[00:02] too much of a good thing. 2025 was one of the greatest years of all time for anime, if not the greatest. And at the end of it, I just feel exhausted, man.
[00:15] Don't get me wrong, I am also thrilled with all of the incredible anime that I got to watch this year. But I'm also bummed at all of the ones that I just wasn't able to find time for. And how many that I did find time for, I
[00:30] couldn't find space for on this top 10, even without putting any sequels on it, which we don't do because it's supposed to be, you know, recommendations so [music] that people can jump in and watch all the good anime. The flip side
[00:43] of that is you are about to see quite possibly the most stacked list I have ever put on this channel except maybe the greatest isekai list. But holy crap,
[00:56] it took a lot out of me. These are Mother's Basement's best anime of 2025 brought to you by Mother's Basement. I it up. It's Rosetta Stone. I'm so tired. Every weeb dreams of the day they'll be
[01:12] able to watch anime without subtitles. And this Christmas, Rosetta Stone's patented immersive language learning method can help make that dream come true for you or any of your loved weebs. For the rest of December, you can get a
[01:25] lifetime of Japanese lessons for just 99 bucks. Or pay49 for all 25 Rosetta Stone courses and schedule it to hit your friends or family's inboxes right on
[01:37] Christmas Day. A perfect hassle-free present for anyone who's been too busy to shop this holiday. And if you're that busy, it might just be the perfect gift to give yourself, too. Rosetta Stone's bite-sized lessons are designed to be
[01:50] digested when and wherever you have time on your phone, tablet, or PC. Plus, their audio companion app lets you squeeze in extra listening practice on the go to make sure you get in the regular reps you need to make any new
[02:05] language stick. and their true accent voice recognition tech monitors your pronunciation to make sure it sticks right. This is the best deal Rosetta Stone has to offer all year. So, click my link in the doobly-doo or scan the QR
[02:19] code on screen to get in while the getting's good and give a gift that will last a lifetime. As a rule, I don't generally put shorter anime on these end ofear lists, but that's mainly important for the trash
[02:33] cute animal stock clips we got to pay for down. Sometimes you got to say screw the rules, though, especially when they might stop you from celebrating an achievement as impressive as 10th place Milky Subway: The Galactic Limited
[02:48] Milky Subway: The Galactic Limited Express.
[03:08] "What's the achievement exactly?" I mean, we've all seen CG anime before, and sure, most of them don't have body language anywhere near that expressive, art direction that charming or comic timing that on point. But so what? That
[03:22] just makes it a good anime. Well, what if I told you that all 12 episodes of that good anime were animated by one guy? Three years ago, a YouTube animator named Yohi uploaded a fun little short film called Milky Highway about two cute
[03:38] alien girls on a Sunday space drive, jam into their favorite space pop song so hard that they accidentally get into a high-speed space chase and blow up a space police drone. Milky Subway picks up right where its prequel left off as
[03:53] they and four other space delinquents are sentenced to clean up the titular space train as part of their space community service which as you saw somehow leads to another high-speed chase and the toaster girl getting her
[04:06] head blown off. I will leave the precise details of that somehow for you to discover though since you can watch the whole series right now right here on YouTube with a pretty good dub even for free in a little over half an hour and
[04:21] immediately see for yourself what makes it so damn good. Though, if you need me to give you the short version, incredibly dense cinematic storytelling and comedy fueled by strong storyboards, stronger writing, phenomenal animated
[04:35] performances, and a snappy overlappingy style of naturalistic dialogue that makes the whole thing deeply satisfying to both watch and rewatch. To be clear, it would still be impressive and one of the year's best and funniest anime if it
[04:51] was made by an entire studio. But the fact that I can fit all of the credits fact that I can fit all of the credits onto one screen is insane. It really is remarkable how new technology keeps empowering independent
[05:04] artists to do the work of much bigger teams. Not you. But at the same time, it's hard to shake the feeling that we've lost something intangible and important along the way. One of these new YouTube indie anime, Dungeons and
[05:18] Television, actually tries to recapture some of that old magic using traditional cell animation in its OP, and that is really cool to see, but it's not quite the same as having a whole fantasy series steeped in that classic earthy
[05:33] series steeped in that classic earthy analog vibe. Luckily, Modern Tech also lets us fake that, as seen in number nine, Clevites.
