The BEST NHK shows of all time
Every NHK show, ranked
We've compiled the average episode rating for every NHK show to compile this list of best shows!
#1 - Amachan
Amachan is the 88th 2013 NHK asadora written by Kankuro Kudo (Tiger and Dragon, Unobore Deka). It's about Amano Aki (Nounen Rena), a 16 year old girl from Tokyo who goes to her mother's former home in Sodegahama, a fishing village in Kitasanriku, Iwate prefecture for the summer break. She falls in love with the sea and its people, and decides to stay on to become an Ama (women divers who fetch clams and sea urchins for tourists) just like her grandmother, Natsu (Miyamoto Nobuko). Her decision is welcomed wholeheartedly by Natsu and the other locals. However, her mother Haruko (Koizumi Kyoko) does not like the idea at first. She has a strained relationship with Natsu, and her extreme dislike of the sea, diving and the countryside is one of the reasons why she left her hometown 24 years ago. Eventually, she decides to stay in Sodegahama with Aki, considering that she is contemplating on getting a divorce anyway and does not want to go back to her husband in Tokyo. She also notices that it might be good for Aki for she seems livelier and happier in Kitasanriku than in Tokyo. The road towards becoming a full-fledged Ama-san is tough for Aki as she encounters tests and hurdles. One day, a video of her as an Ama gets uploaded in the city's tourism website, transforming an ordinary high school girl into an overnight Internet sensation. Suddenly she is called upon to use this opportunity to attract tourists to a city suffering from depopulation..
View Episode Rankings#2 - The Three Musketeers
D'artagnan leaves Gascone and his grandparents to go to Paris to be a musketeer like his father was. Once there he mets Jean (a litle kid who is Paris searching for his mother), Constance Bonaciuex and of course the three musketeers, the best sword fhigters in France. The four musketeers are going to fight cardinal Rechelieu, Rochefort, the beautifull Milady and the iron mask. The three Musketeers in anime!
View Episode Rankings#3 - Major
Major is a drama about emotional joy and heartbeak on the baseball diamond. As father, son and teacher (now turned Goro's mom since his first mom's death). More than ever these three will be closer than ever to becoming a complete family. Until an unthinkable tragic event visits the family in a harsh way. Now, Momoko Hoshino (Goro's new mom) and Goro will have to make their dreams come true and reach for the victory in the baseball scene. To make that happen, Goro trains everytime to live up to his father's legacy. And he also forms a new team of little leaguers. Called; The Dolphins. Which he pitches for the team. Emotions of joy and sadness, victory and defeat will now play a part in Goro's everyday training and game as he plays for the Dolphins and eventually steps into the majors.
View Episode Rankings#4 - Attack on Titan
After his hometown is destroyed and his mother is killed, young Eren Yeager vows to cleanse the earth of the giant humanoid Titans that have brought humanity to the brink of extinction.
View Episode Rankings#5 - Future Boy Conan
In the 21st century, 20 years after World War 3, the world as we know it has been destroyed. Conan lives on an island with his grandfather, believing they are the only two survivors. Conan discovers a fleeing girl named Lana on the beach. After Lana is kidnapped from the island, Conan decides to rescue her and sets sail to Industria.
View Episode Rankings#6 - Planetes
By 2075 traveling between Earth, Space stations and the moon have become normal. Hachimaki collects debris at a space station and dreams of owning his very own space ship someday.
View Episode Rankings#7 - Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit
Based on a fantasy novel by Uehashi Naoko & Futatsugi Saki. Once every 100 years, a Water Spirit implants an egg into a person who then becomes the Guardian of the Spirit. This time, the responsibility falls on Chagum, the second prince of the New Yogo Kingdom. Chagum's father, the Emperor, believes this spirit is the reincarnation of a demon defeated by his ancestor, the first Emperor, and secretly orders his son killed. Chagum's mother, the Second Empress, fearing for her child's safety convinces a female bodyguard for hire, Balsa, to protect Chagum. Balsa accepts fully knowing that this assignment may be her last, but she does so to atone for sins of her past.
