The country of Hinomoto is going through an industrial revolution when zombie-like monsters known as Kabane arise and start attacking people. They can only be killed if their iron-coated hearts are pierced and they infect who they bite, transforming them into Kabane as well. Survivors have built stations to protect themselves from the monsters and they all communicate through steam-powered locomotives called Hayajiro. Ikoma works in one of these stations and invents a weapon especially created to exterminate the Kabane. His station is attacked, most people killed or turned into monsters and he finally has a chance to test his weapon. Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress has a very similar feel to Attack on Titan. Something suddenly happens and seemingly mindless monsters appear and threaten to destroy humanity. Fear and hate abound but also mistrust since you can't always tell when someone's been infected and your station or village could be the next one to go. Then there's corruption, and of course a brave hero who will do anything in his power to bring humanity back from this apocalypse.

Imagine one day suddenly humans become unable to reproduce or die. Even when mortally wounded, death won't come. Surely it would seem God had abandoned humankind. That's what happens in the world of Ai Astin, a 12 year old girl who is one of this stagnant world's “grave-keepers” which means she can put the living dead to rest. She lives in a small village and is ready to help all her villagers pass on when she needs to. Until Hampnie Hambart shows up and massacres them all. Now Ai is left to wander with Hampnie as she learns about the truth behind the state of the world, and decides to save all those left behind by God. That's right, more zombies! And much like in other additions to this list, here we have a world that is teetering between barely holding on and disappearing. Really, if people can't be born and the gravekeepers are eventually putting all the living-dead to rest, there would be a point where all humans would be gone. There is also an unknown reason for the cause of man's demise and a heroine who is searching for herself, answers and salvation. This is a beautiful post-apocalyptic zombie anime full of mystery and action!

After a catastrophic event, Japan is turned into a wasteland and the Kanto region is now the Great Kanto Desert. The few still surviving in this barren land live by the “survival of the fittest” rule. One of those hanging on to life in the wasteland is a little guy they call the Desert Punk. He's a mercenary, bounty hunter and handyman who does anything for the right price. Oh and he's girl crazy, to put it nicely. His name is Kanta Mizuno and he's strong, agile and quick to take action. In Desert Punk, it's implied that the apocalypse was brought on by some sort of a nuclear catastrophe. Japan isn't the only country affected, but it's where the story takes place. Most people can't survive in the harsh environment, and the ones that can are as harsh and unforgiving as the wastelands themselves. Unlike other anime, where survivors come together, in Sunabouzu, we see a post-apocalyptic world that brings out only the worst in mankind and a free-for-all attitude. It's an oldie but goodie!

After a massive disaster leaves Earth devastated, most of humanity was uploaded digitally without their physical bodies to a high-tech space station orbiting the destroyed planet. The station is called DEVA and without physical needs to fulfill, its inhabitants live peacefully. Until one day, a hacker calling himself Frontier Setter infiltrates the DEVA system and begins spreading a message trying to gather followers. Angela Balzac is an agent of DEVA's law enforcement and she is sent to the surface in an organic body to stop the hacker. Along with her partner Dingo, she discovers who Frontier Setter is, as well as the truth behind those still left on the wasteland and DEVA's utopian world. This one is a very high-tech post-apocalyptic scenario and some of the ideas are similar to Ergo Proxy. Expelled from Paradise shows us what humanity could be like without the limitations that come with a human body, but like other anime in this genre, there's usually a high price to pay for such a paradisiac life after the apocalypse and many are left behind and forgotten.

Casshern Sins takes place after an event known as the Ruin, in which a war almost annihilated all cyborgs and humans and left the world barren. Casshern is a robot warrior that awakens with no memories of his past and nothing but anger within him. Everybody hates him and blames him for the demise of humans and robots alike. He wonders around trying to piece his memories together and trying to figure out his role in the wasteland and atone for his sins. Imagine waking up in a barren world where all you meet hate you and hope is non-existant. This is Casshern's reality and the only world he knows. Most people have lost all sense of justice and morality. And it's up to the cyborg who caused it all to find a way to restore humanity to the way it was meant to be. This one is a bit trippy but has a strong message.

