My Anime Year in Review: 2025
It’s been a good year since I first posted here, looking for suggestions after I finished Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso.
Now, I’m mostly reading (Light) Novels/Manga mostly, but would like to thank y’all for introducing me to a whole new world out there.
So, I would like to share some of the ones I watched in no particular order, since I don’t have any preference (don’t know if this is the best place to share, so forgive me if I have made any mistake).
MASTERPIECE (Absolute best, would rewatch anytime):
- VINLAND SAGA
- Sonny Boy
- Chi. Chikyuu no Undou ni Tsuite
- Koe no Katachi
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Hotaru no Haka
- Takopii no Genzai
GREAT (Respect the shows a lot):
- Shingeki no Kyojin
- Death Parade
- Love, Chunnibyou, and Other Delusions
- 5 Centimeters per Second
- Re:ZERO- Starting Life in Another World (second favourite isekai)
- Steins;Gate 0
- Into the Forest of Firefly Lights
- Oshi No Ko (SEASON 1 only guys, had to mention this coz it’s so relatable in the music industry)
- Spirited Away
GOOD (Very enjoyable, good shows to relax to):
- Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!
- Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (favourite isekai btw, reading light novel)
- Bocchi the Rock!
- Chainsaw Man (currently reading manga)
- There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless… (very funny hehehe)
- The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
- Whisper of the Heart
- Weathering With You
- Suzume
- Your Lie in April
- Reincarnated as a Vending Machine (i forgot the title)
MID (Enjoyable to a certain extent, but found the story flawed):
- Darling in the FranXX
- Clockwork Planet
- SPYxFAMILY
- Steins;Gate
- Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings In Russian.
- Your Name.
- Fireworks
ABSOLUTE TRASH (honestly a waste of time):
- Horimiya
- My Sister, My Writer
- Redo of Healer (yikes!)
NEVER WILL WATCH BC OVERRRATED OR UNAPPEALING, UNLESS I FIND SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT IT:
- My Hero Academia
- Demon Slayer
- Jujutsu Kaisen
- Sousou no Frieren
- Tokyo Revengers
- Naruto Shippuden
- Dandadan
- Tbate
SHOWS I HAVEN’T WATCHED YET, BUT LOOKING FORWARD TO WATCHING IT
- Cowboy Bebop
- Fullmetal Alchemist (and Brotherhood as well, why not :fernsmile:)
- GANGELION
- Code Geass
- Dr.STONE
- HUNTERxHUNTER (1999 and 2011)
- Kono Suba
- Mahou Shoujo Site
- Berserk (reading manga atm)
- Ex-ARM (Will skip CGI arc :btr_bocchi_panic:)
- Uma Musume
- Violet Evergarden
- Hibike! Euphorium
- Ghost in the Shell
- JoJo
- Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou (forgot English title. I read the manga, and i was absolutely hooked on. Sadly, the manga ended halfway through the story.)
- and many more i seem to have forgotten.
all in all, I had one of the best first years, in my humble opinion. Any more suggestions you could throw in?
NOTABLE MENTION: I want The Summer You Were There anime!
@mkmusic22 @anime@ani.social looking at your list, I think you might enjoy Mushishi. It’s a slow, contemplative show with a melancholic zen-like vibe that I don’t find in many other anime. It is kinda episodic, with a recurring central character.
For movies, I’d recommend checking out the entire filmography of Satoshi Kon. The animation/art/story telling direction is incredible with some interesting things to say about society, identity, and blurs reality with unreality seamlessly.
@mkmusic22@sakurajima.social Oh, and if you need a site to track everything you’ve watched or read: https://anilist.co. I’d recommend it over MAL at this point.
Thanks for the suggestions, but I’ve actually been using it (and MAL) for the past few months. It’s honestly good, and it helps me to check what’s next or if there are more content to see… :zerotwohyped:
How do you know if something is overrated if you haven’t given it a try?
I couldn’t help by notice the lack of Dungeon Meshi.
A note on Fullmetal Alchemist.
Brotherhood is the “canon” adaptation.
The original anime cought up with the manga, and then just made up its own story. It’s not bad, but IMO it doesn’t hold up to the standard set by the manga.
