The year is drawing to a close, and it’s time to look back and take stock of what kind of year 2021 was for anime fans around the world. Enjoy our picks for the 16 best anime series of the past year!
This is another data-heavy post, so check wifi if you need to!
What Kind of Year Was 2021 For Anime Fans?
The best thing we can say about 2021 was that it was better than 2020. As the world recovered from the shock of COVID-19, we struggled to balance the various new stresses in our lives. The anime industry struggled, too, with several major productions getting delayed due to the pressures on creative staff. Happily, a supportive base of fans around the world and streaming services providing funding for lots of new series helped the industry come through safely.
What Were the Top Anime of 2021? Here are J-List’s Top Picks!
How am I going about choosing the top anime of 2021? Here are some guidelines I’m using:
- Did anime fans have fun watching the show, sharing images while it was airing?
- Was the series forgotten immediately after the final episode aired, or did it live on in some way, through memes or fanart?
- I’m trying to avoid the “recency bias” that would cause me to focus more on the current season more than already-concluded seasons.
- The list is subjective, based on what I enjoyed watching and writing about on the J-List Blog. There were several shows I knew were good but which I didn’t get to watch for time reasons. Sorry if your favorite isn’t on the list!
Fumetsu no Anata e. I love it when anime creators give us a totally fresh and new concept, and To Your Eternity really fits the bill. An immortal being with the ability to assume the form of whatever is nearby in the long-ago past. First, it became a rock, then the moss on the rock, then a dog who died nearby, then the boy who owned the dog…unfolding in a really beautiful story.
Sadly the series was a reminder that anime doesn’t always have the best story structure, and the wheels kind of came off the later episodes. Maybe the upcoming second season will improve things.
Horimiya. We had some great romantic comedies based on popular manga, including the adorable KoiKimo. But the best story in this category was probably Horimiya, the adorable tale of the class misfit Miyamura, who becomes a handsome hunk as he discovers love with Hori-san. It was totally adorable to watch it all unfold!
Wonder Egg Priority. “If Stephen King made an anime…” A delightfully fresh and bold concept about four girls who must protect girls who have been damaged by traumas in their lives from Langoliers-esque monsters. It was an incredible visual treat, too.
Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san! I love the way any popular manga that becomes the stuff of memes will eventually be blessed with an anime adaption. Nagatoro was one of the most enjoyable anime shows of 2021, with every episode making fans smile.
Tokyo Revengers. Every since watching Escape from the Planet of the Apes at the age of 6, I’ve been a card-carrying fan of all time-travel stories. Tokyo Revengers is a unique concept about a boy who must find a way to save his ex-girlfriend from being murdered by a crime gang. It’s a much-needed shot of testosterone in a world where too much of anime has perhaps become moe-ified and feminine.
Read my blog post on this show here!
HigeHiro. Another totally fresh concept, I Shaved, Then I Brought a High School Girl Home was about a runaway JK who offers herself to Yoshida if he’ll put her up for the night. Happily for her, Yoshida is the most wholesome guy ever and does everything he can to set the girl on the straight and narrow.
My post on Higehiro is here!
Bokutachi no Remake. What would you do if you could magically go back in time to 2006 and remake your life? Would you sing God Knows from Haruhi on stage? That’s totally what I would do.
My blog post about this fun show is here.
One of the gems of the new anime season is #YuruCamp #LaidBackCamp season 2, a gorgeous continuation featuring all our favorite characters as they enjoy camping in the winter.
It’s the most relaxing anime ever. pic.twitter.com/Y7J7J0rNRL
— Peter Payne (@JListPeter) January 18, 2021
Yuru Camp△ Season 2. One of the best anime series to come along in years, Yuru Camp is part of the “cute girls getting a new hobby” genre, as Rin, Nadeshiko, Inuko, Chiaki and Ena all learn about the joys of solo camping in the winter. While we were all still staying indoors in early 2021, it was great to go camping with the girls.
Super Cub. Another relaxing slice-of-life about discovering a new hobby, in this case experiencing the freedom to go anywhere that an inexpensive Honda Cub motorcycle can provide. The show really lets us feel the joy Koguma experiences as her world opens before her, and it offers ASMR sounds that allow us to experience the thrill of starting a motorcycle on a cold night.
Read my post on the Super Cub anime here.
Komi Can’t Communicate. A big reason we love anime is that it tells stories that we can relate to. Komi-san is a girl with such crippling social anxiety that she has trouble speaking, like some of us. It’s great to watch as she slowly learns to open up and make friends.
Read my post about this adorable show here!
Ousama Ranking. One reason I love J-List is that I can evangelize some quality series that might have gone unwatched by some fans. One such show is Ranking of Kings, a completely fresh and new story about a deaf prince on a quest to become the strongest, despite his disabilities. Make sure you watch it!
My blog post on this show is here!
Fruits Basket: The Final. Our cup really runneth over as anime fans these days, and nothing has quite summed this up like the final season of the Fruits Basket remake, which was done with such love and care by the creators that it was a real joy to watch as a fan.
Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song. Another anime that delighted fans in 2021, Vivy is the story of an autonomous singing android whose pre-programmed “mission” is to spread happiness with her songs. One day she’s visited by an A.I. from the future named Matsumoto, who tells her that they must join forces to find a way to keep the androids of the future from going berserk and killing all humanity in a terrible war. An original work written by Re:Zero creator Tappei Nagatsuki, it’s filled with memorable android and human characters and had a great arc-based story structure that takes place over 100 years.
What are the best anime about robots and A.I.? I’ve got a post here!
Attack on Titan: FINAL. I was quite bowled over by the first half of the final season of Attack on Titan (the second part airs this January!). Literally everything that drew me into anime as a young boy — the over-the-top drama, the dark stories involving possible violence and death, the satisfying character arcs — can be found in this series. I can’t wait for the conclusion of the story!
Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S. One of the most avidly-awaited series in recent years is the second season of Kobayashi Dragon Maid. Along with the Violet Evergarden movie, this marked the return of our beloved Kyoto Animation after the tragic arson attack. Welcome home, Kyoani!
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation. Finally, the show that most delighted and entertained me was Mushoku Tensei, the best-executed isekai anime in years. What I loved best about it was the focus on characters I actually cared about, and how they grew and changed as the story progressed.
My blog post on Mushoku Tensei second season is here!
What Will Anime Bring Us in 2022?
Thanks for reading this post exploring the best anime series we all watched together in 2021. Did we miss your favorite show? Post it below, or reply to us on Twitter!
Great news! We’ve got all the new anime magazines for the month in stock and ready for you to browse. Whether it’s the gorgeous new Newtype, loaded with visuals from new anime series, or the legendary Megami Magazine with its 18+ posters inside for you, we’ve got what you need. And you still have 10 days to get $25 off an order! Browse all our anime magazines here!