View Episode Rankings#8 - The Story of Saiunkoku
Saiunkoku is a world of eight provinces or houses, each named after a different colour. The new Emperor, Shi Ryuuki, has gained for a reputation for being uninterested in courtly matters and for flaunting his love for men. Shuurei, although born of the important Kou family, has difficulty making ends meet. She easily accepts an invitation to be the Emperor's concubine in order to turn him into a good ruler. The mysterious Seiran, a young man who was adopted by her father, goes with her as Ryuuki's bodyguard. Entering the imperial palace revives Shuurei's dream of being a court official, and, together with the many companions she meets along the way, continues moving bravely forward while trying to fend off the Emperor's advances.
View Episode Rankings#9 - Cardcaptor Sakura
Sakura Kinomoto is appointed Card Captor by the Guardian of the Seal, Kerberos, when she accidentally opens the magical book of Clow Cards and scatters them to the four winds. To protect the world from disaster she must capture all of the Clow Cards with the help of her friend Tomoyo and Kerberos.
View Episode Rankings#10 - Erin
In the war against neighboring countries, the Grand Duke’s warriors use dragon-like beasts called Touda as weapons. Touda are admired across the nation and villages take great pride in breeding them. Erin lives in one such village with her mother, Soyon, who is the best beastinarian in the country. However, life in the village is not so straightforward: Soyon is also an Ariyo, a woman of the Mist People - a race that is feared by humans for its mystical abilities. So that she and Erin can stay in the village, Soyon must flawlessly fulfill her duty capturing and disciplining the Touda; but while Erin wants nothing more than to become a beastinarian, she also feels sorry for the Touda and recognizes that there’s far more to them than meets the eye. Can Erin ever become an ordinary beastinarian when her deepest instincts tell her there is a better way to interact with the Touda?
View Episode Rankings#11 - March Comes in Like a Lion
Rei Kiriyama is a 17-year-old professional shogi player who lost his family in an accident when he was young and suffers deep loneliness. Rei, who lives alone in downtown Tokyo, meets three sisters, Akari, Hinata, and Momo, and begins to change little by little.
View Episode Rankings#12 - Bakuman
The series follows talented artist Moritaka Mashiro and aspiring writer Akito Takagi, two ninth grade boys who wish to become mangaka.
View Episode Rankings#13 - Giant Killing
Experiencing a long streak of poor performances for several years in the Japanese professional football league, the East Tokyo United (ETU) hires Takeshi Tatsumi as manager to try to break the curse that seems to have fallen over the team. Having spent three years in England, Tatsumi made the accomplishment of taking an amateur team to the top 32 teams of the FA Cup. Many consider him a bad choice and protest against this decision. They hold a grudge against Takeshi because they consider him a traitor for leaving ETU at the height of his career when he was still a football player. Unfazed by the negative mood that looms over the field, Tatsumi seems confident that he might be able to bring glory back to his team once again.
View Episode Rankings#14 - Kingdom (2012)
In the Warring States Period of ancient China (475-221 BCE), Shin and Hyou are war-orphans in the kingdom of Qin. They dream of one day proving themselves on the battlefield. One day, however, Hyou is taken to the palace by a minister. Winding up on the losing side of a power-struggle, Hyou manages to return to the village, barely alive. Shin then meets a boy who closely resembles Hyou, Ei Sei. For now he is the king of Qin; later he will become the emperor Shi Huangdi.
View Episode Rankings#15 - Coil - A Circle of Children
Eleven years after the introduction of internet-connected, augmented reality eyeglasses and visors, Yūko Okonogi moves with her family to Daikoku City, the technological center of the emerging half-virtual world. Yūko joins her grandmother's "investigation agency" comprised of children equipped with virtual tools and powerful metatags. She quickly crosses paths with Yūko Amasawa, an expert hacker of the virtual environment, as Amasawa relentlessly seeks to "unlock" the mystery of a computer virus that emerges from an inaccessible corrupted space.
