2021 was one of the most significant years for me as both a human being and as an anime enthusiast. I moved from one corner of the United States to the other, including doing the actual drive instead of flying. It’s the largest uprooting of my life since I first moved out of my mom’s house over a decade ago. I also visited my father’s family for the first time in over 13 years. These long-awaited reunions partnered with bittersweet goodbyes to my Florida friends carved new perspectives and appreciation into my brain. It was also just A LOT of love. I think I told people I love them more this year than all my other years of living combined. I even dyed my hair for the first time in my life. I don’t even know who I am anymore! I’m also basically restarting my work life with some new year and new life resolutions. One of which is to really just get back into discussing anime for and with the anime audience. It’s a conversation that, frankly, never ever gets old.
While I cleared out the most anime from my backlog in a single year ever, I already did a write up about that in my last post. This time we’re talking about 2021.What better way to do that than reflecting and musing on everything that the year offered us? And this time I want to do this in written AND video format, with the video coming later. 2021 departed with me being more satisfied with anime than I have been in quite a few years and I honestly just want to get right into this. But, since I always like to be thorough, we’re gonna talk about every 2021 anime I watched, including the bad ones, and start from the crap of the crop to the cream of the crop.
Shaman King – 5/10 (Dropped)
I am always on the hunt for the next captivating shounen. The one that just pulls me in so much that just thinking about scenes from it creates a pressure in my chest from how riveting they are. After watching the 2021 reboot of Shaman King I can safely say that the hunt continues completely unabated. Shaman King didn’t necessarily do anything bad. It just also didn’t do anything to catch or keep my interest across the 2 episodes I watched. I couldn’t even make it to the benchmark third episode. It was definitely the generic action that dampened my fun. In another life where I have more time I could have perhaps entertained this one more, but considering it’s already at roughly 40 episodes, that is a time sink I’m unwilling to commit to. Sorry Shaman Kings fans, (including the one I personally know) maybe I’ll join you on the next 20 year reboot.
Sakugan – 6/10 (Dropped)
Sakugan started off by promising a refreshing adventure that borrowed elements of Made in Abyss and Gurren Lagann for something novel. But that novelty wore off very quickly and I realized that I did not want my Made in Abyss ketchup mixed with Gurren Lagann peanut butter, so I eventually caved in and dropped it. The main characters were fairly engaging, only in that they were spirited and excited. But the plot leaned heavily on their father/daughter dynamic, and it’s one that just fell very short to me. The general spectacle of the action and monsters also felt disappointing overall so I was just running out of things to keep me going with this one.
The Promised Neverland 2 – 6/10
This one I finished out of my pure devotion and love to the first season. The premiere season was my anime of the year for 2019. I was clamoring that it was one of the finest examples of the suspense genre done right in the purest sense of the word. The directing was impressively methodical, and the pace was a perfect drip feed of slow but solid pieces of intrigue and mystery.
The second season expanded the scope, and with it, lost the focus of the first season which was, in my mind, its greatest strength. It still started fine, however. The first few episodes I was still very pleased and eager for the journey to continue. A bunch of kids training to hunt and survive in the wilderness appealed to the gritty action fan in me. But as I waited for an episode to hearken back to the caliber of the first season, too many episodes just whisked by, and eventually, the plot started dropping in massive, unrefined chunks rather than the delicately woven style of the first. Norman catalyzed so many changes in the story that all happened behind the scenes, that I felt like I was journeying with the wrong group of characters.
A third season to flesh out Norman’s side could have done a lot, but even that wouldn’t have made up for a lackluster ending that skimped on the animation side draining the finale of its visual impact. There was a lot of good things still running under the hood, but the presentation of it suffered a lot. When your first season ran like a well-oiled machine, it feels much more noticeable when the gears start to grind. It was just too bumpy of a ride. It makes me much more hesitant to recommend this series now, but I’ll always stand by the merits of season 1.
Komi Can’t Communicate – 6/10 (Dropped)
I’m a pretty big fan of quirky rom-coms with a fun hook so I thought it would be smooth sailing for this warm-hearted little anime. Because of my general disposition, I was a bit surprised by my lack of engagement by the time the credits of the fourth episode rolled by. For one, the romantic half of the rom-com just wasn’t clicking. And by romantic, I don’t even specifically mean relationship development, but just the emphasis on the emotional state of the characters and the fuzziness accompanying their interactions. That felt lacking.
The comedic bits were similarly effective. I chuckled here and there, but the one-note joke definitely wasn’t as flexible as I’d hoped. Komi has trouble talking in public and I appreciate any story that draws attention to social struggles like that, but the constant misinterpreting of her intent by the secondary cast was always so obtuse that I lost any actual empathy I had built up.
I also might have a bone to pick with the main character who I find frustratingly stagnant. I never really saw him make any kind of noteworthy interaction with Komi aside from the beautiful ending of episode 1. That ending sold me on the anime, by the way, but that feeling was never replicated. Instead I just found myself wishing I was seeing things from anyone’s perspective besides the one I was in.
Tokyo Revengers – 6.5/10 (Dropped)
I wrote a bit about Tokyo Revengers on my last post so I’ll sum it up more quickly here. I made it through episode 12, to the end of the first “arc.” I had a great time with it and particularly loved Mike and Draken. But the conclusion of the first arc did a lot to turn me away. Takemichi’s actions during episode 12 felt like they back-pedaled on a lot of his development. Why he went from being comfortable with Hinata to utterly afraid to ask her if she liked him immediately after saving her life and risking his own multiple times, I’ll never know.
The set up for the following episodes felt like too much of a rewind, so I kind of live in my own fabricated fan fiction where Takemichi handled everything just fine and the series ended right where I left it. Maybe I’ll go back to it but at the moment I’m going to leave it alone.
