Every anime era has something distinct about it, and the 2000s are no exception. During this decade, anime experienced a significant surge in global popularity, began adopting digital animation, and produced numerous masterpieces that remain relevant and beloved to this day. And, among the best anime titles of the 2000s, many belong to the fantasy genre.
Fantasy is a very diverse genre of limitless possibilities. As such, its best exemplars are also incredibly multifaceted, varying in tone, narrative focus, and cultural reach. From unfairly forgotten classics and hidden gems to some of the biggest titles of the decade, these 2000s fantasy anime series embody the genre at its most wondrous and exciting.
High Fantasy Fans Adore Claymore’s Dark Tone & Deep Characterization
An overlooked dark fantasy classic of the 2000s, Claymore unfolds in a grim world plagued by Yoma, shapeshifting monsters out for blood. To protect themselves from this threat, humanity chooses to fight fire with fire, creating an all-female group of human-Yoma hybrids, with Clare, the series’ protagonist, being the lowest-ranked warrior among her kin.
Claymore is an exceptional exemplar of classic dark fantasy that blends the genre’s typical ruthlessness with fittingly tragic character depth. In terms of action and production quality, Claymore also has everything to satisfy fans – grounded, strategic battles executed in the best traditions of sword and sorcery fantasy. The only thing that stops Claymore from being a masterpiece is the series’ incompleteness, as the anime doesn’t adapt the entire story and features a polarizing anime-original ending.
Inuyasha Combines Exciting Fantasy Escapades With Evocative Romance
Based on a manga by Rumiko Takahashi, one of the most influential authors of her generation, Inuyasha is a staple of early-2000s shonen anime that managed to attract a wide audience due to its unique combination of genres. To fans of high-octane adventures, it offers an action-packed fantasy storyline with high stakes. Yet, underlying it is a sublime slow-burn romance plot that, at times, feels more exciting than Inuyasha’s best action scenes.
Inuyasha was also an early pioneer of modern anime’s most popular fantasy subgenre, isekai, with the story following Kagome, a girl from contemporary Tokyo, who is transported to a fantastical version of the Sengoku period. A brilliant blend of action, folklore-inspired fantasy, humor, and romantic drama, Inuyasha fully deserves acclaim as a timeless classic.
X’s Dark Fantasy World Is Endlessly Intriguing
The epic tale of X, a classic urban fantasy series based on a manga by the iconic manga artist group CLAMP, unfolds as the world approaches its ruin. In preparation for the apocalypse, two factions are locked in a fight to determine humanity’s fate. However, the one destined to decide it is Kamui Shiro – a mysterious, cold young man with a peculiar destiny.
The stylish pensiveness of urban fantasy blends with a dark apocalyptic plot in X, merging into a complex, unpredictable story filled to the brim with moral dilemmas, enigmatic conspiracies, and brooding drama. Its world and story aren’t simple, yet their uniqueness and numerous enigmas are exactly what make X such a fascinating old-school classic.
Naruto Is the Most Influential Shonen Fantasy of the 2000s
The 2000s were a decade when a number of big shonen hits emerged to dominate the medium for years to come, and Naruto stood out among them as one of the most influential, enduring hits. Naruto is not a traditional fantasy story; it borrows heavily from mythology and history, and even incorporates sci-fi into some of its plots, yet, at its heart, it’s still a fantastical show, just with magic given the name jutsu.
Naruto’s immense popularity that lasted from the 2000s all the way to the present day is in no way surprising. The series is an exceptional adventure presented to viewers as a relatable underdog story, yet its action-packed plot also has room for inspiring character growth and subtle thematic depth.
The Twelve Kingdoms Is an Early Isekai Masterpiece
Isekai anime existed long before the genre’s modern boom, even if many other-world adventures weren’t called isekai back in the day. Yet, even compared to the best modern exemplars of this prolific genre, The Twelve Kingdoms stands out as a unique fantasy classic thanks to its stellar worldbuilding and narrative innovations.
