Polar Bear Cafe is a popular café for animals and humans alike to gather after work. It’s run by the polar bear Shirokuma, its sole employee is the human girl Sasako, and its frequented by Panda and Penguin among countless other customers. Polar Bear Cafe follows the everyday life of the people that frequent it, and the adventures they get on to.

This slice of life comedy by Studio Pierrot isn’t the most popular of its offerings, but it’s undoubtedly one of its most charming series. Polar Bear Cafe manages to make every single one of its characters, including the big secondary cast and the more irregular customers, a delight to watch. Studio Pierrot may have become famous for its excellent shounen series, but Polar Bear Cafe shows its versatility and is basically the equivalent of comfort food for anime. If you’re ever having a bad day or just need a pleasant watch, then Polar Bear Cafe will fill your needs.

Class president Youko Nakajima is shy, insecure, and a pushover; however, she’ll have to overcome her flaws now that she’s been chosen to rule a kingdom in a fantasy world by a mysterious man named Keiki. Unfortunately, before Youko can get even a small grasp of her new role, she’s dragged into the fantasy world along with two of her classmates and left helpless and clueless as to what she’s supposed to do. Youko only has a magical spirit and a magical sword by her side as she tries to find her place in this new world.

Twelve Kingdoms has some of the most classic fantasy tropes: the chosen one, the alternate world, and the magical sword. This series stands out because it really digs deep into the creation of a complex and multi-layered fantasy world. This isn’t just an action series with a fantasy backdrop, it also explores the politics, philosophies, and dynamics of the multiple kingdoms to create a world that leaves you wanting to explore its every corner. The Twelve Kingdoms is also spectacular for how well its expansive cast develops over the anime’s 45 episodes, most notably Youko’s self-improvement will have you cheering her more and more with each passing episode.

Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Juushimatsu, and Todomatsu are sextuplets. They all have their own unique personalities, but they are also visually identical and too lazy and inept to get jobs. These brothers don’t have much going for them but get into endless misadventures trying to get jobs, find girlfriends, and simply figuring out their lives.

Following a series in the 1960s and in the 1980s, Studio Pierrot brings an indirect sequel to Osomatsu-kun with the sextuplets aged up. Osomatsu-san turns the meta-humor up a notch but carries the same core of having its six leads getting up to insane antics. With a new adult humor bend to it, Mr. Osomatsu really stands out from the rest of Studio Pierrot’s series but also from most slice-of-life comedies in anime in the way it gets its laughs.

Lag Seeing followed in the footsteps of Gauche Suede to become a Letter Bee. A Letter Bee delivers letters, packages, and sometimes people to the varying towns that make up the world of Amberground. It’s the hardest job in the world, Lag Seeing and his bodyguard Niche must fend off the Gaichuu, insects that hunt down the Letter Bee’s mail because it contains a fragment of the Heart of the senders. Lag Seeing was once a letter himself after he lost his mother, but as a Letter Bee, he seeks to keep people connected all while tracking down the mysteriously missing Gauche Suede.

Letter Bee has the sort of unique world that makes you perk up the moment it’s described. It does what shounen does best, it takes an ordinary job and makes it fantastical. You won’t find a world where mail delivery is more hectic and thrilling than Letter Bee, though many have tried. Aside from the usual goodness you get out of a Studio Pierrot series, Letter Bee’s main characters are more adorable and innocent than their typically brash and in-your-face counterparts, so it’s also a fresh take on a genre in which the protagonist can often make or break the show.

Ishiyama High is the worst school in the entire country, and Tatsumi Oga is its most dangerous student. One day, when some of the delinquents of Ishiyama High mistakenly think they can get one over Oga, he beats them all up. The beatdown is interrupted by a big man floating down a nearby river. Oga splits the old man open and from it comes Baby Beel, also known as Kaiser de Emperana Beelzebub IV, a boy destined to destroy the world. Oga is now Baby Beel’s foster parent and he must take care of him while risking death by all the threats that will inevitably emerge unless he can find someone stronger to foster the boy.

Beelzebub is a lighthearted shounen series that never takes itself too seriously. From the very first episode where Oga narrates the premise of the show, it’s clear we’re going to be in for some funny and over-the-top antics. Beelzebub parodies quite a bit of the shounen genre, most notably a particularly hilarious take on the tournament arc. If you’re looking for a shounen with a heavy dose of comedy, then you’d be doing yourself a favor going with Beelzebub.

