Time for the readers to take the keys and weigh in on the anime year that was. I suspect this could be an especially interesting vote, and I’m curious to see how it turns out.
This really makes me realize how little anime I’ve watched this year and how little of it was covered here. I really was chasing cuteness and happiness.
Gabriel Dropout
New Game!!
Little Witch Academia
Konohana Kitan
and Demi-chan(but I saw Dragon Maid afterwards and it should have been my pick)
Simultaneously realized that I didn’t watch all that many new shows this year and definitely have missed some good ones that I need to get around to, but I also saw more than I thought I did. Forgot about a few from the Winter and Spring. Anyway, it was a bit tough, but he’s my top 5 in no particular order.
Kekkai Sensen & Beyond
Little Witch Academia
Tsuki ga Kirei
Natsume’s Book of Friends
Konosuba season 2
I think I enjoyed this season of Kekkai Sensen better than the first and I enjoyed the first season a fair bit. This kept a lot of the best aspects of the show, but felt more cohesive despite being episodic.
LWA was just pure fun and joy. Simplistic in the story and message told, but was so well crafted I enjoyed every moment.
Tsuki ga Kirei had no right being anywhere near as amazing as it was. Great, great show that earned its fairy tale ending.
Natsume had another strong season. Was more of the same, but with this show, that’s not a bad thing at all.
Konosuba continued to deliver good, solid comedy. Just wish we got more of it.
Honorable mentions:
Just Because
Made in Abyss
Net-Juu no Susume
These three were all good shows, just not enough to be in my top 5.
Might add Girls’ Last Tour to the top 5 or at least honorable mention when I do finish it. That was a surprisingly good show from the first 6 episodes that I saw.
All in all, the good shows were good, but the drop off in quality after them was steep. Stuff like Masamune-kun no Revenge and Aho Girl were fun in that dumb and trashy manner, but were at best thoroughly mediocre. So gotta agree that this wasn’t a great year, but it gave us enough quality shows and enough variety that I was satisfied. Plus it gave me a chance to check out some older shows/movies.
Actually naming the top 5 is tougher than I expected, but here you go:
– Rakugo
– MIA
– Tsuki ga Kirei
– 3gatsu no Lion (a bit cheating since my feeling for S2 also plays a part. I still feel that it was a big waste that Enzo hates shaft approach so much since it actually gets much better)
– Sukasuka (this one is a more subjective pick)
Honourable Mentions:
– Girl’s Last Tour, it was a brilliant mix of nihilism optimism SoL that I never experience before.
– Konosuba 2 is still great, but I liked the season 1 more
– Kekkai Sensen and/or BNHA might have shown here if I actually have finished them
It would definitely be Made in Abyss and Houseki no Kuni. I didn’t expect much when I started them, but both blew me away with their story telling and world building.
These are my top two of the year easily as well, especially Houseki no Kuni. Such a fantastically beautiful anime that got better and better after every episode on all fronts. Will most likely make it in to my top 10 anime of all time.
I hope you do eventually see the entirety of Houseki no Kuni. I think that even if you don’t like it, you will respect it. A lot.
This and Made In Abyss were my top 2 and Rekugo makes 3. I thought these were head and shoulders above anything else I watched in 2017 and would be extraordinary in any year.
A bit late to the party but here’s my take on the year:
(Disclaimer: not including ongoing series, otherwise Vanishing Line would be among my top 5)
1- Shingeki no Bahamut Virgin Soul: Yeah, I know I’m in the minority here but I LOVED this series to bits. really, it was everything I love about anime and then some. Loved the characters, the plot, the world setting… even the very maligned ending, which I found absolutely brilliant as it was bittersweet and unexpected… just the way I like it.
2- Showa Rakugo 2: Not much to say about this one as it’s a pretty popular choice. Just as good as everybody says
3- The Dragon Dentist: A sadly overlooked gem of a series. I guess the fact it was more a 2 episeodes special rather than a full tv cour prevented it from being more popular. Pretty much everything I said about Virgin Soul applies here. I just wish this wasn’t so ridiculously underwatched.
4- Kado: A wonderful sci-fi tale that, despite going a bit too anime in the last few episodes still managed to be a dead serious, pure sci fi series, something we sadly don’t see very often
5- Inuyashiki. I guess this one too is pretty popular so I’ll just say that I loved it to bits and its 11 episodes just flew by.
