“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” — the original anime feature ... million worldwide; all six films have earned over $5.8 billion. “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” won 11 Oscars, including best picture, tying the ...
The best anime of 2021, so far
A Starter’s Guide to Anime: The Must-Watch Edition
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.
Premiering in 1999, One Piece is an anime series about a pirate boy with a rubber body searching for a treasure to become the Pirate King. The show is still on the air with over 1,000 episodes broadcast thus far and counting. It’s one of the most popular anime series of all time. So much so that Netflix is even working on a live-action adaptation.
After One Piece, the three other 2021 anime shows that came in second were Pokemon, Naruto and My Hero Academia. Having Pokemon on the list makes sense, given that it is one of those gateway anime series that popularized the medium in the West. The story is of kids capturing wild creatures with powers and then battling other youth.
The latest volume of My Hero Academia came with such a bang that fans cannot but notice. The volume recently released in Japan came with a brand-new look at some of Class 1-B. However, the […]
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.
Following 14-year-old Ai Ooto as she fights to protect the souls of dead teenage girls housed within the eponymous "wonder eggs," the high quality of the show’s animation proves immediately striking, full of nuanced character acting and spectacular, high-flying and allegorical action that has earned comparisons to Kunihiko Ikuhara ( Revolutionary Girl Utena) and Naoko Yamada ( A Silent Voice) in equal measure. Even with all that visual flash, the explicit depiction of a tough subject matter will understandably prove an insurmountable hurdle for many—even though for the most part, director Shin Wakabayashi ( Owarimonogatari) and writer Shinji Nojima ( Suki!, Ie naki ko) tackle the most uncomfortable topics through quieter, incidental reveals. Consistently powerful and provocative, Wonder Egg Priority strikes a perfect balance of sensational action with painful subject matter without missing a step (yet, anyway). From its incredible animation to its off-kilter electronic score, it's without a doubt the most exciting new show of the year so far.
The words "magical girl" are never uttered in Wonder Egg Priority, but the loud and colorful markers of the subgenre—transforming objects of power, animal familiars—are presented in contrast with quiet and delicate observation of each of the character’s painful inner struggles.