- Only tv anime will be considered.
- Only anime that I have watched will be considered.
That's it. Those are the only rules. No more stalling, here are the top ten best anime of 2018!
Number Ten
Violet Evergarden is a fantasy drama/slice of life series produced by Kyoto Animation. It tells the story of, well, Violet Evergarden (imagine that), a former child soldier struggling to adjust to civilian life who takes up a job as a letter writer for various clients in an attempt to learn how to properly emote and live without her late commanding officer (spoiler, but not really) who she was in love with.
This is easily the best looking tv anime I have seen all year. The art and animation is on a level that can give most anime films a run for their money, and I had to pause the show several times just because my gasping was louder than the dialogue (I watched this dubbed - the dub is excellent). But what really sells this show is the story. The letter writing gimmick breaks the show up into one to two episode arcs that expose Violet to a new aspect of emotional maturity, and the individual stories of her clients, as well as her own slowly developing story overall, are all so moving that I am unashamed to say that I have cried multiple times in its thirteen episode run. I said before in my unpopular anime opinions post that I think that Kyoto Animation tends to focus too much on smooth animation and cute girls and not enough on narrative, but Violet Evergarden bucks that trend and is one of the best stories in anime I have seen in a long time. Though that's probably because it's based on a light novel series and not an original story.
Number Nine: Hinamatsuri
Hinamatsuri is a seinen comedy/slice of life series with some science fiction elements produced by Studio feel.. It follows the everyday life of three girls: a telepathic super soldier named Hina, who ran away from her handlers and is adopted by a yakuza enforcer named Nitta; a second telepathic super soldier named Anzu who was sent to retrieve her, only to screw it up and end up homeless; and their normal friend and Hina's classmate named Hitomi.
This show is hilarious. Every character in the massive cast has a unique quirk or two and their interactions are so well done and funny that I have had to pause for laughter multiple times. And the configurations of characters who interact are switched around all the time to create all sorts of unique interactions. What happens when a yakuza brings a little psychic girl to a strip club? What happens when a homeless girl robs the bar next door? What happens when that same bar hires a middle schooler to work there? Every single one of those scenarios happens quite early in the series, and they are all amazing. If anything, this anime reminds me of early Simpsons, where every character is so well defined that you can put them in any situation and you can imagine exactly how they would react, and it would be funny. But even more than that, Hinamatsuri has some great action scenes with beautiful animation, and there's a real heart to it that has brought me to tears once or twice (it's a running theme on this list. I'm a crybaby.).
Number Eight: Major 2nd
I talked about Major 2nd before in one of my first posts on this blog, so I'll try to keep this brief. Major 2nd is a shounen sports drama produced by Studio OLM (it stands for Oriental Light and Magic, by the way). It's a sequel to the baseball anime Major, which I never watched, and follows Daigo, the son of the previous protagonist Goro, as he struggles to live up to the expectations put upon him as the son of a professional baseball player.
There is a very credible argument that this show is way too high up on this list. It's production values are not anything special, easily being outdone by Hinamatsuri, Violet Evergarden, Darling in the FRANXX, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Run With the Wind. But while I do take visuals into account, story, characters, and themes are what is most important to me. And Major 2nd knows how to take a core theme and run with it. The very idea of pursuing your passion with no regard for external expectations is integrated into every single aspect of the story. Daigo quitting baseball in the first episode and taking multiple episodes to get back into it was a real surprise, and the actual games are very well paced and exciting once they really get going. But my favorite part, and this is something I didn't mention in my post back then, is that this is a sports anime that doesn't try to make the characters super-athletes. Like at all. These are children, and the show isn't afraid to show even the best players make dumb mistakes or get stressed out at crucial moments, because that's what kids do. And it feeds back into the story, creating tension in the match or reaffirming the themes of confidence and optimism even when things look bleak. Much like Killing Bites, this is at the top of my list for shows I want to get a second season, because there is a real potential to take these characters and make something truly spectacular.
Number Seven: SSSS.Gridman
I've been covering this extensively in the roundup, so again, I will try to be brief. SSSS.Gridman is an action, science fiction, tokusatsu-inspired mecha-esque series (that's the best I can do to classify it) produced by Studio Trigger. It follows Yuta Hibiki, an amnesiac high school student, who is chosen to be the host of a virtual soldier named Gridman to fight against a series of dangerous kaiju who have started attacking his city.
