10 Best Anime Everyone Was Watching In 2025

2025 is coming to a close, and sure enough, it was another massive year for anime; between older titles returning for new seasons and new anime quickly establishing themselves as major hits, there was plenty of great anime to watch all year round, and 2026 is bound to be even bigger.

With a wonderful mix of older, pre-established titles and brand-new hits to behold, 2025 was one of the best years for anime a person could ask for. That’s especially true when looking at a few stand-out titles in particular, and sure enough, even just one of them makes it clear why 2025 was such a big year for anime.

10) Zenshu

MAPPA’s Zenshu stars Natsuko Hirose, an antisocial animator who, after her death, awakens in the world of her favorite movie, A Tale of Perishing. There, Natsuko discovers that she’s gained the power to bring her drawings to life, and she decides to use that to prevent A Tale of Perishing’s tragic ending and give everyone the happy ending they deserve.

Between its gorgeous visuals, emotional storytelling, and stellar meta-commentary about anime, Zenshu succeeds on both a visual and narrative level from start to finish. That’s an especially strong feat for an original anime, and it did a lot to help 2025 start on a strong note, despite its short run.

9) Witch Watch

Bibury Animation Studios’ Witch Watch stars Morihito “Moi” Otogi, an ogre who’s tasked with becoming the familiar to his old witch friend Nico Wakatsuki, and while Nico hopes to use their new situation to become a couple, that’s far from easy thanks to Moi’s obliviousness and how Moi needs to protect Nico from an unspecified tragedy she’s prophesied to face.

As another story from Kenta Shinohara of Sket Dance fame, Witch Watch does a great job of balancing stellar comedy with heart and drama, and the great visuals did even more to accentuate that at every turn. The anime did a lot to bring Witch Watch some much-needed attention, and hopefully, Witch Watch season 2 will take that even further.

8) Umamusume: Cinderella Gray

CygamesPictures’ Umamusume: Cinderella Gray is a prequel to the iconic Umamusume: Pretty Derby franchise. The series tells the story of how recurring character Oguri Cap went from a country underdog to one of the greatest racers in the history of Umamusume, a road that, unfortunately, was filled with plenty of trials and hardship.

With its great visuals and even greater dramatic character writing, Umamusume: Cinderella Gray is an all-around phenomenal sports anime with plenty of charm from start to finish. The series was the perfect way of capitalizing on Umamusume’s breakout success, and it’s easy to see why it was one of the best anime of fall 2025.

7) New Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt

Studio Trigger’s New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt is the long-awaited sequel to 2010’s Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. After quickly resolving the original anime’s infamous cliffhanger ending, Panty and Stocking are back to their old routine of having sex, eating sweets, and occasionally fighting evil, and as a bonus, Scanty and Kneesocks are technically on their side now, as well.

It took years for Panty & Stocking to return, and not only did New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt have the same great animation, but the comedy was somehow even more over the top while also maintaining a surprising amount of heart. New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt more than lived up to its hype, and it’s unlikely to be matched anytime soon.

6) City The Animation

Kyoto Animation’s City The Animation is centered around the daily events that occur in a city simply called City. Many of the adventures center around perpetual slacker Midori Nagumo and her friends, but overall, the story is about every weird person who lives in the City and the odd things they go through every day.

City The Animation is Kyoto Animation’s first new series in seven years, and with its hilarious cast, writing that’s both comedic and heartfelt, and the wonderfully surreal and gorgeous animation, it’s more than a welcome addition to their library. It’s an easy contender for one of the best Kyoto Animation anime in history, and that won’t be changing anytime soon.

5) Dandadan Season 2

2025 saw the long-awaited return of season 2 of Science Saru’s Dandadan. Following season 1’s cliffhanger, Momo and Okarun had to deal with Jiji being possessed by a violent spirit known as the Evil Eye, all of which greatly tested everyone involved while also pushing them closer together than ever.

Dandadan was one of the biggest hits of 2024, and a year later, season 2 was the perfect follow-up, not just for its continually stunning visuals, but also for how well it advanced everyone’s character arcs with great comedy and drama at every turn. Dandadan season 3 is coming in 2027, and hopefully, it will be well worth the wait.

4) My Hero Academia: Final Season

Bones Film’s My Hero Academia: Final Season is, of course, the final season of My Hero Academia. The final battle with Shigaraki and All For One had finally entered its climax, and with everything on the line, Izuku and his friends would have to give everything they had to win and save the day once and for all.

Despite how inconsistent My Hero Academia’s anime could be, My Hero Academia: Final Season was an incredible watch for its stunning animation and direction and how well that complemented the great writing and heartfelt climax. The My Hero Academia anime isn’t done just yet, but overall, there was no better way for the series to end.

3) Rock Is A Lady’s Modesty

In Bandai Namco Pictures’ Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty, Lilisa Suzunomiya abandons the guitar she had played since childhood to try to be a “proper” young lady, but after meeting Otoha Kurogane, a genuine upper-class lady who’s secretly a foul-mouthed drummer, Lilisa regains her passion for guitar and profanity and decides to become a guitarist in secret.

Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty seemed like just another “cute girls doing cute things” anime, but between its absurdly profane comedy, the stylish 3D visuals, and the surprisingly strong character writing that perfectly complemented the stellar soundtrack, it more than stood out from its contemporaries, and overall, it was one of the biggest breakout hits of the year, by far.

2) Takopi’s Original Sin

Enishiya’s Takopi’s Original Sin stars Takopi, a happy-go-lucky alien from Happy Planet who comes to Earth to make people happy. Takopi begins his mission by trying to help a girl named Shizuka who suffers from bullying, but thanks to Takopi’s innocence and naivete, his attempts to help make things hauntingly worse at every turn.

Takopi’s Original Sin drew people in with its shockingly dark opening, and it more than lived up to its hype with its creative visuals and how well it used that to tell an unflinchingly dark story about overcoming trauma. Takopi’s Original Sin was much shorter than the average anime, but if anything, that only emphasized how great its story is.

1) Gachiakuta

In Bones Film’s Gachiakuta, after being accused of murder and being banished to a trash-infested wasteland known as the Pit, Rudo discovers that he’s a Giver, someone who can imbue a treasured object with supernatural abilities, and from there, Rudo swears to use his powers to get back to the Sphere and exact revenge against everyone who wronged him.

There was incredible hype attached to Gachiakuta’s release, and between its stunning visuals and the heartfelt, punkish narrative surrounding it, it more than lived up to its expectations. With Gachiakuta season 2 in development, Gachiakuta is poised to become a generational hit, but for now, it’s at least the best anime of 2025, by far.

Anime Broke The Internet In 2025, And These Hype Moments Prove It