Honourable mentions: Acca 13, Onihei, Altair, Castlevania (yes, I consider it anime) and the 2 surprises of the year for me: Tanya of the Devil ( I would have never imagined that an iseakai title could ever be this good and refreshing) and Juni Taisen (having always hated the monogatari franchise I would have never imagined that its author could write something this engaging and all-around awesome. It also helps that it looked cool as hell)
…And, last but not least, an honourable mention to my 2 favorite pieces of animation of the year: Genocidal Organ (pretty much my favorite film of the decade, anime or otherwise) and the sublime Blade Runner short. If only those 2 were more popular…
I finished 12 shows out of the several dozen new shows that aired in 2017, so my top five is basically just my favourite of the bunch. In no particular order:
Made in Abyss gets a mention. Intellectually I know this is a very well-made series, and it has a powerful finale. Personally I don’t love it. The show has squicks I’m uncomfortable with.
^^ Same here. I really don’t know if we are talking about the same but MIA had some serious loli undertones that were just too much to handle (that final boner joke…jeeez)
I totally acknowledge that there’s stuff in MiA that a reasonable viewer might find problematic – I said so in the Top 10 post. But as far as it goes, it seems to cut both ways – in other words it’s not gender-specific.
For me my top five go . . .
I. Rakugo Shinjuu ~ A masterclass on pretty much every level. An all-time favorite.
II. Made in Abyss ~ I thought Rakugo was going to have an easy win for me, but Made in Abyss came closer than I thought imaginable. Another all-time favorite.
III. Land of the Lustrous ~ To think a CG series would ever be one of the best looking series of the year, if not. The dazzling dynamic action, the shine of the gems, the color choices, all made this series one of the best. But besides this, this series only constantly improved every single episode, by the time the Winter arc rolled around, every episode was making it seem like Rakugo and Made in Abyss was going to have another stiff competition. But for as much effort as the final episode put into providing closure, I couldn’t help but leave a bit unsatisfied. A season two would indeed make this another all-time favorite.
IV. Tsuki ga Kirei ~ The best romance anime I’ve seen, hands down. But honestly, Kotaro’s relationship with his mother was my favorite part of the series.
V. My Hero Academia ~ Kinda surprised this hasn’t been brought up in the comments (aside from an honorable mention). Shonen perfection, and provided perhaps the best episode of the year.
Completely off-topic, but I just discovered this site recently when I was searchig for a sensible review of SnK Virgin Soul since everyone and their mother was praising that POS trainwreck and I loved your review. I also loved the content of the site in general since it’s very in line with my own opinions and tastes in anime.
I was just sad to see that you don’t seem to watch idol-shit anime like Love Live, which is my guilty pleasure. It’s so f*cking hard to find a sensible review of it since every fan of this franchise is blindly in love with it, so I was hoping that maybe you’d have what I was looking for.
Thanks for that – kind of you to say. My apologies on the idol thing – I have tried, but never managed to finish one except for Wake up! Girls (and I was barely scraping across the line there).
I don’t blame you, idol anime is not for everyone. I only watched Love Live because I love “cute girls doing cute things” type of anime, they’re perfect for when I want to chill out and shut off my brain. But I’ve recently watched Love Live! Sunshine!! and that was a big disappointment and hard to watch even with my brain turned off, and the fact that everyone who watched it is giving it a 10/10 just makes me want to commit sudoku.
Geebun
January 3, 2018 at 5:26 pmThis really makes me realize how little anime I’ve watched this year and how little of it was covered here. I really was chasing cuteness and happiness.
Gabriel Dropout
New Game!!
Little Witch Academia
Konohana Kitan
and Demi-chan(but I saw Dragon Maid afterwards and it should have been my pick)
Jonathan Tappan
January 3, 2018 at 5:46 pmWait…why isn’t Mahoutsukai no Yome listed?
Guardian Enzo
January 3, 2018 at 6:40 pmFinishes in 2018, so for poll purposes it’s a 2018 show.
UndeadCalamari
January 3, 2018 at 6:13 pmSimultaneously realized that I didn’t watch all that many new shows this year and definitely have missed some good ones that I need to get around to, but I also saw more than I thought I did. Forgot about a few from the Winter and Spring. Anyway, it was a bit tough, but he’s my top 5 in no particular order.
