WWE Star Zelina Vega’s 10 Most Influential Anime TV Shows of All-Time, Ranked

The pro wrestler’s brother introduced her to this series centering on two brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric. “They lost their mom, so it bonded my brother and me,” Vega, who lost her father during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

“It has more of a personal love for me. Any time I’ve spoken to anyone about what their favorite anime is, Fullmetal Alchemist comes up. That grabs people’s hearts no matter what.”

For this one, Vega is taking into account the show’s longevity with 20 seasons and counting. The show follows Monkey D. Luffy and other colorful crew members. That’s a lot of pirate adventures and treasure hunting.

“If you’re talking about as far as episodes go ever, they are also so good. I feel One Piece is one of those shows that may have a thousand episodes, but you’re always engaged in every single one,” she said. “Whether it’s the story or characters if you can keep my attention for over 500 episodes, you got me hooked.”

Attack on Titan scared the fearless athlete at first. She recalls watching the first episode at 4 a.m. at the behest of her friend. “At the time I was watching Jujutsu Kaisen, and didn’t like to mix animes because I get confused,” Vega said.

“We sat down and watched this, and I thought, ‘I have to sleep after this?’ After what happened in the first episode it freaked me, but also grabbed me. I wanted to see what was next. Everything that happens after that leaves you guessing.”

Living in a post-apocalyptic world does bring some terrifying monsters that are far from Pikachu.

Vega was drawn to the newer series by Satoru Gojo, a mentor, and powerful sorcerer. “I like to watch both Japanese and subtitles and dubs,” she said.

A highlight for her was taking a voiceover workshop with Adam I actually got to take a workshop voiceover with Adam McCarthy, who voices the series’ main character Yuji Itadori

“I was blown away by the show,” Vega said. “They give these extra layers to the characters on so many levels. There is something for everyone.”

As an empowered woman in the ring, it’s no surprise she would love watching the sailor scouts in action. Vega discovered the show at age 10. She likened the group of planetary powerhouses to the Spice Girls with each bringing something different to the table.

“I remember hating Sailor Moon,” Vega recalled. “The ones that grabbed me were Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter. Sometimes with anime, the main character might not grab me at first, but the side characters do. Then I grow to love the main characters.

“That is what happened with Sailor Moon. I couldn’t stand her and the screaming and personality. The cool thing with all the sailor guardians is you can find something you identify with one of them.”

Vega is ready to take the heat from the diehard Goku fans for putting this beloved series lower on the list. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t recognize the show’s influence.

“I identified so much with Vegeta. Then I got to see Piccolo and Frieza. Oh my god, even now people will associate me with Frieza with Rhea Ripley being my Vegeta,” Vega said. “If you fall in love with a character and you think there is no way I’m going to see them again or there is no change, Dragon Ball has a cool way of making sure those characters last and change and are overflowing.”

Vega, who also has a tattoo of Inuyasha, believes the series featuring the titular half-demon, half-human is a bit underrated. As a performer who can often play devilish onscreen, she enjoys characters who are “badass and who people fear.”

“I think that is what I’m attracted to the most,” she said. “With Inuyasha, I thought the story between Inuyasha with Kagome and Kikyou was interesting because he was very torn with his love for both of them. Even though one was the incarnation of the other. To see where he went. It was heartwrenching to see him choose between the two. It’s a nice love story. It’s also really funny. It’s a nice blend of those two funny and romantic.”

Growing up with Pokémon, needless to say, Vega was pretty mad when the announcement of the show’s story was set to veer away from longtime trainer Ash and his Pikachu. It was the first anime she had seen, calling it a stepping stone into this new world of animation.

“The relationship between Ash and Pikachu is really sweet and starts out really funny but seeing Ash grow as a trainer over time was really interesting to see,” Vega said. “Especially, because of the relationship with what he has with his Pokémon. The same with Charizard. That relationship grew. Then you got to see cool things like Butterfree coming back. It’s really heartwarming…Even now I still have my Pokémon Silver with Lugia in it. I still play it on my Game Boy. It’s little things I like to hold on to for nostalgic reasons.”

Another fairly new generation anime that has caught on strong with fans like Vega, whose ring gear and even hair have been inspired by the series and characters including Rengoku. Her favorite Hashira, a group of Demon Slayers.

“The first season didn’t grab me as the second,” Vega admitted. “It’s an easy story to follow. I think anyone trying to get into anime, this is a really good start. The illustrations are second to none. The fight scenes are just crazy. My favorite fight was definitely Akaza and Rengoku…That’s what made me get my Rengoku tattoo on the other side of my leg.”

She continued: “I love the brother and sister relationship between Nezuko and Tanjiro, which played into the relationship between Gyutaro and Daki and getting to see those two at the same time. You see the good and evil. Then you think about who your favorite Hashira is.”

Vega believes the series these days ultimately bring together the community of anime enthusiasts.

Zelina cites the story of a young ninja with big dreams as the first anime that made her cry her eyes out. You can see the impact of the series as she is adorned with tattoos starting with the Akatsuki cloud. Then there are the characters along with Naruto Uzumaki including Itachi Uchiha, Jiraiya, Rock Lee, Madara Uchiha, and Kakashi Hatake. She essentially grew up with the characters going all the way to 1999.

“Once you get past how annoying his voice you will fall in love with Naruto. His journey to become Hokage. The nice thing is it’s not just about Naruto,” she said. “There is a huge story in Sasuke and his brother Itachi and following that journey. But also Rock Lee’s journey and Neji’s. It’s not just about one thing or person. Anime is good at bringing things full circle.” She also related to the bad guys like Madara. Adding that “the villain may have a point but maybe the way they went about it wasn’t the best.”

All the reasons it ranks on top for her.