ResetEra Anime of Year 2017 - Voting Thread (READ THE OP) [Ends Midnight January 31 UTC]

[Jexhius]

Welcome to ResetEra's first Anime of the Year (AOTY) voting thread. This is our venue for looking back on the last year in anime and celebrating the works which stand out from the rest. The idea isn't just to crown winners, but also to help guide others towards better anime. Anime isn't the easiest thing to get into or to follow, so we hope that this thread will point people towards the better examples in the medium.

The official rules are below. Please consider them carefully before voting, as failure to comply will likely lead to your ballot being disqualified.

Voting Rules

Cut-Off:
The vote closes on 31/01/2018 23:59 UTC. No votes cast after this deadline will be eligible. You can find a countdown over here.

Categories:
Anime of the Year comprises two different voting categories:

Anime Series of the year - Top 10
Anime Movie/OVA of the year - Top 5

You may vote for up 10 TV shows. You may vote for up to 5 Movies/OVAs. You may include any number of Honourable Mentions if you have any additional anime that you want to highlight.

Eligibility:
Anime Series - Any series that was broadcast in Japan in 2017. This includes shows that began in 2016, long running shows that had a new season in 2017, shows distributed via the internet and shows which did not finish by the end of 2017. Nothing from 2018 is eligible (Sorry, Devilman Crybaby!).

Anime Movie/OVA - Due to multiplicity of distribution options available, you may chose any Movie/OVA that became available in your territory during 2017. So any work that could be viewed via a festival film screening / theatrical screening / or that was released for the first timed on homed media in 2017 is eligible.

Not Anime/Fake Anime/Anime Ja Nai - If it's not anime, it is not eligible for this vote - Japanese productions only. This means no American/French/Korean/Chinese etc productions. It also means Western productions animated by Japanese studios (such as Neo Yokio) are not valid. It also means Western productions animated by French studios, such as The Red Turtle, are ineligible.

This is not meant to disparage animated works created in other countries - it's just outside the remit of the this tread. By all means, if you want to highlight any of these works please feel free to in your Honourable Mentions. Great works of animation could always do more with more exposure to a wider audience!

Voting Format:
Your vote SHOULD look like this:

1. Land of the Lustrous - The most surprising, beautiful and well produced anime of the year.
2. Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju - A masterfully told story about masters telling stories.
3. Girls' Last Tour - The end of the world has never felt so cozy.
   
4. Made in Abyss - Despite its flaws this was one the most powerful experiences of the year.
5. KONOSUBA - God's blessing on this wonderful world! 2 - I've never seem a comedy series improve so much between seasons. An amazing production all round.
   
6. Scum's Wish - A rare anime series about people in relationships that reflects messy reality of life.
7. Attack on Titan (Season Two) - They actually fixed everything that was wrong in original series.
   
8. Ai-Mai-Mi Surgical Friends - This is the kind of fast paced, insane comedy I can support.
9. Little Witch Academia - A story of how these little witches became little women.
10. The Eccentric Family 2 - Not quite as good as the original, but still a solid series that explores the intersection of Japanese myth and family squabbles.

• Please include a comment on your ballot to ensure it is counted. No essays are required! Just a few words about your list.
  
• All list should be numbered as per the above examples.
  
• You can use anything to break between a bolded anime title and your comment. Hyphens, semi-colons, colons, etc.
• For works like Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia etc that, for whatever, reason re-use the name of the previous season, please include Season 2 (or 3 or whatever is appropriate) after the official English name to help differentiate them from the previous season. As example of this would be Attack on Titan: Season 2.
• Any anime TV series that has multiple seasons airing within the same calendar year can be amalgamated into a single ballot entry. So you can have "March Comes in like a Lion Season 1 + 2" as a single ballot entry.
  
• You can edit your ballot up until the deadline.
  
• Please do not post open, un-tagged spoilers.
  
• Please do not 'Reserve' posts to hold your ballot until later. This just clogs up the entire thread. Wait until you have your ballot ready to go.

• Please feel free to include images, but make sure they are formatted in a way that doesn't detract from the readability of the thread.
  
• Points are assigned starting from 10, decreasing with rank. So, 10 points for #1, 9 points for #2, etc. Points start from 5 for Films/OVAs.
  
• If you wish include anything beyond the Top 10 Anime TV Series, and Top 5 Movies/OVAs you are free to do so, but please note these will not be scored. Also please clearly separate them your actual votes.

Example Template
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.

Honourable Mention
x. Honorable mention - Your thoughts on it.

If you have any questions please PM me.

Just to remind you again, the cut-off is 31/01/2018 23:59 UTC.

Good luck, everyone!

 

[Thuddert]

1. Pingu in the City - The greatest anime of all time got a sequel.

2. Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju - The end of the damned fairy tale.

3. Tiger Mask W - That 80's show you always wanted back.

4. March Comes Like A Lion (Season 2) - Bullies get wrecked.

5. Attack on Titan (Season 2) - Everyone waiting for that moment when the anime directors chose to abandon Eren and focus more on potato girl is a good season.

 

[erd]

Not Anime/Fake Anime/Anime Ja Nai - If it's not anime, it is not eligible for this vote. This means no Western animation. It also means Western productions animated by Japanese Studios (such as Neo Yokio) are not valid. It also means Western productions animated by French Studios, such as The Red Turtle, are ineligible.

Click to shrink...

So is King's Avatar eligible or not? It's not western, but it's also not Japanese, which makes this elaboration a bit unclear.

 

[SliceSabre]

Anime TV Series:

1. Kemono Friends - I actually didn't give this show a chance when I first saw it, just looked like another bad CG anime. But a certain cat's posts about it got me to give it a second chance. Now that bad CG is actually a charming characteristic. I loved meeting a new animal aka 'Friend' each episode and them showcasing a particular quirk they had, the little segments in between that gave you facts about said animal, the characters were amusing and had a varieties of personalities, ending out more about this world/park they lived in and while the overall plot of the show was simple it did go places I didn't expect at the end.
2. Made in Abyss - Don't let the cute designs fool you, Made in Abyss is not a kiddy show and at times can be hard to watch for some. That said it is one of my favorite adventure tales yet and tickled the Etrian Odyssey fan in me as well.
3. Land of the Lustrous - A combination of good CG and a great tale about one Gem's quest to find her purpose and to help a friend.
   
4. Eromanga Sensei - Every episode had me smiling and laughing. Only for true anime connoisseurs.
5. Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid - You might think this is a silly story about a dragon living with a over-worked IT specialist, but it's actually a hearting warming story about friends, family and a overworked IT specialist living with dragons.
6. Girls' Last Tour - Despite the cute look of the two main characters, Girls' Last Tour can be a rather sobering look at humanity as these girls travel the barren wasteland simply trying to survive and look out for one another. At times cute, hopeful and silly and others dark and depressing, this show is one of the must watches of the year.
7. Owarimonogatari Second Season - It is hard for me to go to deep into this without spoiling, but I will say if you like Ougi and love this series, you'll love this season.
   
8. Sakura Quest - A rare anime about a group of mostly 20-something young women trying to help bring visitors to their small town and a main character how is still trying to find her way in life. This turned out to be a surprisingly mature anime about people in various stages of their life and how they're dealing with their issues. Not the most exciting show but the characters are very well developed and the town they live in is very endearing.
   
9. Gabriel DropOut - Satania ia best demon and best girl. All other should bow before her, the Satania bullying must STOP.
   
10. Urara Meirocho - Sometimes you just need cute girls doing cute things and that's what this show was for me.

Honorable Mentions: KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! 2, The Saga of Tanya the Evil, Frame Arms Girl, My Hero Academia 2, Aho Girl, Fate/Apocrypha

Hope I got the format right.

 

[Messofanego]

Nothing from 2018 is eligible (Sorry, Devilman Crybaby!).

Click to shrink...

 

[Jexhius]

So is King's Avatar eligible or not? It's not western, but it's also not Japanese, which makes this elaboration a bit unclear.

Click to shrink...

That is a Chinese production and therefore ineligible.

I'll update the rule to help clarify.

 

[Kansoku]

Question. Can I count the second half of 3gatsu no Lion and the first half of season 2 as one?

 

[FriendlyNPC]

No offense man, but do we really need that many rules. I think you are overshooting there.

TV:

1. Made in Abyss: An emotional rollercoaster with jaw dropping visuals and a stellar OST. Letting its world breath it weaves together a densely atmospheric tale with strong, memorable characters. Worldbuilding par excellence. One for the ages.
   
2. KonoSuba Season 2: I wish there was more shows like this around. Takes isekai and makes it fun again.
   
3. Attack on Titan Season 2: Good fun that lacked a bit of the intensity of S1. That's more due to the source material not being as strong though, so what can you do. Technically speaking, a lot better than season 1.
4. Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: Lean back and smile anime of the year. Delightfully boring.

Movies/OVAS:

• None: I did watch A Silent Voice and the new Blame! movie but don't think they deserve a spot on my best of Year X list. Now that I think about it A Silent Voice was actually 2016 :(.

Looks like I didn't watch a whole lot of anime this year *shrugs*. I did watch some additional stuff like My Hero Academia Season 2 but again, I don't think it deserves a spot on my list. Still need to watch stuff like Land of the Lustrous, Ancient Magus Bride, Girls' Last Tour and 3gatsu no Lion, though I doubt any of those will have the same impact on me as Made in Abyss.