Kekkai Sensen & Beyond
Little Witch Academia
Tsuki ga Kirei
Natsume’s Book of Friends
Konosuba season 2
I think I enjoyed this season of Kekkai Sensen better than the first and I enjoyed the first season a fair bit. This kept a lot of the best aspects of the show, but felt more cohesive despite being episodic.
LWA was just pure fun and joy. Simplistic in the story and message told, but was so well crafted I enjoyed every moment.
Tsuki ga Kirei had no right being anywhere near as amazing as it was. Great, great show that earned its fairy tale ending.
Natsume had another strong season. Was more of the same, but with this show, that’s not a bad thing at all.
Konosuba continued to deliver good, solid comedy. Just wish we got more of it.
Honorable mentions:
Just Because
Made in Abyss
Net-Juu no Susume
These three were all good shows, just not enough to be in my top 5.
Might add Girls’ Last Tour to the top 5 or at least honorable mention when I do finish it. That was a surprisingly good show from the first 6 episodes that I saw.
All in all, the good shows were good, but the drop off in quality after them was steep. Stuff like Masamune-kun no Revenge and Aho Girl were fun in that dumb and trashy manner, but were at best thoroughly mediocre. So gotta agree that this wasn’t a great year, but it gave us enough quality shows and enough variety that I was satisfied. Plus it gave me a chance to check out some older shows/movies.
Zeroyuki92
January 4, 2018 at 9:21 amActually naming the top 5 is tougher than I expected, but here you go:
– Rakugo
– MIA
– Tsuki ga Kirei
– 3gatsu no Lion (a bit cheating since my feeling for S2 also plays a part. I still feel that it was a big waste that Enzo hates shaft approach so much since it actually gets much better)
– Sukasuka (this one is a more subjective pick)
Honourable Mentions:
– Girl’s Last Tour, it was a brilliant mix of nihilism optimism SoL that I never experience before.
– Konosuba 2 is still great, but I liked the season 1 more
– Kekkai Sensen and/or BNHA might have shown here if I actually have finished them
F. Smile
January 4, 2018 at 12:47 pmIt would definitely be Made in Abyss and Houseki no Kuni. I didn’t expect much when I started them, but both blew me away with their story telling and world building.
lHyDrAl
January 4, 2018 at 1:49 pmThese are my top two of the year easily as well, especially Houseki no Kuni. Such a fantastically beautiful anime that got better and better after every episode on all fronts. Will most likely make it in to my top 10 anime of all time.
Guardian Enzo
January 4, 2018 at 2:00 pmI’m starting to buckle under the pressure. Maybe I can’t avoid giving that show another try, though the first few episodes just left me cold.
Marquis de Carambas
January 6, 2018 at 10:59 amI hope you do eventually see the entirety of Houseki no Kuni. I think that even if you don’t like it, you will respect it. A lot.
This and Made In Abyss were my top 2 and Rekugo makes 3. I thought these were head and shoulders above anything else I watched in 2017 and would be extraordinary in any year.
donhumberto
January 4, 2018 at 3:38 pmA bit late to the party but here’s my take on the year:
(Disclaimer: not including ongoing series, otherwise Vanishing Line would be among my top 5)
1- Shingeki no Bahamut Virgin Soul: Yeah, I know I’m in the minority here but I LOVED this series to bits. really, it was everything I love about anime and then some. Loved the characters, the plot, the world setting… even the very maligned ending, which I found absolutely brilliant as it was bittersweet and unexpected… just the way I like it.
2- Showa Rakugo 2: Not much to say about this one as it’s a pretty popular choice. Just as good as everybody says
3- The Dragon Dentist: A sadly overlooked gem of a series. I guess the fact it was more a 2 episeodes special rather than a full tv cour prevented it from being more popular. Pretty much everything I said about Virgin Soul applies here. I just wish this wasn’t so ridiculously underwatched.
4- Kado: A wonderful sci-fi tale that, despite going a bit too anime in the last few episodes still managed to be a dead serious, pure sci fi series, something we sadly don’t see very often
5- Inuyashiki. I guess this one too is pretty popular so I’ll just say that I loved it to bits and its 11 episodes just flew by.