View Episode Rankings#16 - Kobato
Kobato is a young girl that for unknown reasons, needs to fill a mysterious bottle with the feelings of people with a heart in pain, for that she needs to "Cure" other people's hearts and make them happy, but this could become even more difficult than she thought. Her companion for this task is a grumpy plush dog she calls Ioryogi-san.
View Episode Rankings#17 - Captain Future
Curtis Newton, aka Captain Future, is an orphan. His parents died in their artificial satellite while he was an infant. His father was a scientist, who has abandoned earth for the satellite to dedicate his life for science along with his aging friend the genius Dr Simon Wright. Wright senses his death, and decides to implant his brain in a mechanical container. They both manufactured a superior robot and an android. Captain future dedicated his life to fight evil along with his three men, the brain, android, and robot.
View Episode Rankings#18 - The Twelve Kingdoms
Nakajima Youko is your average somewhat timid high school student. One day, a strange man named Keiki appears before her, swearing allegiance. Before she could properly register what was happening, demon-like creatures attack Youko and her friends, after which they are pulled into a different world. A world unlike what she has ever known. Separated from Keiki, Youko and her friends must do whatever they can if they wish to survive in this new world.
View Episode Rankings#19 - 10 Years with Hayao Miyazaki
An exclusive 4-part documentary chronicling the creative process of the legendary Japanese filmmaker. He is shown as a passionate artisan, a steadfast trailblazer, and a father butting heads with his son.
View Episode Rankings#20 - Ginga e Kickoff!!
After his team was disbanded, Sho Ota is sixth grader determined on finding new members to reassemble the Momotaro Predators. Despite not being very good himself, he loves football with all his heart. He one day wishes to accomplish his candid dream of becoming a professional player.
View Episode Rankings#21 - Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
Asakusa Midori wants to create an anime, but she's too disheartened to make that first step by herself. By pure chance, she meets Mizusaki Tsubame, an up-and-coming socialite secretly dreaming of becoming an animator. Together with Midori's money-loving best friend Kanamori Sayaka, the energetic trio slowly work towards making their "ultimate world" a reality!
View Episode Rankings#22 - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water
The series centers around Nadia, a young girl of unknown origins, and Jean, a young French inventor. Early in the story, the two protagonists are chased by Grandis Granva, Sanson, and Hanson, a group of jewel thieves who pursue Nadia for the blue jeweled pendant she possesses. After being rescued by Captain Nemo and his submarine, the Super Sea Cruiser Nautilus, the jewel thieves and the young protagonists join forces and participate in the struggle against the Neo-Atlantean forces, who seek to dominate the world. In the process, Nadia and Jean save the world from violent domination by the Neo-Atlantean forces led by Gargoyle, explore worldly mysteries and the powers of the blue pendant, uncover Nadia's hidden family ties, and ultimately discover the secret origins of Nadia.
View Episode Rankings#23 - Log Horizon
One day, while playing the online game Elder Tales, 30,000 players suddenly find themselves trapped in another world. There, eight-year veteran gamer Shiroe also gets left behind. The trapped players are still alive, but they remain in combat with the monsters. The players don't understand what has happened to them, and they flee to Akiba, the largest city in Tokyo, where they are thrown into chaos. Once proud of his loner lifestyle, Shiroe forms a guild called Log Horizon with his old friend Naotsugu, female assassin Akatsuki and others.
View Episode Rankings#24 - Phi-Brain ~ Puzzle of God
Kaito Daimon would be a completely average high school student except for one thing: he's a 'demon' at solving puzzles. Kaito is so brilliant, in fact, that when he's asked to take some 'special' tests of his unique ability, he immediately suspects that the test itself is a test. Kaito suddenly finds himself caught up in a lethal Philosopher's Puzzle made by the sinister group POG, a murderous maze of trap upon trap, where failing to solve the secret correctly will result in death! Fortunately, Kaito's skills prove up to the first test, both for himself and his childhood friend Nanoha, who is also caught up in the deadly scheme. But now that he has been designated as a Solver, he is pulled into a new life where he must travel the world with other Solvers, attempting to solve the latest deadly riddles left by POG. There's a new conundrum around every corner and each deception could lead to death, but once a riddle has been posed, you can count on Kaito to unfold, unravel and unlock it!
