**Welcome to the 2025 r/anime Award's second public voting thread!**
This is another post in a series where the community will vote to decide the best anime of 2025 in a variety of categories over the next few weeks. Every week, we will focus on a specific set of categories encompassing different facets of anime on a storytelling, artistic, and technical level:
- Genre
- Production
- Main
While each post will highlight on a specific category group so you can space out your votes or hot takes, the website also allows you to go ahead and vote on any and all categories you would like to. So, whether you'd like to pace yourself or finish voting all in one go, both options are available to you. You may also go back and change any of your votes until final voting is closed on February 20th, as votes are auto saved for your convenience. Additionally, we've included a simplified watch statistics survey, so please fill that out if you have the time!
That being said, first up in Genre! At the start of awards, each eligible anime is allocated to their respective group(s) by the host team with input from the jury and public. The seven Genre Categories are:
- Action
- Adventure
- Comedy
- Drama
- Romance
- Slice of Life
- Suspense
Each category has ten nominees, half chosen by the public and half by a jury panel. So, make sure you vote for your favorites and defend (or shamelessly shill) your choices in the comments below!
**Today's questions:**
What's your favorite genre?
Which genre was strongest this year?
Ham_PhD2026-01-30 19:52
>Which genre was strongest this year?
I would have to say **suspense** has the strongest overall lineup imo. Although **Slice of Life** wasn't far behind.
3 of my top 5 shows of the year ended up in that category (Apothecary S2, Hikaru, and Shoushimin S2). A few others that I didn't personally care for as much as others but were still praised widely. Will be a tough category!
Dull_Spot_82132026-01-30 21:23
I’ve been saving Apothecary Diaries for a later watch (still haven’t seen either season), so can’t really comment on it, but both Hikaru and Shoshimin S2 were absolutely top tier suspense. That was my strongest category pick for all genres.
minnieboss2026-01-30 19:53
My votes:
- Action - Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc
- Adventure - Zenshu
- Comedy - A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof
- Drama - Orb: On the Movements of the Earth
- Romance - Watanare
- Slice of Life - Wonderful Precure!
- Suspense - Sanda (Takopi's Original Sin and The Summer Hikaru Died are also great, this was such a hard choice!)
Questions:
My favorite genre is Suspense, and it was definitely strongest this year. So many 10/10 shows it's unreal.
ClemFire2026-01-30 20:02
Romance was my favorite genre this year as I absolutely loved **My Dress-Up Darling S2** and it easily took the top shot in my heart. Shout out though to slice of life for being the only genre where my choice Ruri Rocks is not a sequel series. I really wish there was a way to pick a sequel and a first season show.
My Votes:
Action: MHA
Adventure: Dr Stone
Comedy: Spy x Family
Drama: Bunny Girl
Romance: My Dress-Up Darling
Slice of Life: Ruri Rocks
Suspense: Re:Zero
BiggieCheeseLapDog2026-01-30 20:12
Drama has the strongest in my eyes, but I may be biased as a drama juror. Also drama is probably my favourite genre too.
Now for my favourite of the drama category, Orb!!! Vote Orb!!!
Orb is a very unique show within the anime medium. A historical drama with a very unusual and novel structure that compliments its themes and storytelling. Its cast is filled with complex human beings who undergo very satisfying development as we see how their interactions with their environment and others shape them. The dialogue isn’t naturalistic at all, but good dialogue doesn’t need to be. Orb’s dialogue conveys its ideas in an unrestricted form and creates fascinating discourse between its characters, often with conversations being akin to debates, which is very in character with Orb’s themes of the importance of scientific discourse.
Orb is overall a brilliant, impactful examination of history, motivation, and the power of unity to pursue goals. I don’t just think it’s one of the best anime of this year, I think it’s one of the best anime of the last decade.
As for my favourites of other genres:
Action: Chainsaw Man Reze Arc
Adventure: I haven’t seen a single one
Comedy: NinKoro
Romance: The Lenticulars
Slice of Life: Sorairo Utility
Suspense: Takopii’s Original Sin
c1h1i1n1a2026-01-31 07:15
A juror for awards announcing their favorite choice this early seems so unprofessional to me. But since when do r/anime award jurors act professionally though. My bad, my bad.
VoidEmbracedWitch2026-01-31 09:49
The only thing jurors are barred from is leaking what's going on inside their categories. They're still allowed to be people with opinions outside of that.
Asleep-Strain67782026-01-30 20:15
My Vote Are
Best Action My Hero Academia FINAL SEASON
Best Comedy Anime
SPY x FAMILY Season 3
Best Drama Orb: On the Movements of the Earth
Best Romance The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity
Best Suspense
The Apothecary Diaries Season 2
Emi_Ibarazakiii2026-01-30 20:29
It's crazy how I watch 10-20 shows every season, but I go through the categories and I see 1 show I completed... 2 shows... 0... another 0...
And no, it's certainly NOT because I watch trash that doesn't deserve nominations!
[](#seasonalpout)
- Action: I didn't complete a single one of them (3 drops, 1 'on hold', 5 not caught up, and 1 in waiting... I'm voting **CSM** anyway, sue me! I normally wouldn't, but I don't see any universe in which I watch it and hate it so much that I wouldn't vote for it against shows I haven't watched).
- Adventure: Only completed 1 of them, but it would likely be my #1 even if I completed them all given **Clevatess** is in my top 10 for the year.
- Comedy: Now this is my jam! Well, I still only completed 5 of those... It legitimately hurts my soul NOT to vote for Ninkoro or 100gfs, but I'm sorry, **Milky Subway** is PERFECT.
- Drama: 1 completed, 1 on hold hah; **Rock Ladies** wins!
- Romance: 3 completions; **Dress Up Darling** wins (though if I'm being honest, I liked S1 more..)
- Slice of life: 1 completion, so **Food Court** wins by default!
