[2022](https://dude1818.tumblr.com/post/705684210598428672/dude1818-definitive-ranking-of-new-anime-in) [2023](https://www.tumblr.com/dude1818/737654141035347968/anime-year-in-review) [2024](https://www.tumblr.com/dude1818/771182553404211200/anime-year-in-review-2024)

This was a very good year for my anime viewing. I watched almost twice as many shows this year as last, and there were several new seasonals that were total bangers vying for my favorites of all time list. As with last year, the parentheses show my MAL score (not that that's very helpful, since almost everything watchable ends up between 6 and 8)

1. *Turkey! Time to Strike* (10) - I almost skipped this one because I had reached my limit of CGDCT shows, but I'm so glad I didn't. Even in just the first episode, it had some of the best drama writing I've seen for a high school club story. The actual show was then absolutely incredible. The care put into exploring each girl's traumatic backstory and how it shapes their current personalities was very good, and having a second set of color-coded protagonists to interact with was very clever. Obviously the fact that they still used bowling to resolve the literally life-or-death conflicts they got caught in sounds cheesy, but the writing was so tight that the characters never left room for it to feel cheesy — it was a fully realized drama that just happened to have bowling as the primary conflict resolution tool. This is easily one of my top five of all time
2. *Call of the Night* (S2: 9) - The Anko story is easily the best part of the manga, and it was so cool to see it animated. The Halloween arc was so good. The way they rewrote the ending makes me a little concerned about the chances of a third season, though. The only reason I didn't rate this a 10 was because they cut Lira :/
3. *The Ancient Magus' Bride*\* (OVA: 9; S1: 9; S2: 10) - Fantastic story. Chise is such a compelling protagonist, and I love how her trauma is explored. The first season was cool to explore the world and magic system, but I think the college arc really blew the top off. Being able to play off all the other students led to some incredible character moments. It was also very nice actually seeing Chise grow over the series, to the point where she was reaching out to Philomela at the end like she needed someone to reach out to her at the start
4. *Erased*\* (10) - Incredibly engaging. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The first time we went back to 1988, I wasn't super interested in the kids, since the characters in 2006 had already piqued my interest, but interweaving the stories worked well. By the time Satoru saved Kayo the first time though, I was super invested in their story. The writing was darker than I expected but was fantastic — scenes like Kayo flinching at Satoru's mom broke my heart. The way they resolved the plot was the last thing I could've guessed, but I'm so happy to see where everyone ended up
5. *This Monster Wants to Eat Me* (10) - Absolute cinema. It's not the most robust depiction of depression you could write, but I really liked the vibes of Hinako living her life underwater. Shiori and Miko were such enjoyable characters, and their dynamic with each other and with Hinako was incredible. I loved the monster designs, which I'm sure still had to be toned down somewhat to be animated. I think I need to read this one's manga
6. *The Apothecary Diaries* (S2: 8) - This show is really well-written, which is why it's ranked so high, but hard not to compare to the first season. I preferred having more little mysteries that tied together at the end, rather than this seasons launching into the big conspiracy so soon. Shisui was fantastic, and I adored her dynamic with Maomao, especially at the end
7. *Apocalypse Hotel* (9) - The vibes in this one were immaculate. The robots trying to navigate post-humanity was such a good way to explore existentialism, but then the humor was incredibly funny and cut the tension exactly the right amount. I didn't even mind when aliens started showing up, although I do think the hotel becoming successful ruined a lot of the charm. They managed to recapture that at the end with Yachiyo's day off at least
8. *Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to be Loved* (10) - Incredibly precious. Fortunately the one bad part of the main series excused herself from the movie, so it got to fire on all cylinders instead. Kana's always been my favorite, and this was a lovely story about Kobayashi really becoming the parent that stepped up for her. I'm just a little concerned that the series is drifting away from slice-of-life if stuff like this keeps happening though, which I heard it did in the manga
