The Holy Grail is an ancient relic of immense power that is coveted by all in the magical world as it is capable of granting its owner any wish they desire. In order to come into possession of the relic, magicians known as "Masters" summon legendary heroic spirits called "Servants" to battle it out alongside them in an epic battle royale. The last remaining Master/Servant pair wins ownership of the Holy Grail. However, the last such conflict, or Holy Grail War, was inconclusive as the artefact’s whereabouts were unknown after the war. Years later, a certain magi clan announces that the Grail is in their possession, and subsequently declare war on the Mage's Association, dispatching all but one of the 50 mages sent to retrieve it. The fourth iteration of the Holy Grail War sees it fought between two sides: the Mace's Association and the magi clan currently in its possession - Yggdmillennia. With each side summoning 7 Master/Servant pairs each, they duke it out for the most coveted magic relic in history.

Another one in a long-running series, Fate/Apocrypha is just as exciting and intense as all the Fates before it. The stakes are definitely high in this case as the entire Mage's Association has come under fire by a sole clan. With a Holy Grail War different from the ones before it, Apocrypha is definitely an exciting twist on a tried, tested and successful formula which boasts a compelling story, interesting characters with each successive series, intense battles and awesome magical powers all plastered across art that is just as good to look at as the ensuing war.

Three years ago, a strange gateway opened between Earth and the Beyond in New York, which trapped several interdimensional entities therein. This caused the city to be surrounded by an impregnable bubble. After the restoration of New York, paranormal occurrences are as common as life there as people adjust to magic and monsters along them. A young photographer named Leonardo Watch unwillingly obtained the "All Seeing Eyes of the Gods" in exchange for his sister's eyesight. He comes to New York in pursuit of answers to the questions posed by his new powers; however, life becomes even more interesting for Leonardo when he joins Libra, a secret group of people with supernatural abilities dedicated to the maintenance of balance in the city. Despite the ever-present threat of otherworldly assailants, Leonardo is determined to uncover the secrets of his new powers, as well as one day return his sister's eyesight. With Libra, Leonardo embarks on several dangerous adventures with the intent of protecting the balance.

A reboot of the original Kekkai Sensen, this fresh iteration improves upon the older version and gives viewers a better experience of the story and characters, along with the familiar action and brilliant art. The characters are definitely interesting and the storyline itself is one that attracts attention, especially that of people looking for something that will be the potent dose of intensity that one needs.

Every twelve years, twelve mercenaries bearing the names, attributes and abilities of the twelve members of the Chinese Zodiac engage gather in order to battle it out in the Zodiac Tournament. With their lives on the line, they engage on mortal combat until only one person remains, earning themselves a single wish. However, with the current installment of the tournament, rules have changed slightly - each participant has swallowed a poisonous gem, which has placed more pressure on them, as well as giving the tournament a definite time limit, as well as their very lives.

With a premise based around the very art of war, Juuni Taisen embodies in many ways the various aspects of action anime that make it extremely addictive and intense. The concept isn't necessary one we haven't seen before; however, innovation is not always the intention when it comes to anime of this variety - we want high-stakes battles, badass characters and a premise that isn't too complicated nor drawn out. If you simply want death and destruction and epic fights, this is definitely for you.

In the distant future, a new and immortal life form called the Gems populate the Earth. The 28 Gems have to fight to defend themselves against the Lunarians who kill them and use the Gems as decorations. Each Gem has their own assigned role. Phosphophyllite is one such Gem, one who initially has no role due to being too brittle for battle, but has been given the task of creating an encyclopedia of natural history by the leader of the Gems, Adamantine.

Interplanetary war is a concept we have seen in all matter of science fiction throughout the ages, and Houseki no Kuni is another perspective on this tried and tested concept. While the protagonist of this story isn't one who is capable of engaging in the serious bits of action which populate the anime, the anime itself is brilliantly written and when there is action, trust it to be engaging and every bit as intense as one could imagine. An added bonus for those who are fans of the cartoon, Steven Universe, the Gem concept finds its way to the anime medium.

Inuyashiki Ichirou is a middle-aged man who is going through a difficult patch in his life as his family seems totally indifferent to his well being, and his health is fairly questionable. However, things only get worse as a physical check-up uncovers stomach cancer, leaving him only three months left to live. Overcome by his circumstances, he takes his dog, Hanako, to a nearby park, embracing her while weeping. Soon, Ichirou notices a strange figure before him and a bright light. When he comes to, he realises he has been reborn with a robot body, a weapon capable of mass destruction, as well as great acts of heroism. With his newfound powers, Ichirou decides to perform acts of good; however, could it be that there is someone just like him who has chosen a different path...?

Inuyashiki is, like many other noitaminA anime before it, a short yet incredible story done with an unconventional protagonist - a 58-year-old man (who quite frankly looks way older than that), as well as an equally interesting protagonist. The anime brings out deeper questions such as what it means to be human and if one can truly define what their life is meant for using the gifts they're given - all while giving us the type of cutthroat intensity we can expect from action. It can't be put tactfully - people die in this show, and there is widespread panic, destruction and violence... All given a somewhat more philosophical underlying context.