View Episode Rankings#25 - Yowamushi Pedal
Otaku Sakamichi Onoda has just entered high school and plans to join the anime club. In middle school, Onoda didn’t have any friends with whom he could talk about anime, games, Akihabara and other otaku things, and he is hoping he can make such friends in the anime club, but he finds out it's been disbanded. In order to reestablish the club he tries to find 4 other people who would like to join.
View Episode Rankings#26 - Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin - Advent of the Red Comet
What was the tragedy that decided the fates of Char Aznable, the man later nicknamed the "Red Comet" as an ace pilot of the Zeon forces, and his sister Sayla Mass? The two siblings' journeys, brought on by the sudden death of their father Zeon Zum Deikun who was a leader of the Spacenoids, are depicted in the four episodes of "Chronicle of Char and Sayla." The Zabi family who seize control of Side 3 and lead the Principality of Zeon, the early days of many renowned Zeon ace pilots who later fight in the One Year War, the secrets of mobile suit development, conflicts with the Earth Federation Forces, and the road leading to the outbreak of war—all will be revealed.
View Episode Rankings#27 - Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun
Fourteen-year-old Suzuki Iruma has just been abandoned and sold to a demon by his irresponsible parents! Surprisingly, the next thing he knows he's living with the demon who has adopted him as his new grandson, and has been transferred into a school in the demon world where his new "demon" grandfather works as the principal. Thus begins the cowardly Iruma-kun's extraordinary school life among the otherworldly as he faces his true self, takes on challenges, and rises to become someone great.
View Episode Rankings#28 - Hanasakeru Seishounen
Hanasakeru Seishonen is the story of a half-Japanese heiress transplanted from her ordinary high school days in Japan to a life in America filled with intrigue involving international oil and wealth distribution.
View Episode Rankings#29 - Demon King from Today!
Yuri Shibuya was living a pretty normal life. That changed the day he was dunked into a toilet after an attempt to save a classmate from a gang of bullies. Instead of just getting a good soaking, he's pulled in. The next thing he knows, he's in a world that vaguely resembles medieval Europe. If that's not odd enough, he's told that he is to be the next Maoh, just because he has black hair and black eyes. The Maoh is the King of the Mazoku, who are coexisting not-so-peacefully with the humans in this world. Much to his subjects' dismay, he's totally different from the rulers they're accustomed to. He's kind, considerate, a believer in justice, and not willing to use violence to solve conflicts. Not exactly someone they want running a country on the very brink of war. Now, Yuri has to deal with trying to become a good Maoh, while at the same time attempting to adapt to this lands' customs and culture, all in a world where the tension between the humans and Mazoku is reaching its peak.
View Episode Rankings#30 - Tytania
In a future where mankind is scattered across the stars, the TAITANIA family has forged a large empire through intimidation and economic might. In the year 446, the city-state of EURIA rebels against the tyranny of TAITANIA control. Their isolated act of rebellion sets into motion a sequence of events that strains the careful alliances and treaties within the empire, as various factions seek to exploit the situation to their own advantage.
View Episode Rankings#31 - The Wonderful Adventures of Nils
Nils Holgersson is a young boy on a farm who is cruel to the animals. But when he catches the farm's little goblin it becomes one prank too many. He is magically shrunk and suddenly the farm animals are out for revenge. He flees on the back of the goose Morten and they join up with a flock of wild geese. Together they travel all over Sweden, with Nils hoping to find a way to become big again.
View Episode Rankings#32 - Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist
A multi-layered series that looks back to the formative years of Ryu and Ken as they live a traditional warrior's life in secluded Japan. The boys are, unknowingly, the last practitioners of the ancient fighting style known as "Ansatsuken" (Assassin's Fist). The series follows them as they learn about the mysterious past of their master, Goken, and the tragic, dark legacy of the Ansatsuken style. Can their destiny be changed, or will history repeat itself?
