2021 was a return to relative normalcy if nothing else – at least for anime, if not the world at large.  That’s good and bad of course, given the overall direction of the industry for the past several years.  2018 and 2020 were the worst anime years in a decade, and comfortably so (at least 2020 had an excuse but let’s face it – it was going to be bad anyway).  2021 was kind of a photo-negative of 2020 – similarly weak on the whole, but stronger in terms of depth and weak at the top.  On balance it was another creatively tired and unambitious year for anime, making three out of four (2019 was what I’d have called an average year once, but now looks like a standout).  The trends are clearly not good.

The biggest culprit is, was, and will continue to be the production committee system.  It cripples the industry creatively, making it far more difficult for ambitious projects to be produced and for anything for sure-fire formula pieces to get more than a cour.  That’s not going to change anytime soon, and it doesn’t seem as if the entry of giants like Netflix into the equation has changed much.  Netflix-produced series benefit – primarily in terms of more realistic production schedules – but the overall picture is pretty much unchanged.  If there’s any hope for 2022 to at least slow the downward trend it’s largely because of sequels – on paper this year is loaded in that department.  It’s not sustainable but at this point I’ll take what I can get.

As for 2021, what’s really striking is just how much Spring dominated.  In my decade-plus of doing year-end list I’ve never had a single season so thoroughly own a calendar year.  Spring tends to be the best season in any given year (and is almost always the biggest) but 2021 saw that reach a higher level than ever.

Here’s the breakdown on the Top 10 list:

By Season:

– Spring 2020: 1 (Kingdom 3 was delayed by a full year)

– Winter 2021: 2

– Spring 2021: 6

– Summer 2021: 0

– Fall 2021: 1

By Studio:

– Platinum Vision: 1

– TMS: 1

– Trigger: 1

– Seven Arcs: 1

– Signal.MD: 1

– Ajia-do: 1

– Bandai Namco: 1

– Pierrot Plus/Signpost: 1

– Brain’s Base: 1

– Bones: 1

What stands are here is the lack of multiple entries for the second year in a row.  And even more, that this was a list dominated by lesser-known studios, the majority of which are newcomers to the LiA Top 10 lists.  Bones is the only 2020 holdover and in fact has been on the list four years running – but that’s of course largely due to a single franchise.  It’s nice to see Brain’s Base here again – they were a staple in the early 2010’s, but the schism that led to the formation of Studio Shuka has left them much reduced.

By Source Material:

– Manga: 8

– Original: 1

– Stage Play: 1

Manga dominates this list every year, so nothing new there.  The presence of a stage play (a staged reading, in fact) adaptation, Mars Red, is certainly the most interesting element – that’s an extreme rarity on these lists (in fact it may be the first time it’s ever happened, though I wouldn’t swear to it).

And with that, we wrap another anime year at LiA.  My sincerest thanks to everyone who reads, comments, and supports the site – I certainly couldn’t do it without you.  As for 2022, we have the Oscars coming up in a few weeks and above and beyond that, I’d love to see continued growth of the YouTube channel as part of the LiA experience.  And of course I’ll be looking for new and creative ways to generate much-needed support for the site.

As for the Top 10 contest, it was a nail-biter – five of you correctly guessed 9 of the 10 entries, so great job.  Pipping it at the post was Eugene (who in checking the timestamps, got his guess in 2 minutes before I posted the #10 entry) – he wins the tiebreaker for the lowest total displacement of the correctly guessed series.  Your prize is a “top 5” of any animanga related theme you choose – please let me know via the comments to this post what you’d like, and congrats!

Thanks once more, everyone, and may 2022 be a better year for all of us (I really mean it this time).  Stay frosty.

有難うございます!

Enzo