Hello folks, and welcome to the end of another dang year. 2018 has been a pretty terrifying and seemingly endless year out in the real world, as empires crumble and we draw ever closer to climate-prompted apocalypse. Fortunately, the world of anime seems largely unperturbed by our coming oblivion, and offered plenty of delights in all sorts of genres throughout this year. As a contributor to Anime News Network’s preview guide, I watched almost every single full-length premiere this year, and did my best to keep up with everything that seemed worth watching. Even then, a few shows managed to slip through the cracks – Bloom Into You will likely earn a spot on this list once I’ve caught up with it, and I still haven’t found the time to watch Hisone and Maso-tan, among other things. In spite of that, I watched a hell of a lot of anime this year, and am eager to share my favorites with you.
The anime this year was so good, in fact, that I actually have a few honorable mentions. First off, the third season of My Hero Academia was a generally excellent time, though it unfortunately peaked hard at the end of its first half. There’s also Megalo Box, which was a thrilling action spectacle that felt just a tad too archetypal for me to truly love. And finally, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure‘s fifth arc has been a wild and creative adventure so far, and would easily make this list in a year with fewer standouts. I’m also not including anime films, both because I feel they don’t really make for a meaningful direct comparison with shows, and also because nobody wants to read a list that’s just Liz and the Blue Bird repeated ten times. With that covered, let’s get to the reason we’re all here. It’s time to run down my top ten anime of 2018!
