The end of the year is here and it’s time for the ninth Annual Reader’s Choice poll. Do you have a favorite series you’d like to see win? Are you just curious to see what everyone else enjoyed this year? Either way, the microphone’s in your hands now. Make your vote count.

As per the usual, there will be two polls for you to vote on this year – one for regularly broadcast TV series, and another for OVA/movies. We’re asking you for your top 5 picks in each poll, which should stop the results from being heavily skewed towards the mega-popular shows. This year we have an astounding 190~ TV series/shorts and 100~ OVA/movies/specials for you to choose from, so make sure you look over the entire list before deciding. Keep in mind that like all entertainment, anime is subjective. There is no one size fits all here. Please respect the opinions of others, even if you may disagree vehemently with them.

Criteria-wise, the following is what was used to decide what shows did (or did not) make it onto these lists:

  • For a regular broadcast TV series to be considered, it has to have finished airing in 2014. The idea is that you can’t truly judge a series until it’s over, so shows such as Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu, Log Horizon 2, Yowamushi Pedal: Grande Road will appear on next year’s poll. Series with a second season coming but a clear stopping point in the one we’ve already seen are included.
  • For OVA/movies, it has to have been released on Blu-ray/DVD in 2014 to qualify, ensuring that viewers outside of Japan have had a chance to watch it. This mostly pertains to theatrical offerings. The difference from TV series is that they don’t necessarily have to be complete to be included, since it can take several years for an OVA series to finish. That’s why Gundam Unicorn is appearing again this year.

As far as we’re aware, the anime series list is complete, barring a handful of shows that are animated but unlike “typical” anime. The OVA/movie list is less so, but this is by design; there are lot of really niche OVAs that aren’t really worth considering and there is a tendency for series in this category to be delayed or released at different dates, so accuracy will vary greatly. If you feel there’s something that deserves consideration, isn’t listed, or is listed but shouldn’t be, please leave a comment or send me (Zephyr) an email or tweet at me (@ZephyrRC) and I will add it in as soon as possible. Please note that the first comment in this post will keep a list of shows added, so keep an eye on that before voting.

With that said, vote away. Time’s ticking.

Note: The polls will close at midnight PST on Thursday, January 1st. This means the morning of the 1st, the second it turns into 12:00:00AM PST on the 1st, and 8:00 AM GMT on the 1st. Results will be posted in the Best of Anime 2014 post, which will be written by myself and Stilts (the two active writers who have watched the most anime this year).



222 Comments

  1. List of Poll Additions/Removals/Modifications:

    Hanamonogatari and Tsukimonogatari combined into one category.
    Kaguya-hime no Monogatari added to OVA/Movie.
    After staff debate, Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works will be moved to 2015 to be considered with its second cour.
    Removed duplicate entry of Strike Witches: Operation Victory Arrow OVA.
    Added Detective Conan: Ijigen no Sniper to OVA/Movie.
    Added Kuro no Sumika: Chronus to OVA/Movie.

    1. What about making separate vote for shows that did not get blogged on this site.
      I feel like they just cannot compare in vote amount. May be you should cast vote like shows that should have been blogged?

      laaa
      1. It doesn’t matter whether a show’s blogged here or not. Nanatsu no Taiza & Shingeki Bahamut aren’t blogged but they’re 2 of the most popular shows this season. Even more popular than Mushishi, Akatsuki no Yona, Grisaia, Chaika, World Trigger and Argevollen which are all being blogged here.

        pong
      2. What we’ve found is the show being blogged here doesn’t usually have a major effect on the final result. Those shows people liked will continue to (and have historically) receive(d) the proportional votes they should, so it should be fine unless someone decides to spend all day attempting to rig the polls in favor of a particular show.

      1. That’s clearly a designated sequel with the first season receiving a clear stopping point.

        Fate/Stay is more questionable because it’s essentially just taking a break between seasons. We’ve removed Fate/Stay for now as a result.

    1. If you are having trouble deciding what to vote for due to number restriction, please don’t hesitate to vote for the less known ones you enjoyed over the ones that you know everyone will vote for. There is really not much point to add another single drop to a full bucket.

      oliviaven
  2. Aldnoah Zero
    No Game no life
    Fate/Stay Night UBW
    Gundam Build Fighters
    Nagi no Asukara

    So much to choose from indeed for 2014! Psycho Pass 2, Log Horizon were on the top of my list too.

    AdeptZero
    1. It’s a tricky case. We counted Fate/Zero together after the 2nd season aired in a different year, but that was a case where it was announced before hand they would be doing it this way. UBW wasn’t done in this fashion, so I ultimately felt that it should be split into two sep. entities.

      It may be changed over the course of the next few hours as we debate internally about it though.

      EDIT: After staff debate, Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works will be moved to 2015 to be considered with its second cour.

      1. It was indeed announced it would be split cour before it began airing, with the release date of Spring 2015 even for the second season, so I’m glad you guys decided to count it as 2015.

        YK
  3. No Game No Life
    Nagi no Asukara
    Ao Haru Ride
    Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii
    Inou-Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de

    Were the ones I honestly liked above the rest. Honorable mention to WCW and UBW >.>

    Kabble
  4. I can’t really say I understand the Aldnoah Zero love. It’s fun to watch, but god forbid I turn my brain on while watching it cause then some stuff seriously doesn’t add up for me.
    And that first half ending…holy no thank you.

    Tori
    1. Too many stupid characters doing stupid things I guess. It’s just annoying when only about 3 of the characters in the show are decently smart. It’s not just a high school student is smarter than the rest of the cast, it’s that 95% of the rest of the class is just plain dumb.

