Top 10 Anime of 2019

Introduction

Not to be confused with my Top 10 Anime (2019 Edition) which covers my top 10 anime of all time, this end-of-year top 10 list is strictly about 2019 anime. Last year I ranked every single 2018 anime I watched in order from best to worst, but we’re not doing that this time around.

Also, tomorrow is Wednesday which usually means no post, but since it’s January 1st, there might be a “best anime of the 2010s” type post to commemorate the new decade.

And the final thing I feel the need to mention is that I’m sure this list is going to make a lot of people mad. But, rather than telling me what an idiot I am, I encourage you to leave your own top 10 lists of 2019 in the comments. I’m also more than happy to discuss why I ranked these anime as I did over on Discord.

1. Attack on Titan season 3 part 2

If you had told me at the start of this 2019 that Attack on Titan was going to be the best anime of the year (sorry, Mob fans, I haven’t actually seen Mob Psycho 100 II yet), I would have thought you were out of your mind. It’s not perfect by any means — I don’t even have it rated as a 10. However, it was this season that actually made me pick up the manga.

Unfortunately, there’s supposedly only one season of Attack on Titan left, and Studio WIT isn’t animating it. Based on what I’ve read in the manga though, I think 2 seasons would be preferable to reach the end without rushing through it.

2. Vinland Saga

I can’t really think of a better way to end 2019 than with the ending of Vinland Saga season 1. The fact that this 24 episode season was just the prologue of the story is pretty incredible. I can’t wait to see where this series takes us next. Also, Askeladd may have been the best character of 2019.

And while my full review of Vinland Saga isn’t out at the time of this post, it should be out shortly (maybe by the time you’re reading it).

3. The Promised Neverland

The year started off strong with both The Promised Neverland and the fourth anime on this list. Although a fair amount of series attempt it, there aren’t too many that can successfully pull of a suspenseful game of cat and mouse quite like this one did.

My only fear regarding this series is the direction it’s headed in. This first season was so good, but from what I’ve seen of the manga, it goes off the deep end. Hopefully the single panels I’ve seen don’t tell the whole picture.

4. Kaguya-sama: Love is War

Luckily, the second season of Kaguya-sama: Love is War is coming out in 2020, because this is a great series. I wouldn’t really say it revolves around a game of cat and mouse like The Promised Neverland, but it kind of does. However, that’s not the draw of the series.

What makes this series so special is the characters and how they interact with each other. That, and Chika’s dance in the second ED.

5. Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san 2

Back when I first reviewed this series I don’t think it actually had an official English title yet, which is why I stick with the Japanese one. But that has nothing to do with the fact that this was one of the best anime of the year.

Some people think Takagi 2 was boring because it’s basically the same as Takagi 1, but I disagree. I think this season improved upon the formula of Takagi 1, and it also shifted the focus a bit more onto the relationships between characters.

6. How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift?

Now, my rating of this series may be a bit biased because I watched it with a group of people from my Discord server. However, while that likely did improve my enjoyment of this series, I still think it was very good regardless of that fact.

I’m sure I mentioned this in my full review of the series, but just like Laid-Back Camp made sleeping outside in the cold seem like a fun idea, How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift? made exercising seem like a fun idea. That’s no small feat.

7. Babylon

While I don’t think this choice is going to be the most controversial one on this list, it kind of is. Babylon is the only anime which made it onto this list which isn’t actually complete yet. I think there’s going to be 12 episodes, but only 8 are out so far. And, of those 8 I’ve actually only seen 7.

So although I think Babylon is one of the best anime of the year right now, there’s still 5 more episodes for me to watch which could change my mind. It’s also taking its sweet time, so who knows when it will actually be completed.

8. O Maidens in Your Savage Season

In my mind, O Maidens in Your Savage Season is the most shocking anime on this list. I didn’t actually expect it to be good when I first watched it, but it turned out to be one of the best dramas of the year. And if you know me, you’ll know I like my drama anime.

As a bonus, this had one of the best anime OP songs of the entire year in Otomedomoyo by CHiCO with HoneyWorks. In fact, this would have been my pick for best anime OP song of the year if not for the next anime on this list.

9. Fire Force

Fire Force wasn’t one of my favorite anime when it first started, and it still isn’t now that the first season has come to a close. But it was still one of the best anime of the year. And yes, I think it’s better than Demon Slayer which is probably the other anime people put alongside this one.

As I just mentioned, Fire Force also has the best OP song of the entire year in MAYDAY (feat. Ryo from Crystal Lake) by coldrain. I don’t exactly think this is the best OP of the year, but it’s the best OP song. I’ve downloaded like every coldrain song, and some Crystal Lake songs, because of it.

10. We Never Learn (1 and 2)

Here’s where we get into the truly controversial territory as far as most of you are probably concerned. That’s right, I put both seasons of Bokuben: We Never Learn, on my top 10 list. Both seasons came out this year, so I figured I’d just group them together into one unit.

But what that really means is your favorite Demon Slayer didn’t even make it onto my top 10 anime of 2019 list. And neither did My Hero Academia season 4. Sorry, Bokuben is just better than those two — MHA still has a cour left, so it could end up being better though.

I get that Bokuben isn’t the greatest anime around, but it’s extremely enjoyable to watch the characters. They’re not the best, but they are well written. My only real complaint about season 2 compared to season 1 was that both the OP and ED were worse. Other than that, both seasons were good.

Conclusion

So, how mad are you about my top 10 anime of 2019 list? And which anime made your list? I can probably guess the anime on most of your lists, but put them in the comments anyway. Maybe you have a sleeper hit on there which I overlooked this year.

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I’ll see you back here in 2020.