Bortherhood is a faithful adaptation, and with higher production quality to boot.
Thanks. :verified: :btr_kikuri_wave: Looks interesting, so I will add to my PTW…
When you do, join us over on !dungeonmeshi@ani.social. Probably the most active community around a single anime.
Once S2 airs, I bet the discussion threads will be even better than during S1.
Hey, if we’re shilling communities, come join !lightnovels@ani.social as well. Probably the least active community around a single medium.
Good to know that there is one here ❤️
@NineSwords@ani.social @MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz @anime@ani.social
Long rant:
spoiler
As someone who prefers the FMA 2003 series, I have to offer a counterargument to the notion that Brotherhood is the “canon” series. The manga published from 2001-2010.
FMA 2003 aired from 2003-2004.
FMA Brotherhood aired from 2009-2010.I really consider the 2003 series to be the original story. From 2004 until 2010, there was no such thing as a “canon ending to FMA” other than what was in the 2003 series. It was finished and packed away years before the manga approached its ending. I don’t have a source for this, but I even remember reading somewhere that Hiromu Arakawa made changes to the manga inspired by some anime-original content that she liked. There’s not really a “standard set by the manga”. Rather, 2003 is what set that standard.
You could also question what “canon” even means. Like, the events of the 2009 anime are obviously canon within the 2009 anime; the events of the 2003 anime are canon within the 2003 anime; and the events of the manga are canon within the manga. You can search up a list of differences between Brotherhood and the manga pretty easily, and even find ways in which 2003 is a much more faithful adaptation of the early manga than Brotherhood. It’s not like there’s a single continuity of canon events that defines Fullmetal Alchemist, there’s clearly three. Arakawa also requested that the 2003 anime would have an original ending, so it’s not like it’s contrary to the vision of the author, either.
Last point, but I would also disagree that Brotherhood has higher production quality. FMA 2003 had much better background art, never resorted to cost-saving use of 3D models, and I prefer the character designs and lighting. Other than that, there’s not really any big differences in style/animation. I was going to paste in a bunch of sakugabooru links but really the series look pretty similar in action scenes. A lot of boring action lines, but a lot of good dynamic shots, too. Brotherhood never has anything really stunning though, like the ballroom scene from the end of 2003.
tl;dr, FMA 2003 is pretty good, too. It’s kinda misleading to call it non-canon when it was the original completed story. I’d also argue that the 2003 version had better production value in terms of visual style/animation. It’s definitely worth watching, at least.
It’s definitely worth watching, at least.
No-one is saying it isn’t.
But of course the manga “set the standard”. The parts of 2003 that were adapted from the manga, follow its writing.
The writing past that point, even if it had nothing to “follow”, and is since original, was by someone else. And in my opinion, you can tell. I watched 2003 without even knowing about Brotherhood, or the manga. And while I like it, I did feel it went “off the rails” in terms of the writing, character development and worldbuilding.
And that’s without knowing at the time that those feelings coincided with the change in who was writing the story.
As a narrative, IMO, the original manga/brotherhood is a more internally consistent narrative, with character arcs that make more sense, and a world with greater implied detail.
That is simply down to the fact that when you pass the bat on writing the way the 2003 series did. People can tell.
Like two halves of a painting done by two artists, where one didn’t expressly try to mimic the other. And even when they do, it’s never the same.
The difference doesn’t make one or the other half worse, but unlike art where creators collaborate throughout, when you “draw the rest of the owl” the “new” artist will never be able to tie up every thread the original set up, and in ways that’ll make sense in the context of things only the original artist is aware of.
That said, there is nothing insulting about “non-canon”. “Canon” is just whatever the original creator says it is, ret-cons and all.
Doesn’t mean the extended Star Wars universe is suddenly worthless and bad.
And as far as transitions in writing, FA 2003 is one of the better example out there. They made something you can actually watch to the end, and not be pissed at it, because they leaned into what they did with and followed through.
Give Frieren a chance :'(
It definitely seems different than the rest of their “unappealing” list.
Don’t mind me pointing out. And I’m not specifically talking about you, but this is the reason why I hate shows like this. Someone comes to me and says, “watch ___ bc its peak.”
