Skip to content
maxnews
Rankings

Ranking The All Time Best Years For Anime Releases

No one can agree on the best year for anime, as more often than not, verdicts are based on personal favorites. If you love Cowboy Bebop, you probably think 1998 is the year anime peaked. If Barakamon is more your speed, you might see 2014 as the best anime year. Things get even trickier when you start considering every great show that released in a single year. Pokémon and Princess Mononoke are beloved by countless fans, but are they collectively better than Naruto, Azumanga Daioh, and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex? Which year left us with the most memorable additions to the anime canon? It's likely a question without a definite answer, but one worthy of debate.

Entries
17
Votes
37.4K
Updated
yesterday

Tap upor downto vote. Your vote is added to Ranker's counts.

Voting identifies your browser with an anonymous fingerprint, stored only as a salted hash, to count one per visitor. Privacy

Source: Ranker, ranked by its voters.

  1. 1

    2006

    When discussing the theoretical golden age of anime, fans are quick to bring up 2006, as many of the year's new series are remembered as the greatest anime of all time. That year, the Japanese animation industry's collective worth peaked at ¥258.8 billion (roughly $2.9 billion), an all-time high it has yet to surpass as of 2018. Notable releases: • Death Note • Code Geass • Gintama • Ouran High School Host Club • Nana • The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya • D.Gray-man • Welcome to the NHK • Higurashi: When They Cry • Black Lagoon

    86% upvoted
  2. 2

    2019

    2019 was truly a great year for anime across all genres. Not only were there amazing shonen series that premiered like The Promised Neverland or Dr. Stone, but even fantastic romance series aired like the hilarious and charming Kaguya-sama: Love is War and the much-anticipated reboot of the shojo classic Fruits Basket. And for Isekai fans, The Rising of the Shield Hero was a stand-out. There were so many memorable and tear-jerking moments in the new seasons of Attack on Titan (S3 Pt. 2), My Hero Academia (S4), and Mob Psycho 100 (S2) too. Plus, we can't forget the cultural phenomenon that was Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. A series that brought anime fans all over the world together. Notable releases: • Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba • The Promised Neverland • Dr. Stone • The Rising of the Shield Hero • Kaguya-sama: Love is War • Fruits Basket (2019) • Beastars • Vinland Saga • Dororo • Carole & Tuesday

    86% upvoted
  3. 3

    2009

    Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which came out in April of 2009, is commonly held up as a high water mark for anime. The second FMA anime adaptation features spot-on animation, nuanced characters, and a wildly creative plot that faithfully recreates the source material. It's hard to find a better anime than FMA: Brotherhood, but it wasn't the only stellar show to come out in 2009. The Monogatari series, which is still running as of 2018, got its start with Bakemonogatari in the summer of '09. Fairy Tail, a long-running fantasy anime that rivals One Piece and Naruto in episode count, got going in October of that year, and K-On! proved to be one of the most successful examples of the slice of life genre. Notable releases: • Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood • K-On! • Bakemonogatari • Fairy Tail • Kimi ni Todoke

    83% upvoted
  4. 4

    2015

    Even if no other shows were released, One Punch Man's debut is enough to make 2015 a banner year for anime fans. Luckily, the subversive shonen series was accompanied by several other stellar shows. The fan service laden Food Wars began in April of 2015, and instantly found a wide audience on Crunchyroll, an anime streaming service that achieved over 750,000 paying subscribers by the end of the year. Death Parade and Assassination Classroom – two touching anime with insanely violent premises – also made their first appearances. Whether you wanted to watch people have foodgasms, or just wanted to cry, 2015 was a great year for anime. Notable releases: • Death Parade • Assassination Classroom • Food Wars • One Punch Man • My Love Story!!

    82% upvoted
  5. 5

    2016

    In 2016, new series pushed anime's subject matter into exciting uncharted territory. Yuri!!! on Ice proved queer love stories could enjoy mainstream success, while Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu demonstrated how a historical drama about a form of Japanese storytelling could be compelling in the West. Meanwhile, My Hero Academia combined tropes from older shonen anime with American superheroes to create a one-of-a-kind superhero story. Notable releases: • ERASED • Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu • My Hero Academia • Mob Psycho 100 • Yuri!!! on Ice

    82% upvoted
  6. 6

    2013

    Attack on Titan is ubiquitous. Thanks in part to its prime placement on streaming services like Netflix, pretty much everyone has at least heard of the series, so it's easy to forget that it released in 2013. That same year, The Devil is a Part-Timer! – one of the best short anime series – debuted, and Free! Iwatobi Swim Club proved Kyoto Animation could make some quality fan service for teenage girls. Several niche series also came out, such as Silver Spoon, which examines life at an agricultural high school with the expert plotting and characterization you'd expect from the people who wrote Fullmetal Alchemist. Notable releases: • Attack on Titan • Free! Iwatobi Swim Club • The Devil is a Part-Timer! • Silver Spoon • My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU

    81% upvoted
  7. 7

    1998

    So many timeless anime premiered in 1998, from cult classics to must-see staples. In April of that year, Cardcaptors Sakura, Trigun, and Cowboy Bebop all released within a few days of each other. Even non-anime fans are probably aware of some of these shows, as all three were syndicated for American cartoon blocks like WB Kids and Toonami. The heavy hitters didn't let up as spring turned to summer. In early July, Serial Experiments Lain – one of the strangest anime of all time – came out, and on the July 11, Satoshi Kon made his full-length directorial debut with the captivating psychological thriller Perfect Blue. Notable releases: • Perfect Blue • Cowboy Bebop • Trigun • Cardcaptor Sakura • Serial Experiments Lain

    80% upvoted
  8. 8

    1997

    Pokémon, a gateway anime for countless American children, first appeared in 1997. If you're under 30, you've probably seen several hundred episodes of the various series, played the games, and collected all the amazingly detailed Burger King toys. While no other series caught the public's eye quite like Pokémon, several other beloved (if less commercially successful) anime also released in 1997. Berserk was adapted from its source manga, and Revolutionary Girl Utena (the most dramatic anime about a pink haired lesbian prince you will ever watch) also came out. Notable releases: • Revolutionary Girl Utena • Slayers Try • Princess Mononoke • Pokémon • Berserk

    80% upvoted
  9. 9

    2002

    Back in 2002, broadcast television was the easiest place to find anime series. The internet existed, but it wasn't a fast or reliable way to watch shows. People bought their favorite series on video, but that often entailed lengthy import times or haggling with shady eBay bootleggers. Because of this, many of 2002's best shows – such as Princess Tutu – were sleeper hits that reached peak popularity when anime accessibility increased in later years. However, some shows – like Naruto and Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex – managed to achieve mainstream success through TV syndication. Notable releases: • RahXephon • Azumanga Daioh • Princess Tutu • Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex • Naruto

    79% upvoted
  10. 10

    2011

    2011 was an absolute monster of a year in terms of creative anime. Fans were treated to everything from deconstructed magical girl narratives, to time travel based tragedy, to a story about the son of Satan learning how to exorcize demons. Due to budget cuts, anime seasons were noticeably shorter than they'd been in years past. If Puella Magi Madoka Magica had released 10 years prior, it would be significantly longer than 12 episodes. In a world filled with recessions and internet piracy, not every series can run for years on end. Despite having fewer resources, many of the shows released in 2011 are still amazingly memorable. Notable releases: • Puella Magi Madoka Magica • Steins;Gate • Blue Exorcist • Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day • Chihayafuru

    79% upvoted