Anime of the Year Finalists 2026

A strong year for drama yields an intriguing collection of finalists for Crunchyroll’s 2026 Anime of the Year.

2025 was a big year for intense dramas and powerful character explorations in the anime world. The finalists for Anime of the Year, for the most part, reflect this change of focus through an eclectic collection of nominees. Three returning popular series: 2025 nominee The Apothecary Diaries (Season 2), 2025 nominee Dandadan (Season 2), and the long awaited finale of My Hero Academia (The Final Season) face off against three very unique and intense newcomer stories: Gachiakuta, The Summer Hikaru Died, and Takopi’s Original Sin, all competing for the 2026 title of Anime of the Year.

The Apothecary Diaries - Season Two

In its second straight year of being nominated in the top category, The Apothecary Diaries had another strong year building on the momentum of the first season. In an ancient China inspired setting, seventeen year old apothecary Maomao is kidnapped and sold into indentured servitude in the rear palace, the residence for the emperor’s various concubines. Although she decides to keep a low profile and serve out her time, her high intelligence and curiosity get noticed by the gorgeous head eunuch, nineteen year old Jinshi, who promotes Maomao and gets her help to solve a string of palace mysteries and murders. In season two we get the long awaited official revelation of Jinshi’s true identity as well as the culmination of a major political upheaval along with some disturbing family history. There is a faster pace in this season’s storytelling with plenty of action added to the puzzle box mysteries for Maomao to solve, and the season turns up the heat on the continuing slow burn romance between the lead characters.

Dandadan - Season Two

Dandadan Season Two is a slight change of pace from Season One, giving us a single cohesive action story arc and less of the strange sexual humor. Season One of this supernatural comedy adventure explored the origin stories of nerdy teen Ken, nicknamed Okarun, who gets possessed by supernatural powers that create an alter ego super version of himself when needed. And we meet his new friend, outgoing Momo who learns the secrets of her very youthful grandma’s supernatural talents and her family’s connection to the spirit world. Together Okarun and Momo work to fight curses and demons while still making time for school and their awkward budding romance. Eventually, another classmate, the self absorbed Aira, and later Momo’s kindhearted childhood friend Jiji join them in their demon fighting adventures, creating a more defined supernatural squad. Season two involves the group’s attempt to deal with an evil possession in Jiji’s home. The season long story arc has great fight scenes, a poignant backstory for the antagonist, and a very creepy villainous demon/ghost family. While season one alternated jarringly between outrageous slapstick comedy and the profound, tragic backstories of the various demons, Season Two has more even pacing with a single direct adventure, along with lots of teambuilding and character introspection woven into the action. Overall, it’s an enjoyable adventure (in many ways more enjoyable than season one) but less intensely philosophical compared the rest of the nominees for Anime of the Year.

My Hero Academia – Final Season

The long running anime, My Hero Academia, came to a satisfying end in 2025. After starting out as a kid-friendly, colorful, optimistic, sometimes silly, action-adventure, the series gradually became more intense and powerful in the later seasons with plenty of onscreen tragedy, moral gray areas, family drama, and deep societal questions. After years of increasing tension between the heroes and the villains and the rest of society, the final season of MHA did not disappoint. The ending story arc featured an intense and gorgeously animated dual showdown between idealistic Deku and the tragic villain Tomura, as well as the angry, loudmouth young hero Bakugo versus the sociopathic villain, All For One. Additionally, the final episode of the series delivered an unexpectedly thoughtful and powerful message on what it means to truly be a hero in everyday life. The final season was the total package of action, sacrifice, camaraderie, and meaningful messaging, making it a sentimental favorite as the long-running story comes to an end.

