Best Action Animes: Unmissable Battles and Adventures

Looking for action anime to watch? In this article, we are going to share a complete list of the best action anime organized by sub-genres and groups. Anime where the focus is fights, beatings and blood. Where always you will have some emotion or physical and psychological battle. See a list of the best action anime of all time.

It is impossible to talk about all the action anime there is, because this genre is very comprehensive. So let's avoid talking about the best-known anime of the genre like Dragon Ball, One Piece and Naruto of life.

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Table of Contents

The best action anime that everyone knows

Let's start by listing the action anime that if not included in the list, people will get stressed. They can easily fit into other categories of the article, but we won't place them there. These are the action anime with the highest ratings on MAL and with huge popularity.

Action anime - best anime with fights and confrontations

Hunter x Hunter

Synopsis – One of the greatest shounen anime that still goes unnoticed by people. It tells the story of a boy who wants to an exam to become a Hunter and look for his father in a vast world full of bullshit.

My opinion – Apparently it's a simple and short synopsis, but it doesn't represent the depth of this perfect work with numerous arcs, lots of action and fighting. It was one of the best anime I've watched in my entire life, too bad the author is lazy and doesn't continue the manga. Grade 100/10 (Kevin).

KISEIJUU: SEI NO KAKURITSU

Synopsis – It tells the story of a world that is invaded by carnivorous parasites that take over people's bodies and pretend to be human. A young man prevents the parasite from eating his brain, and the 2 coexist together (parasite in hand) and fight to wipe out the other parasites that eat humans.

My opinion – An anime made by the famous Madhouse that only makes good anime. This one held me from beginning to end, it has a closed story and a lot of action with psychological suspense. My grade is 9/10 (Kevin).

Accel World

Synopsis - A fat, short and failed young man is invited by the most popular girl in high school to play a virtual reality game that presents the player with an ability to accelerate in time and see the world around him totally stopped. Unfortunately, this skill comes at a price, and to use it and not lose it, the person needs to win fights in the virtual reality game.

My opinion – Everyone talks about SAO, but I personally prefer Accel World, the story captivated me much more, it's a shame that not everyone likes the failed protagonist and prefers an overpowered protagonist like Kirito. My rating for this anime is 9/10 (Kevin).

Read also: Top 10 gaming anime

Action anime that everyone knows

We're still in the popular action anime part. The fact that I said modinha doesn't mean that anime is bad, if you haven't seen any, follow the list below:

Shingeki no Kyojin;
Sword Art Online;
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood;
Tokyo Ghoul;
One Punch Man;
Angel Beats!;
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion;
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Psycho-;
Highschool of the Dead;
Ghost in the Shell;
Inuyashiki
Fate..;

Realistic - Action anime without magic and powers

Most Japanese action anime are very fanciful, with unrealistic powers, magic and things. Let's start by listing some action anime that doesn't have magic and supernatural powers. Action anime that are realistic with fights, shootings and stories possible to happen in real life.

91 Days

Synopsis – It tells the story of a young man who lost his childhood family because of the American Mafia at the time of Prohibition in the USA. In order to get revenge, he infiltrates the mafia to completely end it, one by one.

My opinion – An interesting, short anime with a closed story and a lot of action and suspense. My grade is 8/10 (Kevin).

Btooom!

Synopsis – In this anime, people are thrown on an island to fight to the death using bombs and diverse explosives based on an online game. The main protagonist was one of the best players in the online game.

My opinion – The Anime was great, it has a lot of action, suspense and even romance. It's a shame it didn't get a second season to date. My grade is 8/10 (Kevin).

Golden Kamuy

Synopsis – A recent and historical anime that tells the story of a former war soldier who searches for treasure with a young Ainu (tribe of Japan). To find the treasure they need to find prisoners who have a certain tattoo on their back and put them together to find the location before other psychopaths who are after the treasure find them.

My opinion – One of the best anime I watched in 2018, it shows the history of Japan and the Ainu tribe, as well as hunting and eating at that time. The anime has a lot of action and comedy and a little bloody fights. No need for supernatural powers and stuff. My grade is 8/10 (Kevin).

