My Top 9 Anime of 2023
This was not exactly a great year for anime for me. It largely comes down to taste, because there are a lot of shows that came out that a lot of people loved, just weren't for me. This is why I only have a top nine of the year instead of a top ten. Also, I had to come to accept I just don't care about Vinland Saga despite liking the first season. I cared little enough to not even watch season 2. I do not have a reason as to why though, but it is what it is.
That out of the way, the nine shows I enjoyed most this year.
9.) High Card
I am going to rip off what a lot of other people have already said, this show is a mash-up of The Kingsman and Bungo Stray Dogs. Every playing card grants a different power, and the main character is a member of a government organization set up to protect the world from other people who have these cards. I will come right out and say the story is just okay, the characters are all pretty good, and the action is a lot of fun.
In a lot of ways, it's likely a show that is just going to come and go without a huge impact, but at the same time, I don't think it needs to be more than that. It is just that, a lot of fun from beginning to end, with only a few issues I can find to pick at. If that's all you are looking for go ahead and jump in. It'll be a good time.
8.) Spy X Family Season 2
It ranks low because I think the joke of the show has run a bit thin at this point. It's still good, but overall just felt like most of the season could be forgotten. That said, there were some great highlights. Both Bond-focused episodes I enjoyed, I loved finally seeing more of how the dog's mind works. The second is the Cruise Ship episodes were great. Honestly, Loid himself didn't need to be there, but we got the best Yor episodes yet. It's a show worth sticking through both seasons for.
7.) Hypnosis Mic – Rhyme Anime +
Placing seven and six were probably the hardest ones. I opted to place this at seven instead because in a lot of ways, this was a bit of a step back from the last season in terms of the story, whereas my next pick is a new show so I'll cut it a little more slack. That said, I still clearly enjoyed this one.
What you need to know about Hypnosis Mic is this entire anime is an advertisement for 'Evil Line Records'. It's a bunch of Fictional Rap bands battling for their districts using mics that turn their rapping prowess into actual damage. The battles are all represented by music videos. It is strangely clever.
6.) Ningen Fushin: Adventurers Who Don’t Believe in Humanity Will Save the World
Firstly, can we stop with the Fall Out Boy phase of naming shows? Just... no more. Please.
The show is about adventurers who came together and all have some pretty serious problems and addictions. Alienated by society, they formed a bond where they would work together but never question or involve themselves in everyone else's habits. The show is carried by how incredibly charming and likable they all are despite their vices.
While there are a lot of issues I can bring up about the show, more than any below it on the list, it gets over it because it does a lot to genuinely make you care about these people. The problems it does have kind of hold it back from being greater, but I am still excited for another season.
5.) Dr. Stone New World
I kind of figured that, after this season, the conclusion to the whole petrification thing was never going to be satisfactory. I did spoil myself and look it up, and yeah. The end of the story is going to be kind of stupid. But despite that, this show pulls its weight with a fantastic cast of characters.
4.) Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5
I am questioning if, as time goes on, I'll be a lot harsher on this. There is no getting around the show has been getting worse since it started. The writing has become more questionable, and the intelligence of Dazai has been stretched to such unbelievable lengths. And this whole season revolves heavily around three different people just as 'smart'.
At the same time, the show has had some of the best moments of the series so far. I won't spoil it, but the past of the Detective Agency's Doctor Yosano is one of the most heartbreaking moments of the entire year. The season as a whole was disappointing, but there are enough wonderful moments like this that still make me enjoy this show.
3.) Goblin Slayer Season 2
There is a running theme here where every show is getting worse with each follow-up season, and Goblin Slayer is no exception. But like all these other shows, a lesser version of the previous season is still fantastic. I have nothing to say here I haven't said about Goblin Slayer in the past, it's wonderfully violent and I adore the cast.
It's nice you get a few additional glimpses into all the characters, and while nothing is quite as satisfying as the Goblin Champion or Goblin Horde of the first season, there is still fantastic fight after fantastic fight.
2.) Rurouni Kenshin (2023)
This is how you do a remake. This first season of the reboot pretty much follows the same story as the original Kenshin, with minor changes here and there. At some point, the original anime changed course and diverted from the original Manga, but these early stories are pretty much the same. Yes, there are the occasional differences, but if you liked the original Kenshin anime, this is simply the better version.
And it'll be nice to see how the story changes once we reach that diversion point in the original anime. It was one of my favorite shows growing up and still is.
1.) Golden Kamuy Season 4
Golden Kamuy continues to be among the best anime released since I started getting back into anime after being out of the scene for many years. From its truly bizarre use of dick jokes (Seriously, they have turned dick jokes into their art form), some of the most intense and violent fights, and one of the most fascinating villains I have ever seen in an anime, Tsrurumi of the Fourth Division, I am more invested in what's going on here than any show I have been in a long time.
It's another show I've talked about multiple times though, and can't add anything about season four. Basically, this season just fleshes out a lot of the side characters that are going to make waves in the final arcs of the story, and it did that well. The plot proper has only been moved forward by a few small steps, but the season did what it needed to do.
This year, as you can see, almost all the shows that interested me are continuations of other shows. It was overall a bit of a letdown for me compared to an stacked run of shows last year. But I still had a lot of fun with these shows, and look forward to what is to come this year.
Also, later today (2/10 3 PM CT Time) you can listen to me and Xanatrix do a livestream about game developer David Cage, so feel free to follow me either on Twitter or Youtube where it will be streaming.
Frieren: Beyond Journey's end is my favorite anime of 2023. It's the story of the title character after the big bad has been defeated. She is an elf and her longevity detaches her from the rest of her party. She learns the value of relationships as she travels with her new party and flashbacks from the old party.
I generally do my tops based on shows that finished that year, so since Frieren is still ongoing, wouldn't qualify for my list.
That said, I'll be starting it soon, so it'll potentially be on my 2024 list.