.

I promise you that it will be a rewarding journey across space, time, and tatami.

13. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

At this point, I don’t know which of my top choices has a big turning point that involves time travel.

In the second part of this series, there is one episode that makes it go from being a good show to being one of the best anime of all time.

You might not agree that it is a “deconstruction” of the magical girl type. But it’s clear proof that Gen Urobuchi could change the game if he had the right team.

Also, this original anime is stunning to look at.

It’s scary, exciting, and full of ideas.

Shaft had a chance to make a classic, and they didn’t waste it.

12. Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was one of Kyoto Animation’s first big hits. In 2006, when the anime community was still small, it took the world by storm.

It was funny, had great characters, a catchy opening song that went viral, and shows that didn’t go in order.

Still, the order of events didn’t make the story any less interesting.

The story’s nonlinear framework gave us a new way to look at how the characters interact with each other. And it made it more fun to watch again in the right order.

You can enjoy The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya after you’ve seen the series (and God bless you if you’ve seen the Endless Eight arc).

If you haven’t heard of Zipang, I don’t blame you.

Even though Zipang came out two years after Naruto, it looks more like something from the past.

The military and historical setting, on the other hand, makes it a good pick.

Simply put, it’s about a Japanese warship called Mirai, which is a missile cruiser. Mirai gets caught in a storm, but it’s not just any storm.

Once Mirai is out of the storm, the crew learns that they have all gone back in time to 1942, which is during the Second World War.

Isn’t that cool?

The most interesting part is that they have to do their best not to change history. But can the team stay in the background when everyone around them is dying?

10. Noein: To Your Other Self

Studio:  Satelight

Episodes:  24

Quick pitch:  In the future, a violent war between two dimensions threatens the existence of space-time. A group called the Dragon Calvary is dispatched to search for the Dragon’s Torque, which is said to be the only thing to stop the war.

9. Mirai Nikki (The Future Diary)

Studio:  Asread

Episodes:  26 + 1 OVA

Quick pitch:  Yukiteru Amano spends his days writing a diary on his cell phone and talking to two imaginary friends, Deus Ex Machina and Murmur.

Deus reveals himself as a god of space and time, and grants Yukiteru a “ Random Diary .” This device shows descriptive future events to Yukiteru and he must use it to survive a deadly battle royale against 11 other people with similar diaries.

8. Thermae Romae

Studio:  DLE

Episodes:  6

Quick pitch:  Lucius is a Roman architect who has trouble coming up with ideas. One day, he discovers a tunnel underneath a spa that leads him to a modern Japanese bath house. Inspired this discovery, he creates a spa based on modern ideas from Japan.

7. Nobunaga Concerto

I’ll start with Nobunaga Concerto, which is an anime about time travel that is also more of an isekai.

Because of this, I’ve put it on my list, but it’s not the best. So what’s going on?

As you might have guessed, it has to do with Oda Nobunaga. Possibly one of the most well-known people in Japanese history.

He was a cruel boss, but he was also smart and a big part of how Japan got back together.

Nobunaga isn’t the OP, though. In Nobunaga Concerto, he meets Saburou, a man from the 21st century who strangely travels back in time to meet him. Saburou looks just like him.

Saburou was just a regular high school student, but now he has to take over for Nobunaga, who wants to take it easy in his last years.

6. Occult Academy

Studio:  A-1 Pictures

Episodes:  13

Quick pitch:  In 2012, the world is invaded by aliens. To stop this from happening, Fumiaki Uchida is sent back to 1999 to prevent the apocalypse from occurring by destroying the Nostradamus Key. In order to find the key, he forms a partnership with Maya Kumashiro, who is a girl with a strong hatred for the occult .

5. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Studio:  Shaft

Episodes:  12 + 3 (kind of remakes / sequel) movies

Quick pitch:  Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki are friends who live normal middle old school lives, but everything changes after they meet a cat-alien named Kyuubey and a transfer student named Homura Akemi.

Kyuubey offers to grant them a wish in exchange of becoming magical girls, but Homura urges the duo to decline or they will enter a world of despair.

4. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Mamoru Hosoda is one of the best anime directors working today, along with Masaaki Yuasa and Makoto Shinkai.

He has also made many other great movies, like Summer Wars, Wolf Children, and The Boy and the Beast, to name just a few.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time works so well because it’s not just a story about time travel.

It thought about how to shape the character and the story as a whole, making the second part more tense and emotional.

Also, I think a lot of us can understand Makoto Shonno. You’re in your last year of high school, and you know that things are about to change, but you don’t know what will happen to you.

It’s scary, funny, and has a heart at its center.

3. Boku dake ga Inai Machi (ERASED)

Putting this so high on my list, am I making a risky choice?

Actually, no.

Sure, not everyone liked how it was changed. I’ll admit that the tension thriller part was a bit too much.

But, like how I feel about Zankyou no Terror, the high points in ERASED are so good that they easily make up for the bad points.

I think it’s a classic, even though it has flaws.

The first episode was a 10/10 because it was easy to keep my attention by the end, when the aspect ratio changed to show how much time had changed. It’s very interesting.

Asian Kung-Fu Generation makes a great opening theme for ERASED, and I still think that Kayo’s birthday scene is one of the most heartbreaking and moving moments in anime.

Also, I don’t like that some people think the show was bad just because the guy didn’t end up with the girl he saved (and tried to save again and again) in the past.

Look, just because you saved someone’s life doesn’t mean you can marry them. You help someone because you should, not because you want something in return.

2. Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World

Re:Zero is a good isekai and time travel show, in my opinion.

After all the talk about Sword Art Online , it could have been like any other isekai. But it made its own mark on the past.

Re:Zero makes you think that the main character is just another guy who goes to a dream world. But the time loop takes the series to a whole new level of fear and hopelessness for Subaru.

It’s not just a way to flee to a better world with waifu characters like Emilia and Rem; the show as a whole is very interesting. I can’t wait for the second season.

1. Steins;Gate

Is there even another show that could be No. 1?

If you ask most anime fans what the best time travel anime is, this is the first show that comes to mind. And with good cause.

Also, Steins;Gate isn’t just praised for being the best time travel show ever.

It’s also in the running for the best anime of all time, usually against FMA: Brotherhood.

Steins;Gate is a great show to watch if you’re new to anime, but it also gets better the more anime you watch.

Some people say it’s overrated, but one thing is for sure: it set the bar for how brilliant and entertaining a time travel anime could be.

Don’t Forget to share it with your fellow otaku’s and bookmark MOW.

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About the Author

Garima Singh

Moshi Moshi everyone! I'm Garima, an anime enthusiast with a passion for sharing my love of anime with others. I've watched over 1000 anime, and I'm always on the lookout for new and exciting shows to watch.

I love everything about anime, from the stories and characters to the animation and music. I'm also a big fan of anime culture, and I love to learn about Japanese culture and history through anime.

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The 24 Best Time Travel Anime To Explore Alternatives

• 20 April 2023

Introduction

The concept of traveling across time has always been one of the most interesting aspects of storytelling, and anime is not an exception to this rule. Anime that takes place in the past or the future can provide viewers with an experience that is both exciting and inventive. This is because the show’s characters are able to move across time. Anime about time travel can be interesting, thought-provoking, and even mind-bending at times. Some examples of these qualities include the exploration of different histories and the consideration of the ramifications of altering the past. This article will provide you with an overview of 24 of the most notable time travel anime series that you can watch in order to satiate your passion for the subgenre. Prepare yourselves to travel through both time and space by fastening your seatbelts and getting ready to take off!

Yumeiro Patissiere

Ichigo journeys back in time to the Meiji era with the assistance of her newly made friends and spirit patissiers. There, she meets the great patissier Henri Lucas and learns the tricks of the trade for creating delectable desserts from him.

Ichigo must triumph over a number of obstacles along the way in order to realize her goal of becoming a pastry chef of world-class caliber. Yumeiro Patissiere is a joy for anime fans of all ages thanks to its wonderful characters, mouth-watering desserts, and time-traveling adventures.

Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL

Yuma Tsukumo, a young kid with dreams of becoming the best duelist in the world, is the protagonist of the popular time-travel anime Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, tells the story of Yuma’s journey. One day, he comes upon a curious piece of equipment known as the “Numbers,” which grants him the ability to call forth strong monsters to assist him in battles.

Yuma goes across time with the assistance of his friends and allies who come from alternate versions of the past in order to retrieve all of the Numbers and keep them from falling into the wrong hands. Along the way, he will also have to engage in combat with a variety of adversaries, including his most sworn enemy, Kaito Tenjo.

lovers of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, as well as lovers of time travel anime in general, should make it a point to watch Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL because of the intense dueling action, complicated plot, and memorable characters it features.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes

The adventures of two extraordinary military commanders, Reinhard von Lohengramm of the Empire and Yang Wen-li of the Alliance are told throughout the series. These characters are tasked with navigating the intricate political and military terrain of their respective factions.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes is widely recognized as one of the best anime of all time and a masterpiece in the subgenre of time travel animation due to the epic scale of its story, the political intrigue it depicts, and the captivating characters it features.

El Hazard: The Wanderers

In this strange realm, Makoto learns that he possesses magical talents and becomes embroiled in a fight between the reigning queen of El Hazard and her defiant sister. In addition, Makoto finds himself in the middle of the conflict. While Makoto and his friends are on their journey back to their own planet, they will encounter many different magical creatures and villains along the road.

They will need to overcome these obstacles in order to succeed. El Hazard: The Wanderers is a fun anime that will undoubtedly leave you with a smile on your face because of its endearing cast of characters, creative world-building, and hilarious adventures involving time travel.

The DC Mini is a potent dream-reading device, but when one of its prototypes ends up in the wrong hands, it unleashes a wave of turmoil as people’s dreams and realities start to converge. The only person who can halt the mayhem is Paprika, a brilliant but odd scientist who utilizes her knowledge of dream therapy to discover the truth about the DC Mini and prevent the end of the world.

Fans of time travel anime and psychological thrillers should not miss Paprika because of its strange imagery, complex plot, and thought-provoking concepts.

Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei

He comes across a particular individual who presents him with the opportunity to recreate his time spent in college but with different options and results. After accepting the offer, the protagonist without a name finds himself trapped in a time loop that causes him to relive his college years but with a variety of new experiences and results in each time.

Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei is a one-of-a-kind anime that pushes viewers to reflect on the decisions they make in life and the outcomes of those decisions through the use of non-linear storytelling, vibrant animation, and philosophical concepts.

Haruko reveals that she is an alien who is on a quest to find the “Pirate King,” and Naota finds entangled in a unique and surreal journey that involves robots, guitars, and time travel. Haruko is on a mission to find the “Pirate King.”

FLCL is a must-watch for lovers of time travel anime who are searching for something new and unorthodox because of the show’s hectic speed, strange characters, and offbeat humor.

Time Travel Shoujo: Mari Waka to 8-nin no Kagakusha-tachi

Mari has been given the mission of locating eight historical personalities who are in possession of the knowledge necessary to save the planet from an impending catastrophe. Along the way, Mari is exposed to the diverse history and culture of Japan, while simultaneously coping with the repercussions that would result from altering the past.

Time Travel Shoujo: Mari Waka to 8-nin no Kagakusha-tachi is an entertaining and enlightening anime that is ideal for anyone who is interested in Japanese history or time travel. The show features characters that are interesting to watch, material that is instructive, and exciting time travel adventures.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Based on Yasutaka Tsutsui’s book of the same name, “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” is a 2006 Japanese animated film directed by Mamoru Hosoda. The movie tells the tale of Makoto Konno, a high school student who discovers she has the power to time travel following an unusual meeting in her school’s science lab. As she experiments with her newly acquired abilities, she learns that changing the past might have unanticipated results.

Youth, friendship, and the effects of our acts are among the issues covered in the movie. Makoto is a likable lead character with genuine challenges, making her easy to support. The animation in the movie is breathtakingly gorgeous, with vivid colors and exquisitely detailed settings that vividly depict the world of the story.

The way “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” strikes a balance between comical and serious subjects is one of its strongest points. The movie is frequently lighthearted and amusing, but it also explores more serious topics like regret, the passing of time, and the value of savoring the moments we have. The movie is a rich and emotionally evocative experience because of this balance of comedy and drama.

Orange: Mirai

In an effort to alter the course of events, Naho and her friends band together to offer Kakeru their support and try to spare him from a horrible conclusion. In spite of this, as they work to change the course of history, they are compelled to face the demons and insecurities that have plagued them throughout their lives.

Orange: Mirai is a must-watch for fans of time travel anime who are looking for an emotionally affecting examination of the human experience. The show’s poignant tale, characters that are easy to relate to, and beautiful animation make it a must-watch.

Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V

When Yuya learns that he has the capacity to travel between parallel universes, each of which has its own distinct history and cast of characters, his life takes a dramatic and unexpected turn for the worse. As Yuya travels across these parallel universes, he will face off against formidable adversaries and attempt to solve the enigma surrounding his own past.

Fans of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise and anyone searching for an intriguing time travel anime should not pass up the opportunity to watch Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V because of the intense dueling sequences, dynamic characters, and deep plot it has.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

A dark and perverse spin on the conventional magical girl genre is Madoka Magica. The narrative centers on a group of girls who, in exchange for having their desires granted, are offered the chance to transform into magical girls and battle witches. But being a magical girl comes with a high price, and the girls quickly learn the horrible reality of their abilities.

The distinctive and artistically gorgeous animation style of Madoka Magica is one of its most prominent features. Traditional animation and experimental creative forms, such as surrealism and avant-garde cinematography, are combined in the series.

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

He does this with the intention of achieving contentment at last. However, as he continues his voyage across time and space, he gradually realizes the significance of staying in the present moment and the effects of his choices.

The Tatami Galaxy is the perfect choice for time travel anime fans looking for a unique and thought-provoking viewing experience because of its peculiar aesthetics, witty dialogue, and important themes that are tackled throughout the entire series.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai

During the course of Keiichi’s investigation into the sinister goings-on in Hamlet, he comes to the realization that he is able to go back in time and alter the way things turned out. However, as he explores deeper into the riddle, he comes to the realization that changing the past will have severe repercussions for the future.

Fans of time travel anime who also appreciate horror and suspense should not miss out on the opportunity to see Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai because of the show’s distinctive characters, dramatic and startling story twists, and unsettling atmosphere.

Re: Creators

While they are struggling to understand their new world and the nature of their existence, they must also face their creators and fight against the forces that wish to control their destinies. This must be done concurrently with their struggle to comprehend their new reality.

Re: Creators is a must-watch for fans of time travel anime who are searching for a new and original take on the genre due to the show’s dynamic characters, deep plot, and beautiful action sequences.

A Certain Scientific Railgun

After Mikoto uncovers a hazardous plot that involves the manipulation of time and space, she is forced to use her abilities, along with the assistance of her friends, in order to put an end to the villains and save the city.

Fans of time travel anime who also appreciate science fiction and superhero stories should definitely check out A Certain Scientific Railgun because of the exciting action sequences, interesting characters, and detailed world-building that the show features.

While she is in training to reach her objective, she must also contend with the mental and physical hurdles that come with becoming a pilot, as well as the prospect of traveling across time.

Gunbuster is an absolute must-watch for everyone who enjoys vintage animation and storytelling, as well as fans of time travel anime. It features breathtaking animation, dramatic action sequences, and a touching plot.

Mirai Nikki

Yukiteru finds out as the game goes on that he possesses a potent talent to anticipate the future, which he employs in an effort to outwit his opponents and stay alive. Along the way, he stumbles across Yuno Gasai, a mysterious girl who ends up being his ally as well as the object of his romantic interest.

Fans of time travel anime who are also fans of psychological thrillers and suspenseful stories should definitely check out Mirai Nikki because of the show’s strong action, complicated characters, and mind-bending plot twists.

Time Travel Tondekeman!

The events that occurred during their time there form the core of the story. As they look for a method to get back to the present, they encounter interesting characters from the past and become involved in exciting adventures along the way. All of this happens while they are trying to find their way back to the present.

