Now that I’ve done one for the 2020s, it’s time to go one step back and look at my first full-length decade of anime.
A Note Before Reading: I have not seen every anime in the world. I haven’t seen most anime, either in general or for the 2010s. This list is part of a project, both for myself and others, to see where my anime tastes currently are and how they have evolved; I plan to make lists like this for each decade every year or most every year, depending on circumstances. I would like discussion on my picks, but please don’t flood this with “Where’s X?” because the answer is either “I haven’t seen it,” “I haven’t finished it,” or “I have seen it, but I didn’t like it as much as the anime I did pick.”
With that note out of the way, let’s get started.
2010:
AOTY: Angel Beats: Death is easy; it’s the life after that’s the hard part. Jun Maeda’s first original anime, this series follows a group of young adults who are some kind of purgatorial space, trying to confront God while crossing paths with a mysterious “angel” that the main character Otonashi becomes interested in. This is a flawed series for certain between the compressed plot battling against an overburdened cast and a narrative that isn’t always sure what it wants to say, but there’s still quite a bit to like here. The moment-to-moment narrative level plays well, both in its comedy and its serious moments, and the visuals still hold up for a 13-year-old TV anime. While it may not be the most spectacular show on this list, it’s still one to check out.
Runner Up: Highschool of the Dead: OK, hear me out. I wasn’t expecting this to appear here, either, but thinking about it, there’s something both good and purely 2010s about it. Set during the first days of the zombie apocalypse as a group of high schoolers try to survive both the undead and humanity’s worst, the show quickly became known for its overwhelming fanservice in the midst of a horror anime. What makes me enjoy this show (besides that aspect) is the sense of commitment you get from the people making it. I can assume that no one making this thought this was great art, but that doesn’t result in a phoned-in production, particularly for the animators at Madhouse, who create many dynamic action scenes along the way, and for the dubbing team and cast, who may have created a controversial dub but one that played along with the self-awareness. The story and characters may not be the most developed but there’s still enough weight to them (I’m resisting the urge to make a boobs joke) to carry the show to its open-road conclusion.
2011:
AOTY: Fate/zero: We’ll be covering both halves of this anime in different years, so I won’t talk about everything here, just the stuff from the first cour. After a slow start (that circling conversation will haunt me for years), we’re off for a fun ride that also has some things to think about. Sure, it may not all work together (both because it causes some issues with the broader series and because it’s Urobuchi), but there’s still ideas to consider about the ways power can form and how it should be used in society. Combine that with animation and choreography during the first half’s few fights and some interesting characters (Isakander is still best boy) and you’ve got a damn good start.
Runner Up: Yuru Yuri: The complete opposite of Fate/zero is a show that 1) has no sense of taking itself seriously and 2) treats its female characters well. Taking place in an everyday middle school with a (mostly) everyday group of girls, Yuru Yuri is the kind of easy going lighthearted fun its title advertises… kind of. The insanity that these girls get up to is way more than I had in my middle school years, but it certainly makes for some sapphically-infused entertainment.
2012:
AOTY: Fate/zero 2nd Season: Coming up to the second half of this Grail War, we get more complex, more intense, and more emotional. As the rapidly decreasing number of Masters and Servants face themselves and each other, the stakes get higher and the sense of victory - or any real chance at a better life - begins to fade, although not completely. It’s in this half that we get some of the most memorable moments from the series - a betrayed warrior’s vengeful curse, the last moments of a bonded pair, a boy’s lost innocence, the cruelties man can visit upon each other. Unto the last moment, Fate/zero never pretended to be anything it couldn’t be, for better or worse.
Runner Up: Psycho-Pass: A banner year for Gen Urobuchi, Psycho-Pass is in the different direction in terms of genre and presentation but still asks similar questions to Fate/zero in terms of what humanity wants - and what it’s willing to sacrifice to get that. Set in a future where surveillance is all-pervading and criminal potentiality has been reduced to a number, the case of the week first half of the series is quite strong, demonstrating the different ways this society views violence and how such a system impacts everyone, from the common citizen to those working within it. The second half gets a bit too convoluted but is still enjoyable along the way. Combined with a well-done cyberpunk setting and you’ve got yourself a good ride, even if the ending may not be fully worth the toll.
