Top 20 Anime With Time Travel That You Must Watch!

Most time travel anime are centered around some mystical or scientific powers that enable the main character to travel back and forth in time. These kinds of series usually emphasize on the action and consequence that occur due to the MC changing something in the past.

If you are a fan of this anime genre, here’s a list of the best of the best anime which is based on time travel to quench your thirst.

20 Must Watch Anime With Time Travel

1. Steins;gate

MAL score: 9.13 (Season 1), 8.59 (Season 2)

Total episodes: 47

Aired: Apr 6, 2011 to Sep 14, 2011 and Apr 12, 2018 to Sep 27, 2018 

Steins;gate is what I’d call the king of time travel anime. This masterpiece perfectly describes time travel and the despair and consequences it creates with a mind blowing plot. Rintaro Okabe, a self-proclaimed mad scientist, and his lab members accidentally invented a device that sends message to the past and alters the flow of history.

Can he undo the wrongs and save the lives of his dear lab members from the clutches of the evil organization that wants to get their hand on the time travelling machine?

2. Shiguang Dailiren

MAL score: 8.83

Total episodes: 11

Aired: Apr 30, 2021 to Jul 9, 2021

A picture is worth a thousand words. In this case, it is full of secrets. Only Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang can discover these secrets. The two friends run a small business called “Time Photo Studio” where they enter photographs to grant clients’ wishes. They see the world through the photographer’s eyes and try to understand their client’s request.

But they take a big risk every time they enter a shot. One wrong move could change the photographer’s future… and possibly countless other events. When the events depicted in these images become personal, it will take all their strength to ignore their emotions and focus on the task at hand.

Shiguang Dailiren is a really unique anime with time travel that you should definitely give a watch!

3. Erased

MAL score: 8.54

Episodes: 12

Aired: Jan 8, 2016 to Mar 25, 2016 

When Satoru Fujinuma, a 29-year-old manga artist, is in a difficult situation, he goes back in time several minutes. However, w hen he is wrongfully accused of killing his mother, he is sent back in time again, but this time 18 years into the past.

He immediately realises the murderer may be linked to his classmate’s kidnapping that occured at that time and decides to save his classmate at all costs to make amends, as this may be his last chance to time travel.

4. Re:zero

MAL score: 8.38

Episodes: 25

Aired: Apr 4, 2016 to Sep 19, 2016 

Re:zero is an infamous time travel anime for putting its characters into perilous and torturous situations.

Natsuki Subaru finds himself in a strange land with people of different culture. He comes to terms with the fact that he was “isekai-ed” into this world and happily starts his new adventure. Soon after, he somehow ends up getting himself killed trying to help a white-haired girl.

He then finds himself in the same location where he was when he first came into this world, and witnesses the same events transpiring yet again. Every time he dies he time travels into a past event where he is alive, allowing him to redo his actions to set things right.

5. Tokyo Revengers

MAL score: 8.24

Episodes: 24

Aired: Apr 11, 2021 to Sep 19, 2021 

Tokyo Revengers is another anime with time travel that takes the MC to his past. Takemichi Hanagaki is a freelancer who has hit rock bottom in his life. He learns that his only middle school girlfriend, Hinata Tachibana, was murdered by the Tokyo Manji Gang. The day after she died, he’s on the station platform when a mysterious person pushes him onto the tracks. He closes his eyes, expecting to die, but he wakes up 12 years in the past. Now that he’s back in his prime, Takemichi seeks a way to save his girlfriend and everyone that he cares about.

6. Future Diary

MAL score: 7.82

Episodes: 26

Aired: Oct 9, 2011 to Apr 15, 2012

In this anime, time travel is not the main focus, but is a part of the plot.

Yukiteru Amano is an asocial high school student who keeps a diary on his phone where he writes everything down. His only friend was this imaginary character called Deus Ex Machina, the god of time and space.

Later he comes to know that Deus Ex Machina was not imaginary and he has chosen Yuki as one of the candidates to become the next god of time and space. But first, in order to prove himself worthy of becoming God, Yuki has to get into bloody battles against the other candidates.

Only the last one standing will claim the title of God. To aid them in their battle, God has provided them with a “diary”, each carrying a different power than the other. In order to survive this ordeal, Yuki joins forces with his obsessive staker, Yuno Gasai. What fate awaits him in this gruesome battle royale?