The Twelve Kingdoms follows the adventures of Youko Nakajima, an ordinary girl who gets taken to the series’ mysterious titular land. The world of The Twelve Kingdoms is an outstandingly rich, meticulously fleshed-out universe inspired by Chinese mythology, and people from Earth are not heroes, but fugitives. The Twelve Kingdoms pays attention to all aspects of its worldbuilding, which makes exploring the different aspects of its setting together with Youko endlessly riveting.
Kino’s Journey Is Grounded in Reality Despite Being Fantastical
A brilliant science fantasy anime from the early 2000s, Kino’s Journey chronicles the adventures of its titular heroine as she visits various countries in the series’ fantastical world and soaks in their cultures and customs. During her travels, Kino follows only two rules: never involve herself in the locals’ feuds too deeply and never stay in one place for too long.
Although Kino’s Journey features plenty of fantastical elements, like talking motorcycles, the series itself focuses on very human woes—the grounded tragedies of ordinary people, unique moral dilemmas, and the ethics of various societal conflicts. The world of Kino’s Journey is somber and melancholic, yet ultimately beautiful in its multifaceted nature and persistent disharmony.
Wolf’s Rain Looks for a Fantastical Salvation in a Dying Dystopian World
Far from every fantasy anime takes place in a thriving world of magic. The setting of Wolf’s Rain, for instance, feels much closer to a sci-fi dystopia than an awe-inspiring fantasyland – a dying world covered in snow in which salvation, nonetheless, lies in the hands of a fairytale.
The only thing rumored to save humanity is the legend of the wolves – mythical creatures the series follows on their search for the mythical Paradise. Haunting and introspective, Wolf’s Rain is not the kind of fantasy anime that provides a magical escape from reality, yet its value lies in outstanding thematic depth and the relatable story of struggle for hope amidst despair.
Haibane Renmei Is an Uncannily Gorgeous Fantasy Anime
The 2000s were an exceptional decade for experimental anime, with many titles achieving unprecedented cultural impact. Haibane Renmei was one such series that became a cult classic among fans seeking something peculiar and thought-provoking within the fantasy genre.
Unlike most fantasy anime, Haibane Renmei does not focus on action or in-depth worldbuilding. Instead, its magical realism storyline guides viewers through a grounded tale of grief and redemption hidden beneath layers of enigmatic symbolism. Haibane Renmei is a haunting, meditative series that does not lead its viewers by the hand; however, unraveling its layers of intimate depth is a worthwhile endeavor.
Mushishi Is the Pinnacle of Comforting Yet Though-Provoking Fantasy
As often as fantasy features high-octane narratives of large-scale conflict, it can also act as a comfort for viewers seeking not just escapism, but a different, more nuanced perspective on life. In terms of format, Mushishi is a very simple series: each episode focuses on a different case the show’s protagonist, mushi specialist Ginko, investigates, as he learns how the basic lifeforms he observes affect regular people.
In reality, however, Mushishi presents audiences with a uniquely tranquil experience. While supernatural in nature, the series speaks to the extremely grounded and relatable troubles of mundanity, captured in a way that feels both serene and thought-provoking. A gorgeous, calming series, Mushishi provides not an escape from life’s gravest troubles, but an opportunity to look at them from a more empathetic, all-encompassing point of view.
Often cited as the perfect shonen fantasy adventure, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood didn’t end up regarded so highly for no reason. Its story and execution are near-flawless in every way, from the stellar production quality to the exceptional storytelling that feels both large-scale and intimate, to the impeccable characterization that brings every hero’s arc to a satisfying conclusion.
During the 2000s, Fullmetal Alchemist was adapted twice. However, the first anime adaptation, which came out in 2003, had to wrap up before the manga was finished, leading to a rather disheartening anime-original ending. Thankfully, the 2009 version of the series learned from its predecessor’s mistakes, bringing the Elric brothers’ tale to a brilliant conclusion in the span of just 64 episodes.