Uk Anime Reviews
2020 began so well, with more cinema screenings of anime pencilled in the diary – and then the pandemic struck. Which meant, after a massive re-shuffle of ideas and everyone working from home, taking part in online conventions, the arrival of Anime Limited’s Screen Anime streaming service and many more innovative adaptations to the unforeseen circumstances. This year has seen Crunchyroll go all out on its Crunchyroll Originals, especially commissioned anime series (notably some based on webtoons) and Amazon Prime has ceased to show brand-new material, while Netflix continues to commission shows and release them, following its own model. Many series were significantly delayed because of COVID-19. Nevertheless, the Anime UK News writers are here, undaunted, to bring you their ‘Best of 2020’ recommendations – do let us know if you agree or have recommendations of your own to share with us!
2020 certainly brought its fair share of problems for new anime with a great deal of the Spring Season being delayed into Summer and no doubt plenty of problems behind the scenes we aren’t even aware of! Nevertheless life goes on and this year has still brought some of our favourite series back to our screens.
As we say goodbye to some of our favourite series, we also welcome in new ones. This year I fell in love with
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(which is even getting a S2 next year!). With the rise of Crunchyroll and Funimation, we’re now seeing almost every series get licensed season to season, which offers us a greater variety of shows than ever before. While I’m not fond of Netflix’s release model, it’s hard to deny that they have some compelling series under their belt with series like
Despite everything, I think 2020 has managed to have a show for everyone and I hope that continues into 2021, particularly when it comes to the original projects the distributors are funding.
Despite the pandemic throwing production schedules into meltdown, 2020 has provided us with plenty of new anime and old favourites, and it’s the new stuff which I think has shone the best.
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Emerged as an early favourite and remains the best show I’ve seen this year, with its sweet and funny drama around Kakushi Goto trying to keep his job as a manga author a secret from his daughter Hime. This was great entertainment, while the mystery presented in the present-day segments provided a nice little driving force for watching week-in, week-out.
, which proved to be more than just a great-looking action show with a fantastic cast of wacky characters. Its early twist really threw everyone for a loop, but it was one that I felt that paid off, deepening its plot and allowing it to build up its vision of a dystopian world where humans are on the verge of extinction really well. Meanwhile,
Might have had a slow start, but emerged after its COVID-related delay as a great attempt at making a uniquely styled western.
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In stark contrast to all of this, I found that a lot of the sequels to popular franchises came up short of my expectations. I begrudgingly sat through all of the first part of
’s second season, which sadly put the franchise to bed for me with its confusing storyline that felt like it wasn’t really going anywhere, while the final part of
Overall, I’d say 2020 has been a great year for anime, and I think having all of these series shows that, despite everything, there’s still been at least something for everyone to enjoy.
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When it came to brand-new series in 2020, there was one show that stood out in particular for me. It was a show that can be summed up simply in two words: “Easy” and “Breezy”.
Aired at the start of the year, it was a big topic of discussion among many anime fans. The story in which three schoolgirls decide to form a “film club” which is actually an anime studio quickly became popular for many reasons. You have the entertaining characters: Midori’s imagination constantly driving her ambition, Tsubame hiding her desire to be an animator from her parents, and Sayaka trying to keep the pair of them on course.
There is also the quality of the animation, with Midori’s machines and landscapes coming to live as the character discuss their work; the music, especially that opening theme tune that I referenced at the beginning; and the many cultural references they make throughout the series, from Sayaka performing the
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2020 has seen some solid anime offerings, both continuations and new anime to enjoy. An unexpected standout for me was the usually calm and endearing By the Grace of the Gods (Funimation). I initially went into this not knowing what to expect but each week has offered something new (and slime-related).
Earlier in 2020 I also found the gritty Sci-Fi series ID:INVADED (Funimation) to be an intriguing highlight for the year, whilst A Certain Scientific Railgun T (Crunchyroll) offered a great continuation of the overall ongoing series.
(Crunchyroll) got the year off to an amazing start with a heartfelt tribute to the art and craft of making an anime, demonstrated by the passion of three young high school students drawn together to create an anime. Hopes were high that 2020 was going to be exceptional.
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And then – COVID-19. Projects that were already underway were delayed and the one series I’d been waiting for went on hiatus after two episodes (along with many others). Luckily, it survived and went on to be streamed in its entirety (only eleven episodes). It won’t be everyone’s favourite but it ticked a lot of boxes for me:
(Funimation) is based on a series of novels from the 70s but was updated to the present day. It’s a crime thriller/buddy/cop/action/comedy/drama that defies pigeon-holing and by creating an intriguing group of characters and splicing them with tropes from 60s/70s thriller movies, managed to create something rather special.
We don’t talk a lot at Anime UK News about the series that didn’t deliver or were personal DNFs but I’ve had some concerns about the proliferation of isekai – not just in anime but in light novels and manga. Submerged underneath a tidal wave of clichéd material, we’re rapidly losing sight of all the unique features that once made isekai fresh and interesting. A new series would now have to be very special indeed to catch my attention. I’ve also not been thrilled by Crunchyroll’s Originals (with the exception of
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(Funimation) – and I can only agree with them wholeheartedly; it’s an anime which perfectly enhances the manga’s original graphic style and tone of voice, effortlessly managing the balance between humour and heartwarming. Recent unexpected discoveries for me include
All airing on Funimation this autumn and all rather good. I’ll discuss these in greater detail in our Autumn 2020 Review. Catch them before they’re gone!
While I enjoy a great thought-provoking, densely plotted anime that’ll leave me at the edge of my seat with every cliff-hanger, there’s always been a special place in my heart for anime where you can switch your brain off and strap in for the ride – and fortunately, in a year where we needed that more than ever, anime delivered.
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May have aired before we all really knew what this year would have in store for us, but despite everything that’s happened since, this dumb little show still brings a smile to my face whenever I think of it. The series is about Kaede “Maple” Honjo, a girl who starts playing an MMORPG on the recommendation of a friend, and without thinking about it, piles all of her avatar’s skill points into the defence stat. The result, is that while she’s incredible slow and offensively weak, she becomes an unstoppable tank who basically curb-stomps the game and leaves dropped jaws in her wake. She and her friend Sally form the “Maple Tree” guild, and alongside the members they recruit, they take part in various ranked events that the game throws at them.
Is the perfect show if you just want something that’ll put the biggest, dumbest smile on your face. I’m not sure if Maple is incredibly dumb or has the biggest galaxy brain ever, but watching the many insane ways she finds to just break the game to her advantage is half the fun – I mean, her mode of transport is a giant floating turtle! The series really has a flare for the dramatic too, with several hype-filled fun moments throughout. Basically, if you like worlds like in
But don’t want to have to deal with life-or-death stakes and would rather just see some mates having a great time, then you’ll have one with
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My other pick for this year technically aired in Japan during 2019, but was only released internationally this year – and like
, reached us very early on, before all the madness. Now, I must confess that I can be a bit of a snob when it comes to CG anime – I’ll be blunt, a lot of it just looks nowhere near as good as 2D animation. However, the technology and talent in the industry is
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