- Suspense: **Takopi** is my anime of the year (at least among the options they gave us) so..!
Dull_Spot_82132026-01-30 20:46
Action: My Hero Academia Final Season
Adventure: Clevatess
Comedy: Milky Subway
Drama: Medalist
Romance: ???
Slice of Life: Food Court
Suspense: **The Summer Hikaru Died** (Also my pick for AOTY in spite of what was offered for that category)
VoidEmbracedWitch2026-01-30 20:53
> What's your favorite genre?
Generally speaking drama, especially of the coming of age variety.
> Which genre was strongest this year?
Hard to say because this time around my favorites are spread around a lot. Maybe **Slice of Life** with Kimi no Iro, Ruri Rocks, Sorairo Utility, Hibimeshi and Wancure. Very good vibes in that category for the most part.
My votes:
- Action - MHA Vigilantes
- Adventure - Nomo no Kuni (it's a 30 minute short film and very endearing, [go watch it now](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2puErJ6wnmU))
- Comedy - Milky Subway
- Drama - Apocalypse Hotel
- Romance - Watanare
- Slice of Life - Kimi no Iro
- Suspense - Hikaru
zairaner2026-01-30 21:07
> Which genre was strongest this year
Seems like it was comedy, considering I have at least watched over half the entries there! Still an easy win for **ninkoro** though
Action: Reze
adventure: clevatess
Comedy: ninkoro
drama: medalist
romance: watanare
SoL: lycoris
Suspense: Takopi
Durinthal2026-01-30 21:29
Well, only one of the [five romances I nominated](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1q8h0jd/nominations_for_the_2025_ranime_awards_are_now/nyncjn0/) made the cut so it's an easy selection for me, then also something that wasn't allocated to romance in the first place (Watatabe) was picked by the jury even though that would be the third genre I'd put it in behind suspense and drama.
At least there's nothing in there that had a "Why on Earth did people pick this?" reaction from me this year.
[](#yuishrug)
Urgnu-the-Gnu2026-01-30 22:14
Drama is such a contested genre I wish we could split it up some more so I can vote for a couple of those shows. Mostly Orb, Medalist and Cinderella Gray. But since it mysteriously wasn't nominated for any other awards, I'll have to give at least one vote to my favourite anime of the year here, Silent Witch. But really it should have gotten a few production award nominations as well.
Suspense is also quite contested, and I know that Sanda, Shoushimin and Hanako will get unfairly shafted while Apothecary Diaries, Takopi, Hikaru and CotN could rightfully place very high, but of course I'll have to go with Re:Zero on this. It's been my favourite anime since S1, and it just gets better as it goes on.
Meanwhile, funnily, SoL is not contested at all. I loved Ruri Rocks and Food for the Soul, but a mere six episode show of short-form content was one of the best series I've watched this year, and I'm completely serious about that. Lycoris Recoil: Friends Are Thieves of Time put as much enjoyment in a few minutes as other series sometimes don't even manage in full episodes. The storylines are short, but very complete and even meaningful. I just wanted to see some of my favourite characters again, and I got some of the most time-efficient entertainment I've ever watched out of it.
No time or deep want to talk about all the other categories, but also consider Zenshu for adventure. It's been almost a year, but I still think about that ending from time to time.
UMP45isnotflat2026-01-30 22:55
Am I missing something here? Isnt this the exact same poll which was already posted? My choices seem to have been saved as well.
BiggieCheeseLapDog2026-01-31 00:11
The pinned comment explains the post.
UMP45isnotflat2026-01-31 01:00
Yeah I guess the same poll will just get reposted for the next few weeks
cppn022026-01-31 00:49
Read the pinned comment.
Psyduckisnotaduck2026-01-31 00:07
I don't have super strong completion rates with any category (though given oddball jury picks, it's not surprising).
**Action - 1.25/10**
Completed: Dandadan s2
Incomplete: Gachiakuta
might watch soon: Chainsaw Man movie, G-Quacks
my winner/public winner/jury winner: Dandadan s2 by default/Chainsaw Man movie/Chainsaw man movie
**Adventure - \~4/10**
Completed: Zenshu, A Wild Last Boss Appeared, Clevatess
Incomplete: Shangri-La Frontier s2 (only three episodes left though)
Might watch: Campfire Cooking s2, Nomo no Kuni, Sword of the Demon Hunter
m/p/j: Zenshu/Clevatess/???
**Comedy - 6.25/10**
Completed: City, 100 GF s2, Spy x Family s3, Witch Watch, MWWW, Bad Girl
Incomplete: NinKoro
Might watch: Milky Subway, Konosuba OVA
m/p/j: City/City/Milky Subway
**Drama - 6/10**
Completed: Silent Witch, Ave Mujica, Medalist, Apocalypse Hotel, Rock is a Lady's Modesty, Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray
Might watch: Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26, Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus
m/p/j: Apocalypse Hotel/Orb/idk Uma Musume if they're not cowards
**Romance - \~5.5/10**
Completed: My Dress Up Darling s2, Fragrant Flower, Watanare, Watatabe
Incomplete: Monster Meat, A Star Brighter than the Sun, My Happy Marriage s2, Blue Box
m/p/j: Watanare/Fragrant Flower/MDUD s2
**Slice of Life - 4.75/10**
Complete: Ruri Rocks, mono, See You Tomorrow at the Food Court, Food for the Soul
Incomplete: Aharen-san s2
Might watch: Sorairo Utility, The Colors Within, Lyco-Reco shorts
m/p/j: Ruri Rocks/Lyco-Reco shorts/Sorairo Utility or mono
**Suspense - \~3.5/10**
Complete: Apothecary Diaries s2, Call of the Night s2, Shoushimin Series s2
Incomplete: Sanda, Toilet Bound Hanako-kun s2
Might watch: The Summer Hikaru Died, Re:Zero s3
m/p/j: Apothecary Diaries/Apothecary Diaries OR Takopi/Shoushimin Series s2
Psyduckisnotaduck2026-01-31 00:33
also, I didn't have room in my round-up post, but, I wanted to mention category snubs. with ten nominations it's less likely for anything to fall through the cracks but it can still happen.
