Bleach

For as long as he can remember, Ichigo Kurosaki has dealt with ghosts his whole life, treating them as little more than an annoyance he could manage, but until a monster called a Hollow attacks his family and a black-robed swordswoman named Rukia Kuchiki shows up to fight it. She gets wrecked in the process, so she does what any reasonable supernatural warrior would do: hands her powers to a random teenager. Now Ichigo's a Substitute Soul Reaper, balancing homework with slaying corrupt spirits, and things only escalate from there. Bleach is 366 episodes of escalating sword fights, an intricate power system built around Soul Reapers and their unique zanpakutō abilities, and one of the best soundtracks in anime courtesy of Shirō Sagisu. The music alone carries entire scenes; it's the kind of score that makes you feel like you could walk through a wall. The character designs are sharp and varied, the fights have genuine weight to them, and the show knows how to build tension around a single clash for episodes at a time. Fair warning: there's filler. A decent chunk of it. But the core arcs, especially what happens when Ichigo has to break into Soul Society, hit hard. If you grew up on Naruto or Yu Yu Hakusho, this scratches that same itch of a guy with raw potential throwing himself against increasingly impossible odds. Fans of D.Gray-man's blend of dark supernatural lore and stylish action will also feel right at home. It's a long ride, but the highs are worth the commitment.