      Apa
      1. This to a T.
        I’d enjoy this show sooo much more if it actually felt as though humanity had legitimately been preparing for war with Mars.
        They’ve been preparing for this moment prior to Inaho’s birth but SOMEHOW he’s their only hope. Or was….
        Nonetheless, something tells me certain individuals survived that cliff hanger.

        Kabble
      2. Yeah that’s kind of what kills it for me more than anything is how poorly they handle what is supposed to be it’s core concept. It’d be great if Inaho had some Char like antagonist who could match him one way or another or even a Schneizel from Code Geass which I feel it has more in common with than Gundam, but he just doesn’t (Slaine does not function well as a rival at all since they barely interact or even fight much over the course of the cour) and it feels like he mostly succeeds out of convenience and his opponents just being complete idiots in robots with literally one gimmick weapon that makes no sense for interstellar warfare and conquest. With Gundam the whole mass production Zaku thing made sense as an invasion force and they at least had more than one weapon to take advantage of even if they weren’t the most powerful mecha around compared to what the Federation came out with later on, but with Aldnoah you get these oversized robots with a rocket punch or barrier or something and once Inaho finds some way to neutralize it they’re just kind of like “well he got rid of my one weapon, time to stand here and die I guess”.

        It’s not really even as close to exciting as I had hoped it would be, especially considering there’s just so much of people just standing around in their mechs for whatever reason. The Earth Army guys just seem to stand there motionless shooting and getting mowed down (at least make it look like they’re putting up a fight), the saber guy at the docks just stands there waving his energy blade around and apparently nobody can do anything about this at all except Inaho, the countess chick just stands on a rock firing rocket punches at an immobile ship it somehow can’t manage to sink instead of actually going up and destroying it and then the last guy just has all those same gimmicks himself and gets a whole transformation sequence where he’s just standing there and then when he fights Inaho is just standing their in a hallway while Inaho just shoots him when he has to drop his barrier to fire off the rocket punches and the big bad mech goes down like that having barely accomplished anything.

        Aldnoah just kind of has some of the most boring fight sequences for a mecha series with a budget I’ve seen in a while and they really should have put more effort into them instead of just having cool music blaring in the background while things are happening.

        John Hunt
      3. @John Hunt ^
        It’s more like Inaho is the Char for all of the Martian pilots. Skills and tactics against superior machines, and all that.

        I do wish the other Earth pilots could be something other than just cannon fodder, though.

    2. If there’s one thing I noticed just by observing the titles this year, what was popular, what wasn’t and the overall execution of various things it’s that Hype kind > everything else now. Like there’s a lot to just be said for titles that have nothing really going for them coherency or plot/character wise or just kind of focus on the same old topics and ideas but manage to focus their energies on getting people to comment and pay attention to them and keep up a certain level of animation budget and action.

      I think South Park’s 2 part season finale “#REHASH” really did a good send up on the whole phenomenon if you haven’t seen it because it’s not just anime where it’s happening. Social media has really changed how media content from games to movies, to television gets done and produced what the priorities for content creators are becoming and changing to adapt to in order to take advantage of the new media era and it’s potentials. Things like story content, interesting characters and their journey’s are really just kind of secondary to being loud and in your face and constantly coming up with ways to shock, scare or make the viewers feel an intense emotion for long enough to hold their attention before shifting gears again.

      Shame but it is what is is and it’s only going to continue to get more like that I think so you either just have to learn to live with it or block it out and just stick to what you enjoy and like to watch.

      John Hunt
    3. You answered your own question at “fun”. Anime is a largely disposable form of entertainment for me, but A.Z’s one of the few shows that actually made me anticipate what would happen.

      Merkius
    4. @Tori

      From a general standpoint, while hype tends to help series in polls like this, it’s not the do all end all. If that were the case, SAO would’ve won easily two years ago, Shin Sekai Yori would’ve never hit the top 3 last year… the list goes on. It needs to be emphasized that vocal out pourings for shows doesn’t always translate into votes.

      I understand that you and a few others replying to you may dislike the show, but that and the poll’s validity, as well as others views (which haven’t even been mentioned here) regarding the show, and the fact that some may just like a show for entertainment value are all separate things to be considered.

      I say vote for now and see how the results come out. You might just be pleasantly surprised.

    1. Anyways voted
      Aldonoah as my 1st pick
      Madan no Ou to Vanadis 2nd pick
      Log 3rd pick
      No game no life 4th pick
      Sword art 5th because of GGO arc (didnt really like that over emotinal drama at the end of season)

      Black bullet and Garo right behind the line I guess

      I m not sure why so many vote fate but I liked movie much more

      laaa
  5. I ended up with 4 that I was sure of, and then another 4 or 5 all competing for that last vote spot, all of which I’d like to vote for, but none of which really stood out above the others. Random die gave Mushishi the final vote.

    David
  6. Bit of a tough year for anime but if I can still come up with a Top 5 it can’t be all bad. I have a feeling mine is going to look vastly different than most since I’m not necessarily into all the big hyped up titles that get the most buzz, but I came up with:

    TV:

    Space Dandy
    Ping Pong
    Gundam Build Fighters
    Knights of Sidonia
    Haikyuu

    Honorable Mention:

    Jojo

    OVA/Movie:

    Kaguya Hime no Monogatari
    Short Peace
    Gundam Unicorn: Over The Rainbow
    Kaze Tinchu
    Giovanni’s Island

    Honorable Mention:

    Patema Inverted

    John Hunt
  7. This poll made me realize I’ve barely seen any OVAs, movies, or specials this year. Wow.

