Over on one of my other blogs, @smash-64, I always do an annual Game of the Year countdown. I enjoy the process, so I figured I could do a smaller one about my favorite anime of the year.
2025 Anime of the Year List
#5: The Apothecary Diaries I swear I don't watch exclusively old anime, regardless of what my other picks might suggest! I just find a lot of new anime to lean heavily into certain cliches that weren't necessarily firmly established in decades past. That said, I found the mix of serious problem solving and light-hearted jokes about Maomao's obsession with experimentation to be really fun. I also like the fact that she is completely unconcerned with the seemingly inevitable romantic advances of a certain Master Jinshi. This is the only anime on my list that I don't physically own in some form.
#4: Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer The second UY movie and generally considered the best of the bunch. Absurdity, slapstick, and dreamlike imagery abound in this movie. I snagged this tape over the summer, and while I'd like to have it on Laserdisc, those fetch a pretty penny. Urusei Yatsura isn't for everyone because Ataru can be too much, and there's just so much insanity going on all the time, but I liked it.
#3: Gunbuster The biggest surprise of the year. I expected nothing and found myself loving a fun space sci-fi OVA that actually leans into the troubles of time dilation from light speed travel. It's a 1980s anime, and somehow the only mech anime I don't hate. It also gave us the classic Gainax pose. Don't let the profound amount of anime tiddy stop you from enjoying the best finale in anime history. Snagged the Blu-ray, with a brand new English dub for the first time, and also the special Japanese Laserdisc box set because I'm stupid.
#2: Bubblegum Crisis I tried to watch this in 2024 and didn't really enjoy it a ton. But at the end of the year, I stumbled into Bubblegum Crash, the sequel series, and loved it. I was astounded to find out people generally hate Crash when compared to Crisis, so I thought I should give it another shot. I'm not sure why I didn't like it last year, because this is such a definitive 1980s cyberpunk anime in every respect. The show starts with a banger of an opening scene and concert, and sets the tone for the whole series. I managed to get the whole OVA series on Laserdisc.
#1: Gunsmith Cats I randomly came across the greatest car chase AMV of all time, and it was enough to convince me to check out this three episode OVA. I love that it's set in Chicago, with the first few opening shots absolutely perfectly recreating downtown Chicago. This was no approximation; it was quite literally Michigan Ave, which threw me into the show right away. The opening is flashy with a great tune, and makes me think Cowboy Bebop must have taken a bit of inspiration. Rally Vincent is just so cool as a protagonist, too. With the OVA being so short, we don't get a ton of character development, but the show also doesn't have a chance to go astray, either. I watched eBay like a hawk for eight months in order to get my hands on the two English Laserdisc releases. The third volume was canceled.
