It's been a banner year for anime as its popularity has grown exponentially and American animation looks towards the trailblazing Japanese form to reshape how it tells stories. But while series like Invincible and Vox Machina have been taking inspiration from the adult-forward storytelling of anime, the medium is pushing forward with brilliant storytelling that easily stands alongside what the most successful American animation can offer.
2023 has given us fantastic returning anime series like Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, and Vinland Saga alongside new smash hits like Oshi No Ko, Pluto, and Science Saru's groundbreaking Scott Pilgrim adaptation, and one of the threads through all of it has been the power of the unexpected and unusual.
While anime has always been a place for subversive and original stories, all our runners up and winner this year offered up something truly unique, especially our number one which, despite being a returning series, completely upended viewers' expectations. That all makes perfect sense for a year in which nothing was what it seemed and the underdogs often rose to the top.
So we're embracing the weird, celebrating the unexpected, and breaking down the best anime of 2023 from reincarnation to bands all the way through slow-burn slice of life viking stories.
Runner-Up: Oshi No Ko
We're beginning with one of 2023's biggest and strangest breakout hits. Beautifully brought to the screen by DogaKobo, this eleven episode series is based on the manga of the same name by Aka Akasaka & Mengo Yokoyari. Set in the high-intensity world of Japanese Idols, it might seem like an unassuming if beautifully animated music series about a young pop star named Ai (Rie Takahashi) but that couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, there is nothing like Oshi No Ko simply because of just how wild the central premise is. The series' first episode introduces us to a young doctor, Gorou Amamiya (Kento Ito), who adores the pop idol Ai due to his connection with a young patient, Sarina Tendouji (Tomoyo Takayanagi), who he once treated. When he must treat Ai and help her out of a shocking situation, their relationship is forever changed.
Exploring the ever-more popular reincarnation anime trend, Oshi No Ko sets up what at first seems like a supernatural found family story but soon becomes much more. By the end of the first episode you'll realize that this isn't the show you thought it was as it veers into a completely different genre than where it began. Those broad swings are what makes Oshi No Ko such a favorite this year among both our IGN anime experts and the viewers at home. Inspiring divisive conversation and equally as conflicted reviews, the impact that this show has had in its short months of existence has been nothing short of massive. And on top of all that, its central mystery and surprising honesty about the dangers of fame and celebrity make it a deeply engaging watch. Whether or not you'll be able to enjoy the series will likely depend on how open-minded you are to its wild set up and even more shocking twists. But if you commit to the craziness then you're in for one of the best and most unique anime series of the year.
Runner-Up: BOCCI THE ROCK!
Another new anime series that made our runner up list was this delightful music anime that centers around a young woman with severe anxiety. Though that simple premise isn't necessarily groundbreaking, the way that the show approaches it and brings it to life visually absolutely is. Adapting Aki Hamaji's four panel manga series, CloverWorks brings an experimental visual approach and compassionate insight to this story of a young girl who struggles with anxiety but longs to step into the spotlight and play guitar. Despite the more intimate stakes of the series it's become a mainstream hit since it debuted on Christmas Day 2022. Our own Rafael Motamayor gave it a 9/10 in our review calling it "a charming, visually splendid musical show with a huge heart." That's a very succinct way of summing up just what makes Bocci the Rock! shine brighter than its contemporaries, both in animation and tone.
While many anime use anxiety as a way to offer comedy at the expense of its lead, here we get to root for Hitori Gotoh (Yoshino Aoyama) a young woman who teaches herself the guitar as a way to face up to her anxiety. After years of practice she finally finds herself in a band at high school and her life begins to change. This is one of the best and most thoughtful representations of anxiety that still manages to be fun, entertaining, and aspirational. As if that wasn't enough reason to love it, the series pushes the boundaries of what we've come to expect from animation like this, using multiple mediums and types of animation to tell its story.