[05:57] Clevitess's fantasy world is a little on the small side. With the various races of man hemmed in on all sides by hordes of unfathomably powerful dark beasts,
[06:09] our drive to explore and conquer won't be so easily contained, though, and prophecies tell of the day when heroes armed with magic weapons, which can only be forged by the king of Heiden, will rise up to slay the four beast lords and
[06:24] free humanity from its cage. And after the titular beast lord Clevitess is done mopping 13 heroes worth of giblets off his doorstep, he decides to tell humanity exactly where they can shove that prophecy. But when he finds a small
[06:40] child crying in the smoking rubble of Heiden, his fate is set on a new course. Using dark magic, he revives the least eviscerated hero, Alicia, as his undying
[06:52] minion to help him raise the baby Luna and guard them both on an undercover journey through the world that he might gain mankind's measure through the eyes of an impartial innocent and in so doing determine if any of us are worth sparing
[07:07] his wrath. And thus, three men and the baby meets Lord of the Rings in an epic dark fantasy quest that actually lives up to the epic and dark fantasy parts of that sentence. We're talking very dark here, by the way. Slavery, including the
[07:23] sexual variety, is presented unflinchingly on screen, but it does treat those subjects with the weight they deserve and avoids objectifying their victims. And I think it's worth powering through even if you have a weak
[07:37] stomach for that sort of thing because with a rich nuanced world, unconventional and interconnected power systems, and a whole mess of genuinely kick-ass action strung together by clever and heartfelt storytelling, there
[07:50] is plenty to recommend Clevetest to fantasy enjoyers of all stripes. I'd go so far as to call it the secret big fourth of the new big fantasy 3 of frerin dungeon meshy and witch hatellier. But despite all that, my
[08:06] favorite thing about it is just the vibe, man. Even more so than Megalobox, it makes me feel a certain kind of way that no other anime from the last quarter century has. And I think you'll feel the same if you give it a shot. On
[08:20] the other hand, if you want a dark fantasy adventure with a feel unlike any anime you've seen before, you should keep an eye on eighth place, Gachiaka.
[08:44] comes pretty close conceptually to Gachiakuta's literal dumpster of a world. Battle Angel Alita. But where that classic cyberpunk manga and its adaptations frame Zullum, the floating world of the elites who've left everyone
[09:00] else to rumage through their trash as a faroff mystery. Gachiakuta starts with its slum rat hero already living there. So he and we can see exactly how rotten
[09:13] and frivolous the society of the sphere really is beneath its overpolished facade before they cast him over the edge with the rest of the day's garbage. After somehow surviving that fall, Rudo finds himself unexpectedly at home in an
[09:30] underworld full of other scrappy survivors. Before long, he's taken in by the Cleaners, a group of givers who use the incredible powers they can channel through their most cherished treasures to defend ordinary folks from hulking
[09:45] monstrosities of living garbage that terrorize the toxic wastes. And with their help, plus his own giver gloves, which can draw such power out of any piece of trash, Rudo plans to claw his way back up to the sphere and send
[10:02] everyone who took everything from him crashing down to earth. Gachiakuta is punk as specifically thrash punk in its musical stylings and Shabuya punk in its
[10:15] setting and vibe. That's the same micro genre as Jetet Radio, No More Heroes, Scott Pilgrim, and The World Ends With You, by the way, if you're not familiar with the term, like I wasn't until I started researching this anime and said,
[10:30] "Oh, pretty much all my favorite things are that." But even within that space, Gachiakuta stands out for how starkly its gritty, grimy garbage pile of a
[10:43] world contrasts with all the life and culture and art that thrives within it. Not everyone's going to with this anime. Kana's art style is intentionally sharp
[10:55] and abrasive, closer to what you'd expect to see sprayed on a Tokyo underpass than inked on the page of a manga. and Bones adapts her work very faithfully. I know quite a few folks who've called the characters ugly and I
[11:10] wouldn't necessarily disagree, though I would argue that often belies their beautiful souls. This is a story full of warmth and kindness where you least expect to find it. And more than once, the cast caught me offguard with a
[11:25] potent combination of vulnerability and brutal honesty. That said, some things about the show and the aspects of humanity it explores are just plain
[11:37] ugly. And while like Clevitess, Gachiakuta handles those subjects with the gravitas they deserve and even more sensitivity, if you have a hard time with depictions of grooming and child abuse, consider yourself warned. There
[11:53] is no good way to segue off of that. So, seventh place goes to 2B Hero X.
