For over twenty consecutive years I have tried to try out every new anime aired in Japan each year. From my perspective, 2016 to 2018 was a three-year span that produced many new titles but few standout masterpieces. The year 2025 could conclude a similar three-year period. Two of the most praised broadcasts of this year, Lord of mysteries & Be a heroThey were not anime produced in Japan. Several of the best broadcasts of the year were continuations of 2024 titles, including Ore dake level up with Ken & Taste. But that doesn’t mean that 2025 hasn’t featured any of its exceptional releases.
The criteria I’ve used to count streamed anime as “new” has been consistent for decades. Streaming counts, but theatrical releases are excluded. Shows that continue episode numbering from previous seasons are excluded. Foreign productions dubbed into the Japanese language are excluded. And of course, shows that premiered in 2024 or earlier are excluded. With those criteria in mind, I counted 243 new titles. I’m very lucky to have watched at least the first episode of all 243 (although I barely made it through). Ha ha! Myaku-Myaku desu with ten minutes left in the year.) I am also excluding Card fight!! Vanguard Divinez Deluxe-hen & Card fight!! Vanguard Divinez Deluxe Kesshou-hen as “new” series, although it’s debatable whether they meet my criteria as “new” titles.
Thematically Apocalypse Hotel It is about non-humans gradually developing “humanity.” Following the extinction of humanity, the Gingarou Hotel’s robotic staff continues to operate the empty lodge for centuries until intergalactic aliens begin visiting the establishment. Through their shared experiences over hundreds of years, the robot and the alien staff become family and learn the human values of loyalty, compassion, and sacrifice. Throughout the thousand-year journey, the show exposes the cast and viewers to every variety of comedic absurdity imaginable. Especially since the cast is not limited by human limitations, the characters go through extreme and crazy experiences that come alive and bring big laughs. After an initial slow start of an episode or two to establish the cast and setting, the show indulges in Golden Age-style shenanigans, letting the animators go wild with elaborate action scenes and creatively absurd set-pieces. The show is just fun to watch because it has so much fun with itself.
The Netflix short series Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26 can be criticized for relying on cliché scenarios, but as the Book of EcclesiastesThere is “nothing new under the sun.” The excellence of Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26 The anthology lies in its art. The episodes are consistently lush and often stylistically animated. Plus, each episode is a wildly different viewing experience. Seven of the eight episodes have some sort of sci-fi or fantasy theme, but all are moving and interesting. Every minute of the series is captivating, constantly surprising viewers with shifts in tone, genre and focus, ranging from sweet first love to gruesome ultraviolence, from aspirational drama to apocalyptic tragedy, from domestic abuse to mended relationships. And many of the episodes swing from one pole to the other, giving viewers a wild viewing experience.
Illustrated childhood trauma is often the equivalent of reward-bait. I still have to give him credit though. Takopii no Genzai with the audacity to dive headfirst into the depths of childhood trauma and abuse. The show can be called manipulative and tearjerking, but it has the dignity of telling its story with sincere sincerity. The contrast between the cheerful alien mascot Takopii and the desperate children seems like a ridiculous contrast, but the story uses the contrast significantly to drive home its point with sledgehammer ferocity. The show is difficult to watch and can be criticized as emo porn. But she deserves and earns admiration for her willingness to be unabashedly intense and tough.
A few more titles came close to achieving “best of the year” status. But I would still like to mention them.
Hey me Mahou Shoujo Mura (Fuhou Senkyo) was largely overlooked because it is a crudely illustrated series of short web cartoons. But the cynicism of this magical girl parody makes it even more Magical Madoka He seems happy in comparison. “Welcome to Magical Girl Village (Ilegally Occupied)” is a dark comedy that revolves around alcoholism, mass murder, and experiences that drive the cast to literal madness. And the greatest terror is that these desperate, deprived, displaced wanderers are so lethally powerful that the rest of humanity must helplessly pray that the magical girls don’t destroy the world. The main flaw of this absurd, bleak but hilarious existential comedy is its complete lack of ending.
A weak ending also compromises Generic Kowloon Romance. Although it is based on a 2019 manga, the story could easily be confused with a late production from Rintaro’s golden era. The story of the mystery box reveals its answers; However, after a long, languid and fascinating escalation, the climax and resolution occur at a breakneck speed that breaks the tone of the show and feels very unsatisfying.
Food Court, Mata Ashita is another 2025 program that’s very easy to overlook, for good reason. This slice of life show has only six episodes and 99% of it takes place in one place, a mall food court. But the more time viewers spend eavesdropping on the mundane conversations between high school girls Wada and Yamamoto, the more they learn about them. Yamamoto appears to be a shallow and thoughtless gyaru. But viewers slowly come to know her as a deeply thoughtful, loyal and thoughtful person. It’s easy to mistake Wada for someone prim and proper, a virtual Yamato Nadesico, but in reality she’s jealous, narcissistic, and petty. And even more so, she knows she has a rotten personality and, on some level, despises herself for her own flaws. Food Court, Mata Ashita It is not at all a show for viewers looking for excitement or flashy action. It is a placid series about how to empathize with others simply by listening to them. Unfortunately, as narrative entertainment, although viewers learn more about the characters, the story ends where it began.
I’m not going to talk about the worst new anime of 2025. There is educational value in categorizing and discussing bad anime, but that is not the purpose of this article. I will say, however, that I am confused by the number of critics I have seen claim that Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu has “beautiful animation” or is “beautifully animated.” I admit that the program has a stylistic visual design. But it is not well animated. Clearly the show had a very limited production budget. Its animation has a low frame rate and is frequently choppy. The show cleverly uses a lot of still frames and artistic compositions to distract from its limited animation.