 

[munchie64]

Anime TV Series
1. Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju Season 2 - Some of the best writing in anime this decade. Wonderful characters and amazing standout sequences that always tie back into the narrative - just as good as season 1.
2. Land of the Lustrous - The best looking CGI anime ever with a creative world and fun, if simple story.
3. March Comes Like a Lion Season 1+ 2 - Just got done watching and it's fascinating how well, like with rakugo, that a simple topic is used to thematically explore a cast of great characters.
4. Attack on Titan Season 2 - Maybe this shouldn't be this high, but how much this series improved and grew in my eyes after the first season is insane.
5. Made in Abyss - Some of the stuff done with the kids made me uncomfortable (and not in a good way), but the worldbuilding, design, music, art, characters and deep-rooted horror storytelling made this one of the greats.
6. My Hero Academia Season 2 - Again, a massively improved second season that made the world, side characters and villains feel a lot more tangible than before.
7. Konosuba Season 2 - Not only does the comedy keep on being great, but we also got some genuinely touching looks into other characters this time around. The only problem is that the main plot refused to budge.
8. Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid - Despite many misgivings about the way certain characters are treated (mainly children ffs), it's impossible to deny how well the family dynamic in this show worked for me. Add in a great protagonist and KyoAni magic and you got a winner.
9. Recovery of an MMO Junkie - Just a fun series with a relatable adult protagonist and an enjoyable supporting cast. Better love story than Twilight and better MMO story than Sword Art Online.
10. Re:Creators - Big dumb action with enough meta-commentary and tributes to some amazing/some not-so-amazing anime tropes and series to give it an edge over other series like it.

Movies
1. Your Name - An obvious choice but a good one. The fact that the massive plot holes don't detract from the story shows how well put together it is.
2. A Silent Voice - A fantastically directed adaptation of a story that would be fairly hard to adapt.

Honourable Mentions
Princess Principal - Great stand-alone stories in an interesting world. A little more payoff would've be nice.
Sakura Quest - Good SoL about working adults, but dragged a little in the middle.
Little Witch Academia - Fun world with a real originality which I love from Trigger, but designed for probably a different (mainly younger) audience than me. Yes, I know how much shonen I watch.
Dragon Ball Super - What turned out to be the shows final arc has been great fun. Full of character and nostalgia.
Neo Yokio - Sorry OP, this is anime in its purest form.

Edited to be a little more serious :P

 

[Jexhius]

Question. Can I count the second half of 3gatsu no Lion and the first half of season 2 as one?

Click to shrink...

Yes you can.

• Any anime TV series that has multiple seasons airing within the same calendar year can be amalgamated into a single ballot entry. So you can have "March Comes in like a Lion Season 1 + 2" as a single ballot entry.

 

[Ushay]

1. Berserk .. Kidding! Here is my actual list. Bear in mind I haven't really managed to see many in 2017.

1. Castlevania (Netflix) - This was the biggest surprise for me in 2017. Not only was it well told (despite how short it was) its beautifully animated too. Let's hope they can maintain the quality for the next season.
2. My Hero Academy S2 - This series continues to be my new favourite anime, the animation and characterisation is all very good.
3. Attack on Titan S2 - ATOT is still just as gruesome and tense as the first season.
4. BLAME! (Netflix) - Cyberpunk in a post apocalyptic world, with strong Matrix vibes. This movie made me want a season or sequels even more.
5. Made in Abyss - Don't let the cuteness fool, this was a pretty mature take on storytelling with some excellent animation.
6. Inuyashiki - I really liked the dynamic between the protagonist and antagonist, not your typical shounen fare either.
7. Blood Blockade Battle & Beyond - The story is whacky and weird, but the animation is stellar.
8. Ajin Demi Human (Netflix) - Great storytelling and one of the few anime that manages to do 3D animation right.

 

[Jexhius]

No offense man, but do we really need that many rules. I think you are overshooting there.

Click to shrink...

Hey, thanks for contributing! I know it seems like a lot of rules but after doing these kinds of threads for a few years we've found that it runs smoother when we have this kind of guidance in place.

 

[Ascheroth]

Anime TV Series
1. Land of the Lustrous ; That was an easy AOTY decision. Best looking CGI anime I've ever seen. A beautiful show in a fascinating world.
2. Made in Abyss ; Some of the most harrowing episodes I've ever seen set in a fascinating world. Now if it only didn't have those creepy aspects...
3. KonoSuba ; God's blessing on this wonderful world! Season 2 ; Step up from the first season in every way. Hilarious.
4. Digimon Universe: Appli Monsters ; I have some issues with the CG and pacing towards the end and the utterly horrible sound design during the Digivolution/Link sequences, but as a whole this ended up as one of my favorite Digimon shows with a great cast and maybe the most competent villain in all of them.
5. Senki Zesshō Symphogear AXZ ; It's Symphogear.
6. ID-0 ; Didn't like some of the character designs, but this was a fast-paced and all around intriguing sci-fi story.
7. My Hero Academia Season 2 ; This too was a step up from the first season in every way.
8. WorldEnd: What do you do at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save us? ; it's technically nothing special but I really enjoyed it.
9. Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond ; While not as well directed as the first season, Hellsalem's Lot is just such a crazy setting full with fun characters.

Anime Movie/OVA Series
1. Blame! - The Megastructure is one of my favorite worlds ever.

Honorable Mention: The King's Avatar: It might not be eligible but who cares. Eridani does a better job explaining why than I ever could, so read that ↓

 

[erd]

1. Land of the Lustrous ; Definitely the most surprising show this year, and what an incredible surprise it is. It starts off pretty underwhelmingly, seemingly being yet another show focusing on a cute cast and the interactions between them, but quickly evolves into something much more serious and much more interesting. The focus on the main character's struggles to find purpose in life is great, and approached from an angle that's quite different from most anime. This all culminates in an amazing climax, that is by far the best thing I've seen in anime this year.

It's also by far the most beautiful show this year, with incredible framing and cinematography. It's well worth a watch for that alone.

2. Magical Circle Guru Guru 2017 ; This is another great surprise. A fast paced comedy that constantly keeps coming up with the most bizarre and the most incredibly funny jokes, rarely ever stopping to catch its breath. It's the most consistently funny show I've watched this year, and some of the jokes are just downright incredible.

But even more impressively, it manages to tell a surprisingly sweet story. An actual romance plot in anime that never devolves into being creepy but remains adorable throughout is something I thought I'd never see, but here it is, in some random RPG parody comedy show.

It's also by far the cutest show in the entire history of anime. Seriously, if you're the kind of person who likes watching shows just because they are cute and you haven't seen this yet, you're missing out. Like, everyone else making shows like that might as well just give up, because there's no way they are ever matching this. It single-handedly obsoletes an entire genre of anime. That's how good this show is.

3. KONOSUBA - God's blessing on this wonderful world! 2 ; Take Guru Guru, replace the cuteness with lewd humor, make every character an asshole, and you get Konosuba. Another incredible comedy, but this time most of the humor comes from the cast being assholes to each other, and damn are there some hilarious scenes. Episode 4 is probably the hardest I've laughed at an anime, which is really impressive.

The main thing I'd like to highlight here is the comedic animation and the visual humor. This is worth highlighting because most comedy anime rarely uses it (which is a real shame), and Konosuba is absolutely full of it. The OP is a good example of this, with most scenes managing to be funny without any dialogue whatsoever, and when it's used in the actual show, it brings the comedy to a whole new level.

It's also the most improved season of any show. I thought the first season was pretty average, but the second one is pretty much non-stop hilarious. It's honestly hard to believe a single show can improve that much.

4. Attack on Titan (Season Two) ; I'm honestly not much of a fan of this show. I'm putting it this high solely because of a single reason - that scene. If you watched the show you probably know what I mean, but if you haven't I can only say it's the most hilarious, out-of-nowhere, unexpected twist in anime history. How the manga author had the balls to reveal something that fans were really into in such a way is honestly unbelievable, and makes for the single most hilarious scene this year.

Seriously, this shit was better than the legendarily stupid twist in Code Geass - a twist so hilariously nonsensical that it almost single-handedly made that show incredible, and Attack on Titan manages to surpass it. If that doesn't deserve a mention I don't know what does.

5. Tsuredure Children ; From here, it's sadly a bit downhill, as most shows this year really did not impress me. Tsuredure (or Tsurezure, who knows) children makes it to number five by being a sweet, funny comedy whose short run-time ensures it remains entertaining throughout. It's not particularly great, but it's a fun way to spend a couple of hours.

6. Garo -Vanishing Line- ; About the most praise I can give most of the new Garo is that it's a serviceable action show with a likeable (mostly adult!) cast, which is pretty rare to see. What elevates it is a single episode, which features some of the best action this year.

7. Kakegurui ; For all it's faults - and there are many - this show actually manages to be pretty entertaining for a while. The main appeal is seeing absolutely horrible people getting mercilessly destroyed by the protagonist in anime high-stakes gambling. This works mostly because the protagonist is absolutely insane, which makes for some entertaining moments. Sadly, the formula gets pretty stale pretty quickly, but it's entertaining while it lasts.

8. My Hero Academia (Season Two) ; This still remains the utterly average shonen show that it was in the first season, but it now also features one of the hypest action set-pieces this year. Mind you, Yuuki Hayashi could probably compose the soundtrack over a blank screen and it would still be hype, so that's not really saying all that much, but with Yutaka Nakamura's glorious animation, the scene really becomes something to behold.

9. The Eccentric Family 2 ; The second season of an incredibly pretty, relaxing, and all-around wonderful show ruined by a terrible cast of characters and unfocused writing. Those faults are still present, and even stronger in some ways, but so are the good parts. So it's worth a shot if you want something pretty.

10. Princess Principal ; Another serviceable action show. It's mostly episodic, which sadly means the interesting "cold-war spies but it's London instead of Berlin" setting is mostly wasted, but it still manages to be mostly fun. It never really elevates itself into something greater, but it's still a fun watch.

And finally, since I'm not going to let something as silly as country of origin stop me from recommending a great show that undoubtedly counts as anime in every other way:

The King's Avatar ; Ok, calling this great might be a bit of a stretch. It's made by an inexperienced team, and it clearly shows. The show lacks polish and the animation is clearly far from the best (and gets reused pretty often). But man does it have a lot of heart. And that's something that's sadly missing all to often in anime - unsurprisingly perhaps, given the incredibly strict schedules, long working hours, and heavy involvement of production committees which results in the same kind of shows appearing all too often.

