Miscellaneous / Poll

The end of the year is here and it’s time for the 14th 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? There’s no electoral college here. The anime with the most votes wins!

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 ~170 TV series and ~70 OVA/movies 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 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 2019 and fit in the general criteria for receiving a preview. The idea is that you can’t truly judge a series until it’s over, so series such as Chihayafuru 3 will appear on next year’s poll. Series with another season coming but a clear stopping point in the one we’ve already seen are included. At the same time, shows generally aired for all ages/kids were not included.
  • For OVA/movies, it has to have been released on Blu-ray/DVD in 2019 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.

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 Zephyr an email or tweet at him via @ZephyrRC and we’ll 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.

Note: To give viewers more time to vote, the polls will close this year at 3:00 PM PST on January 3rd, giving you the most time possible before the Best of Anime post comes out with the results. This means the 3:00 PM in the afternoon in PST or 11:00 PM GMT on the 4th.



69 Comments

  1. Comment reserved for revisions. If you don’t see a show you believe should be on either poll, reply below.

    Any new additions to the list will be noted in this comment:

    Added:
    Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai (Movie)
    Mirai no Mirai (Movie)

    Removed:
    Azur Lane (Carry Over to 2020)
    Babylon (Carry Over to 2020)
    Flying Babies (Duplicate of Hulaing Babies)
    Mugen no Juunin (Carry Over to 2020)
    Pet (Delayed to 2020)

    Zephyr
    Reply

        1. Hmm that’s a tough one… can’t say I remember the last time we had a series that streamed episodic overseas but was not(?) put on broadcast officially in Japan in that format AND it was released in a sep. format in JPN that wasn’t released in BD/DVD yet. The standard requirement is that it has to be released in BD/DVD overseas, so I suppose in this case the question ends up whether a Crunchy episodic format release qualifies as the equivalent as something that enough people had a chance to watch. I can see it being potentially equivalent, but I’m also leaning it towards including it next year when the BD/DVD of the movies come out so more people have a chance to make judgments accordingly. I’ll see. If you see it added in the next few hours then it’ll be there, otherwise it’ll be on next year’s poll.

          Zephyr
          Reply

  4. Personally I felt that Fafner: The Beyond was a really well done series. I wish more people were fans of the Fafner series in the West as its very well written and the animation(Especially the recent installments) is excellent. This is Xebec’s flagship Scifi series I’d say.

    I know Xebec was sold to Sunrise while they were making Beyond and Xebec Zwei went to Production I.G but to me it’ll always be a Xebec series as thats how it spent most of its life.

    So yeah this series has my vote as I’ve watched and enjoyed every episode produced to date.

    Lyfe
    Reply

  6. (Ranked in order of best anime of the year)
    1. Kimetsu no Yaiba
    2. Yakusoku no Neverland
    3. Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunouse
    4. Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note
    5. Dr. Stone

    Ugh, every year I have to cut out well deserving anime out of my top five.

    Should just switch this to a top two anime per cour, the way anime shows work, it’s really hard to select a top five from this list or make this a more fair ‘top 8’ contest.

    Honorable mention to Granbelm for going the extra mile on the 2d mecha animation. Had to knock it off the top five for it’s ‘unusual’ inclusion of super deformed mecha designs.

    I know some people would scream to include Beastars or Vinland Saga, but I haven’t watched either of them. I’d hate to lose my choices for 4 & 5, but you could replace either with those in your list.

    Lastly, with the massive loss we had with Kyoani arson attack, all thoughts to the survivors as they continue to get their lives back to good health.

    Onward to 2020.

    NCC-1664
    Reply

    1. I agree with you. I really need to add a sixth to be content with the anime that really engaged me this year. The one that just missed the cut was Yakusoku no Neverland

      My list was

      Vinland Saga
      Dororo
      Dr Stone
      Kimetsu no Yaiba
      Fruits Basket 2019

      D’you what Dr Stone is getting a lot of love so let me put YnN instead

      Voting by season would be a welcome update in the voting system

      AmorokStar
      Reply

  7. My top 5 in no particular order:

    1. Ascendence of a Bookworm – surprisingly well realised world and story, with some interesting characters. A relaxing, unique take on the isekai formula
    2. Kimetsu no Yaiba – best shonen series of the year. Top notch animation coupled with a great story and some very unique and well developed characters.
    3. Vinland Saga – superb historical series with bloody action a well realised story with some very nuanced and fascinating characters. Great animation to boot. A worthy adaptation of the fantastic source materal
    4. Mob Psycho 2 – an excellent follow-up to the fantastic first series (which was the sleeper hit of 2016 IMO). The story climbs new magnitudes of scale with the battles and action sequences but is essentially more of the same from season one from the story and character development side. The novelty has worn off a tad but still remains immensely entertaining.
    5. Rising of the Shield Hero – my ‘guilty’ pleasure, most purely entertaining isekai series of the year. A close run between this and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime for that title, but the more compelling protagonist and central story arc tipped it in favour of Shield Hero.

    grayne
    Reply

    1. Honorouable mentions:

      1. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime – a very fun isekai series with a refreshing atypical protagonist. Rather dragged towards the end but overall an enjoyable watch.
      2. Kanata no Astra – very unrealistic but quite enjoyable shonen-in-space series. The unique setting itself was interesting on its own, but the likeable characters and engaging story arc (though fairly lightweight) also helped.

