This is a great rock band anime everyone loves. Following a 14 year old boy named Koyuki who feels he's disconnected from the general population. That's until he rescues an odd-looking dog from some mischief kids. Returning the dog to its owner, he finds out that he's an upcoming rock musician who ends up influencing Koyuki to play the guitar. This begins his new life full of trial and tribulations with the rock band and its members as they struggle towards fame.

Filled with friendship and attributes for the coming of age, this anime is a great music drama/romance series. Beginning in the Summer of 1966, a young boy named Kaoru moves in with some relatives in the town of Kyushu. He's always been calm and kept his distance from others his whole life as a honor student, but that all changes when he meets the schools notorious bad boy, Sentaro. Not knowing how to act at first, Kaoru learns through the Sentaro the importance and love for jazz music. Because of this interest, they develop a bond that becomes Kaoru first friendship, ever.

This anime is easily a fan favorite filled with fighting, life after death, girls with guns, and much more. Oh, and an all girl band! This series takes place in a world after death, where angels fight for the fate and their future. Following a boy who has lost his memories of life after dying, he meets a girl who is the leader of the Afterlife Battlefront (Shinda Sekai Sensen (SSS)). This organization fights against God for all the negative experiences they were forced to live while alive. They attempt to fight against God as well as Angel, who uses supernatural powers. The SSS has an all girl band with four members that provide diversions against Angel in hopes of defeating her. Whether or not it works, the music is great!

Probably one of the most popular series about music is this drama/romance of punk rock. Nana Osaki is a guarded and ambitious young woman with a heart of gold, but had a rough past. She's the vocalist for a punk rock group called the Black Stones and she strives for fame and recognition more than anything she's ever wanted. While traveling to Tokyo one day, she meets a girl with the same named Nana Komatsu, who is the exact opposite of Osaki with a weak will and stable past. The one thing Komatsu wants more than anything is to find her true love and be married. As they continue to know each other, their friendship grows and they become very close. Together, they find out if life will grant their dreams while still having time for each other as best friends.

Not only does this series have some influential musical references, it also has one of the best stories and character development in a anime series. Following Shinichi Chiaki who is a first class musician that dreams of playing amongst the elites of Europe one day. He's not only a perfectionist and highly critical of himself, but of others around him as well. While his dream is to go to Europe, he's stuck in Japan due to his fear of flying. Isn't that something. After getting into a fight with the teacher of the music school, he is demoted and forced to attend a class of musicians who are not so talented. Until he meets Nodame who seems misdirected and sloppy at first, she plays the piano leaving Chiaki amazed at how well she does. Not really liking her habits, this begins the story of the two as they learn to deal with one another, while also learning from each other, they strive in rising to the top of the musical world!