    As for my favorite TV series in 2014:

    Hunter x Hunter
    Ping Pong
    Mushishi
    Knights of Sidonia
    Space Brothers

    Mormegil
  8. This was way too tough for me. So many good anime this year.

    Biting my tongue, I decided on:
    Anime:
    Fate/stay Night
    Hunter x Hunter
    Log Horizon
    Nagi no Asukara(I was a sucker for this)
    Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures

    Although I was really a fan of:
    No game no life
    Amagi Brilliant park
    Space dandy
    Nisekoi
    Magi

    Not to mention that I watched atleast half of the anime on that list and liked most of them.

    For Movie/OVA, it was easily Persona 3 and Madoka.

    Noor
  9. Shouldn’t UBW like, not be on the the poll as it finishes in 2015?

    Anyway, there were a ton of good anime for me this year yet not many I could consider favorites. Quite a few potential favorites began this fall, but most of them are 2-cour(not that that’s a bad thing). 2014 is mostly a large, equal ground of good for me. Basically, I only have one that I could call a favorite, which is Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus. At so-so distance, there’s Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii. Those are the only thing I’m gonna vote on otherwise I’d have an incredibly hard time choosing from almost everything I watched this year.

    But I’d like to give special mentions to a certain show, one that I consider quite bad, namely Mahouka. It made me realize how harsh I was with the 1st season of SAO and made me appreciate the much more superior SAO 2 even more. Mahouka may have been a very boring anime but I’m eternally grateful to Lord Tatsuya-Stu for the enlightenment He bestowed upon me.

    Also, special mentions to two shows that fall into the ridiculously awesome category, Brynhildr & Twintails.

    All in all I don’t mind an year like this, with a bunch of good but very few great shows. This fall seems to deliver on the later category anyway.

    MgMaster
  10. Regardless of the outcome, just realizing I had to choose from more than 5 that I’ve actually seen made me appreciate what an awesome year this was for shows.

    If you can even pick 5 to begin with, you win.

    Merkius
  11. Kaze Tachinu (The Wind Rises)
    Lupin the IIIrd: Jigen Daisuke no Bohyou
    Majokko Shimai no Yoyo Movie
    Mushishi Special Chapter “Hihamu Kage”
    Natsume Yuujinchou: Itsuka Yuki no Hi ni OVA

    luffy_holic
  12. My top 5.

    Hunter x Hunter 2011 – I started this really late into it’s run. (March of this year , I believe.) All I can say is that I took a long time to finish that last arc simply because I didn’t want it to end. I can only imagine just how bad it was for people who were watching since 2011.

    Haikyuu – I tend to shy away from sports anime/manga and didn’t start this until it was halfway through it’s run. I pretty much had to check out the anime that managed to bring Divine out of retirement and I’m so glad I did. Can’t wait for the second season.

    Nagi no Asukara – Easily the best original Okada Mari show since AnoHana. It clearly had moments that were over-dramatized but it had so many things going for it that I couldn’t help but like it.

    Fate/Stay Night: UBW – What can I say? It’s not quite as strong as Fate/Zero, but it’s still a really good story. Spring can’t come soon enough. (I’m not looking forward to Nasu’s Gil though.)

    Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun – Best comedy of the year. The characters were great and all came together to help shape this into one of the most entertaining shows of 2014. Wouldn’t mind a second season (more Mikorin!) as well.

    Parasyte would also be up there were it not continuing into 2015.

    A couple other shout outs go to:

    No Game No Life
    Magi s2
    Tokyo Ravens (Might have even been in top 5 had it’s first half been as good as it’s second)
    Log Horizon s1
    Zankyou no Terror

    Won’t comment on ova/movie since I don’t watch too many of those. Madoka movie was the best of what I did watch though.

    Kuntzy
  13. Favorite 5:
    Barakamon
    Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works
    Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
    Log Horizon Seasons 1 and 2
    Ping Pong the Animation

    Other favorites:
    Aldnoah.Zero
    Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya 2wei
    Free! Eternal Summer
    Gin no Saji Season 2
    Hanamonogatari/Tsukimonogatari
    Sakura Trick
    Seitokai Yakuindomo*
    Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis
    Knights of Sidonia
    Strike the Blood

    Others:
    Inari Konkon Koi Iroha
    Kuroko’s Basketball Season 2
    Nisekoi
    Zankyou no Terror

    Dafuq
  14. Hunter X Hunter 2011
    No game no life
    Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
    Kuroshitsuji : Book of Circus
    Tokyo Ghoul

    Special Mention for Gugure! Kokkuri-san that doesn’t even get half the attention it deserves.

    Geebun
  15. I’ll just inherit Enzo’s will and say:

    1. Hunter x Hunter (2011)
    2. Hunter x Hunter (2011)
    3. Hunter x Hunter (2011)
    4. Hunter x Hunter (2011)
    5. Hunter x Hunter (2011)

    Just kidding, they’re all number one.

  16. Hunter X Hunter’s an easy pick because that’s the best shonen series ever.

    For the rest, Log Horizon, No Game No Life, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun and Space Dandy. The best ‘people trapped in a game’ story ever, a show that embodies fun itself, the best comedy of the year and a bastion of creativity that never ceased to be refreshing. Easy picks, really.

    Already predicting next year’ll have Parasyte in its top list, cause damn that show is good.