What immediately caught my eye is the fact that the The King's Avatar focuses on Esports. Not the anime, sci-fi kind of esports that is present in shows like Build Fighters, but plain Honest-to goodness esports. You know, pro teams, people sitting in front of computers, spectators going "his APM is so high!" - these kind of things. And as someone who's watched a lot of esports that's honestly incredible. And it manages to pull off a pretty interesting story around it too, focusing on a disgraced pro trying to rebuild his esports team with a bunch of nobodies.

The second great thing is that it actually manages to pull off the overpowered-protagonist trope in a way that feels great. In pretty much everything else, this trope just manifests in the protagonist being a complete asshole, who really deserves to be knocked down a notch by someone, but everyone knows he won't because he's the protagonist. In The King's Avatar, the protagonist is every bit as overpowered, but it actually works because he's just an overall great dude who just plays the game because he loves it. He's seriously probably the kindest anime protagonist, and seeing him use his power to smack down people talking thrash about the game he loves is always entertaining.

And speaking of that, the cast is seriously great. It's not the deepest, and it is pretty trope-y, but man is it just filled with likeable characters who you can root for. Again, the show has a lot of heart, and that truly shows in its cast.

So yeah, honestly just watch that instead of anything on the list above (bar perhaps the first three shows, those are great).

 

[Deleted member 2802]

1. Vatican Miracle Examiner - Fucked up show, really fucked up
2. Scum's Wish - Bizzare love triangle relationships, really loved the Karaoke song from Narutohttps://youtu.be/vbiMSVUif0Q
3. Black Clover - YAAAA Kinda dogshit but I'm still watching this dumpster fire YAAAAAAAAA
4. Rage of Bahamut (Season 2) - Story is so-so, but awesome ED by DAOKO https://youtu.be/Tw1Imhnw5Yg
   
5. Attack on Titan (Season 2) - Cliffhanger city, got some clues but where is this heading. [Walnut rolls down the street]
6. Food Wars (Season 3) - Shark ---> Jump over the moon

• You may only name an anime by its official English name. No nicknames, no Japanese names, no abbreviations. If you're not sure what name you should use please consult the listing for the anime on ANN. Failure to comply with this rule will mean your ballot will not be counted.

Click to shrink...

 

[Jexhius]

[Redcated]

The King's Avatar ; Ok, calling this great might be a bit of a stretch. It's made by an inexperienced team, and it clearly shows. The show lacks polish and the animation is clearly far from the best (and gets reused pretty often). But man does it have a lot of heart. And that's something that's sadly missing all to often in anime - unsurprisingly perhaps, given the incredibly strict schedules, long working hours, and heavy involvement of production committees which results in the same kind of shows appearing all too often.

What immediately caught my eye is the fact that the The King's Avatar focuses on Esports. Not the anime, sci-fi kind of esports that is present in shows like Build Fighters, but plain Honest-to goodness esports. You know, pro teams, people sitting in front of computers, spectators going "his APM is so high!" - these kind of things. And as someone who's watched a lot of esports that's honestly incredible. And it manages to pull off a pretty interesting story around it too, focusing on a disgraced pro trying to rebuild his esports team with a bunch of nobodies.

The second great thing is that it actually manages to pull off the overpowered-protagonist trope in a way that feels great. In pretty much everything else, this trope just manifests in the protagonist being a complete asshole, who really deserves to be knocked down a notch by someone, but everyone knows he won't because he's the protagonist. In The King's Avatar, the protagonist is every bit as overpowered, but it actually works because he's just an overall great dude who just plays the game because he loves it. He's seriously probably the kindest anime protagonist, and seeing him use his power to smack down people talking thrash about the game he loves is always entertaining.

And speaking of that, the cast is seriously great. It's not the deepest, and it is pretty trope-y, but man is it just filled with likeable characters who you can root for. Again, the show has a lot of heart, and that truly shows in its cast.

So yeah, honestly just watch that instead of anything on the list above (bar perhaps the first three shows, those are great).

Click to shrink...

Great write-up, that certainly sounds like something I should check out!

 

[zulux21]

TV Shows:

1. Made in Abyss

Given the character designs I was ready to write this show off before I even started watching it. The description hinted towards there was going to be more to it than merely a cute show so against my instincts to ignore anything with a Moe design I decided to give this series a watch. I am quite glad I did. While the first few episodes left a bit to be desired quickly the show started gaining my interest between it's interesting world building, great soundtrack, and escalating dangers eventually building to some of the most memorable scenes in anime this decade.
This praise doesn't come without warnings though, as some of the themes present in the series are disturbing (there are some rather graphic scenes), so it can be off putting for some.
That being said even if you don't want to watch the series you should at least check out the soundtrack. There are some great songs in there such as

2. My Hero Academia 2

So as a second season anyone who has seen the first season had a decent idea of what to expect here. This season took everything that was good about the first season and just did it far better. From start to finish this season is a fun watch, and if you are in the mood for a good series aimed at the Shonen demographic I really don't think you can do better than MHA this year.
Much like Made in Abyss this series had a great soundtrack as well

3. Tsuredure Children

So going into this series I had just expected some cute stories involving a bunch of random couples. What I was left with instead was the best comedy of the year. The series ended up reminding me quite a bit of Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, which is rather high praise for me in regards to romantic comedies as both made me laugh a number of times.

4.The Saga of Tanya the Evil

Man, Japanese business men sure have gotten weird looking this year. Alright, so if you didn't know this series is about a shrewd Japanese business man who dies and then reincarnates as a little girl. It sounds stupid I know, but despite that somehow this show ended up being a rather enjoyable series, with some good action and great character moments.

5. Classroom of the Elite

This is basically what you would get if you took Baka & Test - Summon the Beasts and made it into a serious anime instead of a comedy. The idea comes off a bit goofy at times, but the solid cast of characters is what gets this series into the top 5 for me. While you have the fairly typical run of tropes through out the characters, in general they aren't the generic tropes but characters with some actual depth.

6. Attack on Titan Season 2

So after all these years we finally get an Attack on Titan season 2 and the end result was... it was pretty good. I wondered if I should have rewatched all of season 1 before going into season 2 but I felt like I remembered it fairly well. And then it really didn't matter as the season just piled on information about characters we barely knew anything about. It wasn't a bad season, but it didn't nearly have the impact that the first season had.

7. Interviews With Monster Girls

So anyone that knows me knows that I am not a fan of shows focusing on cute girls. My first instinct tends to be KILL IT WITH FIRE instead of, awe how cute. I also tend to have a low tolerance for Slice of Life series, which I think technically this series isn't since SoL is supposed to be about actual life, but this show is totally a Slice of Life series just with fantasy elements. That being said, I looked forward to watching this week by week. The entire cast is actually quite interesting, and the focus of getting to learn about the monster girls held my interest.

8. Recovery of an MMO Junkie

So if I could turn off my brain this series would likely be rated a bit higher. I really enjoyed watching it week by week and it was great to see a 30 year old character as the adorable girl the show was focused on. That being said, while week by week it was adorable and quite enjoyable I can really ignore that this series can easily be called Coincidences the anime. I usually don't have issues suspending my disbelief some, but I would have to build a rocket to get my disbelief suspended enough to accept the coincidences in this series. Despite that it was still a good watch though.

9. Land of the Lustrous

So if I was merely going off the potential and my want to see more of this world this series would be sitting at number 3. You add in the fact that while it's a CG anime, it actually looks good, and the fact that overall it's rather engaging someone might question why I have it all the way down at 9th. I actively know that anime is created in order to push manga series, and in the case of this series it was likely quite effective, I am indeed quite interested in checking out the manga. But due to there not being a good stopping point for 12 episodes the end of the series left a rather sour taste in my mouth. It brought back feelings of when I watched Parasyte -the maxim- where it was going along nicely and then just kind of ended without really having a big climax or answering anything.

10. The Moon is Beautiful (Tsukigakirei)

This one is just a solid romance series without the usual super dramatic stuff. Doesn't do anything amazing but never is bad either.

Honorable Mentions:
The Ancient Magus' Bride - A nice fantasy series, but despite a decent soundtrack, nice art, and characters I like, the pacing is just a tad to slow, and nothing has really gripped me in the series yet.

Gamers! - This series was decently amusing and it was interesting to see how things could be taken the wrong way, but it would be hard to call it good.

KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! 2 - Too much Aqua, not enough explosions. And I am still actively bothered by the fact that there are multiple scenes where a cat is batting around Wiz's breasts. Such a thing isn't funny, it's just actively stupid and makes me want to turn off the series -_-

Movies:
1. A Silent Voice

So I really don't watch many drama movies. I also really don't rewatch drama series in general. After originally posting that I didn't know if I would include this as I didn't know if I would be able to watch it in time, I have actually seen this 3 times now. Despite knowing where it is going, despite it being full of drama. I still really enjoyed it each watch. There is just something rather relatable for me, and how much they are able to express with the character's body language is amazing. It's a well told story, and an instant classic to me.

2. No Game No Life: Zero

Given this hasn't gotten a home video release yet, it's been impossible for me to watch it again to confirm it was as great as I thought it was when I saw it in the theater. Thus why I have to rate it below A Silent Voice. No Game No Life was my 2014 AOTY, I loved the cast and the setting and was excited to see more with it. I was no disappointed. This one is simple. If you watched No Game No Life and enjoyed it, you must see this movie at some point. If you didn't enjoy it, then you should likely never watch this movie. It's a slightly different focus than the series, and doesn't involve the main cast, but it's not game changing either. For me it was just more of a great thing.

3. Sword Art Online the Movie -Ordinal Scale-

So, I will actively still admit that I like Sword Art Online. The movie was a fun watch and overall rekindled what was great about the first season. The writing wasn't perfect, but the action was great. If you at some point enjoyed the first season of Sword Art Online (you know the actual SAO part) you should likely watch this at some point.