[12:08] >> If there's any genre that's harder to find a fresh angle on than isekai, it's got to be superheroes. But 2B Hero X pulls it off with an elegantly topical high concept. Instead of radiation or mutation, this world's heroes get their
[12:24] powers from the people. Our perception of trust in and wishes for them as represented by a magic follower count shape their abilities. Villains and monsters, meanwhile, are quite literally fueled by fear, their own and that of
[12:40] the public, which make their powers more potent, but also volatile. Trust is just as much of a double-edged sword, though. If the masses need a man who will always stand tall in the face of anything, that can make him invincible, yet at the same
[12:57] can make him invincible, yet at the same time render him incapable of falling for any reason, even if it's just to sleep or sit down to take a And while the system does mean that anyone can be a hero, that also means anyone can be a
[13:13] hero. Many spend more time jockeying for better rankings than they do saving people. And should a villain or rival wish to take one down, it's often easier to attack their image than the person themselves. Plus, it's just as easy for
[13:28] folks to put their trust in the wrong people as the right ones, especially when they have money to burn on PR campaigns and sock puppet armies. It's a fairly transparent allegory for the modern social media landscape. One major
[13:43] platform in universe is literally called FOMO, but the satire is no less effective for its blatancy, and the show uses it as a springboard for all manner of dramatic story arcs about deeply human heroes, which interweave into a
[13:58] grand nonlinear tapestry of lingering mysteries and lurking conspiracies centered around the massive annual tournament to crown the top hero X. And in case all this talk of themes and social commentary has you worried, rest
[14:15] assured the fights in that tournament and outside it whoop all kinds of butt. Under the visionary direction of Lee Haing, 2B Hero X employs a bold mixed media approach to its animation, blending 3D scenes reminiscent of arcane
[14:31] with highquality 2D visuals, often but not always reminiscent of the heavy shading and screen tone colors of American comics. Combine that with some wildly creative power sets and Hiroyuki mothering Solino music and you've got a
[14:48] recipe for the most exciting action you will see this year. At least on the small screen. That'd be a real good segue into res arc if we were doing sequels. But thankfully spin-offs are a whole lot more accessible for new
[15:01] viewers than sequels. So I have no rules against handing sixth place to Umamus against handing sixth place to Umamus Cinderella Gray.
[15:22] games finally took off stateside this year so I don't have to spend half this entry explaining horse girl lore. In fact, if you're horse curious, it's hard to think of a better jumping on point than this anime, which eases us into the
[15:36] absurdities of the Umamus setting through the eyes of Ogory Cap, a country bumpkin from the backwater regional racing circuit of Kasamatsu, whose fierce competitive spirit and unabashed love of the game eventually lead her to
[15:51] dominate on a national level. It's a hotblooded sports drama full of big J-rock shownen energy despite having originally run in a Sanan magazine. One that manages to hit hard without relying on your typical underdog tropes. And it
[16:07] stands out even further from the sports anime pack by being impressively historically accurate. In real life, Ogory Cap was one of the horses known as the Heesay Big Three, who sparked a resurgence of Japanese horse racing at
[16:22] the turn of the '9s that directly led to the rise of horse racing simulators as a the rise of horse racing simulators as a gaming genre and eventually Umamusu. And more than any of his contemporaries, Ogre's track record makes for ideal
[16:37] biopic fodder. A rags to rich's rise leading to a dramatic roller coaster ride of hard-one triumphs and bittersweet defeats against a field of bittersweet defeats against a field of equally legendary rivals. An idol in his
[16:51] time who literally changed the game and was so beloved he helped invent the concept of racehorse merch. So even this scene is probably a real thing that
[17:03] happened in real life, not just a sly bit of Syame product placement. Though bit of Syame product placement. Though to be clear, it is absolutely that too. And we really can't ignore just how much of a factor all the merch and gotcha
[17:17] money is in just how well this and every other Syame pictures anime turned out this year with high-grade Sakuga in even the most low-key episodes, star-studded
[17:29] stud casting in even minor roles, and music by the legendary Kenji Kawaii. The production values never stop impressing. And while the hilariously memorable cast of characters and tight adrenalinefueled story are the main things that earned it
[17:46] a spot on this list, that certainly doesn't hurt its placement. As great as Syame Pictures glorified gotcha ads can be, though, what I really respect about the studio is how much of that money
[17:58] they funnel into making just cool that has nothing to do with any of their games. Like last year's fifth best anime, Bang Brave, Bang Braver, and this year's fifth place finisher, The Summer Hikatu Died.
[18:29] Anime does quite a lot of things better than any other form of art, but being scary has never really been one of them. So, the fact that this show is so consistently and effectively [music] creepy is a huge flex in and of itself.