Fans of time travel anime who also enjoy comedies and stories about exciting adventures will find that Time Travel Tondekeman! is an absolute must-watch owing to the show’s bright animation, humorous characters, and fascinating storyline. Time Travel Tondekeman!

At the same time that they are debating the moral and ethical repercussions of their situation, they have to negotiate the intricate and perilous political terrain of the conflict and determine whether or not to intervene in the course of history or to allow it to unfold in the way that it did. Zipang is a must-watch for fans of time travel anime who enjoy war stories and alternate history situations.

The historical background of the show has been thoroughly studied, and it presents a realistic picture of military tactics and technology. In addition, the show’s examination of time travel topics provides food for thought.

yu-gi-oh! 5d’s

Yusei needs to break out of prison and discover the truth about the scheme that led to his being locked up, and he can do so with the assistance of his friends and his skill as a duelist. Along the way, he makes the startling discovery that he possesses the power of the fabled Crimson Dragon, a creature that has the ability to bend time and space.

Fans of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, as well as fans of time travel anime in general, should not miss out on watching Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s because of the intense dueling action, interesting characters, and time travel components it has.

Fate/stay night

With the aid of his friends and his abilities as a duelist, Yusei can escape prison and learn the truth about the plot that resulted in his being imprisoned. Along the way, he startlingly learns that he possesses the strength of the legendary Crimson Dragon, a being with the power to change time and space. Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s, with its intense dueling action, intriguing characters, and time travel elements, is a must-watch for lovers of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise and time travel anime in general.

High School DxD BorN

The story recounts their adventures together. Issei is inducted into the devil family of Rias and given the responsibility of assisting in the defense of their realm against a variety of dangers. In the third season of “Born,” Issei and the rest of BorN’s companions are given the mission of traveling back in time to stop a disastrous event from taking place in the present.

For viewers interested in the supernatural and time travel anime, High School DxD BorN is an absolute must-see due to the special way in which it combines comedy, action, and time travel.

Scrapped Princess

Shannon and Raquel, Pacifica’s adoptive siblings and accomplished warriors, guard her. Together, they travel, attempting to elude the Church and learn the meaning of the prophecy. They run into both friends and foes along the road, including a young prince and a gang of ruthless assassins.

Additionally, the series has been turned into a manga and an anime, both of which stick to the same core plot. Strong character development and action-packed combat are hallmarks of the anime adaptation.

Over the years, time travel anime has grown in popularity, with many of them examining the advantages and drawbacks of time travel. The anime on this list offer a variety of various genres and styles, each having its own distinctive perspective on time travel, from action-packed adventures to heartwarming tales. There is an anime on this list for everyone, whether you enjoy romance or science fiction. These time travel anime are sure to enthrall and entertain you with their complex plotlines, engaging characters, and beautiful animation.

So make sure to check out the programs on this list if you’re looking to learn more about the potentialities of time travel while also enjoying some fantastic anime. Each one presents a distinctive viewpoint on time travel and is certain to provoke thought long after the final episode.

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Wind Breaker: 10 Strongest Characters In The Manga, Ranked

10 my hero academia characters that are better in the manga, jujutsu kaisen: can yuta use an open barrier unlimited void.

For the longest time, humans have been fascinated with time travel as the ability to travel to the past and future to observe and even influence events can be tempting. Despite that, shows about time travel can sometimes become convoluted and exposition-heavy. However, when executed well and combined with an excellent narrative and interesting world-building, these types of shows can be exceptional to watch.

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The world of anime has utilized and explored the use of time travel extensively, with entire genres revolving around being ‘spirited away’ to other realms both real and fantasy. Some of these shows, however, have become instant classics, receiving high praise from avid anime viewers.

Updated February 9, 2023, by Suzail Ahmad: Time travel is an exciting concept that has been popularized by different media through the years, and anime is no exception. Over time, many anime series have been released that utilize time travel in their stories. By releasing so many new anime, the time travel theme has been compounded. It has become more important than ever to choose anime that explores time travel in a simple and discernible manner, as is the case with the best time travel anime series.

1 Tokyo Revengers (2021)

Tokyo Revengers follows the journey of Hanagaki Takemichi , a grown man who has nothing going for him. However, Takemichi's life changes when an accident causes him to go back in time. It takes him some time to understand that he actually traveled 12 years back, but eventually he manages to figure it out.

The anime takes a different turn from the usual shonen anime by making the protagonist weaker than the rest of the characters in the series. So, fans who want to see a normal anime character trying to fix the future should definitely watch Tokyo Revengers .

2 Inuyasha (2000)

Inuyasha is a popular anime series that is based on the work of Rumiko Takahashi. Inuyasha covers the journey of Kagome Higurashi. When she falls into the well at her family shrine, Kagome finds herself in the Sengoku period. She eventually meets Inuyasha and travels with him all over Japan to regain all the pieces of a shattered jewel.

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Inuyasha is much more adventurous in comparison to the other time travel anime. It also has a good amount of action and romance, which is enough to keep viewers glued to their screens. Another great thing about the anime is the fact that it has over 100 episodes, making it a great series for fans who like long shows.

3 Doraemon (1973)

Doraemon is one of the longest-running anime series of all time. It is based on Fujiko F. Fujio's manga, which has over a thousand chapters. Doraemon is aimed at a young audience, but that hasn't stopped it from earning the plaudits of grown-ups as well.

Doraemon falls into the comedy and sci-fi genres, and at the center of the story is a robotic cat that travels back in time to help a boy named Nobita Nobi. It might not cover adult themes, but it still makes for a good watch. Viewers can watch it to calm their minds and have a good laugh.

4 Summer Time Rendering (2022)

Summer Time Rendering is a story about Shinpei Ajiro, who loses both of his parents. Instead of becoming a recluse, he grows up with Ushio and Mio. The three become very close before Shinpei Ajiro eventually leaves for Tokyo. After a few years, he returns to his hometown to attend the funeral of Ushio.

However, he refuses to believe that Ushio died normally and eventually comes to learn about his power which allows him to reset time. Summer Time Rendering adds a unique twist to the regular time travel tropes. It is a solid combination of mystery and sci-fi, which makes it a delectable choice.

5 Nobunaga Concerto (2014)

The story of a high school boy named Saburo who travels back in time to Japan’s warring states period (Sengoku Jidai) to become Oda Nobunaga and unite the land. Saburo encounters several characters from that period including the real Nobunaga, who unable to deal with the immense pressure of ruling becomes Saburo’s subordinate, Aketchi Mitsuhide.

This is interesting as the real Aketchi Mitsuhide was historically the man who assassinated Nobunaga himself. Sporting a unique art style that is reminiscent of traditional Japanese art, Nobunaga Concerto is an anime that Japanese history lovers can sink their teeth into.

6 Thermae Romae Novae (2022)

A strange entry but by no means less entertaining, Thermae Romae Novae chronicles the tale of an ancient Roman architect named Lucius Modestus who finds a secret time travel tunnel that transports him to a modern-day Japanese bathhouse. As he was previously running out of ideas, his new experiences in Japan now motivate him to restore his reputation as one of the finest Roman architects.

Absurd, strange, and entertaining, this anime is a love letter to the public bathing culture in Japan and is perfect for those who enjoy watching things about cultural appreciation . It's also a solid option for those who love time travel anime.

7 The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

Mamoru Hosoda’s classic 2006 sci-fi romance movie tells the story of a high school girl Makoto who learns how to time travel and uses it to her benefit. However, with great power comes great responsibility, a rule that Makoto doesn’t adhere to which leads to some complicated and devastating outcomes.

With a plot that may appear too ‘straightforward’ to some, the movie is an engaging and thought-provoking coming-of-age drama with moments of a slice of life that audiences can relate to.

8 Zipang (2004)

Zipang is historical war anime that depicts a modern Japanese navy vessel (JDS Mirai) being time-warped back to World War 2 as the Battle of Midway is about to commence. Aware that their superior ship can alter the course of the war, the crew of the Mirai is torn between aiding the former Japanese empire and abstaining from involvement as their futures would be affected.

RELATED: Best War Anime, Ranked

Filled with mature themes, viewers will watch how the actions of the JDS Mirai and her crew unfold in this gripping war drama.

