Nomination 1: Ame to Kimi to
Optional Positive Comment: I watched 3 episodes of this and it was cute, definitely the one I liked the best out of the eligible shows listed above! If you like a chill slice of life, this is very relaxing. I didn't continue as I'm not the biggest slice of life fan, but if that's your thing, this is a real keeper!
The following shows are not technically eligible, because they are TOO unsupported!? I don't understand why an unsupported shows event has a minimum member count, but here are three awesome shows with less than 35k entries that you should totally check out, as unofficial nominations! They would definitely be my 3 nominations if the minimum entries requirement was lifted, and are the 3 best unsupported shows of the season in my eyes.
Unofficial Nomination 1: Turkey!
Optional Positive Comment: I recommend going into this one blind if you don't yet know spoilers. Turkey! is an absolutely wild and unapologetically creative original anime about girls in a bowling club. The stakes get higher than you could ever imagine, the characters and their relationships are wonderful, the plot is endlessly intriguing, and the OP is a total banger. My biggest pleasant surprise of the Summer 2025 season. Episode 6 in particular blew me away with its character work. I don't want to say more and ruin the surprises, but this is one of the most creative things I've seen in a while.
Unofficial Nomination 2: Ginga Tokkyuu Milky☆Subway
Optional Positive Comment: Milky Subway is an indie anime primary created by Youhei Kameyama and a small team of assistants. It's a short-form anime with each episode less than 4 minutes long, and available in its entirety on Youtube for free, so it's super quick to catch up on! It's a hilarious and witty comedy about aliens and cyborgs arrested for petty crime, doing community service on the space subway together, when something goes horribly wrong. The characters feel so fleshed out despite the short runtime, and it's easily the best short-form anime of the year. It's an expansion on the 3-minute short film Milky☆Highway, so definitely watch that first.
Unofficial Nomination 3: Karaoke Iko!
Optional Positive Comment: A 5-episode dramedy about a yakuza who forces a middle school choir boy to teach him to sing karaoke so he can avoid coming in last place in his yazuka family's karaoke competition. One of the best coming of age stories I've seen in a while, the whole thing feels almost like a metaphor for growing up, as Satomi grapples with the fantastical yakuza problem he's been dropped into at the same time as the very grounded fear of losing his singing talent as he enters puberty and his voice changes. The two central characters and their dynamic are really interesting. There's also a much more chill companion anime set in the same universe called Muchuu sa, Kimi ni., a vaguely gay slice of life about an all-boys school, which is very cute, but Karaoke Iko! is definitely the better of the two. |