Other action anime without magic and powers

Air Gear;
Inuyashiki;
Cowboy Bebop;
Lupin III;
Detective Conan;

Robots don't bleed - Mecha Action Anime

Yes, for a good start, anime with those giant machines exchanging punches or fighting with huge weapons. Fortunately they are machines and if you lose an arm or a leg they can be recovered. And especially, robots don't have blood so they can stop in the middle of the fight just to show they're bleeding. But unfortunately pilots always stop for other reasons.

Aldnoah.zero

Synopsis - This anime that takes place in a world where humans managed to colonize Mars, but there they discovered very advanced technology. Extremely technological robots that had great war power.

Those, sent to Mars, decided not to hand this technology over to Earth and thus declared their independence as a planet. A war was generated from this stalemate. And the earth used every weapon at its disposal. In the end, Earth lost, being forced to live by the rules of Mars.

My opinion – this anime is just not better because the protagonist is not a pervert. I almost forgot to mention that the moon was destroyed in the war. But anyway, the protagonist is very overpowered. On Earth they had some robots created to combat the technologies of Mars.

And in schools, they train students to pilot these robots with some less developed robots. And the protagonist takes one of these training robots and ends up defeating the Mars robots one by one. For more information, go watch the anime, because it's already too long just for this anime. My rating for this anime is 9 (unfortunately, the romance doesn't take off).

Asura Cryin

Synopsis – An anime with a ghost is nothing new, but one where the ghost pilots a summoned robot in an extremely innovative way. Well, that's basically the synopsis. The protagonist has a girl ghost who is his childhood friend.

After meeting some strange people, his life changes drastically, starting with a robot milf who loves to tease the protagonist. And along with it comes serious struggles that the protagonist has to face just because his ghost friend can now summon and control that robot.

My opinion – I didn't like the part where the protagonist is cowardly with women. Honestly, if the protagonist is not a coward with women, he already gets a 10 on my Anime List profile. But otherwise, this anime is good, with a strong MC, who doesn't fear problems. It's a good indication and it has two seasons to watch. My grade for this one is 7.

Gundam

Synopsis – This is a classic, and a reference in this regard. Gundam despite not having a main story focus it does its homework when it comes to robot fights. With several robots fighting each other, several scenes of destruction and drama, comedy, science fiction all mixed in the anime of this series.

In order not to get confused and not knowing where to start, I recommend an article that we have here on the site so you don't get lost in this Anime's timeline.

My opinion - Weapons, fights, wars and everything else an anime needs. I haven't watched all the anime yet but I'm trying. Luckily it's a good anime and it's not boring. Apart from that in some there are very interesting protagonists. This is a good recommendation and it has several different timelines and stories, so it's kind of hard not to identify with one. My rating for this anime is 7.

Knight's e Magics

Synopsis – To finish as well as it started we have this anime that is one of the best I found. An IT genius and Mechanical otaku with great ion for engineering these robots. Now this guy dies and reincarnates in another world of magic where it is possible to build such robots.

There is no way this guy won't study everything and do everything to make his dream come true. And to top it off, he has great intelligence that he brought from another life. And he can, and not just one or two robots, and he was satisfied, he... Spoiler was forbidden here in the article.

My opinion – I consider this anime one of the best of this genre. With its amazing graphics and 3D animation placed at the right moments, this is an anime that, in my opinion, represents everything that can be expected from the genre.

So if you are interested, just watch the anime, I guarantee that if you like mecha and intelligent protagonists, you will enjoy this one. The only problem is the childishness of the protagonist. My rating for this anime is 9.

Other Mecha Action anime

Since we don't have space to discuss all the animes I selected, I'll leave the names here:

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Code Geass
Evangelion
Schwarzesmarken
Objeto pesado
Eureka seven
Inuyashiki
How did the Mecha genre come about in Japan?

Custom Gifts for Anime Fans

Learn to draw and make your manga or comics

Sword is justice - Action Anime with samurai or swordsmen

In my opinion, if an action list doesn't have anime with swords, the list is made by an amateur. And I won't go any further than necessary, let's get straight to the point.

Afro Samurai

Synopsis – In an anime that tells the story of two bandanas, calm is not exactly like that. These two bandanas are given to the strongest fighters in the world, and bandana number 1 can only be challenged by bandana number 2. Bandana number 2 can be challenged by anyone. The anime shows us the story of a boy who after feeling the pain of losing an important person before his eyes, that person was the owner of the number 1 bandana.

