Anime Chronology 2020-2024:

(series in bold are debuting)

2020 Year in Anime Reviewed:


How did 2020's great franchises stack up against each other and what were they?

1.  Railgun T

2.  Love Live! Nijigasaki + muteki believer ova + song for u ova.
3.  Major 2nd S2

4.  Star Twinkle Precure (ending) and movie (finally translated) + Healin' Good Precure
5.  Boku no Hero Academia S4 (2nd cour)

6.  Nekopara

7.  SAO Alicization (conclusion)

8.  Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear S1

9.  Strike Witches s3
10.  Honzuki no Gekokujou (2nd cour) + 14.5 ova

11.  Kamisama ni Natta hi

12.  Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Magia Record S1

13.  BanG Dream S3 + Film Live

14.  Girls und Panzer das Finale ova 2 (finally translated) + Taiyaki War
15.  Hibike! Euphonium: Chikai no Finale (finally translated)

16.  One Piece (Wano arc continued)
17.  Fate/Grand Order Babylonia (2nd cour) + Prisma ova (finally translated)

18.  High School Fleet movie

19.  Chihayafuru S3 (2nd cour)

20.  Shingeki no Kyojin Final Part 1 (beginning)

21.  Kud Wafter

22.  DanMachi S3 

23.  Goblin Slayer Movie

24.  Granblue Fantasy Djeeta ova's.

25.  Inuyasha Epilogue Chapter embedded within Yashahime ep 1.

There's no hiding it, covid-19 wreaked havoc on this year.  Far less came out than intended. Nevertheless, a few series pulled through -- Railgun, Love Live! and Major 2nd were excellent.  A couple great series debuted, replacing extremely weak sempais.  Hero Academia suddenly got good.  The world is better off and richer for the anime received than we were a year ago.

2021 Year in Anime Reviewed:


How did 2021's great franchises stack up against each other and what were they?

1.  Uma Musume S2

2.  Edens Zero S1

3.  Love Live! Superstar

4.  Healin' Good Precure (ending) and movie + Miracle Leap movie (finally translated) + Tropical Rouge Precure

5.  Sailor Moon Eternal movies 1 and 2

6.  Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Train (finally translated) + S2 start

7.  Shadows House S1

8.  Shiroi Suna no Aquatope

9.  Kanojo mo Kanojo S1

10.  Selection Project

11.  Non Non Biyori S3

12.  Girls und Panzer das finale ova 3 + Daikon War

13.  Fate/Heaven's Feel Spring Song + FGO Camelot 1 & 2 (finally translated) 

14.  Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha S3

15.  Boku no Hero Academia S5

16.  Shingeki no Kyojin Final Part 1 (ending)

17.  Princess Principal Crown Handler 1

18.  Grisaia Stargazer ova (finally translated)

19.  One Piece (Wano arc continued)

20.  BanG Dream: Roselia movies

21.  Youjo Senki ova

22.  Madoka Magica Gaiden: Magia Record S2

23.  Shirobako movie (finally translated)

Covid-19 strikes again as we reach another pitiful total franchise count.  This year is even worse than last year, though, because we lack stalwarts like Railgun or SAO.  Five new great franchises is certainly impressive compared to last year's three, but sequels to older famous series tend to be better than brand new entries.

2022 Year in Anime Reviewed:

How did 2022's great franchises stack up against each other and what were they?

These six new series finally round out my top 200 anime.  Now I no longer need to rely on short movies to reach a nice round number, there are 200 legitimate series to watch.

1.  Utawarerumono S3

2.  Spy x Family S1

3.  Kimetsu no Yaiba S2 ending

4.  Extreme Hearts

5.  Ken Tensei S1

6.  Love Live! Nijigasaki High School S2 + Superstar S2

7.  The Eminence in Shadow (first cour)

8.  DanMachi S4 (first cour)

9.  Macross Delta Zettai Live (finally translated)

10.  Bleach 1,000 Year Blood War Arc (beginning)

11.  Shikkakumon 

12.  BanG Dream Poppin' Dream + 2nd Live movies + Circle Game ova's + Morfonication ova's

13.  Yama no Susume S4

14.  Shadows House S2

15.  Honzuki no Gekokujou s3 

16.  Fate/Kaleid Liner Licht + Fate/Grand Order Temple of Solomon movies (both finally translated)

17.  Shingeki no Kyojin Final part 2 

18.  Bastard!! S1

19.  Boku no Hero Academia S6 (first cour)

20.  Princesss Principal movie 2 (finally translated) + Easy Money ova + Revealing Reviews ova

21.  Kiniro Mosaic Thank You! (finally translated)

22.  Dragon Ball Super Hero

23.  SAO: Progressive movie 1 (finally translated)

24.  Hataraku Maou-sama! S2 

25.  One Piece (Wano continued)

26.  Tropical Rouge Precure (ending) and movie (finally translated)

27.  Magia Record the Final 

28.  Non non Biyori Nonstop oad

29.  Tales of Luminaria oavs.

This year is a great recovery from the previous two, relying on a bunch of movies that came out in Japan in 2021 as well as a lot of sequel works that have been in planning for a long time.  No more delays!  The future of anime is looking bright again.

