The 2020 ComicBook.com Golden Issues Awards Nominees for Anime

Nick Valdez

01/01/2021 09:58 pm EST

ComicBook.com's Golden Issue Awards are here for 2020! Just like every other entertainment industry this year, anime has definitely felt the sting of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This meant that much fewer anime were being produced each season. While there were fewer options overall than in previous years or the year to come, it does not mean that any of the releases we did get were slacking. The anime series, movies, manga releases, and more that we got to experience this year despite all of the struggle was made all the more special.

A wide spread of experiences including brand new anime, new adaptations, much anticipated returning franchises, and some rookie hits hitting their stride. When all is said and done, there's a good chance that 2020 will be held in high regard by anime fans when looking back on it in the future.

To help put the cap on the year, we've decided to look back on some of anime's best and brightest for the year for our nominations for ComicBook.com's Golden Issues Awards for Anime in 2020. Read on to check out our full list of nominees!

Best Anime TV Series

2020 was a particularly rough year for anime, but that did not stop the year from gathering some particularly unique and special releases. Each of the major streaming services had their share of strong anime releases as each one dove into more licenses for each season, and while the overall number pales in comparison to other years, the ones that did make it through the struggle are some real gems.

The nominees are:

BNA: Brand New Animal
Dorohedoro
Great Pretender
Jujutsu Kaisen
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

Best Anime Film

Just as with the original anime series that made their way to our shores, there were just as many incredible feature film efforts for anime fans to enjoy this year. While one of the nominations in our list has yet to releases outside of Japan, it's hard to ignore how important it is to anime overall this year. But the other choices here each managed to make a huge mark both in and outside of in Japan!

The nominees are:

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train
Japan Sinks: 2020
My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising
Ride Your Wave
Weathering With You

Best Fight

While there were fewer anime series released overall, the ones that did make it through were impressive in tons of excellent ways. One area that usually sees an anime go the extra mile is with their fights, and these franchises certainly did not slack this year as each staff seemed to give it their absolute all with these impressive sequences. While there were plenty of memorable fights this year, there were a few that were just a bit better.

The nominees are:

Armored, Jaw, and Beast Titan vs. Mid-East Alliance (Attack on Titan)
Gojo vs. Sukuna (Jujutsu Kaisen)
Gojo vs. Jogo (Jujutsu Kaisen)
Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo vs. Nine (My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising)
SAO Heroes vs. Dark Territory (Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld)

Best Manga

It's been a HUGE year for Shonen manga releases. While the anime industry saw significant delays due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, these weekly releases continued with a few bumps here and there. Not only that, but these Shonen series experienced some of their biggest highs this year with each of their series experiencing major climaxes of their most action-packed arcs to date. In fact, each of our nominees is currently involved (or was involved) in a brutal war.

Black Clover by Yuki Tabata
Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto
Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami
My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi
One Piece by Eiichiro Oda

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