2019’s started at last, and with it, a whole bunch of new shows have begun. But 2018 had some shit, and I’d like to talk about it. Specifically, I’m gonna share my top 10 shows from 2018. In total, I attempted to watch 40 shows from 2018, though I dropped 14 of them. 2 are multi-cours from Fall so they’re still going, which leaves 24 shows I have actually finished. The two that are still running are eligible for this list though because I want them to be. Let’s fuckin’ go!!!!!!!!
1! 2! 3, 4! We! Are Cells at Work! This show was so damn fun to watch week to week and is exactly what all edutainment should strive to be – genuinely educational but more than that, a damn good time. This anime helped give me that JoJo fix while we waited for part 5, while also being a really strong show on its own merits. Retroactively become one of my favourites from the Summer season after my prior Summer favourite turned to shit.
And this would be my actual favourite from the Summer season after the prior Summer favourite turned to shit. Asobi Asobase is a pure comedy through and through, though with its unfunniest moments still warranting a smirk or two while its funniest moments had me laughing out loud, it was one of the most consistently enjoyable pure comedy shows I’ve ever seen. Some pretty amazing facial expressions all around, and also has two special episodes that might be the best special episodes I’ve ever seen just because their quality is consistent with the main show – they’re just shorter. Good time all around.
8. Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai
Cringy localised title aside, this show’s pretty great! Early arcs had some issues with being kinda overbearing in how they talk about the problems but the whole thing was enjoyable nonetheless, and explored some pretty relatable conflicts. I didn’t like it quite as much as everyone else did but I liked it enough for it to place on this list so obviously I still think it’s pretty great.
Not a mecha guy or a kaiju guy or a tokusatsu guy or any of that but damn did I love this show. It got off to a slow start but when it picked up, it really picked up, even if some moments could be kinda confusing. Still, by the end of its run this show had managed to become my favourite show by Studio Trigger so that’s gotta mean something. Shoutouts to Akane Shinjo for being one of the best characters of the year.
6. Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online
While SAO’s execution has always left something to be desired, there are some pretty good ideas that SAO’s story concepts would allow you to explore. This is that. Having the gun-nut Kino’s Journey writer write an SAO spinoff seems like a weird idea but damn does it work wonders, and maybe I’m biased but Studio 3Hz did an amazing job of making this show fun to watch, with basically every single fight scene surpassing everything that SAO proper had done beforehand. My weird SAO bias might be why this show is so high – hell I gave the 2 shows before this a higher rating – but I really did love watching this show so it’s gotta be up here.
Don’t know much about yuri but this show sure seems like the best the genre has to offer. Which is cool because this show was really damn good. Bloom Into You is one of those shows where you can kinda just say “the writing is really good” and be done with it – all of the characters are well realised and extremely well developed and all of the plot beats hit hard without ever feeling contrived just for the sake of having plot. Some stellar visuals and soundtrack and god tier voice acting help elevate this show to one of the year’s best works.
4. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Vento Aureo
What can I say man? I like JoJo’s. And part 5 has been off to a damn good start, returning to the greater scale conflict that I kinda missed in part 4 without running into any of the troubles that part 3 did, as well as having a pretty solid main group, and the best visuals JoJo’s anime has seen. Hell, the best visuals of the year? Who knows. This could maybe be higher but since JoJo’s is the only unfinished anime on the list (yeah that’s right no Alicization) I don’t want to get too presumptuous of its quality in the future. And hey, the next 3 shows are pretty brilliant anyway. Let’s talk about them.
3. A Place Further Than The Universe
This show aired at the very start of 2018 and yet people were already calling it anime of the year. And with damn good reason. A Place Further Than The Universe is a stunningly beautiful and emotional ride that follows 4 girls who want to go to Antarctica for their own personal reasons. It’s one of the finest coming of age stories I’ve ever seen and does so much more with the theme of friendship than you tend to see in anime, thanks to the girls’ friendships actually being meaningful and amazingly well developed. Also this is probably the best looking show of the year – it’s more consistently stunning than JoJo’s – I just like Araki’s style. Very amazing show though, and upon rewatching it for this list I noticed that the few problems I did have with the show at first weren’t actually that big a deal. Might even consider upping the score for this from an 8 to a 9? Yeah fuck it why not.
Lmao @meme-emperor is gonna kill me. Zombieland Saga is comedy of the year and the best idol show I’ve ever seen. The average girl quality is like, the third highest I’ve ever seen and the average boy quality (i.e. Tatsumi Kotaro) is probably the highest I’ve ever seen. Not only is this show fucking hilarious but it’s pretty damn emotional and gets hella sincere at times. Episode 8 immediately comes to mind as perhaps the single strongest episode of anything this year, but the rest of the show also has a surprising love and appreciation for idol anime that you might not think it would have based on the first few episodes, and that’s such a good thing. Crazy attention to detail throughout the whole thing as well, like Saga prefecture on the floor of the basement(?) and Ai’s various PTSD moments relating to her cause of death. Amazingly solid show and it would totally take the number one spot if not for…
… the epitome of comfort. Slice of life is and will likely always be my favourite genre, and 2018 was a decent year for the genre, but this show takes the cake for the best on offer. Every second – no – every frame of Yuru Camp exists in such a way that looking at it just destresses you like nothing else possibly could. This anime is the peak of adorableness and everything about it – the visuals, the soundtrack, the voice acting, even the comedy – contributes so perfectly to the relaxing atmosphere this show provides. I loved Zombieland Saga, I really did, but week to week, Yuru Camp was just what I looked forward to watching more. Sure, the average girl quality isn’t as high as in Zombieland Saga, but does Zombieland Saga have Shimarin? No? I thought so.
Honourable Mention – Liz and the Blue Bird
This is actually my favourite anime of the year, and one of the very few things I’ve given a perfect 10 out of 10. However I wanted to keep this list just to TV anime since that seems most fair to me. Liz and the Blue Bird’s pretty good – go watch it.
Girl of the Year – Shima Rin
Did I not already praise Yuru Camp enough? Shimarin’s best girl of the year and one of the best girls of all time, definitely top 5. The way the show lets her be introverted is something that I can’t sufficiently explain how much I appreciate. And she’s so fucking cute too!
Boy of the Year – Tatsumi Kotaro
Like 2 days after I wrote my Fall Season in Review and declared Narancia my Boy of the Season, I went to @meme-emperor’s house and we watched all of Zombieland Saga – a first for him and the quickest I’ve ever rewatched a show for me. And in doing so, I was like “oh shit yeah Tatsumi Kotaro’s Boy of the Season Fall 2018”. And since no other boy this year can really match up to him, he deserves the title of Boy of the Year.