Yasuke – 6.5/10 (Dropped)
Yasuke on paper felt like a really sick project. A biopic with a dash of steampunk and fantasy about the first recorded African samurai felt like a recipe for success. I can’t forget to mention the soundtrack by Flying Lotus that I still keep on my playlists.
But the actual story of the anime felt weak and dry. When it wasn’t predictable, it simply continued to be rather uninteresting. The mashup of mechs and combat just was not appealing to me either. The parts that were flashy were the parts that I didn’t care about. Yasuke just kind of came and went with a complete feeling of flatness, carried solely by a kick ass beats.
Higehiro – 6.5/10
Higehiro was going to by my guilty pleasure spicy pick of the season. Then I was pleasantly surprised by its more grounded approach to the eyebrow raising premise of taking a stranded teenage girl home with you. While the lite eroticism and flirting was laid on fairly heavily in the beginning, there was always this sense of actual character writing that helped make this situation feel real and not a fan service pipe dream.
The main character was also surprisingly competent and much more mature in his handling of the situation than I expected. But even with all this, the anime still followed a pretty predictable path. The emotional pathos was rather exceptional and something about these character will really stick with me more than most anime of this caliber. But in the end, it was a seemingly bad anime that turned out good, but not really anything noteworthy on its own.
Takt Op Destiny – 7/10 (Dropped)
Takt Op Destiny had something of a trifecta: Beautiful characters, well animated action scenes, and classical music. I wouldn’t have thought I’d need more than that, and maybe if my mood was different at the time I would have continued it. But turns out I did need more.
I needed more connection with the main character. This guy loves music so much he’s developed unnaturally awkward habits of trying to play music even when no instruments are there. But I don’t get why he loves it or appreciates it. I needed better enemies. The monsters they were fighting felt like there were no stakes, even when there “were” I didn’t feel it. The narrative tension wasn’t there, and tension in battle anime is extremely important.
Surprisingly, I also needed more classical music! Anime like Revue Starlight showed me that battle anime and music can go hand in hand in spectacular fashion. Takt Op Destiny played off its musical identity rather lightly and I think I would have preferred they went all in on that aspect of the show. So I did eventually drop it after episode 5 but it was an internal debate to do so for sure. I do have some curiosity as to where the anime ended up going so please let me know if you continued it!
The Faraway Paladin – 7/10 (Dropped)
I just couldn’t help feel like I was watching “Poor Man’s Mushoku Tensei” as I was watching The Faraway Paladin. The 50/50 split of isekai setup and parental upbringing really drew the comparisons close, but this anime did have a unique cast of characters that I did really enjoy. Getting raised by a bunch of ghouls and ghosts sounds like a spooky good time.
But really, if there’s one genre you can’t afford to be generic in, it’s the isekai genre. If you have a classical fantasy world, then you have to remind the audience why this world inspired countless people before, but instead this just made me want to leave the fiction and come back to reality. One of my drop conditions is a question of whether I’m going to get anything new or rewarding out of continuing an anime. If it seems I’ve already exhausted most or all of what the anime can bring to the table then it’s usually goodbye. That was the case with The Faraway Paladin. I did not feel like continuing it would contribute anything to me that I didn’t already experience in the early episodes. The premise felt spent already.
My Hero Academia 5 – 7/10
This was the first time My Hero Academia’s training arc was more entertaining than its actual arc. The 5 vs 5 capture the teammate competition was thrilling and had some of the most impactful fights in the series’ history. Mudman vs Ingenium was an episode I had to stop and post about on social media because it was just so wonderfully animated.
But then along came the “My Villain Academia” arc and it felt like Ingenium took all the momentum with him. There were a lot of side plots going on, and none of them really felt like they carried the story. Endeavor’s family had some interesting moments but Todoroki has become a rather monotonous character now. Tomura as the new protagonist really only felt engaging during his “awakening” episode. That was a standout episode by the way, but it wasn’t enough to save the oddly vacant feeling of the season overall. I would have rather watched a second round of all those team fights during the training arc.
Re Zero 2nd Season Part 2 – 7/10
A lot of the anime I write about comes with a slight feeling of guilt or misguided opinion because I have pretty bad memory, and on top of keeping up with shows weekly, I already forget things even if I can binge them. I only say this because most of what caused my general discomfort with Re Zero’s entire second season is the fact that I simply do not remember or understand almost any of the character’s motives and goals.
Re Zero had some powerful episodes with incredible direction, animation, and acting. But as good as those moments were, it all buckled under the pressure from a continually mystifying and confusing plot and characters that I didn’t understand because I no longer even understood what their focus was. That’s not necessarily a bad thing because ulterior motives is a ripe product of a good mystery. But wherein a mystery has a story good at conveying both the “fake” persona and the “real” one, Re Zero’s entire plot progression was even a murky quagmire of misunderstood intentions. I forgot why we were in the forest town. I forgot why we were trying to get out. I forgot who was trying to get out. I forgot what the consequences would be of almost everyone’s actions. What happens if Subaru fails? If Emilia fails? If Subaru succeeds? What is Roswaal doing? Is anything going to plan to anyone?!
The confusion was aggravating, but the emotional highs were still stellar by comparison. I will definitely be back for more Re Zero, but it was dangerously close to losing me this time.
That Time I Was Reincarnated as a Slime 2nd Season – 7/10
Slime, as I will very conveniently call it, has done what few anime can do, and that is get me completely interested even if nothing is happening except idle conversation. Rimuru will often have to have meetings with his followers and plan out the city. Boring stuff, as it should be, but not in this isekai. Maybe it helps that the characters are such great eye candy. Varied inspirations and styles of fashion litter the meeting room as you watch Rimuru’s posse grow to a remarkable cast.
