2020 was not a very good year for myself when it came to film. However, the opposite happened when it came to anime.
I haven't completely expunged my love of anime from my system, as evident by the many appearances of Japanese animated films on my past best and worst film lists, but my overindulgence of it had been long dormant since I called it quits back in 2006-07. I was in college at the time and I was growing more and more distant toward the exported medium. I got to partake in the gloriousness of some great shows, either by myself or with the college's own anime club, such as Ouran High School Host Club and the first season of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. But it was when I was bitterly swallowing some popular shows with the club that had me rip off my imaginary otaku badge and seemingly burn the bridge to anime altogether. For those curious, the shows were the absolute slow misery porn of Hell Girl and the sheer stupid and overhypeness of the first series of Fate/stay night.
After that walk out, I fairly quickly stopped buying anime and manga and focused more on my other hobbies. I was still keeping an eye or ear to what was going on in the anime world but I slowly stopped visiting Anime News Network everyday and caring about what was the new hot property hitting Japan. This turn of events ending up being what I later call my "Splendor in the Grass moment", as the anime market would soon crash, wiping out practically all of the American licensing/distributing studios and leading to a somewhat dark age for anime until the crossover success of Attack On Titan in 2013.
Though I may have had a brief gander here or there of an anime series, or at least played a video game based on a property, it really wasn't until the American acceptance of Attack On Titan in general pop culture that kinda started the juices flowing again. I slowly started to inch my way back into anime: I partook in a couple of series; started watching anime reviews, video essays, seasonal retrospectives, and "isekai rant" videos from YouTube content creators; and going to the theaters to see movies based on anime series that I had little to no real knowledge of. The real turning point however came when I faced several issues all at once towards the end of 2019. First, I started watching the Fairy Tail anime series via Netflix but it only consisted of the first season, leaving things off at episode 48, and I really wanted to continue. Secondly, I started a habit of watching anime clips posted by the anime streaming service Crunchyroll on YouTube and they did what they were supposed to do and made me want to give some of their shows a shot. And thirdly, I really needed to see for myself what's all the hubbub around KonoSuba. Since I've never was a fan of fansubs back in the day, didn't care to get shows via alternative sites, and I frankly loathed sitting through ads, I ultimately decided to get memberships both to Funimation and Crunchyroll at the start of the new year and have at the anime buffets in front of me.
In the year of 2020, I watched 60 series, more than half of which were complete viewings. And no, I somehow didn't find in all of that free time we had during the year to actually watch KonoSuba. But I did get to enjoy some classics and fan favorites, found some diamonds in the rough, and even had the "pleasure" to be dismayed at several popular targets within the anime community. I was originally going to write out my thoughts of my journey back into anime as seen with my article on the first three seasons of My Hero Academia but like most of my writing projects on this site it quickly fell apart. To kinda make up for it, I decided to list out my watched shows of the past year, starting from what I dubbed were the best and traveling all the way down to the series that left me angry and/or stupefied.
How I formed this list is not as similar as I how I do my movie lists. While the overall quality of the show and my personal response to it are the major factors toward its grade, I have additional factors such as replayability and increased awareness of the voice acting talent. Another key difference, as hinted earlier, is that I graded shows that I have not finished or even may not choose to finish. If you see an * next to the title, that means I had a limited sampling of the show, didn't complete the series/franchise fully or, in the case of one title, it is still ongoing at the moment. Also, this list consists solely of shows that I watched via Funimation and Crunchyroll. I will not be including anime that I watched via Netflix. That means that you don't see and hear my thoughts on the masterpiece that is Cells At Work!, my struggle with Durarara!!, and the glorious stupidity that is The Irregular At Magic High School.
(NOTE: I wanted to have the full list made live right now. I will be continuing to edit and include more thoughts and screenshots until fully satisfied.)
1. Black Lagoon
When I was leaving behind my otaku wannabe lifestyle, this show was set to come out on DVD via my then favorite anime licensor Geneon Entertainment. I really thought about picking up the series as a possible farewell gift but I was tired of the "$30=3-4 episodes" routine and continued my long walk away from anime. I'm kinda glad that I finally got to watch it, along with its second season and OVA run, more than a decade later because I think that if I did view it back then, it would have been just another great show whose DVDs are currently locked up in my mounds of physical media storage. It wouldn't have been my favorite watched anime of last year, nor even one of my favorite anime shows of all time. I routinely kept rewatching the show throughout 2020, enthralled by its glorious violence, impeccable scripts, often times amazing animation, and fantastic English voice casting and direction. Similar to Simpsons and Sopranos fanatics when it comes to certain episodes, I now want to preach how "Calm Down, Two Men" is a masterpiece of television. It's not perfect: the concluding Tokyo arc can charitably be labeled as overlong and the OVAs include an icky flashback that really didn't need to be there. But I just absolutely adore this ode to moral conundrums and dirty money.
2. My Hero Academia
Up top I said that KonoSuba was one of my goals with the new subscriptions but this show was my secret real goal in mine. This despite the sheer fact that I had several chances to watch it: when the first season was on Netflix, when I bought the first two seasons through iTunes and Amazon, and when I bought a limited box set via Walmart. Anyway, the show is amazing and I really wrote most of my thoughts in a previous article. As for my opinion of season 4: Overhaul was a great villain, Eri was adorable, I loved the "oh shit!" moment of episode 2, I'll admit that I now like Kirishima, the school festival arc was a nice breather, and I'm looking forward to the next season but not so much when it comes to the possible full redemption of Endeavor. Unfortunately due to the COVID pandemic, my audio preference (the English dub) halted at episode 83. Not quite desperate, I finished the rest of the season via Crunchyroll, which wasn't a problem as the original Japanese cast is also excellent. As for those "special" OVAs, boy did they not even try to make a truly compelling piece of padding.
3. Today's Menu For The Emiya Family
Funny how life works: a franchise whose first television show helped killed my immense interest in anime in the past would later produce a series that would end up as one of my absolute favorites of the year. This show easily won me over with its laid-back nature and many scenes of creative cooking and divine dishes. It's pure comfort food, both figuratively and literally. I also just love how even a non-fan can enjoy the show's weird world where obviously some big anime war happened but now all of the warriors are just living peaceful lives as if that's what they would normally do. I will gladly go for seconds and thirds with this show.
4. Welcome To Demon School! Iruma-kun
This was one of two shows whose clips on YouTube drove me to join Crunchyroll and immediately start watching. And what a shocker, it's great. This was just a nice simple fantasy comedy that wanted to have fun and be lovable and achieved it with ease. Iruma is such a good boy, Clara is best girl, and I also appreciated its careful handling of much darker elements to the often carefree story. This show is so perfect for American consumption that it makes me mad at the current state of Cartoon Network and Disney XD. Instead, Crunchyroll got all of the show's glory, both with the original airings and an English dub that was a lot better than I expected. Now when in the hell will someone officially license the manga?!
5. Fire Force*
This was Dog Soldiers all over again. To all of those that said this show sucks and deserved to be labeled as being one for worst anime shows currently on air: I really, really hope you have some happiness in your life. I can't believe I drank that kool-aid because this shonen show is plain freaking awesome. It struggles in the early-goings trying to find some stability in its plot but once the Evangelist and the Knights come in, the show delivers incredible brawl after incredible brawl crafted with beautiful animation by David Production. It was like every episode was a straight up action blockbuster, supplied with three fantastic opening themes (still been headbanging to "MAYDAY" since its debut). As with Academia, my love for the English dub suffered from the pandemic, as I stalled out at episode 11 of the new second season. I tried the Japanese option when my interest in the show was at its peak but I stopped after the Inca arc. As much as I liked the JP crew and enjoyed hearing Zoro as the captain, I was more enamored with Funimation's company.
6. School Babysitters
This would have fallen through the cracks were it not for a random Twitter post. As kinda evident by the selection of titles on this list, shojo isn't one of my go-tos when it comes to anime entertainment. However, I am a secret sucker for it when there's something for me to latch on. I utterly adored this very cutesy and quite hilarious look at temperamental toddlers and the family that struggle with them. I really appreciated its sincerity with its tales and the fact that it just loves to put the babies through the ringer just for a laugh. But man, I didn't expect for the very first episode to wreck me the way that it did and almost made me into a sobbing mess. Probably the only thing I couldn't accept from the show wasn't actually the nose-bleeding junior but the theme songs; I could only take so much kawaii. I would love to continue the adventures of the Kashima brothers, that is if someone is man enough to license the manga!
7. Black Clover*
I remember when YouTubers and general anime fans raised a major stink at this show and said a lot of negative things about the Japanese rookie who got the main role of Asta. I hope all of those detractors had plenty of shoes and hats to eat considering it weathered the storm and became one of the most popular concurrent shonen series. I seriously plowed through the show, mainly helped when I was out for a week with the flu, and had a very fun ride up until the start of the Heart Kingdom arc with the English dub (Thanks again COVID!). Yes, the series itself isn't winning any originality awards, the constant shouting of Asta in the early-goings is rough, the padding gets annoying at times, and there are often issues with the animation and plenty of off-model shots. But it more than makes up for it in many fronts. It possesses the best overall cast of characters with the Black Bulls. The story offers up many huge surprises, such as when a routine side-story mission ends explosively with a sudden duel between the group's captain and the big bad. And as with your attachment to the heroes, you as the viewer find yourself more and more cheering on as the show improves itself with better drama, fantastic fights, and some jaw-dropping animation. And just when it tries to settle down for a bit, in comes episode 151 to shake up expectations and have the whole anime world buzzing.