    Dvalinn
  17. Not so sure about what I voted… There were some good animes this year but nothing that I REEAALLY liked. Last year had great shows like Shinsekai Yori, Monogatari Second Season and PSYCHO-PASS 1. this year…. Meh.
    I voted Anyways so… (In no particular order)
    -Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru
    -Ping Pong the animation
    -Space Dandy
    -Kuroko no Basuke 2
    -Kill la Kill

    Other shows that i liked.
    -Selector Infected/Spread WIXOSS
    -Aldnoah.Zero
    -D-Frag
    -Hanayamata
    -Magi Season 2
    -PSYCHO-PASS 2
    -Nagi no Asukara
    -Sabagebu!
    -Shingeki no Bahamut

    BestOva/Movie (I don’t watch a lot of these)
    -D-Frag OVA
    -Date a Live Encore OVA
    -Madoka 3: Rebellion
    -Rakuen Tsuihou/Expelled from Paradise
    -Kill la Kill Special.

    Shows that I need to watch/Finish
    -Free Eternal Summer
    -JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
    -Mushishi.
    -No Enzo, I WON’T Watch HxH… too many episodes. Maybe in a couple of years.

    I didn’t watch too much Anime this year and that’s probably the reason why I think this was an “OK” year

    Krainzan
  18. My top five:

    1. Ping Pong (only Yuasa can defeat the might of Mushishi)
    2. Mushishi (excellent, beautiful comes very VERY close to first place)
    3. Silver Spoon (this anime makes me feel like no other)
    4. Haikyuu (amazing sports anime with great characters, plot and production values)
    5. Jojo’s (David has done such an outstanding adaptation I cannot believe it)

    honorary mentions: log horizon, yowapeda, nozaki-kun, hunter x hunter

    Archiepiscopus
  19. Plenty of good shows this year (even if it’s hard to remember some :P). Nevertheless for me the top 5 (in no particular order) go to:

    Hunter x Hunter
    Sidonia no Kishi
    No Game No Life
    Space Dandy
    Log Horizon

    Enjoyed many others, but these 5 IMO exemplified creativity in their respective genres or how to do commonplace tropes correctly in an entertaining fashion.

    Pancakes
  20. Favorite Anime this Year:

    1. Inou-Battle
    2. D-Frag!
    (best comedy of the year)
    3. Nagi no Asukara
    4. Hunter X Hunter
    5. No Game No Life

    Favorite OVA/Movie:

    Little Busters! EX (the Tokido Saya arc was better than Refrain and Refrain was really good)

    legwkio
  21. Feels like there were a lot of great comedies this year, hard to cut some out while leaving room for more serious anime.

    I don’t remember if this was discussed before, but shouldn’t shorts be their own category? It’s kinda hard to compare a short to a full episode, and even if I thought the short was more consistently enjoyable, it’s hard to give one a nod over a slightly-less-enjoyable regular show. I left one spot on my ballot for a short (Seki-kun), but I feel like they would be better served with a separate category.

    SK
  22. @Zephyr/RC Staff:

    Why are there two entries for Strike Witches in the OVA/movie poll?

    – Strike Witches Operation Victory Arrow Vol. 1: St. Trond no Raimei
    – Strike Witches: Operation Victory Arrow OVA

    Those are the same thing – right?

    Other than that, curious to see how the voting turns out.

    daikama
  23. (All in alphabetical order – I can’t imagine assigning numbers.)

    Top 1-5:
    No Game No Life
    Space Dandy
    Tonari no Seki-kun
    Yowamushi Pedal
    Zankyou no Terror

    Top 6-10:
    Barakamon
    Isshuukan Friends
    Log Horizon
    Nagi no Asukara
    Tokyo Ravens

    Watched 78 shows this year. Missed 17 I wanted to watch/need to finish.

    Any other high rollers? 🙂

    Atalla
  24. 1- D-Frag! (Very funny and unique)
    2- Gin no Saji S2 (better than S1 and it’s been a while since an anime gave me strong feelings)
    3- Hunter x Hunter (2011) (What a great anime, especially the middle arcs)
    4- Barakamon (Enjoyable)
    5- Ping Pong (or Psycho-pass 2, No Game no Life, Chuunibyou, Aldnoah) Difficult last spot. All of these were fun but not “amazing” like the first 4.

    Animes that I didn’t watch but I’m not considering thanks to this thread: Gundam Build Fighters, Inou-battle, Sidonia, Haikyuu.

    dxb_blackwolf
    1. Also I feel like all the people complaining about the anime list being lackluster this year are probably ones that don’t like slice-of-life or generally light-hearted anime. Because this year kicked ass with those, and as a fan of this genre, I’m happy 🙂

      dxb_blackwolf
      1. Haha yeah when I did my post I was surprised that you were the only person in the comments that voted for it. Seeing your list again, I think I’ll also consider watching jojo and Mushishi since many are voting for them. I never gave them a chance either. It seems I missed many good anime.

        dxb_blackwolf
  25. 1: Hunter x Hunter
    2-5(in no particular order): Haikyuu, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru & Kill la Kill

    For me it was like Hunter x Hunter &… the rest. Lots of good shows this year but nothing that really stands out.

    *v*
  26. My top 5 had to be (in alphabetical order):
    1. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
    2. Mushishi Zoku Shou
    3. Ping Pong the Animation
    4. Space Dandy
    5. Sidonia no Kishi

    It was a year filled with a good number of B-pluses and a truckload of other worse shows, and so these 5 anime just stood out naturally to me.

    Yammo
  27. Man, the bottom half of the list is stacked with shows I really enjoyed. The “S” section and below really made the top 5 a really hard pick. Space Dandy, Shingeki no Bahamut, Sidonia no Kishi, Soredemo, in addition to Tokyo Ghouls, Tonari no Seki kun, and Uchuu Kyodai.

