2020 is in the books (THANK MIYAZAKI!) and before all of the upcoming 2021 seasons kick off over the course of our brand-spanking-new year, I wanted to take a look back at the shows I watched and rank my top five of the year, ultimately crowning my personal Anime of the Year.
Of course, whenever it comes to editorials such as this, I have to put the disclaimer out there that this is based on what I have personally watched and is not indicative of the entirety of 2020’s anime catalog. After going through and listing everything that I did watch, it wasn’t much. In fact, it was kind of a weaker anime year for me. We can thank anime’s biggest villain, COVID-19, for that because a lot of the shows that I wanted to watch in 2020 ended up getting delayed until this year.
Also, I ended up dropping a few shows… such as Jujutsu Kaisen, Noblesse, Ikebukuro West Gate Park, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, Interspecies Reviewers, A Destructive God Sits Next to Me, Super HxEros, and My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax.
Holy crap, I dropped a lot of shows.
So, before we get into the shows I did enjoy, why in the hell did I drop so many of them?
Time.
I can only blame myself for this one because I do too much. Between my Monday to Friday 8-5 job, keeping up with news and reviews for The Outerhaven, and being a self-published light novel author (who is currently prepping to release four books over the next two months), it leaves little time for me to really sit back indulge in anime these days.
The question is, do I even have any free time!?
Well, yes. Yes, I do.
Then why don’t you spend it watching anime?
Because there are so many things I’m behind on or want to do besides watch anime. I’m also a gamer and there are quite a few games that I have that I haven’t even touched yet… some of which I’m playing and am enjoying. Even still, I’m only playing in 30-minute to 1-hour bursts before I feel guilty about doing something fun and going right back to work on projects.
There’s also the fact that I try to be active in the Original English Light Novel community. I helped a couple of people with formatting their books for print, finding an artist, etc. Like I said… I do too much so if an anime doesn’t immediately hold my attention or if it’s a show that I am checking out for the first time and it’s not part of an established series that I’ve been waiting on, then chances are I might give it that three-episode chance and drop it… even if it’s decent and something I would have watched in the past all for the sake of generating more time to do more things that isn’t watching anime.
Yeah. I know. I have self-inflicted problems. No need to point out the obvious. I’ve already thrown it to myself and flew with it on my back.
So… what DID I watch then?
Well… you ready for this super amazing list?
Are ya?
Well, okay then…
ID:INVADED
Isekai Quartet Season 3
Tower of God
Gleipnir
ReZERO Season 2
The God of High School
Rent-A-Girlfriend
Sword Art Online Alicization: War of Underworld Part II
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou
Tonikaku Kawaii
Sing “Yesterday” for Me
There is one other show on this list which is Attack on Titan: The Final Season but it’s automatically eliminated because it started in December and is still currently airing. With 11 watched shows and a top five, that means a slight majority of this list will not make it. So, who made the cut?
5. Tonikaku Kawaii
I really enjoyed this show but I didn’t rank it higher because there were some issues with it. Tsukasa almost seemed too good to be true. I really cute girl showing up on your doorstep two years after you ask her to marry her at first sight and agreeing to it… then just becoming the perfect housewife. There was no devious reason for her doing this, she is legitimately in love with Nasa, she cooks (and cooks well), cleans, takes care of Nasa when he’s sick, doesn’t even want a wedding ring, and just seems way too convenient most of the time. I didn’t think there could be someone that is too perfect but Tsukasa is kind of that person and that put a damper on things for me.
But there was a lot of good stuff here, too. The interactions between Nasa and Tsukasa are super cute and innocent. It really turns up the cuteness factor of the show and makes it enjoyable. I loved the different styles of humor used throughout and especially appreciated the balance between those different types. If the show’s humor relied heavily on Chitose and her basement-tier tsundere attitude, I doubt that this show would have cracked my top five.
Kaname was my favorite character, though. I LOVE tomboy characters and Kaname was especially amazing. She certainly isn’t shy and she embodies the very style of humor that I love the most! It was a real joy to watch her whenever she was on screen!
4. Sing “Yesterday” For Me
From a cute romance to a really depressing one. I say that because of the way Rikuo is portrayed. Even though he’s surprised that Shinako is back in town, he seemed to be content with working a dead-end convenience store job and spending his days doing absolutely nothing. Haru took a bit to get used to as it seemed really odd for a girl like her to just pop up from out of nowhere and try to command Rikuo’s attention like that.
Still, as the show went on, you kind of felt back for Haru. She tries and tries and tries and Rikuo, proverbially, spits in her face every single time. She’s on the verge of just breaking down and giving up on him but she presses forward. It takes a lot but she, eventually, chisels through his armor and reaches his heart… which therein lies the problem I have with this series…. The ending.
I loved this show up until the ending hit where they spent all of this time kicking Haru to the curb and having Rikuo end up with Shinako… as it seemed to be intended from the very beginning. Then, at the last possible moment, someone pushed the randomizer button and paired Shinako with Rou and Rikuo with Haru. It was the second-worst ending to a romance I’ve seen… the first being the ending to the Domestic Girlfriend manga. If they did the ending justice, this probably would have ranked higher, too. Even though the ending sucked, you can’t really take away from the fact that the show was good up until that point.
