Best of Anime 2023

With 2023 officially over, now comes the moment that many of you have been waiting for. It’s time for our annual foray into annoying everyone with our questionable opinions, the Best of Anime 2023 post! Continuing in 2022’s wake this will be a collaboration between writers. That would be me (Pancakes), Choya, FJ Freeman, and Princess Usagi. We didn’t quite manage all the shows this year, but we heavily focused on watching entries that made a serious clamour within the anime community. This is a fourth time for us, and we’ll inevitably get things wrong. So please feel free to be brutally honest while giving us constructive feedback. And if we picked something you disagree with don’t hesitate to voice your opinion – best of posts are always subjective!

Best of Anime 2022

With 2022 officially over, now comes the moment that many of you have been waiting for. It’s time for our annual foray into annoying everyone with our questionable opinions, the Best of Anime 2022 post! Continuing in 2021’s wake this will be a collaboration between writers. That would be me (Pancakes), Choya, FJ Freeman, Princess Usagi, and Miss Simplice. We didn’t quite manage all the shows this year (or complete this on time…), but we heavily focused on watching entries that made a serious clamour within the anime community. This is a third time for us, and we’ll inevitably get things wrong. So please feel free to be brutally honest while giving us constructive feedback. And if we picked something you disagree with don’t hesitate to voice your opinion – best of posts are always subjective!

Continuing from 2021, there are numerous categories in the following areas: Production, Miscellaneous, Genre, and Notable Others. Due to lack of series candidates, and/or the belief that we may not have watched enough shows to make an informed decision about specific genres, some categories present in previous years were ommitted. Without further ado, let’s get started!

The Best of Anime 2021

With 2021 officially over, now comes the moment that many of you have been waiting for. It’s time for our annual foray into annoying everyone with our questionable opinions, the Best of Anime 2021 post! Continuing in 2019’s wake this will be a throwback to previous iterations with a collaboration between writers. That would be me (Pancakes), Choya, FJ Freeman, Princess Usagi, and Miss Simplice. We didn’t quite manage all the shows this year, but we heavily focused on watching entries that made a serious clamour within the anime community. This is a second time for us, and we’ll inevitably get things wrong. So please feel free to be brutally honest while giving us constructive feedback. And if we picked something you disagree with don’t hesitate to voice your opinion – best of posts are always subjective!

The Best of Anime 2019

Now that 2019 is officially over, it’s time for our annual foray into annoying everyone with our questionable opinions, the Best of Anime 2019 post! Unlike last year, and serving as a throwback to previous iterations, this will consist of a collaboration between writers. That would be me (Zaiden), Choya and Pancakes. We didn’t quite manage 100+ shows this year, but we heavily focused on watching entries that made a serious clamour within the anime community. This is a first for us and we’ll inevitably get things wrong. So please feel free to be brutally honest while giving us constructive feedback.

Continuing from last year, there are numerous categories in the following areas: Production, Miscellaneous, Genre, and Notable Others. Due to lack of series candidates, and/or the belief that we may not have watched enough shows to make an informed decision about specific genres, some categories have been omitted from previous years. Though in the outro, I’ve attempted to explain the reasoning behind their removal. And added back to this year’s post are the Studio, Plot Twist, Mystery, Sport, Underappreciated, and Exceeded Expectations categories. And we’ll welcome four new entries: ‘Betrayal’ being a reference to the online community meme, ‘Isekai’ and ‘Supernatural’ as their own separate categories from fantasy in recognition of their standalone popularity and noticeable differences from traditional fantasy, as well as ‘Greatest Trainwreck’ – which distinguishes itself from disappointment by being a hotly anticipated mess of epic proportions. Without further ado, let’s get started!

Disclaimer: As always, disclaimers abound. Please keep in mind that “best” is subjective. What’s best for us isn’t necessarily best for you, and that’s perfectly fine. This list shouldn’t be taken as some kind of inviolable truth, but rather the opinions of three chaps who had too much time on their hands and spent it conjuring up a list of picks based on all the anime they watched. Naturally, our choices will be influenced by our own tastes, experiences, and personal impressions. Before you go bashing one of our choices, please make sure you’ve at least seen it and know where we’re coming from. Finally, all we ask is that you respect our opinions and the opinions of others in the comments, just like we respect yours. Thank you.

Disclaimer #2: The choices in this post are not reflective of the opinions of all Random Curiosity writers. They are solely the opinions of myself (Zaiden), Choya and Pancakes, save for where otherwise noted. Thank you for your understanding.

Note: For a show to be considered, it has to have met the requirements outlined in the Reader’s Choice Poll. For OVAs/movies, the additional requirement is that it’s been either released on BD or DVD, so that viewers outside of Japan have had a chance to watch it.

