Interest Stacks

Honorable Mention: I don't doubt that all the animators who worked on this show were genuinely passionate about Fujimoto's manga and wanted to realize his best ideas on the big screen, and there are moments of brilliance that shine through, whether through sheer force of will or as a testament to Fujimoto's unshaken genius, but it is just as, if not more often, a poorly directed facsimile of said genius, with horrendously ugly CG work and many shots feeling underwhelming compared to the incredibly expressive manga panels. MAPPA's continued attempts to be a mini-Ufotable with their disgustingly plastic layers of post-processing never failed to churn my stomach, as did their continuously awkward use of the 3D camera, and it's amazing that I even managed to enjoy this despite all its disagreeable qualities and the striking failure to add anything of value to a sequence of monochrome still images. This may seem harsh, but the fact it isn't on my favorites list makes me upset, too.

Honorable Mention: Mitsuo Iso's latest love letter to odd techno-futurism. Glad he's back. In terms of writing/scenario, it's not quite up to the standard set by him and Kenichi Yoshida's brilliant directing and visual design. Frankly, it was kind of boring and juvenile, but undeniably pretty to look at, so at least there's reason to believe in the Dead Dead Demon's production.

Honorable Mention: I do have my issues, especially with lacking characterization, narrative focus, and my usual distaste for A-1's bland visual design, but it hit where it mattered most: the action. Pretty hype. I've wanted another entry in the "girls with guns" anime genre for so long, too, so it deserves a shout-out from me.

#10: Stupidly endearing. They don't get much respect or recognition for this, but PA Works has always gone above and beyond on the most left field ideas and it's great. I mean, this show has amazing dance/performance sequences without any CG or rotoscoping to speak of, insane! They usually fumble when it comes to execution, often the writing. This one though? It had a real heart. A banger OP doesn't hurt either.

#9: Latinos can slow down time. As a cyberpunk anime, there's many others that actually capture "cyberpunk" and its thematic potential and aesthetic better (GiTS, Texhnolyze, Psycho-Pass), but it was thoroughly enjoyable as a Trigger animation spectacle despite its soulless existence as a video game cashgrab. Rebecca, also. She bad.

#8: My pick for best romance of the year, and it's not even close. Tackles a lot of cute dating-related dilemmas while being tinged in a fun Sentai aesthetic that evokes a fanfiction-esque satisfaction. Desumi is so beautiful omg.

#7: The crowd-pleaser series, but it actually managed to please even me. It's the most basic shit, but the writing is genuinely funny while expertly balancing wacky nonsense with actual stakes.

#6: Comfy iyashikei of the year. An original at that, surprisingly! Soft, gorgeous art direction and simple, but endearing characters atop a fun techno-futurist backdrop. Love me my commentary on the singularity. Some yuri undertones, too. That's cool I guess. The main duo reminds me of Konata and Kagami from LUCKY STAR!

#5: PRODUCTION I.G THE GOATS!!! A visual and directorial masterpiece, simple as.

#4: Yuasa was like "I'mma make an epic spiritual historical rock ballad about breaking tradition and being rad" and I sat my white ass down and listened.

#3: Impressive display of animation talent. Honestly the most fun viewing experience I had this year, thanks to an ingenious setting that made for crazy sick parkour scenes. The romance theming was simple, but far better executed than a lot of Shinkai's drivel, frankly.

#2: If Kinema Citrus needs to keep producing Rising of the Goyslop Hero for money to perfect this wondrous, beautiful expression of the limits of our species and the curse of knowledge, then all is forgiven.

#1: Well, we ALL know K-On perfected the CGDCT genre a decade ago, and the emotional pathos, meticulous detail, and directorial brilliance of that series will never be replicated, but this is great, too! It's a 4-koma adaptation that actually has OOMF behind the production, breathing life into its jokes, which are already amusing by themselves. Lots of sakuga moments and character acting, and it doesn't feel weighed down by the pace of its source material. Ever since Doga Kobo succumbed to the "Curse of Mid," it's nice to finally have a good one of these for once. I might give Made in Abyss a higher score overall, but I think this deserves anime of the year.