He then decides to take the number 2 bandana and become strong in order to get revenge on the man who is the current number 1 bandana.

My opinion – Complicated explanation but the anime is great, with a strong protagonist and too much badass. His thirst for revenge consumes him and it's all he has and so he continues to seek power to challenge the one who is the object of hatred. My rating for this anime is 9.

Bravo 10

Synopsis – This one takes place in past centuries. An ancient samurai highly skilled with the sword encounters a girl whose home village had been burned by criminals for seemingly no reason. She managed to escape, but unfortunately was the only one who survived, and is destined for another village that was said to be a place for her to seek shelter.

On the way to this village she is found by those responsible for the fire and is forced to flee to a forest, there she meets our samurai protagonist and asks him for help. And so the story unfolds. But after a few days some mysteries that surround the girl are discovered.

My opinion – This is the typical Anime that focuses on the fights and not the romances, so don't expect too much between these two. But it has an interesting story. In addition, it's good for those who like a good comedy story and a lot of fighting. The protagonist is very strong but the fights are very well matched. Fortunately, we don't have any serious problems. My grade for this one is 7.

Noragami

Synopsis – A god who does not have a single temple to his name. This is our protagonist, who charges a mere 5 yen to perform an exorcism of creatures that I don't even know how they can be so disgusting. But luckily this is a protagonist who has a dark past and this is fine by my criteria.

ing that his sword is actually a boy's spirit, a boy who turned into a restless type of spirit. our protagonist. I don't think this idea is cool, I can't digest it. Comment there what you think.

Well to continue the synopsis we have to introduce the third important person in this Anime. A girl who for some reason saw this protagonist of ours, who is normally not seen by anyone but specific people, and on one special occasion gained the ability to project her soul out of her body.

Well, she can't control this skill very well but it doesn't take away the merits just for that. She starts interacting and helping the two boys with various things. And if you want to know more about them, watch the anime.

My opinion – I don't have much to comment, this is a rare case of an anime that I liked but I didn't have any qualities or flaws to rate. My grade is 7.

Koukaku no Regios

Synopsis – Post apocalyptic world, monsters, overpower protagonist, girls falling in love with the protagonist, protagonist showing how powerful he is all this is the formula of this anime. When someone who is considered one of the greatest warriors of his era makes a mistake that cannot be forgiven, he goes to another city and enters a school so he can try to live in peace and he cannot go unnoticed. This is the situation of our protagonist.

After entering the school in this other city, he is forced to show his powers. Unfortunately, he is very slow to realize the girls' feelings but compensates with his sword skills. At this pace, he becomes even more involved with this city and then...

My opinion – No spoilers, unfortunately this is a hindrance, but I can say that the school's student council president is as usual, that is, manipulative, calculating and spares no effort to get what he wants. And this one is an important character in the plot. And unfortunately there are some boring parts that don't make sense to the plot. In addition to not focusing entirely on the protagonist, it leaves a lot of loose ends. My grade is 8.

Other action anime with samurai and swordsmen

Since I can't afford to stick to just one category, let's get to the extras.

Blue Exorcist
Arslan Senki
Samurai x
Akatsuki no yona
Bleach
Champloo Samurai
Nobunaga Concerto
Sword Art Online

Guts, Blood, and Heads Rolling – Action with a Lot of Violence - Gore

Yes, here is where we will separate the weak from the strong, putting those anime that only those who like psychopaths and killers dare to watch:

Berserk

Synopsis – As this is the biggest reference I have for this type, it is the one we will comment on first. After all who has never heard of the man who has a curse that makes demons chase him every night, and in order not to be devoured by them this man is forced to kill or die all night and every night since he was cursed and until the day you get it removed.

My opinion – Even those who have never watched this one, at least have heard of it. The synopsis is pretty much that, but details like this man being a swordsman who was raised as a child in a group of mercenaries or that this man since childhood has a habit of carrying huge bastard swords are not included in the synopsis.

Unfortunately, it is old and doesn't have good graphics, and its latest versions are in 3D format, which didn't turn out well at all. But it has a good plot, and each episode gets even better. Besides, its action scenes are well elaborated and there will always be a lot of blood and things like that. My rating is 9.