But that doesn’t mean I want you to talk for 5 straight episodes, Rimuru! Slime rests on its laurels a little too much for me to rank it any higher. I think there’s quite a bit of bloat or wasted runtime that unfortunately robs this anime of making it higher on the rankings. Both season one and season two started off on the right foot and ended on the wrong foot. I think I could be happy if it kept up that rate for future seasons, but I do hope they can improve all the same because I think Slime’s foundation is strong. It’s just very thinly spread.
Bakuten – 7.5/10
Bakuten was a delightful sports anime with most of my favorite trappings of the genre. We have that wonderful air of enthusiasm where you start to siphon the feelings of the athletes as they boldly state what inspires them so much about their sport of choice; this time rhythmic gymnastics. We have the infectious camaraderie and reinvigorating bonds of the team mates who watch each others’ backs and only hope for each other’s success. And we have the sport itself, always treated like a glorious set piece by the animators because they damned well better sell the sport if they want us to get invested in it.
So while all of those things were working in Bakuten’s favor, I would be remiss to not mention that this is about as predictable as it gets. If this would be your first sports anime then perhaps this would feel revolutionary, but the more sports anime you watch, the less Bakuten will stand out. The worst offender though, is the main character who I believe is just a little too happy-go-lucky. I find it hard to describe him because he’s just the eager mcbeaver who wants to win the the senpais no matter what. And when I say no matter what, I mean that’s basically all he is. No matter what, he just always acts like that, to his detriment.
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train – 7.5/10
This is the movie turned into a series format for an alternative form of consumption. It worked out for me because I never dragged myself out to watch it in theatres. This movie shattered sales records all over the world so I was pretty stoked to see what all the hype was about. If I had to guess though, I think that hype largely transpired in the last act of the film/series.
The first parts felt like an elongated villain of the week with your standard dose of comic relief by sleepy zappy pants and Mr. Dumb as a Boarknob. For the record, Inosuke is fantastic all the time. But Zenitsu is still insufferable to me.
It wasn’t until the Flame Hashira had to step up to the final fight that the stakes finally felt properly elevated and dished out. This was the fight that reminded me why I like Demon Slayer, and why ufotable is never a company to scoff at. It was one of the most memorable moments of the series so far, and I hope there is many more to come. I didn’t immediately jump into the official start of season 2. I wanted to start that along all the other winter anime that start in the more traditional early January slots after finishing this write up.
Sk8 the Infinity – 8/10
Sk8 might just be the most ridiculous anime on this list and I’m very proud of it for embracing the utter chaos that is unrealistic downhill skateboarding. While I tend to gravitate to the more realistic sports anime, or at least anime that only visually embellish realistic techniques, I gotta say that Sk8 really just cuts loose.
Every character from our loving protagonist and his relatable inferiority complex, to the overly theatrical and dance-infused supervillain (that’s right SUPERvillain) is given enough ample spotlight to win you over. Sk8 is here to make you have fun and feel good about the world. This whole town has nothing better to do than to congregate at the skate course and bet on whos going to win. Skating means everything in this world, and it started to alleviate my own concerns and stress as I was watching it. It’s a great way to recharge on your good vibes.
Lupin III Part 6 – 8/10
I was very late to the Lupin train and jumped on for Part 5 which I wholeheartedly enjoyed. I think Lupin is the perfect hijinks anime. We return to our undefeatable sharp-witted cast and I always just leave it to the writers to come up with whatever crazy scheme they get up to each week. Lupin III also boasts some seriously charming background art. I remember stopping to screencap and share some of them when I first started and part 6 is delivering as well.
Part 6 is just a tad behind my enjoyment of Part 5 however. It’s been much more episodic, and I’m not sure if I enjoyed the first main arc as much as the main one from Part 5 with the hacker girl. But we’re technically only halfway through so I have no doubts regardless. I particularly enjoyed a standalone episode that got about as weird as I’ve seen Lupin go, treading deep into religious symbolism and the realm of the fantastical, complete with an ironic twist that only Lupin III can so deftly deliver.
Those Snow White Notes – 8/10
Music themed anime has been blessed by some incredible productions and I’m always in the mood for another to join the ranks. Those Snow White Notes had a lot of potential to make it there. I think the respect for the art form is abundantly clear. Research into both classic and contemporary styles were clearly thorough, and it was complemented with lush, vibrant performance scenes that are always the hallmark of a classic music anime.
But a classic this is not, at least not quite yet. The season ended with a clear indicator that there is more story to tell. Who knows if a sequel will get greenlit but this is basically a journey still in the midst. While it started melodramatically and I was ready for the main character to stop being obsessed with “finding his sound,” I eventually warmed up to him, and many others, especially when it came time for him to impart his techniques onto others exponentializing my investment into his success.
At it’s worst, Those Snow White Notes is still eye-opening to any that haven’t delved into professional shamisen playing before. One of my favorite things about sports, hobby, and profession based anime is the educational side of it. Some are more peculiar about the details but all of them give me newfound appreciation for something I never did before, so long as the anime itself isn’t dull. Those Snow White Notes definitely isn’t dull, but it simply hasn’t reached a conclusion, and therefore, on its merits as a great music anime, I also haven’t quite reached my conclusion. Please give us a second season to deliberate this further.
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S – 8/10
The slice of life anime that took the anime community by storm has returned for its fateful second season. I feel like it’s rare for a comedy or slice of life show to really get as much attention upon returning as this one so it was pretty exciting to see what was in store for not just me, but everyone on the hype train. Lo and behold, what awaited us was some darn big boobas.
Really, the first season was already raising my eyebrows, but if this anime made any objective improvements, its definitely in cup size. Despite that though, it just means Miss Kobayashi is just another anime I keep tight to my chest to not suffer judgmental stares from my room mates. Otherwise this is just another grand old time with some of the most fun characters of the year.