4. Your Name

I want to make something very clear, all 4 of these movies are very close in the rankings for me. They all rank among some of the best anime movies I have ever seen. Just because I have Your Name down at 4 doesn't mean I wouldn't highly recommend going to go see it. So in general I have mixed feelings towards Makoto Shinkai. I think he does good work, but I also feel his work uses the same basic formula (lovers who can't be together for some reason but still manage to communicate with each other). A formula that I felt was best done in Voices of a Distant Star where it only took 25 minutes to play out instead of 90 minutes like the rest of his work. I didn't hate his later work, but I didn't really enjoy watching it either because I didn't feel like he was doing anything with his formula that warranted a full length movie.
Your Name once again uses that formula, but unlike the movies that came before it like Place Promised, and 5 Centimeters Per Second which I didn't really feel were worth my time watching I actually felt he improved upon his formula and finally made something that warranted a full length movie. The movie is well animated and overall has a good story. The reason it fell to 4th is merely because there are more points that I felt dragged on a bit, and a few details I would have liked to be defined better instead of left as more of a mystery on how they work. Overall the quality of writing is better than No game No Life or Sword art, but I care more about my enjoyment of a movie than the technical quality of a movie. But again, this is a good movie, and much like A Silent Voice, an instant classic.

 

[Turin Turambar]

No offense man, but do we really need that many rules. I think you are overshooting there.

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While they seem tons of rules, most of them are common sense, like what counts for anime, what counts for 2017, everyone use please the same titles so there won't be duplicates, etc.

 

[MikeHattsu]

Anime TV Series
1. The Eccentric Family 2 - I don't want Benten to step on me, but I still like this
2. Sakura Quest - Because countryside anime is always fun.
3. Love Live Sunshine S2 - Because idols

Anime Movie/OVA Series
1. A Silent Voice - KyoAni did it again :P
2. Your Name - And so did Shinkai
3. Girls & Panzer Der Film - More fun tank battles. What's not to like?

 

[Rackham]

My Hero Academia Season 2. Great show with good humor. Powers can be a little dumb at times but it's fun. Not many good anime in 2017

 

[lazybones18]

Anime TV Series
None

Anime Movie/OVA Series

1. Your Name - This movie lived up to the hype. It's in my Top 5 for 2017, so it stands to reason it would be my #1 Anime film of the year (sorry SAO. Speaking of which...)
2. Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale - I love SAO so it was pretty obvious I was gonna love the movie. Great theater experience as well. Can't wait for Season 3 and the GGO spinoff
3. A Silent Voice - It's a very emotional movie that was worth watching
4. Fate/Stay Night: Heaven's Feel - I. Presage Flower - I'm out of the loop on the Fate series (only thing I previously watched was Fate/Zero), but I did find this movie to somewhat interesting. Just please cut down on the "senpai" use in the next movie.

 

[Taruranto]

1. Land of Lustrous - Fantastically directed show about gem people with great butts with an even better setting. Read the manga!
   
2. Kekkai Sensen & Beyond - Fixed everything that was wrong with S1, fantastic cast, great action, good humor.
3. Natsume Yuujinchou Roku - Probably the strongest season of Natsume to date. They pretty much adapted all the manga best chapters all at once.
   
4. Vatican no Kiseki - The new standard for "jumping the shark". Yes, it's even better than Samurai Flamenco. Nazi, LSD Jesus, Cocaine, this show has everything.
   
5. Kino's Journey - Not good as the old series, but with the exception of some so-so episodes, it is quite an enjoyable ride (eh).
   
6. Gamers - Actually genuinely funny comedy.
7. Digimon Universe: Appli Monsters - Good love story between a boy and his robot.

 

[Kuro]

Anime TV series

1. The Eccentric Family 2 - Tanuki families and Tengu families and all the crazy hijinks that ensue as they integrate into modern Japan. Not as good as the first season but still a magical show.

2. Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu Season 2 - An excellent drama and continuation of a series about an art form in Japan I didn't even know existed. Probably the best written anime of the year.

3. Gintama - Still as funny as ever. The most solid long running anime ever.

4. Made in Abyss - A really interesting and mysterious world with a really original style to it. I loved Megaman and his little friend. Some very questionable portrayals of children really keeps this from being my top.

5. Little Witch Academia - Really awesome design and animation, I love this concept so much. The story was kind of messy and I did prefer the movies but the show was still cute and a fun watch.

6. Recovery of an MMO Junkie - A cute love story about coincidence and MMOs that really accurately portray that world and a fantastic performance by Mamiko Noto. Also an actual RomCom about adults for once. Surprise of the year for me.

7. Natsume Yuujinchou Roku - While the series is starting to get a little stale for me the character interactions are still great and I love me some spiritual storytelling.

8. Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World - Not as well animated as the previous entry and baffingly retread parts of the story that the previous animation already did and did it in a rushed way that made it really lose impact. As for the original episodes it was classic Kino and really interesting philosophical looks at society in general. Great for people who have wanderlust!

9. Saekano 2 - A great RomCom based on a light novel, the second season had some hiccups near the end but the show was still surprisingly entertaining despite being a harem show. Kato Megumi makes it worth watching as she seems like one of the few sane "realistic" women in these types of shows.

10. Kekkai Sensen & Beyond - I just really watch this one for the animation. Story sucks and the director must have a really bad case of ADHD but it was entertaining nonetheless.

Honorable Mention

The Ancient Magus' Bride - Beautiful animation but the story fell so flat for me and it came off as trying way too hard to be mystical but ended up cookie cutter as hell. I was hyped for this so also kind of disappointment of the year for me.

Anime Movie/OVA

1. A Silent Voice - Excellent KyoAni animation and a beautiful story. Quite the tearjerker and really well written.

2. Your Name - Incredible visuals from Makoto Shinkai but also all his melodramatic bullshit that comes with it. Movie was pretty damn good up until the last third though.

3. Gundam Thunderbolt - Eclectic mecha action with some classic Gundam drama thrown in, this series was a trip.

4. Blame! - Cyberific Sci-Fi Dark Souls the anime. Great take on the Manga and did a surprisingly good job with CGI.

5. Blade Runner: Black Out 2022 - Cool cyberpunk directed by Shinichirō Watanabe. Not great but damn was it cool.

edit: Do we really need to use the bastardization of titles in english?

 

[munchie64]

Psh, silly Americans watching Your Name and A Silent Voice in 2017. Get with the times!

 

[phaze]

As March Comes in Like a Lion had two different seasons, they would count as two separate ballot entries.

Click to shrink...

Didn't we use to amalgamate such shows into one entry ? I can't find the old threads on GAF but it's weird and in my, undoubtedly highly subjective opinion, illogical. March S2 has the same staff and cast as S1, continues the same story, even the episode numbering follows the previous set of eps. It's the very same show but one that took a 2 cour, instead of 1 cour, break we're used too.

 

[Grexeno]

Didn't we use to amalgamate such shows into one entry ? I can't find the old threads on GAF but it's weird and in my, undoubtedly highly subjective opinion, illogical. March S2 has the same staff and cast as S1, continues the same story, even the episode numbering follow the previous set of eps. It's the very same show but one that took a 2 cour, instead of 1 cour, break we're used too.

Click to shrink...

Yeah that doesn't make any sense at all. It also unfairly docks the show since now it's votes will be split between the two seasons.

 

[HosannaExcelsis]

Didn't we use to amalgamate such shows into one entry ? I can't find the old threads on GAF but it's weird and in my, undoubtedly highly subjective opinion, illogical. March S2 has the same staff and cast as S1, continues the same story, even the episode numbering follow the previous set of eps. It's the very same show but one that took a 2 cour, instead of 1 cour, break we're used too.

Click to shrink...

Yes, traditionally shows with a continuous story/staff are treated as a single show even if there are airing breaks in the middle.

 

[Jarmel]

I think it unnecessarily complicates things.

 

[Jexhius]

Please try to use the official English language title when creating your ballots, thank you!

Didn't we use to amalgamate such shows into one entry ? I can't find the old threads on GAF but it's weird and in my, undoubtedly highly subjective opinion, illogical. March S2 has the same staff and cast as S1, continues the same story, even the episode numbering follows the previous set of eps. It's the very same show but one that took a 2 cour, instead of 1 cour, break we're used too.

Click to shrink...

I understand the argument here, but when exactly does it become a separate season vs the same season? Would you argue the same if there was a 3 cour break? A 4 cour break? Attack on Titan Season 2 brings back much of the original staff, cast, continues the same story and episode numbering so would you also consider it part of the previous season? If not, where exactly do you draw the line?

It seems to make more sense to apply a clear rule to all works.

 

[Jarmel]

I understand the argument here, but when exactly does it become a separate work vs the same season? Would you count as the same if there was a 3 cour break? A 4 cour break? Attack on Titan Season 2 brings back much of the original staff, cast, continues the same story and episode numbering so would you also consider it part of the previous season?

Click to shrink...

That's a bad example considering AoT S2 had a different director and came back multiple years later.

It's also worth pointing out if a show has more than a two cour break then it falls into a different year anyway.

 

[Grexeno]

Frankly the director and cast doesn't matter. It's all about the year.

 

[Wanderer5]

1. Land of the Lustrous - It is a wonderful CGI anime that brings in a intriguing world and a great story of a gem who gets some really nice development as the show goes on.
2. Konosuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! 2 - It's Konosuba, which by damn it continues to be such a joy and make me laugh a lot at its utter over the top goodness. It might even be more hilarious than the first season.
3. Made In Abyss - Suffering in Abyss... While I am not a huge fan of the artstyle and there is some questionable stuff, the world building is quite top notch here, and the descent into the abyss is a compelling tale.
4. Little Witch Academia - Though it had a rough first half, once the main plot was really moving forward, this show came through quite strong by the end with the usual wonderful charm and style that you tend to see in a Trigger show to make this a magical experience.
5. Himouto! Umaru-chan R - Taking the Umaru-chan shenanigans back a little, this season ended up having a nice focus on fleshing out the supporting cast. While Umaru being in her indoor mode can still be amusing, it was also nice to see the girls hanging out more and bonding.

