Some years I have a pretty good idea what’s probably going to top this poll, some (like 2018) I haven’t a clue. This time around I’ll be surprised if I’m wrong in my guess, but you guys have surprised me before. Weigh in and let’s see what happens!
2020 Reader Poll
animealex
January 1, 2021 at 5:17 pmI didn’t watch this many shows this year due to a drastic increased workload and the all around stressful year. But my picks (shows which entertained me or which made me think about them even after they finished) are the following ones:
-Boku no Hero Academia: For the first time I experienced what I call “Disappointed Manga Reader Syndrome”. Some of my favorite scenes didn’t work as good in the anime, as in the manga. (For example the showdown between the already defeated Overhaul and Shigaraki’s crew was a “hype-moment” for me in the manga, but the anime version left me cold.) Also the content felt (even in the manga) all around weaker than the stuff before, so BNHA wasn’t my top pick this year.
-Kabukicho Sherlock was a very, very mixed bag. I really liked the first half and the characterization of the young Moriarty and his fall to darkness. But the second half was just meh. Still, episode eleven with the dramatic reveal of Jack the Ripper and how his actions had changed and destroyed Moriarty is still one of the dramatic highlights of the year for me. Had the series wrapped up and ended after this, it would have been my top pick, but the second half ruined so much.
-Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun: My top pick for the year. Mystery, mischievous yokai, likable characters, young love and some very funny moments, which didn’t distract from the drama which was going on all around. I’ve started to follow the manga and hope despite “the dead having no future” that there will be a satisfying resolution for Hanako-kun and “Daikon girl”, as well as for Kou and Mitsuba.
-Pet was a very depressing show, but a very strong contender for my top spot. As far as I know, the author is working on a sequel, so perhaps someday there will, if not a happy ending, at least an end to all the soul-crushing darkness of The Company and a glimpse of a better future for people with the IMAGE ability. (Realistic outlook: Not good. Human nature was judged very harsh in this series and the best you can hope for are reformed evil-doers looking for redemption, and even this is rare.)
-Fire Force is the series which made me laugh the most this year and which was apart from three episodes my entertainment highlight in the second half of the year. I dropped the first series around episode nine (I think), because the “Tamaki fanservice gag” just had ruined another dramatic moment. Exposed anime girls in “funny situations” were never a selling point to me (being gay and older than the target demographic) and in the beginning it was ignorable enough for me, but if it distracts from genuine good moments, it just isn’t worth my limited time. Months later I stumbled across a youtube video with the best fight scenes of 2019 and found the Shinra and Sho fight in it and thought to myself: “Okay, that looks dope. And you’ve already watched nearly the first half, so let’s give it another try.” I finished the first season in two weeks and waited for the second. The series isn’t very deep or thought provoking, but rather a mixed bag of very good production values, entertaining (and sometimes very funny) characters and all around good executed shonen, but not an exceptional marvel with a deep story, also there are some unexpected twists. If one is able to live with this limitations, it gets my full recommendation as a somewhat trashy, but entertaining show. Also, Tamaki finally got acknowledged in-universe as a useless fanservice character, who now works hard at changing that. Progress, I guess.
If anybody read all this rambling, thank you.
Happy new year to everyone!
Guardian Enzo
January 1, 2021 at 5:44 pmHappy New year to you (yes, I read it)!
I had high hopes for Kabukicho Sherlock given the staff, but I dropped it after a few eps. A huge disappointment, along with IWGP.
Bob
January 2, 2021 at 4:18 amJujutsu Kaisen’s not on the poll.
Guardian Enzo
January 2, 2021 at 9:58 amIt doesn’t end till 2021.
elianthos
January 4, 2021 at 2:11 amI gotta vote for Major 2nd S2 because it’s the one series that I really found compelled/compelling to watch. GrePre left me cold on everything but presentation. Jeweler Richard was very entertaining at times + yay gems trivia but it was pretty light fare. Kamuy is the kind of series I would love (because it has many of the quirky-to-merrily-outrageous-tonal-shifts aspects of its vintage Jojo inspiration but inserted into a much tighter story/plot ) but I haven’t felt in the mood to watch it when the previous seasons were airing and now I’m so behind I’d probably stick with the manga if I wish to catch up T_T. Similarly for for Hanako, bad timing. C’est la vie.
kiwi
January 6, 2021 at 11:33 amFor anime that aired in 2020, it’s Eizouken, Dorohedoro, Haikyuu, Kakushigoto, Aggretsuko S3 and Great Pretender for me (although i have minor gripes with all these shows haha). 2020 mainly had me searching for familiarity and comfort in anime rather than new experiences though, so i took the time to rewatch many of my favorite shows (HxH, mp100, hyouka, tsuritama, Uchouten Kazoku). But i still had time to check out some old classics (Monster, Kaiji, Mononoke, Gankutsuou). I finished my HxH rewatch on New Year’s eve and was definitely crying at the end haha. :’)
2020 really sucked. I sure /looove/ the fact that i’m graduating into a pandemic-recession. But still, wishing everyone good fortune in the new year!
P.S. Enzo & everyone, there was an “indie” (arthouse?) anime film released this year called Ongaku that I cannot recommend enough. It’s about a group of delinquents who decide to make a band on a whim, and was honestly one of the best hours I’ve spent this year.
Guardian Enzo
January 6, 2021 at 7:40 pmI’ve heard of it, yeah – I’ll see if I can find it somewhere.
David Peoples
April 8, 2024 at 8:59 pm2020 – what a year!