As 2025 comes to an end, it’s the perfect time to reflect on what the year offered anime fans. This year was as strong as any, with several series breaking records across the board. However, despite hundreds of releases, not every anime lived up to expectations. Even the highly anticipated One-Punch Man Season 3 ended up performing worse than its second season.
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That’s why it’s important to identify the true standouts, and this year’s top five anime were clear choices. Three of them were long-awaited by fans and delivered exactly what everyone hoped for, while two surprised viewers with their dark, intriguing stories, emerging as some of the boldest anime of the year.
5) Gachiakuta
Coming from Kodansha’s Shonen Jump magazine, Gachiakuta already had a solid fan base eagerly awaiting its anime adaptation. However, Studio Bones elevated the source material with exceptional craftsmanship, proving why Gachiakuta is the best new shonen anime of 2025, and perhaps of recent years. Their brilliant adaptation helped the series reach a wider audience and highlighted its uniquely bold approach to shonen storytelling, constantly breaking the genre’s familiar tropes.
From its world-building to its characters, especially the main protagonist, the series stands out as a refreshing take on the genre at every turn. There isn’t a single weak episode; each one is intriguing enough to pull viewers deeper into its dark, bold, and original narrative. If you happened to miss this anime, we couldn’t recommend it more.
4) Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc
Chainsaw Man’s latest entry in the anime medium came in the form of the highly anticipated Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, directly adapting the events that follow season 1. The series’ return, this time as a movie released three years after the first season, arrived with a bang, surprising fans with just how well this arc was brought to life.
With top-tier animation, perfectly executed action sequences, and the subtle yet impactful moments between Denji and Reze, further elevated by an outstanding musical score, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc stands as the best anime movie of 2025. Fans who missed its theatrical release can now enjoy it at home, as the movie has begun streaming, leaving no reason for anyone to pass it up.
3) Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle
If anyone even remotely watches anime, there’s a good chance they’ve seen what is arguably the biggest anime of the year: Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle. With the movie breaking unbelievable records and becoming Japan’s highest-grossing film of all time, most anime fans have likely watched it already. But if you happened to miss it, you don’t need any convincing. Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is truly a once-in-a-generation project.
This film represents the culmination of Ufotable’s extraordinary work on the series and stands as the pinnacle of what a masterful anime adaptation looks like. Every scene has been elevated through the studio’s exceptional craftsmanship. And while some may argue that Infinity Castle could have functioned well as a seasonal anime, this movie remains the largest and most ambitious project the medium has seen in recent years.
2) My Hero Academia Final Season
My Hero Academia’s final season is something the anime medium may struggle to replicate anytime soon, marking the end of a shonen journey that has run for nearly a decade with a narrative of rare length and depth. With many newer shonen series unlikely to match the scale My Hero Academia achieved, this finale stands as one of the last major anime capable of leaving such a long-lasting legacy.
Fans watching the final season unfold, with its remarkable animation quality, have been stunned, showering the series with overwhelming praise. Every episode this season has secured an IMDb rating above 9, making it the first standard-length anime season to accomplish this. With My Hero Academia concluding in 2025, it’s a milestone every anime fan should witness. And for those who have yet to watch the series, there has never been a better time to start and experience its legacy coming to an end.
1) Takopi’s Original Sin
The anime adaptation of Taizan5’s Takopi’s Original Sin was long considered a contender for one of the darkest anime ever made. However, it wasn’t until the series debuted and delivered a shocking twist that fans realised it truly earns that title. The narrative explores extremely heavy themes, including murder, suicide, bullying, and depression, and these elements hit even harder because they revolve around children who are only ten years old.
The anime portrays how deeply such emotions can affect children and shape their lives. One of the most brilliant aspects of the series is Takopi himself, an alien initially oblivious to human emotions, who gradually learns their complexity, his growth mirroring that of a toddler discovering the world. With only six episodes, Takopi’s Original Sin is bound to surprise anyone, and its execution stands as a masterpiece that every anime viewer should experience at least once. For these reasons, Takopi’s Original Sin arguably stands as the best anime of 2025 and one that nobody should miss.
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