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12 Best Anime Time-Travel Stories

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We’ve all had one thought pass through our minds at some point or another. What if we could rewind time? Would we be able to fix our regrets, or create a bigger mess?

Well, that’s the big question at the heart of the best anime time-travel stories. As you explore this genre, you’ll find tales that twist your brain, break your heart, and make you rethink every decision you’ve ever made.

You’d think time travel is all about paradoxes and physics. But in reality, time-travel anime focuses more on emotions. These anime explore that one “what if” moment we all wish we could redo.

From scientific thrillers to bittersweet dramas, these shows make the impossible feel painfully human. Let’s break down the titles that nailed it.

12 Best Anime Time-Travel Stories

1. Steins;Gate (2011)

An anime promotional image featuring several main characters from the series Steins;Gate in an urban background. The image prominently displays the title "STEINS;GATE" at the top center. Characters include a woman with long reddish-brown hair, a woman in a white and blue outfit, and a man with black hair on a cell phone.

Let’s start this list strong by mentioning the best anime time-travel story that set the benchmark for others – Steins;Gate. This one is a mix of science fiction, conspiracy, and heartbreak that remains with you months after you’ve completed the last episode.

We’ve got our protagonist, an eccentric self-proclaimed “mad scientist,” Rintarou Okabe, and his friends send messages to the past using a phone and a microwave. Sounds ridiculous, but hey, it worked! But when each “D-Mail” starts changing the world line, suddenly, the tiny jokes you’ve been laughing at start having world-shifting consequences.

2. Erased (2016)

A still from the anime Erased showing seven characters in a classroom setting. From left to right: a boy with light hair in a white jacket, a girl in a red coat and scarf (Kayo Hinazuki), a boy in a blue jacket and white hood, a boy with spiky hair in a yellow sweater, a girl in a green coat, a girl in a tan coat, and a taller boy in a white jacket and blue cap standing to the far right.

While Steins;Gate is all about logic and chaos, Erased focuses on heart and guilt. Our protagonist, Satoru Fujinuma, has a strange ability. He can rewind time a few minutes before a tragedy.

This base gets rattled when his mother is murdered. Instead of rewinding to a few minutes before a tragedy, he gets thrown 18 years back into the past. Now, Satoru has to relive his childhood, prevent the abduction of a classmate, and rewrite his own trauma.

3. Tokyo Revengers (2021)

A group of seven anime characters from Tokyo Revengers stand together in what appears to be a church or formal setting with lit candles on an altar. The characters are dressed in various outfits, including gang uniforms, a red long coat, and a white coat with a red arm band. The central character has spiky blond hair.

Time travel with added gangs, brawls, and heartbreak? That’s just Tokyo Revengers in a nutshell.

When Takemichi Hanagaki, a washed-up adult, suddenly finds himself back in middle school, he has the chance to change the past and save his girlfriend, who was killed in the future. Seems simple enough, but as it is with time-travel anime, complexities are bound to arise.

The mechanics of time travel take a back seat here. It is the energy that is addictive. Every arc feels like a mix of Fight Club and Your Name, and you can’t help but root for Takemichi every time he gets another chance to make things right.

4. Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World (2016)

An illustration featuring a large group of main characters from the anime series Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World. Protagonist Natsuki Subaru is centered, smiling, with Beatrice on his shoulders and Emilia next to him. Other key characters are present, posing together against a night sky background.

This anime is the definition of brutal, emotionally, mentally, and narratively. Every time our protagonist Subaru dies, he gets sent back to a “save point.” But here’s the thing. He has to keep reliving all the traumatic memories again and again, and watch himself fail no matter how much he tries, while the others keep forgetting everything.

As you watch Subaru lose his optimism and break down completely, you realize the true weight of the burden that he holds. If you love your anime dark with psychological elements, this one fits right in.

5. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

An anime scene from the film The Girl Who Leapt Through Time shows the main characters in a schoolyard setting. In the foreground, a boy with brown hair, Chiaki Mamiya, smiles broadly. To his right, the protagonist, Makoto Konno, makes a comical, wide-mouthed expression. Several other students are visible in the background, including another boy on the far right with a surprised look on his face. The background features school buildings and green trees under a blue sky.