It’s honestly these characters vignettes that really give the show its warmth. It’s like a dysfunctional family that at least works in the ways that really matter. I’m not sure if I’m the biggest fan of the new dragon, Ilulu in the house compared to Tohru and Kanna, but her episodes definitely fleshed her out more than I expected. I think I rated this just a tad lower than first season, but only because I think the new characters and stories aren’t quite on the same tier as the old characters in my opinion. We are, admittedly, splitting hairs at this point.
Wonder Egg Priority – 8/10
Wonder Egg Priority was this close; THIS CLOSE; to being a masterpiece. It has been a long time since a violently colorful and hyper-abstract anime confidently embodied so much quality. Everything from the wacky dreamscapes to the achingly sensitive subject matter made this a triumphant anime. It sported some of the most bombastic sequences I saw this year as well as some of the most intimate and emotional.
Why, oh why did the ending have to slip so badly? It’s like the roller coaster that was The Promised Neverland but in the space of just a final episode. It was like watching a juggler sucessfully throw a wrench into his act, then a chair, then a vehicle, but as they all get thrown up for the final catch, everything just catapults all over the ground as the show comes to a screeching halt. You wouldn’t want to recommend that show anymore right? That’s how I feel about Wonder Egg Priority. It was the act to see, up until it wasn’t.
I would still encourage anyone to try it, but only to safeguard their disappointment wisely. I wish I could score it higher. I almost want to cheat on its behalf, but I just can’t rank it any higher than an 8. When reviewing anime, I generally remember the highs and ignore the lows if the highs are truly that good, but the ending is one thing you have to stick if almost every plotline is built up to that climax.
Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song – 8/10
Vivy is probably the best “this shouldn’t be as good as it is” anime of the year. On your left you have a shining shimmering idol robot singing and dancing with a goal of spreading happiness through music. On your right you have an apocalyptic massacre as androids start slaughtering humans. Somewhere in the middle, Vivy stands ready to save lives because in her mind, how can you make people happy if they are dead?
It’s logic that shouldn’t work, but if computers run off of ifs and thens, then I guess I have no further objections. Carry on, Vivy, because whenever she opens up a can of whoop ass, the whole anime community should be watching. Vivy packed some of the best fight scenes of the year by far. The choreography for some of the fights was extremely lengthy. Usually you expect some quick cuts, some dialogue to build tension, and then one or two moves that are actually fully animated to end the bout. Not here though, because the fight scenes in Vivy pull the camera back and let the characters duke it out in full, something not seen as often in animation.
But if I only talked about the fights then I’d be missing a huge part of Vivy’s reasoning for being, and that is purpose, and the many philosophical quandaries in discovering it. Especially when it comes to artificial intelligence. I won’t say it’s the most thought provoking exploration of the matter, but I can say it’s one of the most evocative. We are still talking about robot idols, so coupled with some of the more heavy exposition are gorgeous melodies that populate the wonderful soundtrack. I think the story did get a bit messy, which robbed some of the punches of their power, but in the end this really was a memorable new anime.
Blue Period – 8/10
I’ll address the main issue at hand here. Blue Period should look better than this. Blue Period does seem fine, but in an age where a single punchline rom-com has better art than almost all of anime from earlier years, an anime about art itself should really go above and beyond that.
Besides that, welcome to one of the most rewarding shows I watched this year! Blue Period is an adaptation, and one that I am hearing from manga fans is fairly rushed, of an award winning manga. It was one I was looking forward to and was resisting reading the manga only because I knew an anime announcement was inevitably going to happen. I prefer to watch over read because I enjoy the music and animation so much that it’s hard for me to attempt to immerse myself in a story without those qualities.
If one thing’s clear, Blue Period’s writing is simply top tier. Art is dissected into so many qualities, angles, and approaches that I felt like I was getting a crash course into not only what art is, but who artists are. What makes certain artists tick? What are the goals of some of the most dedicated students chasing an art career? Is it even an art career they want? As someone who went to college (and failed) for art, this was just some of the most insightful and reflective stuff I’ve ever seen.
Sure it may be rushed. Sure the animation is kind of stiff. Sure I probably would have been better off just reading the manga anyways because it’s the writing that swept me away in the first place. But regardless, the anime exists and I think it proved itself to be an incredible story with some amazing introspection and offers a very unique perspective into a very bold way of life.
Heike Monogatari – 8/10
Almost as if to serve as an example of an artsy anime with the animation to back it, Heike Monogatari comes along as the absolute most beautiful show of the year. It’s honestly baffling. It made my eyes water just peering at my screen, like I was getting gifted with extraordinary scenery that I’m simply not used to. Heike Monogatari would have been the horse I bet on if I were to try to predict my anime of the year prior to watching any of them. My favorite anime director, Naoko Yamada, who helmed a few precious projects that I keep close to my heart, was tackling a historical retelling, and I felt like if anyone could get me into history, she could.
Well, this anime did two things for me. One, it reinforced why Naoko Yamada is my creator of choice. The intimate directing style, symbolic floral language, and her indelible entwining of music and motion were all in full force here. Every episode deserves a write up on their artistic merits alone. Singling out the final episode, I think the ending of Heiki Monogatari was one of my favorite episodes of the year. Everything I expected from Naoko Yamada’s style was cranked up to a ten.
But the second thing I learned is that Naoko isn’t perfect, and neither is this retelling. While this story is carved deep into the history or Japanese tradition and storytelling, I simply don’t think this narrative was quite the tour de force that her previous works were. There were too many characters. There was more confusion. More jumps across the timeline. This anime took on a much larger plot, and I think it is enough to alienate the emotional investment of the viewer. The anime original stand in character was a novel idea. I think without that we would have been dehydrated from the dryness, but it wasn’t enough to keep this anime from lacking in accessibility. Because of that I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, but that this was an experiment that bore less fruit than normal in Yamada’s repertoire.