Gachiakuta

Newcomer Gachiakuta was the breakout new show of the year. The debut anime featured familiar story elements reimagined through a unique setting with stylish animation, heavy social symbolism, and diverse characters. Gachiakuta is the story of Rudo an outcast orphan from an elevated world, who is unjustly sentenced to death for murder and thrown to his death into the deadly, garbage covered surface world below. However, he unexpectedly survives the fall into the toxic atmosphere and is rescued by the charismatic Enjin who convinces Rudo to grudgingly joins a group of specially gifted people who destroy monsters and fight raiders in the world’s wasteland and allow communities to be created in the dismal surface landscape. The debut season of Gachiakuta, had lots of action, likeable found-family dynamics, stylish character design, and outrageously appealing characters including the antagonists. The story balances traditional shonen action with intense and tragic stories, along with diverse characters and plenty of real world symbolism. The grunge vibe and edgy visuals made it no surprise that Gachiakuta landed an Anime of the Year nomination.

The Summer Hikaru Died

In a complete change of pace, The Summer Hikaru Died forgoes the usual action adventure and delivers a slow paced physical and psychological horror. The Summer Hikaru Died tells the story of Yoshiki, a quiet teen boy whose outgoing best friend Hikaru disappears from their rural community. When his friend returns some time later, Yoshiki is the only one who realizes that the returned person is not the same Hikaru. The story leans into quiet horror elements with sleek, hypnotic animation, as well as the creepy elements of a small village which is isolated and surrounded by supernatural vibes. The series uses thoughtful storytelling and unusual visual symbolism to explore psychological terror as well as the growing, intimate but dysfunctional connection between the two boys. The Summer Hikaru Died is a standout series for its uniquely creepy plot, unusual animation, and quietly clever story execution.

Takopi’s Original Sin

The last finalist for Anime of the Year is the very bleak and disturbing Takopi’s Original Sin. This short series packs a lot of emotional damage into only six episodes. It joins shows like The Promised Neverland that are cute-looking and child-centered but are not appropriate for young children due to the anime’s violent nature. Takopi is a round, pink, bouncy, cheerful, naïve alien who believes its mission is to bring “happiness” through its various magical gadgets. It encounters Shizuka, a physically bullied and meek grade schooler. Takopi’s superficial attempts to cheer her up lead to an unexpectedly tragic outcome. Confused, Takopi rewinds time to change the outcome which leads to more unexpected occurrences. Through the course of the series, we learn more about the backstory of the bullied girl Shizuka, her cruel abuser classmate Marina, and about Azuma, a stressed out young boy who is a mutual acquaintance. As the title implies, there is also another layer of culpability on the part of the irritatingly cheerful and naïve Takopi that is eventually revealed. All of the child characters experience various forms of cruelty from their parents and from each other and gradually descend into increasing physically and psychologically tragic behavior despite their own victimization. Despite moments of redemption and hope, the story is intense, bleak, and full of trigger warnings and is a surprise finalist given its unusual content.

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The nominees for Crunchyroll’s Anime of the Year are, for the most part, a surprising change of pace from the usual shonen adventures. Noticeably absent from the nominations are two of last year’s nominees, including Kaiju No. 8, which had an entertaining but less strong second season, and last year’s winner, Solo Leveling which delivered more of the same escalating adventure in its second season. A perfect fit for this year’s drama-focused collection would have been the always evocative Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, but Frieren’s second season released in 2026, past the cut off point for this category. Overall, this year’s nominees, for the most part, represent a general shift towards intense drama and philosophical explorations rather than primarily action adventure. The collection provides anime fans looking for something more psychologically intense with some solid choices for their future viewing.

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POSTED BY: Ann Michelle Harris – Multitasking, fiction writing Trekkie currently dreaming of her next beach vacation.

Anime Review: My Hero Academia — The Final Season

It’s the end of an era and My Hero Academia sticks the landing in the final season