[18:42] Rio Teeshta's perfectly placed pillow shots and masterful mood lighting combined with Cooji Kasamatsu's pitch perfect sound design to underscore moments of apparent normaly with deep feelings of unease leaving us teetering
[18:57] on the edge as the next big scare takes its sweet time winding up to bowl us over. And that spellbinding presentation acts in service of a seriously inspired story. After Hikaru Indo goes missing for a week on a very haunted mountain,
[19:14] only his best friend Yoshki seems to notice that he died and came back a little wrong. He knows Hikadu better than anyone. After all, he's been in love with him for years. So, this is quite the devastating turn of events,
[19:30] but it's more complicated than that. Not only is this new Hikaru still a source of comfort in his grief, but it's a lot more open with feelings Yoshki always wanted the original to express. Feelings that we'll never know for sure if the
[19:46] that we'll never know for sure if the real Hikadu ever reciprocated. And while the thing that wears his skin now is very fond of Yoshki, crazy about him even, that is almost certainly not the same thing. But it is dangerously close
[20:03] to close enough. And as he sorts those feelings out, it only draws closer, as do all the other things that followed it down off the mountain. What's more, for
[20:15] the young gay man who's long hid his true self from a very small town, there's something uncomfortably relatable about its innocent yearning to belong that makes him want to support it, even as he learns just how dangerous
[20:31] it [music] really is. This is psychological horror at its deepest and most compelling. As rich in character as it is Eldrich lore, and likely the closest we'll ever come to a proper Silent Hill anime. If I have any
[20:47] complaint at all, it's only that the show ends a little too abruptly on a merely eerie note without hitting any of the truly horrific payoffs it's so clearly building up to, but with at least another season's worth of ongoing
[21:02] manga left to adapt, that's far preferable to the anime original alternative. I mean, that sort of thing's just best left to original anime with their own stories to tell. And few such stories this year were told better
[21:15] such stories this year were told better than number four, Zenshu, which I will play a clip of in just a sec, but they are real aggressive with the copyright on this one. So, I'm just going to hold on my face and the poster over here
[21:30] [music] for a couple moments longer just to make sure that at least the name of the anime makes it into the video if I have to cut the rest of it. have to cut the rest of it. Okay, I think we're good. [screaming]
[21:52] vein of the neverending story than in another world with my unresolved mommy issues. Not to say that Natskco Hiroay doesn't have plenty of her own issues to resolve, but the young anime directing Virtuoso's food poisoning induced trip
[22:06] to the world of her favorite movie is more about confronting those issues than avoiding them perpetually in the arms of several big- tittied love interests. singular love interest doesn't have pretty big titties of his own, but I'm
[22:22] getting off track here. Considered in the show's fiction to be the biggest flop of the Heyay era, Tale of Perishing was a dark fantasy film in cutesy clothes about a dwindling group of heroes futile efforts to fend off the
[22:37] end of their gorgeous magical world. Most folks didn't really get the movie or its mega bummer ending, and Young Natsko was no exception on her first viewing. But something about it really stuck with her, sparking an obsession
[22:53] stuck with her, sparking an obsession with it and animation in general that would eventually lead her to a wildly successful directing debut of her own at successful directing debut of her own at just 22 along with the rare chance to
[23:06] just 22 along with the rare chance to helm her own original anime film titled First Love. Unfortunately, spending your entire childhood obsessively honing a craft doesn't exactly leave much room for relationships, let alone romance.
[23:20] And she was never one [music] to ask others for help to begin with. So, that subject proves increasingly elusive as her deadline looms ever closer until some bad oysters send to Tale of Perishing's doomed [music] world. there.
[23:36] Armed with a magic pegboard that can bring anything she draws to life, she has a chance to save all her faves from the unhappy ending that awaits them and more importantly to look at her own fictional first love with fresh eyes.
[23:52] It's a genuinely inspired setup both for a bittersweet tale of self-discovery and a passionate visual love letter to animation as a medium. And the payoff in
[24:04] both regards is just as brilliant. Whenever Natskco sits down to draw, the results are guaranteed to make any anime afficionado go. But perhaps even more impressive than that is the fake anime that serves as
[24:20] the backdrop to all those references, which feels as tangible and fleshed out which feels as tangible and fleshed out as any real production I can think of. It's a world full of vibrant personalities with deep history and
[24:33] diverse cultures rendered in a charmingly distinct visual style. We may never actually be able to watch the madeup movie that inspired Natskco, but
[24:45] it's easy to see why she fell in love with it. I just wish I could say the same for the world of my third place pick's original sin, since it's the one pick's original sin, since it's the one we actually have to live on.
