In hindsight, 2025 is going to feel like a transition year. For better or worse (mostly worse), it heralded a lot of changes to my life and family that I’m going to have to get used to. For example, I have a lot less free time. I wish I could give my exhaustive take on every single anime I watched in 2025, as I have in year’s past, but I simply don’t have the energy for it. That said, I still want to do 2025’s highlights justice. Despite our constant complaining, anime still finds a way to surprise me. I’ll tell you what, I never predicted I’d be this obsessed with anime horse girls.

WINTER 2025

Apothecary Diaries Season 2

Maomao is basically Ancient Chinese Dr House Columbo and that’s why we love her. The second season brings some surprisingly weighty plot developments, but they feel earned considering the slow buildup they’ve been given in the background of Maomao’s episodic medical mysteries. I don’t think Apothecary Diaries will ever soar that high in my personal estimation, but it’s something I was happy to tune in for every week.

Thunderbolt Fantasy: The Finale

What an end of an era. Thunderbolt Fantasy flew into our lives like a storm, winning us over with its physical appeal and high flying spectacle. It might actually be one of the favorite things I’ve ever watched in my life. I wish I could say I loved the end of the journey more; that The Finale addressed all our concerns with the hurried pace of season 4. Unfortunately, Thunderbolt Fantasy may go down in Glorio history as one of the most egregious (media) casualties of the Covid pandemic. The delays to the production cut the original five season run to four and you feel it in the movie. A lot of plot points are wrapped up in a mechanically sound but emotionally perfunctory way that betrays the elegant theatrics I fell in love with. Nonetheless, the movie brings the heat where it counts and I walk away emotionally satisfied, if not entirely sated. The journey across this land, cloaked in deepest blue, was worth it.

The Extras

Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League – A ton of fun, though I was left a bit colder on it than the first movie. Perhaps some of the novelty has worn off. Hard to say no to a big dumb Kazuki Nakashima penned spectacle though.

Zenshuu – Awful show. I only kept up with this for the fun references to older, better shows. I mean for god’s sake, they got Ichiro Itano out of retirement. That’s worth something at least. Too bad even that quality dries up by the time it reaches its boring insipid ending.

SPRING 2025

Apocalypse Hotel

This is why we still watch anime. Sometimes you get just get utterly blindsided by something so carefully crafted, so beautiful, so damn funny that nothing else comes close. Apocalypse Hotel continues the trend of Cygames Pictures cooking on levels beyond our appreciation. Starting off with the now familiar premise of “sad robots in a post-human world interrogate their personhood,” but quickly evolves into some of the prettiest yet dumbest shitposter humor conceivable. Yachiyo, our mechanical (acting) head concierge, is a hilarious protagonist who works in both the flavor of unflappable straight woman and emotionally unhinged comedy robot. The Procione family are way more charming than their initial impression would imply; some of the best episodes revolving around their multigenerational tanuki dipshittery.

And yet somehow, Apocalypse Hotel is also about death, renewal, and the inevitable grind of entropy. Nothing lasts forever, and nothing should. To make room for a new world, new generations, and new possibilities, we must say goodbye to the old with dignity and occasionally an utterly insane wedding/funeral/fiesta hybrid ceremony. How will you make the best of your time on Earth? What does the “best” even mean under those circumstances? Apocalypse Hotel doesn’t posit answers, but it offers space to examine those ideas in meaningful quietude, in between its literal poop jokes and kinetic bombardment subplot. It’s the anime that does it all, and loses nothing for it.

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX

I’ve probably already said too much about this damn show already. We Gundam fans endure a particularly terrible curse. We are doomed to cede a part of our hearts and souls to this inimitable franchise. For nothing else comes close in its scope, ambitions, and utterly baffling pratfalls. In the months since, I’ve found that I’ve not grown in appreciation of Tsurumaki, Enokido, and (sigh) Anno’s vision. Similarly, I haven’t found any greater animosity for it. GQuuuuuuX is simply another cobblestone on my endless journey with Gundam. It’s not the best nor is it the worst by any stretch of imagination. I was deeply captivated by multiple facets of it, but equally pushed away by others. To be a Gundam fan is to write thousands of words and spend dozens of hours discussing how the franchise has failed us yet again, while still buying the 1/144 High Grade Hambrambi (GQ) kit.

The Extras

Lazarus – lmao this show sucks so bad. I wish I had the energy to go full hater on it. Shinchiro Watanabe retire bitch.

Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers – I don’t know how you fuck up a Guilty Gear anime this badly but somehow they did. I like Strive quite a bit but man is Dual Rulers just the poster boy for everything wrong with how Arcsys has handled Guilty Gear’s modern tone and presentation.

Kowloon Generic Romance – A show I wish I liked more based on its vibes. It taps into the nostalgia for old Hong Kong in such an evocative way but man I just do not care for the sci-fi plot swerve.

Vigilante: My Hero Academia ILLEGALS – The rare shounen spinoff that actually ends up being pretty interesting. Tackles certain topics way better than the original MHA ever could, though falters in some other ways too.

Moonrise – This show was not good, but by dint of having a longer runtime than most seasonal anime, achieved a weird level of occasionally charming mediocrity. I think had it aired weekly instead of in the Netflix batch format, I would have stuck with it. Dr Salamandra is the hottest woman anime has constructed in years.

SUMMER 2025

City the Animation

Such a delightful show, and probably 2025’s highest achievement in the art of animation. Multiple episodes that not only raise the bar, but outright challenge the paradigm of what the medium is capable of. Only seeing is believing, and City the Animation is very much a show worth looking at. In the end, I did find its saccharine absurdist humor less impactful than the madcap antics of its spiritual predecessor, Nichijou. But it’s hard to deny what Kyoani pulled off. A masterclass production that sits with the studio’s best work.

Gachiakuta

There’s an undeniable appeal to Gachiakuta’s edgelord-but-not-too-far vibe. It’s just grimy enough to make kids and teens feel like they’re watching something more “mature” than the other shounen fare, but still familiar enough in its basic construction. If you can get past its pretty rough start, there’s some fun to be had here. Rudo is, well, kind of a rude dipshit, but the story makes sure to always knock him down a peg or three. There is maybe a single thing in this entire show that might surprise you, but what do you expect if you’re watching shounen?

New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

They did it again. We often joke that Trigger founder Hiroyuki Imaishi has exactly one playbook, but it’s a damn good one. That’s very much on display here with the long awaited return of the bitch angels. Only Trigger could apply such a degree of skill to some of the crudest basest jokes imaginable. Sex jokes, movie references, and making fun of America have never looked so slick.

I’m usually not one for nostalgic pandering. I’m very happy with where Trigger is as a studio these days; they’ve grown so much since the days of Inferno Cop and Sex, Violence, and Machspeed. And yet, I yearn for that era. Like a bucket of KFC and a handle of whisky for dinner, it’s the kinda thing you wax lyrical for because it reminds you of a younger and dumber time in your life. It’s genuinely cool Trigger still has this style in them. It’s a little different, sure, but they can still hit the same high notes they did more than a decade ago. Teddyloid is still a threat. There’s something deeply comforting about knowing you can still enjoy the things you did a lifetime ago. I’m glad Panty & Stocking came back for one more ride. And if this is it for real this time, I’ll dearly miss this era of Trigger.

Takopi’s Original Sin

I think it would be very easy to fuck up an adaptation of Takopi’s Original Sin. It rides the border of misery porn, and a clumsy adaptation would likely push it over that line. Thankfully, the ONA is probably one of the most impressive adaptations of 2025. Beautifully made and deeply sensitive, Takopi handles its very rough subject of child abuse and generational trauma with grace and artistry. I think it’s very easy to fall into the trap of glorifying deeply serious media. It just feels more responsible? Like oh you tackled something really difficult, so we should give you extra points for that. I think even with that self-awareness though, Takopi’s Original Sin pulls it off.

The Summer Hikaru Died

…And yet somehow anime did it twice in the same season. The Summer Hikaru Died is the second (of three) shows this year that confidently declared that Cygames Pictures was a force to be reckoned with in anime. A small town horror story with a queer twist isn’t necessarily the most original thing in 2025, but the way in which TSHD approaches these ideas within the societal context of rural Japan and gender expectations kind of make it the male-focused counterpart to this year’s (also surprisingly) excellent Silent Hill F. Yoshiki is a deeply tortured soul and you can’t help but watch the navigation of his deeply upsetting supernatural moral quagmire with both sympathy and rapt voyeurism. Shot with a limited filmic quality that enhances the languid sense of dread, The Summer Hikaru Died is a remarkable show. I did not think I’d end up liking it so much. I am not confident those two crazy kids are actually going to make it in this messed up world, but by god I want to see them try.

