Top 10 Anime of 2018

While it wasn’t as ground-breaking as its universally adored predecessor, 0 was still a more than worthy follow up to the time-travelling adventures of anime’s favourite mad scientist. Set in a world where Okabe failed to save his beloved Kurisu, he soon finds himself thrown into a new deadly conundrum, one that happens to involve the likes of A.I, more time-line hopping, as well as plenty of nefarious organisations looking to twist the space-time continuum for their own gains. It would be higher on our list if not for a few slower parts sprinkled in earlier episodes, but as far as alternate-timelines go, this one is at the top of the class.

It was the Isekai we never knew we wanted. While Rimuru certainly had some fierce competition this year, the sentient slime takes the cake thanks to it’s charming cast, a world rich with fantasy, and somehow succeeding at feeling fresh in a genre beyond saturated. After meeting an untimely death, an average Japanese salaryman finds himself inhabiting a new blob body in a land filled with tsundere dragons, sexy goblins, sexier elves and the most based direwolves ever. With plenty of heart, oddly enthralling action sequences and a hilariously meta protagonist, Slime looks to take the crown as far as modern Isekais are concerned.

While our introduction to the world’s most powerful esper established himself and his friends as comedy icons, the sequel season managed to take the chemistry and quirkiness and somehow perfect it. Not only did we have more of Saiki’s signature dry wit, Nendou’s innate ineptness and Kaido being Kaido, but we also got plenty of new additions to the line-up, including new almost-best girl Mikoto Aiura. We’re still Teruhashi fanboys – ouff. You don’t need to be psychic to know that if you’re after a good laugh, Saiki has got you covered – and its on Netflix, so you’ve got no excuse.

This is the season that gave us the character of Escanor. What other reason do we need to include it? Okay, okay – aside from the debut of quite possibly the most of manly of moustached men, the Sins certainly didn’t waste any time throwing everything they could into this sequel series. We had the delightfully evil antics of the Ten Commandments, everyone (except Jericho) getting a romance, the truth about Meliodas’ demon past, even Angels showed up…for some reason... Though, again, the only reason you need to check out the Sins’ second outing is to watch the Lion Sin of Pride make some baddies his bitches.

You have to feel sorry for any romance anime that come out next year, because this show darling has raised the bar. After finding a senior student wandering around in a playboy bunny outfit seemingly invisible to everyone but him, Sakuta not only finds himself embroiled in the most unconventional of relationships, but also has to aid other cute girls as they find themselves afflicted with the phenomenon known as Adolescence Syndrome. The relationship is beautifully concocted, the characters are totally fleshed out, Mai is pitch perfect waifu material, and the subtext regarding the problems teenagers face is painfully on point. Get in, Sakuta.

Overflowing with beautiful animation and held together by a narrative that is bound to have you in tears, Violet’s journey from soulless soldier all the way to heartfelt ghost-writer is one that should be seen by all. Following her fallen commander’s parting words, Violet finds herself employed as an Auto Memory Doll; wandering around the country and writing letters for those wanting to express what lies in their hearts. Throughout these encounters, not only does Violet slowly start to learn what it means to be human, but also the true nature of what her commander meant when he said “I Love You”.

Ah, JoJo; it’s like you never left. Unlike his stylish forebears, this new generation Joestar has a dream of becoming Italy’s number one Gang-Star - All you need to do is send him your credit card number and the three digits on the back. Say hello to Giorno; son of Dio and all around badass. Not only has Part 5 given us all the crazy Stand battles we could want, but thanks to the mafia element, we’re given a cast of lovable yet morally grey characters unlike any we’ve seen in the franchise.
If that’s not enough to convince you, then this scene definitely will. Take it away, lads.

How does this show keep getting better? Three years in a row and Deku and company continue to redefine and champion the superhero genre, complete with all manner of epic Quirk-filled fights. Needless to say, not only was this season the most explosive given the clashes with the League of Villains, but also displayed just how much further Class 1-A has come on the road towards becoming Pro-Heroes. Every student gets a chance to show their growth, especially in regard to Bakugo, and lest we forget this was also the series that gave us the showdown with All Might vs All for One. We can’t wait for season four.

If you thought the Season Two had raised the stakes, then you ain’t seen nothing yet. Following Eren’s reveal as the Coordinate, the entirety of the Survey Corp find themselves hunted by the upper echelons of humanity, as their mysterious link regarding the Titans and the Walls comes to light. For those who want bloody action, you’ve got it in spades. For those intrigued by the detective aspect introduced in the previous series, it’s here in abundance. And for those who just want to watch Levi kick a little booty…well that’s here too. Special mention to Historia for somehow managing to steal the entire show in the space of a single episode!

Before we reveal the best anime of 2018, here are a few honorable mentions.

“Sword Art Online: Alicization” (2018)

“Hinamatsuri” (2018)

“Gintama Silver Soul Arc” (2018)

“Overlord” Season Two & Three (2018)

Unforgiving, haunting and drenched in every taboo theme imaginable, Go Nagai’s classic property found itself given new life via Masaaki Yuasa, and as a result captivated a whole new generation with its portrayal of human depravity. After being turned into a demon hybrid, Akira struggles to balance his dark urges, while trying to save his loved ones from the invading forces of hell, all the while humanity slowly starts to lose themselves and slip into savagery. Don’t get us wrong, you’ll feel part of your soul die after watching it, but we couldn’t be more thankful for the experience… It’s one of those shows that might just change you.