Lemme take an example: i absolutely refused to watch aot in the beginning, since it was so overhyped. But, my friend clearly explained things out to me in this manner: “Yes, Attack on Titan is overrated, but taking that away, it is truly a masterpiece of a show. The only mainstream anime i will glaze, because of this message and that message,” and so on.
I need a good reason as to why i should watch something. Yes, I love MADHOUSE animations, but it doesn’t negate the fact that I have absolutely no reason to watch Frieren for now…
You put works like Mushoku Tensei, Steins;Gate 0, 5cm Per Second, Re:Zero in your Good to Great tiers. Frieren has some similar aspects and might land in a similar range for you. Seems a bit odd to reject it without even trying it just because it’s popular.
I will give episode one a try then. 👍
If you get out of episode ones mouth before it eats you I will be genuinely surprised.
I don’t even know if I can say what it is, but Frieren justs hits differently than near anything else I can think of. It just yanks you from sweet and peaceful to dark and intense and back like it’s no thing.
The biggest thing I could say, is that by following Freiren’s perspective, you see what it would be like to be someone near immortal who sees that as normal, and how she starts to understand the timescale of humanity like we’re funny little mayflies with lifespans like a flash in the pan. But as she takes the time to actually get to know humans, she learns that our short lives give us a strengths that elves and demons will never be able to grasp.
It’s a slice of life and a fighting show in one. Characters and the world get really fleshed out, and they feel a lot more like real people. It’s a good balance been cute and fun and some killer battles or competitions. I’d think most people would get hooked right from the first episode, but it really gets to full awesomeness during Ep 3.
Some of you here are disappointed in the list. Understandable.
Just remember to offer valid points as to why you think “this show” should not be “in this tier”. 👍@mkmusic22@sakurajima.social I mean, it’s your list. People can argue for their favorites, but at the end of the day, the list reflects your opinions, not theirs.
As for recommendations, I have a few I think you may enjoy!
CITY The Animation - A slice of life featuring a medley of characters. High production value and a unique, vibrant color palette. Chaotic Good.
Ghost in the Shell - A staple of cyberpunk literature. Stands up there with Blade Runner. See also: Psychopass, Cyberpunk Edgerunners.
Baccano! - An ensemble cast-driven romp through Depression-era America with light fantastical elements.
REDLINE - Speed Racer on crack cocaine. Nuff said.
@anime@ani.social
Ghost in the Shell - A staple of cyberpunk literature. Stands up there with Blade Runner. See also: Psychopass, Cyberpunk Edgerunners.
Probably should be more specific about whether you mean the movies, the existing TV shows, or the TV show that’ll be airing later this year. Honestly any of those three options are probably good, but my recommendation would go to Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex. I’m open to having my mind changed by Science Saru though!
@Unboxious@ani.social heard great things about SAC, but I’ve only seen the original anime.
@anime@ani.social @mkmusic22@sakurajima.social
Your Name. in “mid” is a take you don’t see often.
If you take suggestions, put Haibane Renmei and Fune Wo Amu on your PTW list. And try out some of the highlights from other genres. For example, Non Non Biyori (iyashikei), Strawberry Marshmallow (CGDCT), Nana (josei) and Monster (suspense). Bonus: Sweetness & Lightning (cooking,iyashikei)
Thanks for the suggestions! already added them.
I knew Nana for a while, in my search for josei/shoujo anime to watch (i found myself extremely lacking in that particular demographic)Haibane is my favorite but I never succeed in getting anyone to watch it T.T
Yeah, and Steins;Gate 0 rated higher than the original… What?
It almost became my Christmas rewatch this year, but in the end I decided I needed something with a stronger adventure/action vibe to distract me from the world we’re now living in. 🫤
I never succeed in getting anyone to watch it
On one hand, I’m always shilling it, on the other, I feel a bit gate-keepy about it and don’t want a flock of tourists shit all over it.
Wow a fricking Ichigo Mashimaro recommendation in the wild. Shows can be both CGDCT and Iyashikei, and they often are. Non Non Biyori is definitely also a CGDCT and Ichigo Mashimaro is quite iyashikei depending on how you receive it. But good picks for sure.