8. I Couldn't Become A Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided To Get A Job
Every anime fan has a select number of titles that they personally really enjoy and wish were more well known or popular. For myself, this show has joined that list. I think its premise of a fantasy take of My Hero Academia but following down a Bad End route is purely brilliant. I really enjoyed the central couple and I just loved the plethora of worldbuilding it offers. But what really made the show stick with me was how real it got with its story of a post-graduate's life. The euphoria of becoming a new voice being swept away by economic and political dilemmas. The struggle to spin your artistic qualities in interviews. The melancholic get-togethers with your graduating friends. Seeing a strong-willed female friend struggling with sexism. All of that really cut me to the core and made me fall more in love with the show. Sadly, it just came and went back in 2013 and its original light novel series ended shortly there after, with nary even an English fan translation. The show has some issues, such as its very high fan service quotient that even had diehard anime fans think is really too much and not necessary, but I would like to go back to it often and help champion it as an unsung little gem.
9. My Next Life As A Villainess: All Routes Lead To Doom!
If you want to know what was my best 2020 show of the year, and disqualify Iruma-kun since it technically premiered at the end of 2019, this is the one. What an absolutely fun and charming show to have in this day and age. Catarina is just such a great protagonist, able to remind so lovable despite being so dense and putting a nice spin to the ole harem hero trope. I also loved how the show plays with the limitations of video game storytelling and the conventions of isekai tales. Even with its "whoa, that's pretty dark" conclusion, this was pretty much a perfectly packed season of television. Which poses a problem, considering it got renewed for a second season. From what I learned from its later light novel volumes, I like many others do kinda wish that this series would only stay 12 episodes.
10. Lord Marksman and Vanadis
Despite many opportunities as a kid (my older brother begged me several times to read The Hobbit), I just wasn't a fan of the fantasy genre. It wasn't really until my teen years when I started to get the itch for it. Two of the non-Tolkien titles to help this new interest were Record of Lodoss War and Fire Emblem (both the GBA video game and the anime OVA). With my return to anime, I was looking to find some non-isekai fantasy to sink my teeth into and found one in this light novel adaptation. Luckily enough, it even felt like it was a Fire Emblem title, with a hint of Valkyria Chronicles and an added touch of Robin Hood. The show is a straight-up fun and thrilling tale of swords, sorcery, bows, betrayals, and boobs, supplemented by a opening theme that would make Hiroyuki Sawano call up his lawyers. It only has two caveats: it really rushes itself to near exhaustion, squeezing five volumes into 13 episodes, and though the fan service is more on the playful end, it doesn't help that it is debatably implemented during an attempted rape scene in the second episode.
11. Dagashi Kashi
This show looked to absolutely be in my top ten after viewing its first season. I loved its great humor, all of the amazing candies, sweets and snacks it featured prominently, the goofy fan service, the stellar English cast, and the way it easily achieves in making you want to leisurely hang out with these characters in their dinky small town. Then came the second season. Granted, it is certainly not bad in the slightest but you still have to stare in shock as you watch the series have its wings clipped. The show's star, the buxom and candy-crazy Hotaru, becomes MIA. Episodes are now 15 minutes long, with more focus on drama rather than the absurd comedy. And because of that switch-up in the storytelling, you as the viewer can no longer keep yourself from shouting at the protagonist to stop whining and just work at the shop while also following his mangaka dream. A great show to rewatch but try to limit your time with the second season as much as you can.
12. Tsuredure Children
The original manga that was adapted into this show has now become one of my absolute favorites of all time. I love the characters, the humor, the melodrama, the year-long journey of all of the romantic struggles and courtships between the teens, etc. So of course it would be a tall order for the show to match up to that high opinion, especially given that it came out in the middle of the manga's run and had no chance for a proper conclusion. I ultimately really enjoyed the show and liked both of the voice casts, though the English version had a couple of dud performances. The big problem against it however, especially for manga fans, is that it really needed a better handling in the direction department. The characters/couples are quite limited with several shocking cuts of fan favorites, it spends too much time on Kamine and Goda, one of the title's big love triangles is dropped suddenly after episode 5, and again the show just ends right when it gets going. I know the show most likely had a limited budget and the animation crew did do the best they could in adapting the material. It's just hard to shake off the bug of disappointment.