[25:05] suggest skipping ahead to the next entry so you can watch it completely blind, it's this one. And with a scant six episodes to get through, that's not even all that big an ask. Though I would not suggest trying to binge them all in one
[25:20] go. Taco P is one of those shows you really want to digest slowly. In part so you can savor all the gorgeously evocative animation that suffuses every minute of every one of those episodes, but mostly because if you don't, you are
[25:37] going to be sick to your stomach. And even taking it slow can only help so much with that. Taco P is a cute little cartoon alien guy from the planet Happy who comes to Earth with the sole goal of making everyone he meets smile with his
[25:53] fun magic space gadgets just like Deron. Unfortunately, Taco P didn't land on the cute little cartoon Earth from Derim on, but rather the real ass one where people have real ass problems like bullying and cheating spouses and all flavors of
[26:10] child abuse that those gadgets can't really do much to help with, at least not if you use them for their intended purpose. And Taco P being a dumb little cartoon alien guy hopped up on toxic positivity who acts first and thinks
[26:27] basically never is even less helpful than any of the stuff he brought. Some might even say the opposite of helpful. Not that he'd listen. This is one of those anime that forces you to stare directly into the void. A sight made all
[26:42] the more unnerving through such dangerously naive childlike eyes, pulling the rug out time and again, making you question your own most basic assumptions about morality as Tak paves a path to hell for himself and the
[26:59] hapless kids around him, one good intention at a time. A viewing experience as moving and edifying as it is exhausting. I will cherish my time with this show for the rest of my life. But let me tell you, I will not be
[27:15] rushing to experience it again anytime soon. If there's one thing I do wish I could do over, it's putting Orb on the Movements of the Earth as low as I did on last year's list when it was only half finished. If I could have seen the
[27:30] whole thing before I ranked it, it would have easily taken third place. But thankfully, even though my rules expressly forbid double dipping, I can kind of make up for it by placing this year's other adaptation of a newto
[27:44] year's other adaptation of a newto masterpiece 100 m in second.
[27:56] the same name, the film follows two boys, the fastest kid in school and the slowest transfer student, as they grow up together, then apart, charting parallel intertwining courses through the brutally competitive field of track
[28:11] sprinting, struggling against the odds and their own flagging bodies and minds to make their mark in a world where if you're not the fastest, you may as well not exist. It's a powerful story of hard work and talent still adding up to
[28:25] work and talent still adding up to nowhere near enough of dreams splattered against the uncaring side of a harsh reality and the willpower it takes to face that reality headon and deny it with all your heart. Up there with
[28:39] pingpong and chihaya at the pinnacle of the sports anime pantheon. It is much like Orb, a deeply philosophical work that gave me a new perspective on life. Once again, this time in just 106 minutes. Where that story was about how
[28:55] the power of the written word allows our lives to echo across centuries, this one explores how its titular sport can condense a man's entire existence to just 10 seconds. Honestly, it's a little scary to think that this mangaka isn't
[29:12] even 30 yet. Both of his stories are clearly products of profound wisdom well beyond his years. And for as much as Kenichi Shimizu and Madous's adaptation
[29:24] of Orb elevates that material, Kenji Iwisawa and Rock and Roll Mountains take Iwisawa and Rock and Roll Mountains take on 100 meters rockets past it into the stratosphere. The sound design is immaculate. The acting from animators
[29:38] and SEU alike impeccable, and the cinematography as bold and evocative as anything else in the medium. It's the best movie I've seen all year. and it's not particularly close. Even as a TV guy who'd much rather live in an anime's
[29:54] world for weeks than visit it for an afternoon, I can't deny greatness on this level when it's staring me in the face. And I'm so happy that it's finally coming to Netflix at the end of this month so that everyone who missed its
[30:09] tragically brief sprint through theaters can experience that for themselves. As great as it is though, one anime this year still surpassed it. And you'll find out which after we run through all the runners up, plus all them good sequels I
[30:25] wouldn't let myself put on the actual list. With how insanely stacked the year was, I'll be grouping those honorable mentions up by genre just to keep them manageable. Starting with comedy and quite possibly the most honorable of
[30:38] all, City Kani's spiritual successor to Ni Joe, which features objectively the Ni Joe, which features objectively the best animation of any show or movie this year. And if Milky Subway weren't so damn funny, it still wouldn't quite have
[30:52] made the list, but it would have been the runner up. Rock is a Lady's Modesty isn't quite that pretty, but it is a little bit funnier and still features some solid animation courtesy of Sunrise, particularly the CGI used in
[31:05] its musical performances. And Shaft deserves a huge shout out for the sheer variety they brought to the visual comedy of a ninja and assassin under one roof, which even briefly managed to emulate a more convincing retro anime
[31:20] look than cleverest. Speaking of ninjas though, Ninja versus Goku's over-the-top ultra violence hits us so bad it's hilarious note only enhanced by a dub that is atrocious in the best way possible, making for perfect anime night
[31:36] with the bros fodder. Or if you'd prefer an action comedy that's unironically funny, Sakamoto Days offers a fun familyfriendly take on the John Wick mythos, while Tojima Wants to be a common rider serves as a brilliantly
[31:49] surreal tribute to the legacy and cultural impact of Japan's favorite superhero. Getting into pure action anime, the My Hero Academia spin-off Vigilantes offers a gritty street level perspective on the world of America's