    Final 5 ended up as:
    Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki kun
    Gin no Saiji 2
    Shingeki no Bahamut
    Space Dandy
    Uchuu Kyoudai

    Kentaiyoshimi
    1. Yeah I tend to be in the same boat a lot since as I mentioned above I’m usually not big into the otaku stuff that tends to get really popular and hyped up and that the majority seems to hold up as the cream of the crop. For me it’s kind of funny because when you get a poll like this that takes a sample I usually end up looking at the shows just above the middle of the pack which tends to be my sweet spot. Like for example the shows most people would rate 5 or 6 out of 10 for the most part tend to be my favorite shows whereas the shows people rate 9/10 out of 10 tend to be ones that I end up rating 5 or 6 out of 10 or which I’m possibly not even interested in in the first place or couldn’t finish for one reason or another.

      John Hunt
  28. Anime
    Mushishi S2
    Ping Pong the Animation
    Kingdom S2
    Hunter x Hunter (2011)
    Uchuu Kyoudai

    OVAs and Movies
    Kaze Tachinu
    Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn
    Mushishi Especials
    Tiger & Bunny 2 – The Rising
    Madoka Magica Movie 3
    (Unfortunately, I couldn’t watch Kaguyahime no Monogatari, otherwise, it would probably be on this list)

    danpmss
  29. Wow, considering the vast amount of anime this year. it’s hard to make a choice. Especially my top 3 favourite show.

    I Can’t rank my favourite anime by number. Well, if it must be ranked it’s must be like this.

    1. Jojo Bizzare Adventure, Haikyuu, Space Dandy.

    I Know it’s kinda absurd, but it’s difficult to asses the greatness of JOJO, the most dramatic sport Haikyuu and the absurdly funny Space Dandy. I Think my head can’t take this anymore. lol

    Other than the top 3, i think Tokyo Raven, Barakamon, Aldnoah Zero, and Kill la Kill is among top 10 anime this year.

    Shinwinds
  30. I’m just secretly giggling that no one here has mentioned Mahouka, which certainly deserves a mention as major disappointment of the year. I just haven’t watched enough shows to decide if it’s THE disappointment of the year.

    I went with the ones I really enjoyed this year. In no order: Log Horizon, Tokyo Ravens, No Game No Life, Amagi Brilliant Park and Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun. Apparently comedy is the way to my heart! To be fair, I don’t think either of them would be ranked as AOTY (though Log Horizon and NGNL might make the list) but they were really, really buttloads of fun and charmed the hell out of its audience. 2014 FTW!

    Murasaki
  31. So many great shows… I could have taken 10 choices easily or more…
    But my absolute top 5 for now is, in no particular order:
    Kill-la-Kill – for being at same time epic, hilarious and unashamedly ecchi – NUDIST BEACH!
    Log Horizon – for cast of great characters, and reminding me why I love MMO’s
    No Game No Life – for taking game theory and making it EPIC.
    Sidonia no Kishi – for hard sci-fi take at mecha genre, coupled with awesome battles
    Zankyou no Terror – for having the audacity to have a go at current political situation, even if in a flawed way.
    It has been a great year!

    ewok40k
  32. Had a slightly difficult time with that one. Top 5 would probably be

    Amaburi
    Log Horizon
    YuukiYuuna
    No Game No Life
    Inou Battle

    Madan no Ou earns a personal honorable mention for being different and having strong characters, yet not living up to expectations (and also because I’m biased, so there).

    Haven’t watched many OVAs this season though, so didn’t really vote meaningfully there.

    Owaranai
  33. Hard to pick this year, many can be in my Top 5. Not in order though…

    Psycho Pass 2
    No Game No Life
    Aldnoah Zero
    Kuroko no Basuke 2
    Tokyo Ghoul

    Not many OVAs I watched this year… The results will help me find good ones…

    SnowCap04
  34. My top 5 excluding leftovers:

    1. Nagi no Asukara
    2. Bokura wa minna kawaisou
    3. Barakamon
    4. Zankyou no Terror
    5. Sabagebu

    Honorable mentions:

    6. Ping Pong
    7. Kill la Kill
    8. Mikakunin
    9. No Game No Life
    10. Zvezda

    Absolutely Disgusting:

    1. Dai shogun
    2. Mahou sensou
    3. Ore twintails
    4. Mahouka
    5. Black bullet

    nightlord
  35. In alphabetical order:
    Amagi Brilliant Park
    Barakamon
    Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
    Mikakunin de Shinkoukei
    No Game No Life

    I’m a sucker for comedy, slice-of-lice, or series about finding your place in the world. This has been a good year for me 😀 I must say, this is the first time I could easily pick 5 (though I did debate whether Illya’s second season should’ve been there…)

    Taiakun
  36. My top 5: Kill la kill, Barakamon, Space Dandy, Sidonia no kishi, No game no life
    Almost made my top 5: Gin no Saji S2, Isshuukan Friends, D-Frag!, Hitsugi no Chaika, Seitokai Yakuindomo*

    rfv
  37. 1. Hunter x Hunter => obvious reasons, best shonen anime I have ever seen
    2. Space Dandy => Watanabe-fueled exercise in exploration of creative limits of anime
    3. Nobunaga Concerto => so underrated, a true gem of this year
    4. Sidonia no Kishi => gripping storyline, interesting chars & art style
    5. Noragami => just an all-around enjoyable supernatural story & chars

    grayne
    1. after seeing the last 2 episodes of Rage of Bahumut, have to promote it into top 5, and demote Noragami into Honorable Mentions.

      what a finale for Bahamut. if you haven’t seen it, go watch it; great anime.

