Anime never rests, and neither do we, which is why we’re running down our top anime picks for the next 12 months…
Top anime picks for winter
Winter season is well underway, and there’s a trio of top anime choices for you to enjoy during the cold months. Sakamoto Days feels like a mix of John Wick and Spy x Family, but far, far sillier. Retired hitman Tarou Sakamoto runs a convenience store with his family, but the past has caught up with him, and it all kicks off. It’s very goofy, but a whole lot of fun and a lovely way to start the year.
We’ve also got Solo Leveling season two, and with all the season one preamble out of the way, things are going off. We liked season one a lot, but we are loving season two, and this is a must-watch for action fans.
Finally, we’re also sampling Zenshu – a light and bright isekai set in the world of protagonist Natsuko Hirose’s favourite anime, where she ends up after dying to some very gone-off clams. It’s a very easygoing show so far, and while it’s feeling a little formulaic, we’re enjoying ourselves. It’s worth a look, for sure.
Top anime picks for spring
Spring has a couple of big hitters that we are definitely interested in. We’ve got Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers, which is based on the extremely popular fighting game series. The show is set in a world where humans fought against biological weapons of their own creation, the Gears, and the show promises an intriguing story featuring the games’ huge cast of characters. How accessible it will be to Guilty Gear newcomers will be the big test, but it’s got potential.
The big spring show is unquestionably Lazarus. Teaming up Shinichirou Watanabe, director responsible for iconic shows such as Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, with anime masters MAPPA, this sci-fi action thriller is looking like it’s going to be just a bit special. Do not miss this one.
Top anime picks for summer
Keep your summer schedule clear because it’s absolutely packed with sensational-looking shows. We’ve got second seasons for Kaiju No. 8 and Dandadan, plus the second cour of Sakamoto Days.
The big hitter here is The Summer Hikaru Died – this supernatural horror looks disturbing, mysterious, and creepy as all hell, and we can’t wait.
Top anime picks for autumn
Autumn feels far away, but time will fly by when you’re looking forward to season three of Spy x Family, which promises more goofy spy high jinks with Loid Forger, his assassin wife Yor Forger and their psychic adopted daughter, Anya.
We’ve also got the long-awaited final season of long-running superhero show My Hero Academia, and fans will be hyped to see their much-loved show come to its thrilling conclusion.
That’s not all… the best anime of 2025?
Finally, we’ve got three more offerings that we are insanely hyped for in 2025. The first of these is the potential return of One Punch Man. Season one was absolutely outstanding, and made its disappointing second season feel like the biggest fumble in anime history. Now, six years on, the anime world waits with bated breath to see if season three turns up and, if it does, if it can deliver the One Punch Man we all want.
Chainsaw Man exploded onto our screens in 2022 and gave us one of the most intense anime experiences of modern times before disappearing, with only little hints and teasers of what might come next. Well, now, finally, we know it’s Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, hitting screens in 2025, and it looks insane. We’ve read the manga, so we know what’s coming, and all we’re going to say is you’re not ready.
Finally, three words: Witch Hat Atelier. Based on the much-loved, award-winning fantasy manga (Frieren, is that you…?), Witch Hat Atelier promises to be this year’s Frieren. It follows Coco, who has always dreamed of being a witch, and finally gets the chance to delve into the world of magic, but all is not as it seems, and her story and this tale will be filled with drama and its fair share of tragedy. Witch Hat Atelier looks absolutely magical in every sense of the word, and we’re calling it now – we reckon this will be our anime of 2025. There, we said it. Now we just have to wait and see!
Want to know our top anime picks of 2024? Find out who made the cut here.