[32:04] favorite Japanese superheroes. While Ya tackles a fairly basic kid-friendly battle shownen plot with some of the most insanely gorgeous animation this side of City. The first half of the year also brought us three equally gorgeous
[32:20] dramas in Flower and Asher, a story about the power of spoken word and finding the courage to dream big. And speaking of big dreamers and surely which hit me right in the Canadian nationalism by reimagining an of green
[32:36] gables in stunning cinematic fashion that gives even Isa Takahada's classic adaptation a serious run for its money. Big dreams will only get you so far without supporters who believe in you though which is what the instant classic
[32:51] sports drama Metalist is all about. a young figure skater bursting with unrealized potential and the one man with the vision to unlock it. That one came third closest to making the list right after city. 2025 was a little
[33:06] light on sports anime otherwise, but for as much flak as one dance, deservedly caught for its terra 3D models, I still think its story, characters, and dance choreography make it very worthwhile. Catch you at the Ballpark may sound like
[33:22] a sports anime, but it's actually a slice of life series about the folks in the stands, which stands out for its laid-back, mature vibe. Something I also really appreciated about the girl and her definitely [music] a dog comedy with
[33:36] you in the rain and solo camping for two. If you're more in the mood for Moa Slice of Life, I do hope you like that last one's outdoorsy vibe because you'll get a double dose of it in Mono, a series about goofing off with action
[33:50] cameras from the creator of Yiru Camp and Rory Rocks, a cute, relaxing little show about the wonders of geology and incredibly tight pants. Holy Speaking of intrusive horny thoughts though, 2025 dropped a ton of great new
[34:06] mysteries on us with the greatest of all being Paru Itaki and Science Saru's surreal supernatural coming of age Christmas political thriller Sonda which was my first runner up for the list and I do really wish I could have put it on
[34:21] because it is deeply underrated but then so is the beautifully moody horror tinged period mystery Shabbake and the death parade. esque tasoccare hotel. If
[34:33] you want your mysteries a little more down to earth, a meu MD Dr. Detective is down to earth, a meu MD Dr. Detective is basically house if house was a waifu. So basically house. Or if you want them as far from earth as it gets, the among
[34:46] far from earth as it gets, the among usesque nosia is a tense, atmospheric, and gorgeously animated space thriller. As pure sci-fi goes, the new Digimon Beatreak is a surprisingly compelling piece of cyberpunk fiction with
[34:59] fantastic worldbuilding and the best balance of story, character, and action the series has seen since Tamers. Gundam Gquax and Lazarus, meanwhile, both represent legendary animators playing with big, bold ideas in tribute to the
[35:15] with big, bold ideas in tribute to the legacy of alltime classic Sunrise anime. And while both fell short of their potential due to their short run times, they were still pretty damn good in spite of that. As was Koon Generic
[35:27] Romance, which tragically rushed adaptation aside, delivered impeccable vibes and one of the hottest anime women ever drawn. If you're in the mood for actual generic romance, Honeylemon Soda and The Fragrant Flower Blooms with
[35:41] Dignity deliver very satisfying results in shojo and shownen flavors, respectively. Or if you want more of a romanticy type thing, I'd recommend betrothed to my sister's ex for sugary sweet Disney princess vibes and pass the
[35:57] monster meet my lady for a slightly spicier tale of perfectly matched freaks finding each other. If you prefer getting monsters in your guts by other means, you should also check out with you are love will make it through. And
[36:10] for more sappic monstering, there's this monster wants to eat me. Speaking of Yuri lovers eating well, there's no freaking way I'll be your lover unless, freaking way I'll be your lover unless, aka Murray Yuri's messily intertwining
[36:24] lesbian love stories make it the year's best horror comedy by far. And that's no small feat next to competition like dealing with the Mikadono sisters is a breeze and Chitos is in the Ramune bottle. Unfortunately, there's no good
[36:38] hybrid horums that let me segue into isekai from there, unless you count Twisted Wonderland, which um h it's not really a harum. It is very good, though. Um and I do want to take this chance to very [music] quickly correct uh
[36:51] something I got wrong in the trash video last week, which is the villains didn't win in Twisted Wonderland's world. Um there's actually some historical revisionism going on. Anyway, other isekai we got to talk about from that
[37:03] trashiest list. Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess and I'm the evil lord of an intergalactic empire also deserve honorable mentions. While we're at it, so do Nukitashi and please put them on Takamina. If there's such a
[37:16] thing as a friendship horum, I suppose Red Ranger in Another World would have made an okay segue, too. And if you enjoy that kind of hot-blooded sententileesque action, Anmio Kiten Reebasu sends its delightfully
[37:29] meat-headed henchinioning hero to one of the most unique worlds in all of isekai. That's also a strong feature of my buddy Gar's new short film Bon the boundary of adulthood, which takes heavy inspiration from Thai mythology and Lord of
[37:43] Mysteries, a gorgeous Chinese cultivation style isekai set in basically yarn. Or if you'd prefer to see a more conventional fantasy world painted with such refined atmospheric art, My Status as an assassin obviously
[37:58] exceeds the Heroes is another solid choice. Ugly Mug Epic Fighters nowhere near that pretty, but it has a surprisingly beautiful soul underneath all that. Something I also appreciated about the Overlordesque a Wild Last boss
[38:12] appeared, though that one's as gorgeous on the outside as it is in. By a similar token, from bureaucrat to villainess, Dad's been reincarnated follows an 80s old Taku who finds his salary mannerisms to be a big hit with the aristocracy in