When this show first started, I thought it was a pretty fun monster of the week series and a good tribute to the low budget live action tokusatsu shows that inspired it (including it's namesake Hyper Agent Gridman, or Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad, as it's known in the States). But the mid-season twist turns everything on its head, in ways that I won't spoil for those who haven't watched it themselves (or followed my coverage on the weekly roundup). There really is the sense that every aspect of this show is handled with care, from the animation faithfully recreating the stiff movement of actors in costumes to the contrasting use of sound design in peaceful scenes versus chaotic ones to the excellent character writing. And boy does this show know how to handle its characters! The apparent flatness of several of them is shown to be either a front for more interesting characterization, or justified by the narrative in a creative way. The villain of this story is one of the best villains I have seen in fiction period, straddling the line between sympathetic and despicable in a way that really makes me wonder what their ultimate fate will be when the final episode airs on Saturday. Whatever happens though, this was truly a return to form for Trigger, in what is easily their best show since Kill la Kill saved anime 5 years ago. Now if only more people would watch it...
Number Six: Golden Kamuy
Golden Kamuy is a seinen action/comedy anime produced by Geno Studio, which aired its first season in the Spring and is about to wrap up its second season. The story follows a Russo-Japanese war veteran named Sugimoto and an Ainu child named Asirpa as they search for a stolen Ainu treasure which can only be located with a map made from tattoos on the skins of a series of escaped prisoners that all link together. Several other factions are also searching for the gold, however, and they all clash with Sugimoto and Asirpa on their journey.
I've been interested in Golden Kamuy ever since I saw an ad for the manga three years ago. I couldn't afford it back then and I wasn't able to find an official source to buy it when I had more sustainable disposable income. So I was in a unique head-space going into this: with expectations for a mature adventure series in a historical setting that was built up over several years of wonder and speculation based on a manga cover and a plot summary on Wikipedia. I went in hoping for dynamic characters with tragic backstories and some super gory action, with multiple factions scheming against each other and lots of betrayal and shocking twists. And, to be fair, I got all of that. But I also got a lot more. I did not expect a warped sense of perverse humor, a collection of absolutely insane villains that straddle the line between terrifying and laughable, a real appreciation of historical campfire cooking, or an honest desire to teach the audience about the culture of the Ainu, an indigenous culture that has had a history of suffering and prejudice similar to what the First Nations peoples have experienced here in the United States. And all of these chaotic elements have defied all expectations and have come together into a beautifully unique whole that really needs to be seen to be believed. I truly believe that the only other work that can compare to its unique tone that swings back and forth between wacky humor, adrenaline pumping action, and truly emotionally resonant drama is JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and considering that JoJo is a 32 year old series that is still publishing and is one of the most critically acclaimed anime and manga series of all time, that is truly saying something.
Number Five: Lupin III Part V
Lupin III is a LONG running seinen action/comedy series produced by TMS Entertainment. Every series and film follows the exploits of the master thief Arsene Lupin III and his exceptional partners: Jigen the sharpshooter, Goemon the samurai, and Fujiko the femme fatale.
I LOVE Lupin III. I'm not a super fan or anything, but I have seen parts I, II, and IV, as well as the film Castle of Cagliostro (a Hayao Miyazaki film for those of you who are fans of his), so I knew what to expect coming into this: A series of episodic stand-alone adventures where our heroes always have a plan to pull out at the last second to outsmart their marks, the police, and the villains who are typically worse than they are. And just like I thought, this show is fun as hell. But it's more than that. Part V is actually an attempt to examine what Lupin III is all about and whether or not a 47 year old franchise still has any relevance in the modern day. And let me tell you, if this is the future of Lupin, then the future is looking bright. The story arcs of Lupin and co adjusting to the unique challenges of thievery in an age of social media were compelling, and the shift to a semi-arc based story structure for the season really paid off in the end. New characters like the hacker Ami and Lupin's old rival Albert feel like they've been part of the canon for decades with how naturally they fit in, and the standalone episodes that throw back to the previous styles of Lupin's previous tv anime were a real treat. If you're curious about this series but don't know where to start (maybe I should make a blog post about that?), then let me just tell you: this 24 episode romp isn't a bad starting point for newcomers. Just don't be surprised if going back to the 70's anime is hard to swallow afterward.