      grayne
      1. don’t really understand. “most disappointing” at least should pose no major issues. “worst anime” i can see might be contentious, but “most disappointing” shouldn’t be.

        lebleu
  38. Well, Rail Wars was not Bad. But for my taste they took really late the right track for me. so, if i could i would give Rails Wars from Episode 7 on a 8/10. For Story and Atmosphere. The earlier ones (only for the first Bombing attempt) did not catch my interest. Even if they here and there used the Girls to trow Ecchi on the Fans

    WorldwideDepp
  39. You are making it hard for me, removing my two top anime of the year to 2015 😛

    1) Fate/Stay Night UBW
    2) Parasyte -the maxim-
    So without two best anime, rest of my list and my votes go to:
    3) JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure: Stardust Crusaders
    4) Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
    5) Mushishi Zoku Shou
    6) Hanamonogatari + Tsukimonogatari
    7) Log Horizon

    Daerian
  40. 1) Gin no Saji S2
    2) No Game No Life
    3) Sidonia no Kishi
    4) Barakamon
    5) Bokura Wa Minna Kawaisou

    and because i have to mention these two

    – Nagi no Asukara
    – Zankyou no Terror (i still remember those piercing amethyst eyes….)

    Synic
  41. They need to stop splitting cours already. Deciding on UBW is easy enough but what about Aldnoah? It’s second half doesn’t air for two weeks. And Sidonia’s second half until the spring.

    qwert
  42. Side Topic:

    Since you added this OAV in the Poll: Mouretsu Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace

    I got there an watched it, well first what i noticed Erika’s Face is a bit different, or it is my memories? Anyway, that is not that important.

    As fas i understand, this OAV do not have real “Climax”. And in the end we get a Transformer Robot Anime. Well, what make the Anime so great? Slice of Life of a Pirate girl?.. Dunno, but this OAV do not even come near the real “Soul” of the Anime. Before you turn your backs on the Anime, thinking the Anime is not better. You really should give it a Try. This Storyline here missed something important… that you find in the Anime

    Trust me

    WorldwideDepp
  43. Kuroko no Basuke 2
    Nagi no Asukara
    Love Live 2
    No Game No Life
    Haikyuu

    Gundam Build Fighters, Mikakunin, Inou-Battle, RE:Hamatora and Tokyo Ravens are at my next list but since it’s just the best 5 for me, I had to choose those that made my weeks every episode aired or those that brought me the most excitement/joy/thrill.

    OVA:
    Tamako Market
    Ano Natsu de Matteru
    Nisekoi

    …these 3 so far. Still having trouble deciding & recalling for other 2 that I enjoyed these past months.

    Red HeartGold ZX
  44. My top 5 choices are in alphabetical order:

    Gin no Saji Season 2 (Silver Spoon, Season 2)
    Mushishi Zoku Shou
    Nobunaga Concerto
    Ping Pong the Animation
    Uchuu Kyoudai (Space Brothers)

    A few more shows that I enjoyed missed the cut. My choices are generally known quantities with the exception of Nobunaga Concerto which I was curious on how on they are going to adapt an award winning manga on Oda Nobunaga while knowing full well that there has been an overload of Oda Nobunaga variations and a number of them being eye-rolling ones at that. Came away mighty impressed on how it was smartly reimagined to also dovetail with history. Got sucked in and cursed and raged when it was cut short at 11 episodes.

    leongsh
  45. No Game No Life (Absolutely loved it – the rest are in no particular order)
    Gundam Build Fighters (I’m glad I gave it a shot after reading RC users saying it was pretty good since I originally dismissed it as a “kiddy” show)
    Hunter X Hunter (The end of the Chimera arc was beautiful)
    Sidonia no Kishi
    Kingdom Season 2

    Others I enjoyed:
    Amagami Brilliant Park
    Inou-Battle
    Kuroko no Basket Season 2
    Ping Pong
    Nagi no Asukara
    Aldnoah Zero (mainly for the OST; everything else felt like a shallow hollywood action flick)

    As for the OVAs, I only watched Kara no Kyoukai: Mirai Fukuin and I’m planning to marathon Gundam Unicorn later. Wouldn’t really be fair for me to vote if I’ve only seen one OVA out of the whole list.

    Hoshi
  46. Series(not in order)
    Tokyo Ghoul = even if they’re not faithful on animating the manga
    Bakaramon
    Psycho Pass
    Kill la Kill
    did i vote for aldnoah.zero instead for Hunter X Hunter? o.O can i take back my vote?

    OVA
    i only watched Unicorn
    but ill vote for Book of Murders when i watch it.

    NarutoXSasuke69
  47. There were so many to choose, it saddens me but it seems nothing comes close to Hunter X Hunter. For the next few years H X H will be a lighthouse for anime and I hope it also serves as a guide to follow,as it was such a masterpiece.

    Soran
  48. So many good shows, truly an awesome year for anime !

    It was so hard to pick only 5 shows… but i gave an attempt:

    – No game no life (concentrated awesomeness in each second of animation)
    – Kill la Kill (because Gainax is now called Trigger)
    – Nagi no Asukara (visual slap at each scene and tearjerker, P.A Works, thank you)
    – Shingeki no Bahamut (maybe the most underhyped show of the year, i’m eagerly waiting for the next show from Mappa)
    – Sword Art Online II (okok… i know, this one is not objective at all and this season could have been better, but i’m an SAO addict, nothink can be done about it)

    Honorable Mentions (should have been 10 picks !)
    – Akame Ga Kill (never boring, can’t wait to see who will die on the next episode)
    – Hitsugi no Chaika (Bones, what else ?)
    – Log Horizon (Database ! Too bad the animation isn’t on par with the universe and story behind LH)
    – Amagi Brillant Park (Kyoani is back ! At least they’re Free from the K-On niche.)
    – Aldnoha Zero (Or… give me the f***ing OST already, i don’t care about the show !)