13. The Pet Girl of Sakurasou*
This completed show must have really impacted me somewhat fierce for it to be this high up despite only watching the first half of it. It is just a lovely romantic comedy that brings a lot of depth to its colorful cast of characters and really nails conveying their feelings of ambition, insecurity and jealously. Props also go to how it waltzes with standard anime storylines (misfit wants to leave the land of misfits, old friend wants someone to come back home) and making them feel fresh. I don't really have a reason for why I stopped at episode 12 other than it was a perfect time to give my heart a break before embarking on another round of melodramatic bliss. This year I will definitely finish the show.
14. Himouto! Umaru-chan
Finally glad to see and know why people were once marveling over some orange blobby girl thingy and placing her in many a GIF. This was a very funny and heartwarming little comedy that often made me thirsty for some Coca-Cola. Unfortunately, Crunchyroll only had the first series; if I wanted to experience Umaru-chan R, I would have to plop down a monthly payment to HiDive or buy the blu-ray. Honestly, at this moment, I kinda had my fill and don't really have the urge for more antics just yet.
15. Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga
I watched the first series of this shonen property on Netflix and had the same experience as nearly all anime fans: loved the first 15 episodes, hated the rest (though #19 is enjoyable). I really wanted to watch its much later produced second season, which thankfully retcons the putrid original material and sticks close to the original manga, but Netflix didn't have it yet. I was about to watch it via Crunchyroll when Funimation announced it being on their service complete with the English dub (my preferred cast). This season certainly isn't very friendly for newcomers but it delivers some pretty awesome action and great development among the cast. Plus, that absolute killer opening theme by UVERworld.
16. Monster Girl Doctor
The runaway summer 2020 show for me. Yes, I was easily sucked in by the appeal of a show featuring a plethora of various female anthropomorphized monsters. But what really made me like the show and come back to it often, both in Japanese and English, wasn't just that nor the hit-or-miss fan service. It was how the show really took a medical look at what makes a monster girl tick per se and played with the traits associated with the fantasy beings. Couple that with some interesting world building, general camaraderie among the characters, and the great relationship between the protagonist Glenn and his lamia assistant Saphee. The show ended with a fun victory lap episode and a promise for a second season. So far it sadly looks like that may not happen but I and other fans at least can continue on with the original light novels thanks to Seven Seas.
17. Monster Musume: Everyday Life With Monster Girls
Technically, as revealed by Monster Girl Doctor's author Yoshino Origuchi, his idea wouldn't have existed were it not for this very monster girl show and the original manga it came from. Also technically, I would rate this show higher compared to Monster Girl Doctor in terms of animation, direction, humor, music, and acting. To further add in its favor, this show gets shocking great in the drama department whenever it puts the focus on the human/monster cohabitation aspect. So why do I have it just below Doctor? Though I laughed quite a lot through out the series, some of the really adult jokes borderline on hentai material and just turned me off in general. I was also quite dismayed at the several threats of sexual assault that popped up and the scummy characters who were created solely to be gross and rile up the audience. I would gladly watch it again but I would need to be ready to skip ahead at certain points.
18. Seton Academy: Join The Pack!
And here's the second show Crunchyroll sold me on to join their service, while also being the very first thing I watched. This school comedy featuring animal girls (clearly different from monster girls) isn't going to win major awards or truly stand out a ton but it's a very funny and surprisingly educational show. Hina Kino was fantastic as the rambunctious Ranka, the gags involving the always dying sloth girl were a delight, and I found myself rewatching episodes more than once. Even with some stumbling issues, most notably the buzz-killing/tsundere-acting male lead, it's a simple delight. And I must lament yet again: where the hell is the manga at?
19. Kiss Him, Not Me
I had some reservations with the central premise of this shojo title but I decided to give it a shot after catching some clips of the English dub. I really enjoyed my time with it and was quite stunned at some of the plot turns it featured even if its just for one episode. I applaud seeing a harem show where the harem falls apart in the early stages or when an accidental instance of sexual aggression leads to serious consequences and thoughts. I also have to really give it to Funimation as I was more pleased with their cast, scripts and direction (especially when it came to episode 5) compared to the original take (going with that fat voice, huh Kana Hanazawa?). For anyone else interested: it's better to relish the show as a funny rom-com than as a harem because it's way too obvious who the main heroine will end up with from the very first episode.
20. Rail Wars!
Whenever I think about this show, I instantly recall an old MADtv gag commercial about "Horse Porn", a very special magazine that combines the separate niches of hippology and pornography. Just swap out horses with trains and lower the erotica quotient from full frontal nudity to reasonably high fan service and you have this light novel adaptation. I frankly appreciated how nerdy and pervy it got because it just goes all in on both fronts while trying to keep a straight face as a high stakes action-comedy. I had a real blast with it but I have to admit that while I may laugh off at how literally every single female character is in love with the dorky main protagonist, I can't forgive whenever the male lead goes "oh woe is me" at not being a train operator.