It’s hard to believe the iconic anime My Hero Academia has come to an end. After multiple feature films and eight seasons of escalating battles, emotional struggles, physical loss, and societal betrayals, the series has wrapped up with a satisfying conclusion that doesn’t hesitate to lean into the imperfections of the characters and the reality of loss, while still leaving viewers with a profound sense of hopefulness. The long-running series follows the adventures of Izuku (Deku) Midoriya, a determined boy whose dream of being a hero inspires a diverse range of heroes, antagonists, and ordinary people, while he battles his own inner demons. MHA started out as a traditional underdog shonen anime with bright animation, fantastical character designs, and a feel-good plot. It seemed to be the kind of comfort adventure anime to enjoy without a lot of emotional exhaustion or complexity. Soon retail stores and cosplayers were diving into the show’s colorful palette and fun costumes. But early on, MHA began to dig deeper into its characters’ psyches and into the problems of families and of society as a whole. In between the energetic fight scenes and inspiring training montages, the show dealt with child abuse, domestic violence, racism, and mistrust of the government. After eight seasons and a significant last episode time skip, the characters grow from optimistic children into mature, flawed, emotionally complex adults. The last episode delivered an unexpectedly thoughtful and quietly powerful ending, one which embraced both imperfection and hope in its final message that everyone can (and needs to be) a hero on some level. This full-circle moment from the first episode of the first season was a powerful way to end the saga and answer the question of what it really means to be a hero.

[Spoilers for earlier seasons] My Hero Academia is the story of a near-future version of Earth, where a genetic mutation eventually causes most humans to be born with some variation of special powers (“quirks”). Those with particularly strong powers are sent to academies to be trained as licensed superheroes (simply called “heroes”). The protagonist, Izuku Midoriya (a.k.a. Deku), is one of the few children born with no special power (quirk) at all. Not even a minor one. But he idolizes the ridiculously brash and popular number one ranked hero, Toshinori (a.k.a. All-Might), and dreams of somehow becoming a hero to fight the violent superpowered villains who plague the country. After a dangerous act of bravery, Izuku is secretly gifted a transferable superpower from All-Might, who can no longer fully maintain it due to a critical injury. Izuku now has the potential for super strength, super speed, and super agility. He enrolls in UA, the top hero academy, where he trains his body to accommodate and control the enormous and dangerous power he’s been gifted. While at UA, he builds bonds with his teachers and friendships with his fellow students, who have a range of powers, personalities, and complicated backstories. But the idealistic setup is upended when a group of superpowered villains directly attack the children at the school, leading to a long term-battle over the next seven seasons that exposes upsetting truths and pits the young heroes not just against the villains but also against society itself and their own personal traumas.

MHA starts out as a kid-friendly, colorful, inspiring hero adventure with a simplistic plot: heroes versus villains and natural disasters. In fact, the main antagonists are a criminal group simply known unironically as “The League of Villains.” But, like all good shonen, the story quickly takes an intense turn. Deku’s powerful but stoic classmate Shoto is a victim of child abuse with a disturbing backstory which involves domestic violence by his father, the number two rank hero, against his mother, who is also a hero. Deku also encounters a child, Eri, who appears to be kidnapped and abused, and he struggles to help her in the face of societal denials that anything is wrong. When the heroes lose a major battle, much of society turns against them and against Deku in particular. The country begins to question the usefulness and trustworthiness of heroes and the government. Viewers see how easily people can be manipulated when fear and distrust take over. The fantastical character design of some of the heroes turns into an exploration of racism, as Deku learns about the bigotry faced by his classmates who are heteromorphs, those whose quirks create unusual physical features. We also see Deku’s journey to physical and emotional resilience while holding on to his core values. And we see Deku’s childhood friend and antagonist Bakugo progress from a loudmouth bully to becoming a true hero who is willing to sacrifice everything.

Building on all this, the final season dives into lots of climactic emotional intensity and plenty of powerful moments, including the final critical battles against the two main villains, with Deku versus the tragic and tortured Tomura, and Bakugo versus the sociopathic All For One. The final storytelling is elevated, showing the full heroic redemption arc of former antagonist Bakugo. We also see Deku’s maturity as he faces devastating physical damage and a high cost for his choices. The animation and music are powerful, and the character design of the two final heroes is symbolic, making them look more serious, mature, and less cartoonish in a way that reflects their inner development and the intensity of this final fight for their lives. The entire UA class gets in on the action, and the final battles also provide an opportunity for cameos from prior side characters from the MHA feature films or from earlier seasons. So many familiar faces cheering on the heroes is a nice way to signal the end of the larger story.