[38:27] the world of his Gen Z daughter's favorite Otoé brain rot. And on that note, Scarlet, heroine of May I ask for One Final Thing, 2025's best villainessy One Final Thing, 2025's best villainessy isekai adjacent type thing and 14th best
[38:42] anime overall, is a noble lady with the soul of Hank Hill who decides to use her timetoppping magic powers to kick an entire Otoé Brain World's ass. We even had some good ones of thoseing things this year. The banished court magician
[38:58] aims to become the strongest hit pretty hard with its action scenes and likable well-balanced cast. While the unaware Attelier Master's gimmick of making its hero actually underpowered in combat while still being OP at literally
[39:11] everything else made for some great comedy. Moving on to straight up fantasy, Dungeons and Television, which I already mentioned, does still have an RPGish setting, as does from Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman. Though its
[39:25] decidedly realistic approach to sword fighting, is as far from skill tree climbing statc screen nonsense as it gets. At first glance, Secrets of the villainess thing at a magic school full
[39:38] of handsome boys. But it cleverly repurposes that oto game setting as a backdrop for an eclectic blend of Bochi the Rockstyle social anxiety moa and a fraught political spy thriller, making it my fifth runnerup for the year. Sword
[39:53] of the Demon Hunter brings fantasy to the real world in a story spanning many centuries of Japanese history. And if you're in the mood for an alternate take on European history instead, Studio Orange's gorgeous adaptation of the
[40:07] Leviathan novels was certainly a great one. Steampunk does kind of straddle the line between fantasy and sci-fi, though, as does the Star Wars Visions anthology, which saw a third installment this year. I don't think anthologies can really be
[40:22] counted as sequels due to their fractious nature, but that also makes them tricky to rank on lists like these in general. Rest assured though, you will find some of the year's coolest ideas and animation in both Star Wars
[40:34] ideas and animation in both Star Wars and Tatsky Fujioto 1726. As banging as all the new anime was this year though, the sequel lineup might well be more explosive. Literally, in the case of Chainsaw Man Res arc, which proved
[40:48] alongside Demon Slayer Infinity Castle, that anime is still a force to be reckoned with in the global box office. And despite some minor quibbles I have with the film as a hardcore fan of the manga, I think it more than deserves all
[41:01] that success and acclaim. It's my second favorite sequel of the year overall. It'll surprise no one to hear that first goes once again to Dondon, especially after I wrote that big love letter to it a couple months ago. Though, even if the
[41:15] list did include sequels, I'd still have to put them both behind 100 meters. of, that show about the guy with all the girlfriends who really, really, really, really, really love him continued to be one of the funniest things in all of
[41:30] anime, inspiring yet another love letter video essay from me early in the year. But if that's too many girlfriends for you, one of the best in all of anime also returned this year with even more gorgeous Sakuga, heartwarming
[41:44] expressions of nerdy passion, and clips of fake anime you'll wish were real in My Dress Up Darling season 2. And for those who prefer a median number of girlfriends, Ron Mahalf's remake is still going strong to my inner child's
[41:58] endless delight. Meanwhile, my inner edgy 14-year-old was just as delighted with every last long- aaited episode of New Panty and Stocking with Garter Belt, which was somehow even better than the original. Same goes for Call of the
[42:13] Night's second season, which really raised the stakes in terms of drama and character depth in a show that already boasted one of anime's most uniquely delectable vibes. and the fact that I can also say the same about The
[42:25] Apothecary Diaries season 2, even as it's following up one of the tightest single season mysteries ever put on television, surprised me about as much as Finding a Frog in my pants. One of last year's most pleasant surprises, I
[42:40] was reincarnated as the seventh prince so I can take [music] my time perfecting my magical ability, continued to deliver its addictively bold mix of audacious comedy, fantastic fan service, and stunning magicfueled action sequences
[42:54] out of that sentence and replace it with alcohol poisoning, you've got the formula that made Grand Blue Dreaming as fun as ever in its long-awaited second dip. And all the action that you just took out of that and more can be found
[43:09] in solo leveling along with pretty much nothing else of narrative value, but nothing else of narrative value, but godamn is that action ever cool. Probably not as cool as the wild isekai battle royale nonsense going on in
[43:23] Ishira season 2, but to my great shame and disappointment with myself, I spent some of my limited time on this earth watching solo leveling for content purposes instead of catching up on that. So, I can't say for sure. And while I'm
[43:37] busy making that confession, I may as well list all the other things I should have also caught up on instead of solo leveling, including Sho Min to Your Eternity, Kinikuman, Perfect Origin Arc, Windbreaker, Go-Go, Loser Ranger, Girls,
[43:51] and Panzer, Ark Knights, My Happy Marriage, Bang Dream, A Mika, Toilet Bound, Hanakokkun, and also I haven't watched the new Monoke movie yet. And you know what? I'm probably going to watch Solo Leveling season 3 instead of
[44:05] a lot of other good stuff when that comes out too because that show is like godamn popcorn and I just cannot help myself. I'm also not caught up on Dr. Stone, Kaiju Number Eight, or Spy Family at present, but that's only because I've
[44:19] already read those manga and know how good they are. Stone and Spy Family did hit some of the best parts of their respective manga this year, though, so I do really want to catch up because I know that is going to make me cry
[44:32] like a baby. Even so, probably the most egregious miss for me this year comes from being four seasons behind on My Hero Academia, which by all accounts went out on one of the most glorious finale notes in shownen anime history.