21. In Another World With My Smartphone
Oh boy, some people will be mad seeing this high on a list that doesn't have "Worst" in the title. I can't lie: I had such a fun time with this isekai that I watched the whole thing in English twice and nearly did it again in Japanese. It's a fluffy show with pitifully low stakes but I enjoyed the characters and their goofy adventures. I also liked how it even dared to make itself a true harem show or constantly mock itself with its abundance of deus ex machinas. I really think that it was the Funimation dub that fueled my enjoyment as the original version is okay but lacks a bit of punch. Of course not everything works in the show; I was not a fan of its hypocritical attitude towards a certain underage girl and I hated how it ends by remembering at the very last minute to introduce that stranger who kept appearing in the opening credits. It is not a perfect show in the slightest but it is certainly not as abysmal as many anime aggregated review sites say it is.
22. Fairy Tail*
The show that made me subscribe to Funimation sadly ends up below my top 20. Why? Because of season 2. This season starts off with a few solid episodes and then kicks into the Oracion Seis arc. Though the arc welcomes Wendy and Carla to the story and features some cool early fights, it greatly bogged itself down and had me begging for it to end. And once it does thankfully end with a great conclusion, I then had to watch a jawdroppingly awful mini-arc made especially for the anime to finish the season. Season 3, on the other hand, lifted me back up and I'm currently in the back half of the Edolas arc and rocking out to "The Rock City Boy".
23. Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered But Overly Cautious
I remember when this first premiered and critics were overfrothing themselves over it being another welcoming parody of isekai tropes. Didn't hear much after that but I didn't think much about it. At first, I was laughing a lot with the first couple of episodes but then I grew tired of the same comedic notes being hit. I actually stopped halfway but picked the show back up later in the year. The drama side of the show suddenly picks up and gets me more intrigued. Then came episode 11. Yeah, no wonder people stopped hailing the show as a new comedic masterpiece. I didn't cry at all with the last episode but it did make me enjoy the full experience. Like the hero though, I need to be cautious when recommending it to other people.
24. Teasing Master Takagi-San (Season 1)
The second season of this show is a favorite of mine and is my go-to Netflix title whenever I want to watch something heartwarming or, in the case of its last episode, if I want a little cry. I was glad to finally experience the first season, which sadly didn't get the Saiki K treatment on Netflix and be made available for interested viewers. Once I viewed it all, I can now see why some people aren't a fan and were turned off by the series. Takagi's teasing of Nishikata wasn't always charming and Nishikata doesn't really earn many "wins" for anyone's liking this season. It also greatly lacked a binding idea, such as the large focus on the character's hands in the second season. But by the end, I was enjoying the skits more and it ended with a great final episode. This would have been higher on the list but the original English dub prevented that from happening. Watching only a couple of episodes, I just didn't really like Funimation's take. Aaron Dismuke has always been hit-or-miss for me and Sarah Wiedenheft was fine but sounded like a high schooler rather than a middle schooler.
25. Kokoro Connect*
Ah, so this is where that masturbation GIF comes from! I was giving this show double thumbs up when it first started. I loved the characters, the sci-fi gimmick that plays with the fourth wall, and all of its well-earned melodrama. But then you realize after the first arc that the show is kinda just spinning in circles. The two succeeding predicaments end the same way with everyone realizing once again that hey maybe we should talk things out and be real with our emotions. And even if you are fine with it, the show ends on an absolutely horrible tease for its later OVA releases, which provides the actual conclusion to the show! I still give it high marks for what it achieves but I don't know if I want to go back to it often.
26. Uzaki-chan Wants To Hang Out!
Bizarrely, this was the most controversial anime of 2020. Well, only if discount that other show that's pretty much a hentai (a well received one at that). This was mainly because a few reviewers had their justifiable reasons for not enjoying it and a whole ton of online idiots that weren't paying fully attention. I was really looking forward to this show as I'm a fan of the manga. Granted, the show is quite simple and sometimes poor in the animation front. Plus, the flat direction does kill some of its better jokes and that "vacation" episode was quite dubious. But I had a blast seeing the characters with voices and in motion as they recreated memorable gags; I frankly loved how a lot of people gravitated to the chocolate mint speech. I also enjoyed the additions and changes the makers made to fill in the gaps of the story, such as the new prologue or the hilarious aftermath to the ruined futon incident. Can't wait to continue seeing the two college kids slowly fall in love with the next season.