3. Rent-A-Girlfriend
Another romance show. I bet you’re starting to think I’m in desperate need of a girlfriend, huh? Well, I like romances! Deal with it!
This one mixed together a nice blend of comedy and drama. Kazuya broke up with his girlfriend and spends his day firing off his man goop into boxes upon boxes of tissues when he decides to try out renting a girlfriend. Enter Chizuru… a college student trying to earn some money by giving men as much sexual tension as possible by pretending to be their girlfriend for the day. Kazuya realizes her job is a sham (like… duh?) and ends up calling her out. She doesn’t appreciate it all that much and a love/hate relationship between the two of them begins to form.
What makes it worse is that each time the two of them try to go their separate ways, situation after situation after situation pops up and keeps them together whether they like it or not. The running gag gets a bit stale but then the harem aspect kicks in and we get Ruka to add some spice and then Sumi at the very end of the season which made zero sense to me. I felt that they could have lobbied for a season two and tossed in Sumi there in order to make things a bit more appealing but Sumi’s story was kind of just there for the sake of being there. Ruka’s backstory was enough for viewers to attach their heartstrings to.
My only real complaint is that the show didn’t resolve anything. You would think Kazuya would pull the trigger and give us (and possibly Chizuru) a happy ending (giggity) but nothing came from it! I know there is more source material beyond what the anime has given us but too many times do Japanese stories just teeter on the edge of commitment and then just not commit. It’s a pet peeve of mine and if there wasn’t going to be a second season, then why not just pull the trigger to give anime viewers something to feel satisfied with?
This was another case of the show being just good enough to crack my top five but still having some faults.
2. Super HxE…
*Ahem*
2. Tower of God
Ah, another romance… filled with battle royale style challenges, bloodshed, and the biggest middle finger of the year!
Rachel is off to climb the Tower of God. Because she discovers Bam all alone and begins to care for him, Bam develops this real “lost puppy” relationship with her. When she leaves Bam behind for unknown reasons, he can’t stand the thought of not being with her and follows her into the Tower where he, apparently, is the equivalent to The Chosen One… well… in the sense that there’s something about Bam.
While looking for Rachel and trying to survive the elimination-style qualifiers, he comes across everyone’s favorite character Rak, and everyone’s favorite shota, Khun. They band together and begin to climb the tower when Bam spots Rachel. He tries to talk to her but she pretends to be someone else. The façade doesn’t last long and Bam realizes that his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him. Rachel ends up getting injured and Bam becomes a bit emo over it. He tries to take care of Rachel and do everything that a good husbando would; however, Rachel can be quite pushy at times and it leaves Bam falling in anything but love. At least he got some good K-Pop elevator music on the way down!
Tower of God was fun and it was the first anime of the year that I wish would have gotten a sequel announced. Still, to this day, no sequel is planned but I really hope one does get announced because I need to see more of Rak scarfing down chocolate bars from Khun’s oversized man purse!
1. ID:INVADED
Since 2016, the majority of my anime of the years have aired in the month of January, and 2020 is no different.
In this romance between mind and machine, the world’s greatest detective Narihisago, enters the mind vaults of others in order to piece together clues so that a detective squad and apprehend criminals in real life. I do love a good detective series and with the unique sci-fi spin placed on this one, it made the show stand way above any and all others that have aired in the year (for me).
The characters were pretty interesting… especially Fukuda who you actually get to feel attached to over time. It did get a little convoluted in the end with the number of different characters but it didn’t do so in a way where it detracted from the overall quality of the show.
Then there is Koharu. At first glance, you write her off because she’s just some genius child loli detective and you don’t want the NSA hauling you off to jail. Then, you find out what her real age is and you raise an eyebrow and go “…waifu?”
Although, I wouldn’t want to marry Koharu as she is a bit stubborn and doesn’t really listen to reason most of the time. She listens as if she has a hole in the head and that could lead to problems down the line. Best to let this fish flounder about on its own and find someone that’s a better listener… like Kaeru! She’s always there and she never says anything back! The perfect partner!
I’m going to hell… I know.
While I’m roasting in the sea of fire, make sure to check out ID:INVADED. It’s a thinking man’s anime as it doesn’t really explain much. It lets the viewer figure things out and piece them together on their own but that’s a fun part of the journey. It’s fresh, it’s new, and it doesn’t hold your hand for anything. Probably why I enjoyed it so much!
So there you have it! Out of the meager amount of shows I watched, those are my Top 5 along with my Anime of the Year! Obviously, everyone in the entire world will agree with me because that’s how the internet works but in case you are one of those extreme 0.01% outliers that has a different opinion, drop it below in the comments and let me know what you (incorrectly) thought was better!
Or attack me for that last paragraph because your sense of humor died when mommy let the iPad babysit you instead of giving you a hug every now and then.
If I’m not fired and still around for 2029… we’ll see how ID:INVADED stacks up against 9 other contenders in my next Anime of the Decade column which will probably be decided by the internet to be Demon Slayer despite the fact that the show is over and done with and not coming back!
