Ben Morris’s Most Anticipated Anime For 2025

When it comes to seeing what anime looks interesting to me in an upcoming season there are several things I look at. The most obvious is, of course, if it is another season of a show I already liked, but the biggest for new shows is what is the community as a whole excited about. I am not a manga reader, but I watch YouTube videos and follow many anime ranking sites, and you get a general sense about what is on people’s radar. Then there is just reading descriptions of shows and seeing if something sounds interesting. I am usually a fan of slice-of- life/romance anime with a mix of comedy and some drama, if it intrigues me enough. So with my very unscientific process, here are my most anticipated anime of 2025.

5. Happy Marriage This is the easiest for me seeing as the first season made my honorable mentions top ten list when it last came out. Miyo and Kiyoka’s relationship was beyond wonderful to watch as Miyo finally has someone who cares about her and Kiyoka has someone who loves him for him and not his position. In this alternate telling of Japan in the Taishō era, it was a surprise in season one when this appeared to just be a Cinderella type tale that we discovered that magic exists in this world mainly controlled by powerful houses. There is a great deal of political intrigue around the two of them, getting increasingly more dangerous when we last saw them, but they were even more devoted to each other. Seeing what happens next with the great world building and intriguing characters makes this an easy call for my top five most anticipated. (Netflix)

4. Sakamoto Days This just looks fun! Taro Sakamoto was a legendary hitman, unbeatable in action. Then he got married, had kids, and is now overweight and running a convenience store with his assistant and former hitman Shin, who is also a telepath. People from his old life are still after him and he still seems to be able to kick butt despite no longer looking like a badass. This could be a great comedy show of the season with Taro avoiding killing now and having eclectic assassins come after him, with a cute family and former hitman around him to create some interesting contrasts to the violence and create humor. The manga got great reviews as well so is definitely on my radar.(Netflix)

3. Witch Hat Atelier The amount of praise this manga got would be enough reason for me to be intrigued with this show. But really it is the fact that the studio making it–Bug Films–made one of my favorite animes last year, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead. What was equally impressive about them making that show was it was the studio’s first solo anime creation and they were dealing with several production issues, yet still made something incredibly clever, dark, and heartfelt. That this is the second anime they have decided to take on has me excited about what they see in this project. The basic plot is a young girl Coco who dreams of doing magic and sees a witch Qifrey perform. She tries a spell and accidentally turns her mom to stone. She is taken as an apprentice by Qifrey and starts dealing with a secret coven. That is where I stopped looking because I want to go in as blind as I can with such a detailed concept, and want to just let myself discover it. (Crunchyroll)

2. ZENSHU This is an original anime with no source material but the premise has me incredibly intrigued. Natsuko Hirose grew up loving A Tale of Perishing, which made her want to be an animator. When she grows up her first anime is a hit, but she has trouble with the next one and dies of over exhaustion and is reincarnated in the world of A Tale of Pershing. First she is horrified because of how dark the story was, until she realizes that she can re-animate scenes and change the story. We all have stories we loved when we were young even when we wanted them to end differently, and in many cases did create our own versions in our head. So to see that concept actually happening opens the door to a lot of creative and potentially very emotionally satisfying experiences. (Crunchyroll)

1. Honey Lemon Soda I always love a good romance and this seems like the one most interesting coming out this winter season, with the manga getting some acclaim. The simple premise is that a shy girl, Uka Ishimori, gets more confident after meeting a boy named Kai Miura and starts to break out of her shell. This includes finally having friends from Kai’s social group as well as starting to develop feelings for Kai, though how strongly he thinks of her that way appears likely but with something holding him back. A good slow burn like this usually sets up some great character development, and stories like these have made my top ten lists of the year. Here is hoping that trend continues. (Crunchyroll)

There are several second or third seasons of shows that I have loved that say they are coming out this year, but are unclear on release date and might end up being postponed. That said, either way you should catch up with Spy x Family, Oshi no Ko, The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, and Call of the Night, just in case.