Action: idk Sakamoto Days is probably better than several of the nominees but I understand why it missed, I didn't watch either but Wind Breaker s2 or Kaiju no 8 s2 seem to have fallen to the curse of not quite being popular enough with the public, but not gaining any jury respect. if all ten nominees were determined by a public vote they'd be here. I'm willing to bet Kingdom is probably better than almost every actual nominee, sight unseen, but it's both deeply unpopular and not really a jury pick.
Adventure: The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World got paid dirt, pretty much. Touring After the Apocalypse would have made a little sense here.
Comedy: May I Ask for One Final Thing maybe. no but actually Let This Grieving Soul Retire s2. but idk the jury picks were mostly really solid. the thing is that Apocalypse Hotel and Rock is a Lady's Modesty should be here. also From Bureaucrat to Villainess being completely forgotten hurts, a lot.
Drama: Flower and Asura couldn't make it into a very tight category but it probably should have rather than the Sanrio thing, but the jury has BIASES. The Too Perfect Saint was decent but probably too high-mid and overshadowed by Silent Witch in that general lane. Anne Shirley is a legitimate, crazy snub that the jury should have come through for and didn't because they don't give a shit about the ostensible mission of making up for the public's stupidity. though I'm not sure what the jury is even for if not that. though given though biases Maebashi Witches would have made sense to show up here, and I expected it to. Turkey would have been a really funny choice for the jury to make, but the genre juries are always way too self-serious to do something that funny. nobody understands that Turkey is peak fiction. or that in bowling, there's always a second throw.
Romance: Yano-kun's Ordinary Days is by my reckoning better than SEVERAL jury nominees, absolute fumble here. Mikadono Sisters is a massive snub whose absence really hurts the category, but I guess the romance not being the strongest aspect hurt it with the jury??? it's kind of too awkwardly in the intersection between comedy, drama, and romance for any particular jury to come through for it even though it's better than many of those the jury did nominate. April Showers Bring May Flowers was probably hurt by not having a legal English streaming source, but it is more consistent and kind of a complete package even if the manga surely continues beyond the point it left off. it's at least better than Monster Meat Milady because it doesn't bite off more than the production is able to chew and has a great Hayamin performance. Ranma 1/2 s2 is a kind of shocking omission, but it probably fell through the cracks.
Slice of Life: Okitsura or Welcome to Japan Ms. Elf would have been fine nominees. Catch Me at the Ballpark is one I haven't seen but it has a vocal fan contingent so I'm surprised it couldn't make it here. With You and the Rain seems like a pretty wild snub, and a less biased jury would have put it over Love Live and Precure without a doubt.
Suspense: haven't seen Tasokare Hotel but some people really liked it, tight category though.
cppn022026-01-31 00:51
> Anne Shirley is a legitimate, crazy snub
[](#fistbump)
BiggieCheeseLapDog2026-01-31 01:15
We the drama jury voted My Melody and Kuromi as a nomination because it’s a very fun, creative series with impressive stop motion production and charming leads. It was not a biased pick at all as nobody was an apparent Sanrio fan. The quality of the series was very apparent, so we appreciated that quality.
Anne Shirley I agree was a snub, but it was divisive amongst the jury because some had problems with the pacing, so that caused it to just miss a nomination.
The drama jury is made up of different people than other categories as a reminder. The jury is a collection of many different people. We aren’t a faceless body and the tastes of people in different categories can be vastly different.
Xatu442026-01-31 05:13
> Adventure: The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World got paid dirt, pretty much.
Real.
>Mikadono Sisters is a massive snub whose absence really hurts the category
Real.
cppn022026-01-31 00:33
- Action
**Chainsaw Man** - The easy pick for me here. Although with it being a movie and all I wouldn't be salty about either Dandadan or Solo Leveling winning it either.
- Adventure
**Zenshuu** - Another easy choice. My other favourites here would be Last Boss, Clevatess and Sword of the Demon Hunter (which might have challenged Zenshuu with better production values)
- Comedy
**Milky Subway** - First time I actually had a hard time picking a winner as it was between that and 100 Girlfriends for me. Also shoutout to Ninkoro, CITY, Witch Watch and SxF (which imo had its best season yet).
- Drama
**Apocalypse Hotel** - Strong category with seveal shows that imo would be worth the award but my heart tells me to vote for Apocalypse Hotel. Cinderella Gray is probably my runner up but of the 8 shows I watched here I genuinely enjoyed 7 of them.
- Romance
**Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi o Suru** - Almost certainly not the show I'd name if you asked me for my favourite romance of the year but since we are supposed to vote for best in category and not best at genre it is the runaway winner for me. Definitely one of the weaker categories (in part due to better choices left out).
- Slice of Life
**HibiMeshi** - Absolutely stacked category. Ruri Rocks, Food Court, Kimi no Iro and LycoReco are all shows I'd feel comfortable voting for and Aharen-san is not far behind. For now it's Hibimeshi but atm this category is probably the one I'll most likely change my votes a few times in the coming weeks lol.
- Suspense
**Shoushimin S2** - Yet another strong category. Apothecary Diaries and maybe even more so
The Summer Hikaru Died really gave Shoushimin a run for its money but especially its first arc clinches it for me. CotN rounds out my top 4 in this category. This and SoL are also the only two categories where all my picks from the nomination phase made it into the final selection.