Movie:

1. In this Corner of the World - A wonderful tale taking place in WWII about a woman's everyday life and the struggles she and those around her go through as a result of the war going on. Yet despite these struggles, it didn't fall so much into despair and instead was overcoming these hardships with a sense of hope as things were moving forward from the end of the war.
2. Blame! - Haven't read the manga, but the premise was interesting, and the CGI wasn't shabby.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

Can we order them 10 to 1?

 

[Jexhius]

Can we order them 10 to 1?

Click to shrink...

Just to make my job easier when counting, I would prefer the order to be 1 to 10.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

K

 

[FriendlyNPC]

1. Blame! - Haven't read the manga, but the premise was interesting, and the CGI wasn't shabby.

Click to shrink...

The manga feels much more surreal, confusing and cold. Also it focuses on Killy instead of humans. It's a really interesting read with fantastic art, you should consider reading it if you liked the movie (even though the movie feels a lot different).

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

I understand the argument here, but when exactly does it become a separate season vs the same season? Would you argue the same if there was a 3 cour break? A 4 cour break? Attack on Titan Season 2 brings back much of the original staff, cast, continues the same story and episode numbering so would you also consider it part of the previous season? If not, where exactly do you draw the line?

It seems to make more sense to apply a clear rule to all works.

Click to shrink...

It's irrelevant in those cases because it's not part of the same year. But if Attack on Titan Season 2 had started the same year that Season 1 ended, I would certainly consider it the "same" show for voting purposes.

 

[Deleted member 3208]

Anime TV Series

1. Tsuki ga Kirei - This anime got me by surprise. At the beginning it seems boring as hell, another typical love triangle set in school. Thankfully, Tsuki ga Kirei manages to avoid many of the downfalls of the genre like solving problems in an episode or two instead of dragging it the entire season. The visuals are beautiful and sooner or later you will want to watch all the episodes and see how the relationship of Kotarou and Akane develops.
2. Konosuba Second Season - What else can I say about this? If you enjoyed the first season, this one you will love it. Kazuma continues being a pervert, Aqua an idiot, Megumin continues loving explosions and Darkness... well, Darkness is Darkness. Regardless of how many times I watch it, it always make me laugh.
3. The Eccentric Family 2- We continue with our story of Tanuki families set in modern Japan. This season was actually more enjoyable than the first one, with the battle of the Tengu, the rivalries between the Shimogamo and the Ebisugawa and with more interesting locations like Hell. I also loved this season developed more characters like Kaisei or Benten.
4. Recovery of an MMO Junkie - What are the odds that the person you fall in love inside the game in a MMORPG is someone you actually know IRL? This story is just about that. Bonus point for focusing in adults instead of teenagers.
5. Gamers - Misunderstandings: the anime, should be called instead of Gamers. It may seem like another boring and generic romance but actually, it is about the craziness of misunderstandings. Another one that made me laugh constantly.
6. Tsurezure Children - This one focuses about different stories of teenagers in school. While short, it was cute and heartwarming.
7. Gabriel Dropout - Didn't have this in my list but a friend recommended it. And I fell in love with it. It is a miracle Gabriel is still considered an angel after getting addicted to MMORPGs.
8. Sakura Quest - This one is quite slow but the development of the characters is completely worth it. Plus, like always, P.A. Works does another anime with beautiful visuals. And I'm glad they continue doing animes about young adults; like Shirobako, our main cast are girls in their 20s starting their adult lives.
9. My Hero Academia Season 2 - An improved season after the phenomenal first one. Awesome soundtrack, excellent visuals and the characters continue to develop.
10. Little Witch Academia - While inferior compared to the movies, and a plot that mostly focused on something different each week, this anime was quite enjoyable. Akko continues doing crazy stuff and proving that, despite not being born in a magic family, anyone can follow their dreams.

Honourable mentions:
Aho Girl - mostly, because of Aoi Yuuki performance as Yoshiko. She did an awesome job portraying the lovable idiot. One of her best roles, imo.
Shingeki no Kyojin II - another excellent sequel, with many plot twists that many people wouldn't have seen them coming. And the soundtrack continues being top notch.
Made in Abyss - the concept is nice. A dungeon in which there are layers, and in each layer, a curse gets worse and worse. It could have been in my top 10, if instead of kids, the main characters were adults.
Just Because - another interesting romance, that sadly, had a stupid love triangle and a troubled development. If they had focused only in the main characters (Eita and Natsume, and Haruto and Morikawa), this could have been better.
Blend-S - in some ways this reminded me of Working. And many times it made me laugh. But again, there were some issues that hampered my enjoyment of this show.

Biggest disappointment: this was quite hard, considering there were three anime here: Fate Apocrypha, Kado and ReCreator. But in the end, Apocrypha wins easily.
Fate Apocrypha - man, I was really looking forward to it. Instead, we got one of the most boring anime I have seen. The concept of two factions with mages and servants seemed interesting, but how they developed it was awful. Instead of focusing on them, the writers decided to focus in a boring, bland, generic MC that wasn't even one of the original participants of the war. On top of that, the dude gets the ability to become a servant. Add to that Ruler, or Jeanne D'Arc, another boring character that never developers as a character, and for some reason, falls in love with the MC. The supporting cast was much more interesting than them, like Saber of Red and her master, Astolfo, Shakespeare, Shirou Kotomine and the siblings of the Black Faction. This anime had potential, if they had completely scrapped Sieg and left Ruler as a secondary character. Instead, almost all the focus was left on Sieg. And that's without taking into consideration another issue anyone who watched it knows very well.

Anime Movie/OVA

1. Your Name - After The Garden of Words, I wanted more of Makoto Shinaki. And he delivered with this. This movie is beautiful, visually and in the story.

 

[phaze]

Please try to use the official English language title when creating your ballots, thank you!
I understand the argument here, but when exactly does it become a separate season vs the same season? Would you argue the same if there was a 3 cour break? A 4 cour break? Attack on Titan Season 2 brings back much of the original staff, cast, continues the same story and episode numbering so would you also consider it part of the previous season? If not, where exactly do you draw the line?

It seems to make more sense to apply a clear rule to all works.

Click to shrink...

(Apologies for being a pain in the butt)
To my mind, it's not a question of whether it's the same season or not but whether it's the same Anime/show, after all we're voting for Anime of the Year not for Anime season of year. As pointed above, anything with a longer than 2 cour break won't fit into the same year but for argument's sake, I'd probably still count it as the same show. The only difference between March and plethora of other shows with breaks I see, is that the former took a bit longer one.

Amalgamating all same shows with breaks into one entry seems a clearer rule, one, if Hosannainexcelsis is correct we used to follow and one that will surely better reflect reception of a show among the audience. ( On the other hand, if it means that in 10 years we will split Jojo 5 into 2 entries, making it nearly impossible for it to stain our refined list then I'll gladly take the bullet here :P)

 

[Pellaidh]

Anime TV Series:

1. Magical Circle Guru-Guru - If I had to describe Guru-Guru in a single sentence, I'd describe it as an "injection of happiness". For me, it was practically impossible to walk away from an episode of Guru-Guru without feeling an immense sense of joy, no matter how exhausted or sad I'd feel before watching it.

The shining star of Guru-Guru is its cast. In particular, Kukuri, Guru-Guru's heroine, is just about the most adorable and positive character in any anime, and the show manages to achieve this without ever feeling even the slightest bit like pandering or fan-service (which is honestly extremely rare in anime, even (particularly) among shows that go for the whole cute/innocent thing). The rest of the cast is also excellent, with tons of chemistry and an excellent voice cast that knows exactly how to bring the characters to life.

Another thing Guru-Guru has going for it is that it's funny. Like, really funny. It easily put it in the same tier of comedy greatness as something like Gintama. There were very few episodes of Guru-Guru that didn't leave me catching my breath from laughing that hard.

At a glance Guru-Guru might look like a kids show (and it kind of is, really), but don't let that put you off as there's still plenty to love here for older fans. Unless you're the kind of person that hates fun. In that case, you should probably stay away.

It was really hard for me to decide between this and Land of the Lustrous for the top spot, but in the end I settled on Guru-Guru. Mostly because it manages to tell a complete story with a concrete end (unlike most adaptations that simply end as an advertisement for the manga). Plus, I feel like Guru-Guru really needs to be highlighted, since it's one of the most underwatched and underappreciated shows I've ever seen, for seemingly no reason other than its visual style. Both Konosuba and Gintama are very popular shows, and Guru-Guru can easily match them in the comedy department. So definitely give it a shot if you like good fantasy anime comedies (with a side of romance).


2. Land of the Lustrous - The other incredible show that released this year. Land of the Lustrous achieves something I didn't think I'd ever see an anime do. It's a CG show that looks good. Not just good for a CG show, good period. As in, it's the best looking show this year. Land of the Lustrous achieves this with a very smart mixture of CG and traditional animation that manages to highlight the strengths of both approaches while also covering for their weakness. From the 2D side, you get gorgeous backgrounds, expressive facial animation and great effect work. From the CG side, you get smooth action with incredible camera movements and speed that would be very hard to replicate in 2D. Add to that incredible direction and storyboarding and you get the best looking show this year. It's a really great approach at incorporating CG into traditional anime works, and Land of the Lustrous deserves a mention just for how stunning it looks.

It also shows how sometimes, you don't need to adapt a manga panel by panel to get good results. The original manga the show is based on looks stunning, with incredible use of smooth curves and shapes that look almost like you're watching liquid, not characters, moving around. It also incorporates a great use of contrast between black and white to really make the art stand out. An anime can't really do that, so the team behind Land of the Lustrous took a ton of liberties when it comes to visual style, creating something that's truly suited to an animated work instead of a manga in a way that just couldn't be replicated by just blindly copying panels. It's an approach I'd really like to see more studios use. Sadly, most manga adaptations these days feel more like slideshows where the only thing the anime team did was copy-paste the manga panel, add in some color (and maybe some speed-lines) and call it a day.