**This will be up top for the next few days, so don’t forget to scroll past for new posts!

The Best of Anime 2018


Now that 2018 is officially over, it’s time for our yearly foray into annoying everyone with our questionable opinions, the Best of Anime 2018 post. As with last year, this year’s iteration will continue being written by one writer. Through a complete hiatus from blogging and other real-life obligations that made this year my busiest yet, I still managed to watch approximately ~80 series this year, and while I won’t guarantee total objectivity (like such a thing exists), I’d say I’m generally well-informed about whatever I’m wrong about. That said, I will be attempting to take a multitude of picks across the spectrum for each category to make up for the lack of a second opinion. What this means is that you may not see as many repeat winners this time around as you would otherwise, so mileage may vary here more than previous years.

Continuing from last year, there are numerous categories in the following areas: Production, Miscellaneous, Genre, and Notable Others. Due to lack of series candidates, the lack of involvement of specific writers that specialized in certain categories, and/or the belief that I may not have watched enough shows to make an informed decision about specific genres however, some categories have been omitted from previous years. This includes the Soundtrack, Plot Twist, Underappreciated, and Exceeded Expectations categories. Added back to this year’s post are the Animation (tweaked to include overall visuals) and Disappointment categories.

Encoding and videos for the OP/ED/Song categories were done by Xumbra, who will be retiring from encoding following his many contributions over the last decade. So here’s a shout out (thanks!) for him and everything he does for the site behind the scenes, especially in regards to not only this post, but the PVs that you found in each of the seasonal previews as well. It goes without saying that Xumbra will be missed, as will all the cage jokes that came with him. Included at the end are the final results of the Reader’s Choice Poll.

 

Disclaimer: As always, disclaimers abound. Please keep in mind that “best” is subjective. What’s best for us isn’t necessarily best for you, and that’s perfectly fine. This list shouldn’t be taken as some kind of inviolable truth, but rather the opinions of a guy who had too much time on his hands and spent it conjuring up a list of picks based on all the anime they watched. Naturally, my choices will be influenced by my own tastes, experiences, and personal impressions, and these are just recommendations, nothing more and nothing less. Before you go bashing one of my choices, please make sure you’ve at least given the series a chance so you may know where we’re coming from. Aside from that, we ask that you respect our opinions and the opinions of others in the comments, just like we respect yours. Thank you.

Disclaimer #2: The choices in this post are not reflective of the opinions of all Random Curiosity writers. They are solely the opinions of myself (Zephyr), save for where otherwise noted. Thank you for your understanding.

**This will be up top for the next few days, so don’t forget to scroll past for new posts!

The Best of Anime 2017


Now that 2017 is officially over, it’s time for our yearly foray into annoying everyone with our questionable opinions, the Best of Anime 2017 post! As usual, we won’t guarantee total objectivity (like such a thing exists), but as someone who managed to catch over ~90 series, I’d say I’m generally well informed about a majority of shows worth watching this year. Given that I’m the only writer doing the post this year however, don’t be surprised if you see a larger range of picks across categories to make up for the lack of a second opinion.

 

Disclaimer: As always, disclaimers abound. Please keep in mind that “best” is subjective. What’s best for us isn’t necessarily best for you, and that’s perfectly fine. This list shouldn’t be taken as some kind of inviolable truth, but rather the opinions of a guy who had too much time on his hands and spent it conjuring up a list of picks based on all the anime they watched. Naturally, my choices will be influenced by my own tastes, experiences, and personal impressions, and ultimately these are just recommendations, nothing more and nothing less. Before you go bashing one of my choices, please make sure you’ve at least given the series a chance so you may know where we’re coming from. Aside from that, we ask that you respect our opinions and the opinions of others in the comments, just like we respect yours. Thank you.

Disclaimer #2: The choices in this post are not reflective of the opinions of all Random Curiosity writers. They are solely the opinions of myself (Zephyr), save for where otherwise noted. Thank you for your understanding.

More after the jump…

**This will be up top for the next few days, so don’t forget to scroll past for new posts!

The Best of Anime 2016


Now that 2016 is officially over, it’s time for our yearly foray into annoying everyone with our questionable opinions, the Best of Anime 2016 post! As with last year, this post is a collaboration between the writers who watched the most series this year, me (Zephyr) and Samu. Through hiatuses and other real-life obligations, we both still managed to watch approximately 100 series this year, making us somewhat informed about whatever we’re wrong about.