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby Seasons 1-3 & the BNW OVA

This is the year I got into Uma Musume and boy has that been a journey. I don’t know if I have a really good succinct explanation. I’m not traditionally a waifu guy, nor am I particularly enamored with horse racing, but I think I’ve always had a fondness for a particular kind of focused devotion to any particular subject. If I can feel the passion of a creator for their given subject of choice, I can be brought into the fold.

These people love horses, holy shit.

While I wouldn’t recommend it to someone looking to taste test Uma Musume, I’m kind of glad I watched Pretty Derby first. It served as a baseline for the franchise, and gave me the ability to appreciate where it would go from here. Cute girls are running fast and singing songs. It’s not exactly riveting stuff, but even by season 2, you start to see the development of Uma Musume’s evolution into the premier anime sports franchise. Tokai Teio and Meijiro McQueen’s rivalry is the stuff of legends. Even in a post Cinderella Gray world, it’s probably still up there in the rankings of my favorite storylines. Someday I hope they go back and apply their newfound approach to some of Pretty Derby’s characters. Could you imagine a Vodka/Scarlet rivalry story done in the style of Cinderella Gray or Beginning of a New Era? It would change the world.

Uma Musume Pretty Derby: ROAD TO THE TOP

In a lot of ways, the tipping point. This was Uma Musume drawing a line in the sand. From this day forward, Uma Musume became as much a sports franchise as an idol one. Road to the Top feels like a hybrid of the mainline Pretty Derby anime and what’s to come. With one foot on each side, it represents an important pivot. Narita Top Road risks being kind of a generic protagonist in the way that genki girls can often be, but the story’s tonal intensity makes it work. Her heartbreak in the face of every setback is palpable. Pitting her against Admire Vega, who probably needs professional treatment, creates a compelling rivalry. And then of course, there’s the king of all kings, the Overlord of Century’s End; TM Opera O. What is there to even say, legends speak for themselves.

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby – Beginning of a New Era

Beginning of a New Era is the white hot encapsulation of what a legacy franchise can achieve, given enough time (and money). It’s an interesting phenomenon. You don’t get to be this without the initial version. It’s only once you’ve achieved a certain level of buy-in that you can cash those chips in for legitimate prestige. Cygames Pictures obviously has the benefit of hindsight, what with these stories being based on real horses, but Jungle Pocket’s rivalry with Agnes Tachyon feels so natural in its intensity. The wrinkle of Agnes Tachyon’s premature retirement lends Beginning of a New Era a real sense of pathos, as Jungle Pocket wrangles with the imposter syndrome of having felt like she never truly beat her rival. I love the story’s message that the pursuit of greatness is its own reward. Rivals may spur us but it’s the eternal struggle against oneself that truly matters. It’s a unique angle that works amazingly well in the shorter format of a movie.

The production values soar beyond even Road to the Top and I love how expressive the characters have become since the days of Pretty Derby Season 1. The Team Spica girls looked like they enjoyed racing the same way you or I may enjoy a delicious meal. By the time we get here, these girls look like they might actually die if they don’t win. Snarling, growling, screaming; these are athletes in peak condition, ready to lay it all on the line. It’s Uma Musume at its most grand, most bombastic, most superlative. I’ve known since season 2 that they had the sauce but never did I think it could reach heights like this. And to think, we’re not even done yet…

The Extras

Bullet/Bullet – This show was such a letdown. We’ve been waving the banner of Sunghoo Park for years, arguing he simply needed a chance to work on something original to really show off his talents. Well he did and it sucks. Damn.

Dandadan Season 2 – It sure is more Dandadan! Undoubtedly hurt by the long stretch between its fairly explicit cliffhanger and the rest of the arc that follows it. I think overall, Dandadan is a show that probably works better if you watch all of its episodes concurrently.