27. Hitori Bocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu*
This entry and the very next one were being watched at the end of the year and remain currently in progress. I saw some of the immense love anime fans have for this comedy but my first try ended after the first episode. A very odd reaction for myself considering I've enjoyed many other school based comedies revolving around a social disorder afflicted individual. I gave it a second shot and it's going down more smoothly after four episodes. Though man, that running headbutt joke with the would-be perfect student is so Japanese and getting pretty stale.
28. Tenchi Muyo! War On Geminar*
I've kinda steered clear of the Tenchi Muyo! franchise after the fiasco that was Tenchi In Tokyo and being not really enamored with the first DVD of GXP. But I caught some clips from this show, which strangely was marketed and titled as a random isekai in Japan, and decided to take the plunge. It's a fun romp but seriously the episodes don't need to be nearly a hour long. Most of the material in them could've been easily condescended and I'm pulling a Milhouse and begging for the show to get to the rebellion plot already.
29. Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk*
Video game anime tend to quickly dissipate save for the big heavyweights like Pokemon. For example, I just recently found out that NES shmup favorites Gradius and Salamander were adapted into OVAs. This show, based on the once prominent Namco series, kinda did too which is really sad considering the amount of effort put behind it. I was first intrigued by it way back when it was released on DVD and some of the very glowing reviews it received. Finally got around to watching it and my god what a phenomenal first episode it has. And then the show follows that up with an amazing opening that I'm shocked nobody ever talks about. I unfortunately hard-stopped after the third episode for no reason other than being distracted by other works but I really would like to return to this playful yet serious dungeon crawler.
30. Shadowverse*
I'm a sucker for card game anime. This show was an easy target to mock for 2020 anime reviewers but honestly it's a decent enough watch. It clearly has a budget behind its animation and voice cast. No joke, I think I would rather play this game than Hearthstone.
31. GATE*
I churned through this show at a fast rate, relishing all of the military vs. fantasy action and the fish out of water jokes. I stomached its leaden nationalist propaganda and inadequate writing just so I could mark out when the female soldier took out a whole room of soldiers and punched the shit out of the evil prince. And then five episodes before reaching the finish line, I suddenly stopped. Maybe it was the shitty storyline where the main hero pretends to be the dead dad of one of his love interests. Maybe it was because I revolted at how the big evil king is given a reprieve and the chumped out prince returns as the possible final villain. Whatever the real reason was, it sucked out pretty much all of my enthusiasm for the show and prevented me from trying to blow through the remaining episodes. Hopefully I'll just take the plunge this year.
32. Wise Man's Grandchild
This show barely qualified as an isekai and is frankly quite average but it had some of the same fun and energy that I liked from Smartphone and the later magic battles were pretty cool. I also kinda liked how the main antagonist was content with achieving his simple evil dream, stopped there and went straight to babymaking mode. One final note: Seriously, what the hell was with that one episode intro with the bidet?
33. Princess Connect! Re:Dive
This had all of the earmarks for me. A cute elf girl, a cute warrior princess, a cute catgirl, a focus on food and cooking, and a comedic fantasy attitude. Couple all of that with some pricey animation quality and it should have been a perfect fit. Alas, while I did enjoy it, it just wasn't something to stick with me fully. It seemed to care too much on introducing too many side characters and its implementation of some drama into the story didn't really work to its fullest.
34. Another
So this was part of an attempt to watch some horror anime to help celebrate Halloween. Unfortunately there really isn't a whole lot to choose from on the streaming sites that looked appealing and are considered good by fans. This was one of the better ones but even it kinda stinks. I watched the whole series and said to myself that it would have been better as a movie, only to then find that the show is based on a book and was adapted into a live-action film. Anime critic Mother's Basement was right: the show is far more laughable with its gruesome deaths and kid-on-kid violence than actually chilling. Still, despite plenty of eye-rolling, I oddly looked back on it fondly, similar to how I feel about some regular horror movies. Like those, I wouldn't mind watching it all over again.
35. Astro Boy*
This entry kicks off a block of shows that you would call laid-back entertainment, the kind you simply enjoy without thinking too much and/or having on in the background. I have had many glances at this OG anime and only watched the first three episodes but it is something I like to come back every now and then just to see how crazy and strangely smart kids shows used to be. Seriously, the second episode has a Frankenstein robo-monster straight up killing a robo-ballet dancer and the third episode deals heavily with xenophobia and the show's consistent theming of a robot's soul.
36. Card Fight!! Vanguard*
Again, I'm a card game anime sucker so I watched the first five episodes of this series. It's fine but I'm still confused as to whether this is the first series of this convoluted franchise or a remake. I also hated how the main character later befriended his bully, the one who literally preyed on his social disorder and stomped the daylights out of him when the prick stole his legendary card/comfort object.
