“If you’re looking for some best anime on HBO Max, we’ve got you covered with some genuinely amazing recommendations.”
HBO Max, recently rebranded as Max, is an excellent source of entertainment for everyone who is looking for a popular TV series or a praised anime. Anime only used to be available on certain streaming platforms, but with recent years boosting its popularity to unprecedented levels, many streamers such as Hulu, Disney+, and Max have begun adding more and more titles to their catalogs.
If you own a Max subscription and are looking to make the best out of it, watching a few anime might be your best decision. In fact, there are more than enough anime titles lying around for a while in the streamer. So, without further ado, here are the best anime on HBO Max you can stream right now.
10. Housing Complex C
Housing Complex C may not become the best anime you’ve ever watched, but it is a fun way to spend two hours of your time, considering it only has four episodes, which is almost the same as a film. That said, despite being a bit cliched, the anime shines decently in all aspects, such as a solid story.
However, you’ll get through it, given how rare horror anime shows are, and with its scares, you’ll actually enjoy it more than you think. The anime follows a girl named Kimi Shirokado, who lives in a small complex situated near a seaside town known as Kurosaki. However, wherever she goes, trouble seems to find her as horrifying events take place near her. Is it some sort of curse she bears, or an evil spirit has descended upon the complex?
9. The Secret World of Arrietty
You know, when it’s a fantasy anime involving Studio Ghibli, it will turn out to be a magnificent one, and The Secret World of Arrietty doesn’t disappoint in the slightest. As usual, there is a terrific amount of detail, even in the minuscule parts, making it worthy of one of the best Ghibli films.
It gives you a new perspective on human lives, with the characters being the backbone carrying the series throughout. The story revolves around Shou, a young boy who spends his summers at his aunt’s house, but one season leads him toward a shocking discovery.
He finds a miniature girl the size of his little finger in the backyard, who later introduces their species as “Borrowers.” While he is excited at the fact that he will be making more friends with another species, what he doesn’t expect is the consequences that arrive from his decisions involving two different human kinds.
8. Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy
In the midst of numerous isekai anime releases every year, it’s hard to find new concepts within the genre, but Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy brings something unique to the table. It is more of a parody than your typical isekai anime with overpowered MC; regardless, it feels pretty unique with a fair amount of action and fantasy stuff thrown in.
Makoto Misumi finds himself in a different world, but unlike other isekai anime where the MC has no clue of ending up there, Makoto’s parents made a deal with a goddess years ago regarding his current predicament.
However, finding Makoto’s personality hideous, the goddess revokes his title as the Hero and sends him to the farthest edge of the world, where he won’t be able to get in contact with his kind that easily. How will Makoto find his way back into this dangerous yet fascinating world?
7. Castle in the Sky
Castle in the Sky is one of those Studio Ghibli anime movies where masterful storytelling plays a key role, as Hayao Miyazaki’s imagination goes beyond our wild expectations. It has a nice touch of magic and science fiction, and given how many events of the film take place in the air, Miyazaki’s means of dealing with sceneries also play a huge part in mesmerizing the viewers.
The anime takes place in a world filled with airships and planes and follows a girl named Sheet, who is abducted by the government seeking a mysterious crystal amulet. However, the girl escapes from her captives and meets a boy named Pazu, with whom she dreams of reaching the famed castle, Laputa.
Unfortunately, the government seems to have the same purpose for their hideous ambitions, and they find themselves chased by the agents while getting closer to each other and dealing with critical situations.
6. Noblesse
Anime adaptations based on webtoons are extremely rare, at least the good ones, and most people can only name a few, such as Lookism and Tower of God. However, Noblesse is another great adaptation if you don’t precisely compare it to the depth of its source material, as it simply features equal parts of both pros and cons. Nevertheless, if you’re looking to watch some great action anime on HBO Max, Noblesse should be your best bet.
Rai, a powerful noble vampire, has been asleep for 820 years on Earth and has no knowledge of mankind’s evolution and achievements. After awakening from his sleep, he enrolls in the Ye Ran High School as a student with the help of his servant Frankenstein in order to live a peaceful life. However, when both friends and foes from his past surface in his new life, he is forced to fight them.
5. Weathering With You
Although not the best Makoto Shinkai film, it definitely is one of his best works, owing to its mesmerizing animation, which is on par with Your Name. Right after its release, Weathering With You broke numerous box office records both in Japan and US, making it one of the greatest anime films of all time. If you haven’t had a chance to catch it up in theaters back in 2019, it is now available to watch on HBO Max.
The story takes place in Tokyo, which is filled with rains and floods from all sides, and amidst this chaotic downpour, we follow two characters: Hodaka Morishima, a boy who struggles to survive financially and ends up getting a job at a small-time publisher and Hina Amano, a girl who strives to sustain both herself and her younger brother. What would be the result when both of their fates intertwine?
4. Tokyo Revengers
Tokyo Revengers is one of the few anime series which gained immense popularity right after its release and even gave rise to a live-action film that performed very well at the box office.
While some claim it as a masterpiece and a few deem it as “overhyped,” we believe it is neither because it is relatively entertaining, holding up to its massive fame as well as can get slow-paced at times, but if you can bear with that, it will be a great anime series to binge-watch on Max.
The story is about Takemichi Hanagaki, a boy who used to be respected, had a gang of friends, and even a beautiful girlfriend, but now he leads a loser lifestyle, apologizing to his boss for no reason.
However, when he hears that the girl he loves has died from murder, he is devastated and even attempts to kill himself in front of a train. Just when he was on the verge of death’s door, he was transported back in time, where he had everything. Will he be able to change his fate this time and save his girlfriend?
3. Spirited Away
The best way to describe Spirited Away would be magically mesmerizing because despite being made in the early 2000s, the anime’s quality is over the top, and its Oscar might act as proof of that. You might have heard a lot about this anime, and perhaps, you even have a notion of whether this anime film is worth watching.
In simple terms, Spirited Away is every bit worth watching, and if you love the aesthetics of Studio Ghibli, you can’t find a better anime movie on HBO Max. The story follows a ten-year-old girl named Chihiro, who is clearly unhappy moving into a new house, and on their way, their parents discover an abandoned amusement park.
However, once they enter the park and eat freshly cooked food there, they both are turned into pigs, and Chihiro discovers that it is a spirit world and she must find a way to survive and save her parents.
2. To Your Eternity
Depending on your interests, you will either love To Your Eternity or find it extremely boring. Regardless, an average anime watcher who’s seen at least tens of series from a few genres would easily be able to grasp the movie’s essence, thus finding it extremely impressive.
The anime is about an Orb cast upon Earth for some reason, and it takes different shapes depending on whose reflection it captures. However, when it takes the form of a wolf, it eventually meets a young boy named Fushi, who’s been yearning to meet his tribe. So, he abandons his home in hopes of exploring the world and finding the so-called paradise that his tribe went searching for.
1. Dr. Stone
Dr. Stone is one of those anime you just can’t stop watching, no matter how over the top it seems, since it draws you in with incredible humor and an exhilarating storyline. If you have a minuscule amount of interest in science, then the best way to describe this anime would be “your paradise.”
There are countless aspects that made it what it is today, including its intriguing setting, the overly intelligent and genius main character, the well-written storyline, and not to mention the amazing main and side characters who bring life to the anime.
In the anime, a mysterious beam has petrified the whole of humanity, and after 3700 years, Senku, a science geek who has knowledge of everything in the world, has awakened through a miraculous liquid. With the new determination to save the entire world, he begins creating civilization from the ground up, but not everyone desires the same world he aspires to create.