Xin and Piao are war orphans and slaves, but they train every day with the dream of one day becoming one of the Great Generals of the Heavens. That unlikely dream becomes possible when Piao is seen by one of the retainers of the king of the Kingdom of Qin and is recruited to work for them. The next time Xin sees Piao, he is bloodied and on the verge of death, but he crawled all the way back to Xin with a message for him. He leaves Xin with a mission that leads him into the service of Zheng, the king of Qin. Xin will have to help Zheng fend off assassins, stop a coup d’état, and take back his kingdom.

Kingdom is heavily inspired by China’s Warring States period while borrowing heavily from shounen tropes. Xin wants to become a great general while Zheng wants to become the emperor of all of China, and they will encourage and push each other to achieve their lofty goals. Kingdom will delight with some of the greatest war scenes in anime, and the thrill that comes of seeing Xin climb up the military rankings of Qin. If you’re into military anime and want a more mature shounen, Studio Pierrot’s delivered with Kingdom.

Maruo Eiichirou is the perfect student: he studies all the time, attends cram school, and is an honor student. He decides to add a little exercise in his life to take care of his health when he attends the free trial of the Southern Tennis Club. There, he sees school idol Takasaki Natsu playing tennis with an incredible passion. Eiichirou discovers that while Natsu is as dedicated with tennis as he is with studying, Natsu does it because she is passionate about the sport while Eiichirou does it out of obligation. Eiichirou decides to take tennis seriously to try to discover the passion that drives Natsu.

Eiichirou isn’t the first lead of a sports anime series to suddenly find some purpose in life via an extracurricular activity he’d never thought to try before. Studio Pierrot’s Baby Steps is very much a shounen, but Eiichirou’s incredibly methodical style and perfectionist tendencies help him stand out from other shounen leads. Baby Steps delivers both in the growth of Eiichirou and in the development of his relationship with Natsu to deliver a well-rounded sports anime.

After Fujiwara no Sai committed suicide when he was relieved of his duties as the Go instructor of a Japanese emperor, his soul was sealed within a Go board. Shindou Hikaru, an average 12-year-old boy, discovers the Go board in his grandfather’s attic and is suddenly possessed by Sai. Hikaru must now help Sai achieve peace by having the perfect game of Go called “The Hand of God,” and perhaps discover his own passion for the game while he’s at it.

Hikaru no Go is infamous for having helped Go, an already legendary and popular game, return to prominence in Japan. Even if you’ve never played or seen a game of Go before, Hikaru no Go does a great job of explaining the rules and strategies throughout the series. It goes without saying that this is a classic shounen series and delivers on the thrill of seeing Hikaru go against increasingly stronger opponents. Once you’ve watched this, we won’t blame you if you get yourself your own Go board.

Livius Orvinus Ifrikia is the king of the Sun Kingdom, and he’s managed to conquer most of his continent in just three years. Next on his list appears to be the Rain Dukedom, but instead of conquering the small kingdom, he wants them to send one of their princesses to marry him. The royalty of the Rain Dukedom has the unusual power to create rain, something the Sun Kingdom has never seen before. After losing a game of rock-paper-scissors to her sisters, princess Nike Remercier will have to move to the Sun Kingdom and adjust to life as the wife of Livius.

The World is Still Beautiful is a romance more than anything else and focuses on the budding relationship between Livius and Nike. There’s plenty of comedy to be had from the very start when Nike discovers that the all-conquering Livius is an adorable 12-year-old boy who is at once snarky towards her and overprotective. This is a straightforward romance, but it does everything it sets out to do as a shoujo perfectly. If you’re looking for a warm anime to watch, then The World is Still Beautiful is the warmest in Studio Pierrot’s repertoire.

Naruto Uzumaki left Konohagakure to become stronger not only to achieve his dreams of becoming Hokage but also to be able to protect the people he cares about and to bring back his runaway friend Sasuke Uchiha. Now, two and a half years later, he returns to Konoha a much more capable ninja than he once was, but also ready to face the looming threat of the terrorist group Akatsuki. While there are deadly threats to his village and his world at every corner, Naruto won’t stop working to achieve his dreams.

Naruto: Shippuden is the sequel to the world renown shounen series Naruto and picks up two and a half years later. The show ramps up the intensity from the very first episode: the fights are bigger, the stakes are higher, and Naruto: Shippuden will hit you with even more emotional punches. Studio Pierrot’s biggest series in its 40-year history often employs some of the finest animators in the industry for some of the best-animated fights you’ll ever find. It’s not hard to see why Naruto: Shippuden tops this list, it’s easily one of the most popular anime in the world and some fans might even argue it’s the best shounen out there too.