37. One Piece*
Yeah, it's a classic anime but grading it is a tall ordeal unless you're a masochist and watch every single episode within a calendar year. I wanted to watch the new dub of the Punk Hazard arc but just plain stopped after two episodes. No reason other than that I wanted to watch something new and different.
38. NG Knight Lamune & 40*
I watched the Knights of Ramune OVA way back when and always had a curiosity for the franchise it spawned from despite the fact that that video sucked eggs. It was a one and done really of this first series but I'm always a sucker of early 90's anime.
39. Digimon Universe App Monsters*
Oh Digimon, when will I fall for you truly? Never really could as a kid or as a teen but I keep giving it a try. I thought I only watched the first few episodes of this series, the last original attempt for the franchise, but I shockingly found out that I only just watched the first episode. Must have been the lame main character or all of the eye-rolling I did at its smartphone gimmick.
40. Mon Colle Knights*
And the laid-back block ends with an old favorite. I watched this series back when it was airing on Fox Kids and had some joy with it. When it was announced that it was to come to Crunchyroll in its original language, I though it might be a good nostalgia trip. That really didn't happen and I stopped after the first episode. Oh boy, some of its original humor has not aged well.
41. Actually, I Am...
I was enjoying this semi-throwback to old harem shows with a monster/alien/supernatural twist for most its run, even with the main character being as flat as the show's actual title (the English manga title is way more fitting). But then the show shoots itself in the foot with its last two episodes and I was unfortunately happy to be done with the series.
42. Strike The Blood*
This was part of my initiative to watch all of the series that were featured in the awesome PS3 fighting game Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax. Though I was looking forward to it, this series didn't really wow me in its first arc, aka the first four episodes. I'll pick it up again later but it is already getting further pushed back in my shuffle of shows.
43. Tower of God*
One of the heavily hyped Crunchyroll Originals, this manhwa adaptation had me shrugging. I might just chug through it someday but I don't think its sometimes pretty animation and cool action fights will make up for all of its problems.
44. Chrome Shelled Regios*
I'm glad that I haven't looked up other's opinions of this show just yet because while I'm having some fun with it, it's just a overwhelming mess of light novel tropes. It takes place at a superpowered high school, the MC is secretly OP, classes and teams fight against each other, then those teams team up to fight other cities for resources, the main city is in a sci-fi bubble trying to survive in a post-apocalypse, there are evil giant monsters, there are glowing fairy things and animals, and there's a big ole subplot that may be a flashback or is some very crappy movie the characters are watching. And my god, what a dreadful title! My admiration for the show's Rei Ayanami clone Felli Loss and her relationship with the protagonist Layfon, plus Brina Palencia's performance as Nina, will allow me to continue past episode 15 and finish the series but it will still be a struggle to watch.
45. My First Girlfriend Is A Gal
The show that was saved by its English dub. No lie, I had a lot of laughs with the Funimation version but even at 10 episodes, this show quickly lost it luster. The fireworks scene is a great moment that I still think about but then the show follows that up with an awful concluding chapter. Worthy of a glance but your mileage will vary on whether it will totally stick with you.
46. Oreshura
This show should have been higher up this list but it just can't. It fails as a harem show, especially considering its real full title straight up tells you that the "fake" girlfriend and the childhood friend are the only ones with a real shot. It does a lot of telling not showing, especially with the so-called sad backstories of its main protagonists. The chunibyo comedy/drama is handled better in other shows and it likes to rely on JoJo's Bizarre Adventure references for cheap pops. I know that a lot of other people like or even love this show but it's kinda clear why it still hasn't had a second season.
47. Nanbaka*
Now we have a small block of shows that I took a gander at and pretty much flopped. I was intrigued by this show's very vibrant color palate and its gimmick of a tsundere prison warden. Despite an adequate pilot, I just wasn't amused in the slightest.
48. Uchitama? Have You Seen My Tama?*
I was intrigued by the press surrounding this show and its central gimmick of switching between the cartoony creatures and their dogboy counterparts. Upon finishing the first episode, I had no drive to continue with it. Its fluffy harmless nature frankly expedited its demise and lead myself and others to remark, "Oh yeah that was a 2020 show wasn't it?"
49. The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?!*
I watched an episode of this isekai chiefly because it premiered on my birthday. Despite being more accepting of an isekai anime compared to the many, many jaded anime fans who love to bash them from all corners online, this show was flatter than dollar store cola.
50. Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE*
Same as the above entry: an episode premiered on my birthday. I put it lower because I had no idea what was going on in the plot and no drive to care. Plus it had far more talking than giant roboting, which might be one of the many reasons why nobody likes mecha anime anymore.
