Top 50 Anime – 10 through 1

10. My Senpai is Annoying

I like my romance anime and this is clearly not an exception. It’s one of my top anime, by My Senpai is Annoying is more than just a romance it’s also a really good comedy. And it’s different. Now, not completely different, two people from different walks or aesthetics fall for each other. That’s normal. They don’t want to admit it or don’t feel like they can, also normal. But it’s set in an office place which is not that common.

It changes up the feel with that setting. And I appreciate how it can handle workplace and just work life in general. Some of the comedy is around the romance, and some of it is around the workplace. And it has elements of the workplace that feel somewhat real as well, so for me as no longer a high school or college student, it’s a bit more relatable. And I appreciate what sometimes mirrors reality.

9. Space Dandy

He’s a Dandy Guy… in Space.

This is from the same creator who did Cowboy Bebop. But Space Dandy is way goofier and further out there. There are a lot of really fun and weird things that happen in this show. It’s about a space explorer who is looking to find a new and rare creature, somewhere in the galaxy so he can make it big, get rich, and enjoy his life. That is never going to happen. One reason is most of the creatures have already been found. Other reason, he’s just not that good at his job.

The supporting cast is great as well. There is a depressed cat creature and a robot. Both of whom really flesh out the crew with more randomness and weirdness. This show is one that’s great for just throwing it on in the background and watching it on repeat. I should come back to it soon as it’s been a while, and it’s not that long, so easy to watch.

8. Is It Wrong to Try and Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

The title is long, and it really doesn’t tell it all about the show. This show has a lot more going on than a kid who is trying to hit on girls in a dungeon. There is a complex world of gods on a planet where there is a tower that adventurers with the blessings of the gods, or support of them, can go adventuring. The gods lend the characters their expertise, and the adventurers support the gods.

Bell is a low ranked adventurer who is the only follower of the goddess Hestia. She’s kind of a secondary god in the grand scheme of things, but she tries hard. When he almost dies to a minotaur in the tower, because of another group, he comes into contact with Ais. She’s one of the most powerful adventurers. And it becomes Bell’s goal to level up so that he can reach her power level and he’ll feel worthy to ask her out.

The story, at it’s basic, isn’t that complex. There are some arcs to the anime that are just okay. But the first season, I’ve watched that several times. It’s just again a comfortable anime to watch.

7. Trapped in a Dating Sim

I almost feel like I have this one too low. But the other ones on the list are amazing as well. This one, though, I got obsessed with and binged it quickly. It’s an isekai, but instead of getting pulled in as a hero in a fantasy setting, the main character finds himself as a background character in an otome game that he’d just been playing. He knows the game well, so he starts to make a good life for himself as a background character.

Unfortunately there is another character that he didn’t count on showing up. It doesn’t make sense to him and it breaks the game world. So as he tries to keep the game and the story on the course so he can live a nice life, well, he keeps on messing that up as well. The main character has one of the most annoying voices, but it’s played perfectly for who he is. This is just a really fun anime and it feels different. It makes fun of some tropes, and the world building, surprisingly good.

6. Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun

What if one of your classmates in high school writes an manga that you read and like? Not only that, but he wants you to help him. And, of course, you have a crush on him as well, but he’s too oblivious to notice. That’s the plot of Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun. This one is just a light hearted and fun anime that looks into the world of manga. It’s again, one of those romance ones where, in this case, just one character is oblivious to the romance.

One thing that I really like about Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun is that it’s basically always a positive show. The main character, she’s extremely positive. And the show itself, with a few exceptions, doesn’t have too much drama. Even when there is drama, there is always a light heartedness and kind of hope or absurdity to it.

5. Rent-A-Girlfriend

If you’d asked me where Rent-A-Girlfriend would rank after, say, 10 episodes, I’d have said not high. But there was something intriguing about it. The story follows a college student who gets dumped and to make himself feel better gets a rental girlfriend. Just someone to go on a date with. Turns out, that person is his next door neighbor. And through a series of unfortunate events, involving their grandmothers, they now need to continue pretending, just for a little bit longer.

That doesn’t really even get you to the good part of the anime. As it continues and both of them struggle with the fact that they are gaining actual feelings for each other, it turns really good. And where as Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun is light, this one has a fair amount of drama and heavier situations. In fact, where I’m up to, it’s very heavy and emotional and written well. There still is sophomoric humor in it, but it’s less and the depth surprised me.

4. My Dress-Up Darling

Another one that after two episodes, I thought I’d skip. I like the premise, a nobody boy who works in his grandpa’s hina doll shop while he’s going to high school finds out that the most popular girl in school is into anime, manga, and cosplay. Things that he doesn’t really care about. But when she finds out that he knows how to sew, she immediately recruits him to help her.