But LotL isn't just a brilliant looking show, it also has great writing. The protagonist Phos is one of the best characters in the medium, with a relateable personality. She starts off as being more or less completely useless, and you just can't help but to cheer her along in her journey to find her own place in life. That's a common setup for a lot of anime, and it mostly just ends up with the protagonist acquiring super powers and becoming the best at everything, with their ultimate success more or less a foregone conclusion (My Hero Academia is the first thing that comes to mind, but it really applies to almost every shonen ever). LotL looked like it was going to fall into the same trap at the beginning, but it managed to brilliantly subvert my expectations at every step of the way. Without any spoilers, LotL was the most well written show this year that managed to constantly make me look forward to the next episode with it's brilliant worldbuilding and excellent character development.


3. KONOSUBA - God's blessing on this wonderful world! 2 - There's really not much to say here other than that Konosuba is hilarious. It's kind of hard for me to really review comedy shows, because I consider anything that makes me laugh to be good comedy. And Konosuba certainly made me laugh a whole lot.


4. Fate/Apocrypha - If there was an award for best episode of the year, the 22nd episode of Fate/Apocrypha would easily take it. It wouldn't even be close. That episode is just an incredible roller coaster ride of amazing action animation that straight up destroys any other show this year (and in recent memory, honestly). The sheer creativity and fluidity on display is incredible, and it manages to keep going for the entirety of the episode's ~24 minutes runtime. sure, shows like My Hero Academia manage to have maybe one or two 1 minute cuts that are visually at almost about the same level, but Apocrypha's 22nd episode just doesn't stop. There were several times during the episode where I thought what comes next couldn't possibly top what I've just seen, only to be proven wrong a couple minutes later. As a fan of well animated fight scenes, it was an absolute joy.

It's just too bad there's the other 23 episodes that bring the rating down. Not that they are all terrible, really. Episode 21, for example, also has an excellent fight scene that could easily serve as an incredible climax to most other action shows out there. Really, most of the fights manage to look pretty good, and there are plenty of them sprinkled throughout the show. It's just that anything that isn't action is just incredibly boring. First there's the gigantic cast of like 20 something characters, of which only 2 manage to not be completely awful (which is kind of above average for a Fate show, I guess). Then there's the story, which is just really bad and manages to completely botch what could have been an exciting concept (so standard Fate fare here, I guess). And then there's the awful ending which requires incredible amount of Fate lore knowledge to even begin to make sense of (so also standard Fate fare, I guess). So basically, it's Fate, and I've never really liked the franchise's writing.


5. Tsuredure Children - A pretty sweet show that focuses on romance between a large number of different couples. And unlike most anime romance, it actually does manage to progress beyond just awkwardly trying to confess to one another for something like 150 episodes, which is pretty refreshing to see. Other than that it's just a really well done romance show, even for someone who generally isn't really into the genre.

Honestly, this wouldn't be this high on my list if it wasn't for two particular scenes that managed to somehow be some of the funniest things I've seen this year (and that's in a year filled with amazing comedies). When the show feels like it, it can be incredibly funny. It's just a shame it doesn't happen all that often.

6. Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju - A masterclass example of how to ruin a series in the final couple of minutes. Up until the final episode, this manages to be a good conclusion to the incredible first season of Rakugo. But then the ending happens, and brings the series down by a significant margin for no real reason.

7. Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid - And here's another show that could have been great if it's producers had some sense of common decency. As fantastical as the premise is, for the most part Dragon Maid somehow manages to be a pretty touching portrayal of raising a family. But then, as usual, Kyo-Ani just couldn't help themselves. So they put in a ton of completely unnecessary fanservice that completely detracts from any point the show was trying to make and adds absolutely nothing to the show. I feel like the rest of the show is still good enough to put it on my list (mostly because there really wasn't a ton of even halfway decent shows this year), but all the unnecessary fanservice really ruins what could have been a good show.

8. Princess Principal - Princess Principal is a pretty decent action/adventure show that manages to stand out with its industrial London spy setting. The cast is fun, and it's a pretty well produced show, with some excellent fight scenes and really nice character animation. Really, it's hard for me to find 10 shows a year that I'm legitimately excited for, so this bottom couple of spots just end up being filled by kind of average shows. And that's what Princess Principal is, a watchable but heavily flawed show with plenty of character that's sadly held back by some pretty major shortcomings.

The biggest problem is the episode count. At 12 episodes, nothing really happens in this show. The first couple of episodes are just character introductions, then you get 2 almost identical standalone stories, into two more character introduction episodes, into a flashback (that just retells the story that was incredibly obvious from episode 2 onward), into the ending episode. That's all there is: character introductions, two meaningless stand alone stories, a flashback and a finale.

9. Scum's Wish - This is an odd one, in that it's actually an anime about sex. And for all the fanservice that infests most shows this days, actual sex is something that almost never actually happens (well, except for straight up porn, I guess). So for just that alone, Scum's Wish gets a spot here. I also really liked the visual style used here. Scum's Wish doesn't really have a lot to work with, with extremely static visuals that mean the show looks more like a slideshow than a piece of animation. But the staff did the best they could, I guess, since the show still manages to look pretty good visually.

Somehow, despite its subject matter, Scum's Wish never really feels like it's pushing against the boundaries of decency. Like, I'd say the fanservice scenes in something like Maid Dragon were much more uncomfortable, and even that's pretty tame by anime standards. Sadly, I found the story to be way too melodramatic for my tastes, so I can't really give this a full recommendation.


10. Kakegurui - Kakegurui is a show that manages to be almost completely carried by its completely insane protagonist. I really enjoyed watching all her craziness, and the voice actress they got to voice her did an incredible job. It's just a shame the overall story wasn't all that interesting, and several arcs in particular were just completely awful (the idol one, in particular). Still, I like crazy gambling stories, and while this never even comes close to the greatness of something like Akagi, it was decent enough to get me to finish it, which isn't something I can say for the wast majority of the shows I've watched this year.


All in all, while this year wasn't really all that packed with great titles (I watched at least one episode of about 40 shows and still had to put some pretty flawed ones in my top 10), the top end with Guru-Guru, Land of the Lustrous, Konosuba and Apocrypha was incredibly stacked. The first 3 are easy 10/10 shows for me, as is Apocrypha's 22nd episode. And it's still probably the best year for me since I started watching anime seasonally. It also seems to be a better year than what we have coming up this year, but I hope I'll be proven wrong. I also don't feel like I've watched enough movies/OVAs to make a list for that.

 

[Jexhius]

(Apologies for being a pain in the butt)
To my mind, it's not a question of whether it's the same season or not but whether it's the same Anime/show, after all we're voting for Anime of the Year not for Anime season of year. As pointed above, anything with a longer than 2 cour break won't fit into the same year but for argument's sake, I'd probably still count it as the same show. The only difference between March and plethora of other shows with breaks I see, is that the former took a bit longer one.

Amalgamating all same shows with breaks into one entry seems a clearer rule, one, if Hosannainexcelsis is correct we used to follow and one that will surely better reflect their reception of a show among the audience. ( On the other hand, if it means that in 10 years we will split Jojo 5 into 2 entries, making it nearly impossible for it to stain our refined list then I'll gladly take the bullet here :P)

Click to shrink...

I don't think I can make it all the way out to your position but I have seen the merit in some of what you are saying. I will update the list with a compromise.

• Any anime TV series that has multiple seasons airing within the same calendar year can be amalgamated into a single ballot entry. So you can have "March Comes in like a Lion Season 1 + 2" as a single ballot entry.

Let it not be said that I don't er, sway with the wind.

 

[crimsonECHIDNA]

I still need to watch and finish Princess Principal and Magical Circle before I properly vote. Maybe Kemono Friends as well.

 

[Quasar]

Here we go...

Shows
1. Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu S2 - another great season. This really is a masterpiece of anime. It is very niche though.
2. March Comes in Like a Lion S2 - I loved season one, but I loved season two even more. I was totally moved by major story arcs involving Hina (and again it features school bullying).
3. Recovery of an MMO Junkie - Such a great romantic comedy about a 30 something woman gamer, a rarity in anime. At first I found so many coincidences between her online and offline lives a bit jarring, but I found it did really work.
4. Eccentric Family 2 - Sequel to one of my alltime favourites. And I loved this too, even if it had a bit of sameyness about it in part.
5. Owarimonogatari 2 - A pretty great conclusion to what might be my favourite long running series which I've seemingly been watching nearly the whole time since really got into anime.
6. Tsuki ga Kirei - A sweet school romance and one that had both pretty excellent use of phones in the schoolyard (something I've found lacking in anime for so long) and pretty good scenes featuring romance between these two very cute introverts.
7. Ancient Magus Bride - Even at this early stage this really is my favourite fantasy anime in a good while. I just love the kind of fantasy it is, with its use of celtic fantasy rather than generic jrpg stuff. Looks brilliant too. Of course I would really like a British dub, which of course I won't get.
8. Gamers! - Such a highly entertaining comedy of errors about a group of gamers and hangers on.
9. Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid - a great comedic family about the families people make. Also Kanna-chan is jts so adoreable.
10. ACCA - Interesting conspiracy story about bureaucracy with an interesting non standard art style. Best OP of the year too.

Movies/OVAs
1. A Silent Voice - Whilst I know its been a bit divisive with fans of the manga, I simply loved this film. It dealing with the subject of bullying, I know some people were offended purely on the basis of the story trying to get the audience to feel sympathy for the former bully but I have to say his story arc really worked for me as a piece of drama. Even if its not in line with my anecdotal experiences. Also getting to see KyoAni make a film for the cinema was simply great and I really liked the sound design.
2.Kizumonogatari III - Fantastic end to the trilogy of films that were rumoured for so long I half thought it would never happen. Seeing shafts new wavish an8mation on the big screen was a joy.

