I know that I’m prone to exaggeration, but I honestly feel as though 2023 was my favourite year of anime ever. From the winter season onward, the hits just kept on coming and coming, to the point where compiling this list became legitimately stressful.

There are a great many classics that won’t get their due today, as my candidates exceeded 20 individual entries. Perhaps in future editions I’ll expand the rankings beyond 10 to better encapsulate the pure joy that is a year in anime, but for now, these are my picks.

And yes, you’ll notice some big shockers here and there. Get ready for a wild, wild time, senpai!

10. The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today

Anyone who knows me shouldn’t be at all surprised to see that this anime cracked the top 10. The premise alone of an enormous, fastidious cat trying to keep up a happy household in the face of his flippant owner is enough to delight, but what I hadn’t anticipated was exactly how much I would be stricken right in the feels, to boot.

Sometimes there’s an overarching narrative to The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today, and at other points it’s more of an anthology of short stories. Equally are just as delightful, and the one-two punch of Yukichi and Saku never fails to amuse. Somehow, both the cat and the cat owner are my spirit animals in their own unique way.

I was just incredibly happy to watch this anime, and the flashbacks to a shivering, stray Yukichi as a lost kitten brought me to tears every single time. That is to say, I cried more watching this anime than anything else in 2023, and for a silly, slice-of-life anime, that’s no small feat.

I’m so glad this story happened, and I am more than ready for further adventures in kitty housekeeping. Give me all of it, please and thank you.

9. Dr. Stone: New World

Considering that the one-hour special Ryusui had originally held one of last year’s top 10 spots for quite some time, it was academic that the follow-up season would re-emerge here. With that being said, I was blown away by the amount of ‘oh shit!’ moments Dr. Stone: New World had in store.

Now that the Kingdom of Science is established and secure, Senku and his crew are set to travel across the ocean to determine the origin of the petrification beam once and for all. New World set the standard for shivers with Why Man, but Ibara is handily the most intimidating villain of this entire anime season.

Even with such a robust cast, all of its characters have their time to shine, and seeing some of the mightiest warrirors pitted against each other is exhilarating (to borrow a phrase from Senku himself). Adding a personality as big as Ryusui’s could have been risky, considering how magnetic and talkative he is, but once again, it strikes a perfect balance. He slots so naturally into the roster, you’d think he had been there from day one.

Dr. Stone has always been a finely crafted anime that treads new ground, and three seasons in, it is becoming even more must-watch than ever.

8. SPY x FAMILY Season 2

Spy x Family toppled some stiff competition to come out as #1 in the EZIYODA rankings last year, and it continues to impress in 2023.

The Cruise Adventure arc feels like its biggest event so far, putting Yor in the spotlight at long last. By and large, season 1’s focus was on Loid’s undercover missions and Anya being kawaii and derpy, so a protracted storyline centred around the Thorn Princess’ most dangerous assignment dialled up the action to 11.

Even more than in its premiere season, Spy x Family left me gobsmacked with its animation. The fireworks melee is an absolute masterclass of pacing and intrigue, presented in simply fabulous visual splendour. Yor’s character development progresses by leaps and bounds over the span of a few episodes, and even with all of the heavy narrative lifting, it consistently remains charming and hilarious as ever.

7. Tomo-chan is a Girl!

As always, shonen is the genre to beat for my attention. But whether it was the endearing My Dress-Up Darling or the vivacious More Than a Married Couple, I have always got time for romantic comedies that delight me from out of nowhere.

This year, the indomitable Tomo Aizawa and her flirtatious shenanigans got things started off with a wondrous bang of pure lo- love. She is such a magnetic presence that you can’t help but root for, in yet another home run performance from the versatile Rie Takahashi.

The circuitous path to her childhood friend’s heart is the narrative through line, but even when it’s just Tomo, Misuzu and Carol palling around, it’s food for the soul. Amidst a powerhouse lineup of gripping struggles and emotional tragedy, this is a feel-good anime to warm you back up. It should be featured in every healthy, balanced anime diet.

6. Buddy Daddies

As a self-confessed Spy x Family aficionado, the notion of an assassin juggling their violent profession with the rigours of childrearing is familiar and welcome territory to me. Where Buddy Daddies differs from the Forgers, however, is that it has a greater focus on the sentimental home life — and it’s all the better for it.

This is one of the sweetest anime I’ve seen in years, somehow thrilling, hysterical, and heartfelt all at once. Kazuki and Rei are a natural duo, and let’s be honest, legit hotties, and the addition of the adorable Miri amplifies their positive qualities. Seeing her and Rei be equally blunt towards each other for different reasons (the innocence of a child vs the aloofness of a coldblooded killer) was one of my favourite developments of the 2023 season.

It’s noteworthy how many anime nowadays are based on existing licenses, particularly a manga as its source. Just one look at Buddy Daddies, however, is enough to reaffirm the belief that original anime are still as potent and compelling as ever. About the only grievance I have is that its ending implies a definitive endpoint, where I believe the concept has enough steam to continue for many seasons yet to come.

Alas, alas. At the very least, said ending put a perfect bow on this lovely story. I miss those daddies already.

5. Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

If there’s one thing in storytelling I adore almost as much as cats, it’s zombies. Anime has a wealth of flesh-eating thrills on offer, but for my money, the most magnetic one yet has been Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, which reframes the events of a zombie apocalypse as a chance for adventure.

Akira Tendo is a loveable goofball who is finally freed from the shackles of society, taking it upon himself to accomplish all of the whimsical goals he had been putting off. It’s a fun idea, but for me at least, an inspirational one as well — motivating me to begin a bucket list of my own. An enjoyable anime with a message you take to heart? That’s a shoe-in for a top 10 spot in my book.

Falling victim to sizable production delays (let’s not address the irony, but instead give credit to the magic that animators bring us day after day), it looked as though Zom 100 wouldn’t make it in time to qualify for this year’s rankings. Thankfully, the final three episodes were dropped on the 25th of December, and what a tremendous Christmas gift that turned out to be. They were perhaps the series’ finest yet; a pure distillation of what makes this anime so amazing.

4. Blue Lock

I’ve been waiting a long, long time to talk about this one. Back when I was working out last year’s ranking, I had initially considered anime that were in progress, including Blue Lock of the Fall 2022 season.

As it wasn’t due to wrap up until March of this year, I ultimately elected to push it into the 2023 edition, and just thinking about it again has gotten me hyped all over again. Sports anime typically follow a ‘let’s all do our best and work together formula’, so this subversive story about ephemeral allegiances between self-serving egomaniacs is absolutely gripping stuff.

It was the anime I absolutely had to watch first when a new episode dropped, with each new twist ramping up the stakes another notch. I’ve spoken in the past about how the strength of Blue Lock lies in its diverse cast, but the shorthand version is that you never know who you can trust, including the main character himself.

Each new arc shuffles the heroes and villains around — or more accurately, the villains and even bigger villains — and it’s only a matter of time before the next favourite is eliminated from contention. Blue Lock was on a path to remain the undisputed top dog, up until a somewhat unlikely trio of titans came crashing through later in the year…

3. Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2

From the moment I first laid eyes on Jujutsu Kaisen, I was entranced. Its core characters rival anything the industry has ever seen before, it teeters between engrossing and downright jocular, and and even the dang OP told a story that left us breathless.

Once the first season had ended, I was itching so much for more curse-crushing goodness that I picked up the manga and devoured every single chapter available (246 as of today). So I knew that the Shibuya Incident Arc was going to destroy me. And yet… even when you know who is going to die, and how traumatic those deaths are going to be, witnessing it unfold on-screen still hits with the irresistible strength of Truck-kun.

Prefacing the showdown with the history of Gojo and Geto makes everything that much more impactful. The world of the jujutsu sorcerers was never a safe one, exactly, but this arc is the moment where it feels like everything is falling apart and the good guys are going to perish, one by one. And my god, the spectacle that is Yuji vs Choso? It takes my award for fight of the year, (blood-soaked) hands down.

2. Attack on Titan: Final Season – The Final Chapters

It’s a momentous occasion that has been a decade in the making. The war between humans and Titans has given us more memories than we could possibly count, and in actual fact, has been my most covered subject on the anime writing front.

Last year, I was honoured to highlight Attack on Titan: Final Season Part 2 as part of Crunchyroll’s anime of the year coverage, so these closing stages are near and dear to my heart. Even so, the Final Chapters are unparalleled. Presenting them as two feature length specials was absolutely the right call, giving it complete and utter gravitas.

This should feel important. And it did. Whether it was the excruciating skirmish between Hange and the Wall Titans, or the ultimate showdown between the Founding Titan and the Scout Regiment, you knew that you had a first row seat to cinematic history.

I’m an impatient person by nature, but having one special premiere in March, and then waiting until November for the conclusion amplified everything. I can’t even consolidate my thoughts into how significant this was, and how masterfully it was done. This has cemented Attack on Titan as one of anime’s all-time greats.

1. The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You

Again, I’m no stranger to romantic comedies. I’m no stranger to harem anime, either. And yet, nothing could quite prepare me for the sheer splendour that is The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You.

Rentaro Aijo is a loser in love who has suffered 100 straight rejections, only to find that he’s destined to meet his soulmate in high school. Due to a technical glitch, he actually has 100 different soulmates out there, and has elected to simply date them all at once.

I think one of the reasons why 100 Girlfriends resonates with me so much is that it is just so lovely to watch unfold. Its premise might make Rentaro sound like a sleaze, but he’s an innocent little bean who legitimately adores all of his girlfriends, leading to sweet moments that make them all equally as important.

It’s often goofy, occasionally crass, and more self aware than any anime I’ve watched in years. As wild as it seems to crown this my anime of the year over some absolute juggernauts, this is the first time I have rewatched all of the available content partway through (six episodes at the time), and ran out to buy volume 1 of the manga. A physical copy, in today’s day and age.

It just tickled me so, to the point of practical obsession. If everyone out there has their perfect soulmate in anime, The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You just very well may be mine.

I also had the honour of being involved with the Crunchyroll News Team’s 2023 anime year in review, so please check that out for one last walk down memory lane! Yes, of course I name-drop Rentaro in my contribution.