The first two episodes kind of lean into the second hand embarrassment too hard. But as the show goes and as a romance starts to bud between the two of them, it lessens. But one of the highlights of the show, their relationship is the main one, is how it treats and normalizes cosplay for everyone. It’s not something that weird people do, and when people are treated as weird for doing it, or for making hina dolls, the female lead stands up to people. It has a really positive message throughout it while being completely over the top filled with fan service.

3. Shangri-La Frontier

Another one that might move up, though my top 2, I really do love so much. But this one is one that I’m further ahead in the manga. But the anime adaptation of the manga, so much fun to watch. Sunraku, the main character, loves to play the worst of the worst video games. Not just play them, but he masters them and beats them. But when the shop owner at his local video game store recommends Shangri-La Frontier as a change of pace, a top tier level game, he decides to.

The anime mainly takes place in that game. But we do see him some in the real world, and other times in some of the trash games that he’s played. For me, what makes this stand apart from a lot of video game anime is the attention to detail to the video game world building. A lot of them tend to be PvP games or a generic fantasy game. This one has a whole story that the writer clearly has created around the world. So that is unique and I really enjoy it for that.

2. Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki

A romance, drama all around two people who are two of the top people at Super Smash Bros (TakFam in their world) in Japan. One of them just loves the game and life is something that is a chore. The other, she puts the same effort into life as she does the game. To her, life is equally a god tier game. It’s one to be beat and conquered like any video game out there. When the meet in real life, they realize they go to the same school, and Aoi, the girl, is not pleased with Tomozaki. She looks up to him in the game because she can never beat him.

Aoi convinces Tomozaki to give life a try. He’s not convinced, some people have the advantages in life. But when she turns it into a game for him, something that he can attack like he does being the best at TakFam and how she attacks life, he begins to experience it more. And even starts to realize some things about life that he differs from Aoi on. This is an anime with a lot of heart to it. And I think it resonates at times. Sometimes life just feels tough or like others get all the breaks, but it offers a lot of different ways to look at life.

1. Sword Art Online

I’ve watched the first season of Sword Art Online so many times. I need to watch more of it, and I have, but that would probably require another rewatch of the first few seasons. So that’s likely to happen soon. But this is an isekai, kind of, but not really. It’s about characters, people, who are trapped in a video game. It’s a death game, you die in the game, you die in real life. But if you beat the game, everyone will be set free. Kirito is bound and determined to do that and clear all the levels of the game.

But the anime really isn’t about that. It’s about the people who are stuck in the game. Kirito tries to do it on his own. But he keeps on meeting characters who help him and who grow with him. And sometimes, characters who don’t make it. The first arc of this anime is amazing. Some of the subsequent ones, slightly less so, but a lot of them are just good. And the character developments and interactions really work. I like how the show is about the people, mainly, and the game secondly.

It’s one that is very popular. And I know some people look down on it because of that. Or think that it’s too over hyped. Yes, I love it, and I know it’s not perfect. Technically there are better anime, but for me Sword Art Online is just amazing and a great anime to watch again and again.

Final Thoughts

I could already add another anime to the list. Solo Leveling I now have watched enough that it’d likely hit the top 10. Again it’s one that I’ve read the manga or manwa technically for. And there are other anime that I’m looking forward to this year that I’m guessing will make the list. Kaiju #8 and Dandadan are two that I think are going to be great. And others that I should watch, like Frieren and Sign of Affection.

Let me know if there are some you think I should watch. Next year I might do a top 100 anime. This year I was just off from being able to do that. But I imagine that I’ll get through another 10-20 anime this year and be over 100. And at a point where I don’t think the bottom of the list is complete garbage as an anime.

What should I watch next? And which is your favorite from this list?

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The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest Plot

Devils are trying to take over the world and the strongest sage, well, he is doing his best to hold them back. But out of the four crests, his is the weakest for combat. When the hordes and threats have been driven back. He takes the opportunity to cast a spell to reincarnate himself to come back stronger with a stronger crest to be able to defeat them once and for all.

That is how Mathias Hildesheimer is born. He is powerful, he has the crest he wants, but he needs to still grow in power and training to get back to the point where he wants to be. However, the world has changed a lot since he was alive before. And now his crest, what he knows to be the strongest is considered to be the crest of failure.

Why It Doesn’t Work

We’re deviating from the normal format. Mainly because I don’t have much good to say about this anime. Visually, I think that it is good, not amazing but certainly not bad. And the voice acting is fine. I think that a lot of the characters are fairly annoying, but the voice acting is acting them as written, not adding to that affect. But otherwise, The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest is not good.

I guess to say one more nice thing about it, I like the premise, but it flubs it. I’m going to be comparing this to two other anime that I’ve watched, the first being Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? and the other Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Came to a Starter Town. Why, because The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest does some things they do, but not as well. It’s more like The Wise Man’s Grandchild.

Mathias Hildesheimer

Let’s start out with the main character. I’ve mentioned that the characters are a bit annoying and he tends to be the worst. Mainly because for him, everything comes easily. There is no struggle with his character. Sometimes he fights a demon that is tougher, but only in the finale and maybe in the finale do you feel like there’s any threat to him. Otherwise he is just over powered.