Unfortunately, a drawback of the series has been the two-dimensional treatment of the main villain All For One. However, in the final season, through a flashback, we finally learn the full backstory of All For One (a.k.a. Zen) and his peaceful younger brother Yoichi, the original owner of Deku's transferrable power. We see how their desperate childhood led to abuse, violence, and to Zen’s obsession with power and control over Yoichi. That twisted love and obsession ultimately fueled a decades-long battle between the brothers that reshaped the fate of the heroes and the country. There is a nice symmetry in the brutal Zen having the power to take while the kindhearted Yoichi has the power to give, with those opposite concepts defining “evil” versus “good” in the series.

For a show that started out playfully, the ultimate story arc and messaging became surprisingly insightful, particularly in this final season. The perpetually optimistic Deku had dark moments in prior seasons and eventually became an outcast vigilante. In season 8, Deku again experiences significant loss, and he is forced to make peace with an imperfect reality. In an intriguing scene, Deku talks with Spinner, an incarcerated villain, who calls Deku a murderer. Instead of arguing or crying about it, Deku calmly admits that he is indeed a killer when needed. The two have an odd conversation that acknowledges their significantly different worldviews but sparks inspiration in both of them.

The final season emphasizes the need for a cross-section of people to create the world we want to live in. Not just physically powerful fighters, but also engineers, teachers, people of different abilities, and ordinary members of society, because, as the final season shows us, physical power may be flashy and fun, but it is fleeting. Eight seasons ago, MHA began with a tearful Deku asking the cliched question, Can I be a hero? In a key moment in the final episode, two random characters, an aged grandmother and an abused boy, have an interaction that answers that question: Not only can ordinary people be heroes, but they need to be. Not in flashy ways, but in small, ordinary acts of compassion and courage. In the final season, many of the former heroes have suffered irreparable injuries and are gone from the traditional arena. But in that full-circle moment with two random people, we see the way small acts of kindness or courage can literally change the world. A major theme of the show is to go beyond our comfort level to do the right thing. Hopefully, it will help all of us to better understand what it truly means to be a hero.

Nerd Coefficient: 8/10.

Highlights:

• Ultimately satisfying despite some sad moments
• Solid ending with profound messaging
• Big fights, big emotions, and quiet introspection lead to a powerful final season

POSTED BY: Ann Michelle Harris – Multitasking, fiction writing Trekkie currently dreaming of her next beach vacation.

Film Review: My Hero Academia: You're Next

Despite a predictable opening, the anime feature film finishes strong in the second half. 

The popular, long-running, manga, My Hero Academia has ended its ten-year print run this year and the accompanying kid-friendly anime series has just confirmed that 2025 will be its final season. In the midst of the excitement and sadness at the impending conclusion of the story, the latest feature film in the franchise opened in U.S. theaters after a run earlier this year in Japan. My Hero Academia: You’re Next is a stand-alone story set between the destruction of Japan / Liberation Front war arc and the final war arc (approximately between Season 6 and Season 7, in case you’re wondering about certain characters). 

My Hero Academia is set in a future version of Earth, where most humans have some variation of special powers (quirks), and children with extraordinary superpowers are sent to academies to be trained as licensed superheroes. The protagonist, pure-hearted Izuku Midoriya (aka Deku), receives a transferable superpower from the most powerful and beloved hero All-Might who can no longer maintain it due to a critical injury. Throughout the series, Deku and two of his friends (loudmouth, explosive Bakugo and brooding, fire and ice powered Shoto) eventually become the top heroes among the students at their hero academy. The current film You’re Next takes place after the villains in the Liberation Front have destroyed much of Japan and decimated the hero system. As a result, the students often find themselves as the first line of defense in the current lawless society. Early in the film, Deku encounters and tries to help a girl, Anna, being chased and eventually recaptured by her kidnappers (later revealed to be the Gollini crime family). A cyborg boy, Guilio, also appears and tries to intercept the kidnappers. He is, confusingly, both kind to Anna but also trying to kill her. Deku, Guilio, Bakugo, Shoto, and the other students are also caught by the Gollini family and trapped in a giant floating fort. The head villain idolizes the former hero, All Might, and, after an angry conversation with the former hero, the villain names himself Dark Might. Dark Might creepily copies All Might’s appearance and clothing and declares himself the successor to All Might’s hero leadership, planning to bring order to the country by force and subjugation of the people. Throughout the film, Guilio and the students struggle to escape from Dark Might’s fort while also trying to free Anna. Anna’s quirk is over-modification which gives strength to some (including the villain) but hurts others and will eventually destroy basically “everything” (a la X-Men’s Jean Grey / Dark Phoenix) if it gets out of control. We later find out that Anna and Guilio have a special symbiotic relationship because of their respective quirks and we find out why Guilio feels he must kill Anna. 

