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!
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.
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
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).
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.
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...
@riskable@programming.dev @anime@ani.social
That's all it really is tbh, and good music. The animation is insanely good and would've kept me hooked if it wasn't for incredibly obnoxious side characters (Zenitsu mainly)
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?