Yuru Camp Season 2 – 8.5/10
I am quite the homebody that will generally only go outside for social or shopping reasons. I’m never the type to want to go out for a hike or swim, or to need “fresh air.” That being said, I do like exploring and roaming. Some of my favorite memories are when I was very young in an unfamiliar area and I was left to my own wits and wiles to find my way to my destination. Yuru Camp, despite being an anime all about camping, which I’d never do or suggest on my own, has a main character that I still idolize and get inspired by. That is Rin Shima with her preternatural wanderlust.
Yuru Camp as a whole is an extremely consistent experience. If you like the first episode, chances are you’ll like every other episode just about the same. Their formula is proven, and the second season just saw them sticking to their guns. Those guns being: breathtaking vistas and adorable gals. This anime is firmly in the “cute girls doing things” subgenre but I’d argue that there’s less emphasis on their cuteness than most of its ilk. Instead, nothing takes center stage more often than the geography of the places they travel to and camp at. It almost doubles as a nature documentary, complete with it’s own attenborough-esque narrator.
If anyone were seriously considering visiting Japan, I’d highly recommend this anime. The number of locales that could really beef up your trip is staggering. This anime really takes pride in showing just how bountiful Japan’s geogrophy is. Alternatively, if you just want some of the coziest cutest characters out there snuggling up around a campfire, then grab a camping chair and pop a squat. Enjoy the warmth.
Horimiya – 8.5/10
As Horimiya began, I really thought it was going to be the romance anime to beat this year. I was praying for the next Toradora; a school life romance with a fiery couple and a perfect eye for comedy, drama, and character building. Horimiya stepped in strongly with Hori and Miyamuri stealing my heart almost instantaneously. They quickly became a fan-favorite couple on social media.
It was then that this great first impression gave way to a wide swathe of side characters, and this is where Horimiya’s greatest strength also became its most crippling weakness. We simply went overboard with the side characters. I was impressed more often than not at how often a new character drew out my full enthusiasm in the space of an episode. But just when I thought the cast hit a perfect size, they kept adding more, and this only served to take away from the characters we just had gotten used to a week prior. By the time the anime ended, I wanted much more Horimiya, and a lot less of their friends.
I assure you that the overabundance of secondary characters is not that big of a deal. Horimiya’s art and character design are still exquisite, and the character banter and writing are generally always in top form. It’s these qualities that warm you up to the characters so fast. The jokes land solidly, and the romance even more so. I think Horimiya is hovering between a mainstay in the anime community and a flash in the pan. I think with a bit more careful consideration of character usage, it would have been the former without a doubt.
Beastars Season 2 – 8.5/10
The second season of Beastars continued our foray into a world of school-animals with its same measured pace and expressive characters. This time, however, I have to knock it down a peg just because of its lack of Haru who’s presence left the brooding and investigating to be a bit more stale. Scenes where she would appear were all too short, but to almost make up for that, Louis came in and stole the spotlight as my favorite character.
Louis’ desperate search for his place in society is riveting, showcasing his turbulent youth going at odds with itself. You follow him into the underbelly of the city, and where he ends up is equal parts bad ass and tragic. Everything from his red and green suit to his newfound confidence just brings such a charismatic character to the forefront of the cast. Legosi, meanwhile, has only become more of an adorable dunderhead.
If you haven’t seen Beastars then I’d have to at least preemptively assure you that despite being a CG anime, this is a show that doesn’t really have any jarring or distracting scenes. The show uses introspection and narration in a nearly hypnotic manner, so my immersion into these characters minds was always nearly impenetrable. And of course, we can’t talk about Beastars without mentioning its new OP which may be my pick for my favorite OP of 2021.
Jujutsu Kaisen – 8.5/10
Jujutsu Kaisen is 2021’s blowout anime that will be the one to dethrone going into 2022. Gojo has graced the anime community with his heavenly good looks. When it comes to quality, you obviously want to show as much as you can as often as you can. But when it comes to Gojo’s eyes, keeping them behind the blindfold, only to make brief memorable appearances, was clearly the best choice.
Gojo appreciation aside, what has propelled Jujutsu Kaisen to such popularity? Well, to answer this, I think I do have to drag Gojo back into the conversation. But only to say that the appeal of this shounen anime, a genre typically appealing to young men, has stretched to a wider audience by including just as many exciting, ridiculously cool female characters as there are male ones, and also making sure the male characters are worth ogling too, hence Gojo. Jujutsu Kaisen has built up an eclectic cast of characters that’s bound to please the masses.
The plot in itself is a bit more standard. I wouldn’t point to this as the next Hunter X Hunter or Fullmetal yet since I consider those narrative achievements in anime, and Jujutsu Kaisen is still very much in its infancy. Many new shounen anime squander their potential and feel dead in the water. Seven Deadly Sins felt like this, and so did Fire Force. But Jujutsu Kaisen still feels like its just getting started and to be the next big shounen, that’s exactly how it has to feel.
Mushoku Tensei – 8.5/10
Rudy, now a weary wanderer after the harrowing events of season 2, has nearly fully matured and I couldn’t be happier. Mushoku Tensei season 2 has built upon the already proven strengths of the premiere season by offering stronger emotional climaxes for Rudy and Eris, and turning the airy tone of the first season into a more bitter, sober journey to more important and crucial destinations. I think Mushoku Tensei is operating in full stride now, and as such, is becoming one of the finest fantasy anime on air.