View Episode Rankings#33 - Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE
Sakura, Syaoran, and many other characters from CLAMP's mangas and animes are back in a brand new series: Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE- (manga) and Tsubasa Chronicle (anime). However, they are not the same as you remember. Sakura is the princess of a peaceful, desert country while Syaoran is her childhood friend and the head of an archaeological dig that took his father's life. Instead of Tomoeda, Japan, they now live in the desert country of Clow with a mysterious ruin that Syaoran is excavating. One thing that hasn't changed, though, is their relationship and their hesitation of declaring their love for each other. However, that all changes when the ruins Syaoran is excavating calls upon a mysterious power within Sakura that has the potential of changing the world. Though Syaoran manages to save Sakura, her feathers which contains her memories all the way from the moment she was born are scattered into many different dimensions.
View Episode Rankings#34 - Baby Steps
Maruo eiichiro (E-Chan), a first year honor student, one day decides he's unhappy with the way things are and lacks exercise. He finds a flyer for the Tennis Club and decides to check it out. He's instantly captivated by it. With no prior experience and poor physical conditioning, join E-Chan as he embarks on a tennis journey using his smarts, dedication, and work ethic.
View Episode Rankings#35 - YATAGARASU: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master
Welcome to Yamauchi, a world inhabited by the Yatagarasu, a race of three-legged ravens who shapeshift into humans. The land is divided into four regions—North, South, East, and West—each ruled by a noble family. Yukiya, the son of a leader in the North, is shocked by a call to attend to the Imperial Prince. Murder, mysteries, and an invasion from an unexpected enemy await in this epic fantasy.
View Episode Rankings#36 - Ronja, the Robber's Daughter (2014)
Ronja, the only child of a bandit chief, grows up among a clan of robbers living in a castle in the woodlands of early-Medieval Scandinavia. When Ronja grows old enough she ventures into the forest, exploring and discovering its wonders and dangers like the mystical creatures that dwell there. She learns to live in the forest through her own strength, with the occasional rescue by her parents. Ronja's life begins to change, however, when she happens upon a boy her own age named Birk, who turns out to be the son of the rival clan chief.
View Episode Rankings#37 - Uninhabited Planet SURVIVE
It is the 22nd century where anti-gravity and warp travel are commonplace. However, the green Earth only exists in history book, people live in space colonies instead. Luna is a transfer student whose parents passed away when she was young, leaving her alone with her robotic cat Chako. Her dream is to become space exploration expert like her parents. A mistake during a school trip strands her and six of her classmates on a seemingly uninhabited planet. Here she must lead the introvert Shaara, the mechanic expert Shingo, the quiet Kaoru, the spoiled Howard, the obedient Bell, and the prideful Menori in s battle for their survival.
View Episode Rankings#38 - Psychic Detective Yakumo
In order to help a friend possessed by a spirit, Ozawa Haruka knocks on the door of her university's movie research association. There she meets Saitou Yakumo, a rude, unkempt young man with a red left eye, who is said to have spiritual powers. At first Haruka is skeptical, but she comes to believe him when he conveys messages from her older sister, who died when she was a child. Together, they work to shed light on the terrifying events happening at their university. But this is only the prologue of what's to come...
View Episode Rankings#39 - Allison & Lillia
The story centers around Allison Whittington, a young blonde pilot in the Roxche Air Force who has experience with biplanes. She visits her good friend Wil Schultz (short for Wilhelm) during his summer vacation at Rowe Sneyum Senior School's dormitory after being away for six months. Wil, who resides in Roxche, enjoys reading books, has a photographic memory, and is a good marksman. While out for a drive on Wil's motorcycle they run across an old man waiting on a bridge who is well-known in the area for telling false stories. They give him a ride to his home, and while there he tells them a story he claims to be true: that there is a treasure in the western region Sou Beil which could end the conflict between the two nations. Before telling them more, a man who claims to be from the town hall takes him away, though Allison & Wil quickly give chase after noticing that the man was lying.