7. Charlotte

MAL score: 7.91

Episodes: 13

Aired: Jul 5, 2015 to Sep 27, 2015

This anime is not completely about time travel, however it does play a major role in the show. It is about Yuu Otosaka, who gets caught while using his bizzare power to slip his consciousness into other people’s body to cheat on exam.

He is forced to transfer into Hoshinoumi academy, and is pushed with the responsibility of finding other children with supernatural abilities along with the other student council members. That’s when he finds about his incomplete ability and the truth behind his past.

He then takes the responsibility to put an end to all the mad researches that was going on with the children gifted supernatural ability. Can he bare the burden, or will he crumble before he achieves his goal?

8. Orange

MAL score: 7.71

Episodes: 13

Aired: Jul 4, 2016 to Sep 26, 2016

Orange is a beautiful anime with time travel which showers a different light on suicide. Naho Takamiya receives a letter from her future self, asking her to do and not to do certain things. According to the letter, she regrets several things even 10 years later. The letter was meant to serve as a guide to make the right decisions.

One of the things the letter asked her to do was to keep a close eye on Kakeru Naruse and to protect him. What kind of life is Kakeru living and why would she be asked to protect him? Naho has to make careful decisions to correct the wrongs her future self did, and save herself from the wave of guilt and remorse.

9. Yao Shen Ji

MAL score: 7.34

Episodes: 224

Aired: 5th season currently airing

Because of the Space-Time Demon Spirit Book, a warp in space-time occurred, and Nie Li, who was supposed to die in an assault by God-rank Demon Beasts, suddenly found himself sitting in a classroom instead. He had time travelled to the state of his 13-year-old self. Suddenly, everything was as it should have been! When it comes to his true love, how will he protect her? This is the core theme of this time travel anime.

10. Kokkoku

MAL score: 7.01

Episodes: 12

Aired: Jan 8, 2018 to Mar 26, 2018

Kokkou is another great anime with time travel that features a female main protagonist. Juri Yukawa’s hopes of leaving her parents’ house are crushed after failing 19 job interviews in one day. With a working mother, a NEET brother, a laid-off father, and a single-parent sister, Makoto, her nephew is the only hope for this family to raise a decent adult. However, a mysterious organisation violently kidnaps Makoto and the NEET brother and holds them for ransom. With only 30 minutes left, Juri’s grandfather reveals a dangerous secret to Juri and her father.

With her grandfather’s mystical stone, the three enter “Stasis,” a world where time stops for everyone except the users. Upon arrival, their rescue efforts are thwarted by a surprising group of people who can move around within Stasis. Just when all hope seems lost, the Herald appears, its intent and motivations as cryptic as the nature of this timeless world.

11. Occult Academy

MAL score: 7.05

Episodes: 13

Aired: Jul 6, 2010 to Sep 28, 2010

This time-traveling anime involves a time-traveling agent who goes by the name of Fumiaki Uchida. He is one of the agents who have been sent back to 1999 from the year of 2012. His job is to look for the Nostradamus key, which can stop the alien invasion in his current time.

But his interest conflicts with that of a girl named Maya. She is the Waldstein Academy Headmaster’s daughter, and she wants to destroy her father’s academy completely. Although she is wary of Fumiaki, they form a temporary bond with the goal of finding the Nostradamus key.

12. Zipang

MAL score: 7.49

Episodes: 26

Aired: Oct 8, 2004 to Apr 1, 2005

The story revolves around a new battleship of the Japanese Self Defense Force named Mirai. It is under the control of Umezu Saburo and Kadomatsu Yosuke. Unfortunately for them and their crew, Mirai falls under a storm one day and the entire team gets sent back in time to World War II.

They decide to stay hidden from all the activities as much as possible so that the course of history is not altered. But the sight of Lt. Commander Kusaka Takumi dying right before his eyes was too much for Yosuke, which created a big ripple in the natural flow of events.

13. The Tatami Galaxy

MAL score: 8.57

Episodes: 11

Aired: Apr 23, 2010 to Jul 2, 2010

Tatami Galaxy is one of the most popular anime with time travel theme. You can always bet that a strange event will take place near an isolated ramen shop that is hidden from the usual hustle and bustle of the city. This is where a college student meets a man who is apparently the matrimony god.

It’s like the universe was playing some games with our protagonist, as he has spent most of his college days trying to cause a rift between couples. At that point, he regrets the way he spent his time the past two years, which somehow teleported him back to his very first year in college.