9. *A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof* (10) - This was so incredibly funny. The gag of the ninja pursuers getting offed within seconds of their introductions never got old. I liked that despite being a gag show, there was real progression for the characters and plot, and the consequences of the jokes actually mattered in the long run
10. *Zenshu* (8) - I always preface talking about this show with "I hate isekais," but this one was actually very good. It actually made being an isekai matter and was super engaging. A girl and her blorbo <3
11. *The Witch and the Beast*\* (8) - This was super cool. I liked how basically every arc refuted the core premise that they were hunting witches because they were evil. The dynamic between Ashaf and Guideau was so much fun. I really love Guideau and I want more of this show
12. *Lycoris Recoil* (S1\*: 7; ONA: 7) - I can't believe I only watched this at the start of 2025 and not earlier, because I feel like I've been a fan of it for so long. The premise was goofy, but the leads were so much fun together, and the action was really good. I think my only real complaint is that everything bad that happened really was Chisato's fault, but the show never acknowledged that. Takina's the only one I respect
13. *Spirited Away*\* (8) - Finally getting to Ghibli. Impeccable comedic timing, very impressive sound design. The spirit designs were very cool. I loved all the parallels
14. *Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion*\* (8) - Ranking this above the main show because of my personal viewing experience (not having everything spoiled). Homura was so cool in this one
15. *A Mangaka's Weirdly Wonderful Workplace* (8) - Very cute and funny. The VAs were very good. I liked how they lampshaded being yuribait by having the other characters think they were dating too, and there was still an explicit F/F date with side characters. Futami and Sato were adorable disasters
16. *Spy x Family* (S3: 8) - I think this season was a little slow to get going, but once it did, it was great. I really loved the busjacking arc and the mole arc. The Twilight backstory getting dropped in the middle felt a little tonally jarring though. And we never got a Thorn Princess episode this season, huh; that's a shame
17. *Rock Is a Lady's Modesty* (8) - Very fun show. The girls were such wild characters. Love that they got BAND-MAID for this, although adapting a music-based manga means they actually have to nail the musical progression in the story, which I don't think they did
18. *Puella Magi Madoka Magica*\* (8) - Surprised it took me so long to get to this one. Unfortunately I had been spoiled on most of the big twists (Homura's deal, most of Kyubey's; not the Mami surprise though), which definitely harmed by experience of the story. I still really enjoyed it, but that's marred by also realizing how much I would've been into it if I had gone in blind. The girls had fascinating character arcs, and of course the art and music are top-notch. I didn't care for the alien plotline and wish that was tweaked
19. *Oshi No Ko*\* (S2: 9) - After the first mega-episode, I found the first season fairly boring, which is why I put off watching season two. Glad I changed my mind, because this was a lot cooler. The stage play arc was consistently more interesting than the dating show arc (Akane's burnout aside), and finally getting to the supernatural elements when Aqua and Ruby returned home is very intriguing
20. *Someone's Gaze*\* (8) - Very sweet vignette
21. *The Demon Girl Next Door*\* (S1: 8; S2: 7) - Very cute, and had way more depth than I expected. Character dynamics were great. Momo is fantastic, and I do want to know more of the heavy story that's happening in the background, although I feel like the show went a too heavy on random gags in the second season
22. *Otherside Picnic*\* (8) - Cool setting and I liked the characters. I think it suffered from only being one cour, since they never got to a point in the main mystery that felt like a satisfactory ending. I'm sure the story about Satsuki is too big for a single season, but at least give us *something* to chew on at the end
23. *Stardust Telepath*\* (9) - I didn't realize this was going to be a CGDCT school club show, but it ended up being much more charming than I expected. Umika was a fun take on the hyper-anxious protag. Matataki was peak
24. *Dan Da Dan* (S2: 7) - I ended up enjoying the Evil Eye arc a lot more than I expected. I think the second half of the season fell off, though. That said, I'm very excited for Vamola in season three
25. *Food for the Soul* (8) - Glad to finally get another CGDCT anime featuring adults. The difference between high schoolers and college first years is not huge, but I found it way more relatable