There’s a lot of fantasy anime though, so what makes Mushoku Tensei the one to watch? Well, one of my favorite things about this anime is that there isn’t a singular strength to point at. It’s not about what makes Mushoku Tensei distinctive, but how it operates firmly in familiar territory, and simply executes in careful, dramatic ways. Some of the directing choices have a more film-like quality, and the showrunners know when to let a scene breathe. Especially in season 2 as the comedic elements die down a bit, and Rudy’s life starts beckoning him to get his ass in gear.
Rudy’s goal has never been a constant in this anime. That’s one reason why it’s hard to point at a “hook” to get people invested before watching. He’s not trying to be number one. He’s not trying to save anyone. He’s just trying to live a better life, and in a genre all about reincarnation, I think that’s one of the most grounded goals a character can have. I had a hard time with season one because Rudy had a pervasive side that was genuinely disquieting. It reared its head again in the beginning of season 2, but by the end of it, I feel like Rudy had gone through so much that I think it’d be downright tone-deaf to repeat some of those gags. I’m sure Mushoku Tensei will wind its way back to a more lighthearted arc, and I imagine the raunchy Rudy jokes may come back again, so I am still worried. But until that happens I have almost no other complaints about this anime.
Eighty Six – 8.5/10
I know I could give this anime an 8.6 and go to bed with a dumb grin on my face, but I’ll refrain from my elementary humor. I will, however, still lovingly describe why Eighty Six the anime is basically an 86/100. With two seasons nearly under wraps, there’s an air of uncertainty in the air for Eighty Six fans because the final two episodes of the anime were delayed by three months, or basically a whole anime season. This was on top of a few delays for earlier episodes that were pushed a week back. Production woes have definitely darkened our doorstep for one of the most exciting new projects of the year and a surprising directorial debut.
Eighty Six Has managed to win me over despite having some of my lesser preferred characteristics. The main character is indeed a bit of an emotionless robot, and we also have actual emotionless robots because this is a mech/war anime. I have only dabbled in mech anime, but I definitely know it’s not my strong suit, but I can say that Eighty Six stands near the top of them. It did this by tying together some strong directing work and scene composition, as well as layering in an emotional net that does trap you time and time again.
Eighty Six follows a group of lowly soldiers who’s goals and actions just don’t sync up with our main character, Lena. Lena has naive ideals, and an indomitable spirit, while the eighty six crew have molded, reshaped ideals and are stubbornly hard headed as well. This makes for a clash of Lena trying to understand, and help these soldiers, while simultaneously learning about her shortsightedness. At the same time, the soldiers have to learn to look past the horizon and take some of their humanity back.
It’s a really effective dynamic because you can see just how much each side of the relationship offers to the other while also defining the gap that divides them. Soldiers’ lives are given to their country, and sometimes its hard for them to accept them back. Lena is sick of it, but doesn’t understand why they aren’t sick of it alongside her. Its learning the mentality behind it that is the real privilege of watching this anime. Not to mention it does some of the finest work with CG mechs that I’ve seen as of late. I really hope the final 2 episodes don’t drop the ball because the cliffhanger we left on had my heart pounding and if it can recapture the same poignant ending as season 1, I think 86 will go on to be one of the genre’s finest achievements.
Zombieland Saga Revenge – 8.5/10
Welcome to one of my most cherished series, back for a second round of its zany alternative idol ideas. Franchouchou, the idol group that makes up the main cast of Zombieland Saga, are one of the few characters that can get me positively giddy. Zombieland is fun, unashamed, and packs a killer soundtrack. It’s just not like that all the time.
I will be the first to admit that Zombieland Saga isn’t perfect. But I can definitely say that it’s one of the few anime that actually sets a light in my heart and keeps it aflame. Maybe this is how people get into idols in the first place? I’m not an idol aficionado but I can say that I am proud to be a part of this anime’s fandom. And being in this fandom feels a little different than being in one for a random popular anime because being a fan of Zombieland Saga almost feels like you’re helping the main characters themselves with their goal. To support Franchouchou is to also buy into the fiction and join the fans on screen. That feels crazy, and its infectious.
But the uneven pacing of Zombieland Saga definitely kills the momentum sometimes. For every fan-favorite episode, there’s a more easily forgotten one that gives very little to sift through. Alongside each delightfully energizing song or performance, there’s another that risks making you groan at how comparatively generic it sounds. We have memorable and fashionable character designs, but we also have stiff and off putting CG animation in certain scenes. Like the idols themselves, loving Zombieland is embracing the imperfections and hoping it grows out of them. Even if they don’t, you still love it and ponder that perhaps the charm only exist because of the imperfections. I’d hate for Zombieland to lose its soul in order to fix its “weaknesses.”
Link Click – 8.5/10
*High five* “Okay initiating time travel via a high five is a bit laughable but go on,” I thought as I watched my first episode of Link Click. 20 minutes later I am sobbing in my chair in awe at how efficiently this brand new story already broke my heart. So this is why this is the most talked about Chinese cartoon in the anime community. Link Click is also well on its way to being one of my favorite time travel stories.
But let’s get back to the crying because Link Click is a lot less significant without the incredible resonance this show has with the emotional core of its characters. I think it only takes the very first episode to fully exemplify this. Upon jumping back in time to see a side character on a mission who’s stakes our not our own, I had every reason to not be invested. But then you see this character working laboriously in a company that doesn’t care for her. You start to garner a bit of empathy. Then you see her lie to her parents about how happy she is. That empathy swells. Before you know it, you are rooting for her.
This is the path that the audience takes with Cheng Xiaoshi who, like us, knows nothing of the person before beginning his mission. It’s this short-form character building that becomes Link Click’s greatest strength, and also allows the personality and flaws of Cheng Xiaoshi to really materialize as he gets personally invested in the lives he’s not supposed to mess with. Throw in one of the best OP and ED songs and videos of the year and you have a recipe for a hit. A second season was also confirmed and if I had only one improvement I wish for over the first season, its just the subtitles. The translations on offer at my time of writing were mediocre and created some obfuscated conversations.