The first half of the film is mostly running and chasing and feels like rehashed storylines and fight choreography from prior seasons. We also get an interesting dream-trap sequence that is reminiscent of the final dream capture arcs of Naruto Shippuden. The lead villain Dark Might is fun visually but he is thin in character and motivation. Interestingly, instead of the usual futuristic hero versus villain scenario, we have retro, steampunk vibes and visuals. The characters, inexplicably, dress in Victorian attire and the backstory feels like we have time traveled to a different setting with Dark Might’s murderous Gollini crime family attacking and massacring Anna’s wealthy Scervino family. The vibe is reminiscent of early prequel seasons of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures. Fortunately, the second half of the film digs deeper into the characters, particularly Anna and Guilio and their tragic motivations. The final conflicts feel like an homage to the X-Men “Dark Phoenix” story arc. But the best part of My Hero Academia: You’re Next is the stoic, slick, stylish Guilio, whom Bakugo refers to as the “cool side character.” Guilio’s backstory and character design fit all of the great orphan hero tropes and the final scenes, with him as a broken cyborg and Anna as a lethal damsel in distress, are gorgeously drawn.

My Hero Academia: You’re Next works best for existing My Hero Academia fans who will understand the overall setting and character context. However, the new villains and new heroes are unconnected to the main series’ story arcs and, like most My Hero Academia features, the film is not required for the anime continuity. Unfortunately, that likely means we won’t see more of brooding cyborg, Guilio, especially since his character and aesthetic overlap with that of Shoto. Instead, the film works well as an entertaining side quest for those who need a little more of My Hero Academia before we say a final farewell to the teachers and students of UA’s class 1-A. If you can get through the unoriginal opening and the two-dimensional lead villain, the final half delivers a nice payoff in both character study and action.

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The Math

Nerd Coefficient: 7/10

Highlights:

• Lackluster opening half
• Excellent new side character
• Worth it for the final finish

POSTED BY: Ann Michelle Harris – Multitasking, fiction writing Trekkie currently dreaming of her next beach vacation.

Anime Review: My Hero Academia Season 7

As the popular manga ends its ten year run, the anime moves toward the long awaited final conflicts

After years of adventures, My Hero Academia is now moving towards its conclusion. The bestselling manga on which the anime is based officially finished its ten-year run in August, 2024. As a result, the ending of the anime series is not far behind. The popular show with its fantastical character design and likeable, ensemble cast of young heroes-in-training has grown from a predictable kids adventure to a gritty exploration of cruelty and the human psyche. Season 6 gave fans a grim battleground between the villains and heroes, played out while the disenchanted population became unsure of who to trust. Season 7 continues the dramatic departure from the optimistic vibe of the early seasons, but the story has pivoted from nihilism to the long awaited final conflicts.

My Hero Academia is the story of a future version of Earth, where most humans have some variation of special powers (quirks). Those with extraordinary superpowers are sent to academies to be trained as licensed superheroes. The protagonist Izuku Midoriya (aka Deku) is one of the few children who has no power (quirk) although he idolizes the number one hero, All-Might, and dreams of being a hero to fight the violent supervillains who plague the country. After a dangerous act of bravery Izuku is secretly gifted with a transferable superpower by All-Might who can no longer maintain it due to a critical injury. The series follows idealistic, cheerful Izuku as he enrolls in the top hero academy where he trains and struggles to control the enormous and dangerous power he’s been gifted. The show’s large ensemble cast includes the students’ cynical teacher Aizawa; kind and cheerful Uraraka, a girl with anti-gravity powers; superfast Lida; brooding fire and ice powered Shoto; and loudmouth, explosive Bakugo who is Izuku’s childhood frenemy. Izuku, Bakugo, and Shoto eventually become the top heroes among the students.