26. *Dungeon People*\* (8) - This show is like if *Dungeon Meshi* was adapted from a 4koma. It's very cute. The main pair were dorks and it was fun to watch them interact
27. *Tasokare Hotel* (7) - Very cool show, although being an adaptation from a point-and-click game was pretty obvious at times. I'm sad it took so long for someone to explain to me what Neko's deal was, because I almost dropped the show because I couldn't square her behavior, even though she should be exactly up my alley
28. *See You Tomorrow at the Food Court* (8) - Really pared down CGDCT to the essentials: two girls sitting there talking. It felt kinda like rakugo. It was very cute
29. *Your Forma* (7) - Cyberpunk investigators is a very neat concept. I liked the dynamic between the leads and the twist on Asimov-style robot crimes was cool, although I think the obvious problems introduced by the knock-off Three Laws were too obvious. I know there were complaints that the anime skipped the first light novel, but having read that recently, I think the anime introduced better versions of characters than the novel did. Losing the worldbuilding is a shame though
30. *Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story*\* (S1: 7; S2: 8) - The character motivations had a lot of overlap with the plot of the main show, which made it feel a little repetitive, but this group of girls were all pretty different than the Magical Quintet at least. Yachiyo going feral in season two was one of my favorite things this year. I do feel like the series added a bunch of plot threads to reflect the game that never actually connected back to the main plot of the anime, which detracted from it
31. *Bad Girl* (7) - Very funny yuri disaster. I love how nuts all the girls are, although I do feel a little bad for Suzu. Main thing I didn't care for was the ADC stuff
32. *Wasteful Days of High School Girls*\* (7) - The gags that landed were incredibly funny, although there were plenty of duds too. Some of the side characters (Maho, Yamai) had very enjoyable stories, but otoh Lily almost got me to stop watching
33. *Flip Flappers*\* (7) - Pretty cute show, although the arbitrary time skips bugged me. For once I had some issues with the yuri; making it a *Twilight* situation was kinda weird. Yayaka was great
34. *Arknights: Rise from Ember* (6) - This series has been a rollercoaster. Seeing FrostNova again was heartbreaking, and I was getting really invested in Talulah's backstory, and seeing her as a foil to Amiya. But then the Black Snake reveal pretty much ruined the show for me, because it basically invalidated Talulah's whole character arc
35. *Orb: On the Movements of the Earth* (7) - The later arcs were more enjoyable, and I particularly liked Draka. The ending of "and none of it ever mattered" really left a sour taste in my mouth
36. *Release the Spyce*\* (6) - There were parts of this that I liked. The girls' relationships were fun; Yuki was disabled but everyone (even the civilians at their school) thought she was badass; Momo not falling into the trope of burning out during a mission; the three apprentices having to save the day in the final mission. But there were also a lot of writing choices I really didn't like, like the triple cross and saving Yuki just to deny the happy ending anyway. And the spyce never actually mattered
37. *Alma-chan Wants to Be a Family!* (6) - It was cute I guess. I liked the idea of raising the robot as their daughter, although it was hit-or-miss in the execution. I think I wanted it to be a little closer to *My Wife Has No Emotion*. Machina was a fun sidekick, although I think Neon was too much, and I would've preferred if there was a tighter focus on just Alma, Machina, and Hana
38. *Milky☆Subway: The Galactic Limited Express* (ONA\*: 7; S1: 6) - This was cute, and I enjoyed the overlapping dialogue style. The pacing was hurt pretty badly by the release schedule, with weekly three minute episodes. I know they're releasing a continuous cut later, and I think that's the only way they should've published it. Also, the ending was way too abrupt, like "here's the final joke, smash to black"
39. *Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective* (7) - This was pretty funny, and I liked the character dynamics. Each of the multi-episode cases felt like they dragged on a little too long though
40. *The Case Study of Vanitas*\* (S1: 6) - Not really a fan of bishonens, and I wish it was a little more plot-focused. The magic system was sick as hell though
41. *Momentary Lily* (6) - Well it had an interesting concept at least. I think once we finally got to the reveal of what Renge really was it got interesting, but it dragged its feet to get there
42. *Burn the Witch*\* (7) - Very poor writing, but the main characters (and only them) were fun. The dragon designs were very cool, and the animation looked good. Could've been a really neat show if it was written by someone else