Komarist2026-01-31 01:17
Public and jury nom columns as how many I nominated and (completed) out of 99 completions for 2025
* Romance - No Takamine or GOAT S4? Fine, I'll vote Watanare
* Suspense - Hope to watch CotN S2 before voting ends, though doubt it changes my vote
6/7 votes from public noms with the only exception being the jury picking an entry the public weren't allowed to vote in that genre. Surprising compared to the last couple years.
Protractror2026-01-31 03:58
Interested in what you think the comedy jury/public missed out on (beyond Nageki). I feel like they came up with a pretty solid slate but I'm wondering if I'm missing any hidden gems.
Komarist2026-01-31 04:18
Bureaucrat to Villainess had some cheeky dad humor. Will grant that Isekai Quartet 3 was a step down from the earlier seasons
cppn022026-01-31 11:45
>I'm wondering if I'm missing any hidden gems.
I do agree the Jury put up a decent line-up but if you're just looking for recommendations Detectives These Days Are Crazy absolutely would have been a great pick.
Time_Fracture2026-01-31 01:32
>Which genre was strongest this year?
**Suspense** for this time. 3 of the biggest anime this year are competing in the Suspense category., and don't count Shoshimin, Call of the Night, and Sanda out as well.
**Drama** is a tight category since there are also 4 biggest anime competing (Medalist, ApoHotel, Umamusume, SBY S2), and you got Silent Witch.
It's quite a rare sight to see 2 yuri anime competing in the **Romance** category also (and meanwhile I realized ASBTTS made it while HLS didn't).
bustermemesgobrrrrrr2026-01-31 01:52
Action: My Hero Academia Final Season.
Adventure: Clevatess
Comedy: Witch Watch
Drama; Orb On the Movements of the Earth
Romance: The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity
Slice of Life: N/A
Suspense: The Summer Hikaru Died
I think Suspense had the most stacked category, followed by Action and Drama.
qwertyqwerty45672026-01-31 03:36
Copying myself from my earlier post:
Category | Watched / 10 | Vote | Thoughts
---|---|----|----
**Genre**|
||
Action | 2 | Solo Leveling | The only other show I've seen here is DanDaDan and I dont think anyone wants to recap my opinions on SL vs DDD. I knew what my vote here was from day 1 and it hasnt changed.
Adventure | 6 | DanMachi V | This is Pain. DanMachi didnt even make my top 5 when I was nominating in this category and it's head and shoulders above everything else I've watched here. [](#smoke)
Comedy | 6 | Bad Girl | Should come as no surprise as I've been making my voice heard about how good Bad Girl is since the day I watched it. This is easily the strongest category for me, again, just like every other year. Not only did I have the most nominees for it, but also the most watched shows in it and probably the highest average score of all categories. Although somehow Spy x Family is here, again, which means I'm obligated to complain about SxF being here, again, just like every other year!
Drama | 2 | 🐿️ | Much like bad girl, I've also been Monica's Strongest Super Soldier since day 1. I dont think there is a single show out there that does the shy timid girl trope better than this.
Romance | 2 | Watanare | This is the only category so far where I have more than 1 show competing for my pick, as both MDUD and Watanare are very close for me, so I might change my mind in the future.
SoL | 3 | Food Court | Much like the above, Ruri Rocks and Food Court are close for me, but Im honestly leaning way more towards Food Court. This category missing [The Daily Life of a Middle-Aged Online Shopper in Another World](https://anilist.co/anime/180292/Arafou-Otoko-no-Isekai-Tsuuhan-Seikatsu/) is fucking criminal.
Suspense | 4 | Apothecary Diaries | If you've seen my top 10, you know that at the top of the list stand Apothecary Diaries and ReZero as my #1 & #2 spot and they are both in here, probably as public votes, but nontheless I am happy here. [](#feelingloved)
---
My votes and feelings havent really changed since the previous thread, except that I've now watched Wild Last Boss as my 6th adventure series.
>What's your favorite genre?
Comedy
>Which genre was strongest this year?
Also comedy, but adventure and suspense are also really good.
Komarist2026-01-31 03:52
> DanMachi didnt even make my top 5 when I was nominating in this category
Because it was an action nominee for the public!
qwertyqwerty45672026-01-31 03:53
[big if true](#rengethink)
VoidEmbracedWitch2026-01-31 09:21
[](#hikariactually) Just true, adventure picked it up as a secondary from there
_Ridley2026-01-31 04:34
* *Action* - 5/10 completed (I got to 20 of 24 of Yaiba, though, so nearly 6, and I plan to watch Reze soon) - I'm voting for **Dandadan** for now. MHA Final Season's a very close second. I can't think of any snubs here.
* *Adventure* - 6/10 completed - I'm going with **Zenshu** here. Such a fun twist on the isekai genre. Again, no snubs come to mind, but this isn't a genre I really seek out.
* *Comedy* - 6/10 completed - Tough choice between City and Milky Subway, but I'm going with **Milky Subway**. It's one of the funniest and most creative anime I've seen in years. As for snubs, there's a tragic lack of The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess and Detectives These Days Are Crazy.
* *Drama* - 4/10 completed - An ugly shortlist for me. I hated Orb, I refuse to watch any more Uma Musume, Ave Mujica sounds like it's made of everything that bugged me about MyGO, and I'm not interested in doing the work to catch up on Bunny Senpai. I loved Medalist, but my vote goes to **Apocalypse Hotel**. I can't believe that Anne Shirley and Cocoon aren't here. That's a shame.
* *Romance* - 8/10 completed - I am so ambivalent about romance this year. It's a particularly bad year for public and jury nominations, and my favorite romance anime aren't on the list. Since I've got no real fave, I'm voting for the shoujo, so **A Star Brighter than the Sun**. The lack of Yano-kun's Ordinary Days, KimiKoe, and April Showers Bring May Flowers is malpractice. Watatabe isn't a romance and didn't deserve to take a spot here when it didn't get into suspense. If the jury wanted to rescue something from another category, it should've been Anne Shirley after its drama snub.