51. The Future Diary*
Now we get to the true worst shows I watched last year. This bottom ten kicks off with a real doozy, a show that is quite infamous among the anime community. I really enjoy the idea of a battle royale story where the protagonist's only ally is a yandere. I also genuinely loved when the show actually nails its horror aspects, most notably the chilling conclusion of episode 3. Plus those great stinger segments with the would-be mascot. But this show is straight up nihilistic junk. When it's not crude or misogynistic it's beyond stupid. I didn't know what I hated more: the game itself, the MC being proficient in throwing darts, everything from episode 2, or how every major female character needed to be sexually humiliated and/or raped. I only watched six episodes and was dismayed that there were 20 more to go. The dumpster diver/bad movie lover in me does want to continue but it's going to be a hard journey.
52. Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS*
No wonder this show still hasn't aired dubbed here in America despite the still resonating popularity of the card game. Its first episode needs to be held as an example in all future studies of how not to make an anime pilot. I sent my entire deck into the graveyard after the third episode. At least it didn't give me a massive headache like when I watched season 2 of ARC-V.
53. Love Tyrant
My experience of viewing this series was similar to Actually, I Am... but it fell apart way sooner. I liked the yandere would-be girlfriend before they ran the joke into the ground and then decided to ruin it all by explaining her backstory. I liked the the MC's younger sister and her issues with an evil penguin before they ran that into the ground as well. The same thing happens with all of the show's jokes and then it bottoms completely out whenever it tries to be super serious, especially in the last couple of episodes. Plus holy shit, what an absolutely ugly protagonist! It furthered dropped in my opinion when I tried to stomach its pitiful English dub.
54. Triage X
Big breasts can only get you so far. I should have listened to the title's fanbase and just read the manga as this show is just eye-rollingly bad. This anime take on Death Wish heavily censored all of the "good bits" (need to sell those blu-rays!), leaving you to enjoy its edgelord tripe and clear swiping of American blockbuster entertainment. There's some very minor fun sprinkled here and there but it's greatly overshadowed by the poor fan service and laughable story.
55. The Asterisk War*
I saw all of the bile spewed by reviewers and thought to myself that it couldn't be that bad. Oh it's bad alright but the kind of bad that eventually leaves no real lasting impression. You might loathe something more but at least there's weight to it and some worth, unlike this show. Besides its opening and ending themes, I struggled to think of anything good in the first season. I even had a hard time thinking of a memorable moment, good or bad. All I can really remember about the show was that it had a blond bombshell that the protagonist of course has no interest for, it distressingly loved to gaze at the undressing of an underage supporting girl, and that it had a magician tag team tournament where two mechas somehow were allowed to compete. You can find those things in more noteworthy shows, including those magical mechas.
56. Tanaka-kun Is Always Listless*
There were shows I stopped coldly after the first episode and then there's this fiasco. I was looking forward to this show after seeing a few clips only for me to sit through 25 minutes laugh-free. I wanted to stop once the eyecatch popped up but I did my duty and finished the first episode. A part of me wants to give it another try, hence why the show is still in my Crunchyroll queue, but it might be quite a long while.
57. Snack World*
Poor Level-5. They have been going through some hard times lately, with this failure of a cross-media franchise being one of their latest missteps. Despite being perfect for the Cartoon Network of the past, the whole show was dumped on Crunchyroll one day and was quickly washed away from view the next, aka the Netflix Effect. I took a gander and while I may be putting this lower than it really should be, there really wasn't anything interesting or enjoyable to remember of this failure.
58. Infinite Stratos 2
Some people warned me about this popular series but I still went ahead. I didn't have access to the first season so I just winged it with the second season. And holy shit, what a catastrophe. The MC is a total dope (yes, I know he's different in the novels), the action sucks, the comedy is more miss than hit, the plot is pathetic, and once you reach the end you realize that nothing much happened. Though my admiration for Charlotte and Laura has kept the franchise lingering in my mind, I gladly never want to watch this specific season ever again.
59. The Lost Village
A full blown disaster. And this was my first real taste of Mari Okada. Seriously, the first episode ends and the entire group of unlikable dumbasses were still not even close to the titular location. Then they get there and proceed to act like total psychos when they aren't whining and complaining or running away from laughable evil spirits. And man, you could easily see when the production of the show changed, as the makers had to quickly resolve all of the stupidity that it could. It is too torturous of a watch to be considered so bad it's good.
60. Chargeman Ken*
This show, however, is properly so bad it's good. This glorious disasterpiece had to be at the bottom but I would gladly watch more of its harsh 70's violence, missing sound effects, dreadful direction, putrid scripts, and that awful robot.
There you go. This was fun so I might do it again next year, depending on my watch output. Though, as I sadly joked up top, this so-called annual list might be an one and done thing. We will have to wait and see come next January.