9 Your Name (2016)

Your Name tells the story of a Tokyo boy Taki and a country girl Mitsuha from different timelines who periodically swap bodies. Through this, they manage to help each other out in different aspects of their lives. However, as they deepen their bond and try to figure out the phenomenon, the swapping stops abruptly, prompting Taki to uncover the reason why.

Beautifully animated and supported by the awesome J-pop soundtrack of Radwimps, Your Name will tug on anyone’s heartstrings and make them root for the characters.

10 The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2006)

What happens when an unassuming high school girl is a god and can create anything she imagines or sets her mind to? Say hello to Haruhi Suzumiya, a 15-year-old girl with powers that can alter the fabric of time and space who is blissfully unaware of her abilities.

The show focuses on Haruhi and Kyon who are part of their school's SOS Brigade, an after-school club that is focused on paranormal and abnormal phenomena. The club also keeps tabs on Haruhi as her abilities could warp, alter, and destroy the world and each misadventure brings the characters and viewers closer to understanding what Haruhi is.

11 Re:Zero (2016)

Although technically part of the Isekai genre, Re:Zero focuses on Subaru Natsuki who is transported to a fantasy world. The time travel aspect comes into play every time Subaru dies. Every time he perishes, he resurrects at the last checkpoint similar to video games, prompting him to figure his way through until reaching the next checkpoint.

RELATED: The Best Isekai Anime Set In Games, Ranked

Over time, the psychological ordeal of watching his friends and himself die only to be resurrected begins to take on toll on his psyche, creating a very interesting if not disturbing fantasy narrative .

12 Erased (2016)

A psychological murder thriller with elements of time travel set in Tokyo and Hokkaido. Erased follows Saturo who experiences a phenomenon known as ‘revivals’ that sends him back in time moments before a catastrophic incident occurs to prevent it from happening.

When his mother is murdered, the event causes him to travel back in time 18 years into the past, allowing him to not only save his mother but the lives of his former classmates whose tragic ends mirror that of his mother. A gripping thriller that will glue any viewer to their seat, Erased is a must-see for anyone interested in crime thrillers and the mystery genre .

13 Future Diary (2011)

Old but gold, Future Diary is a battle royale where participants receive messages on their cell phones that predict the future. Here, middle schoolers Yukiteru and Yuno must survive against 10 other participants to determine who will become the next god of space and time, also known as Deus Ex Machina.

Twisted, brutal, and unforgiving, Future Diary explores the main dynamic between the two lead characters and the show may have one of the most sadistic and psychopathic characters in all of anime. Perfect for any fans of yandere characters .

14 Steins;Gate (2011)

Considered one of the greatest anime series out there, Steins;Gate revolves around Rintaro Okabe, a self-declared mad scientist who manages to create a time machine. Meanwhile, SERN, an organization that is also researching time travel learns of the machine and steals it, killing one of Rintaro’s friends in the process. This causes Rintaro to go back in time to prevent his friend’s death unleashing a cascade of time travel problems.

Those who have watched Steins;Gate praise the show for its intricate handling of time travel and the rules the show establishes. The show will appeal to anyone who enjoys romance, comedy, drama, and hard science fiction genres.

MORE: Awesome New Weird Sci-Fi Games To Get You Into The Genre

The Best Time Travel Anime, Ranked

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10 Limited Series With 100% Rotten Tomatoes Scores

Hazbin hotel finishes voice recording for season 2, fallout showrunners say season 2 will be out as 'fast as humanly possible'.

Time traveling is a fascinating concept that has everyone mesmerized for decades. It’s no surprise that anime depicting the events surrounding it has become a hot topic for fans. Whether it’s going to the past or future, anime such as Attack on Titan, Steins;Gate or Your Name , has severely hyped the genre. If executed well, time traveling can be an interesting base to make any kind of anime worthwhile to watch . To give credit where it’s due, here are some of the best time travel anime, ranked.

6 Iroduku: The World in Colors

As a depressed teen, Hitomi Tsukishiro is no longer able to see color in the world. To help her find happiness again, her grandmother decides to send her back 60 years in the past. This is so Hitomi can befriend the young version of her grandmother. By going back in time, she meets Yuito Aoi, an artist that helps her see colors in the world again. The art blends exceptionally well with the concept. Meanwhile, the voice actors put all the emotions into their characters so that the message of each scene is conveyed properly to the viewers.

Satoru Fujinuma discovers early on that he has the ability to time travel. But only by a few minutes or days. However, one day it takes him back to the year 1988, when he was only an elementary school student. He soon discovers a dark secret - his classmate, Kayo, didn’t die naturally. In fact, she was kidnaped and killed by a man. With his little body, Satoru realizes that he can’t protect his friend with strength. Now he has to devise a plan to out-smart the kidnaper and save his friend from losing her life. Although Satoru is just an average Joe, he tries his best to come up with a strategy to change Kayo's fate and put the criminal behind bars, without making the two come across any harm. While this story is beautifully drawn, it has some deep, heartbreaking moments .

Related: The Most Anticipated Anime of 2023, Ranked

4 Your Name

Two teenagers, living two separate lives. Taki Tachibana and Mitsuha Miyamizu are high school students that experience a weird phenomenon one day: they wake up in each other’s body. Without knowing who the body belongs to, they leave notes for the other so that they can read it and comply with any rules in case they exchange bodies again. Soon they realize that this isn’t a harmless body-switch, but time traveling. While Taki goes back in time, Mitsuha goes to the future. To make matters worse, they soon discover that Mitsuha’s town is destroyed by a comet. Now, they must find a way to save the town and her life. One of the reasons why this anime was so well-received was because of the breathtaking animation. It truly made fans feel like they were inside the film, experiencing every detail.

3 The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

This Madhouse film follows a high school girl, Makoto Konno, who is lost in life. She is about to graduate but doesn’t know what to do in the future. One day, she discovers her ability to time leap and uses it to solve mundane issues, such as getting good grades. However, she soon discovers the hard way that messing with time travel can have grave effects, especially since she only has limited time leaps left to fix it all.

Related: Is Sailor Moon the Most Powerful Anime Character?

2 Tokyo Revengers

As a 26-year-old, Takemichi has no career, goals or girlfriend. He is at his lowest point in life, when he discovers that his high school girlfriend had died in an accident. With the help of her policeman brother, he discovers that he can somehow time travel back to the past at a random time. Together, they use this ability to investigate and prevent her death. However, they soon discover the depth of the situation, as her death is surrounded by a web of accidents revolving around the Tokyo Manji gang . Now, not only do they have to help revolve events that lead to Hina’s death, but also figure out how to protect the gang from going ashtray.

1 Steins;Gate

Considered as a blueprint concept for the time-traveling genre, Steins;Gate took the internet by storm with its unique, intriguing and mysterious storyline. Rintaro Okabe is a self-declared mad scientist that, together with his group of friends, conducts experiments, writes equations, and other silly things that can be considered mad. One day, he discovered that he accidentally created a time machine that can send messages and other objects to the past. Soon after, he is able to even transport his consciousness to the past. Trouble comes knocking when a secret organization, SERN, steals this technology and kills one of his friends in the process. To prevent this, Okabe travels back in time and creates a time paradox beyond repair. Each episode is well-directed and is perfect for those who are looking to enjoy rom-com and drama, with a splash of time traveling.

Top 15 Best Time Travel Anime [2024]

By: Author Amar Hussain

Posted on Last updated: January 2, 2024

When it comes to time travel, time paradoxes, and timelines, anime shows either do it right or wrong, and all of these series below do it perfectly, some are even considered masterpieces!

Getting the sci-fi clique and fresh coat of paint, all of these shows and movies make time travel refreshing all over again.

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15. Occult Academy

13. sagrada reset, 12. iroduku: the world in colors, 10. remake our life, 9. charlotte, 8. blast of tempest, 7. the girl who leapt through time, 6. tokyo revengers, 5. re:zero –starting life in another world–, 3. rascal does not dream of a dreaming girl, 2. link click, 1. steins;gate, best time travel anime.

17-year-old Maya Kumashiro, and student at Waldstein Academy, crosses paths with Fumiaki Uchida, a time traveler. According to Fumiaki, in 2012, aliens have invaded the earth!

