Welcome to ResetEra's fourth Anime of the Year (AOTY) voting thread. This thread allows us to look back on the various anime's that came out in the year of 2020. We use this thread to celebrate those that stood out in the crowed rabble of the medium that is anime. As well as to help guide both newcomers and veterans of the medium towards interesting anime, they may have heard of but haven't delved into that came out this year.
For better or worse anime can be a difficult medium to get into. Whether it be from the lack of knowledge of what shows are out there; to certain stereotypes (both true and falsely equated ones) associated with anime as a medium making one uncertain if they want to try it out. The overall goal of these community AOTY voting/results threads are to both celebrate the quality works of the year, while also being a reference in helping someone find a better example of the medium to watch.
This year in particular was a tough one for the industry as a result of COVID-19. With this thread we can in a small way honor and highlight all the work the people in the industry did to provide us with incredible new stories. Perhaps in bringing some of these shows to the attention of a wider audience we can help the industry move forward into a new better year.
Please read the rules below, failure to comply with the rules can lead to part or all of your ballot being disqualified. If you are uncertain about any aspects of the rules, please PM me and I'll do my best to clarify on the subject.
Voting Rules
Cut-Off:
The vote will be closing on March 10th, 2021 at 11:59PM EST. Any vote posted or editing of previously posted vote after said time will not be counted.
Categories:
This year we are changing things up a little bit! There will be three main categories for AOTY:
Anime Series of the year – Top 10
Anime Movie/OVA of the year – Top 5
Hidden Gem Anime Series -- Top 3
The purpose of the Hidden Gem category is to allow more shows to get a spotlight. I have noticed that there is a correlation between popularity and placement in the final tally, leaving many excellent shows relegated to obscurity. The expectation here is that folks should provide a more detailed description for their picks, highlighting the show's merits. DO NOT Abuse this category, i.e. do not put shows here that are widely known and watched by the community. I reserve the right to invalidate entries that do not go along with the spirit of this category.
Example of shows that do not qualify for Hidden Gem:
-Haikyu!!
-Kaguya-sama: Love is War
-My Hero Academia
You will be able to vote up to 10 TV Shows, up to 5 Movies/OVA, and up to 3 hidden gems TV Shows. You can include any number of Honorable Mentions. Honorable Mentions can be shows/Movies/OVA from this year that didn't make the list, as well as any anime you watched in 2020 that may of not came out in 2020 but you felt others would enjoy. When listing Honorable Mentions, please include the words Honorable Mentions above said list so we don't accidentally confuse them for your main voting ballot.
Eligibility:
Anime Series – Any series that was broadcasted in Japan in 2020 can be included on your list. This also includes long running shows that started prior to 2020 like One Piece. As well as, multi-course shows from 2019 (Like Chihayafuru); which started in Fall of 2019 but also ran in Winter + Spring of 2020. Also eligible are ONA shows that dropped all at once (usually via Netflix) in 2020. Any show that began in 2021 is not allowed.
There is one exception to the aired in 2020 rule: If a Netflix anime that originally broadcasted in 2019 in Japan but was stuck in Netflix jail for the west. If Netflix did not release said anime in your region until 2020, then you may include in your top 10 list.
Anime Movie/OVA – Due to the nature of how Movies/OVAs are distributed, the rules for this section differ from the TV shows. If a Movie/OVA released in Japan in 2020 you may include it in your list. If a Movie/OVA became available in your territory in 2020, you can include it in your list. Any work that can viewed via a film festival screening / theoretical screening / or was released for the first time on home media in 2020 is eligible.
Not Anime/Fake Anime/ Etc... – If it's not anime you can't vote on it, only Japanese productions. Any western produced shows animated by Japanese studios are not allowed either.
The exclusion of other countries works is not to be elitist, nor to belittle the animated works of other countries. This thread's purpose is to focus on Anime and the quality works produced this year from the medium. Though you can't include non-Japanese produced works in your list, please feel free to include them in your Honorable Mentions section.
Voting Format:
All votes should look like this format:
Please check the below example before posting your list. Thank you!