In Bocci the Rock! not only do you get a heartwarming coming of age story with fantastic music and sweet friendships but you're also constantly surprised by the vibrant aesthetic choices that the series makes. In a year filled with blockbuster sequel series, massive releases, and Shonen smashes, this feels like the little music anime that could!
Runner-Up: Mob Psycho 100 Season 3
How do you end a beloved adaptation of one of the most popular manga of the last decade? If you're BONES, the studio that brings Mob Psycho to life, the answer is, apparently, perfectly. One of the most anticipated returning shows of the year managed to both live up to expectations and stick the landing in a way that most showrunners making their final seasons dream of.
The reason that this fits into the trend of anime surprising us this year is that the road to Mob Psycho 100 Season 3 wasn't an easy one. There was upheaval with recasting for the English dub and worries about the fact it was drawing from far less source material than previous seasons. And yet despite those issues and the pressure of finishing one of the most popular anime of recent years, Mob Psycho managed to deliver. What made it so great? Leaning into the things that fans love about the show. We got more absurdity than ever alongside some standout action sequences and an impressive amount of closure seeing as there were a lot of loose ends.
Another thing that made this season stand out was the fact that it spent a lot of time on character and overarching narrative, which may have come as a surprise to those who know it best as an action-packed shonen series. Focusing on smaller stakes and intimate emotional arcs about personal accountability and growing up — even in the shadow of supernatural powers and a giant broccoli — feels like it could be a risk, but instead just made the final season stronger. It felt like both a synthesis and expansion of what made the series so popular in the first place and as we end with an emotional call back to the first season, it feels like you're watching history in the making. And seeing as it'll likely be going down as one of the best anime finales, you actually are.
Winner: Vinland Saga Season 2
Despite the fact that we've covered a wide range of risk taking series so far, there was perhaps no series as surprising in 2023 as the second season of Vinland Saga. Just like Makoto Yukimura's manga that inspired it, it chronicles a viking family a thousand years ago. The action-packed speedily-paced revenge-heavy debut season made a huge impact on anime fans around the world. But the second season comes as a delightfully different change of pace, one that represents how brave and unexpected choices can bring new life to even the most beloved of series.
In our 10/10 review, Rafael Motamayor called Season 2 "a masterclass in anime storytelling," which is in no way hyperbole. Going back to the epic historical sagas that inspired it, the second season of Vinland Saga offers up an exploration of the fallout of a life lived solely from revenge. Drawing from the catalog of cinematic masters like Akira Kurasawa, we meet a more mature and tortured Thorfinn Thorsson (Yuto Uemura/Aleks Le/Mike Haimoto). His life now consists of the drudgery and hardship of slavery, which changes the tone and shape of the show instantly. Exploring this real historical aspect of viking culture means the show switches pace, slowing down and focusing on character over action for much of its first few episodes. It almost feels like a slice of life drama showcasing the day to day existence of those in Thorfinn's orbit.
While the second part of the season added more conflict and what our reviewer rightfully called "a ticking time bomb," it was a far cry from what made the first season of Vinland Saga so popular. And that's exactly what makes it so special. The slower pace also allows the series to focus on the trauma and tragedy that Thorfinn has experienced and how it impacts him after the horrific betrayal that he suffered at the end of last season. Beautifully brought to life by MAPPA, this is truly one of the most powerful and surprising sophomore seasons of anime ever.
Honorable Mentions
If you're wondering where your fave anime of the year is, here are the other shows that were in contention for the top spot:
- Aggretsuko: Season 5
- Attack on Titan Final Season: THE FINAL CHAPTERS Specials (1&2)
- Chainsaw Man
- Insomniacs After School
- Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Part 1
- Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury
- Pluto
- Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
- To Your Eternity Season 2
- Undead Murder Farce
- Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead.
What were your favorite anime series of the year? Let us know in the comments!
Rosie Knight is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything from anime to comic books to kaiju to kids movies to horror flicks. She has over half a decade of experience in entertainment journalism with bylines at Nerdist, Den of Geek, Polygon, and more.