43. *Shabake* (6) - Not at all what I was hoping for. I wanted them to be investigating various mysteries over the course of the series using their cool spirit contacts; instead that was mostly happening in the background while they just sat around. It feels like they had maybe an hour worth of story to tell and stretched it to fill a whole cour
44. *Kakuriyo -Bed & Breakfast for Spirits-* (S1\*: 6; S2: 5) - I wasn't super impressed with the first season, but it was interesting enough. I'm not really into cooking shows, but I like yokai stuff. The love triangle was meh but I could tolerate it. But then the second season was such a drop in quality, both it terms of having way worse animation, and also the writing tanked. We left off in the middle of an arc, but I don't think I want to subject myself to another cour
45. *Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary* (S2: 6) - This show has a quiet charm to it. Like *The Apothecary Diaries* though, I preferred the smaller mysteries in season one. The kidnapping plot had been interesting, but I didn't like that the show kept escalating after that
46. *Belle*\* (6) - I watched this for the VR version of *Beauty and the Beast* and found it sorely disappointing. The irl high school drama, otoh, was actually incredibly fun, so I'm glad I got something out of this movie
47. *Pokémon Concierge*\* (S1: 6) - It was cute enough, but I was really hoping that Haru would do some proper concierging, rather than just using the premise as an excuse to interact with Pokémon in a vacuum. I'll get to season two eventually
48. *I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I'll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time* (6) - Standard video game logic fantasy world slop, but the main character was legitimately funny enough that it kept me around
49. *Once Upon a Witch's Death* (5) - Very disappointed in this one. The premise could've made for an interesting Frieren-paced story focusing on individual connections, but they dropped that pretty quickly to just have more tears show up between episodes. The actual magical conflicts in each episode felt totally random and resolved exclusively via ass-pull. At least Meg being a dirtbag lesbian was funny, and Sophie's little arc was good
50. *Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX* (preview movie: 8, S1: 4) - I was so hyped for this show and it was such a letdown. *Beginning* had such promise: set up how this timeline diverged from the UC timeline in a *Star Trek Into Darkness* way, then introduce a very cool world for the new characters to have an adventure in. But then they mostly sidelined the main characters to circlejerk about how great the 1979 series was, and it sucked so bad. Gundam hooked me with *The Witch from Mercury* and this was their chance to keep me invested, but now I'll never touch the franchise again
51. *Muhyo & Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation*\* (S1: 4) - Aggravating take on the Holmes/Watson pair, but the story at least had neat elements **—** until the final arc, that is. It was an ambitious decision of a show that was pretty fan-servicey and misogynistic to make the arc villain a woman who was pushed to villainy because of misogyny and classism, but present her as legitimately the victim and deserving of being saved from the situation she created and from the overall villain. I thought the show was actually going to redeem itself. And then a major side character immediately went back to leering at teenage girls, so I dropped it

A few shows I couldn't finish:

* *Dusk Beyond the End of the World* \- Didn't like the prologue episode, and it seemed like it was going to end up a basic isekai. Would've given it one more episode but the sub I was mooching on ended and I didn't care enough to search elsewhere
* *FLCL*\* - Seemed promising, but it was just too chaotic and too many panty shots, so I dropped halfway through
* *Gnosia* \- I don't understand how you fuck up the basic mechanics of Werewolf. That basic part of the show broke my suspension of disbelief too hard
* *Moonrise* \- The visuals were great, but the constant nested twists and hopping around the timeline were awful. This show felt like three different decent shows that got mashed together and ruined
* *Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show* \- I kinda like the protagonists, but also adding a defector ruined it for me

\* indicates the show aired prior to 2025

2026 looks like it's going to be great. New seasons of *Frieren*, *Apothecary Diaries*, and *Oshi no Ko* are hype, and maybe *Walpurgisnacht: Rising* will actually come out this time

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