    Makoto
  49. Anime
    Fate Kaleid Liner
    Kuroko no Basket 2
    Mekaku City
    No Game No Life
    Tokyo Ravens

    Honorable Mention
    – Akame ga Kill
    – Amagi Brilliant Park
    – Aldnoah Zero
    – Why Fate UBW isn’t here ?

    Movie
    HxH Last Mission
    Little Busters EX (OAV)
    Madoka Magica III
    Persona 3 Spring
    Sora no Otoshimono

    Kyousuke
  50. Thank you for the in-depth and through anime feedback.

    You Guys have really made it another great year and we hope that you continue to write and bring us more of your views.

    Thanks RC writers. Happy New Year to you guys.

    Dragonite88
  51. Watching this list, i noticed that this was a better year than i thought, with some really awesome animes.
    Sidonia no Kenshi, Aldnoah Zero, Akame ga Kill, Tokyo Ravens, Tokyo Ghoul, Terra Formars, Zankyou no Terror, UBW, Isshuukan Friends, Hitsugi no Chaika, Rokujouma no Shinryakusha and of course Psycho Pass Extended Version…
    I must say that even in the OVA department it was actually quite good with Date a Live: Encore, Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dō Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui! and Buddy Complex taking the prize 🙂

    Kiritsugu
  52. I’ll cast my votes for Locodol, SoniAni and GochiUsa fir shows; even though these shows weren’t well covered here, they were relaxing and worth watching in every regard. As for OVAs, Gundam Unicorn and Girls und Panzer are my picks.

    Infinity Orbit
  53. Shingeki no Bahamut: From now on this is my gold standard for game adaptions. Practically everything was done right; characters, pacing, action, plot, animation, and music. I particularly loved its homages to western movies and fantasy, they’re rarely done in anime, let alone so well.

    Kill la Kill: High voltage action, comedy, and fanservice. Kill la Kill may not have been a particularly deep story or philosophical work, but it was a ton of fun with some nice messages underneath.

    No Game No Life: This was a trashy, fanservice riddled, reference-laden, self-insert wish fulfillment power fantasy, but I’ll be darned if it wasn’t absolutely hilarious and engaging.

    Sidonia no Kishi: Space operas, let alone of the hard sci-fi variety are not terribly common in anime. Even less common are good ones like Sidonia. It had an excellent plot, solid characters, and great action sequences throughout.

    Ore, Twintails ni Narimasu: I can’t decide if this show is stupidly brilliant or brilliantly stupid, but either way I found it utterly hilarious. Like Kill la Kill it takes a ridiculous premise and runs with it, delivering action and comedy while sneaking in some moral lessons and subtle jabs at anime culture.

    Hochmeister
    1. @Twintails

      I wouldn’t call those ‘subtle’ jabs at anime culture. Those were as explicit as they can get. I loved how they used them. Creepy bugs with fetishes that they announce with pride. I’m with you on this as part of my top 5 picks.

      flCer
    2. Ore twintails is not brilliantly stupid nor stupidly brilliant, it’s just plain stupid, the comedy is dull and every “joke” is predictable and retarded, all the supposed humor and that thing of “making fun of some tropes” is just bad executed. The production values and the overall quality is terrible, the animation started fine but became shit, the music was generic and the characters were just plain boring. Most people actually watched it because of the tag “gender bender”, I was not enough mentally ill to “enjoy” this thing.

      nightlord
  54. Uchuu Kyoudai – Probably one of the most educational anime I have watched in a while
    No Game No Life – Word
    Kill la Kill – Fashion comes at a cost
    Nagi no Asukara – I am so glad that it is not R.D.G.
    Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun – Chiyo-chan, fighto

    YakumoHaku
  55. 1. Mushishi Zoku Shou (Masterpiece, when this aired I had yet to watch the first season. I’m so glad my eye fell on this series)
    2. No Game No Life (What can I say, the shots angles and rising tension of some of the games was very well executed. Hoping for that second season)
    3. Aldnoah.ZERO (Urobutcher made a great first and last episode
    4. Log Horizon (Log Horizon makes any MMO player want to play his/her favorite MMO again. The story is very well written imo)
    5. Space Dandy (This is imo a big mixture of everything anime can and has to offer. A piece of art)

    Honourable mentions
    – Kill la Kill
    – Zankyou no Terror
    – Tokyo Ghoul
    – Barakamon

    There are many more, but this is the top of this year!

    Shrubbery
  56. MY GOG MY GOD I LOVE SAO EVER.
    MY EPIC TOP—-

    1 SWORD ART ONLINE 2-3-4
    2 TOKYO GOUL
    3 TOKYO ESP
    4 GLASSLIP. FCK YOU NAGI NO AZUKARA
    5 FATE KALEID LINER PRISMA ILYA 2WEIIIIIIII
    6 DATE ALIVE 2
    7 DRAMAtical Murder
    8 Hitsugi no Chaika LOLI!!
    9 Inazuma Eleven GO MARIO Galaxy
    10 Log Horizon 2 BY MY DEEN, FUCK YOU UFOTABLE
    11 Mahou Sensou
    12 NORIN
    13 PUPA CENSORED VESION

    FUK ME KIRITO-KUN..