To save the planet, he, along with other time travelers, is going back in time to 1999 to destroy an artifact called the Nostradamus Key , prophesized to cause an apocalypse.

Living in 1999 with her own plans and ambitions for the future that won’t exist, Maya teams up with Fumiaki to help find the Nostradamus Key!

Being an only child, 4-year-old Kun Oota has always been spoiled rotten by his parents.

But when his baby sister Mirai is born, all his parent’s love and attention shift only to Mirai—and he hates it! Kun hates his new sister Mirai!

To adjust to the changes in his life, a girl who claims to be the future Mirai takes Kun on a journey through their family’s past, present, and future .

In this travel through their family, Kun learns why he comes from and the big brother he should become for Mirai.

16-year-old Kei Asai was born and lived in the small town of Sakurada. Not an ordinary town, however, as everyone born, there has superpowers!

With photographic memory ability, Kei forms work together with his friend Misora Haruki, who has the power to reset time!

The two form the Service Club at school in order the use their abilities to help the townspeople.

Kei and Misora might have got more than they bargained for when they got involved with the Administration Bureau, manipulating the town to their own means.

In 2078, despite being from a family of witches, 17-year-old Hitomi Tsukishiro can’t use magic and, after losing her mother, loses her ability to see the joy and colors of the world.

To bring happiness, love, and color back into her granddaughter’s life, Kohaku sends Hitomi back in time 60 years.

In 2018, Kohaku was also 17-years-old going to school with her group of friends and meet her future granddaughter!

So can Kohaku and her friends return the colors to Hitomi’s life, or will she forever be trapped in her new bleak world?

16-year-old Naho Takamiya’s first day back at high school starts off on a weird note: she gets a letter addressed to her from her future self!

10 years in the future, Naho writes about her regrets with her new classmate Kakeru Naruse and asks her past self to be friends with him .

At first, Naho thinks she’s going crazy, but then when Kakeru Naruse transfers to her school on the very same day, Naho has no choice but to accept that the letter is real!

Along with her friends, Naho invites Kakeru into her circle of friends. Naho is worried for Kakeru, however, because, in the future, he’s not alive anymore…

At 28, Kyouya Hashiba hates his life. After losing his chance to get his dream job in the video game industry, he is currently unemployed and living with his parents.

Meanwhile, he is surrounded by people his age who are successful makes him regret never going to art school.

Kyouya wishes he could go back in time to rewrite all his regrets and mistakes. But life doesn’t work that way…or does it? Suddenly, Kyouya wakes up one day to find that he is inexplicably 10 years in the past! Cool!

With a second chance in his hand, Kyouya enrolls at the Oonaka University of Art and pursues the dreams he missed out on in his first run. But will Kyouya be able to change his life for the better, or is everything inevitable?

On the outside, 15-year-old Yuu Otosaka is a charming and smart student, but it’s all an act. He is really a narcissistic and manipulative guy who can fully fully anyone’s body for five seconds.

He uses his ability to cheat on his tests and look like a hero in front of girls.

It turns out, Yuu isn’t the only one with unexplained superpowers. Yuu gets caught by a girl named Nao Tomori, who can be invisible to any person she chooses. Blackmailing Yuu with his cheating away, Nao forces Yuu to transfer to her school, Hoshinoumi Academy.

Here, Nao makes Yuu help her and her comrades track down other supernatural kids abusing their powers .

Yuu reluctantly agrees, and soon, things get much more complicated than it seems, especially when one of their targets has the power to travel back in time!

18-year-old Yoshino Takigawa has kept a big secret from his best friend Mahiro Fuwa: he’s been dating his younger sister Aika. This all comes to an end when Aika is murdered!

Mahiro disappears in search of her killers, and Yoshino tries to moves on with his life. A chance to going back to a normal life ends when a mysterious girl points a gun at Yoshino’s head!

At the last second, he is saved by Mahiro, who tells Yoshino that he has hired Hakaze Kusaribe, a witch, to help him find Aika’s murderer. Hakaze has no at state—the whole world! If her brother finds the “Tree of Exodus,” he can use it to end the world!

Now Yoshino is caught up in trying to save the world and learn the truth of why Aika had to die .

Although 17-year-old Makoto Konno is facing her last year of high school, she has no clue what she wants to do with the rest of her life.

Being pressured by her teachers, Makoto pushes her problems aside and spends her life relaxing with her best friends.

Makoto’s life gets a bit more complicated when she accidentally learns that she has the ability to “time-leap”: the power to leap through time!

At first, Makoto has fun with her new powers but quickly learns the consequences of her choices and trying to untangle all the damage she’s done.

Takemichi Hanagaki peaked after middle school. He had a group of loyal friends and a girlfriend named Hinata Tachibana.

But, 12-years-later, Takemichi is a nobody: working a dead-end job and being made fun of by kids and his younger boss.

Everything gets worse when Takemichi learns that the Tokyo Manji Gang murdered his ex-girlfriend Hinata and her brother.

Unfortunately, Takemichi is also about to meet his end on train tracks.

It’s on the verge of death that Takemichi unlocks the ability to travel through time! Hoping to prevent Hinata’s death, Takemichi uses his powers again to go back in time to face the Tokyo Manji Gang!

One moment, 18-year-old NEET Subaru Natsuki is standing in a convenience store, the next moment, he’s standing in a fantasy world!

He is excited to start his new life in a fantasy world…he quickly gets beat up by a bunch of thugs.

However, Subaru is saved by a half-elf girl named Satella, who he immediately falls in love with…then, he and Satella are both assassinated.

However, Subaru finds himself back where he first started and realizes that he goes back in time every time he dies .

Retaining this knowledge, Subaru meets Satella all over again, and again, and again.

As a kid, Satoru Fujinuma will never forget the faceless killer who murders three kids, including two of his classmates.

Now, Satoru is a 29-year-old manga artist, and the killer has struck again, killing someone precious to him.

Satoru gets falsely accused when he gets suddenly through 18 years into the past.

Finally, at the age of 11 again, Satoru realizes that he can discover the killer’s identity and stop the murders of his classmates!

Sakuta Azusagawa and Mai Sakurajima are a new couple, and things already get complicated when Sakuta’s first crush Shouko Makinohara re-enters his life.

This makes Mai beyond jealous, but Sakuta is confused as to why Shouko is suddenly a grown adult.

Then Shouko is back to when she was in middle school and suffering from her grave illness. What’s worse, the old scar on Sakuta’s chest is worsening whenever Shouko is around him.

Despite going through a rough patch with Mai, Sakuta knows that Shouko needs his help, but what will he lose if he continues to uncover her mystery?

In a small photography shop called Time Photo Studio, Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang can use their superpowers to enter their customer’s photos .

Cheng can control a person’s words and actions inside a photo while Lu can see 12 hours into the future from when a photo is taken.

Each job has its sets of challenges and dangers, but Cheng and Lu are determined to complete are of their jobs!

18-year-old “mad scientist” Rintaro “Okarin” Okabe lives in an old building in Akihabara where he hopes to invent “future gadgets” with his childhood friend and part-time café maid Mayuri Shiina and hacker Hashida “Daru” Itaru.

Their current project: the Phone Microwave. Function: turning bananas into green goop.

When science prodigy Makise Kurisu steps into their “lab,” she helps them out with their Phone Microwave, resulting in the weird trio creating a time machine!

With the beginning to change the past, present, and future, only Okabe is the only that can remember all of the timelines and the consequences of messing with time .

You need to watch this nostalgic time-travel anime on Netflix ASAP

Back to school, with a major twist.

Time travel shows are always fun. They may be long-standing franchises like Doctor Who , or cult classics like Dark , but many recent offerings in the subgenre have a gritty tone to offset the absurdity of the central premise. Luckily, one series on Netflix takes a completely different approach that pays off in spades. Here's why you should give it a watch.

Erased is a 2016 anime based on the manga of the same name. It has what seems to be a very classic premise — Satoru Fujinuma is a 29-year-old manga creator and delivery boy with a secret power . At random times, he involuntarily travels back in time (usually less than five minutes) in order to save people's lives. This is established from the get-go, with Satoru saving a schoolchild from being run over by a truck driver asleep at the wheel, landing him in the hospital for two days.