Sure, there aren’t that many shows that are just one thing (none come to mind at all). I just put what I considered the main genre. Though putting Strawberry Marchmallow into the iyashikei genre is a new one for me. I obviously get “CGDCT” and “comedy” but I would say it’s only iyashikei if one generally considers watching CGDCT as healing/comforting. Different strokes and all that.
I think Ichigo Mashimaro is quite iyashikei because of things like pacing, music, ambient sounds, wholesome moments, those little vignittes between scenes. It just kinda breathes nicely, there is space between jokes and lines. Soft music, kind moments. The environment feels real and “encompassing” (a bit like in non non biyori). For me CGDCT is kinda iyashikei in general but Ichigo Mashimaro is definitely significantly more iyashikei than average to me. A SOL CGDCT that is less iyashikei and more comedy to me is something like Ika Musume. Peak iyashikei to me is ARIA, highly recommended for pure brainmelting wholesomeness and healing of the soul.
Having Sonny Boy listed as a “masterpiece” has me shaking my head. Much in the same way I shook my head after watching Sonny Boy.
Sonny Boy is an anime you recommend people watch to mess with them.
Any normal person that watches it will step away at the end thinking, “WTF did I just watch‽”
Unrelated: Demon Slayer is worth watching. The hype is irrelevant.
Demon Slayer
It looks like they don’t really watch battle shounen. It’s not really my genre either but I sometimes try them out if i have a lot of friends watching them. Demon Slayer has good art but it also has Zenitsu being insufferable and other hallmarks of the genre that put people that aren’t into it off.
I dont think you understood the story.
Also, the story telling is very interesting, skipping over major events, and instead focusing on the character’s reactions.
I understand that it’s not for everyone.Unrelated: Demon Slayer is worth watching. The hype is irrelevant.
Again, someone is suggesting that I watch “this show” without providing a good reason why i should watch it. All I’m hearing is “good animation” and “action”. Lemme provide context.
I’m more of a sucker for stories, so if Demon Slayer story is worth it, then I’ll watch it…I’ll give another perspective then: If you’ve already seen another decent battle shounen you’ve already seen Demon Slayer. Sure Demon Slayer is mostly well-executed, but it’s far from perfect and nothing it does is really unique. You’re really not missing all that much. If you’re specifically interested in interesting stories over action or fun characters I’d recommend skipping it.
Edit: there are too many excellent shows out there to waste time on one you’re unlikely to love. Some of the other shows people are recommending are incredible. Why bother with Demon Slayer when Dungeon Meshi and LOOK BACK exist?
Unrelated: Demon Slayer is worth watching. The hype is irrelevant.
I see where he is coming from. It’s a battle shounen and if that’s not your cup of tea then they’re all equally worthless. It’s like discussing the differences of blended and single malt whisky with a non-alcoholic.
Same reason why i didnt watch bleach.
Lemme admit though, the sound and animation in Demon Slayer is top tier 👌:btr_kikuri_wave:@NineSwords@ani.social @riskable@programming.dev @anime@ani.social
It’s a battle shounen and if that’s not your cup of tea then they’re all equally worthless
I wouldn’t go quite that far. Dan Da Dan is also a battle shounen, but it has other elements that made it worth watching even for my wife and I (even though we were kind of tired of battle shounen).
Monster
Death Note
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas
Violet Evergarden
Serial Experiments Lain
Howl’s Moving Castle
The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes
End of Evangelion
Look Back
Cyberpunk Edgerunners
FMAB
What didn’t you like about Horimiya?
Not that the plot was trash, because I have read a bit of the light novel. Not the best, but it is good writing.
But the anime cut out so much from the ln, and decided to present to us, what i like to call, “left over feel good parts.” This is a constant problem with light novel adaptations though. … :btr_bocchi_trash_lurk:
@zero_spelled_with_an_ecks@programming.dev @anime@ani.social
Haha, edits are not federating from my side of the discussion for now. Just a heads up…
Mahou Shoujo Site is just an excuse to watch little girls suffer.
Yeah. It’s pretty much a half-assed attempt to grab onto the coattails of the much better Madoka Magica.