Attack on Titan Final Season – 9/10
While the first episode of the actual final season of Attack on Titan is not even a week old from its premiere, I am refraining from watching it or any other 2022 anime until I finish this write up. But the end of Attack on Titan is going to be the end of quite the anime legacy. I wonder where anime’s mainstream appeal would be had Attack on Titan not invaded pop culture and transformed the “tone” of popular anime to come. I think ever since Attack on Titan became a hit, the ones that followed like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen have trended more towards the violent side, and if next year is any indication, Chainsaw Man is sure to continue this trajectory.
But while the population has become more and more acclimated with dark or dreary subject matter, Attack on Titan has switched gears a bit to arrive into more of a political thriller involving very powerful families across multiple generations. I personally feel like the story has gotten much harder to follow, but I also believe the writing has gotten much more ambitious over the years. And this is already an anime that reached for the stars on day one.
But in 2021 specifically, Attack on Titan introduced a slew of new characters and started digging deep into the lore of the world to tap into the biggest questions a member of this fictional universe may have. It also brought with it the famed titan designs as we add a few more horrific monstrosities to the roster. And paired with the titans are, without question, the frightening and epic battles that tear towns asunder. There’s a train of thought I’ve been humoring in how similar Attack on Titan has become to mecha anime. The politics are right at home, the biological armor is a great stand in for a mecha suit, and the way we see the “pilots” inside the body remind me of seeing mecha pilots in their cockpit. But I’ll save that examination for another day. This season was very good, if not a bit confusing, but with the real finale now looming over us, it’s only going to be a very short while until we can discuss Attack on Titan as a complete story.
Fruits Basket The Final – 9/10
Speaking of complete stories, here’s one that most anime kids grew up believing would never be complete. Fruits basket wrapped up its reboot which completely and faithfully adapted the entire manga, treating the anime community to a truly rare occasion. Anime used to exist to just advertise the manga, always ending in the middle of the story to prompt watchers to buy the manga and read ahead. Countless legendary manga have had adaptations like this. Even if there is a production goal to finish the anime, sometimes its just not popular enough to logically continue funding, or other times they just catch up with the source material and there’s nothing left to adapt. (I’m looking at you HxH fans.)
Fruits Basket offers one of the few popular long-form romantic dramas on offer in this medium, and as such, it rewards fans of the genre handsomely. This final season involved one satisfying conclusion after another as the ensemble cast of characters who spent the last two seasons clawing their way into your heart, finally reach the end of their personal journey. Each relationship that these characters have are conveyed in such a believable fashion that you just can’t help but get swept away by all of them. It’s not a perfect anime to me due to me not really digging the humor too much and having a few episodes that didn’t do much for me, but there’s no denying the sheer magnitude of this series and how its a must see for any romance fan.
To Your Eternity – 9/10
If we want to talk opening episodes, or the best single episode of anime this year, then one of the very first things I would bring up is the opening to To Your Eternity. It is a masterful, powerful feat of anime production that I think stands as one of the best 20 minutes I have ever spent.
After the premiere, To Your Eternity starts diving into miniature arcs focusing on characters that Fushi, our bizarre main character, meets as it explores the world. I don’t want to detail the origins of Fushi as I think that’s part of what makes this show so magical, but it’s all revealed within the first episode. The first two arcs did not disappoint. I was surprised at how comically morbid this show could be. You wouldn’t guess that from the premiere. Of course it would be just a bit too good to be true for the entire anime to mirror this quality over 20 episodes in a row, but To Your Eternity hardly faltered in any of its smaller arcs, save for one.
In the back half of To Your Eternity, one arc started getting a noticeable downturn in animation quality which is something such a resounding story didn’t deserve. Anime doesn’t enjoy a lot of luxuries behind the scenes, and many of them choose uncomfortably close deadlines. It’s unfortunate that To Your Eternity may have fallen victim to some of these issues but I did not think it did anything to lower the experience of the overall anime. It just has that one arc that many will point to as the worst.
Luckily, just when everyone was fearing that To Your Eternity was going to end on the wrong foot, the finale came along and once again showed why everyone should be paying attention to it. It was yet another knockout episode that provided a bittersweet sendoff for one of the best side characters. To Your Eternity is still an ongoing story, so we will have to wait for a second season to come along, but if you like feeling emotionally vulnerable in a fantastical world, then give this one a shot.
Odd Taxi – 9/10
Odd Taxi was the anime I nearly overlooked this year. Due to a saturday morning cartoon art style, and a premise of being a taxi driver, I wrote this one off as just being a gag comedy that was going to have bad art and no soul. It was very presumptuous of me but there really are a lot of bad anime every season, so I have my reasons for being so jaded.
Turns out, this anime does have a saturday morning cartoon style, and there is a lot of comedy. The main character is a taxi driver as well, but where I was wrong was that this anime wouldn’t have a soul. Instead, this anime carved out its identity with one of the tightest scripts this year and a cast of quirky characters that would be at home in an Animal Crossing game, if their lives weren’t so tumultuous.
Odd Taxi is a mystery at heart. One that starts in the taxi cab, and sprinkles its points of interest methodically across the city. Much like Durarara, Odd Taxi uses its abnormal cast like pool balls being shot every which way at a pool table. This creates a fun game of guessing who’s involved with who as character motives are constantly called into question without anything seeming unrealistic or improbable. There are some uniquely Japanese concepts at work too making it still feel like a Japanese production despite not looking like your average anime. The idol industry and gacha game industry are both explored in a very harsh fashion, the latter of which makes up my favorite episode of Odd Taxi as you watch a character succumb to gacha addiction in a frighteningly relatable way.