FALL 2025

Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc

For better or worse, the Reze Arc movie feels like a deliberate attempt on Mappa’s part at rehabilitating their adaptation of Chainsaw Man. It sort of transparently shouts from the rooftops, “Baby I’ve changed. This is supposed to be fun and zany right? Look; sharknado, explosions, and hot chicks!” It’s blatant, but undeniably effective. Reze Arc trades in some of its indie arthouse street cred for meteoric shounen spectacle. This is a really nice looking movie. While many of us expressed skepticism at adapting what is arguably Chainsaw Man’s standout narrative arc as a film instead of a TV anime, Reze Arc justifies its existence in both its over-the-top action extravaganza and the quieter, more tender moments in Denji and Reze’s burgeoning relationship. It’s familiar but tragic. You know Denji is falling for the most obvious honeypot in the world, but there’s a reason scams work on the desperate. You can’t help but want to believe that maybe, deep down, this cute girl who put her hand on my arm actually thinks my jokes are funny. It’s a universal fantasy, and a hard one to put down when Reze is so effectively portrayed. Reina Ueda’s performance as Reze is so captivating. It makes the resulting and obvious conclusion all the more devastating. There is no world in which Denji and Reze could have ever found peace, and damn Fujimoto for ever pretending.

Also wow, that’s a lot of explosions. A lady does a Raging Demon on a shark midair. Kinda hard to dislike that.

Fujimoto Tatsuki 17-26

Fujimoto is truly blessed. Few creators get to have their entire body of work put under a microscope like this. This isn’t to say the anthology of his early works is all bangers, but it’s a fascinating examination of his development as an artist. In that sense, I don’t think Fujimoto is necessarily that unique, I think many creators go through periods of growth and stagnation as they struggle to find the voice that is uniquely theirs. Few just get to have it lavishly televised to the world. There’s some real standouts and it’s cool to see the types of themes and subjects that would clearly stick with him through the years. Some of them are funny, some of them are thoughtful, and some of them are dumb as hell.

SANDA

Paru Itagaki is the second bravest mangaka in the world. To leverage the success of Beastars as the launchpad to a longrunning series about your sexual attraction to Santa Claus takes a kind of infallible boldness that only the Itagaki clan possess. SANDA feels so natural in Science Saru’s hands. It makes you wish they had handled the Beastars anime rather than Studio Orange. SANDA, like all Paru Itagaki stories, is saying Some Things while also Being Fucking Crazy. It’s a story about Japan’s death grip on youth, on the ways in which adults project their insecurities onto their children. And it somehow tells this story through the vector of a buff naked crime fighting Santa Claus who will reignite the dreams of Japan’s wayward children. Just watch it.

Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray

The current end of the road (to the top), and in some ways, the (oguri) cap (as in peak) of the Uma Musume franchise. Telling the story of Oguri Cap’s meteoric rise from small town provincial racer to headline making national darling, Cinderella Gray is the logical endpoint of the franchise’s transition into prestige sports franchise. No wonder this was the first major Uma Musume spinoff anime. Oguri Cap’s story is that reminder that occasionally, someone’s real life accomplishments are so impressive you literally couldn’t write a better fictional story. Oguri Cap’s rivalry with Tamamo Cross stands at the zenith of the great Uma Musume rivalries, they have their work cut out for them selling me on Inari One (though they’re doing a pretty good job so far).

The constant refrain of Cinderella Gray is that each competitor is the hero of their own story. Whether it’s Super Creek, Inari One, or Dicta Striker, each character has their own motivation; their own burning desire to prove themselves the superior horse girl. Each competitor yearns for immortal glory just as badly as our heroine. Cygames Pictures have outdone themselves with the presentation, supported by an excellent soundtrack by the legendary Kenji Kawai. Koeru is probably my favorite anime OP of 2025.

It helps that Cinderella Gray is just so blatantly on the same wave length as me. The ferocity with which the racing is portrayed is right up there with the sports anime greats. You believe how hard these girls want it. I can’t believe this show succeeded in convincing me the comedy relief Osakan stereotype is actually one of the greatest to ever do it. I want to buy Taiyō Kuzumi a drink, these are some generational character designs. You will always be my favorite Dicta Striker.

I think it was with Cinderella Gray that my fascination with Uma Musume really crystalized. By loosely adapting the events of a real life athlete, Uma Musume paradoxically feels more authentic than other conventional sports anime. The unpredictability of real life lends a tangible spontaneity to Cinderella Gray’s narrative developments that sports fiction often strays from. Even if it would feel less climactic or appropriate, the devotion to the accurate portrayal of these races forces Cygames Pictures to go above and beyond in selling the drama. I don’t think a regular sports anime would have done what they did with Obey Your Master. The build to Tamamo Cross and Oguri Cap’s confrontation at the Ariman Kinen is the best it’s ever been. They haven’t announced a season 3 yet but I can only assume it’s a matter of time. It was a long journey to get here, but absolutely worth it.