The best anime of 2021
The Best Upcoming Anime Coming Out in 2022
The chronological order to watch Demon Slayer
The best anime of 2021, so far
1 Mrs. Sazae (Sazae-San) - 7500+ Stories (2500+ Episodes) Mrs. Sazae is the longest-running animated television series in the world — The Simpsons have nothing on this show. It began airing back ...
Beastars tells the story of a wolf who wants to have sex with a rabbit, but worries he will devour said rabbit. I think it’s a metaphor for puberty. Though it could be a cringey, misguided exploration of race. Maybe it’s holding a magnifying glass to sexual violence on campus.
Fruits Basket lures viewers in with the promise of a cute story about a family that turns into animals when they’re hugged, then absolutely disarms with boatloads of generational trauma.
Horimiya, a show whose namesake comes from combining the names of its two central love interests, Kyouko Hori and Izumi Miyamura, is about as darling as you’d expect a show named after its two lovers to be.
Jujutsu Kaisen was the breakout anime success of 2020 and continued strong in 2021. The story follows the young Yuji Itadori, a good-hearted school boy who one day eats an actual finger, which served as a vessel for a powerful demon called Sukuna.
Possibly dubbed the most comfy anime in the last decade, Laid-back Camp ’s second season delivers as a perfect follow up to its first. Rin still loves camping by herself, but she slowly continues to open up to her new gang of friends at her school’s camping club.
The second season of Megalobox is a far darker, somber, and more melancholic underdog story than the devil may care attitude of the first season.
Studio Bones’ breakout superhero action drama returned for its fifth season as the students of UA High school were thrust into ever more precarious danger with greater stakes.
The world of anime can be tough to dip into for new viewers as it can be a challenge knowing where to start, but the journey is well worth it as this genre features some of the best stories in all of entertainment. In 2021 alone, there were new anime episodes that stole our hearts and had us smiling, laughing, and crying throughout.
In an age of anime with titles like “Banished From the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside,” it’s nice to have shows like Oddtaxi that convey what it's about in just a single word.
At first glance, 86 feels like an echo of the recent Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans, with the framing on child soldiers in war. What makes 86 stand out though is its focus on the intersection of classism, racism, and the morality of murder in a time of war.
Attack on Titan begins the first half of its final season with a time skip, big revelations about the past, and a deep dive into the world beyond the borders of Paradis Island. As always, there are massive battles, tragic deaths, and interesting new characters introduced.
Horimiya is a very special kind of anime where you find yourself smiling through half the episode, even when nothing funny is actually happening. It’s just that dang wholesome. It’s a high school romance slice of life that manages to subvert all of the usual tropes that typically come with that territory.
The first season of Jujutsu Kaisen feels like the beginning of something special – much like the first season of Attack on Titan felt way back in 2013, or more recently, the first season of Demon Slayer just two years ago.
In a time where every type of isekai is being developed, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation takes a joyful and wholehearted approach to the genre. The series follows a 34-year old underachiever, who dies after being run over by a bus only to start a new life in a new world as an infant.
A list of anime films that will be released in theaters between January 1 and December 31, 2021.
A list of anime television series that will debut between January 1 and December 31, 2021.
A list of original net animations that will debut between January 1 and December 31, 2021.
A list of original video animations that will debut between January 1 and December 31, 2021.
August 17: Masami Suda, Japanese animator and character designer ( Fist of the North Star, Slam Dunk, Speed Racer ), dies at age 77.
November 5: Kinji Yoshimoto, Japanese animation director ( Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest, Queen's Blade, Genshiken ), dies at age 55.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica is the best magical girl anime because kids, or at least young teens, can enjoy it, but it's mature enough to appeal to a wider audience. It's solidly rooted in the magical girl genre, but with a darker approach and subversion of many genre tropes.
The reason Fullmetal Alchemist is the best fantasy anime of all time is that it paints a fully realized, unique world with internally consistent rules that have real consequences. Building on that foundation, it delivers a story about two brothers that's as grounded as the setting is fantastic.
Without Dragon Ball, the fighting anime genre as we know it today probably wouldn't exist.
Most anime horror series are referred to as horror because of the monsters, like High School of the Dead. These series tend to be light on what western audiences think of as horror. Still, When They Cry straddles the line.
FLCL gets the nod because it's short, sweet, visually beautiful, and somehow extremely relatable. The series only got six episodes, but that plays to its benefit. Each episode is jam-packed with no sagging in the middle.
Anime has a reputation for being kid stuff, because of the connection between animation and kids cartoons in the West. The truth is that most anime isn't for kids, as evidenced by all the TV-14, TV-MA, and R ratings on this list. If you're looking for a great anime kids movie, the best place to start is Studio Ghibli.
Honorable mentions : Bleach, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Mushishi. A lot of fantasy and supernatural anime incorporates fantastic elements into real-world settings, like shinigami descending on Karakura Town in Bleach. Shin Sekai Yori, or From the New World, takes it to a new level. The series starts off a little slow.