2023 Year in Anime Reviewed:


How did 2023's great franchises stack up against each other and what were they?

1.  Uma Musume Road to the Top ovas + S3

2.  Sousou no Frieren (first cour)

3.  Kimetsu no Yaiba S3

4.  Sailor Moon Cosmos

5.  Danmachi S4 (second cour)

6.  Bleach 1,000 Year Blood War (continued)

7.  Oshi no Ko S1

8.  Spy x Family S2

9.  MIX S2

10.  Edens Zero S2

11.  Tearmoon Empire

12.  Isekai Nonbiri Nouka

13.  Goblin Slayer S2

14.  The Eminence in Shadow (second cour) + S2

15.  Idolm@ster Million Live + U149

16.  100 Kanojo

17.  Vinland Saga S2

18.  Atelier Ryza

19.  Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear S2

20.  BanG Dream It's MyGo!!!!!

21.  Kanojo mo Kanojo S2

22.  Shingeki no Kyojin Kanketsu-hen S4

23.  SAO Progressive movie 2 (finally subtitled)

24.  Bastard!! S2

25.  Hibike! Euphonium Ensemble Contest

26.  KonoSuba explosion

27.  Princess Principal Crown Handler 3

28.  Boku no Hero Academia S6 (second cour)

29.  One Piece (wano arc continued)

30.  Hataraku Maou-sama! S3

31.  Nijigasaki Next Sky

32.  Rurouni Kenshin Remake S1 (ep 3, 15-19's new material compared to the old series)

2023 might be the last golden year of anime.  A respectable 32 new series, 5 of them brand new, harkens back to the olden days of 2014 or so.  It's an anomaly, with the years prior and past nowhere near these dual totals.  It's a year to be savored but also mourned.  Uma Musume's third season was so good that every episode either made me cry or almost made me cry.  There will never be its like.  Great old classics like Bleach and Kimetsu no Yaiba won't be around for much longer.  And Sailor Moon Cosmos, a story as old as anime, ended with an eternal kiss on the last day of the year.

2024 Year in Anime Reviewed:


How did 2024's great franchises stack up against each other and what were they?

1.  One Piece (Wano arc completed and Egghead arc begins)

2.  Fairy Tail 100 Years Quest

3.  Oshi no Ko S2

4.  Monogatari Series Off and Monster Season

5.  DanMachi S5

6.  Hibike! Euphonium S3

7.  Wonderful Precure + Precure All Stars F movie (finally translated)

8.  Sousou no Frieren (2nd cour)

9.  Girls Band Cry

10.  Love Live! Superstar S3

11.  Bleach TYBW part 3

12.  SAOAGGO S2

13.  Boku no Hero Academia S7

14.  Sokushi Cheat

15.  Ao no Hako (1st cour)

16.  Kimetsu no Yaiba S4

17.  Dragon Ball Daima (1st cour)

18.  Girls und Panzer das Finale ova 4 + taichou war

19.  Idolm@ster Shiny Colors

20.  Prince of Tennis U-17 World Cup Semifinal

21.  Spice and Wolf (2024) eps 20-25

22.  Kimi ni Todoke S3

23.  KonoSuba S3

24.  Uma Musume New Era movie

25.  Oomuro-ke oav

Three new great series isn't bad, especially this late in to anime's history, but 2024's saving grace was sequels to classic works.  Very classic works.  Works that date back to the 80's like Dragon Ball, 90's like One Piece, 00's like Bleach, Monogatari and Precure, and 10's like Love Live! and SAO.  For some reason there were very few shows with definitive endings -- Hibike! Euphonium and Girls Band Cry is basically it.  Love Live and Idolm@ster might end this particular group of characters, but they'll probably resume with some similar group like Precure always does.  So only three beginnings and only two endings, making this very much a bridging year.  Girls Band Cry stands out as particularly good precisely because it has a start and finish, something the rest of anime seemingly can no longer manage.