Claymore

Synopsis – The period is medieval, and as such there are its swordsmen. But in this Anime it's THE swordsmen. Yes, women trained in fencing and with a kind of power that makes them even more special. This power increases your physical capabilities to bestial levels. But it comes at a price, if they can't control they are turned into beasts literally. They have seen monsters that are killed by the women themselves with this power.

My opinion – It's almost ironic, because they live to kill monsters that are partly their destiny if they don't control the power. In other words, they kill but run the risk of having the same fate. Anyway, the difference is that there is no freshness of being women anime is not violent. On the contrary, this anime is much more violent than most anime of all genres. My grade is 8.

Hellsing

Synopsis – In this company there is a woman, the head of the company, who has a kind of pact with Alucard. Alucard however is not bothered by this detail, the only thing he wants is to have fun. To that end he is always on the lookout for strong opponents and challenges for him to have the opportunity to show off his powers. On one of his missions, he is forced to turn a human into a vampire. After that the plot gets even better. And as it would not be lacking in an anime with a protagonist like that, in this Anime the battles are furious and the opponents are extremely dark.

My opinion – The most acclaimed vampire in anime. Yes, the lord of darkness and omnipotent darkness, which I have no idea why is bound by a pact with that family. For those who have never heard of this anime, my condolences. You have no idea what you're missing.

Alucard, the original vampire working for a company that fights vampires. Ironically, a vampire hunting another. But that's not exactly how things are. And throughout the story, more things beyond vampires and hauntings arise for him to fight and enjoy. My rating is 10.

Drifters

Synopsis – To finish with a flourish, this anime that is what I liked the most in this list. Telling the story of various characters from the history of Japan and the world, who before dying were taken to another world by a kind of god. In this other world, our protagonist, who is also an important character in the story, is almost dead but luckily he was helped by other people and recovered.

As if that wasn't enough, in this world the heroes are divided into two rival factions. While the protagonist has only just begun to understand this world, the other faction is already taking control of several countries through force.

If you like a bloodthirsty protagonist who shows no mercy to their enemies, or a protagonist who, even without wanting to, is extremely influential to the people around them, and especially anime with a lot of blood, deaths, heads rolling, and various other violent acts, this is the best I have to recommend. My rating is 10 (bad graphics).

Other action anime with a lot of violence

Extras: Not as good as drifters, that's why drifters is the best on this list in my opinion, but worth watching.

Elfen Lied
Mirai Nikki
Kiseijuu
Akame Ga Kill
Twelfth War
Psycho

Indestructible protagonist – Action Anime with a lot of protagonism

This category could not be left out. It's always nice to see a protagonist who is not afraid of anything and who manages to solve almost any problem. I particularly love this type and I always look for these anime, but of course there are those where the protagonist is more average and not totally overpowered.

For this reason, we are also going to include in this list those anime where we realize that the protagonist is strong, but you can see that he only won due to his protagonism. So let's get to the list.

Black Bullet

Synopsis – In a post-apocalyptic world destroyed by beings that multiply through a virus, transforming their host into giant creatures of the most varied forms that are totally hostile against humans. Humanity has isolated itself in walls that protect them from these beings.

To combat these beings, humanity has tried various ways. But the most effective was to use children who were infected with this virus when they were still fetuses. However, the virus did not fully take over the host, and these children gained superhuman abilities that made it possible to combat these beings.

Our protagonist is not one of those children, he is a partner for one of those children. All children have a person responsible for them, as they are still children and need help not to let their powers get out of control.

My opinion – I really like this anime, mainly due to the lolis trait that the protagonist has. In addition to the protagonist being very strong, however, he is not overpowered. But it also has its bad points like its plot that leaves something to be desired in several aspects.

To cite one, I would say that his lack of story development, as he cannot fully develop the plot stories and always leaves them incomplete. Another important point is his loose ends, as he does not explain several events. Overall, it's a mediocre anime for most, but for me, who only likes the actions and the graphics, it's a good anime. My rating for this anime is 8.

We recommend reading: Meanings and differences between Lolita, Loli and Lolicon

Beelzebub

Synopsis – Firstly, the protagonist is already a very feared delinquent in the city and to complete he finds a body in a river, this body then opens and a baby comes out. With that alone, you can tell that it's not just any anime. But to top it off, the baby is the son of the demon king and if he clings to the protagonist's back, he's never let go.

