9 Best Anime Series and Movies with Magic and Monsters

15 year-old Kagome Higurashi is just your average teenager until she falls down a well. But this is no ordinary well. Kagome is transported to medieval Japan, a world full of demons and goblins. Before long, she encounters a demon dog named Inuyasha who was tied to a tree some 50 years ago by a woman named Kikyo. Kagome frees Inuyasha and they set out upon a journey to find the sacred Jewel of Four Souls, battling some serious demons and goblins along the way.

Inuyasha is recommended for early to late teens. Read more about this super popular series here.

X/1999 is based on CLAMP's popular manga series of the same name and has been adapted as a feature length animated movie as well as an anime (Japanese cartoon) series. Both are alternate tellings of the same story which follows Kamui, a boy in search of his destiny and his encounters with the two magical groups, The Seven Dragons of Earth who seek to wipe out humanity, and The Seven Dragons of Heaven who hope to save it.

X/1999 is recommended for mature age viewers due to its graphic violence and sexual themes. Fans of CLAMP looking for a series that can be viewed by younger viewers should check out the more popular Cardcaptors (Cardcaptor Sakura).

A new anime series recently released on Netflix, Glitter Force tells the tale of a group of schoolgirls who are granted magical powers by a small creature who tasks them with protecting the fairy tale endings of everyone in town.

Glitter Force is an energetic series full of humor, action, and numerous catchy English songs that will appeal to fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. A great anime series for younger viewers and adults looking for something super fun.

Yu Yu Hakusho is an older anime series about a 14 year-old boy named Yusuke who acts as a Spirit Detective, a supernaturally-charged spirit with the responsibility of protecting the Earth from evil spirits.This series is a great mix of action and drama and will appeal to teens onwards who don't mind the older animation style.

Did you like the blockbuster movie, Van Helsing? Then you'll love the Hellsing anime series. The Hellsing Organization is a secret group dedicated to ridding the world of vampires once and for all. Led by Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing (a decendent of the lengendary Van Helsing!), the agency hunts down vampires and destroys them before they can wreak any havoc. Interestly, one of the main Hellsing members is Alucard, a mysterious and powerful vamp himself.

Perfect for older teens and adults.

The Fairy Tail anime series is a long-running series full of magicians, talking winged cats, dragons, and guild members with every sort of magical ability under the sun. Fairy Tail has a great sense of humor and is easy to get into due to its numerous DVD and Blu-ray releases and availability on online stores and streaming services.Teens onwards will really get a lot out of this series while the sexual innuendos rule out younger fans.

Vampire Hunter D is the story of D, half vamp and half human (kind of an anime version of Blade) and his quest to hunt and kill vampires. He soon meets Count Mangus Lee, a vicious vampire in his own right who, with his followers, attack and terrorize the villagers just for fun. D quickly sets his sights on Lee and his gang, eliminating the group one by evil one.

A good creepy anime for adults and a classic vampire anime.

A new type of vampire has arrived. Called, Teropterids, this shape-shifting monster can only be killed with a very special sword that happens to be owned by Saya the last vampire. Posing as a student at a Japanese military base school, a fun Halloween party is quickly transformed into a bloody vampire free-for-all.

Fantastic fun for adults. No-go for kids.

You'll find no vampires or goblins in Princess Mononoke but that doesn't mean there aren't any supernatural forces at work. Princess Mononoke is the story of Ashitaka, a young man cursed with a spreading scar that threatens his very life. He ventures into the mystical forest looking for a cure and finds himself in the middle of a supernatural war between the animals who want to protect the forest and the humans who seek to destroy it.

Beautifully animated with a musical score that lingers long after the credits finishing rolling, Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke should be viewed by everyone at least once. A must-see anime film.