Honourable mentions: Acca 13, Onihei, Altair, Castlevania (yes, I consider it anime) and the 2 surprises of the year for me: Tanya of the Devil ( I would have never imagined that an iseakai title could ever be this good and refreshing) and Juni Taisen (having always hated the monogatari franchise I would have never imagined that its author could write something this engaging and all-around awesome. It also helps that it looked cool as hell)
…And, last but not least, an honourable mention to my 2 favorite pieces of animation of the year: Genocidal Organ (pretty much my favorite film of the decade, anime or otherwise) and the sublime Blade Runner short. If only those 2 were more popular…
Bel
January 5, 2018 at 9:48 amI finished 12 shows out of the several dozen new shows that aired in 2017, so my top five is basically just my favourite of the bunch. In no particular order:
– ACCA 13-ku Kansatsu-ka
– Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu ~Sukeroku Futatabi-hen~
– Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou
– Houseki no Kuni
– Kekkai Sensen & Beyond
Made in Abyss gets a mention. Intellectually I know this is a very well-made series, and it has a powerful finale. Personally I don’t love it. The show has squicks I’m uncomfortable with.
donhumberto
January 6, 2018 at 11:20 am^^ Same here. I really don’t know if we are talking about the same but MIA had some serious loli undertones that were just too much to handle (that final boner joke…jeeez)
Guardian Enzo
January 6, 2018 at 1:08 pmWouldn’t that joke have been a shota undertone?
I totally acknowledge that there’s stuff in MiA that a reasonable viewer might find problematic – I said so in the Top 10 post. But as far as it goes, it seems to cut both ways – in other words it’s not gender-specific.
say
January 7, 2018 at 6:50 amFor me they are
1) Showa Rakugo
2) Natsume Yuujinchou Roku
3) Tsuki ga kirei
4) Shoukoku no Altair
5) Kabukibu
Terrestrious
January 10, 2018 at 4:45 pmFor me my top five go . . .
I. Rakugo Shinjuu ~ A masterclass on pretty much every level. An all-time favorite.
II. Made in Abyss ~ I thought Rakugo was going to have an easy win for me, but Made in Abyss came closer than I thought imaginable. Another all-time favorite.
III. Land of the Lustrous ~ To think a CG series would ever be one of the best looking series of the year, if not. The dazzling dynamic action, the shine of the gems, the color choices, all made this series one of the best. But besides this, this series only constantly improved every single episode, by the time the Winter arc rolled around, every episode was making it seem like Rakugo and Made in Abyss was going to have another stiff competition. But for as much effort as the final episode put into providing closure, I couldn’t help but leave a bit unsatisfied. A season two would indeed make this another all-time favorite.
IV. Tsuki ga Kirei ~ The best romance anime I’ve seen, hands down. But honestly, Kotaro’s relationship with his mother was my favorite part of the series.
V. My Hero Academia ~ Kinda surprised this hasn’t been brought up in the comments (aside from an honorable mention). Shonen perfection, and provided perhaps the best episode of the year.
Nihilistic Otaku
January 13, 2018 at 1:43 pmCompletely off-topic, but I just discovered this site recently when I was searchig for a sensible review of SnK Virgin Soul since everyone and their mother was praising that POS trainwreck and I loved your review. I also loved the content of the site in general since it’s very in line with my own opinions and tastes in anime.
I was just sad to see that you don’t seem to watch idol-shit anime like Love Live, which is my guilty pleasure. It’s so f*cking hard to find a sensible review of it since every fan of this franchise is blindly in love with it, so I was hoping that maybe you’d have what I was looking for.
Guardian Enzo
January 13, 2018 at 2:27 pmThanks for that – kind of you to say. My apologies on the idol thing – I have tried, but never managed to finish one except for Wake up! Girls (and I was barely scraping across the line there).
Nihilistic Otaku
January 13, 2018 at 3:21 pmI don’t blame you, idol anime is not for everyone. I only watched Love Live because I love “cute girls doing cute things” type of anime, they’re perfect for when I want to chill out and shut off my brain. But I’ve recently watched Love Live! Sunshine!! and that was a big disappointment and hard to watch even with my brain turned off, and the fact that everyone who watched it is giving it a 10/10 just makes me want to commit sudoku.