* *Slice of Life* - 6/10 completed - Easy choice for me here, as **Food Court** was a complete delight every week. The biggest snub is easily With You and the Rain, which I genuinely can't understand. Captivated, by You should also be here, but this jury never nominates male cast slice of life, so that's not a surprise.
* *Suspense* - 9/10 completed - I got beef with a lot of juries, but the suspense jury is A-OK. All of the jury picks are solid choices, but I'm going with my personal AOTY **The Summer Hikaru Died**, which is actually a public nomination. I can't think of any snubs. It's a great shortlist.
qwertyqwerty45672026-01-31 06:04
> I'm voting for Dandadan for now
How many bean counter episodes do I have to watch to make you change your vote.
[](#bigthink)
_Ridley2026-01-31 06:41
That depends. What am I changing to? Solo Leveling would cost you two episodes, minimum.
qwertyqwerty45672026-01-31 06:54
only 2 episodes? what a steal!
[](#concealedexcitement)
Komarist2026-01-31 08:03
A reward for watching isekai, aka the most pleasure of anime? Stop trying to cosplay Yuuki
Emi_Ibarazakiii2026-01-31 06:15
> I can't believe that [...] Cocoon aren't here. That's a shame.
Would've been my pick if it had been there...
[](#seasonalpout)
_Ridley2026-01-31 17:20
I really don't understand how it got left off. The juries keep me guessing every year.
Infodump_Ibis2026-01-31 14:03
> What's your favorite genre?
Various stats usually find it's "award winning", drama and CGDCT (i.e. slice of life).
> Which genre was strongest this year?
Slice of Life. Seen 6/10 and am I already having a hard enough time to choose (2 of the 4 I've not seen are Food Court and colours Within so wouldn't be the biggest time consumers). Would be nice to be ranked ballot as Precure is wasted vote for public and I'd feel bad if I voted for that and having my second choice ranked close 2nd in public.
Drama was also good too even if some of the choices are a little "I wouldn't have thought of that" on surface but this could be a good gateway to other genres (e.g. sports, band girls, stop-motion).
Was Maebashi Witches Drama or Slice of Life? Either way crowded genres so it didn't get a look in ([this bit of "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy"](https://frinkiac.com/caption/S05E14/1296427) is how I view how Maebashi Witches went down).
Suspense is my weakest genre (seen nothing, not even Takopii) followed by Adventure where I've only seen the niche jury pick (Nomo no Kuni - and you can too as it's free with official subs). I guess Romance as I've partly watched 2 of them.
Commentaires
This is another post in a series where the community will vote to decide the best anime of 2025 in a variety of categories over the next few weeks. Every week, we will focus on a specific set of categories encompassing different facets of anime on a storytelling, artistic, and technical level:
- Genre
- Production
- Main
While each post will highlight on a specific category group so you can space out your votes or hot takes, the website also allows you to go ahead and vote on any and all categories you would like to. So, whether you'd like to pace yourself or finish voting all in one go, both options are available to you. You may also go back and change any of your votes until final voting is closed on February 20th, as votes are auto saved for your convenience. Additionally, we've included a simplified watch statistics survey, so please fill that out if you have the time!
That being said, first up in Genre! At the start of awards, each eligible anime is allocated to their respective group(s) by the host team with input from the jury and public. The seven Genre Categories are:
- Action
- Adventure
- Comedy
- Drama
- Romance
- Slice of Life
- Suspense
Each category has ten nominees, half chosen by the public and half by a jury panel. So, make sure you vote for your favorites and defend (or shamelessly shill) your choices in the comments below!
**Today's questions:**
What's your favorite genre?
Which genre was strongest this year?
I would have to say **suspense** has the strongest overall lineup imo. Although **Slice of Life** wasn't far behind.
3 of my top 5 shows of the year ended up in that category (Apothecary S2, Hikaru, and Shoushimin S2). A few others that I didn't personally care for as much as others but were still praised widely. Will be a tough category!
- Action - Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc
- Adventure - Zenshu
- Comedy - A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof
- Drama - Orb: On the Movements of the Earth
- Romance - Watanare
- Slice of Life - Wonderful Precure!
- Suspense - Sanda (Takopi's Original Sin and The Summer Hikaru Died are also great, this was such a hard choice!)
Questions:
My favorite genre is Suspense, and it was definitely strongest this year. So many 10/10 shows it's unreal.
My Votes:
Action: MHA
Adventure: Dr Stone
Comedy: Spy x Family
Drama: Bunny Girl
Romance: My Dress-Up Darling
Slice of Life: Ruri Rocks
Suspense: Re:Zero
Drama has the strongest in my eyes, but I may be biased as a drama juror. Also drama is probably my favourite genre too.
Now for my favourite of the drama category, Orb!!! Vote Orb!!!
Orb is a very unique show within the anime medium. A historical drama with a very unusual and novel structure that compliments its themes and storytelling. Its cast is filled with complex human beings who undergo very satisfying development as we see how their interactions with their environment and others shape them. The dialogue isn’t naturalistic at all, but good dialogue doesn’t need to be. Orb’s dialogue conveys its ideas in an unrestricted form and creates fascinating discourse between its characters, often with conversations being akin to debates, which is very in character with Orb’s themes of the importance of scientific discourse.
Orb is overall a brilliant, impactful examination of history, motivation, and the power of unity to pursue goals. I don’t just think it’s one of the best anime of this year, I think it’s one of the best anime of the last decade.
As for my favourites of other genres:
Action: Chainsaw Man Reze Arc
Adventure: I haven’t seen a single one
Comedy: NinKoro
Romance: The Lenticulars
Slice of Life: Sorairo Utility
Suspense: Takopii’s Original Sin
Best Action My Hero Academia FINAL SEASON
Best Comedy Anime
SPY x FAMILY Season 3
Best Drama Orb: On the Movements of the Earth
Best Romance The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity
Best Suspense
The Apothecary Diaries Season 2
And no, it's certainly NOT because I watch trash that doesn't deserve nominations!
