For the longest time, humans havebeen fascinated with time travelas 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.
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. To help provide some guidance into this particular theme, let’s take a look at thebest time travel animeof all time.
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16bit Sensation: Another Layermight be a touch polarizing, primarily due to its loud protagonist, Konoha. However, if someone thinks she is charming rather than obnoxious, they will find an endearing love letter to ’90s gaming and the bishoujo subgenre in particular. A big fan of these types of releases, Konoha wants to follow in the footsteps of the greats; unfortunately, she enters a modern industry that ships out half-baked games without any love or effort.
One day, the protagonist randomly travels back to 1992 and, before long, becomes part of a video game company that specializes in these titles. Along with getting to take part in the development of something she loves, Konoha also travels back and forth between the past and present, dropping into different years that were pivotal for the gaming industry.
While containing its share of issues,16bit Sensation: Another Layerworks well as a tribute to gaming’s history and a celebration of the bishoujo genre. The story gets a bit convoluted towards the end, but it also never takes itself too seriously.
Gintamais awesome. The manga and anime are both among the best comedies of their respective industries, and their serious arcs compare well with most battle shonens. Anyone craving a good laugh should check out the TV series, and they can look forward to nearly 400 episodes of brilliance, along with a few movies. While not part of the main storyline, time travel fitsGintamalike a glove, a statement that extends to nearly every sci-fi staple.
Be Forever Yorozuyasends Gintoki into the near future when his home has become something of a wasteland due to a plague. In the meantime, he is presumed dead, while his closest allies (Kagura and Shinpachi) have matured and become more traditional shonen heroes. As with most ofGintama’s one-off arcs,Be Forever Yorozuyadoes not take itself seriously, resulting in a hilarious 90 minutes that poke fun at time travel tropes while presentingbeloved charactersin a different light.
As fun asBe Forever Yorozuyais, it cannot be recommended as a standalone action-comedy.
Tokyo Revengersfollowsthe 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 stories by making the protagonist weaker than the rest of the characters, a decision that can be somewhat divisive since Takemichi does not grow more physically competent as the series progresses. Still, anyone who wants to see a “normal” character trying to fix the future should watchTokyo Revengers.
Now,Tokyo Revengersis arguably among the most famoustime travel anime, but it is not necessarily among the very best. The anime loses steam after its opening season, with subsequent arcs feeling rather repetitive. Crucially, the time travel element is not particularly interesting or deeply explored; in fact, it is mostly just used to set up the next arc.
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.
OK,The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiyais a bit of a weird case since time travel is not explained that concretely in the anime, and it is mostly just mentioned and part of the overall lore. Just to be clear, it is important to the universe and story; however,The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiyararely feels like atime travel anime. The only exception is the Endless Eight arc, which locks the main characters in a time loop that only Kyon recognizes. While experimental and ambitious, this saga tends to be extremely divisive, to the point of arguably ruining the show’s momentum.
While not as common asisekai otome game stories, recent years have produced a couple of anime about time-traveling “villainess” characters, and they are typically victims of a frame job (but not always, as shown byTearmoon Empire).7th Time Loopis probably this theme’s best example to date, largely thanks to the female lead’s strong and well-written personality. The hook is that Rishe is stuck in a time loop that resets with her death, which usually happens within a few years.
Each time, she reawakens on the day her engagement is broken off amid a false accusation. More importantly, each time, Rishe follows a different path, allowing herself to pick up a wide plethora of skills that build upon each other with every new loop. It is a clever premise that justifies the protagonist’s high competence.
In her 7th loop, Rishe inadvertently becomes engaged to Arnold, a prince who has a dark future ahead of him. Despite initially hating her partner, she gradually gets to know the prince, and they develop an oddly charming dynamic that allows both of them to shine as individuals and as a unit. Rishe also makes regular use of the knowledge she picked up from previous loops, and it is always entertaining to see how the anime will incorporate these elements.
Inuyashais a popular anime series that is based on the work of Rumiko Takahashi.Inuyashacovers 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.
Inuyashais much more adventurous in comparison to the othertime 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.
Mamoru Hosoda’s classic 2006 sci-fi romance movietells 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. Despite a plot that may appear too “straightforward” at a glance,The Girl Who Leapt Through Timeis an engaging and thought-provoking coming-of-age drama with moments of a slice of life that audiences can relate to.
Makoto is not only charming but also relatable, and she mostly uses her newfound power to do stuff that most teenagers would do. Eventually, the movie’s relaxing and lighthearted tone takes a turn for the dramatic, largely thanks to the introduction of a secondary character.
Your Nametells the story of a Tokyo boy, Taki, and a country girl, Mitsuha, 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. The time travel twist does not reveal itself until about halfway through; consequently, while a major part of the story and arguably one of the best moments of the movie, this element is not immediately apparent.
Beautifully animated and supported by the awesome J-pop soundtrack of Radwimps,Your Namewill tug on anyone’s heartstrings and make them root for the characters. Ever since its release,Your Namehas become established as one of the greatest anime movies of all time, and that seems unlikely to change anytime soon.
Part of the Isekai genre,Re:Zerofocuses on Subaru Natsuki who is transported to a fantasy world. The time travel aspect comes into play every time Subaru dies since he resurrects at the last checkpoint similar to video games, prompting him to figure his way through until reaching the next checkpoint. Over time, the psychological ordeal of watching his friends and himself die only to be resurrected begins to take on toll on his psyche, creatinga very interesting if not disturbing fantasy narrative.
Beyond his resurrection ability, Subaru is pretty ordinary and weak, which means he has to use his knowledge of events to try and get an upper hand in situations that are generally well beyond his capabilities.Re:Zerohas plenty of strengths and positives, but one of its greatest achievements is its exploration of Subaru’s psyche.
A psychological murder thriller with elements of time travel set in Tokyo and Hokkaido.Erasedfollows 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,Erasedis a must-see for anyoneinterested in crime thrillers and the mystery genre. The anime notoriously ends on a polarizing note that can retroactively hurt the rest of the show; nevertheless, it is still worth watching.
