What is the best anime

[-Ninja_Jesus-]

And why is it Katanagatari?

[Top Gun]

Katanagatari was great...right up until the last episode jumped off the goddamn rails harder than almost anything else I've ever seen.

(Also Boku no Pico.)

[Chapinator_X]

Katanagatari ranks high up there. The writing was on-point and Shichika & Togame had great chemistry.

There are a lot of comedies I’d consider to be the greatest, but for an action/drama anime, I’d probably pick Katanagatari or Garden of Sinners. 

[PokeNirvash]

My brain says Cowboy Bebop
My heart says Eureka seveN
My dick says High School DxD

[CaptainStarwind]

I feel like this is an unanswerable question.  People can have their opinion for what the "best" anime they've seen might be, but that will probably change over their lives.  Even if you're trying to define "best" objectively based on the technical aspects of the anime, I still think you're going to get differing opinion.

Eureka Seven has been and probably always will be my favorite anime.  The degree to which this show influenced my life, opinions, and thinking is huge.  I probably never would have given electronic music a chance unless I watched this show.  But I'll be the first to admit it's flaws, and I don't consider it the best anime ever made.  While I consider a lot of other shows favorites (Toradora and FMA 03, for example), I also know that those shows can be divisive, so they aren't the best.

I've been out of the anime scene for a year or two, so I might be a bit out of date, but here are a few metrics I can define for best:

-Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is the top anime on MAL, so by that metric that makes it the best.  While this isn't a very good metric, there's enough people who've talked about a show "dethroning" FMAB on MAL that it's noteworthy enough to include.

-Cowboy Bebop is the best anime I've seen thus far based on technical aspects.  The animation was great for the time it was released and still holds up today.  The story is well written, makes sense, resolves well, and doesn't have any plot holes or poor writing that I can see.  The music used incorporates well with the setting and enhances it.  While one could argue personal distaste for aspects of the series, on technical aspects I think it's flawless.

-If we're arguing best based on mass appeal, I'd argue Spirited Away or My Neighbor Totoro.  Some anime like DBZ have mass appeal, but are either misunderstood or looked down upon by older adults (though this is changing as people grow older).  Whenever anime used to be referenced in movies or TV, if it wasn't stereotyped as tentacle porn, it was stereotyped as a DBZ parody.  Miyazaki has always seemed to enjoy (rightfully) a healthy respect from people of all ages, and if his works get referenced there's nary a critique.

So in short, I feel like this question is unanswerable.

[MasqueradeOverture]

[In Flames]

I recommend you watch Monster, Berserk, NGE, and Mushishi

[Mortir]

Cowboy Bebop, Spirited Away, Akira, Gurren Lagann, FLCL are some of the most critically acclaimed anime out there and many more. What your personal best is up to you. My personal best anime was watching the 2019 Broly movie in a packed theater with my friends and a bunch of other people hyped up. Probably not one of the most critically acclaimed anime out there though it did do fairly well among consensus and box office numbers, but it was the most enjoyment I have experienced in relation to an anime show.

[Cidz]

Katanagatari was pretty good but i dont rmb much of it bc its bern a thousand yrs since i watched it. 

Idk i think my roomate is a cat or toradora are top tier. But what do i know im ween trash lol. 

[atomicinumatt]

For me it is usually the classics.. Bebop, GitS, Spirited Away, Hellsing, Champloo among others. Really a hard question to answer if you were actually looking for opinions beyond Katanagatari..