[](#seasonalpout)
- Action: I didn't complete a single one of them (3 drops, 1 'on hold', 5 not caught up, and 1 in waiting... I'm voting **CSM** anyway, sue me! I normally wouldn't, but I don't see any universe in which I watch it and hate it so much that I wouldn't vote for it against shows I haven't watched).
- Adventure: Only completed 1 of them, but it would likely be my #1 even if I completed them all given **Clevatess** is in my top 10 for the year.
- Comedy: Now this is my jam! Well, I still only completed 5 of those... It legitimately hurts my soul NOT to vote for Ninkoro or 100gfs, but I'm sorry, **Milky Subway** is PERFECT.
- Drama: 1 completed, 1 on hold hah; **Rock Ladies** wins!
- Romance: 3 completions; **Dress Up Darling** wins (though if I'm being honest, I liked S1 more..)
- Slice of life: 1 completion, so **Food Court** wins by default!
- Suspense: **Takopi** is my anime of the year (at least among the options they gave us) so..!
Adventure: Clevatess
Comedy: Milky Subway
Drama: Medalist
Romance: ???
Slice of Life: Food Court
Suspense: **The Summer Hikaru Died** (Also my pick for AOTY in spite of what was offered for that category)
Generally speaking drama, especially of the coming of age variety.
> Which genre was strongest this year?
Hard to say because this time around my favorites are spread around a lot. Maybe **Slice of Life** with Kimi no Iro, Ruri Rocks, Sorairo Utility, Hibimeshi and Wancure. Very good vibes in that category for the most part.
My votes:
- Action - MHA Vigilantes
- Adventure - Nomo no Kuni (it's a 30 minute short film and very endearing, [go watch it now](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2puErJ6wnmU))
- Comedy - Milky Subway
- Drama - Apocalypse Hotel
- Romance - Watanare
- Slice of Life - Kimi no Iro
- Suspense - Hikaru
Seems like it was comedy, considering I have at least watched over half the entries there! Still an easy win for **ninkoro** though
Action: Reze
adventure: clevatess
Comedy: ninkoro
drama: medalist
romance: watanare
SoL: lycoris
Suspense: Takopi
At least there's nothing in there that had a "Why on Earth did people pick this?" reaction from me this year.
[](#yuishrug)
Suspense is also quite contested, and I know that Sanda, Shoushimin and Hanako will get unfairly shafted while Apothecary Diaries, Takopi, Hikaru and CotN could rightfully place very high, but of course I'll have to go with Re:Zero on this. It's been my favourite anime since S1, and it just gets better as it goes on.
Meanwhile, funnily, SoL is not contested at all. I loved Ruri Rocks and Food for the Soul, but a mere six episode show of short-form content was one of the best series I've watched this year, and I'm completely serious about that. Lycoris Recoil: Friends Are Thieves of Time put as much enjoyment in a few minutes as other series sometimes don't even manage in full episodes. The storylines are short, but very complete and even meaningful. I just wanted to see some of my favourite characters again, and I got some of the most time-efficient entertainment I've ever watched out of it.
No time or deep want to talk about all the other categories, but also consider Zenshu for adventure. It's been almost a year, but I still think about that ending from time to time.
**Action - 1.25/10**
Completed: Dandadan s2
Incomplete: Gachiakuta
might watch soon: Chainsaw Man movie, G-Quacks
my winner/public winner/jury winner: Dandadan s2 by default/Chainsaw Man movie/Chainsaw man movie
**Adventure - \~4/10**
Completed: Zenshu, A Wild Last Boss Appeared, Clevatess
Incomplete: Shangri-La Frontier s2 (only three episodes left though)
Might watch: Campfire Cooking s2, Nomo no Kuni, Sword of the Demon Hunter
m/p/j: Zenshu/Clevatess/???
**Comedy - 6.25/10**
Completed: City, 100 GF s2, Spy x Family s3, Witch Watch, MWWW, Bad Girl
Incomplete: NinKoro
Might watch: Milky Subway, Konosuba OVA
m/p/j: City/City/Milky Subway
**Drama - 6/10**
Completed: Silent Witch, Ave Mujica, Medalist, Apocalypse Hotel, Rock is a Lady's Modesty, Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray
Might watch: Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26, Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus
m/p/j: Apocalypse Hotel/Orb/idk Uma Musume if they're not cowards
**Romance - \~5.5/10**
Completed: My Dress Up Darling s2, Fragrant Flower, Watanare, Watatabe
Incomplete: Monster Meat, A Star Brighter than the Sun, My Happy Marriage s2, Blue Box
m/p/j: Watanare/Fragrant Flower/MDUD s2
**Slice of Life - 4.75/10**
Complete: Ruri Rocks, mono, See You Tomorrow at the Food Court, Food for the Soul
Incomplete: Aharen-san s2
Might watch: Sorairo Utility, The Colors Within, Lyco-Reco shorts
m/p/j: Ruri Rocks/Lyco-Reco shorts/Sorairo Utility or mono
**Suspense - \~3.5/10**
Complete: Apothecary Diaries s2, Call of the Night s2, Shoushimin Series s2
Incomplete: Sanda, Toilet Bound Hanako-kun s2
Might watch: The Summer Hikaru Died, Re:Zero s3
m/p/j: Apothecary Diaries/Apothecary Diaries OR Takopi/Shoushimin Series s2
Action: idk Sakamoto Days is probably better than several of the nominees but I understand why it missed, I didn't watch either but Wind Breaker s2 or Kaiju no 8 s2 seem to have fallen to the curse of not quite being popular enough with the public, but not gaining any jury respect. if all ten nominees were determined by a public vote they'd be here. I'm willing to bet Kingdom is probably better than almost every actual nominee, sight unseen, but it's both deeply unpopular and not really a jury pick.
