For over twenty years I have tried to sample every new anime that comes out in Japan every year. In my opinion, 2016 to 2018 is a three-year span, with many new works but few masterpieces that have attracted much attention. 2025 will likely end a similar three-year span. Two of the most acclaimed shows of the year, Lord of Mystery & Be a heroXnot an animation produced in Japan. Some of this year’s best shows are continuations of the 2024 lineup, including Ore Dak Upgrade Ken & dandadan. But that’s not to say 2025 isn’t getting any special editions of its own.
The criteria I use to measure “new” broadcast animation have been consistent for decades. Streaming also counts, but theatrical releases are excluded. Shows that continued episode numbers from previous seasons were excluded. Foreign productions dubbed in Japanese are not included. Of course, shows premiering in 2024 or earlier are not included. Taking these criteria into account, I counted 243 new titles. I was lucky enough to watch at least the first of all 243 episodes (although I barely made it in) Haai! Wonderfully come out There are ten minutes left in the year. ) I also excluded Card war! ! Pioneer Divine Deluxe Hen & Card war! ! Vanguard divinez luxury murderer chapter As a “new” series, that’s controversial, although they do meet my criteria for being a “new” title.
thematic place Tianqi Hotel It is a story about non-human beings gradually developing into “human beings”. After the extinction of humanity, the robot staff of the King’s House Hotel continued to run the empty hotel for centuries until interstellar aliens began to visit the hotel. Through hundreds of years of shared experience, the robot and alien workers became family and learned human values such as loyalty, compassion, and sacrifice. Along its thousand-year journey, the show exposes cast and audience to every kind of comic absurdity imaginable. Especially because the cast is not bound by human limitations and the characters go through extreme, crazy experiences that come to life. After a slow start in the first episode or two to establish the cast and setting, the show indulges in a Golden Age-style hijinks, letting the animators go crazy with elaborate action set pieces and absurdly creative set pieces. This show is fun to watch because it is fun in its own right.
Netflix short series Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26 Might be criticized for relying on cliche scenes, but as Ecclesiastes“There is nothing new under the sun.” the excellence of Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26 The anthology lies in its artistry. The episodes are consistently informative and often lively in style. Additionally, each episode is a completely different viewing experience. Seven of the eight episodes have some kind of sci-fi or fantasy theme, but they’re all touching and funny. Every minute of the show is captivating, constantly surprising viewers with shifts in tone, genre and approach, from sweet first love to horrific extreme violence, from inspirational drama to apocalyptic tragedy, from domestic abuse to repairing relationships. Many episodes swing from one pole to the other, giving viewers a wild viewing experience.
Illustrations of childhood trauma often amount to reward bait. But I still have to believe Source of octopus Dare to dive headfirst into the abyss of childhood trauma and abuse. The play may be called manipulative and tear-jerking, but it tells its story with dignity and heartfelt sincerity. The contrast between the cheerful mascot alien Tacopi and the desperate children may seem like a laughable contrast, but the story makes meaningful use of the contrast, driving its points home with sledgehammer ferocity. The show is difficult to watch and could be criticized as emotional porn. But its unabashed intensity and severity deserve and win admiration.
There are also works that are far from “best of the year” status. But I still want to mention them.
Oide and the Magical Girl Village (Wind and Fire Sentai) Since it was a series of short webcomics with crude illustrations, it has been largely ignored. But the cynicism of this magical girl imitation even makes Madoka Magica It seems happy in comparison. “Welcome to Magical Village” is a dark comedy that revolves around alcoholism, mass murder, and the experiences that drive the cast into madness. The scariest thing is that these desperate, dispossessed, displaced vagabonds possess such deadly powers that the rest of humanity must helplessly pray to the magical girls not to destroy the world. The main flaw of this bleak yet hilarious absurdist existential comedy is its complete lack of an ending.
A weak ending also involves compromise Kowloon general romance. Although adapted from the 2019 manga, the story could easily be mistaken for a work from the latter part of Rintaro’s Golden Age. The mystery box story does reveal its answer; however, after a long, languid, obsessive escalation, the climax and ending come at breakneck speed, breaking the tone of the show and leaving it feeling deeply unsatisfying.
Mata Akita Food Court This is another 2025 show that’s easily overlooked, and for good reason. This slice-of-life show only has six episodes, and 99 percent of it takes place in one location: a shopping mall food court. But the more time the audience spends eavesdropping on mundane conversations between high school girls Wada and Yamamoto, the more the audience learns about them. Yamamoto seems like a superficial, thoughtless hottie. But the audience comes to realize that she is a thoughtful, loyal, and thoughtful person. Wada could easily be mistaken for the uptight, virtual Yamato Nadesico, but she’s actually jealous, narcissistic, and petty. What’s more, she knows her personality is terrible and despises her shortcomings to a certain extent. Mata Akita Food Court Definitely not for viewers looking for flashy thrills or action. This is a calming series about empathizing with others by simply listening to them. Unfortunately, as a piece of narrative entertainment, while the audience does learn more about the characters, the story ends where it started.
I’m not going to discuss 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. What I will say, however, is that I am confused by many of the critics I have seen who claim Guang Xintian Xia There’s “beautiful animation” or “beautiful animation.” I admit that the show has a stylized visual design. But it doesn’t animate very well. Apparently, the show was produced on a very limited budget. Its animation frame rate is low and often choppy. The show cleverly uses plenty of stills and artistic compositions to distract from its limited animation.