After a virus breaks out that wipes out all humans over 13 years of age, vampires enslave the ones left and use them as cattle. Yuuichiro and Mikaela Hyakuya are two boys from an orphanage who are taken captive along with their orphan friends. Mikaela plans an escape to get them all out of the clutches of the vampires but the plan fails and the only survivor is Yuuichiro, who manages to get away. Years later, Yuuichiro is part of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army, whose sole purpose is to eradicate vampires and take back Japan. Yuuichiro does everything to take revenge on the vampires who slayed his family. Owari no Seraph has a familiar apocalypse setting, a virus spreads and most of humanity dies. But then, vampires enter the scene! This post-apocalyptic reality is a veritable war zone full of deceit, supernatural creatures and a thirst for revenge, not only from Yuuichiro, everybody fighting on the humans' side has lost their families and/or friends and it's time to get even.

One day, regular Japanese school-boy Shuuzou Matsutani (Shu) comes across a mysterious girl, Lala-Ru, on his way home from school. Through this encounter, he is transported to a desolate world suffering from drought and engaged in an unforgiving war for water and survival. Lala-Ru is taken captive and Shu must endure the horrors of war if he intends to find her and help change the reality of that post-apocalyptic world. Now and Then, Here and There takes place when a boy is suddenly transported to a post-apocalyptic world that isn't his own. (or is it?) The apocalypse for this world came in the form of a murderous drought that resulted in a violent war which turns children into soldiers and women into slaves. Sometimes, the fight for survival can bring humanity together, but other times it just tears people apart even more. In Ima, Soko, ni Iru Boku, it is the latter. This one's certainly a classic.

Thousands of years after an ecological catastrophe, what is left of mankind is forced to live inside the domed city of Romdo. AutoReivs are humanoid robots that assist people with their every-day needs. However, suddenly, these robotic assistants start contracting a virus that gives them self-awareness. Re-L Mayer, an investigator for the Intelligence Bureau and her AutoReiv partner Iggy are in charge of looking into the case and the murders related to it. Throughout the investigation, they unravel the true past and present of the world they live in. The cause of this apocalypse is an ecological disaster brought on by rapid global warming. It happened so long ago that the people living in this world, don't truly know why or how it all happened or how they got to where they are. But they are fine and don't question it. Except for Re-L. This one is full of twists and turns that I can't really mention because I'd hate to spoil it for you!

The appearance of giant, humanoid creatures known as Titans, who take pleasure in devouring people, marked the near-extinction of humanity. That was centuries ago and now the survivors of the apocalypse have erected walls that have kept them safe over the last one hundred years. That is until a colossal Titan, bigger than any ever seen before, shatters the outer wall along with the residents' false sense of security. Eren Yeager witnesses and experiences painful losses during the attack which motivates him to join the Survey Corps military unit and swears to kill all Titans. Along with his childhood friends, Mikasa and Armin, they fight with everything they've got to stop the second coming of the Titan apocalypse. This apocalyptic scenario is terrifying mainly for two reasons. Number one, nobody knows where these monsters came from. They just showed up one day and started eating people. There are so many questions! Why are they humanoid? How did it happen? Why do they eat people!? Number two, they are gigantic human-looking creatures, which is creepy on its own, but they also eat smaller humans! The first time I watched Shingeki no Kyojin I seriously got goosebumps when I saw the titans. It has to be one of the best post-apocalyptic anime out there.

Humanity has been terrorized by an army of “Beastmen” and their mechas and forced to live underground. The small communities can't communicate with each other or go out to the surface.This has been going on for so long, that the remnants of humanity have never seen the world above. Kamina, a young delinquent with big dreams, decides he will break out from underground and invites Simon who considers him his older brother. With the help of Yoko, a badass girl who wanders the surface battling Beastmen, they set out to fight for humanity's right to the Earth's surface. In Gurren Lagann, the apocalypse came in the form of an outside enemy who divided humanity and conquered with violence, technology and fear. But while most of humanity has given up on the possibility of ever returning to what life once was, there is a man who fights because he is full of hope and faith that it can be done. And he's willing to do anything to that end. For many reasons that I can't mention, Gurren Lagann earns its place in number one because it's full of surprises, has an amazing story and may even get you to tear up here and there. You really must watch it if you haven't already!