However, it's not just that, this baby has a lot of people chasing him and consequently the protagonist too. Well, if they were normal people the protagonist would manage, the problem is that these people have all kinds of abilities and powers. So, in order not to be taken away, the baby gives the protagonist some supernatural powers, making him even stronger.

My opinion – This sim has the protagonist overpower, and in my opinion, it's too good when the protagonist isn't afraid to use his powers and beat up everything and everyone that gets in his way. And luckily this anime doesn't only have 12 or 24 episodes. But it lacks in some aspects, such as the comedy is terrible and maybe the villains are not so efficient. But it's good for those who want something lighter and without tension. My rating for this anime is 8.

Castlevania

Synopsis – In a medieval era, a woman ventured to the home of a terrible creature in search of wisdom to help humans. When she arrived she found a man, who looked nothing like what they had described. But she knew that this was the creature, and she also knew that he was the one to ask for help.

This creature not only gave her what she wanted but after a while fell in love with her. However, after being married for a while, the creature went on a pilgrimage, and when he returned he received the news that his house had been invaded and his wife accused of witchcraft and burned alive at the stake

To get revenge he summons demons from the underworld to earth and goes to sleep to give humanity an agonizing deadline. Promising that when he woke up he would completely destroy the earth, but in the meantime the summoned demons would disturb and destroy everything humanity had.

My opinion – Well, this is the story but not the plot, the plot turns to our protagonist who is from an almost extinct lineage of demon hunters. But he avoids doing this job and decides not to get involved until some events make him break this ideology.

This is the type of protagonist who does not show all their potential unless it is necessary. I particularly liked this anime, but it fits the term of protagonism. However, this does not take away from my opinion that this anime is highly recommendable. My rating for this anime is 9.

Hagure yuusha in aesthetics

Synopsis – A guy somehow manages to go to another world, that in a way is already interesting. But for a guy to become extremely powerful in this other world without having any “divine help”, just on the basis of training and a lot of effort, that's amazing. And it doesn't stop there, he becomes so powerful in the other world that he manages to defeat the Demon King.

To top it off, for having defeated the demon king he "wins" his daughter for that. Now comes the interesting part, because in addition to being able to return to the original world, he still brings with him the daughter of the demon king.

My opinion – Honestly if this guy wasn't in the overpower category, I don't know who else could be. But it's just not very well ranked because in the original world there are still some challenges he has to face.

It is also recommended for those who like a slightly perverted protagonist. Yes, this is one of the rare anime that has this type of protagonist, but unfortunately he is not totally perverted. If it was he would get all the girls in the anime, and I don't know if he does that feat in the story. At least not in the anime.

Other Action anime with a lot of prominence

Extras: as we already know, I can't comment on everything so I'll put some others that I recommend.

Sword Art Online
Code breaker
Darker than Black
Trigun
Devilman Crybaby
Baki

That hot romance – Action Anime with Romance

This one couldn't be missed, everyone likes a little romance. I particularly love it when the protagonist has a harem at his disposal but it's no use if he doesn't go on the attack. So in this subcategory I will put some anime with romance, some more and some less but always with romance in the plot.

Just ing that I can't put all the anime I have in mind, because it can get boring and we don't want that. So I'll just put the ones I think are best. And if you're not satisfied, just ask for your list by commenting in the comments. If it's a good idea, we'll make an article for it.

dragonaut the resonance

Synopsis – Dragons exist. On a world where humanity has already colonized Mars, these creatures first appeared on an asteroid. This asteroid that hit a spaceship that would take our protagonist and his family to the moon. After being hit the ship crashes and the only survivor is him.

After a few years our protagonist, who lived alone, meets a girl who seems very familiar to him. But it is not what it appears to be, dragons do not live in the form of those giant and winged beings, they live in the guise of humans and are extensively researched and have even been secretly cloned by humans.

My opinion – Short synopsis? Well, more than that would be a spoiler. This anime is full of twists, but the action scenes and its romance are very well-crafted. I don't particularly like love triangles, but I had to let go for the greater good.

The only flaw in this Anime is its delay in the romance making a good leap. That’s because they started a good pace, but then they hit the brakes and almost come to a stop. For this reason, it won't get a very good score on my list. My score is 7.

