Mr. Hunter's Top 10 Anime Of 2023

Well, I made my top list for games this year, so it only seems natural that I do the same for my top anime this year! I am including movies and continuing anime, so it won’t just be new anime released this year. It was a pretty strong year for anime, and I had a tough time narrowing it down, and an even tougher time ranking them!

There were many great shows, and much like my top 10 games list, this is based largely on my personal preferences. Without further ado, please enjoy Mr. Hunter’s top anime of 2023

10. Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

Starting us off is Zom 100! While this show hasn’t quite finished its run as it’s been on hiatus, the 9 episodes it has given us so far were great! Zom 100 bucks the usual zombie/horror movie tropes and gives us a bright and enthusiastic main character who much prefers the end of the world to his former abusive workplace. 

His outlook is fun, and propels the story along, with horror at the borders of the show without making it the focus. While Akira and Shizuka are easily the strongest characters, the cast is fun and endearing. The art style is a delightful departure from the standard grays and shadows found in most zombie movies. 

I look forward to the final few episodes of the show, though I’m more than happy to wait so it can have a finish just as strong as its start.

9. My New Boss Is Goofy

My New Boss Is Goofy is a lighthearted slice of life that follows an office worker, Kentarō Momose as he starts a new job at an advertising firm. He left his previous job after being subject to soul crushing overtime and power harassment from his former boss, an interesting trend starting to form. 

I thought about labor a lot this year, given the state of the games industry, talks of unions, and even news from the animation industry. It was refreshing to see a workplace depicted as somewhere people could enjoy. 

Through Momose’s antics with his new boss Yūsei Shirosaki, he slowly begins to move past his trauma, and form new connections. Each week brought a smile to my face and provided some good laughs. It’s the kind of show I wish we could get every season, it’s easy to watch, and always leaves you in a good mood.

8. My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999

Dating is tough, and watching Akane get dumped for another girl in the first few minutes of the show got me on her side immediately. Her makeover to make her ex jealous is relatable, but has the unexpected side effect of a meet cute with a handsome, if stoic, gamer Yamada. 

Given the title of this anime, it’s pretty obvious where this story is going, but it’s fun to see how everything unfolds. For me, Akane was really the driving force of this story.

She’s funny, mature, naive, and generally just doing her best. I loved seeing what antics she got up to as she played games, made friends, and dealt with romance.

The gaming aspect of the show was a fun exploration of MMO culture, and added another dynamic to what could have been a straightforward, boring romance. The cast is colorful and well rounded, and the opening song made its way to my spotify playlist at lightning speed.

7. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Swordsmith Village Arc

Demon Slayer just keeps batting 100. While I do think that the Mugen Train or the Entertainment District arc hit a little harder for me, this was another slick action packed adventure for Tanjiro.

What seemingly held this arc back for me was the missing cast members, Zenitsu and Inosuke. These loveable goofs' absence could really be felt, and while it was nice to focus on new characters, I still miss those idiots. 

Best girl, our love hashira Mitsuri Kanroji, was really the scene stealer for me. Her story was sweet, and she was easy to root for. The action was as strong as ever, and the pacing continues to be fast without feeling rushed. 

6. The Boy and the Heron

Hayao Miyazaki's latest, and final(?) movie was amazing. It really felt like a culmination of him as a director, and filmmaker. I won’t lie, I feel like I need another viewing, or a dozen more viewings, to really unpack everything Miyazaki is saying here. Like his best work, I’m sure I would find new things to appreciate with each viewing. 

The story of this film is honestly a little tough to describe, our main character, Mahito, is on a quest to find his new step mother and return home. At the same time, the movie is about malice, war, accepting new undesired realities, and also evil Parakeets?

The film is incredible to watch, and on my first viewing I just let the gorgeous art and music wash over me. It evokes feelings of nostalgia and wistfulness that studio Ghibli seems to excel at so effortlessly. I can’t wait to watch this movie over and over again in the years to come, it’s yet another masterpiece from Hayao Miyazaki. 

5. Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku

After being shown the transcendently slick opening, I had high hopes for this show, and they were easily met, if not succeeded. A show I knew nothing about quickly had me curious about its mysterious island, and its misfortunate characters.