Mathias always talks about how he needs to become stronger, but he’s already the strongest person alive. It might be true to some extent to get back to his power level, but it doesn’t seem like it’s much lower. In fact, in the finale, he defeats the boss without that much trouble, granted he needs a weapon to do so, but the danger, then feels contrived.

So he shows up to a school to learn and prepare. But he’s stronger than the teachers, he knows things that the teachers don’t know. And generally he just ends up being the teacher for everyone. Characters need a struggle and he has none. I guess his struggle is that he’s kind of clueless with the girl who likes him and he likes. But that also doesn’t make sense, he has his memories of a previously lived life. Was that not a part of his life? And if it wasn’t, why is romance a part of his life now?

The Comparison

So, I said that I was going to compare it to two other things. Let’s start out with the kid from the boonies, Lloyd. This does the same trope in some ways. The kid from the boonies near the last dungeon, you grow up there everything is hard. Monsters are hard to fight because it’s a high level town. So he goes to the starter town and he’s the most powerful. But to him, or for him, he can’t believe it. He doesn’t realize his power. He’s weak in his town, so now when he’s the most powerful, he doesn’t get it.

Compare that to Mathias, he is always the best out there. He knows he’s the best out there. He teaches teachers how to do things that were common place in his original time. Lloyd is struggling to fit into a new town. He’s struggling with realizing his power for what it is. Mathias is just the best there is, and he steps in and runs everything.

Then there is Bell from Is It Wrong to Try and Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon. Bell is a sweet heart, and someone who wants to get better and stronger. And he does so quite quickly, but there are always people stronger than him. I compare it because both Bell and Mathias are kids, but Bell is learning his powers. His struggle is to get stronger. Mathias never has that struggle. Even though that’s supposed to be part of his character. He is already strong.

The Premise

Finally, let’s talk about the premise, because I do think that it’s interesting, but the show or story misses on it. What happens, as I keep on harping on, is Mathias reincarnates to get a better crest. He does so and it takes a little bit but he regains all his memories. And he is just as strong, or nearly, as he was before, now with a better crest.

The problem, as I keep on coming back to as well, is that there is no character development. He’s instantly the strongest and mostly who he was before. He is just that as a kid. What would have worked better and they keep on hinting at, would be a struggle to get stronger. Have him know he should be better and get frustrated because his body can’t do what it used to do. Let Mathias struggle when he tries to do too much and it fails. Make there be problems for him, not a problem that is always resolved by the end of the episode.

The Comparison

Let’s compare the other premises, this time let’s start with Is It Wrong to Try and Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? and that story. It’s about Bell, who is a low level adventurer under a low level god, trying to improve. He’s always trying to push himself to be better because he wants to catch up to Aiz, one of the strongest adventurers because she saves him and he falls in love with her. But he doesn’t think he’s strong enough for her to even notice him. He has motivation and a struggle.

And with Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, Lloyd’s struggle is that he doesn’t know what real life is like. And he doesn’t know how to balance his powers. He is amongst the weakest in his town, but it’s high level. So he struggles with actually being powerful, what his powers can actually do, especially in his town. And he just struggles with what normal life is actually like and the fame that comes with it.

The plot and Mathias in The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest, he knows he is the strongest. And everyone treats him like that. He isn’t pushed to be better, it’s just something that automatically happens. And there isn’t much need for him to get better. So he doesn’t have a struggle to improve. And he doesn’t have a struggle of dealing with life. So the motivations for the plot, they just aren’t there. It’s a story that doesn’t give you a good reason as to why it is being told.

Final Thoughts

I am disappointed. Like I talked about in the discussion on the plot, I think that there are elements that could have made a solid story. But those don’t really matter because Mathias is good at everything. And more so because Mathias doesn’t fail. Bell fails. Lloyd fails, though mainly just at life stuff. In both cases neither of them are perfect. Mathias is kind of perfect and he doesn’t fail.

I don’t think that there is a reason to watch this. It reminds me, in some ways, of the stories where the main character is an edge lord. Those are about the viewer or reader kind of getting wish fulfillment of being a bit bad and edgy. Mathias is wish fulfillment for the viewer or reader if they want to be good, but also be the most powerful. And it is a shame, because it could have been more.

Finally, I think a lot of this might be somewhat intentional, which is also disappointing. The plot level of this is very low. The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest, feels like it’s trying to target people who are new to anime. However, it does so by dumbing down the story so much and removing all danger it’s a bad story.

To do one last comparison. Harry Potter doesn’t really get in trouble when he does bad stuff. There are fun elements to the story and world, but great writing, it’s not so much that. Versus Keeper of the Lost Cities, it is a constant struggle for Sophie, she gets in a lot of trouble and there are real consequences for her and those around her. I wish it was more like that.

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