Honourable Mentions
Interviews With Monster Girls
Just Because!
Natsume Yuujinchou Roku

 

[Quasar]

so..Kizumonogatari...should I list each film separately?

 

[Moara]

Anime TV Series

1. Land of the Lustrous - This show made me a bit more hopeful for CG in anime. It's not only a great looking CG show, but it's also just one of the best looking shows this year, period. It's a great tale of finding ones purpose in life. It has some wonderful direction, a really great soundtrack, and a world that I was completely fascinated by.
   
   
2. Made in Abyss - I haven't been completely captivated by a fictional world like this in quite some time. It's emotional, even heart-wrenching at times, yet it somehow manages to keep a feeling of wonderment and adventure.
   
   
3. Owarimonogatari (Season 2) - The Monogatari series will probably never end, but this is the next best thing. It wraps up the main ongoing storyline in a great way.
   
   
4. Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju (Season 2) - A very compelling character-drama. The way it manages to tell its story through Rakugo was genius at times. The only mark against it is some aspects of the ending kinda soured me on it, but I can't deny how well made almost every aspect of this show is. And hey, having an anime with a complete story is a blessing these days.
   
   
5. KONOSUBA - God's blessing on this wonderful world! 2 - Huge improvement over the first season. I could watch these lovable idiots all day.
   
   
6. My Hero Academia (Season 2) - Another show with a greatly improved second season. The characters get way more fleshed out, the battles are a lot more exciting, and the stakes get a lot higher. If you're looking for some shonen, this is one of the best.
   
   
7. Attack on Titan (Season 2) - This season focuses on the supporting cast, and it turns out they are far more interesting than the main one. I was kinda over Attack on Titan towards the end of the first season, but this one brought me back in.
   
   
8. Blood Blockade Battlefront & BEYOND - Not quite as strong as the first season, but still a damn good time. Hilarious cast of characters, great animation, and a fantastic soundtrack.
   
   
9. Boruto: Naruto Next Generations - Speaking of shows I was fucking over with: Naruto. Honestly this show has no right to be as good as it is. The new cast of characters are enjoyable and the show looks way better than Naruto ever did. It reminds me of early Part 1 Naruto in a lot of ways, and it even does a lot of that better by properly introducing and developing the supporting cast.
   
   
10. Little Witch Academia - Not as good as the OVAs, but still a fun time.

Anime Movie/OVA Series

1. A Silent Voice - This movie was pretty damn hard to watch at times, but I can't say I wasn't engaged the whole time.
2. Kizumonogatari III - Fantastic conclusion to the movie trilogy. Probably has the most fun fight scene I've seen in a while.
3. Your Name - Finally a Shinkai movie that is pretty good.

Honorable Mentions

• Dragon Ball Super - What a recovery this show had. It went from being a complete production disaster to being a show I look forward to every week.

 

[Lotus]

Still need to watch Land of the Lustrous

Click to shrink...

You get on that sir

EDIT: Crap, double post

 

[Lotus]

1. Land of the Lustrous - Wow, this anime came out of nowhere for me. As the year came to a close, I increasingly heard more and more praises being sung for this anime, so I finally gave it a chance, and I was blown away. The concept was fascinating, and the quality of the work was evident; this anime makes the best damn case for CGI in anime that I've ever seen. And not just "good for a CGI-focused anime", it's just beautiful period. Really vibed with the general message of the story too, where one just wants to be useful to others, just wants their place to belong. The main character Phos, they (They are part of a genderless species) are one of my favorite anime characters in quite some time. Seeing her character development as the show progresses is quite fascinating. The action scenes, though sparse, are utterly captivating whenever they do make an appearance. The rest of the cast are also rather memorable themselves, with distinct personalities that are fun to see clash with Phos. I could go on and on, but yea, this was easily my AOTY. I hope others give it a chance.

2. KONOSUBA - God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! (Season 2) - One of the most hilarious shows out there, this 2nd season was arguably funnier than the first. I've seen people compare the main cast to the cast in "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", and it's pretty damn apt. They're all awful people, yet they bounce off one another so well.

3. Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju (Season 2) - This is one of those anime I point as an example of how anime can make anything interesting if the execution is good enough. This is basically an anime about storytelling. On paper, frankly, that sounds quite boring. But if the show in question can get you to care and understand the characters it presents you with, then you can watch them do just about anything.

4. Owarimonogatari (Season 2) - At long last, this series is more or less over. Ended on a good note, not much more to say, a quality watch as always.

5. My Hero Academia (Season 2) - The new popular shounen series. Massive step-up from its first season, had some moments that it did better than its source material even.

6. Attack on Titan (Season 2) - Season 2 unfortunately was not really worth the long wait. I still find the general concept to be very interesting, but the plot felt quite sluggish this time around.

7. Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler- Won't lie, this anime is no Kaiji. But the reaction faces alone made it worth the watch.

8. Inuyashiki: Last Hero - Found this to be rather hilarious in a dark way due to how merciless the killer was. Decent watch I suppose.

9. Princess Principal - I'm a sucker for spy stuff.

10. Scum's Wish - Man, this show tackled things I normally don't see explored, much less in an anime. But I place it on the bottom because I just wasn't really feeling the characters. Like, they are god-awful people. Every single one of them. The teacher was fascinating to watch though.

Honorable Mention:

1. Little Witch Academia - This show is not Trigger's best work, I thought it was pretty mediocre truthfully. But I still give it recognition as being that rare anime that I can recommend to pretty much anyone, whether they're new to the series, they're a kid, etc., and not have to worry about any caveats. Just good, wholesome fun, just wish it could've been better is all.

 

[UltraGunner]

1. Made in Abyss - What I thought would be a simple adventure show that you can show you can show to kids turned out to be an interesting story in how far you can mentally and physically break these characters as they're descending into what can basically be considered Hell. Every single frame of this show belongs in a Museum with how beautiful it's drawn.

2. Land of the Lustrous - If there was ever a case to prove that 3d anime can be good it would be this. With beautiful landscapes and beautiful sparkling hair this show is a feast for the eyes. While the premise can be comparable to another western show, it veers of into its own path with tragedy and heady themes galore.

3. Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond - Even without the original director the second season of BBB still manages to be a visual feast of crazy shit. And I do love it when directors get crazy.

4. Little Witch Academia - Trigger somehow made a family friendly show that still showcased their unique brand of animation that combines anime with loony tunes-esque physics. Also Diakko is my OTP of the year.

5. My Hero Academia Season 2 - I hate tournament arcs, but this one managed to be one of the few that I could tolerate. What really sold this season for me was Stain and how the concept of heroics wasn't just a black and white thing in this world.

6. KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Season 2 - A funny ass show about a bunch a fuck ups as they fail through life. Also they're in a fantasy world.

7. Kakegurui - reaction shots: the show. Don't believe me, just watch whenever Yumeko goes all yandere.

8. Ancient Magus Bride - A comfy show about a girl learning magic from her bone husband with occasional moment where shit gets real

9. Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid - Sometimes a family is a women and her dragon maid and their adopted dragon daughter.

10. Fate/Apocrypha - Most Fate fans would say this series was a mess, and I'm inclined to agree. But god damn if it doesn't feature some of the most impressive fights scenes I've ever seen.

Biggest PoS of the year:
Beserk 2017 - If Land of the Lustrous was proof that 3d anime can be good, this would be the counter example. Everytime the characters move I'm just wonder what the fuck were they thinking with this. When the manga has better animation than your anime you fucked up big time
Kings Game - A weird show trying so hard to be edgy that it swings from hilarious all the way to embarrassing.
Dies Irae - I watch a few episodes and nothing fucking made sense except for the fact that it's got the Nazi Officer that orchestrated to holocaust and I stopped watching out of sheer disgust.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Anime TV Series

1. KONOSUBA - God's blessing on this wonderful world! Season 2: I was unimpressed by the first season after all of the hype for the show. I didn't think it particularly stood out from other comedies and never really laughed. It was a very solid show but I didn't understand why it had gathered the following it did outside of the internet waifu crowd. Season 2 mixed things up and introduced more interesting plot lines. It expanded on characters and their backstories and even had the side cast be a bit more involved while expanding it a bit. We got to see characters interact with others they didn't get much of a chance with in S1. And of course, first and foremost, it was some laugh out loud comedy moments. All of this combined with a very distinctive, colorful and very… fluid (??) animation. The voice actors had a ton of fun in their roles and it really showed. I normally wouldn't put a comedy on top as I tend to appreciate anime drama/action more but this show really took the cake for me.

2. Made in Abyss: Made in Abyss for me had the most breathtaking backgrounds and concept of the year. The world building completely engrossed me and I always wanted to learn more about the abyss, its ecology and its inhabitants. The colorful creatures and casts we see were a plus too. I joke that this is chibi dark souls because it really is this captivating and despairingly punishing world where humans are squishy but can grow to be superhuman of sorts. I'd love a second season if there is enough material, but S1 ended at a decent point where I won't be starving for more immediately.

3. Land of the Lustrous: The last show I watched for the voting period and I'm glad I didn't ignore it. I wouldn't be surprised if many regulars in the seasonal anime threads vote this as their AOTY and it'd be very deserved. If you had to take an idea of what to expect of this show, it'd be Steven Universe meets Nier Automata meets RWBY with sprinkles of Metal Gear's Punished Snake. Artistically this was the most visually pleasing show of the year by a wide margin. I was never sure if what I was looking at was hand drawn vs CG, but it didn't matter which is rarely the case in shows dominated by CG in Anime. The overall enjoyment of the show, besides the visual, is the mystery and development of the main character Phos. When there wasn't some form of despair there was a sense of peace that was unrivaled by other shows. And being able to combine those two extremes so effectively, while also keeping up a decent pace where you won't ever feel tired or get bored from watching episodes back to back, means that you really shouldn't miss this as it is among the better shows of the season.