Adult Satoru with his coworker Airi in the present day.

While he recovers at home with his mother, he's reminded of a childhood friend who was murdered when he was in the fifth grade. While an arrest was made, Satoru always believed they got the wrong guy . After a devastating loss, Satoru experiences another one of his time jumps — but instead of going back five minutes, he goes back 18 years.

What follows is a weird, Looper -style series of preventing crime before it can happen. In between the nostalgic moments of 11-year-olds gushing about Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy , Satoru attempts to bond with shy schoolgirl Kayo Hinozuki to keep her from suffering that terrible fate. It seems innocent, but the series deals with murder, child abuse, and other tough topics.

Kayo and Satoru's other classmates in 1988.

If you're an experienced anime fan, this is just another example of the medium lending itself well to whatever genre it molds itself to. If you're an anime beginner, this series is a perfect place to start . The plot wouldn't be out of place on an hour-long NBC crime show airing Wednesday nights in 2006. What's more, the English dub is full of excellent performances and sound design.

If you're still daunted by the anime style, don't fret. There are two different versions of Erased on Netflix, one animated, one live-action. The two differ wildly, so the best way to experience the story is to watch both and compare and contrast. While the two depictions are different both in plot and medium, it's fascinating to see how it changes the way we see a complex story like Satoru's.

Erased is now streaming on Netflix.

• Science Fiction

10 Anime That Put A Unique Twist On Time Travel

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10 Popular Anime That Don't Have an Actual Ending

10 best anime about mythology, ranked, 10 best anime if you hate happy endings.

The genre of time travel is a vastly underexplored genre when it comes to anime. Even when the topic is explored by anime, science is almost always given up in favor of the usual anime shenanigans. Even when time travel anime are created, they often follow the same path — go to the past, fix a mistake, return to a better future.

RELATED: Steins;Gate: 10 Hidden Details About The Main Characters Everyone Missed

Understandably, while some fans enjoy watching anime that have similar plot lines, there are others who crave something different. So for those fans who are interested in watching time travel anime that have unique twists to them, they can have a peek at these fantastic anime.

10 InuYasha: School Girl Doesn't Want An Evil Demon To Wreak Havoc In Feudal Japan

Teenager Kagome Higurashi is inadvertently dragged by a demon five hundred years in the past. She is now in the Sengoku period, and ends up with a magical jewel inside her, which was the demon’s true target.

Eventually, the jewel breaks into multiple pieces. A harried and desperate Kagome enlists the help of Inuyasha , who is part human and part dog, to collect all the piece of the jewel before the demon can get them.

9 Iroduku: The World in Colors: Girl Is Sent Back In Time & Is Suddenly Able To See Colors

Hitomi Tsukishiro's grandmother makes use of a magic spell and ends up sending her back in time to 2018 when her grandmother (Kohaku) was a school-going student . Hitomi is confused at first, but her grandmother assures her she will find her purpose soon enough.

True to Kohaku’s words, Hitomi ends up in artist Yuito’s room. Seeing his paintings instantly lights a fire within her and floods her black and white life with his own colors (quite literally).

8 Meiji Tokyo Renka: Teenager Travels To The Meiji Period & Becomes A Ghost Hunter

One fine day, high schooler Ayazuki Mei finds herself opening her eyes in what appears to be the Meiji Period. The magician who transported her takes her to Rokumeikan. There she meets several notable figures of Japanese history, who explain to her the dynamics of this world.

RELATED: 10 Best Urban Fantasy Anime, According To MyAnimeList

Turns out, Ayazuki is a Tamayori, a rare type of person who can see the Mononoke (ghosts). Together with these men, she takes up her newfound responsibility of cleaning ghosts from the Meiji Period.

7 Occult Academy: A Girl From The Past & A Boy From The Future Work Together To Stop An Alien Invasion

Aliens invade the world in 2012, taking over it completely. Time travelers are ordered to travel to 1999 to find and destroy the one key that was prophesized to bring about the destruction of humankind.

Teenager Maya (from the year 1999) is convinced by time traveler Fumiaki (from the year 2012) to help him find and destroy the key. Despite not trusting his intentions completely, Maya agrees to help him. With the help of Fumiaki’s special cell phone, the duo must quickly find the key before it’s too late.

6 Drifters: A Warrior Travels To An Alternate Timeline Where Historic Japanese Warriors Are Alive & Kicking

Toyohisa Shimazu belonged to the Japan of the 1600s, but one day after winning an important battle, he is pushed into a world unlike any he has seen before.

This land is populated with Toyohisa’s heroes, all of whom should have been dead ! To make matters worse, it seems like magic and supernatural creatures are the norm here. He is soon dragged into the war and politics of the world, and eventually, the future of that world lies in the hands of a small group of individuals known only as Drifters.

5 Sakurada Reset: Girl-Boy Duo Help People But End Up Getting Sucked In An Evil Conspiracy

Thanks to his photographic memory, Kei Asai is the only person who is immune to Misora Haruki’s ability to reset time by three days. The two decide to join their hands and form the Service Club to help people from their town.

RELATED: Steins;Gate: 10 Things You Never Knew About This Time Travel Anime

Their adventures start off innocently, but with every person they help, the duo realizes that something more sinister is going on in their quiet little ocean-side town.

4 Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon: Time Traveling Demon Girl Is Raised As Human, But Is Unable To Escape Her Past

Half-demon Towa from feudal Japan suddenly finds herself in modern-day Japan, where she is adopted by a kind man who raises her as a normal human girl . A decade down the line, her life as a human turns upside down when she finds people from her timeline knocking on her doorstep.

Among them is Setsuna, her twin sister, but for some reason, she has no memories of Towa. Thus begins Towa’s journey of restoring her sister’s lost memories.

3 Buddy Complex: School Boy Travels To The Future, Only To Be Caught In A Mecha War

One fine day, high school student Aoba Watase is attacked by a futuristic-looking mecha robot, and he is saved by a girl named Hina. She then takes him seventy years into the future in order to avoid his death.

But it’s not like the future is any better – Aoba finds himself piloting a mecha, caught in the middle of a fearsome battle happening between two sides. Who are these people, why was he inside a mecha, and what will Aoba do with his newfound life now?

2 Thermae Romae: Roman Inventor Copies Modern Japanese Inventions To Sell Them Back Home

An architect from ancient Rome, called Lucius Modestus, suddenly finds himself in modern-day Japan. The time travel machine, or rather a time hole , connects bathhouses from ancient Rome to today’s Japan.

Mesmerized and often overwhelmed by everything he sees, Lucius wastes no time taking heavy “inspiration” from everything he sees in Japan. He then goes back to his time and recreates the very things he saw in order to gain a name for himself among his people.

1 ERASED: Man Travels To His Kindergarten Body To Solve His Mother's Murder Case

Satoru Fujinuma is a 29-year-old who is capable of time skips, although he’s never been able to control them. One day, he travels years back in time in the body of his child self. Now, he’s tasked with just one job: to find out who killed his mother, so that he can finally free himself of being wrongfully accused of her death.

However, not too many doors open for children looking to solve murder mysteries, which proves to be a tough nut to crack for Satoru.

NEXT: Steins; Gate: 5 Reasons Why The Original Anime Is Better (& 5 Ways Steins;Gate 0 Improves On It)

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10 best animated movies about time travel, ranked.

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10 Time Travel Movie Rules, Ranked Worst To Best

Every hayao miyazaki movie ranked, including the boy and the heron, your name ending explained (in detail).

• Animated movies offer more creative freedom for exploring time travel concepts and expanding on them in unique ways.
• Animated movies, including those about time travel, are not just for kids. They contain valuable life lessons for both children and adults.
• Time travel movies in animation can touch on important themes like family and empathy, providing heartwarming and emotional experiences.

Many movies have taken advantage of animation to make some of the best time travel movies. As animation isn't hindered by what an actor is able to do on set, there is a lot more freedom when making an animated movie. It makes time travel an excellent plot device for animated movies to use, as they can really expand on the concept in unique ways.