Disclaimer: As always, disclaimers abound. Please keep in mind that “best” is subjective. What’s best for us isn’t necessarily best for you, and that’s perfectly fine. This list shouldn’t be taken as some kind of inviolable truth, but rather the opinions of two guys who had too much time on their hands and spent it conjuring up a list of picks based on all the anime they watched. Naturally, our choices will be influenced by our own tastes, experiences, and personal impressions, and ultimately these are just recommendations of series we feel most people will enjoy, nothing more. Before you go bashing one of our choices, please make sure you’ve at least given the series a chance so you may know where we’re coming from. Aside from that, we ask that you respect our opinions and the opinions of others in the comments, just like we respect yours. Thank you.

Disclaimer #2: The choices in this post are not reflective of the opinions of all Random Curiosity writers. They are solely the opinions of myself (Zephyr) and Samu, save for where otherwise noted. Thank you for your understanding.

More after the jump…

**This will be up top for the next few days, so don’t forget to scroll past for new posts!

The Best of Anime 2015


Now that 2015 is officially over, it’s time for our yearly pitchfork skewering foray into annoying everyone with our questionable opinions, the Best of Anime 2015 post! As with last year, the post will be a collaboration between the two writers who watched the most series this year (and also had the most time on their hands). Relative newcomer Samu takes the place of Stilts, who had a little too much to drink this time around. The total series watched list for both writers ended up at about 100 this year, and while we won’t guarantee total objectivity (like such a thing exists), we’re generally well-informed about whatever we’re wrong about.

More after the jump.

Disclaimer: As always, disclaimers abound. Please keep in mind that “best” is subjective. What’s best for us isn’t necessarily best for you, and that’s perfectly fine. This list shouldn’t be taken as some kind of inviolable truth, but rather the opinions of two guys who had too much time on their hands and spent it conjuring up a list of picks based on all the anime they watched. Think of them more as a recommendations influenced by our own tastes, experiences, and personal impressions. Before you go bashing one of our choices, please make sure you’ve at least seen it and know where we’re coming from. Finally, all we ask is that you respect our opinions and the opinions of others in the comments, just like we respect yours. Thank you.

Disclaimer #2: The choices in this post are not reflective of the opinions of all Random Curiosity writers. They are solely the opinions of myself (Zephyr) and Samu, save for where otherwise noted.

The Best of Anime 2014


Now that 2014 is officially over, it’s time for our yearly rage fest foray into annoying everyone with our questionable opinions, the Best of Anime 2014 post! As with last year this post is a collaboration between the writers who watched the most series this year (and who didn’t say “Not it!” quickly enough), me (Zephyr) and Stilts. We each watched upwards of a 100 series this year, and while we we won’t guarantee total objectivity (like such a thing exists), we’re generally well-informed about whatever we’re wrong about.

More after the jump.

Disclaimer: As always, disclaimers abound. Please keep in mind that “best” is subjective. What’s best for us isn’t necessarily best for you, and that’s perfectly fine. This list shouldn’t be taken as some kind of inviolable truth, but rather the opinions of two guys who had too much time on their hands and spent it conjuring up a list of picks based on all the anime they watched. Naturally our choices will be influenced by our own tastes, experiences, and personal impressions. Before you go bashing one of our choices, please make sure you’ve at least seen it and know where we’re coming from. Finally, all we ask is that you respect our opinions and the opinions of others in the comments, just like we respect yours. Thank you.

Disclaimer #2: The choices in this post are not reflective of the opinions of all Random Curiosity writers. They are solely the opinions of myself (Zephyr) and Stilts, save for where otherwise noted. Thank you for your understanding.

The Best of Anime 2013


Now that 2013 is officially over, it’s time for our yearly foray into annoying everyone with our crappy opinions, the Best of Anime 2013 post! As with last year this post is a collaboration between the writers who watched the most series this year (and who didn’t say “Not it!” quickly enough), Zephyr and Stilts (that’s me!). We each watched upwards to…I don’t know, a lot of anime this past year, so while I can’t promise you we’ll be totally objective (such a thing is impossible), at least we’ll be well-informed about whatever we’re wrong about.

More after the jump.

Disclaimer: As always, disclaimers abound. Please keep in mind that “best” is subjective. What’s best for us isn’t necessarily best for you, and that’s okay. This list shouldn’t be taken as some kind of inviolable truth, but rather the opinions of two guys who watched a lot of anime and then argued about it for about eight hours until a list appeared. Naturally our choices will be influenced by our own tastes, experiences, and personal impressions. Before you go bashing one of our choices, please make sure you’ve at least seen it and know where we’re coming from. Finally, all we ask is that you respect our opinions, just like we respect yours. Thank you.

Disclaimer #2: The choices in this post are not necessarily reflective of the opinions of all Random Curiosity writers. They are solely the opinions of myself (Stilts) and Zephyr, save for where otherwise noted. Thank you for your understanding.