14. Noein: to your other self

MAL score: 7.59

Episodes: 24

Aired: Oct 12, 2005 to Mar 29, 2006

When four friends decide to test their courage in a graveyard, you just know things are going to get very wrong. Our focus will be on two characters mainly—Haruka Kaminogi and Yuu Gotou. After going to the graveyard, they encounter mysterious Dragon Soldiers who have come from another place in search of Dragon Torque.

Surprisingly, the Dragon Torque is Haruka herself, and she instantly tries to escape their clutches. However, a silver-haired man proves to be her only help in this situation, who is apparently a different version of her friend, Yuu.

15. Nobunaga Concerto

MAL score: 7.56

Episodes: 10

Aired: Jul 12, 2014 to Sep 20, 2014

This is a historical anime with time travel. “Always be wary of the words that come out of your mouth!” Saburou, a high school student, realized this after the damage had already been done. He suddenly found himself back in the Sengoku Era, which could be a good way for him to learn about history.

But he fell directly in front of Nobunaga Oda and was forced to take his place as a decoy. Thus began the new life of Saburou, who went from being a simple student to a legendary general in one day. Will his modern-day experiences help him to fill in for Nobunaga Oda?

16. Thermae Romae

MAL score: 6.99

Episodes: 3 + 2 other side story series.

Aired: Jan 13, 2012 to Jan 27, 2012

Thermae Romae is a wholesome anime with time travel about a Roman architect named Lucius Modestus. He is suffering from a creative block and no ideas are coming to his head. This is why his friends decide to take him to a bathhouse to relax.

Surprisingly, Lucius finds a secret tunnel in that place that takes him to modern-day Japan. This serves as a boost for his creativity, and he tries to soak up as much knowledge as he can to create a masterpiece.

17. Iroduku: The World in Colors

MAL score: 7.52

Episodes: 13

Aired: Oct 6, 2018 to Dec 29, 2018

Hitomi Tsukishiro’s everyday life is pretty much covered in black and white, despite the presence of kaleidoscopic magic. This is when Kohaku, Hitomi’s grandmother, comes to the rescue by using a time-traveling spell that transports Hitomi back to 2018.

It is from the time when Kohaku was a high school student. Kohaku doesn’t inform Hitomi clearly about her task there, and she lands in the room of a stoic artist named Yuito Aoi. His artworks seem to bring Hitomi’s life to colors which can simultaneously help her to find her purpose in that place.

18. Summer Storm!

MAL score: 7.27

Episodes: 13 + 13 (2 seasons)

Aired: Apr 6, 2009 to Jun 29, 2009

Summer Storm is an anime with time travel that revolves around the story of Yasaka, a 13-year old kid who is spending his summer vacation days at the house of his grandfather. While strolling outside, he comes across a beautiful teenage girl named Arashi.

He protects her from a suspicious-looking guy and takes her to his grandfather’s place. Later, Yasaka discovered a picture which is from 60 years ago but Arashi looks the same in it. The story takes a sudden turn when the girl beside Arashi in that picture also appears before Yasaka. What is the reason for this mysterious anomaly?

19. Sandglass of Summer Colors

MAL score: 6.50

Episodes: 2

Aired: May 21, 2004 to Jul 23, 2004

It is always a special occasion when you finally decide to confess your feelings to your crush. Makimura Koutarou is also in a similar position, and he wants to ask out Serizawa Kaho. But Kaho is quite an unapproachable girl, which doesn’t make Koutarou’s job any easier.

Before the day of the proposal, Koutarou somehow finds himself in the future after coming across a strange girl. In the future, he finds out that Kaho has become his girlfriend, but on the tragic side, she has also passed away after being in an accident. This forces Koutarou to change his original plan and make it a priority to change the future.

20. Punch Line

MAL score: 6.94

Episodes: 12

Aired: Apr 10, 2015 to Jun 26, 2015

Punch Line is a hilarious anime with time travel produced by MAPPA that starts off with a bus hijacking. A superhero by the name of Strange Juice saves Yuuta’s life, but his soul gets separated in that process.

It goes under the care of a cat spirit when he starts looking at the other people in that place. There he suddenly notices the undergarments of a character named Narugino, which apparently increase his powers. But the issue is that if he sees them once again, it may cause the earth to get destroyed by a huge asteroid.