A common belief is that animated movies are meant purely for kids. While there are a lot of kid-friendly animated movies, there are plenty of animated movies for adults , too, including Grave of the Fireflies, Loving Vincent , and even South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut . Animated movies tend to contain life lessons that are beneficial to kids and adults alike, and the ones about time travel are no exception, seeing as some of the best touch on subjects such as family and the importance of empathy.

Time travel movies are often riddled with plot holes, but some of them, like Interstellar, manage to stick to their own rules from beginning to end.

10 Regular Show: The Movie (2015)

A time travel flick based on the cartoon network show.

Regular Show: The Movie takes place between the first two episodes of the Cartoon Network show's seventh season. It follows Mordecai, Rigby, and their friends as they try to fix a mistake the duo made in their past. Mordecai and Rigby had made a time machine in high school that is now being used by their former volleyball coach for evil. Regular Show: The Movie maintains the wacky comedy that makes the TV series so popular. Its message on the importance of friendship and communication is surprisingly heartwarming as Mordecai and Rigby come to understand how past actions have hurt each other.

9 Steins;Gate: The Movie - Load Region Of Déjà Vu (2013)

A follow-up to the popular anime.

Taking place one year after the events of the anime series, Steins;Gate: The Movie - Load Region of Déjà Vu discusses a popular issue with time travel, what happens when one goes too far with it. The film takes it in an interesting direction as Rintaro Okabe's consistent time travel causes him to disappear from reality with only Kurisa Mikase remembering him. Steins;Gate succeeded at making a good anime sequel movie , which is a feat in itself. The movie is surprisingly emotional, as Kurisa's love for Rintaro is constantly tested by failures to rescue him. The movie does well at balancing the drama with a unique time travel story.

8 Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014)

A dog and his human son have to fix time.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman is a DreamWorks movie about a young boy whose antics rip a hole in time. Sherman and his dog adoptive father, Mr. Peabody, have to undo the damage while dealing with child protective services. The relationship between Mr. Peabody and Sherman is sweet and provides a lot of the movie's humor. Mr. Peabody & Sherman has a lot of heart and contains a lot of commentary on family and how families can be different. The overall message, that just because a family looks different doesn't mean it's bad, is one that will stand the test of time. Although parts of the movie were slow, the heart behind Mr. Peabody & Sherman makes up for it.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman is based on characters from The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends . Mr. Peabody and Sherman were in the segments titled Peabody's Improbable History .

7 Quantum Cowboys (2022)

A live-action/animated sci-fi western.

The ever-changing style of Quantum Cowboys makes it one of the most interesting animated movies. A sci-fi Western following two drifters who decide to help a woman get her land back, Quantum Cowboys is a unique mix of live-action and animation . The constant stylistic switches can make it difficult to understand, but once the plot gets moving and the idea of reality is thrown out of the window, the movie becomes engaging and philosophical. The ambition behind Quantum Cowboys is what makes it such a good time travel movie. As a lot of time travel movies focus on action, it's refreshing to see a time travel film take a more philosophical route.

6 Godzilla: The Planet Of The Monsters (2017)

Humans must flee earth after godzilla attacks.

After a Godzilla attack nearly makes humans extinct, the survivors are forced to flee Earth with two alien races on the ship Aratrum . 20 years later, Captain Haruo Sakaki convinces everyone to take the Aratrum back to Earth after finding Godzilla's weakness. When the Aratrum returns, 20,000 years have passed on Earth, and the planet has been drastically altered by Godzilla's presence. Like the best Godzilla franchise movies , Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters has incredible visuals and engaging action scenes . Although the characters are not fleshed out well, the beauty of the film overshadows that. The visuals, especially those of Godzilla, are magnificent and capture the essence of the kaiju genre wonderfully.

Two sequels were made in 2018, Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle and Godzilla: The Planet Eater.

5 The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

A girl's time travel exploits begin to have consequences.

In The Girl Who Leapt Through Time , teenager Makoto Konno discovers a device that allows her to jump through time. She uses it to avoid being late, get perfect grades, and avoid awkward situations. As she continues to use this new power, Makoto realizes that not only does she have a limited number of time jumps, but her actions have affected those around her. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a fun coming-of-age movie that feels like a Studio Ghibli movie. The imagery and softness of the film, juxtaposed with the real danger Makoto puts herself and others in, add a lot of weight to the film. The movie drives its message of understanding the consequences of one's actions home perfectly.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is loosely based on a novel of the same name by Yasutaka Tsutsui.

Hayao Miyazaki is one of the biggest names in animation, and here's how all of his movies, including The Boy and the Heron, compare to each other.

4 Mirai (2018)

A young boy time travels to learn about his family.

In Mirai , 6-year-old Kun is distraught by the arrival of his baby sister, Mirai, as he is jealous of the attention she gets. Throughout the movie, Kun goes into the garden and travels through time. Every time he does so, Kun meets various people, and each one turns out to be a member of Kun's family, including a version of Mirai from the future and Kun's great-grandfather. Like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time , Mirai 's imagery and plot make it feel like a Studio Ghibli film. It's interesting to see time traveling affect the present in such an intimate way. The biggest change to come from Kun's time traveling in Mirai is within Kun himself as he learns to be more understanding of his family.

3 Meet The Robinsons (2007)

Kid-friendly time travel adventure.

Disney's Meet the Robinsons is a fun and heartwarming time travel adventure movie. Young inventor Lewis is taken to the future by a boy named Wilbur, who needs his help. Lewis bonds with Wilbur's family, the Robinsons, and soon becomes entangled in a conflict with the mysterious Bowler Hat Guy. Meet the Robinsons is full of emotion and humor as it tackles topics such as family and guilt. It's the perfect movie to watch again as an adult to catch hidden details about Meet the Robinsons ' characters , who are the ones who truly make the movie spectacular. Each one brings something different, and they are so complex that it makes Meet the Robinsons feel real, even if the setting and plot are fantastical.

2 Your Name (2016)

An emotionally charged anime movie about body-switching.

After wishing to be a boy in her next life, Mitsuha Miyamizu switches bodies with Taki Tachibana, a boy living in Tokyo. The two continue to switch bodies on certain days and help each other in their personal lives. When Taki tries to find Mitsuha, however, he learns that they've been time traveling as well, as Mitsuha died three years earlier when a comet destroyed her village. Your Name 's subversion of a classic trope makes it feel new and exciting. Despite the sci-fi aspects of it, Your Name stays incredibly grounded and focuses on everyday life. The intimacy of the film is what makes it so special, and every emotion that it invokes is genuine.

Your Name, a 2016 animated film, combines an emotional love story with a sci-fi time travel element in a plot that can be hard to follow.

1 A Christmas Carol (2009)

An animated retelling of the classic novel.

Disney's version of Charles Dickens' novel, A Christmas Carol , was shot using motion capture and follows the original tale closely. Wealthy miser Ebenezer Scrooge is taken throughout his past, present, and future by three ghosts to show him the error of his ways. Many versions of A Christmas Carol have been made with varying degrees of accuracy. A Christmas Carol is one of the most prominent time travel stories, and the 2009 film did it brilliantly. The animation never takes away from the heart of the story and actually helps to enhance it at times. It maintains the fantastic nature of Dickens' novel while still maintaining the reality of the story.

10 Best Anime Movies For Children, Ranked

• Anime movies captivate children with vibrant animation, imaginative plots, and memorable characters.
• These movies entertain and impart valuable life lessons about friendship, courage, and perseverance.
• Some of the best anime movies for children include Mary and the Witch's Flower, Mirai, and Lu Over the Wall.

Anime movies offer a unique world of storytelling that captivates children's attention with vibrant animation, imaginative plots, and memorable characters. From the enchanting forests of My Neighbor Totoro to the magical adventures of Kiki's Delivery Service, these films open up a universe of wonder and excitement.

10 Best Whimsical Anime, Ranked

These movies entertain and impart valuable life lessons about friendship, courage, and perseverance with diverse themes, ranging from whimsical tales in fantastical settings to heartwarming stories. In this list of the best anime movies for children, we explore films that have won the hearts of young audiences worldwide and are well-known for their artistic merit and storytelling brilliance.

