As much as Japan is considered an exotic setting in Western media, the same applies in reverse. Lots of anime series feature American characters depicted in a larger-than-life fashion, leading to memes that Americans should strive to be the way anime thinks they are.
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Some anime go one step further and are set directly within the United States itself. With so much modern mythology to take inspiration from – the Old West, the Roaring Twenties, and the romanticized view of Las Vegas – it’s easy to see why. Here are the best anime set in the US of A.
8
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Night City, California
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was a slam-dunk of an idea by CD Projekt Red. Off the back of a disastrous launch for Cyberpunk 2077, the company needed some big-time promotional material for its newly patched game. Its ace in the hole was enlisting the services of Trigger, a fan-favourite production house, to create an anime set in the same world.
This show takes place in the fictional Night City, on the border between North and South California. It features humans with cybernetic enhancements and seriously bad attitudes. The gritty series achieved its goal: after the anime adaptation aired, interest in the game skyrocketed.
7
Heroman
Center City, California
Heroman was a dream project: it combined Stan Lee’s character design talents with Bones’ stellar animation. The series takes place in a fictionalized version of Los Angeles, where an orphaned boy picks up a toy robot that gains magic powers.
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Stan Lee always had a fascination with the world of anime and manga, going so far as to collaborate with Japanese rock band X Japan to produce a one-off series called Blood Red Dragon. The Heroman anime, however, remains his most high-profile collaboration with an anime studio.
6
Baccano
New York And Illinois
Baccano is a series that jumps across multiple points of view and progresses at a breakneck pace. If you’ve watched Durarara, think of this series as Durarara before Durarara – and set in the United States. Featuring New York City and Chicago prominently across its 16-episode run, Baccano tells a wacky Prohibition-era tale.
When an immortality elixir appears in Manhattan at the height of the Great Depression, everyone wants a sip. Gangsters, alchemists, crooks, and thieves clash in this series that tempers its generally dark tone with occasional bouts of comedy.
5
Pet Shop Of Horrors
Los Angeles, California
Pet Shop of Horrors is one of Madhouse’s lesser-known series, before the studio rose to prominence with shows like Black Lagoon and Death Note. Animated as a four-episode anthology in 1999, it takes place in a secluded store in Chinatown, Los Angeles.
Each episode features an unlucky customer making contact with a humanoid demonic pet owned by Count D, the proprietor of the store. With a name like that, it’s kind of the customers’ fault that they meet with terrible fates in there instead of fleeing.
4
Gunsmith Cats
Chicago, Illinois
Gunsmith Cats is a three-parter OVA series set in Chicago. Featuring a group of bounty hunters, the series evokes the girls-with-guns action genre that was popular in the ’80s and ’90s.
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The manga was originally serialized in a seinen magazine, and it shows. Though it has cute character designs and some very funny moments, Gunsmith Cats also has some mature themes, and it doesn’t shy away from depicting a gritty mafia underworld, where drugs and murder are second nature.
3
Kaleido Star
Cape Mery, California
California has long been seen as the final destination for creative minds in the West. It’s filled with artists, musicians, and filmmakers all hoping to make it big. Kaleido Star takes that premise and runs with it, showing a young Japanese girl travelling to the fictional city of Cape Mery in order to become a great acrobat.
Kaleido Star is a heartwarming series showing its protagonist overcoming culture shock and feelings of isolation in order to fulfill her dreams. At 51 episodes, it’s not short for a one-off series, but it’s worth your time.
2
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean
Port St. Lucie, Florida
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure hops locations as easily as it defies genres, to say nothing of its love for Western rock music. An anime series set entirely within America was an eventuality rather than a probability. Stone Ocean wasn’t the first JoJo series to feature the United States, but it is the first to be set entirely within it.
Taking place within the real city of Port St. Lucie, Florida, Stone Ocean follows Jolyne Cujoh in her attempts to break out of prison, rescue her father and recover his memories stolen by Dio.
1
Chrono Crusade
New York
Chrono Crusade is one of the most underrated shows from the early 2000s. Its extended combat scenes, cute character designs, and deep story make it feel like the series deserved more long-term recognition than it got.
Set in the 1920s, the show takes place in New York and follows a revolver-wielding exorcist and her demonic partner as they fight to rid the city of demons. The Rolls-Royces and Tommy guns make the series a modern crime story combined with high fantasy.
Despite the similar title and typesetting in the logo, Chrono Crusade is not related to the Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross video games. It was also titled Chrno Crusade in Japan due to a typo when it was first serialized in Japan.
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