Adventure: The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World got paid dirt, pretty much. Touring After the Apocalypse would have made a little sense here.
Comedy: May I Ask for One Final Thing maybe. no but actually Let This Grieving Soul Retire s2. but idk the jury picks were mostly really solid. the thing is that Apocalypse Hotel and Rock is a Lady's Modesty should be here. also From Bureaucrat to Villainess being completely forgotten hurts, a lot.
Drama: Flower and Asura couldn't make it into a very tight category but it probably should have rather than the Sanrio thing, but the jury has BIASES. The Too Perfect Saint was decent but probably too high-mid and overshadowed by Silent Witch in that general lane. Anne Shirley is a legitimate, crazy snub that the jury should have come through for and didn't because they don't give a shit about the ostensible mission of making up for the public's stupidity. though I'm not sure what the jury is even for if not that. though given though biases Maebashi Witches would have made sense to show up here, and I expected it to. Turkey would have been a really funny choice for the jury to make, but the genre juries are always way too self-serious to do something that funny. nobody understands that Turkey is peak fiction. or that in bowling, there's always a second throw.
Romance: Yano-kun's Ordinary Days is by my reckoning better than SEVERAL jury nominees, absolute fumble here. Mikadono Sisters is a massive snub whose absence really hurts the category, but I guess the romance not being the strongest aspect hurt it with the jury??? it's kind of too awkwardly in the intersection between comedy, drama, and romance for any particular jury to come through for it even though it's better than many of those the jury did nominate. April Showers Bring May Flowers was probably hurt by not having a legal English streaming source, but it is more consistent and kind of a complete package even if the manga surely continues beyond the point it left off. it's at least better than Monster Meat Milady because it doesn't bite off more than the production is able to chew and has a great Hayamin performance. Ranma 1/2 s2 is a kind of shocking omission, but it probably fell through the cracks.
Slice of Life: Okitsura or Welcome to Japan Ms. Elf would have been fine nominees. Catch Me at the Ballpark is one I haven't seen but it has a vocal fan contingent so I'm surprised it couldn't make it here. With You and the Rain seems like a pretty wild snub, and a less biased jury would have put it over Love Live and Precure without a doubt.
Suspense: haven't seen Tasokare Hotel but some people really liked it, tight category though.
[](#fistbump)
Anne Shirley I agree was a snub, but it was divisive amongst the jury because some had problems with the pacing, so that caused it to just miss a nomination.
The drama jury is made up of different people than other categories as a reminder. The jury is a collection of many different people. We aren’t a faceless body and the tastes of people in different categories can be vastly different.
Real.
>Mikadono Sisters is a massive snub whose absence really hurts the category
Real.
**Chainsaw Man** - The easy pick for me here. Although with it being a movie and all I wouldn't be salty about either Dandadan or Solo Leveling winning it either.
- Adventure
**Zenshuu** - Another easy choice. My other favourites here would be Last Boss, Clevatess and Sword of the Demon Hunter (which might have challenged Zenshuu with better production values)
- Comedy
**Milky Subway** - First time I actually had a hard time picking a winner as it was between that and 100 Girlfriends for me. Also shoutout to Ninkoro, CITY, Witch Watch and SxF (which imo had its best season yet).
- Drama
**Apocalypse Hotel** - Strong category with seveal shows that imo would be worth the award but my heart tells me to vote for Apocalypse Hotel. Cinderella Gray is probably my runner up but of the 8 shows I watched here I genuinely enjoyed 7 of them.
- Romance
**Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi o Suru** - Almost certainly not the show I'd name if you asked me for my favourite romance of the year but since we are supposed to vote for best in category and not best at genre it is the runaway winner for me. Definitely one of the weaker categories (in part due to better choices left out).
- Slice of Life
**HibiMeshi** - Absolutely stacked category. Ruri Rocks, Food Court, Kimi no Iro and LycoReco are all shows I'd feel comfortable voting for and Aharen-san is not far behind. For now it's Hibimeshi but atm this category is probably the one I'll most likely change my votes a few times in the coming weeks lol.
- Suspense
**Shoushimin S2** - Yet another strong category. Apothecary Diaries and maybe even more so
The Summer Hikaru Died really gave Shoushimin a run for its money but especially its first arc clinches it for me. CotN rounds out my top 4 in this category. This and SoL are also the only two categories where all my picks from the nomination phase made it into the final selection.
|Category|Public Nom|Jury Nom|Voted|
:--|:--|:--|:--|
|Action|1 (2)|2 (2)|MHA Final Season|
|Adventure|3 (5)|1 (3) [DanMachi steal]|DanMachi S5|
|Comedy|1 (2)|0 (1)|SxF S3 (Nageki robbed)|
|Drama|2 (3)|2 (3)|Medalist|
|Romance|2 (3)|0 (1)|Watanare|
|SoL|2 (2)|0 (0)|Aharen S2|
|Suspense|2 (2)|1 (1)|Loulan's show|
* Adventure - Where tf is the Overlord movie?!?
* Comedy - r/anime was a mistake
* Romance - No Takamine or GOAT S4? Fine, I'll vote Watanare
* Suspense - Hope to watch CotN S2 before voting ends, though doubt it changes my vote
6/7 votes from public noms with the only exception being the jury picking an entry the public weren't allowed to vote in that genre. Surprising compared to the last couple years.
I do agree the Jury put up a decent line-up but if you're just looking for recommendations Detectives These Days Are Crazy absolutely would have been a great pick.
**Suspense** for this time. 3 of the biggest anime this year are competing in the Suspense category., and don't count Shoshimin, Call of the Night, and Sanda out as well.