Mary And The Witch's Flower (2017)

My anime list (mal) score - 7.26, mary and the witch's flower.

Release Date 2017-06-08

Runtime 103 minutes

Genres Family, Animation, Adventure

Why Watch Mary And The Witch's Flower?

• Engaging a mix of fantasy and reality
• Promotes self-discovery and confidence

Mary and the Witch's Flower is a captivating children's anime movie about Mary Smith, a young girl who moves to the English countryside to live with her Great-Aunt Charlotte. Feeling bored and restless, Mary follows a mysterious cat into the forest, where she discovers a strange, glowing flower known as the Fly-by-Night, which only blooms once every seven years.

Upon touching the flower, Mary gains temporary magical powers and finds herself whisked away to Endor College, a school for witches in the sky. The film combines elements of magic, mystery, and self-discovery, creating a story that is not only engaging but also thrilling for children.

Mirai (2018)

My anime list (mal) score - 7.28.

Release Date 2018-07-20

Runtime 98 minutes

Genres Drama, Animation, Adventure

Why Watch Mirai?

• Time-travel adventure
• Teaches children about loving family

Mirai is a delightful and imaginative anime movie for children that revolves around Kun, a young boy who feels neglected by the arrival of his baby sister, Mirai. His life takes a magical turn when he discovers a mysterious garden in his house that serves as a gateway to time travel.

9 Best Time Travel Anime

Kun meets various family members at different points in their lives, including a teenage version of his sister Mirai, his mother as a little girl, and his great-grandfather as a young man. These encounters offer Kun new perspectives on his family. The film subtly teaches important life lessons about family and understanding others' perspectives, making it enjoyable and educational.

Lu Over The Wall (2017)

My anime list (mal) score - 7.39, lu over the wall.

Release Date 2017-05-19

Runtime 112 minutes

Genres Animation, Adventure, Fantasy

Why Watch Lu Over The Wall?

• Fun-filled experience for children
• Upbeat and catchy music

Lu Over the Wall is a vibrant and unconventional anime movie about Kai, a gloomy high school student, and Lu, a cheerful mermaid with a love for music. Kai's life changes when he joins a band with his classmates and discovers his passion for music. During a band practice session by the sea, the music attracts a peculiar and energetic Lu.

What makes this film particularly appealing to children is its colorful and dynamic animation style, which brings the underwater world and its quirky, playful characters to life. The music is another highlight, featuring catchy and upbeat tunes that kids can enjoy and sing along.

Okko's Inn (2018)

My anime list (mal) score - 7.50.

Release Date 2018-06-11

Runtime 94 minutes

Why Watch Okko's Inn?

• Imparts valuable life lessons
• Relatable character experiences

Okko's Inn is a heartwarming anime movie that centers around Okko, a young girl who goes to live with her grandmother at a traditional Japanese inn after a family tragedy. What makes this movie particularly appealing to children is its unique blend of real-life issues and supernatural elements.

Okko's encounters with friendly spirits who guide her in running the inn add an element of magical adventure. The bright and colorful animation captures the charm of traditional Japanese settings. The film teaches valuable life lessons about kindness, understanding, and overcoming challenges, making it a relatable and enjoyable experience for young audiences.

Penguin Highway (2018)

My anime list (mal) score - 7.55, penguin highway.

Release Date 2018-08-07

Runtime 117 minutes

Why Watch Penguin Highway?

• Playful penguins bring joy
• Educational and fun for children

Penguin Highway is a whimsical and imaginative anime movie for children. The story revolves around Aoyama, a bright and curious fourth-grader who investigates the sudden appearance of penguins in his suburban town. This unusual phenomenon will spark children's imagination as the penguins bring a touch of the Antarctic into a familiar, everyday setting.

This film is appealing to children because of its portrayal of the world through the eyes of a child scientist. Aoyama's methodical approach to solving the mystery is entertaining and educational, encouraging young viewers to question and explore their surroundings. The animation is colorful and lively, with the playful penguins providing comic relief and visual delight.

A Letter To Momo (2012)

My anime list (mal) score - 7.58, a letter to momo.

Release Date 2012-04-21

Runtime 120 minutes

Genres Animation, Comedy, Adventure

Why Watch A Letter To Momo?

• Heartwarming tale of coping with loss
• Mischievous goblins add playful charm

A Letter to Momo is a touching story about a young girl named Momo who is struggling to cope with her father's sudden death. After his passing, Momo finds an unfinished letter addressed to her, with only the words Dear Momo written on it. The story takes a magical turn when Momo and her mother move from Tokyo to a remote island.

What captivates children most are the three mischievous and comical goblins that Momo encounters on this island, bringing a blend of fun and whimsy to the story. These goblins, with their quirky personalities and humorous antics, provide laughter and lighten the film's more serious moments.

The Cat Returns (2002)

My anime list (mal) score - 7.72, the cat returns.

Release Date 2002-06-20

Runtime 75 minutes

Why Watch The Cat Returns?

• Whimsical magical kingdom of cats
• Charming and humorous characters

The Cat Returns starts as a fanciful tale with Haru, a high school student, who rescues a cat from an oncoming truck. Unbeknownst to her, the cat she saves is Prince Lune, the heir to the throne of the Cat Kingdom. As a token of gratitude, the cats shower Haru with gifts and then unexpectedly offer her Prince Lune's hand in marriage.

Haru's sudden engagement to a cat and her journey to the Cat Kingdom lead to a series of whimsical adventures. The movie is filled with adventure and light-hearted humor, keeping children engaged and entertained. The characters, especially the elegant and dapper cat Baron, are memorable and add to the film's charm.

The Secret World Of Arrietty (2010)

My anime list (mal) score - 7.89, the secret world of arrietty.

Release Date 2010-07-17

Why Watch The Secret World Of Arrietty?

• Enthralling miniature world
• Beautiful animation of lush, vibrant scenes

The Secret World of Arrietty by Studio Ghibli is a charming tale about a family of tiny people known as Borrowers. These Borrowers live secretly in the walls and floors of a human household. The story revolves around Arrietty, a spirited and adventurous young Borrower whose peaceful life changes when Arrietty is discovered by a human boy, Shawn.

The intricate details of how the Borrowers navigate and utilize everyday objects as part of their miniature lives will spark a child's curiosity and wonder. For instance, borrowers repurpose tissue paper for various needs, including bedding. Overall, The Secret World of Arrietty is a visually stunning film that offers a glimpse into a hidden world of wonder.

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

My anime list (mal) score - 8.22, kiki's delivery service.

Release Date 1989-07-29

Genres Family, Animation, Fantasy

Why Watch Kiki's Delivery Service?

• Inspiring tale of independence
• Picturesque European settings

Kiki's Delivery Service tells the adventures of Kiki, a young witch. Based on witch tradition, at the age of 13, Kiki must leave home for a year to live independently and hone her witchcraft. With her talking black cat, Jiji, Kiki flies to a far-off city on her broomstick. Settling in a beautiful seaside town , Kiki starts a flying delivery service, using her broomstick to deliver goods.

9 Best Witches in Anime

The film's bright and inviting animation portrays the picturesque seaside town and charming European-style settings. Kiki, as a young witch-in-training, is an inspiring character for children. Her journey is filled with challenges and triumphs, offering valuable lessons about perseverance and confidence.

My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

My anime list (mal) score - 8.25, my neighbor totoro.

Release Date 1988-04-16

Runtime 86 minutes

Genres Family, Animation, Comedy

Why Watch My Neighbor Totoro?

• Enchanting to all ages
• Captures childhood wonder beautifully

My Neighbor Totoro is ranked #1 on the list because it's a timeless and beloved anime movie for children. The story follows Satsuki and Mei, two young girls who, along with their father, relocate to a rural area to be closer to their sick mother. The girls quickly adapt to their new surroundings, full of lush landscapes and intriguing wildlife.

In their explorations, they encounter Totoro, a large, friendly forest spirit who can only be seen by children. Totoro, with his large, cuddly appearance and playful nature, has quickly become a favorite among young viewers. Additionally, the movie captures the innocence and wonder of childhood, where the boundaries between reality and fantasy.

10 Best 90s Anime Movies

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