[44:47] But rest assured when I'm done with the end of year lists and then the start of [music] next season list. And look, the point is I am catching up because Hor Koshi, Bones, and I are due for a painfully honest reckoning. That's for
[45:00] next year though. We've still got business to take care of this year because the best anime of 2025 is Apocalypse Hotel.
[45:19] a touch toploaded with moodily philosophical wallgazers, but I'm balancing that out here with the most cheerily philosophical wallgazer in recent memory. A masterpiece of absurdism in every sense of the term
[45:34] that frames mankind's struggle for meaning in a universe devoid of it through man-made eyes never meant to perceive such uncertainty. Unlike the humans she was built to resemble, Yachio has known her purpose on Earth since the
[45:49] moment she was activated. To provide every person she meets with unrivaled hospitality for as long as the doors to Hotel Gingado stay open. Only trouble is the last time a person locked through those doors was a little over a century
[46:04] ago, right before the last survivors fled for the stars to escape the airborne plague that put everyone else 6 feet below the check-in desk. But she hasn't let that deter her from her daily duties as the hotel's acting manager.
[46:19] Taken on after the last of her co-workers, who's not a glorified Roomba, shut down, cleaning rooms, running social media, and pushing forward with their hotring expansion plans to ensure they'll be ready when
[46:32] the next guest finally arrives. Any day now. now. Any Oh, hey, an alien. It'll do. From that fateful first encounter, we follow Yachio and Co through the centuries as
[46:46] new guests come and go, or in some cases, never leave, new extremely specific hotel service achievements are unlocked, and Gingo slowly rises from humble backwater inn to one of the galaxy's premier resort destinations.
[47:01] All the while awaiting the day when humanity will finally say to Daima, if they're not all dead already. And from escapades and whiskey brewing to hastily inept murder cover-ups to quiet ruminations on what it means to be
[47:15] alive, every step of that journey is a distinct and unpredictable delight. You of any given episode of Apocalypse Hotel, but you can rest assured that it
[47:27] will always be peak. And while a lot of that comes down to Syame pictures and their bottomless pile of gotcha money, that would be worth still quite a lot, but not nearly as much without the impossibly tight scripts of Shigeru
[47:42] Murakoshi and Soto Wada and the brilliant direction of Kana Shundo that help every moment hit exactly the right tone as the writing weaves deafly between deep melancholy and hysterical humor. hysterical in the truest sense of
[47:59] that word. Apocalypse Hotel's best episode, which I won't spoil, had me sobbing with sorrow and laughing so hard I was crying at the same time. There is no other anime quite like it, and few anime across the industry's history that
[48:16] so thoroughly leverage the strengths of the medium as only an original non-addapted work can. If you've yet to book your stay in its wondrously ruined world, I cannot recommend enough that you change that at your earliest
[48:31] convenience. So, yeah, those were my top anime of 2025, and I'd love to hear what yours were in the comments down below. Especially if you don't agree with me, because again, I did not have space for all of the incredible anime this year.
[48:48] I wish I could have put other ones on it. If that's still not enough 2025 anime for you though, make sure to check out my list of the year's trashiest ones. And stay tuned for the worst ones, which won't actually be out until early
[49:03] January, because this video ended up being so much more work than me and my editors expected, especially that honorable mentions Nolla. Until then though, I'm Jeff Thu, professional anime appreciator, signing out.