When the anime ends, I felt a wave of relief as one of my burning questions was answered exactly the way I had hoped, and I shed tears unexpectedly as a particularly touching flashback played before my eyes. Odd Taxi earns its moniker by truly being the odd anime out. It’s a colorful, cynical crime noir with an unsuspecting first impression. It’s one of my picks for anime of the year, and I would bet it’ll sit amongst the other great anime on the stranger side of the fence like Tatami Galaxy or Serial Experiments Lain.
Megalobox 2: Nomad – 9.5/10
While Odd Taxi was the anime that a lot of people almost slept on, it now has a decent amount of buzz about it thanks to some prominent youtubers and overall word of mouth. Now if there were any anime I’d be worried would fade into obscurity despite being so amazing, it’d be this second season of Megalobox. In Nomad, Megalobox completely reinvents itself. Regardless of your thoughts on the first season, Nomad is like the bigger, better, and more mature brother. It went from a typical gratifying underdog series to something much more complex, human, and poetic.
It’s damn near perfect. It still has that nostalgic old-school art style and it still has a very culturally inspired soundtrack. Only this time the soundtrack has latin flamenco roots instead of being american hip hop inspired. This soundtrack is my personal favorite this year. I can’t express just how much these songs heighten the scenes that are already borderline flawless.
Aesthetics notwithstanding, the story introduces some more social commentary and handles some more troubling subject matter in a very genuine way. Immigration, drug addiction, and medical corporate greed give the plot some strong things to chew on while you watch Joe try to find himself. Underlying all of this is a beautiful metaphor that reoccurs using a children’s story of a hummingbird. The two stories are beautifully paralleled and even the music becomes contextualized because of this making everything in the show have purpose.
But this is not a 10/10 show and that is because there was a certain episode, a very important one at that, that definitely had a rather anticlimactic conclusion. I think it should have gone on for two episode or perhaps just been written differently but it was enough to take the wind out of the sails for one unfortunate moment. Normally a single scene wouldn’t really affect my score that much, but the scene had a lot riding on it so I know I’m not alone in feeling this way. In fact, others may knock the score even further because of it. But that really is the single negative feeling I have about Nomad. This was a pure work of art.
Ranking of Kings – 10/10
And we have finally arrived at the end of the list, and my personal pick for anime of the year; Ousama Ranking, or in English, Ranking of Kings. Meet Bojji, our adorable miniature hero who I now feel the need to protect more than anyone else. Bojji wants to be the number one ranked King, but the odds are stacked heavily against him. I really don’t want to spoil anything about the main character because part of that adds to the surprise factor of the very first episode. But let’s just say that nobody would logically vote for this kid to be doing much of anything with his life.
What makes this all the more endearing is that Bojji lives seemingly oblivious to all the insults and underestimation he’s surrounded by. Except, that he’s not. It deeply affects him, and I’m almost tearing up just remembering a certain scene where he has to hide to allow himself to get emotional and actually privately respond to the type of criticism no one should have to deal with.
Bojji is my favorite main character since Gon from Hunter X Hunter and my obsession for that series runs extremely deep. Bojji has a lot of the same qualities, but they don’t feel anything like copies of each other. They are both just incredibly enjoyable and impossible to not fall in love with. But Ranking of Kings is so much more than Bojji. Every single character has motives, ulterior motives, and the capacity to change those motives realistically. Every character that resides in Bojji’s castle is an unknown variable that you can’t help but try to calculate at every given turn. I honestly can say that every character has already changed my mind about my initial impression of them, and it’s commendable just how many characters they do this with.
Ranking of Kings goes further than its cast by boasting one of the best productions this year. The key visual may come off as a more simple anime aimed at a younger audience, but once you see it in motion, it immediately transports you into the storybook aesthetic in ways most children anime just don’t put the effort in to do. This includes the animation of the fights and characters. Incredibly dynamic camera angles, exaggerated body proportions, and naturally drawn effects make this seem like a laborious product of time and sweat.
This also is not an anime for kids, I’ve realized after watching all the episodes that aired this year. In the beginning I thought this might be for all ages, like Avatar: The Last Airbender, but it has some shocking scenes that definitely scratched it off the list. It’s no Made in Abyss, nor does it have to be, but there is some clear brutal fantasy inspiration at work. I even get some Dark Souls vibes in the way it approaches the world building. It’s very quiet. There’s no narration or exposition. Its a very organic exploration of the lore, locales, and living beings. It’s rare to have an anime excel in almost every aspect I could criticize, but Ranking of Kings is just that extra special series that reminds me why I fell in love with this medium in the first place. Anime is better with Ranking of Kings here, and we’re going right into 2022 with it still on air so we may be having this same conversation as we wrap up this year as well.
To any who took the time to read this, I thank you so much. This was one of the best years of anime I’ve seen. 2017 was the last time I had so many personal favorites thanks to the likes of Made in Abyss, Girls Last Tour, March Comes in Like a Lion 2, Tsuki ga Kirei, and Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: Descending Stories. I really can’t wait to see what this next year has in store. I have my eye on Chainsaw Man, and the new seasons of Teasing Master Takagi-san, Bofuri, Made in Abyss, Attack on Titan, and To Your Eternity. This is going to be a great year. I am going to make a video this time, and that’s going to be very challenging, but I hope it goes well. It’s my new years resolution to do it, so we shall see!
Until then, please let me know what good anime I missed this year, or what your favorites were! Take care of yourselves and I hope you have some good anime marathons this year.
Lotus Viridis 
I loved the final season of Fruits Basket and JJK S1 so very much. Odd Taxi and To Your Eternity are both on my watch list!