In the aftermath of finding out that one of their own, Okumura Rin, is the son of Satan, the ExWire at True Cross Academy. However, they have no time to dwell on the family history of one of their classmates as the left eye of a powerful demon known as the Impure King has been stolen from deep within the academy. After an attempt to steal the right eye fails, Rin and the other ExWire are sent to Kyoto to investigate the mystery behind the Impure King as well as the objectives of the thief. Feeling alienated from his fellow Exorcists, Rin attempts to train in order to learn how to control his dark power; however, soon after their arrival in Kyoto, the right eye is stolen and the reality of a possible traitor among them becomes ever so present.

An exciting continuation of the Ao no Exorcist story which made its way to screens back in 2011, the story follows the son of Satan, Okumura Rin, after his identity is made common knowledge. This series is definitely one of the more interesting and intense titles on this list, boasting more than just beautiful art and sick fights. The characters are interesting and fairly insightful in their own right, and for those who enjoy a more supernatural component to their anime will feel right at home in this blistering battle against the forces of evil.

Humans have been creating stories for aeons. These stories have become so commonplace and complex that they can now be considered universes unto themselves. Mizushino Souta is a high schooler who wishes to become a creator and write his own story in the form of a light novel, which he will also illustrate. While watching his favourite anime for inspiration, he is briefly transported to the events of that current episode; however, a character he has never seen before bursts onto the scene, interrupting the fight scene. Soon thereafter, Souta is returned to his room; however, to his shock, his favourite character and main character of the show he was watching, Selessia Yupitiria, has appeared in the real world alongside him! Not long after that, various fictional characters from various stories find themselves deployed in the real world, with a mysterious woman in full military regalia seemingly behind the chaos that ensues. Together with Selessia and Meteora Österreich, an NPC from a videogame, Souta seeks to uncover the truth behind the strange occurrences.

An anime that is as isekai as one can get; however, the perspective is completely different to what we're normally used to. The characters find themselves trapped in the real world, all coming from various different worlds themselves. With so many different types of characters in the mix, one can only expect some of the most explosive conflicts within this show, alongside a gripping story and beautifully executed combat scenes, Re:Creators is as philosophical as it is action-packed and truly one of the best of the past year.

At the young age of 9, Tanya Degurechaff is a soldier of incredible tactical aptitude and ruthlessness in combat which has earned her the title of "The Devil of the Rhine". However, within that child's body lies the soul of a man who was a salaryman in a previous life, sent to this world of magical warfare after he challenged Being X - an entity which claimed to be God and sought to make Tanya cognizant of that. However, Tanya maintained her stance and was thrust into her current body, an attempt by X to submit Tanya to incredible difficulties in life which she had never experienced in her life as a salaryman. However, given her ambition to recreate the comfort of that previous life, Tanya will stop at nothing - even if it takes making the Empire the most powerful nation in the world.

2017 kicked off with quite a bang as it brought us an isekai protagonist like none other - a totally ruthless individual who saw no problem in tossing people aside for her own ambition, all at a young age. The fights are incredibly explosive and exhilarating, as the magical warfare waged by the various militant groups is dynamic and flashy, with most of it happening in the air. The protagonist, Tanya Degurechaff, is an incredibly intelligent yet borderline evil person, an anti-hero for most, and her interactions with X make for a lot of material in the series that people might want to think about. But who has time to think when the entire world is about to be plunged into full-scale war right before their very eyes?

After the dangerous villain attack at UA High, the students prepare themselves for their next challenge: the school Sports Festival! With the various classes ready to strut their stuff, various individuals become prepared to face their strengths and weaknesses in an exhibition that is broadcast across Japan. One such individual is none other than Midoriya Izuku, who possesses the incredibly powerful One-For-All quirk. However, he must learn to control his powers before he can ever hope to win the festival. Meanwhile, the same villains who launched the attack on their school in the season prior find themselves lingering behind a new threat to the peace: a Hero-killing madman.

With the first season laying the foundations, the second season truly rooted this title as one of the most highly anticipated anime out at the moment, as well as presenting a new face of shounen anime that is yet to be seen. Boku no Hero Academia Season 2 truly presents the various shounen attributes that we know and love, yet in a different light. With all the action of the previous season intensified tenfold, the second season of this incredible series just has everything an action anime fan would like in a show: heavy combat, thrilling cliffhangers, intense scenes of incredibly high-stakes among a gripping storyline that has you begging for more of the same. Onward to the third season!

Due to the appearance of giant humanoid creatures known as the Titans, which feast on humans, humanity was pushed to the brink of extinction. Humanity's only source of respite came in the form of a concentric circle of giant walls, each protecting a level of human settlement from the Titans - at least until the outermost wall, Wall Maria, is destroyed by a massive Titan. Now with most of humanity hiding behind the next wall, Wall Rose, they wait for the next attack. In the second season, Eren Jaeger and the rest of the 104th Training Corps have just begun their training in the Survey Corps, preparing to face off against the titans again. However, with every new secret they discover about the world around them, the enemy becomes more and more unclear.

Shingeki no Kyojin's highly anticipated second season which took a long four years to finally make it to screens shows up with more intensity than the first season, but a smaller episode count. This season reveals more about the Attack on Titan universe, all while retaining the same level of gripping storytelling, unexpected plot changes and the most important part: the gracious level of combat against the titans and epic camera angles making for an unbelievable experience.