2020 was just as tough of a year for the anime industry as every other entertainment media due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but despite all of the struggle the anime world has seen some exciting and unique debuts. It can be easy to forget just how strong of a start the 2020 anime year got off to in the Winter season because of how strong of a Fall the year went out on, but we saw tons of awesome new anime series in between as well. Looking back on the year, Netflix definitely came to play as they saw many significant exclusives make their debut to a huge response. At the same time, there were plenty of smaller releases that found strong cult followings. But in the end, there could only be one real series standing on top.
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And the winner of the 2020 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Anime TV Series is…
Jujutsu Kaisen!
Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen did not exactly have the most hype before release, but word of mouth surprisingly started to pick up right when the anime was going to debut last October. In the weeks since its debut, more fans have been drawn by word of mouth and are starting to really pick up conversations as each week gets more intense. It’s as traditional of a Shonen Jump anime you can get, but that’s in no way a bad thing. It’s hitting at a perfect time. We actually haven’t had such a traditional “high schooler punches things” action anime in quite a while, and long time fans of these kinds of series know that means Jujutsu Kaisen is really only getting started.
Not only have we already fallen in love with Yuji Itadori himself, but the extended cast has shown a wide variety of quirks that will continue to reveal themselves in its second half. Not only is the story perfect to really be a hit, the studio behind the series is giving their all to make that happen. Director Sunghoo Park and the staff at Studio MAPPA have found a nostalgic, yet refreshing style that sets itself apart from the rest of the Shonen Jump anime running concurrently.
There’s an energy emanating from Jujutsu Kaisen, and now that the series has wrapped its first cour of episodes, the anime is heading into far more energetic situations, enemies, fights, and powers. With it already being so excellent as to be our choice for Best Anime TV Series of 2020, the anime franchise is going to have a bright future.
Check back with ComicBook.com as the rest of the winners are announced, and let us know who you would pick as winner in the comments!
Nominees:
- BNA: Brand New Animal
- Dorohedoro
- Great Pretender
- Jujutsu Kaisen — WINNER
- Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