Anime TV Series
1. Series A - Your thoughts on Series A.
2. Series B - Your thoughts on Series B.
3. Series C - Your thoughts on Series C.
4. Series D - Your thoughts on Series D.
5. Series E - Your thoughts on Series E.
6. Series F - Your thoughts on Series F.
7. Series G - Your thoughts on Series G.
8. Series H - Your thoughts on Series H.
9. Series I - Your thoughts on Series I.
10. Series J - Your thoughts on Series J.
Anime Movie/OVA Series
1. Film/OVA A - Your thoughts on Film/OVA A.
2. Film/OVA B - Your thoughts on Film/OVA B.
3. Film/OVA C - Your thoughts on Film/OVA C.
4. Film/OVA D - Your thoughts on Film/OVA D.
5. Film/OVA E - Your thoughts on Film/OVA E.
Hidden Gem Anime TV Series
1. Hidden Gem Series A - Your thoughts on Hidden Gem Series A.
2. Hidden Gem Series B - Your thoughts on Hidden Gem Series B.
3. Hidden Gem Series C - Your thoughts on Hidden Gem Series C.
Honorable Mention
x. Honorable mention - Your thoughts on it.
Remember to get your votes in before the deadline of March 10th, 2021 at 11:59 EST. Also, once again if you have any questions please PM me.
Have fun writing up your lists and watching through your anime backlog to get your list finalized! Good luck, everyone!
For better or worse anime can be a difficult medium to get into. Whether it be from the lack of knowledge of what shows are out there; to certain stereotypes (both true and falsely equated ones) associated with anime as a medium making one uncertain if they want to try it out. The overall goal of these community AOTY voting/results threads are to both celebrate the quality works of the year, while also being a reference in helping someone find a better example of the medium to watch.
This year in particular was a tough one for the industry as a result of COVID-19. With this thread we can in a small way honor and highlight all the work the people in the industry did to provide us with incredible new stories. Perhaps in bringing some of these shows to the attention of a wider audience we can help the industry move forward into a new better year.
Please read the rules below, failure to comply with the rules can lead to part or all of your ballot being disqualified. If you are uncertain about any aspects of the rules, please PM me and I'll do my best to clarify on the subject.
Voting Rules
Cut-Off:
The vote will be closing on March 10th, 2021 at 11:59PM EST. Any vote posted or editing of previously posted vote after said time will not be counted.
Categories:
This year we are changing things up a little bit! There will be three main categories for AOTY:
Anime Series of the year – Top 10
Anime Movie/OVA of the year – Top 5
Hidden Gem Anime Series -- Top 3
The purpose of the Hidden Gem category is to allow more shows to get a spotlight. I have noticed that there is a correlation between popularity and placement in the final tally, leaving many excellent shows relegated to obscurity. The expectation here is that folks should provide a more detailed description for their picks, highlighting the show's merits. DO NOT Abuse this category, i.e. do not put shows here that are widely known and watched by the community. I reserve the right to invalidate entries that do not go along with the spirit of this category.
Example of shows that do not qualify for Hidden Gem:
-Haikyu!!
-Kaguya-sama: Love is War
-My Hero Academia
You will be able to vote up to 10 TV Shows, up to 5 Movies/OVA, and up to 3 hidden gems TV Shows. You can include any number of Honorable Mentions. Honorable Mentions can be shows/Movies/OVA from this year that didn't make the list, as well as any anime you watched in 2020 that may of not came out in 2020 but you felt others would enjoy. When listing Honorable Mentions, please include the words Honorable Mentions above said list so we don't accidentally confuse them for your main voting ballot.
Eligibility:
Anime Series – Any series that was broadcasted in Japan in 2020 can be included on your list. This also includes long running shows that started prior to 2020 like One Piece. As well as, multi-course shows from 2019 (Like Chihayafuru); which started in Fall of 2019 but also ran in Winter + Spring of 2020. Also eligible are ONA shows that dropped all at once (usually via Netflix) in 2020. Any show that began in 2021 is not allowed.
There is one exception to the aired in 2020 rule: If a Netflix anime that originally broadcasted in 2019 in Japan but was stuck in Netflix jail for the west. If Netflix did not release said anime in your region until 2020, then you may include in your top 10 list.
Anime Movie/OVA – Due to the nature of how Movies/OVAs are distributed, the rules for this section differ from the TV shows. If a Movie/OVA released in Japan in 2020 you may include it in your list. If a Movie/OVA became available in your territory in 2020, you can include it in your list. Any work that can viewed via a film festival screening / theoretical screening / or was released for the first time on home media in 2020 is eligible.
Not Anime/Fake Anime/ Etc... – If it's not anime you can't vote on it, only Japanese productions. Any western produced shows animated by Japanese studios are not allowed either.
The exclusion of other countries works is not to be elitist, nor to belittle the animated works of other countries. This thread's purpose is to focus on Anime and the quality works produced this year from the medium. Though you can't include non-Japanese produced works in your list, please feel free to include them in your Honorable Mentions section.
Voting Format:
All votes should look like this format:
- Akudama Drive -- An Incredibly animated cyberpunk story, delivering incredible world building and gorgeous fights.
