20. Blue Lock Season 2 (Muneyuki Kaneshiro, 8bit)
As usually in sports anime, the series follows the shonen recipe with the protagonists meeting stronger and stronger opponents, losing, training, winning and again from the beginning, along with the flashbacks during the game/battle that present the background of the various characters appearing in the series. Furthermore, even the smallest aspect of the game, like a pass, a dribble or a tackle is presented as a feat of tremendous proportions, while the goals are highlighted in a way that can only be described as earth-shuttering.
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19. The Dangers in My Heart Season 2 (Hiroaki Akagi, Shin-Ei Animation)
One of the main reasons “The Dangers in My Heart” season two does so well is its ability to appeal to a variety of anime fans. While romance is often perceived as more geared towards females in most mediums, anime is one of the few spaces where it feels as though entertainment value transcends gender and genre for many viewers. There are even a few incredibly loyal viewers who will even keep up with every premiere in an anime season despite the premise, which means capturing their attention and praise can be especially hard. Yet “The Dangers in My Heart” does this by creating a space that is easy to feel seen in and relate to. It’s a romance but also a “firsts” love story: first crushes, first conversations, first touches, first dates. Regardless of age or experience, the feelings of giddy excitement and awkwardness that come with these moments are something many audience members likely remember or are experiencing for themselves right now. Sharing experiences with the characters not only makes them easier to relate to when watching but also easier to root for, which keeps you coming back each week. (Nubia Jade Price)
18. Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 (Hiroki Hirano, Studio Bind)
One of the greatest strengths of the “Jobless Reincarnation” anime is its ability to formulate an incredibly captivating story. Everything from pacing to action to character development often feels well-timed and thoroughly explained. The drama and tones are balanced, so it’s rare that a scene or moment feels out of place. As far as fantasy series go, especially isekai, there is a lot that “Jobless Reincarnation” gets right. The author, Rifujin na Magonote, clearly knows how to craft a narrative and keep the audience’s attention. Even with the regular time skips, a rotating cast of characters, and numerous fantasy elements, the series never becomes too complicated to follow. However, while the overall plot is well written, the main issue with “Jobless Reincarnation” has more to do with the overall romance issues. (Nubia Jade Price)
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17. Shangri-La Frontier (Toshiyuki Kubooka, C2C)
Does this realism of SLF diminish its enjoyment as a shonen anime? Not quite. The design of the treatment from the source novel gives the series a chance to avoid the pitfalls of recent anime trends. For example we can look at SLF’s treatment of the isekai trope. Commonly, a sense of being trapped is given in some earlier isekai titles which limits the narrative directions that the other titles can take. In SLF, there is a sense of openness in the way the story lets the players jump between the game and real life without a hitch. There is not much of a structure or rules between the worlds. SLF is a video game, and gamers log out for whatever reason. This realism gives SLF a kind of looseness that contrasts the recent isekai tropes that lean towards stiffness and a claustrophobic atmosphere. (Jeffrey Deyto)
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16. Demon Slayer: Hashira Training Arc (Haruo Sotozaki, Ufotable)
Nevertheless, the aspect that always made “Demon Slayer” stand out is the action, and it is easy to say that the quality of it, particularly in the final episodes, is of astonishing level, on par with that of movies. Especially the way the fires are implemented, the way the traps are presented, and the appearance of so many characters on screen at the same time, is a true wonder to watch, in a testament to the quality of Ufotable animation, but also Akira Matsushima‘s character design and the overall background drawing. Add to all that the depiction and the overall way the Infinity Castle becomes part of the story and you have an audiovisual aspect that is enough to make anyone forget any of the shortcomings of the series. One thing about the character design, though. The majority of women characters, and particularly some of the younger/smaller ones, with their huge eyes without pupils, emit an intense sense of creepiness, which is as unique as it is disturbing on occasion.
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15. Bleach Thousand Years Blood War Season 3 (Taito Kubo, Studio Pierrot)
To get to the focus of the anime, however, the battles here are probably the most impressive we have ever seen in the series, particularly as both the heroes and the villains continue to unleash more and more devastating techniques. Particularly Senjumaru’s Bankai, Ichibe’s control of Black, Shunsui’s kabuki-like bankai and Mayuri’s appallingly experimental techniques are a true wonder to watch, with the Quincy’s own matching them, to a point at least, while Uhwach’s eyes will definitely stay in mind, in their horrific depiction. The animation by Studio Pierrot finds its apogee in these scenes, with the whole series however, retaining a similar, rather high level.
14. Bang Brave Bang Bravern (Masamo Obari, Cygames Pictures)
Evidently, and in probably the most entertaining aspect of the series, “Bang Brave Bang Bravern” mocks almost every cliche of the mecha category, with the majority of parody being reserved for “Evangelion”. The concept of the reluctant pilot of a living mecha maybe one of the most common of the genre, but here it is presented in hilarious fashion, with Brave stating repeatedly that he loves Isami, and that he is the only one who can pilot him, in a way filled with sexual implication about all kinds of penetration that are bound to make anyone laugh. The whole concept of the cockpit and how it is filled with liquid on occasion also points towards the same direction, as the fact that the mechas will not accept anyone as their pilot, but the way they throw up the ones they deny is equally funny.
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13. Undead Unluck (Yuki Yase, David Production)
As you can understand, this is an absurd story, which follows one of the new trends of shonen and shonen-like anime, of taking “loans” from various titles of the past, although the way Yuki Yase implements them here, makes his effort anything but ‘copying’. One can definitely see a bit of “Trigun” while some “Bleach” elements with the appearance of the two groups and the twist that appears later on are also quite evident. Furthermore, the round table and the book that gives quests, rewards and intense punishments have obvious medieval and biblical connotation, particularly with the “Babel Tower’ arc.
12. Girls Band Cry (Kazuo Sakai, Toei Animation)
The vivacious pacing adorns a plot willing to meander here and there to explore various aspects of the main characters’ lives. The anime keeps the laughs coming with running gags, and in some interesting cases the narration takes the form of a polyrhythmic structure, like during the etude of improvisation of episode 4. But it’s the CGI technique that increases the overall quality of fast-paced shots during the live performances. (Antonio Danese)
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11. Kaiju No. 8 (Shigeyuki Miya and Tomomi Kamiya, Production I.G.)
At its heart, “Kaiju No. 8’s” premise isn’t one anime fans have not seen before. The main character becoming the very monster they’re fighting is the same storyline viewers have seen in popular series like “Attack on Titan” and “Tokyo Ghoul.” It’s a setup that works almost every time, drawing people by creating an instant moral dilemma that’s hard not to be enamored by. However, “Kaiju No. 8” sets itself apart in several ways to give this idea its unique twists. Like many main characters before him, Kafka still falls into the pathetically average main guy with a strong sense of justice category. The fact that he’s an older, struggling main character and the foggy prior relationship between him and the Captain allows the audience to approach the trope from a different direction. Small choices like this humanize Kafka by showing how normal and relatable he is, despite his circumstances. That angle, mixed with the lore of the world and the kaiju, really sells the show from the beginning and sets it apart from other similar anime.
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