Over the course of the series, Bakugo has the strongest character arc, progressing from a self-absorbed bully to a humorous loudmouth anti-hero, to a true hero in season 7, willing to sacrifice himself for others. Conversely, in the prior season, Izuku devolves from optimistic teammate to a depressed loner, watching his world crumble as the villains seek the secret power he’s been given. However, Season 7 sees his return to heroic form while giving other characters a chance to have their moment in the spotlight. Shoto remains the most tragic of the three leads. He continues his efforts to overcome his abusive upbringing at the hands of his hero father Endeavor. Regret, atonement, forgiveness, and resentment are major themes this season. Endeavor’s jealousy towards All Might led to his attempts to genetically engineer Shoto as the perfect offspring to surpass his rival. As the youngest of four siblings Shoto has the half fire, half ice powers his father had been seeking but Shoto had to endure violence from his abusive father and from his emotionally damaged mother who physically scarred him by pouring boiling water on him. With the demise of All Might, Endeavor finds himself as the number one hero, and must now lead the other heroes. However, the thing he always wanted has become a bitter victory in the light of the destruction of his country and the irreparable damage to his family. He seeks atonement for his past cruelty but, in a departure from the usual anime trope, his three sons, in their different ways, continue to despise him. Endeavor’s abusive past is publicly revealed by his estranged son Dabi in Season 6 but in Season 7 it is up to Shoto to deal with the fallout by fighting his older brother.

The low point of Season 7, so far, is the story’s treatment of Star and Stripe, the super strong American hero who defies her government and travels to Japan in an ill-fated attempt to help her mentor All Might. Her arrival brings some much needed girl-power to the conflict and even adds a little diversity with her supportive team of military fighters who are unequivocally loyal to her. Star and Stipe is such a great set up, only to break our hearts.

Another disappointing element in Season 7 is the continued flat presentation of the primary villain All For One. His only personality depth is his emotional attachment to his deceased younger brother. Like Aang in Avatar the Last Airbender, Izuku has psychic access to the prior holders of All Might’s power including the original vessel Yoichi who is the beloved younger brother of All For One. All For One’s consistent obsession with his little brother adds unexpected and disturbing poignancy to his otherwise two-dimensionally brutal villain persona. On the other hand, Tomura, the boy whose body kills any person he touches, has become the ultimate sad villain backstory. As the successor vessel for All For One, he kills a lot of people. But Izuku senses that Tomura is a child crying for rescue. Izuku’s observation of this in Season 6 and Season 7 teases the potential for a redemption arc, especially since Tomura in Season 7 is primarily being controlled by All For One.

Season 7 also has a surprising discussion of bigotry and the disparate experiences within an oppressed group as the story focuses on the experiences of heteromorph heroes including two of the student heroes.

Over the course of the series, My Hero Academia has progressed from a simple hero versus villain adventure to a thoughtful introspection on the power of inner demons. Starting in the middle of Season 3, the show pivoted from generic to intriguing with the Bakugo abduction story arc. Since then, it has changed in tone, becoming more grim and psychologically intense. Those who have completed the manga will already know how things will turn out for the heroes. But, for the rest of the viewers, Season 7 continues the gradual evolution of emotionally mature characters as they approach the story’s final conflict. The show has progressed through playfulness, suffering, bleakness, and renewal as it moves towards the big finish. Hopefully, it will be worth the wait.

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The Math

Nerd Coefficient: 7/10

Highlights:

• Maturing leads progress from introspection to resolution
• Disappointing plot decisions with some characters
• Slowly building to the big final conflict

POSTED BY: Ann Michelle Harris – Multitasking, fiction writing Trekkie currently dreaming of her next beach vacation.