When I used this post a year ago to look ahead to 2020, I worried for the coming year based on the tightening grip of the production committee system on anime.  Little did I know at the time that other factors would trump that one the way they did.  It’s been a strange and disturbing year for the world at large, and anime is no exception.  And on top of everything else, 2020 being the year it was makes it a very difficult one to assess by anime’s historical standards.

We can never truly know what 2020 in anime would have been if life hadn’t interceded.  We can make a guess, though, based on what we know was postponed completely or partially until 2021.  The year, as it stands, probably rivals 2018 as the worst anime year in the modern era.  Well, honestly it’s clearly worse than 2018, and thus the worst.  And what was pushed back wouldn’t have changed things that much, really.  And that’s the truly unsettling thing here – 2019 was a modest upward blip (to average, more or less) but the trend under the current system isn’t a hopeful one.

Given what’s already been announced for 2021, do I expect that to change?  Frankly no, because a higher percentage of those announcements than ever have been the big three of homogeneity – isekai LNs (especially), CGDCT, and idols (and mediocre sequels of course).  There’s some good stuff already announced, starting with Horimiya in Winter 2021, but even awful years have always had standout exceptions.  Until the current model is reformed (or more realistically, collapses) I think anime will continue to be a vast sea of generic formula with a few islands of ambition and brilliance.

Looking back, the best part of 2020’s list was certainly at the top – #1-3 are all series that historically belong at that level or close to it.  The rest of the top 20 is thin from top to bottom, with pretty much every series a reach for where it placed.  As I noted earlier there are no obvious tiers here as there are in most years (even 2018, where the strongest part was about 5th-15th).  That fits with the overall trend of increasing creative dilution offset by occasional greatness, and I think that’s what we’re looking at for 2021 and beyond unless there’s a shake-up.  Will Netflix provide it?  There’s not much evidence of that yet, though Great Pretender represents a clear high water mark for their contribution to anime production.

Here’s the breakdown on the Top 10 list:

By Season:

– Fall 2019: 2

– Winter 2020: 2

– Spring 2020: 3

– Summer 2020: 1 (Great Pretender premiered in June on Netflix Japan, so could also be called a Spring 2020 series)

– Fall 2020: 2

By Studio:

– Geno: 1

– Lerche: 1

– OLM: 1

– Wit: 1

– Bones: 1

– Madhouse: 1

– Doga Kobo: 1

– Seven Arcs: 1

– Sunrise: 1

– Ezόla: 1

For the second straight year no studio had more than 1 entry, and only Lerche, Bones, and Wit made both lists.  Only Bones and Wit (unsurprisingly, given that they probably rank at the top of the studio pyramid for TV anime now) have been represented for three straight years.

By Source Material:

– Manga: 9

– Original: 1

That’s the same breakdown as last year, and superficially not surprising.  LN adaptations are unicorns on these lists, but I do think it’s worth noting that originals have been on a slow decline for several years.  My fear is that “original” series anime may be following the path of OVAs (original video animation) towards creative irrelevance.  OVAs have become almost entirely special episodes and volume bonuses for existing series, where once the format was a platform for experimentation and original work.  And original series anime, more and more, are dominated by generic expressions of what are seen as commercially safe formulas.

And that wraps up 2020 in anime, pretty much.  Two typhoons hit the industry in 2020 – the pandemic and Kimetsu no Yaiba – and it’s going to be interesting to see what long-term impact they have, if any.  I can point to four or five 2021 series which should be standouts, so there is hope.  And on the theatrical side there’s some interesting stuff coming (as has been the trend), led by the “final” Eva movie and the new film from the clockwork-like Hosoda Mamoru.

As for LiA, the big change is obvious.  I hope to make good use of the YouTube platform in the coming years, though the exact form that eventually takes will surprise me I’m sure.  I’m grateful to everyone to everyone who’s supporting the site over the years, especially in a brutal year like 2020, and I sincerely hope you’ll stay with me as I continue to evolve LiA.  Please vote in the 2020 Reader Poll if you haven’t already – and of course the “Oscars” will be coming up shortly, so look forward to that.

One last note – the Top 10 contest.  This year’s winner is Red – Red and youlikerice both got the entire Top 10, so congrats to both of you.  Red wins on the tiebreaker of coming closer on the order (8 displacement points total), so Red – you get to request any “Top 5” you’d like.  youlikerice, since you got all 10, let’s do a runner-up trophy – give me a topic, and I’ll give you a haiku.  Please let me know either in comments or direct message.  And thanks to everyone who guessed!

Thanks once more, everyone, and may 2021 be a better year for all of us.

有難うございます!

Enzo