Even as the studios struggled to adapt to the ever-changing conditions of 2020, the animators still managed to produce a landmark year for anime.
We have invested even more in productions from international streamers like Netflix. Sony is expected to complete the purchase of Crunchyroll soon and add it to its growing anime empire that already includes Funimation and Aniplex. Hundreds of new series premiered when the animation studios switched to remote working.
Despite all of these changes and hurdles, we’ve seen new shows that may be added to a list of the best anime of all time. To help you tell the wheat from the chaff, I’ve compiled a list of the best anime of 2020. I’ve narrowed the list down to seventeen shows, most of which can easily be seen in their entirety in just one few days.
art
art is about a young woman who realizes her dream of becoming a painter in Florence in the 16th century. The series shows the drama and character in the gender politics of the time, the privilege of the class, and the details of how Renaissance art was made. It is both poignant and encouraging, and balances the wish fulfillment and reality of a person who leads a creative life.
Available on Funimation, and Hulu.
Rise of a Bookworm (Season 2)
The second season of Bookworm always finds new and fascinating complications for Mynes seemingly simple ambition to want to make books. This arc counteracts the social challenges that come with being professionally active. Myne has to grapple with whether she likes to use her intelligence and power for selfish reasons, or whether she can find a way to get what she wants while improving the life around her.
Available on Crunchyroll.
Beastars
Beastars is the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse of anime series. Its visual flair would not be possible without the mix of animation techniques and a talent for using such tools in an inventive way. The creators add tension, nuance and depth to Paru Itagaki’s brilliant high school drama / crime manga.
Available on Netflix.
decadence
decadence is the opposite of the “mystery box style” of storytelling. What is usually the key highlight / twist in any other science fiction show, the creators refuse to hide from the audience. The show features unparalleled character animation and spectacular, multi-dimensional action scenes. This is a top to bottom masterpiece of a show.
Available on Funimation, and Hulu.
Dorohedoro
There is nothing like it Dorohedoro. IIt’s like someone wrote a fantastic horror story and then had it turned into a comedy. Though the show is full of body horror and often grotesque violence, the characters are written and performed so charmingly that you can’t help but find the entire cast adorable. (Not necessarily forgivable, but nonetheless personable.)
Available on Netflix.
Fruit basket (season 2)
Fruit basketThe unique mix of romance, comedy and drama makes an often very sad show that deals with the emotional problems of a cursed extended family seem unexpectedly hopeful. With season two, the cast begins to find ways to solve their problems, even as the gravity of their family and curse continue to complicate their lives.
Available on Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Hulu.
Golden Kamuy (Season 3)
Golden Kamuy always felt a bit like a Coen brothers movie, a wild mix of serious and absurd moments that still feel grounded. During earlier seasons more towards the Oh brother where are you End of the spectrum this season has moved closer to the tone of No country for old men. The cre ators have begun filling in the tragic backstories of the series ‘supporting cast, but without losing the series’ unique sense of humor.
Available on Crunchyroll, and Funimation.
Great pretender
Great pretender pulls an inspired trick: you think the show is about clever robberies when you actually focus on the real personalities behind each thief’s cool facade. Balancing comedy and drama, the show’s story is as unpredictable as its raids. And with beautiful animation and art direction, it’s fun to watch the show in multiple pieces or over several observations.
Available on Netflix.
Haikyu! Up
As the series delves deeper into the national tournament at the center of its story, Haikyu continues to show why it stands head and shoulders above other sports anime. Haikyu finds ways to relate each character and defeat each team not only as an enemy, but as another group of teenagers trying to get better at a sport they enjoy. The shows humanize everyone and give them their own struggles.
Available on Crunchyroll.
Id: Penetrated
While Id: Penetrated could be called “a detective series crossed with Beginning” This elevator parking space is a disservice to the show’s diversity of ideas. Each case is full of mind-boggling ideas, backed up by immensely interesting characters. The creators take a very high profile science fiction idea and use it to tell an informed story.
Available on Funimation, and Hulu.
Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisen takes a strong manga series and enhances it with an outstanding anime presentation. All animation, acting, and writing options convey the emotional drama of high school teenagers on the brink of adult responsibility. Plus, unexpectedly funny moments make both the heroes and the villains adorable.
Available on Crunchyroll, and HBO max.
Kaguya-sama: Love is War (Season 2)
The first season of Kaguya was a breath of fresh air on romantic comedies, thanks in large part to the brilliant selection in his animation style. Season 2 finds new ways to surprise and challenge expectations and refuses to repeat what worked in season one.
Available on Funimation.
Get your hands off Eizouken!
Eizouken is a love letter for animation in story and style. While professional animators don’t shy away from the less ideal realities that are overworked and underpaid, it celebrates the magic of the craft. The series examines how end products often represent a tradeoff between what the animator wants to do, what investors want, and what they can produce in the time they have. And yet the show exudes so much imagination and creativity that you have to feel inspired.
Available on Crunchyroll, and HBO max.
Moriarty the Patriot
The series transforms Sherlock Holmes’ greatest enemy from a criminal mastermind into a revolutionary antihero who constructs his perfect crimes for those seeking justice against the normally sacrosanct rich and powerful British upper class society. Most of the episodes play out like a mixture of a detective series and a robbery. Moriarty and his brothers figure out who to target and how. The creators reveal just enough to make the crime’s exposure and definitive turnaround so satisfying.
Available on Funimation.
My Hero Academia (Season 4)
The fourth season of the series is MHA in both its darkest and strongest forms as it further explores the complications of a world where almost everyone is overwhelming. It shifts the focus from the big bads (which are often more villain caricatures than characters) to smaller stakes. The season is more personal for Deku and the UA students, but no less dramatic.
Available on Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Hulu.
My next life as a villain: All roads lead to downfall!
Malice ‘ The unique charm sets it apart from the other shows that have been reborn in another world, a genre that was pretty well crafted and overused at the time. Basically, in contrast to similar protagonists, Catarina is a well-meaning doofus. She doesn’t make it through her delusional machinations, but through her surprising friendliness and strange personality. This makes it a rather low stake but an enjoyable show. That’s fine when episodes are so funny and heartfelt.
Available on Crunchyroll.
Wave listen to me!
waveMinare Koda is a catastrophe where every step forward in her life comes with at least one step back and one more to the side. Her charm lives and dies completely from the performance of her voice actress Riho Sugiyama, who makes Minare likeable because of (and not in spite of) her brazen and blatant behavior. It’s a love story that keeps forgetting it’s a love story but manages to keep you on your toes with wild twists that feel unusually plausible.
Available on Funimation.
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