**Drama** is a tight category since there are also 4 biggest anime competing (Medalist, ApoHotel, Umamusume, SBY S2), and you got Silent Witch.
It's quite a rare sight to see 2 yuri anime competing in the **Romance** category also (and meanwhile I realized ASBTTS made it while HLS didn't).
Adventure: Clevatess
Comedy: Witch Watch
Drama; Orb On the Movements of the Earth
Romance: The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity
Slice of Life: N/A
Suspense: The Summer Hikaru Died
I think Suspense had the most stacked category, followed by Action and Drama.
Category | Watched / 10 | Vote | Thoughts
---|---|----|----
**Genre**|
||
Action | 2 | Solo Leveling | The only other show I've seen here is DanDaDan and I dont think anyone wants to recap my opinions on SL vs DDD. I knew what my vote here was from day 1 and it hasnt changed.
Adventure | 6 | DanMachi V | This is Pain. DanMachi didnt even make my top 5 when I was nominating in this category and it's head and shoulders above everything else I've watched here. [](#smoke)
Comedy | 6 | Bad Girl | Should come as no surprise as I've been making my voice heard about how good Bad Girl is since the day I watched it. This is easily the strongest category for me, again, just like every other year. Not only did I have the most nominees for it, but also the most watched shows in it and probably the highest average score of all categories. Although somehow Spy x Family is here, again, which means I'm obligated to complain about SxF being here, again, just like every other year!
Drama | 2 | 🐿️ | Much like bad girl, I've also been Monica's Strongest Super Soldier since day 1. I dont think there is a single show out there that does the shy timid girl trope better than this.
Romance | 2 | Watanare | This is the only category so far where I have more than 1 show competing for my pick, as both MDUD and Watanare are very close for me, so I might change my mind in the future.
SoL | 3 | Food Court | Much like the above, Ruri Rocks and Food Court are close for me, but Im honestly leaning way more towards Food Court. This category missing [The Daily Life of a Middle-Aged Online Shopper in Another World](https://anilist.co/anime/180292/Arafou-Otoko-no-Isekai-Tsuuhan-Seikatsu/) is fucking criminal.
Suspense | 4 | Apothecary Diaries | If you've seen my top 10, you know that at the top of the list stand Apothecary Diaries and ReZero as my #1 & #2 spot and they are both in here, probably as public votes, but nontheless I am happy here. [](#feelingloved)
---
My votes and feelings havent really changed since the previous thread, except that I've now watched Wild Last Boss as my 6th adventure series.
>What's your favorite genre?
Comedy
>Which genre was strongest this year?
Also comedy, but adventure and suspense are also really good.
Because it was an action nominee for the public!
* *Adventure* - 6/10 completed - I'm going with **Zenshu** here. Such a fun twist on the isekai genre. Again, no snubs come to mind, but this isn't a genre I really seek out.
* *Comedy* - 6/10 completed - Tough choice between City and Milky Subway, but I'm going with **Milky Subway**. It's one of the funniest and most creative anime I've seen in years. As for snubs, there's a tragic lack of The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess and Detectives These Days Are Crazy.
* *Drama* - 4/10 completed - An ugly shortlist for me. I hated Orb, I refuse to watch any more Uma Musume, Ave Mujica sounds like it's made of everything that bugged me about MyGO, and I'm not interested in doing the work to catch up on Bunny Senpai. I loved Medalist, but my vote goes to **Apocalypse Hotel**. I can't believe that Anne Shirley and Cocoon aren't here. That's a shame.
* *Romance* - 8/10 completed - I am so ambivalent about romance this year. It's a particularly bad year for public and jury nominations, and my favorite romance anime aren't on the list. Since I've got no real fave, I'm voting for the shoujo, so **A Star Brighter than the Sun**. The lack of Yano-kun's Ordinary Days, KimiKoe, and April Showers Bring May Flowers is malpractice. Watatabe isn't a romance and didn't deserve to take a spot here when it didn't get into suspense. If the jury wanted to rescue something from another category, it should've been Anne Shirley after its drama snub.
* *Slice of Life* - 6/10 completed - Easy choice for me here, as **Food Court** was a complete delight every week. The biggest snub is easily With You and the Rain, which I genuinely can't understand. Captivated, by You should also be here, but this jury never nominates male cast slice of life, so that's not a surprise.
* *Suspense* - 9/10 completed - I got beef with a lot of juries, but the suspense jury is A-OK. All of the jury picks are solid choices, but I'm going with my personal AOTY **The Summer Hikaru Died**, which is actually a public nomination. I can't think of any snubs. It's a great shortlist.
How many bean counter episodes do I have to watch to make you change your vote.
[](#bigthink)
[](#concealedexcitement)
Would've been my pick if it had been there...
[](#seasonalpout)
Various stats usually find it's "award winning", drama and CGDCT (i.e. slice of life).
> Which genre was strongest this year?
Slice of Life. Seen 6/10 and am I already having a hard enough time to choose (2 of the 4 I've not seen are Food Court and colours Within so wouldn't be the biggest time consumers). Would be nice to be ranked ballot as Precure is wasted vote for public and I'd feel bad if I voted for that and having my second choice ranked close 2nd in public.
Drama was also good too even if some of the choices are a little "I wouldn't have thought of that" on surface but this could be a good gateway to other genres (e.g. sports, band girls, stop-motion).
Was Maebashi Witches Drama or Slice of Life? Either way crowded genres so it didn't get a look in ([this bit of "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy"](https://frinkiac.com/caption/S05E14/1296427) is how I view how Maebashi Witches went down).
Suspense is my weakest genre (seen nothing, not even Takopii) followed by Adventure where I've only seen the niche jury pick (Nomo no Kuni - and you can too as it's free with official subs). I guess Romance as I've partly watched 2 of them.