Best Anime genres

Shonen – (action, adventure, sports..) wins 76% of its duels and tops the Anime category ranking ahead of Seinen – (violence, thriller, suspense..).

The 181 ELO points separating Shonen from Seinen at the top reveal a clear preference: action and adventure resonate more strongly with voters than violence and psychological depth. Shojo – (romance, drama, fantasy..) claims third place with 1183 points, establishing itself as the third pillar of anime viewing habits. The bottom two positions tell a different story. Josei – (psychology, society, sexuality..) sits at 1092 points, just 11 points ahead of Kodomo – (friendship, dreams, magic..), suggesting these more specialized demographics struggle to capture mass appeal in a field dominated by broader action-driven narratives. The gap between the podium and the bottom remains substantial, with 91 points separating third from fourth place.

This ranking draws on 495 duels submitted by 72 players across 5 contenders and was updated on 11 October 2026. The data captures real preferences from the anime community, where Shonen continues to command authority while other categories compete for attention. The tight race at the bottom suggests shifting tastes may yet reshape the lower ranks. Head to VAINKEURZ to cast your vote and influence the next update of this ranking.

Updated on October 11, 2026

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →