In 2024, it felt like the passion and hunger for anime was at its apex. But as we’ve seen this year, that growth shows no sign of stopping. In fact, in 2025 anime is being watched by more people now than probably ever before. Thanks to streamers like Netflix and Crunchyroll, we’ve begun to understand just how many millions of people are watching anime around the world. We’re at a level of anime viewership we’ve never had in North America before, and this also means we’ve gotten access to many incredible shows this past year.
This was the year when even the niche became mainstream in anime spaces. No need for simple set-ups or universally appealing themes; instead, we got huge swings, new genre hits, and tons of absolutely manic action! Netflix audiences were open to the slice-of-life assassin genre as much as they were to the rom-com and shonen series that were released into the world. Crunchyroll had a bigger year than ever and announced a series of anime screenings in conjunction with the Alamo Drafthouse heading into 2026. Basically, anime is making a bigger impact on an even larger audience than ever before, and we’re all the better for it.
Honorable Mentions
The smorgasbord of brilliant anime offerings this year made it incredibly hard to narrow down our finalists, but before we get to the cream of the crop, we want to shout out some of the other incredible series that almost made our list. Netflix started its year strong with the charming and delightful Sakamoto Days. The story of an assassin turned convenience store owner ranked as one of the biggest anime hits for the streamer this year, and one of the biggest fan faves. There were also outliers that became smash hits like To Be Hero X, a Chinese animated series that broke through the noise with its unique animation style and superhero lore – in this series’ world, belief allows superpowers to become real.
Another big trend this year was the power of the returning series. We had hugely anticipated shows like Solo Leveling Season 2, which became the most popular series ever on Crunchyroll and is also one of the series with the most-liked episodes on the platform too. It wasn’t just those epic action shows making waves though, as there was also My Dress Up Darling Season 2, which took the character-focused slice of life hit about two cosplay pals and elevated it into one of the best second seasons in ages. We even had class series like Dr. Stone Science Future Parts 1 & 2 return, bringing some nostalgic vibes to our longlist.
Ultimately though, after many rewatches, rounds of voting, and deliberation, we came to a decision on our best anime of the year and runners-up, which you can find below!
Runner Up: Zenshu
A rare original anime, aka not based on an existing manga, light novel, or other source material, Zenshu took the action-packed isekai genre and smashed it into the coziness of animation and slice of life to great success. While struggling to craft her second anime series after the massive success of her first, a young animator finds herself in the world of her favorite childhood movie, called A Tale of Perishing. Once she arrives there, she discovers that the incredible and prodigious talent as an artist and animator that gave her success means that now she’s been transported to the fake world she grew up with, where she can bring her illustrations to life.
Coming from Studio MAPPA, this is, as to be expected, one of the best-looking and most fun series of the year, and it’ll make you nostalgic for the stories that shaped your childhood and tastes. But there’s extra magic too as our hero can fix the tragedies that plagued the fictional world that she once loved so much. If you enjoy quest anime, medieval isekai, or even high-tech fantasies like Sword Art Online, this will be perfect for your pop culture taste buds.
Runner Up: Takopi’s Original Sin
Taizan 5 has been devastating readers since his manga Takopi’s Original Sin first debuted in 2021. But it was when the show hit screens this year that it gained a true cult following, and anyone who watches it will instantly understand why. The series begins as a beautiful tale about a sweet alien being who wants to make people happy but finds himself entangled instead with a deeply depressed and dysfunctional community of children. Warning: In case that little taster didn’t make it clear, this is a really sad series that doesn’t shy away from the bleaker parts of life, love, growing up and all the things that you lose along the way. But what is so special about the show is that you still want to keep watching and keep hoping for something better to happen.
Whether you’re a fan of haunting horror like Tomie or mystery thrillers like Erased, you’ll find something to love in this distressing yet engaging series that asks what it takes to become happy and whether it’s ever right to truly pursue that happiness to its end no matter the cost. It’s another sign of just how much anime is changing the way that people interact with stories too, as this is not an easy jumping on point for the art form; it’s a dark, challenging, and often brutal tale that still managed to connect with a huge audience, including many on our staff.
Runner Up: The Apothecary Diaries Season 2
After the first season of this awesome period mystery of the week made it onto our 2024 best of list, it’s no surprise that the brilliant follow-up did too. The series is centered around a young girl named Maomao who is sold into servitude in the court only to rise up its ranks thanks to her knack for potions, detective work, and science. Expanding the world of the walled Imperial Court and those who inhabit it, this season became a court intrigue of near Game of Thrones-level proportions. With pregnancies, backstabbing, royal poisonings, and more, the first season of The Apothecary Diaries was one of the most engaging and talked about anime when it debuted, but how do you top that? By shifting into a more serious and unexpected genre than the slice-of-life mystery of S1.
In its second season, The Apothecary Diaries didn’t play it safe and instead turned towards a deeper political intrigue that delved into the inner workings of the Imperial Kingdom and those who run it. It’s the kind of choice that can either sink your anime or make it an even bigger hit, and here it was definitely the latter as the heated court drama began to entice historical anime viewers and even shonen fans who stayed to try to solve the dark mysteries at the show’s heart.
Runner Up: Dan Da Dan Season 2
Probably the most anticipated returning series of the year, Dan Da Dan Season 2 easily made our shortlist despite its controversial change of theme song. After Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye, the movie previewing the first three episodes of the second season, opened to over $3 million in North America, it became very clear that the 2024 smash was turning into a cultural phenomenon. Whether you were counting Turbo Granny t-shirts at Comic-Con or hearing people talk about Momo on a regular basis, it’s unlikely you’ve yet to hear about this smash hit series, which in its sophomore season managed to keep up the quality and strangeness that makes it so great.
Following up the monstrously popular first season was never gonna be an easy feat for studio Science Saru, but as always they delivered in spades. Back with all the same action and humor that made it such a standout when it debuted, the continued adventures of Okarun and Momo followed the pair on more paranormal and supernatural adventures. But it also showcased an ability to shift between genres and expand beyond any barriers that one might expect from a massively popular action anime. If anything, it leaned into the weird and doubled-down on what made it so popular in the first place.
Winner: The Summer Hikaru Died
This year our winner offered up something totally unique: a haunting horror that harkened back to the brutal yet melancholy cult movies of the ’00s like Battle Royale, All About Lily Chou Chou, and A Tale of Two Sisters. This enigmatic and beautifully animated series centers on the disappearance and subsequent reappearance of the titular Hikaru. Although it seems like a cause for celebration, his close friends soon begin to suspect that their friend didn’t really come back and instead has been replaced by someone or something else…
To reveal any more of the exact details of the story is to destroy at least a little of the magic that this esoteric, moody, atmospheric, gorgeous, and heartbreaking show has to offer.
Adapted from the manga of the same name by Mokumokuren, The Summer Hikaru Died centers on a cast of funny, nimble, and very much alive young characters who navigate the world in a way that’ll spark your nostalgia while still surprising you. This is the kind of show that you know is something special as you watch, not only conceptually but also in how it’s brought to life. This has become an instant existential classic and thanks to the immense platform of Netflix it’s been able to find an equally large and appreciative audience.
Although it was a very close battle, Hikaru ultimately pulled ahead on our list and deservedly so. Strange, haunting, emotional, and always deeply entertaining, The Summer Hikaru Died is IGN’s Best Anime of 2025.
So what do you think? Did The Summer Hikaru Died deserve the top spot this year? Let’s talk about it in the comments, and don’t forget to vote in the poll above. And make sure to check out all our IGN Awards for 2025 across film, TV, gaming, anime, and comics!
Note: For IGN’s best anime series award, anime must have completed airing their season or cour/parts in the U.S. by our 2025 voting period in order to be eligible. For example, Gachiakuta will be considered for the following year.