Number Four: Planet With
Planet With is an action sci-fi/mecha series produced by JC Staff, and marks the anime debut of creator Satoshi Mizukami, a favorite manga artist among pretentious manga fans that I look up to whose work I have never experienced before. It tells the story of Soya, an amnesiac alien refugee who gets mixed up in a conflict between two space-faring factions and the defenders of Earth and takes advantage of the conflict in order to pursue revenge for his extinct planet. And that is the simplest explanation of the story that I can come up with.
This show is a lot of things. It's an exciting action series, a unique space opera, a political thriller, a meditation on the nature of violence and self defense, an argument in favor of being true to your own personality, and occasionally a really funny comedy. But above all else, it's a series of genre tropes and cliches being subverted and twisted in its own unique and interesting way. Every time you think you have a handle on what is going on, the show throws you a twist that puts everything in a new context and makes previous episodes take on a new meaning upon rewatch. And yet, none of it ever feels like it was pulled out of nowhere; nearly every crazy new story development falls into place in such a neat way that it really shows off the excellent writing. It COULD be argued that Mizukami and his team were a little too ambitious for a 12 episode series, as things DO feel rushed during the final stretch. But even then, the weakest episodes of Planet With still stood head and shoulders over almost everything else I watched this year.
Number Three: My Hero Academia Season Three
Everyone knows this one, right? It's been THE popular shonen battle series for the last three years. For those of you who don't know or haven't gotten around to watching it yet, My Hero Academia is a shonen battle series produced by Studio Bones. It tells the story of Deku, formerly one of the only people in Japan without super powers, who impresses his idol, the #1 professional hero All Might, enough to be chosen to be the next one to receive his powers and become his successor. Now Deku attends a school for up and coming heroes, learning how to manage his new unstable powers and dealing with the rise of a new dangerous group of super villains.
I am a HUGE fan of My Hero Academia, to the point where I'm caught up with the manga (which is further ahead than the events of this latest anime season) and I have a blog post or two about the series in the works. I could literally talk about this show for hours. As it happens, I only have the next paragraph to explain why this season is so good. Yikes.
Season three adapts three very important arcs from the manga, and marks a real transition for the series narrative. Much like how the events of season two elevated My Hero Academia's story from good to great, season three elevates the story from great to truly exceptional. I said earlier that Violet Evergarden is the best looking show of the year, and I stand by it, but the animation here may even be more impressive, showing off exceptional choreography of powerful characters moving at high speeds with a sense of smoothness and fluidity that you rarely see in television. And if you thought that the fights in the last season were well produced, well, let me tell you something: they don't hold a candle to the three highlight battles of this season. Add in some amazing character development that pays off on the previous two seasons of buildup and still hints at greater developments to come, and you have a truly great series. Honestly, if it weren't for the weak filler episodes (which are few and far between, but still), this probably would have been my anime of the year. Either way, though, this is a much watch for any shonen anime fan.
Number Two: Megalo Box
Megalo Box is a sci-fi inspired sports drama produced by TMS Entertainment as a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the classic boxing manga that I never read Tomorrow's Joe. In this science-fiction re-imagining, boxers fight while equipped with cybernetic enhancements and society has been stratified between the sleek urban landscapes of the ultra-rich and the dirty slums of the poor and disenfranchised. A nameless boxer known only as Junk Dog works as a boxer who takes dives for the mafia until he gets the attention of the reigning champion Yuri, at which point he gets a fake ID, names himself Joe, and fights his way to a championship bout against Yuri.
There were a lot of sports anime in 2018. Some were great (like the three other shows that made this years top 20 list), and some were terrible (we'll get there next week). But Megalo Box stands apart from traditional sports anime. From the art and animation to the story and characters to the soundtrack (best soundtrack of the year, by the way, hands down), everything about Megalo Box speaks to a primal part of me that few other anime can. Everything about it reminds me of the grunge-y aesthetic of the 90s OVA era, and it's just so good. And it's not all style, no substance either. Joe himself is a simple character, but he's not badly written either, and his pure nature makes him a good foil for the rest of the vastly more interesting cast and creates a narrative that plays to the classic conventions of any good boxing story and elevates them to be something profound. And let me tell you, every match had so much character and significance to it and every punch had such weight behind it that I am not ashamed to admit that I was standing up and yelling at the screen like I was watching the goddamn Super Bowl.