- Chihayafuru S3 – The third season in poem reading, card smashing, sports anime. It continues to be peerless.
- Moriarty the Patriot – A brilliantly directed take on the famous detective nemesis in his quest to break down the burn down the corrupt establishment...by all means necessary.
- Jutsu Kaisen – A shonen show that rises above others with incredible animation, perfect comedy, and interesting world building.
- Fruit Basket S2– The continuation of the gut wrenching tale of a bunch of cursed animal children being abused and their depressed friend...it's good I promise.
- Deca-Dence – The epic quest of a robot to take back control from an unjust system, perhaps the mirror our society needs right now.
- Talentless Nana– The children of my hero academia get an unexpected visitor....things escalate dramatically.
- Hands Off Eizouken – A trip through the creative process of creating anime. With an emphasis in the creative aspect, the show creates an incredible sense of wonderment.
- Kaguya-sama: Love is War – Our boy Ishigami gets the spotlight and it is glorious.
- Woodpecker's Detective Agency – A bleak tale of a poet's life as he wrestles with the cruelty of the world against his childish idealism. What will he do to make use of his last days.
- Please have your list numbered in the same way as show above. Do not do 10 to 1, if done that way your ballot may be tossed. A visual example of what not to do will be shown below.
- Please do not include a Power Gap. If you only have 5 shows you want to list simply list them 1-5, do not do 1-3 (POWER GAP) 9-10. If included your ballot may be tossed, an "Eye Catching" visual example of the power gap will be included below.
- Please include a comment about each show for your ballot to counted. You don't have to write an essay (you can though), a few words on why this show appealed to you will suffice.
- Please use the English name of the show when listing your shows in your list. The English name is the one that the streaming service like Crunchyroll/HIDIVE/Etc. use on their platform. Also, please use the full name of the show, do not use nicknames/shortened names like MHA4 for My Hero Academia Season 4 or FFS2 for Fire Force Season 2. You can include the Japanese name after the English name inside ( ).
- For shows that have multiple seasons that aren't continuous like Attack on Titan, please include Season # after the title. This can either be done as Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2, Attack on Titan S3 P2 or Attack on Titan (Season 3 Part 2), either of these ways are acceptable. The one exception to this rule is if a show has had multiple upon multiple seasons like Pokemon, there is no need to shove a (Season 10) after said titles. Note here Attack on Titan is used as a 2019 example here.
- For any show that had multiple seasons in the year of 2020, the show for both seasons must be included in a single ballot vote on your list.
- Please do not post open, un-tagged spoilers anywhere in this thread.
- Please do not do a 'Reserve' post to hold a spot in a thread to eventually post your ballot. There is no need to do this, just post your ballot when you are finished writing it.
- You can edit your ballot until the deadline passes.
- Feel free to include images to your ballot, please try to avoid using too many gifs and make sure your images are well formatted.
- Points are in descending order, with your #1 being worth 10 points, your #2 being worth 9 points and so on until your #10 which is worth 1 point. For films your #1 is worth 5 points and your #5 worth 1 point. For Hidden Gems we will do #1 being worth 10 points, #2 5 points, and #3 2 points.
Please check the below example before posting your list. Thank you!
Anime TV Series
1. Series A - Your thoughts on Series A.
2. Series B - Your thoughts on Series B.
3. Series C - Your thoughts on Series C.
4. Series D - Your thoughts on Series D.
5. Series E - Your thoughts on Series E.
6. Series F - Your thoughts on Series F.
7. Series G - Your thoughts on Series G.
8. Series H - Your thoughts on Series H.
9. Series I - Your thoughts on Series I.
10. Series J - Your thoughts on Series J.
Anime Movie/OVA Series
1. Film/OVA A - Your thoughts on Film/OVA A.
2. Film/OVA B - Your thoughts on Film/OVA B.
3. Film/OVA C - Your thoughts on Film/OVA C.
4. Film/OVA D - Your thoughts on Film/OVA D.
5. Film/OVA E - Your thoughts on Film/OVA E.
Hidden Gem Anime TV Series
1. Hidden Gem Series A - Your thoughts on Hidden Gem Series A.
2. Hidden Gem Series B - Your thoughts on Hidden Gem Series B.
3. Hidden Gem Series C - Your thoughts on Hidden Gem Series C.
Honorable Mention
x. Honorable mention - Your thoughts on it.
Remember to get your votes in before the deadline of March 10th, 2021 at 11:59 EST. Also, once again if you have any questions please PM me.
Have fun writing up your lists and watching through your anime backlog to get your list finalized! Good luck, everyone!
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