  57. 1. Barakamon
    2. Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou
    3. Log Horizon
    4. Amagi Brilliant Park
    5. Inou-Battle wa Nichijou no Naka de (this one was a hard choice… There are about 8 shows that I could put in this position)

    André
  58. Shingeki no Bahamut
    Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-Kun
    Sword Art Online II
    Amagi Brilliant Park
    Hitsugi no Chaika (both seasons)

    Akatsuki no Yona and Shirobako would have been contenders if they had been completed. I know my list is heavily slanted towards the end of the year, but I consider the most recent anime season to be one of the best in a long time, and I found a lot of the shows I liked earlier in the year to be ultimately disappointing.

    Darthtabby
  59. The two anime that I personally truly hold personal to my heart are JoJo: Stardust Crusaders and Ping Pong the Animation.

    I don’t think I will be truly prepared for the second cour of JoJo. The fights are inventive and watching the protagonists travel around the world, bond, and get themselves in wacky situations make it truly memorable. Araki’s imagination is limitless.

    Ping Pong The Animation caught me by surprise. I did get into Ping Pong at some point with a friend but I found it to be more then just about Ping Pong. The characters were well written and the story was great and leaves you feeling spiritually uplifted. The art style can turn off some people but the emotions it can garner out of you as each character comes to terms with their dilemmas and find what they can get out of life is worth the watch.

    My other 3 votes go to HxH(It’s HxH), Mushishi Zoku Shou (Very beautiful stories with the poignant ones really sticking to you), and Hajime No Ippo:Rising (Sawamura Ryuhei has gotta be one of the most despicable and memorable villains).

    kondee
  60. Hard to choose best 5 but I’d have to pick:
    * Mushishi Zoku Shou – AOTY, glad my favorite anime has returned and will finish beautifully with a movie in the summer.
    * Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis – Was not expecting it to be that fucking epic. Good job Mappa!
    * Barakamon – Very enjoyable and a surprise hit for me
    * Nagi no Asukara – One of PA Works best works imo
    * Dead tie between Noragami and Sidonia no Kishi

    Roy
  61. i could only pick 2 for the anime part and 1 for the ova/movie part, there must have been more then 2 animes worth mentioning from this year(tokyo ghoul doesn’t do it in my books yet ive seen the small hype) hope the best of 2014 puts me in a good direction for what i could catch up on 😀

  62. Series :

    Ping Pong The Animation
    Mushishi Zoku Shou
    Uchuu Kyoudai
    Jojo
    Gin no Saji

    Movies/OVAs
    Kaze Tachinu
    Kara no Kyoukai Mirai Fukuin
    Puella Magi Madoka Magica Movie 3
    Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn Movie 7
    Kaguya-Hime Monogatari

    All in all hasn’t been a great year for anime. Though on The Movie/OVA front the quality of the stuff has improved from last year.

    KingofConquerors
  63. My votes for Best Anime 2014:
    1. Hunter x Hunter (2011) (One of the greatest manga stories of all time! This re-make is nothing short of excellent!)
    2. Kill la Kill
    3. Uchuu Kyoudai
    4. Haikyuu!!
    5. Ping Pong the Animation

    Regrets: Golden Time, PSYCHO-PASS 2, Mushishi Zoku Shou, Log Horizon, Sword Art Online II, Hanamonogatari + Tsukimonogatari, Yowamushi Pedal, Tonari no Seki-kun, and many others…

    My votes for Best OVA/Movie 2014:
    1. Rakuen Tsuihou: Expelled from Paradise (If you like Suisei you’ll love this one!)
    2. Kaze Tachinu
    3. Suisei no Gargantia: Meguru Kouro, Haruka OVA (Episode 1)
    4. Kaguya-hime no Monogatari
    5. Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai Movie

    Regrets: Ghost in the Shell ARISE Border 3 + 4

    Matroid
  64. 1 Pretty Rhythm Rainbow Live. Masterpiece. Ending wasn’t as over the top as season2’s though.
    2 Gundam Build Fighters. Another masterpiece
    3 Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizokin
    4 Persona 4 The Golden
    5 Kenzen Robo Daimidaler

    1 Kaguya Hime no Monogatari, dominates everything in every aspect by far.
    2 Moretsu Pirates Abyss of Hyperspace, I hope there’s a second season soon.
    3 Tiger & Bunny The Rising, idem
    4 Yozakura Quartet Tsuki ni Naku 2&3. Really great animation.(Couldn’t vote for it since you guys didn’t add it but no worries)
    5 Pretty Rhythm movie. Only ~10 minutes of new content but had some of the funniest things I saw this year
    There was tons of good shows this year, still a lot I wanna watch.

  65. #1-5 In no particular order:
    Mikakunin de Shinkoukei
    Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
    Haikyuu!!
    Barakamon
    Shingeki no Bahamut

    #6-15 (also not in order):
    Gin no Saji S2
    Ping Pong the Animation
    Hunter x Hunter (2011)
    Yowamushi Pedal
    Log Horizon
    Kuroshitsuji -Book of Circus-
    Sidonia no Kishi
    Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii
    Nobunagun
    Tokyo Ghoul

    Eclipze
  66. A technical question, why is Aldnoah Zero (part one) listed but not Fate Stay Night UBW (part one)? Both are similar in that they’re only the first half of a 24 episode series which have taken a break.

    echykr
  67. If I could I would’ve voted 20 or so, but oh well.
    After a process of elimination I finally voted for those:

    Mushishi Zoku Shou
    Jojo
    Haikyuu!!
    Amagi Brilliant Park
    SAO II

    Log Horizon, Chaika, Akame and a few others were also close. Good thing Yona is not on the list, because I would on my wits’ end. TOO MANY GOOD SERIES.

    Tchaika

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