4. Magical Circle Guru-Guru: I don't think there is a show in anime that does jrpg/fantasy rpg comedy as effectively as this show. I'm aware there is a previous older show that did the adaptation with less spaz and shouting, and I'll eventually watch it, but this was still hilarious and totally worth your time if you play rpgs. It's not just the comedy either. The art style is cute and distinctive, the cast of characters is great, and the amount of reaction faces is unrivaled from any other show I've ever watched in terms of concentration of reaction face/total run time.

5. The Eccentric Family Season 2: A decent successor to the first season which if I recall correctly, ranked very decently among the GAF AOTY list the year it aired. We got closure for plot lines and development in characters. We got more lovable characters, and more enemies. And we got to see Benten put in her place which was glorious. Now, while a very decent season, ultimately it didn't quite live up to the standard of the first season. Writing wasn't as cohesive in quality. Pacing felt off. And the introduction of a major character and his mystery ultimately proved to be completely useless and irrelevant to the main plot where you have to wonder why even bring his character to the plot in the first place besides a very superficial need. This detracted from the show, and while still among the stronger shows in the season it didn't rank higher due to its faults. Shame.

6. Attack on Titan Season 2: Funny, it fixed a HELL LOT of the issues in season 1 when it comes to visual, pacing and utilization of its characters. This part of the manga was also pretty decent. I'd say it's over-all a better production when compared to S1… but it lacks the oomph of season 1 at the end of the day. S1 took anime and its western market by storm. S2 took WAY too long to come out meaning most people lost interest and moved on. And the material in S2 doesn't have the new car smell anymore, so a lot of the bombastic scenes and songs from S1 remain closer to my heart. One Punch Man coming out not too long ago probably took away from this show's steam in the west if I had to take a guess, as that's the new hot interest for the west.

7. Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju: I really liked the transformation from the first season's period drama about Rakugo and its influence in Japan, to the shift in S2 of a more personal modern drama of trying to recapture and reconstruct Rakugo in a world that over-all just doesn't care as much about it. I really liked the show's setting more than S1. But as those who watched it are aware, there is a

Spoiler

revelation near the end

that soured the experience for some. Including myself. While the journey is important and should definitely be taken into account (which is why this is ranking in my top 10), that was too much for me and left me with a bad after taste of the show, and a bit grossed out with the writer.

8. Dragon Ball Super: As a long running show it's always tough to know where to put Super as I very much enjoy it on a weekly basis and love discussing it. We're also in a very good arc at the moment. Not a perfect one as I've had issues with it. But a very entertaining one nonetheless.

9. Love is Like a Cocktail: In a world of dread, despair and a shitty fucking president this show was exactly what I needed last season. A cause of diabetes with how sweet it is, it's the tale of a very loving husband who makes drinks for his wife who goes from kuudere to super loving and sweet when she gets drunk. It's a very short show so you could watch it very quickly. But if you are ever feeling down and need a show to make you feel happier, why not this?

10. Classroom of the Elite: If I have to be honest, this show is only ranking in here because there wasn't a better show to rank for me. That's not to say I'm just entirely throwing it in here from a list at random. I still VERY MUCH enjoyed it. But for the same reason you enjoy a youtube video of kids trying to be really cool, or watch The Room, or read any of the original characters from artists on DeviantArt. It was so bad it's good. It was so up its own ass with how clever the author thought he was, and how much the team behind the anime was attempting to elevate the material, that it's like a growling puppy that wants you to keep away but then stumbles as he approaches you and flops like a little cute chubby dog. If you want a show about a school for the coolest of the cool students who are all trying really hard to be part of a noir cast, and it stars the most try-hard dandere wanna be noir detective kung fu master protagonist who makes all of the ladies moist simply by existing in the same then step right up as I assure you this will entertain you.

Anime Movie/OVA Series

1. Your Name: I didn't watch many anime films/OVAs that came out this year or in total to make a top 10. But I did watch Your Name and definitely think it deserves the #1 spot for the year as it was an excellent, emotional and gorgeous film.

2. Red Ash: Magicicada:The only other eligible film/OVA I watched. I left my impressions on the old site and they are a bit too long to repost in here (plus images seem to be gone and it feels incomplete without it) so I won't link or repost my impressions. But it was a very enjoyable OVA short film.It Introduced a world and its characters effectively, and it got me hyped for the upcoming video game (if it ever even releases) even if it'll likely differ greatly to the point they're only similar by name and basic characters. It's worth your time as it has a very distinctive CG look. Don't know how easily available it is to non-Kickstarter backers though.

Honorable Mentions:

X. Castlevania (Netflix): This was my favorite 2017 non-japanese animated show of the year. It's a bit of a shame that season 1 ended where it did as it makes it seem more like a prequel series/OVA than an actual S1. But they somehow managed to make the plot events of S1 enjoyable enough to set up S2 which is where the real meat of the series should be. The English VA was a grand ol' time even if some of the side characters were only ok to bad. But the main cast elevates any of the issues they have.

X. Bladerunner Blackout 2022: Even if I haven't seen the latest Bladerunner film due to bad timing on my end to go to the theaters when it was available, I still watched this and loved it. It was a return to the Bladerunner universe animated to be anime and directed by Watanabe of Cowboy Bebop fame. And it delivered. Only reason is in here vs my top OVA/Movies of the year is because technically it is ineligible as it isn't entirely Japanese produced.

X. Trollhunters Seasons 1 and 2: Season 1 came out awkwardly in Christmas 2016 if I recall correctly, and Season 2 came out in 2017. I put this in here because it is one of my favorite CG series to come out in recent times and I feel many are sleeping on it thinking it's yet another throwaway Dreamworks CG series that Netflix produced. But it's created by Guillermo Del Toro, it is one of 3 shows being made for a fantastical series universe he has in mind alongside Dreamworks, and it has creature designs very much aching to his usual style albeit in a more cartoony look. The show stands out that you have very compeling and dangerous villains, decent action scenes, and it has the kids facing death (even killing enemies) on an episode to episode basis which is very strange considering it's a show ultimately aimed at young kids/early teens. Give it a watch, for Guillermo!

X. Neo Yokio: I genuinely thought I would hate this based on who was behind it and the ads they showed for it. It looked like it was going to be rich famous kids playing adults putting their money to make their anime show without putting much effort behind it. But surprisingly, this ended up being entertainment and more deliberate than unintentionally. They did a fantastic job and I wasn't expecting it.

X.Samurai Jack Season 5: The long awaited finale of Samurai Jack had some really high highs, but also some really low lows. The quality of everything but the animation was all over the place and while it reached amazing peaks it also lost me in its characterization and pacing in the second half. Resulting in a finale that straight up ripped off the ending scene of a robot anime that is highly popular in the west and didn't feel nearly as satisfying in any regard to the point it felt like Genndy had more ambition for the season but was limited by the episode count and couldn't cope with it so this is what we ended up with. If you watched Seasons 1 through 4 you should for sure watch it, and not everybody's impressions of the over-all season are as negative as mine and others. I still think it's worth a watch though.

 

[Shard Shinjuku]

Right, so this thread is finally a thing that exists so time to start this vote from the bottom up and then flip the script at the end of the month.

1. Made in Abyss
Indeed I suspect this is going to be topping many lists not just here but outside as well and while I understand the problem elements of this series, the combination of adventure and emotion and characterization managed to overcome those unfortunate aspects and often left me verklempt in its later episodes.

2. Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: Descending Stories
At the beginning of last year I thought this series would have been a shoe in for my person AOTY and while obviously that has not occurred it stil lretains the silver position as this season takes a look at the latter days Eighth Generation Yakumo Yurakutei and his apprentice Third Generation Sukeroku Yurakutei aginst the backdrop of the waning days of the popularity of the artform.

3. My Hero Academia Season 2
If I was giving out sub-awards this year, this would win most improved as after coming off a shitton of unnatural hype, obnoxious fanbase and medicore first season expectations got dialed back and the shonen grows into itself with its best arcs to dare and some of the best shonen fights seen in a good while all the while helping to guide shonen into this radical concept called seasons in order to evade the shit Black Clover is doing.

4. The Girl's Last Tour
It is understandable that many were turned off from this series given the ultra moeblob style, with the emphasis on the blob portion, I suppose part of the uncanny valley is also due to the proper adult portions. Still this was a quiet and contemplative treatise on the human condition that managed to outshine Kino's Journey, which really should not have been possible.

5. Princess Principle
Certainly the lost gem of the year given the choice of platform but damn if wasn't an enjoyable ride of action and espionage centered around a nifty steampunk setting and deserving of a second season.

6. Recommendation of the Wonderful Life/Recovery of an MMO Junkie
I knew I was going to enjoy this title just on the fact that the protagonist is a 30 year old woman who eschews the corporate world to immerse herself into the world of MMORPGS, which does open up questions, but this is a series that is operating on emotions and runs an almost perfect length that leaves the romance moving at a fluid pace.

7. Attack on Titan Season 2
Well then, what a difference four years can make as Attack on Titan finally returns with a higher quality season free of the annoying shonen stretching tactics used to stretch the first season and also adapts arguably the best part of the manga and makes former background characters into arguably the most compelling characters of the series.

8. Ms. Kobayashi's Dragon Maid
Right then, file this under a problematic favorite and not the only title that will have that heading, as the shotacon jokes are just bloody awful but on the other hand we get a very earnest and tasteful and indeed nuanced relationship between a lesbian dragon maid and her possibly aromatic salarywoman employer.

9. Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans
I get the feeling that many have forgotten that the second part of the second season even aired this year but indeed it did and in the process gave us one of the most controversial endings seen this side of Tomino and I am on the side of thinking it was a good move for the most part.


10. The Ancient Magus Bride
Ah yes, the great hype of the fall season arrived with a bit of a thud given its slow start and its questionable premise gave it some early lumps but quickly eased into one of the most interesting exploration of real world folklore I have seen in animation since the heyday of Gargoyles.