Wait, am I a loser?
NUMBER ONE: A Place Further than the Universe
I have been staring at this screen for the last five minutes, trying to find the words to talk about this show. Even writing a plot summary is difficult for me. Not because the story is hard to follow or anything, but because it just brings back so many emotions from watching it that I become overwhelmed. A Place Further than the Universe is an adventure/slice of life series produced by Studio Madhouse It chronicles the stories of four high school girls who, for various reasons, decide to go on a crazy journey to Antarctica. What follows is a coming of age story that needs to be seen to be believed.
This is more than just my anime of the year. A Place Further than the Universe is only the fourth series out of the 246 anime I have seen that I can honestly give a 10/10. All four of the girls is amazingly written and has her own personal journey that can hold up an anime of her own. To have these four great characters all in the same story is simply mind-blowing. While the majority of the emotional weight in this story is dedicated to Shirase's arc of moving on after her mother's death (it's not a spoiler if it's established in episode 1), Kimari's arc of trying to find purpose and doing something worthwhile is what spoke to me more than anything else. But still, again, every girl is lovable and amazing and there's something to relate to in each of their stories, at least for me. I fully expected this show to be another disposable cute girl show of the same ilk as Comic Girls and Anima Yell; with no actual narrative or depth to the story beyond: "Here are some girls who are cute. Watch them do nothing for 12 episodes." I didn't expect to see animation way better than it really needs to be, a supporting cast so well developed that even the side characters have their own memorable qualities or even story arcs of their own, uproariously funny character-based comedy, and a main plot so powerful that I cried at six different episodes. That's half of the series! How could anything else be named my favorite anime of 2018.
2018 was a big year for me. This was the start of this blog, which was born from a new awakening into how much anime means to me and a desire to leave my normal comfort zone of shonen battle anime and try new things. And honestly, A Place Further than the Universe was one of the biggest reasons why I started this blog. I was so blown away by what this showed me anime could be capable of that I wanted to talk to people about it. But I held back on talking about this show in particular because A.) I didn't want to spoil anime of the year and B.) I didn't even know where to begin. I will talk about this show in more depth someday, but it will take a lot of work before I am even close to being confident that I can do it the tiniest amount of justice.
Am I overselling this show? Possibly. Maybe it just means so much to me because of where I was at in my life when I saw it and where I am now: four years out of college, bouncing from crappy job to crappy job in a haze, desperately trying to get to a place where I was happy with where I was. And like Kimari, I decided to do a few crazy things I never thought I would do, and I think I'm on my way to getting where I need to be. And that's why this is my anime of the year. That's why it's clawed it's way into my top 5 anime of all time (spoilers for that eventual list if I don't change my mind when I get around to it): it inspired me to be more confident, change my worldview, and ultimately: it changed my life.
| I feel like I only just started my journey as an adult, even though I'm 26 years old. And I couldn't have done it, without the wisdom of a quartet of cute anime schoolgirls. I'm pathetic. |
So, that was 2018. All in all, I'd say it was a really good year for anime. It's most likely because I'm only just now diving into the culture headfirst, but I honestly can't remember a year with so many greats all in a row. It makes me really excited for what 2019 has in store. I already have ten new shows planned for the weekly roundup next season, and Mob Psycho 100 is returning then as well! And later in the year we have the next season of My Hero Academia, the return of One Punch Man, a remake of Fruits Basket and Saint Seiya (which gives me a chance to expose myself to beloved anime I missed out on the first time around), a new Macross anime, a Dr. Stone anime adaptation, Baki the Grappler finally being released to the West, and that's just what I know about so far! I'm so excited!
But, it would be remiss of me to ignore the other side of 2018. For just as there were gems, there were also piles of fool's gold. There were the shows that stunk worse than rotten eggs made of sulfur. And just like I recapped my twenty favorite anime of 2018, so too will I recap my ten least favorite anime of 2018 next week. So, I hope you're excited for that.
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| Because I am not. |
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