From major titles like My Hero Academia and Megalobox 2 Nomad to more niche titles like Odd Taxi, Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, and Pui Pui MolCar, here are 21 of the best anime series to air in 2021. If you’re looking for the best new anime of 2022, we have the list for you right here. Beastars (Season 2)
Full Answer
The 13 best one-season anime to watch in a weekend
... list earlier in the week ranking the most- and least-watched anime shows of Fall 2021. And since it is very comprehensive, they also included other fun rankings, such as “best-rated,” “worst-rated,” and “most abandoned series.” “Every ...
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 ...
Honorable Mentions:
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.
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.
Odd Taxi follows the story of Odokawa a walrus, who drives a taxi. Odokawa's backstory is quite sad. He was abandoned by his parents when he was just a kid studying in elementary school and this led to him becoming aloof as an adult.
The show is about a prince named Bojji, who is deaf and mute. He dreams of becoming the greatest king, but it isn't an easy road for him. In addition to Bojji's inability to speak and hear, he is extremely naive, which draws in a lot of criticism.
The anime was produced by Wit Studio, and it has 13 episodes, which makes it one of the shorter anime that came out in 2021. Set in a world where humans are focused on getting autonomous AI to work properly. Soon they find out that AI can only continue to work properly if it is given just one task.
The second season of Laid-Back Camp sees Rin go on an adventure trip to see the New Year's sunrise by the sea. The idea is fairly simple, however, due to sudden change in the weather, Rin's journey home becomes complicated. Her path back gets blocked and she gets stranded for a few days.
Re-Zero is one of the biggest names in the isekai anime community. It has a huge fanbase that is always waiting for the release of a new season so that they can enjoy watching their favorite characters in action. In this part, Subaru's story with the Sanctuary reaches its end.
Stone Ocean is the sixth part of the JoJo series. The anime adaptation was announced quite some time ago, and the fans of the series were excited to see how it would go. The anime is still ongoing, and it is going to take some time before it wraps up.
Tokyo Revengers took the entire world by storm with its quality. The series is based on the manga that has been written by Ken Wakui. Tokyo Revengers started airing in April 2021, with the final episode airing in September 2021.
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.
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.
Attack on Titan is horrifying, but it isn't really a horror anime. If you can stomach the grotesque, inside-out appearance of the titular titans, and the brutal finality of the way they devour their victims, you'll find an action anime that's also heavy on plot, character development, and atmosphere.