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Christopher Farris

5. Princess Principal

What a wonder execution can be, huh? I honestly thought this series would be a flash-in-the-pan favorite for me (I even called it that while still naming it my favorite series of Summer 2017), but here I am just three months later still thinking about how cool Princess Principal was. Much has already been made of how remarkably the show takes stock elements like spies, steampunk, and out-of-order storytelling and pulls them off in the most polished manner you could imagine. Even in an episode like the one with Dorothy's father, where I fundamentally disagreed with its perspective and sympathies, the series still made its twists hit and wrung emotion out of me. Perhaps that's what I still find so compelling about Princess Principal. No matter what you want out of a series, I feel like I can recommend this show and you'll enjoy just how well-rounded and consistent it is.

4. Sakura Quest

As one of the first shows I ever reviewed that I ended up really enjoying, I've got a very personal fondness for Sakura Quest already, so I may be biased in my ranking. But I think the show deserves recognition just for being one-of-a-kind. Anime can make great stories out of innumerable unconventional subjects, so a tourism board revitalizing a small town perhaps isn't too surprising as a premise. The breakout effect of Sakura Quest is how it uses its deceptively simple setting to explore an explosive amount of subjects, from real-world economic strategies to more introspective ideas on our relationships with our own life goals. The way the show eventually brings the viewer themselves in to make its point about the endearing power of a well-worn small neighborhood just sells the story as surprisingly strong. Sakura Quest had its own dramatic uncertainties, but it still feels like home like home to me in the end.

3. Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

The fact that I had to remind myself this one came out this year is a testament to the sheer quantity of great anime we got in 2017. But maybe this lovely little lark about a domesticated dragon was exactly the fresh material we needed this year. KyoAni's wonderful animation realizes the setting and characters of this story with a distinct storybook atmosphere that underscores its wholesome found-family message. The meet-cute between the disaffected Kobayashi and her winged would-be wife Tohru kicks off some of the strongest odd couple chemistry I've seen in anime in a while. That knack for effectively unique pairings is apparent in the structure of the series itself, as it weaves compelling plots out of shopping for groceries or a first day at school just as well as fantastical enemies crossing over from alternate dimensions. It's been a while since we left them to their life together, but Miss Kobayashi and her Dragon Maid have proven to be unforgettable.

2. Attack on Titan Season 2

Hype is a powerful drug and can result in some pretty unfortunate crashes if the thing being anticipated doesn't live up to it. But in the rare case where something does live up to its supernaturally-inflated pedigree, you get something like Attack on Titan Season 2. Watching the premiere back in spring, it was amazing to think the original series had left us nearly four years ago, since this sequel picked right up to sweep us in and make us feel like we'd never left. There were also obvious concerns about the single-cour runtime of this season leaving less space for Titan's trademark big twists, but it delivered again with Beast-Titan-sized shock right in the first episode and refused to stop dropping jaws all the way through (Ymir, anyone?). Now Season 3 is the new anticipation letting our imaginations run wild with hype, but if this was any indication, more Titan will always be worth waiting for.

1. Made in Abyss

This lets me correct an oversight. Back on the Best of Summer 2017 rankings, I gave Made in Abyss Second Place, in a toss-up with Princess Principal. My reasoning was that while Made in Abyss was obviously fantastic, its double-length finale had yet to air, so I couldn't judge it wholly, while Princess Principal had wrapped and confirmed itself as an all-around solid series. But then Made in Abyss's last episode was released.

If that episode had existed when that article was written, it wouldn't even have been close.

To be fair, Made in Abyss was already exemplary as a powerhouse of raw emotion, as episode 10 proved handily. And the emotion isn't the only thing the show has going for it. It's easy to say Made in Abyss is outstanding just because it made us all cry like big stupid babies, but it's also important to take note of how it made us cry like big stupid babies. The omnipresent crushing atmosphere of the Abyss is palpable to us, as the heavy atmosphere that hangs over the show itself. Vaguely villainous figures like Ozen dispense ominous warnings about the terrors that await below, and yet we still want to push on with Riko, Reg, and Nanachi because their compulsion to see what lies beneath becomes our own. All that rounds back to mean their tragedy is every bit ours as well. For a show ostensibly about the impersonal nature of a deadly environment, Made in Abyss did an incredible job of making us acutely empathize with the way our heroes were put through this otherworldly wringer.

Paul Jensen

5. My Hero Academia

The first season of My Hero Academia was entertaining and showed plenty of potential, but this second season elevated the series to a much higher level. The sports festival arc in particular brought a new sense of depth and personality to the cast, revealing their strengths and weaknesses through carefully crafted one-on-one showdowns. Characters who had been merely likable in the first season suddenly seemed much more human, and the series became more emotionally compelling as a result. On top of that, the story also put forward some fascinating ideas about how powerful heroes and villains might affect society at large. My Hero Academia is a fine example of how an action series can be both intelligent and entertaining.

4. New Game!

Much like My Hero Academia, New Game! took a major step forward in its second season. The difference between the two is that while Academia's improvement seemed like a natural progression, New Game! seemingly came out of nowhere. This moe workplace comedy brought plenty of newfound narrative ambition to the table, and it delivered several excellent episodes over its single-cour run. We saw each member of the main cast grow as a person, and this season added some genuine drama to the mix without losing the show's positive tone. It's not often that a slice of life title reaches beyond its core demographic, but New Game! has grown into a series that I can genuinely recommend to everyone.

3. Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

Out of all the shows in my top five, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid made me smile the most. It sounds odd to describe a series as being aggressively charming, but there was a relentless quality to the way this show delivered a constant stream of good-natured humor. Along with the delightfully weird antics and eye-catching visuals, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid found a way to tug at the audience's heartstrings at just the right moments. The show's recurring themes of accepting others as they are and finding a place to call home were presented well through interactions between the characters, and the series conveyed its ideas without ever feeling forced or preachy. There's a warm, welcoming vibe to Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, and its ensemble cast is strong enough to carry far more than this one season.

2. The Ancient Magus’ Bride

There's a certain “wow” factor that allows some shows to grab the attention of longtime anime fans and new viewers alike. It comes from hitting a critical mass of strong elements: compelling characters, a well-written story, top-tier animation, and a setting that feels alive and immersive. The Ancient Magus’ Bride has all of these things going for it, and its depictions of magic captured my imagination in a way that few fantasy titles ever have. The first half of this series has successfully told stories that range from heartfelt to horrifying, and somehow it still feels like the best is yet to come. If you're trying to get a friend or family member into anime, The Ancient Magus’ Bride may just be the show to do it.

1. Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū

How in the world has a period piece about an obscure performance art topped my list for two years in a row? Well, just about everything I said about Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū's first season holds true for its second. This sequel carried its predecessor's strengths into a new time period, with a well-developed cast of believably flawed and artfully developed characters. What really stood out to me, however, was the small miracle this show pulled off through strong direction and excellent vocal performances: it taught me to appreciate the art form practiced by its characters. I came away from it with an understanding of how a good rakugo performer can captivate an audience with little more than their voice and body language. Any show can tell us how a stage performance is going through narration and inner monologues, but Rakugo reached a point where it could step aside and let the characters do their thing, safe in the knowledge that the audience could judge the situation on their own. I don't think I've ever seen an anime series do something like that before, and it's a feat worth celebrating.