Freezing

Synopsis – In a world destroyed by an alien species that somehow comes from another dimension or from somewhere else in the universe through portals, which in my opinion are extremely annoying. Humanity has created its army using the technology of this alien race, modifying girls to obtain powers that rival the aliens.

Men are modified to create a kind of protective area, like a battlefield, to help women. Our protagonist is one of those, and also a brother of the most powerful ancient warrior on earth. He is sent to a school to graduate and finds a partner. In this school he, in a very strange way, meets the girl who will be his partner and she has a problem with men. How will he handle this?

My opinion – I really enjoyed the first season of this anime, the second was not what I expected. Maybe I was expecting too much. The important thing is that it has a good romance, however, there is no point in expecting too much from it. It seems that this problem has in most anime. Maybe it's to be able to sell more light novels. They started off at a good pace, but stalled, just like the previous anime. My grade is 8.

Grancrest Senki

Synopsis – This one is recent, now from 2018. The story takes place in a world where darkness is an evil power that causes all bad things in the world. And to combat this darkness, there are coats of arms. A kind of magical shield that protects the owner and all who swear loyalty to the owner. Those who have a coat of arms are called nobles, and they can fight the darkness that comes in the form of demons.

Our protagonist is a nobleman who somehow got his coat of arms without being inherited, as is usually done, and somehow he learned to use this power. Exiled from his village, he seeks power to conquer his county from the hands of a tyrannical ruler. And a witch, recently graduated from the school of magical arts, will help him in this quest. The same witch he falls in love with.

My opinion - I won't even comment, because this anime doesn't need comments. It's so good that I've watched it twice since it finished. This one goes easily into my top 3 best romance anime list. The only thing I didn't like was that the story was too rushed and deserved to be done in more episodes. My grade is 10 (with praise).

Darling in the Franxxx

Synopsis - Another one of the good ones. In a post-apocalyptic world, humans live in mobile cities, as they need to move frequently so as not to risk being destroyed by monsters that live in the land and dominate it. But to fight and protect themselves from these monsters, humanity has created and perfected giant robots that can destroy the creatures.

To pilot these robots a couple is needed. And children are created especially for this purpose. Our protagonist is one of those children who grew up in the facilities created for this purpose. However, for some reason he lost the skills he needed to be able to pilot the robots. But after meeting a special girl, the protagonist discovers that he can pilot the robots only with her.

My opinion – Short synopsis to avoid spoilers. Another strong contender for my best anime list. However, in this one, the protagonist doesn't fail and neither does the girl, what fails are the damn anime creators who made a big mistake. Unfortunately I can't tell.

Overall, this is highly recommended for those who love drama, lifestyle, action, and a lot of romance. I liked it, but not as much as Grancrest Senki. My rating is 8 (because of the editors).

Rakudai kishi no Eyuutan

Synopsis – And to close with a golden key. An anime that could be in the indestructible protagonist category, but I decided to put it in this one, because it matches more. In the world of this anime there are people who can use the power of their souls and turn them into weapons. To help train these people, specialized schools were created. Our protagonist is a student who fails.

Why is it weak or stupid? No, because our protagonist doesn't have enough power to . However, he has managed to develop and evolve all of his body's other attributes to a higher level than most are some even reaching the superhuman level. But without being able to be evaluated by other means, this is all useless. But with the school's change of direction, he manages to make a deal with the new principal.

He was promised a degree if he managed to win a nationally contested event between students from all over the country. In this tournament participants fight in individual match rounds and the loser is eliminated. In the end, only the strongest student in the country will remain.

My opinion - The best romance and action anime I've watched to date. That's it! My grade is 10. (and searching to see if there is no way to give 11).

Other action anime with romance

As expected, here are some others worth watching

Busou Renkin
Dansai bunri in crime
Devils line
Shakugan no Shana
Rokka no yuusha

Is the action anime over?

Action anime is a very broad topic, as most anime has action. If you want to see more anime that have action, you can read our articles below:

That's all, folks. These are the best indications I have in this category. If you have any suggestions, doubts, criticisms or anything like that, just comment below. This article is over and thanks to you, my dear reader, for reading this article this far. And until the next article.

Best Action Anime with Epic Fights and Battles: A Must-Watch List