2013:
AOTY: Non Non Biyori: Despite not being a rural guy myself, I quite enjoy rural-set anime and Non Non Biyori is one of the better ones out there. What helps it out is that it’s a series that’s about joining experiences and mindsets together, having a girl from the city come to the countryside and start to find influences from one another. The series takes a calm, breezy approach to everyday life in a slow place while still providing enough entertaining antics, particularly from the childishly wise (wisely childish?) Renge. Rural Japan has rarely looked so appealing as it does in this series, thanks to its lush background art and gorgeous sound design. Now if only we can get people to move here…
Runner Up: Love Live! School Idol Project: It’s the one that started it all and it’s still a good time. What particularly works here is watching this group, from a small trio of childhood friends challenging something bigger than themselves to a family-like unit that has laughed, cried, and fought together (and each other), a group of women who have better realized themselves and each other than they ever imagined. The CG’s rough compared to the second part and I’m still not a fan of the ending, but there’s a lot to admire here.
2014:
AOTY: Chaika the Coffin Princess (Season 1 and Avenging Battle): Perhaps best known for memes than its actual story today, Chaika the Coffin Princess has a lot to offer for people tired of today’s glut of isekai fantasy. Taking place in a post-war world that is still grappling with what it wants to be, the emergence of a tyrant’s daughter and her quest across the realm to give her father a burial sparks multiple groups into chasing each other, learning more of the dark past that still haunts the region. This anime has a lot to offer, from fluid fight animation and a dynamic cast to a wide range of thematic questions about war and identity. Ultimately, what makes Chaika so great is how complete it feels; in an era where you can’t expect an anime to give you a complete experience by the end, Chaika showcases an engaging story from beginning to end and leaves you satisfied with what you’ve seen.
Runner Up: Terror in Resonance: It may be a bit messy, but I prefer series that aim for the moon rather than keep it safe. Watanabe’s series about terrorists in modern Tokyo uncovering a broader conspiracy, Terror is deeply interested in what it means to live in modernity, in an anonymous age where the only way to make yourself known amidst the competing superpowers is to set the world on fire. A detailed presentation and ambient post-rock soundtrack compliment the political ideas at display in the series, from the interference of America in Japanese politics to the ever-present influence of the nuclear age in the contemporary period. The plot may be a bit messy, but where the journey ends is all worth it.
2015:
AOTY: Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Bloodied Orphans: I try not to let my memories of Season 2 ruin how great this first half of IBO is. It’s a dark, uncompromising story about the ways children and other overlooked groups are constantly exploited by society - and what happens when they’ve had enough. The mecha fight scenes are great as always, with a visceral crunchiness that makes you feel every blow, but the characters around them are what make this show really worth it, as some find out who they really are while others are lost in their anger or despair. Combine that with Sunrise’s typically stellar presentation and a deeply emotional soundtrack and you have one hell of a mecha series.
Runner Up: Miss Hokusai: On a quite different track from future-set mecha battles, we have an Edo-set artistic drama with some supernatural elements because art really does a hella lot to your brain. In all seriousness, Miss Hokusai is a really unique take on the biopic, present the lives of the famed artist Hokusai and his daughter, who does the majority of the work and tries to become her own artist, in a series of short vignettes over the span of a year or so. This format helps give a richer sense of life to the titular character, letting us better understand the ways that she sees the world and interacts with others around her. Keiichi Hara’s direction gives us an intimate look at this world stunningly realized, all the while inching closer and closer to the inevitable facts about art and life: nothing lasts forever.
2016:
AOTY: Flying Witch: One of the high points of all slice of life anime, Flying Witch finds the perfect balance between the magical and the everyday. Another rural based series like Non Non Biyori, Flying Witch’s usage of magical and supernatural elements adds another part of charm and interest to the series while never overwhelming the characters’ regular lives; meeting a flying whale is just as important as enjoying pancakes with friends and family. JC Staff put their all into this production, creating a luscious landscape tinged with otherworldly beauty and a welcoming nature. Flying Witch never intends to overwhelm or overexcite; instead, it’s a deeply relaxing series that shows that we can find magic everywhere we go, even if we don’t fully notice it.
Runner Up: Your name: Yeah, yeah, I know, not a big surprise, but there’s a reason it was so popular for so long. Even with its flaws, Your name just works so well as a cinematic experience about the ways fates and lives can cross each other in the least expected ways. The way time and space bend around one another, causing ripples that bounce back and create further changes, is elegantly illustrated in Shinkai’s direction, as well as the landscapes of Tokyo and the countryside he creates. The plot loses some of its luster in the last third, but still comes to a compelling conclusion that lives the best to come.
