It is the end of 2021 and that means that it is time for my yearly column to return. It’s time for me to pick out my personal Anime of the Year.
Of course, since it IS 2021… you should know that this is a pick based on the anime I have seen. If you wonder why I didn’t pick YOUR favorite anime, it’s because I either didn’t think it deserved it based on my satisfaction level in watching it, or I simply haven’t seen it.
As another disclaimer… this is not meant to be a guide, a recommendation, nor an “award.” This is just simply me picking out the show that I enjoyed the most in 2021 out of the ones that I have watched.
Despite all of the fine print, I’m sure I’ll get some disparaging remarks in the comments so… let’s stop delaying the inevitable, shall we?
First off… I will list all of the shows that I watched this year and then I will offer some thoughts on my Top Three. Simple enough, right?
THE LIST
Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 1
Horimiya
The Promised Neverland Season 2
ReZERO: Season 2 Part 2
Wonder Egg Priority
Redo of Healer
Uresekai Picnic
Hortensia Saga
My Hero Academia Season 5
Tokyo Revengers
To Your Eternity
Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san
Hige wo Soru. Joshikosei wo Hirou
Vivy: Flourite Eye’s Song
The World Ends With You
Remake Our Life
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Sotsu
Platimum End
Mieruko-chan
Kaginado
Okay… as a rule of thumb, I will never nominate anything that is a continuation. If there is to be a second season of a show on this list, it is eligible but the second season and beyond will be disqualified in future years. I opt to do this because I want to experience something NEW. For example, I already enjoy Attack on Titan and, therefore, I don’t think it should win over a new show/series that started in 2021 because it already has so much history. However, if, for example, Attack on Titan just started airing for the first time ever this year, then it would be a legit contender. So… by eliminating new seasons (rather than new series), I am not saying those shows are bad (why would I? I clearly watched them, therefore, I must have enjoyed them.), I’m just saying I don’t think an ongoing series should steal something away from a new show.
So, with that being said, Attack on Titan, ReZERO, The Promised Neverland, and My Hero Academia are eliminated BUT… if you want my thoughts on what I thought was the best between the three of those, I’m going to have to go with Attack on Titan.
I’ll just say this about The Promised Neverland season 2….
…moving on.
I didn’t really care for the Class Battle arc in My Hero Academia. Even though Deku’s new ability is rather cool and made things interesting, I just wasn’t resonating with the whole arc. The My Villain Academia arc did spice things up a bit, though.
ReZERO, on the other hand, was pretty good! I enjoyed getting to meet Echidna but I don’t think I’d like the idea of drinking her tea. Subaru had some great character development and the entire Sanctuary arc was really interesting.
Despite that… Attack on Titan moved into the Eldian War arc of the manga and while it is mired in controversy due to some real-world historical comparisons, I still really enjoyed it. I had also read the manga to its conclusion so seeing some of the things, such as the fight with the Warhammer Titan, come to life was pretty awesome to witness. Then, there was Sasha’s death which hit pretty hard as she was my favorite character in the series. Seeing it in the anime was just as painful as reading it in the manga. I’m still hoping for a faithful adaptation for Part 2 of the Final Season. Things are going to get insane when it comes!
Now that I have dealt with that, let’s get down to brass tax and round out the top three!
3. Wonder Egg Priority
It was a toss-up for me between Wonder Egg Priority and Remake Our Life. In both cases, each show had a really interesting build-up but the endings just fell apart. Even with bad endings, both shows did a lot to hook the viewer but I thought that Wonder Egg Priority did more than Remake Our Life to hold my attention. Ai Oto was just a fun and amazing character and each supporting character really held their own by having unique personalities and individual stories. The entire premise of having a wish granted by entering parallel dimensions to vanquish monsters and put people’s souls to rest was a great concept but it just couldn’t finish on a strong note.
Despite that, it still ended up being a tremendous show up until the ending and it was one of the few shows that made me want to tune in and watch every week.
2. To Your Eternity
I know that this was a mixed bag within the anime community. There were people, like me, who absolutely loved this show and there are some who just didn’t find it to their liking, calling it boring or too slow-paced. Many argued that it had a stellar first episode and fell off; however, as a manga reader first and an anime watcher second, I knew what was to come. I immensely enjoyed the manga and I felt that the anime adaptation was about as perfect as it could get. The show took you on an emotional roller coaster as you witnessed Fushi’s triumphs and tribulations. His battle against the Nokkers showed just how fragile Fushi and the world around him could be. Plus, you got to witness him “grow up” as he continuously learned about the world and its people.
I don’t know what people expected from this show but, in essence, it’s about a sentient sphere that can take the forms of people or objects that it builds an emotional, stimulating connection to. From there, it sets off on a journey to learn about the world. Once you realize what the show was truly meant to be, it becomes an incredible series!
1. Redo of Healer!!
…
Just Kidding…
1. Tokyo Revengers
No show this season has made me curse as loud as humanly possible at the 23-minute mark every single week. It wasn’t just the fact that the show had a time travel aspect to it (which is my favorite sci-fi genre) but it also had to do with its cast of characters… all of which except for the main character Takamitchi. I really despite weak characters that somehow persevere through the work of others and I even detailed that disdain in my review; however, what really saved this show and brought it to the upper echelon of the shows I watched were two things: All of the other characters and the overall story.
I felt that the show hit it out of the park in all other aspects and it created a compelling series that made you want to keep watching. I knew the exact moment the show dropped and I would be there to faithfully watch it each and every week. It held my interest that much and no other show in 2021 had done that. For that, it earns my personal Anime of the Year distinction.
So, what do you all think? Agree? Disagree? What did you love about the shows in 2021 and what is your pick from the things you’ve watched?
Drop the comments below!
If you feel so inclined to do so, give me a follow on Twitter @JJPiedraOELN
Until next time,
Ja ne