      Most disappointing:

      – One Punch Man (Season 2) – the story remained great (as from the superb source material), but Madhouse’s absence was sorely felt in all areas of production, from animation to direction to story execution. Would likely have been a 10/10 if Madhouse had produced as they did Season 1, but with JC Staff, Season 2 was only a 7.5-8/10. A shame, but still just about decent overall.

      grayne
      Reply

  11. I’m not convinced with the order but I went with

    1. Vinland Saga
    2. Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru
    3. Beastars
    4. Hitoribocchi (I never thought I would enjoy a CGDCT SoL, this show made the impossible possible)
    5. Kaguya-sama

    Shout out to Kono Oto Tomare that no one seems to mention :'( . I already have Chihayafuru rolling for next year.

    Youkai
    Reply

  12. i havent been in the site for 6 months, now that i revisited so much changes, i don’t know if the change is good or bad, but i can surely say two thing, you should put the best of anime in the categories tab above (my only reason for visit) aaaand the pictures are now kinda small in the best of anime forum and it sucks.

    bestofanime reader
    Reply

  17. My choice in no particular order :
    1. Kaguya sama
    2. SnK S3
    3. Mob Psycho S2
    4. Tate no Yuusha
    5. Vinland Saga, the anime that put all viking movies in the world to shame
    Some tough choices for me, had to omit the likes of One Punch Man and Tensura

    For the movies in no particular order :
    1. Gochiusa Sing for You
    2. Code Geass Movie
    3. Psycho Pass Sinners of the System
    4. Dragon Ball Super Broly
    5. Fate/Stay Night Heaven’s Feel II
    The movie selection aren’t as tough for me.

    damnt512
    Reply

  18. 170 fricking series, and still only allowing a top 5 vote. This, despite pretty much any review being at least a top 10.

    I’m not sure there’s really any point to this. A tiny handful of the most popular series will get to remind everyone how popular they are, and everything else can get forgotten.

    I’ll vote anyway, but it’s with the complete expectation that it’s as pointless and futile as the Crunchyroll awards.

    David
    Reply

    1. I agree, it’s time for next year’s vote that the amount of anime we can vote for are finally increased, because every years there’s more and more anime airing. I hope you’re reading this, @Zephyr

      damnt512
      Reply

    1. It seems like there was a mistake on various sites listing it as airing in the winter when it actually isn’t airing yet from what I’ve seen. There actually is no confirmed release date at this moment in time aside from it being a 2020 release.

      And yeah, Pet has been removed, that was my bad.

      Zephyr
      Reply

  26. Late to the party, had to finish some anime before I could be sure 😉

    My top 5 this year was….. easier to pick than expected. Because this year we got some solid top contenders. Now ranking them and picking the open number 5 was a lot harder. Here it goes:
    1. Vinland Saga (No question how good this was, looking forward for a sequal!)
    2. Mob Psycho 100 II (Great characters, animation, and comedy)
    3. Shingeki no Kyojin S3 (With the mindfucks it’s thrown at us this season, and the brilliant animation it deserves a place here)
    4. Fruits Basket (Never watched the original but was very pleasantly surprised by this show. No shame in admitting I cried numerous times and would again if I gave it a rewatch)
    5. Enen no Shouboutai (Took a while for the story to settle in and get to the good stuff, but the animation, use of colour, and sound design of this show alone give this anime points to be in my top 5)

    I have a couple of honourable mentions/anime that nearly made the list:
    – Kimetsu no Yaiba
    – Dr. Stone
    – Kono Oto Tomare
    – Dororo
    – Zoku Owarimonogatari

    As for Movies/OVAs, once again didn’t watch a lot, but my votes go to, in no particular order:
    – Code Geass: Fukkatsu no Lelouch
    – Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai
    – Mob Psycho 100 OVA
    – Wotakoi OVA
    – Youjo Senki Movie

    Overall I think it was a very good year for anime. This year had some top notch shows! Hope 2020 will be just as good. Now I’m off to read the winter preview 😉

    Shrubbery
    Reply

  27. Isn’t Bean Bandit a new OVA that hasn’t been released yet?

    1 and 2 are clearly my favorite series of the year:
    1) Shingeki S3
    2) Vinland Saga
    —
    3) Kimetsu no Yaiba
    4) Tate no Yuusha
    5) Lord El-Melloi II

    boingman
    Reply

  30. Was a hard choice with quite a few great series this year, but here’s my Top 5:

    – Vinland Saga
    – Carole & Tuesday
    – The Promised Neverland
    – Kaguya-sama: Love is War
    – Beastars

    Chisel
    Reply

  31. Senki Zesshou Symphogear XV is an entire season of hype trains with no wreck at the end. Super awesome music, transformations, action, and call-backs to previous seasons.

    Caliocerion
    Reply

    1. Hey there! It just published. I apologise for the delays, they were 100% on me (with the site revamp adding a couple of problems here and there). Hope it didn’t bother you too much and that you enjoy it!

      Zaiden
      Reply

  34. sorry to ask but how’s the result?? its been 2 weeks but the results still not appear which makes me curious about it… this is the 1st time the result did quite late than previous year.. i used to look up into post about best anime here every year to find good anime…

    Fm95
    Reply

    1. Hey there! It just published. I apologise for the delays, they were 100% on me (with the site revamp adding a couple of problems here and there). Hope it didn’t bother you too much and that you enjoy it!

      Zaiden
      Reply

    1. Hey there! It just published. I apologise for the delays, which were not on Zephyr, but 100% on me (with the site revamp adding a couple of problems here and there). Hope it didn’t bother you too much and that you enjoy it!

      Zaiden
      Reply

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