2017:
AOTY: Girls Last Tour: No one said a slice of life series had to be full of many lives. Essentially a two hander adventure set at the end of the world, exploring the ruins of humanity, Girls Last Tour strikes the rare balance between devastating and uplifting. On the one hand, it’s clear there’s no future left for humanity, no way for us to survive, only left to observe what we’ve left behind in a hauntingly gorgeous landscape. On the other hand, there is still life, as fleeting as it may be, and it is experienced with every small joy that is found in this world. The characters themselves may be basic representations of viewing the world, temporary joy versus focused knowledge, but there’s character to them beyond that in a way that makes them always endearing. It’s a cold, lonely world, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find out what else there is.
Runner Up: Night is Short, Walk on Girl: On the opposite side of the liveliness spectrum, Night is Short, Walk on Girl presents one of the wildest and fun-filled nights you can ever imagine. Intersecting two plotlines of a black haired college student who simply wishes to enjoy life and a fellow student who wants to set up the perfect fated meeting between them, this movie showcases just how absurd life can be if you’re willing to open yourself up. Masaaki Yuasa and the staff at Science SARU bring every character and object to an exaggerated sense of life while never forgetting the humanity that these characters have, foibles and all. Life is a romance, a comedy, a tragedy, a mystery, an adventure; on the best days, it’s all of the above.
2018:
AOTY: Yuru Camp: Is there anything better than pure, relaxing comf? One of the best slice of life anime ever made, the first season of Yuru Camp is a delightful romp that is equal measures beautiful, comedic, and heartwarming. Yuru Camp may be a simple story about a group of high school girls who enjoy the great outdoors and their time with each other, but it’s also a simple story told very well and with a great connectivity to the audience. This is a series that lets you know your way of living, whether by others or by yourself, is fine as long as it makes you happy and that the smallest moments are the ones you’ll remember the most, not the big events crowded with the feelings of others. It’s a series that believes in the beauty that exists in the greater world but also the beauty that can be found in friendships and random encounters. Above all else, Yuru Camp is a series that welcomes you no matter who you are and simply asks that you enjoy life as you are, no artificial flavors needed. (Although a pinecone would be nice.)
Runner Up: Violet Evergarden: A similar yet drastically different series to Yuru Camp, Violet Evergarden showcases a brilliant combination of dramatic and slice of life storytelling with visual aplomb. Taking place in the aftermath of a war that tore apart a continent, the series follows the titular Violet Evergarden, a child soldier who now works to write messages and texts for others, all the while grappling with her own emotions and what her future will look like. Being a Kyoani joint, it’s stunningly beautiful in both animation and composition, each shot bringing across the exact emotion the story wants you to feel, particularly with Evan Call’s stunning soundtrack. Violet Evergarden is a fascinating character for as much that we don’t know as we learn with all of the different people she meets over the series, who all have their own losses and pains. This world is not an easy one, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find a way to move forward.
2019:
AOTY: Kanata no Astra: A sci-fi adventure with thematic and character depth aplomb; a rare find, sure, but one to deeply appreciate when you come across it. At first glance, Kanata no Astra seems like a simple story: a group of teenagers (and one child) find themselves stranded halfway across the galaxy, only having an old spaceship, a madcap plan, and their own skills to keep them alive in the depths of space. However, complications immediately arise both from their own troubled pasts and the realization that they’re here for a specific reason… Kanata no Astra builds in intensity over time, getting its pressure boiler of a cast close enough to the edge while still finding a way to move forward and have them become their own kind of family. The presentation of the series adds to its epic scope, with vivid planetscapes and an intimate-yet-expansive cinematography. Not every plot point works out perfectly, but it overall makes for an enjoyable, empathetic, and exciting voyage.
Runner Up: Given: Ending the version of this decade, we have an intimate love story that achingly tackles grief and how much we can take before needing others. Following a four-man indie band trying to make a name for themselves in Tokyo’s music scene, the series eventually focuses on the developing relationship between its youngest members and their own traumas they must handle before being with each other. The narrative of the series helps to build the characters’ world and people that they surround themselves with in an even yet complex manner, showing how each interaction builds on one another while also interacting with a past they may not fully understand. The music scenes, as limited as they are, ties deeply into the narrative, including a scene that hits just as hard, if not harder, as “That Band”. Overall, it’s a powerful gay romance, band story, and coming of age narrative all wrapped into one package.