What could an ordinary high school girl with time-leaping abilities possibly do? Well, ask Makoto Konno, the protagonist of the 2006 movie, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, who made the most of her abilities to ace tests, skip embarrassing moments, and get more dessert.

But here’s the thing. Every action has its consequences. One insignificant change in the past can have drastic consequences in the future, as Makoto soon figures out. 

6. Link Click (2021)

An illustration of several characters from the anime Link Click gathered in a large, multi-story library setting with wooden bookshelves. The characters are posed on a wide set of stairs, with two main characters in the foreground reaching towards each other.

Now, if you’re going to be technical, this one does not fall under the category of Japanese anime. But this Chinese anime tackles the concept of time travel so masterfully that it would be a shame not to include it in this list. 

Two friends, Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang, find out that they can jump into photographs and relive moments from the perspective of the people captured in them. Unlike most of the other anime in this list, this one does not use time-travel as a mode to further the plot. Instead, it uses it to explore the true meaning of memory and connection.

7. Orange (2016)

Six high school students from the anime Orange, including Naho Takamiya and Kakeru Naruse, stand together on a bridge over a stream surrounded by green foliage.

Who said time-travelling needed to happen physically? Orange might jump through the hoops with the concept (do not try to figure out the physics of time-travel here. You’ll give yourself a headache!), but it does great with the execution of its core message. 

The plot follows a high school girl named Naho who receives letters from her future self. The instruction is clear. To save a classmate from tragedy.

8. Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song (2021)

A man in a bloodstained white jacket points a handgun at a woman with light blue hair and a white coat in a snowy, dark environment with bright lights in the background. The scene is from the anime Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song.

Time-travel, AI, music seems like a weird combo, but give this one a try. The premise is set in the future, where AI has become a threat to humanity. The only savior is an android named Vivy, who must rewrite history to prevent a war.

As Vivy proceeds with the mission, she finds herself going back and forth through the timelines. The sci-fi aspect of the anime remains intact, but the heart lies in the purpose.

9. Your Name (2016)

A digital illustration of the anime Your Name (Kimi no Na wa) features the main characters, Taki Tachibana and Mitsuha Miyamizu, standing back-to-back. Both are wearing their school uniforms. A significant red braided cord, which is a key element in the film, loops around them, connecting from the boy's hair to the girl's hair.

Makoto Shinkai’s iconic movie gives an interesting twist to the time-travel setup. In fact, the time twist is the final punch in the movie, and you’re left questioning everything you’ve seen so far.

The emotional reveal stays with you long after the movie credits are over. The movie is romantic, mysterious, and a visually stunning affair.

10. ReLIFE (2016)

Six anime characters from the series ReLIFE standing together, with the logo displayed at the bottom.

Want some good ol’ time-travel story without the heavy sci-fi? Welcome to ReLIFE, where our protagonist Arata doesn’t exactly go back physically to the past, but gets to relive a year as a high school student. 

This show explores growth, regret, and second chances. It is surprisingly introspective as well.

11. Summertime Render (2022)

A dark-haired male anime character, Shinpei, is in the foreground, aiming a handgun forward while partially submerged in water. A blonde female character is leaning over his shoulder from behind, her arm wrapped around him. Both characters have glowing blue marks on their skin.

What happens when supernatural blends with time-travel? You get mind-bending twists almost every episode. From small-town tragedies to survival-level chaos, the stakes just keep getting higher and higher in this one.

12. Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011)

Five young female anime characters from the series Puella Magi Madoka Magica stand in a dramatic pose on a checkered surface against a dark, stormy background.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica disguises itself as a pretty cute magical girls show…until thighs start getting grim. The time-travel aspect is revealed later, and once it does, everything changes. 

Don’t let the cute alien or magical girls stop you from watching this show. It is dark, brilliant, and emotionally loaded.

The best anime time-travel stories don’t just mess with clocks. They care more about messing with your hearts. That’s because everyone has some regrets in their lives. 

These anime ask the question – if you could go back in time, would you? If yes, then what are you willing to lose to make things right again?

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