Animation has had a fascinating decade. The years 2010 to 2019 had a whole host of instant classics that have set the standards for animation moving forward. More importantly, though, they were all incredibly entertaining shows to watch, and almost as fun to discuss with others.
From slick shounen anime to oddball kid's cartoons, there have been so many different stories told through the medium of animation. Every decade has its most popular shows though, and IMDb has chosen those shows with their votes.
One snowy day, Tanjiro Kamado goes home to a nightmare come to life. His home was covered in blood, and inside, his entire family was murdered. All except for his sister, Nezuko. Worse yet, her sister has been tainted with demon blood as well, slowly corrupting her. To avenge his family, Tanjiro sets out to train as a demon slayer. From that day on, he fights to make sure that no other family befalls the same fate that he had gone through.
Demon Slayer took the world by storm, quickly climbing to the same heights as other shounen like One Piece and Naruto did in only a few short years. Demon Slayer quickly became one of the fastest-selling manga of all time, averaging 6.52 million units sold per volume. Demon Slayer might not break the mold, but it's certainly breaking records.
Much like any shounen, Hunter x Hunter starts with a young and rather simple kid aspiring to be the "strongest X of all time". In this case, the kid is Gon Freecss, a fatherless child who aspires to be a legendary Hunter, much like his father before him. With the help of his friends and good old-fashioned hard work, Gon sets out to become a Hunter worthy of his father's approval. Also, Killua's there, he's awesome.
Hunter x Hunter is one of the strangest popular shounen, due to its unorthodox characterization of the two main characters. It can't be discussed without spoilers, but Hunter x Hunter goes to some rather unexpected places during its run.
Heading into the western sphere of animation for a bit, Adventure Time tells the tale of Finn the Human and Jake the Dog's adventures through the magical (and really, really weird) land of Oo. What starts as a seemingly innocent, if a bit quirky, cartoon slowly becomes one of the darker cartoons in Cartoon Network history. Well, as dark as a show with a talking cinnamon bun can be (which is to say, surprisingly dark).
Adventure Time's fascinating cast of characters, surreal sense of humor, and surprisingly emotional moments set the tone for the 2010s era of cartoons. It's clear that Adventure Time is a modern classic, and will likely be pointed at as the start of the amazing decade of animation ahead.
Not wanting to be left behind on the "funny lil cartoon with surprisingly dark moments" trend, Disney came out with their show, Gravity Falls. Dipper and Mabel Pines are siblings who have been sent away to live with their great uncle (or "grunkle") Stan, a con man running a tourist trap in the titular town of Gravity Falls. Some writers have even taken to calling it "Twin Peaks for Kids".
While it's not a 1:1 parody, both fandoms do have a habit of going "Old Man MacGucket" on the fan theories, which is honestly part of the fun. Gravity Falls is a fun and hilarious show that also happens to be a gripping mystery with great characterization and deeply rich lore. Okay, yeah, it does feel like it's Twin Peaks for kids.
Legend of Korra is a polarizing show, but one can't deny its cultural impact during its heyday. Set several decades after the Avatar: The Last Airbender, this show focuses on the next Avatar, Korra, and her tumultuous journey to be worthy of the title passed down to her. Korra's journey may be completely different from Aang's, but they are both powerful Avatars in their own right.
While the quality of the show is up to subjective taste, one thing that most people could agree on is that the show was incredibly bold with its choices. If nothing else, the show has to be respected for trying new things, especially considering how much studio interference the creators had to deal with. The Legend of Korra didn't quite reach the same heights as its predecessor, but it's well-loved by old and new fans alike.
The anthology format has always been a really fun way to tell stories, and incredibly refreshing in an age where everything has to be some long-running arc. Love, Death & Robots tell us several stories showcasing humanity's relationship with technology, from the hilarious to the horrifying. Spoiler warning, it's probably going to be both 99% of the time.
Love, Death & Robots is also a bit of a lie in and of itself. Not every single episode will have all three. Some episodes don't even have robots. It's more like Love, Death or Robots really, but nitpicking doesn't change the fact that it's an emotional rollercoaster of a show. Every episode is a surprise, people are down for more lovey-deadly stories about robots (or aliens, again, anthologies are weird).
BoJack Horseman focuses on the titular character, BoJack Horseman, a washed-up actor from the 90s who has coasted on the success of his show Horsin Around for decades. Being blackout drunk, feeling worthless and complaining make up most of his time. However, that all changes when he decides to write a book about his life, and hires a ghostwriter, Diane, to write it for him.
Unlike most of the other animated shows from this decade, BoJack Horseman focuses on real-life issues such as addiction, depression, and the toxicity of celebrity culture. BoJack Horseman is a melancholy experience that left viewers stunned and left thousands of people wondering how they're depressed over a sad horse show.
Saitama was your ordinary, everyday, garden variety, normal, insert boring adjective here, salaryman until he found himself face to face with a giant crab monster attacking a child. With a level of courage that shocks even him, he manages to defeat the crab monster and saves the day. Full of adrenaline, Saitama feels a spark for the first time in his mundane life. On that day, he would dedicate his life to becoming a hero (for fun).
Three years later, Saitama's gotten so strong that he can defeat any foe with just one punch. Much to Saitama's dismay. The show is both a parody and a love letter to the oversaturated shounen genre. With its fun ensemble cast, fantastic action scenes, and Saitama's hilariously apathetic outlook, One Punch Man is a great show despite its gimmicky premise.
"On that day, mankind received a grim reminder. We lived in fear of the titans, and were disgraced to live in these cages we called walls.” With that quote, Attack on Titan took the entire world by storm. This is the show that garnered such a huge following that it even managed to grab people who weren't anime fans in the first place to start following the series.
While the current season of the anime is hotly debated by fans (no spoilers), there's no denying how shocking and dark Attack on Titan was. The story paints a bleak portrayal of humanity, showcasing the futility of life as well as the horrors of constant war. Attack on Titan's explosive entrance is a cultural touchstone for anime. As for the ending, it was certainly a thing that happened.
Rick and Morty follows the adventures of the mad, alcoholic scientist Rick Sanchez (AKA the current face of "If you idolized them, you're missing the point" memes after Walter White kicked the bucket) and his meek grandson, Morty. It's a show with a tendency of going from wacky antics to incredibly somber monologues about how garbage life can be. That duality is part of why so many people enjoy Rick and Morty, IQ memes aside.
Fun fact, Rick and Morty has the most user votes out of any animated show on IMDb, beating other classics such as The Simpsons and South Park. Rick and Morty left their footprint on cartoon history. Although looking back on some of the fandom's not-so-great moments involving McDonald's counters, some of those toeprints probably need vigorous scrubbing.
source https://screenrant.com/most-popular-animated-shows-2010s-imdb/