The layers of mysteries would keep me coming back each week, and I would always walk away seeing slick action, learning more about the great characters, and slowly piecing together this wild world. This is a show unafraid to let its characters suffer, if anything that seems to be the point. 

Life is unfair, circumstances beyond your control can place you in situations you don’t deserve. So what do you do? You fight.

You grit your teeth, and do the best with the hand that you're dealt. I really haven’t described much of the show, but I think that’s for the best, I’d highly recommend you experience this show fresh. 

4. Nier: Automata Ver1.1a

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Nier is a property I know a lot about. After Nier Automata (the game) tugged on my heart strings and made me rethink games as an artform, I fell down many a YouTube rabbit hole exploring video essays on every Yoko Taro game to date.

I was so excited to see what the anime would do with the story. Even a 1 to 1 anime adaptation of the story would be good, but I knew better than to expect something as simple as that.

There were plenty of smart changes to make the story work better in a strictly visual medium, and tie in other stories in the world of Nier. 

There were references to other games, musical nods, and more that made each episode a delightful watch, even if the core story was familiar.

While another long hiatus kept me in suspense, eventually the first ending of the game was retold in a way that made me appreciate the story all over again. If you find the game too intimidating, I’d highly recommend this anime as an entry point into the series. I can’t wait for season 2.

3. One Piece

It almost feels like cheating to include One Piece on my top 10 list. One Piece is probably my favorite anime of all time, and this year brought an end to the Wano arc, the longest arc in One Piece history. And what an end it was, the highs hit by this show never season to amaze me. 

The fights were top notch, with some really stellar animation backing the consistently great voice acting to reach new heights. The addition of Luffy’s gear 5 felt like something that had been at least teased or alluded to, rather than a new arbitrary way for our main character to power up yet again. 

I know One Piece is a tough sell, for many people. Where do you start? Do you really have to watch over 1000 episodes? Is it really that good?

There’s no easy answers, I hope to explore that more in a longer article someday. For now, it’s enough that I can still look at the devil fruits tattooed on my forearm, and be happy that this series still slaps.

2. Jujutsu Kaisen (Season 2)

I was a big fan of the first season of Jujutsu Kaisen, it looked great, had awesome fights, and had great pacing. The characters were fun and well rounded, and it felt like a shonen anime for people who don’t really like shonen. The movie felt like a fun side story, and while great in its own right, I wanted to see more of Yuji and his adventures. 

I should have been careful what I asked for. I certainly hadn’t expected that the next arc for Yuji and his friends would be full of gut punches.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but there were more character deaths in some episodes that affected me more than anything in Attack On Titan. 

Now, this next part is tricky. While the animation quality is truly fantastic, and some episodes my jaw was on the floor for minutes at a time, this cannot continue.

There have been many reports of the unhealthy and unsustainable workplace created by the animation studio MAPPA. In a year filled with long hiatuses and awful workplace stories, it feels like the animation industry is reaching a breaking point. 

I want more high quality animation like this season of Jujutsu Kaisen, and I would like it for years to come. This means things need to change.

I’m more than happy to wait longer between episodes, or advocate for higher wages for animators if it means we can get more shows like this, without sacrificing the mental health of the artists who make it possible. 

1. Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

This show was the biggest surprise for me this year. A show I started largely on a whim, would quickly become something I couldn’t stop thinking about.

This show starts at the end. The evil has been defeated, the hero’s party has returned home triumphant. Now what? 

We follow our titular character, Frieren, a long lived eleven mage as she explores what it means to be human. To experience regrets at not having gotten to know the short lived party she traveled with so many years ago. To deal with the listlessness that would likely be inevitable if we didn’t have a finite time here on this earth. 

The show is a meditative, contemplative look at the world. It shows the passage of time, allowing us to experience characters growing old, dying, and growing up.

It feels like such a unique anime, and while it’s settled into a more tried and true journey, collecting companions along the way, it still leaves room for its distinct take on the hero’s journey. 

While the credits may roll at the end of the journey in anime, in life, your journey continues until you die. What does that look like? What do you do with your time? How do you continue to learn and grow, if at all?

This show is still ongoing at the time of writing, and though every journey must end, I look forward to seeing what’s beyond the end of this journey.