View Episode Rankings#40 - Gakuen Alice
Mikan Sakura grew up with her grandfather on the countryside of Japan. When her best friend, Hotaru, transfers to a prestigious school in Tokyo, Mikan follows her. The school is actually an elite Academy for gifted people with "Alices," an ability that is unique depending on the individual being. Once Mikan arrives to the gates of the school, she encounters an Alice teacher named Narumi, gets enrolled due to a series of events, and is told that she possesses a rare Alice. Despite her initial view of the so-called greatness to the school, Mikan slowly discovers that beneath the grand facade of the Academy, there is a never-ending stream of lies and buried secrets. The school's increasingly manipulative and sinister actions towards her make it a dangerous place to be. Little does Mikan know that her enrollment in Alice Academy set the gears in motion to an even greater tragedy
View Episode Rankings#41 - Orb: On the Movements of the Earth
Sparks of the discoveries of the Renaissance are only beginning to burn in 15th century Europe, even as those who make discoveries are burned for their heresy. In Poland, a child prodigy named Rafal is expected to be another great mind in theology, but an encounter with a certain man leads him down the path to a heretical truth.
View Episode Rankings#42 - Rin-ne
As a child Sakura Mamiya mysteriously disappeared in the woods behind her grandma's home. She returned whole and healthy, but since then she has had the power to see ghosts. Now a teenager, she just wishes the ghosts would leave her alone! At school, the desk next to Sakura's has been empty since the start of the school year, then one day her always-absent classmate shows up, and he's far more than what he seems!
View Episode Rankings#43 - Tokyo Trial
In the wake of World War II, 11 Allied judges are tasked with weighing the fates of Japanese war criminals in a tense international trial.
View Episode Rankings#44 - Major 2nd
Daigo is born as the son of Gorou, a father who is too great. What path will Daigo, who is burdened with great expectations, take in baseball?
View Episode Rankings#45 - The Piano Forest
A tranquil tale about two boys from very different upbringings. On one hand you have Kai, born as the son of a prostitute, who's been playing the abandoned piano in the forest near his home ever since he was young. And on the other you have Syuhei, practically breast-fed by the piano as the son of a family of prestigious pianists. Yet it is their common bond with the piano that eventually intertwines their paths in life.
View Episode Rankings#46 - The Legend of Zorro
Diego Vega returns from his study trip to discover his homeland is under the army's dictatorship. Diego, refusing to watch idly, disguises himself as Zorro to protect the weak and oppressed. Diego is not a coward but he is unable to win the affections of his sweetheart, Lolita, who is attracted to other more noble men. Diego serenades Lolita as Zorro and fights the evils of his homeland, hoping to capture her heart.
View Episode Rankings#47 - Radiant
Follows Seth, a boy who seeks to become a great magician, and a group of witches who seek to travel to the Radiant. Radiant is a mythical land that spawns monsters called "Nemesis" which fall to the world from the sky. While traveling, they are also hunted by The Inquisition.
View Episode Rankings#48 - Dear Brother
When starting at a new school, Nanako is thrust into the world of female rivalry and love. She is choosen into the Sorority, giving her an enviable postition according to all the girls left out. However, since Nanako is not from a wealthy family, most girls find it unfair that she was choosen. Nanako is left to protect herself from wicked rumors and mean plots to make her leave the school. Along with her best friend since preschool, and new friends made along the way, she uncovers the past of some of the more popular girls in school and on her journey through highschool she learns of love, loss and her own family's secrets...
View Episode Rankings#49 - Jing: King of Bandits
Follows master-thief Jing and his exploits to steel everything he deems valuable in the world. His also has a talking albatross Kir for a sidekick.
View Episode Rankings#50 - The Dragon Dentist
Nonoko is a newly appointed dentist and her mission is to protect the dragon, the guardian of the country, from tooth-cavity bacteria. One day, amid increasingly fierce battles with the neighboring country, Nonoko finds on the dragon's tooth an unconscious boy soldier from the enemy country. His name is Bell, and he has been resurrected from inside the tooth by the dragon--a supernatural phenomenon that legend says occurs before a major disaster.
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