Best Anime in 2018 (According to Remy Fool)

One last post about 2018 from yours truly. We’re already a week into 2019 so it’s basically now or never.

I ended up not doing a rundown of 2018 seasonal anime for multiple reasons even though I did so for 2016 and 2017. Long story short, it’s thankless work that’s also needlessly convoluted. I mean, there’s little point for me to share my thoughts on every seasonal anime series I watched in 2018. I’ll end up being more strict towards the ones I only somewhat liked and we all already have to deal with other people disliking and openly hating on the shows we enjoy, right?

So I figured, after a very kind comment by Leafy, that I should just briefly outline some of my favourite seasonal shows from the past year. Thank you so much for the great idea and support, Leafy! You all should check out her blog where she does a great job review otome games.

For those of you who are new to this blog, run away I guess I’ll be summarizing my taste in shows in general. In case you haven’t noticed the fine print, I prefer shows that could be considered yuri. That in turn extends to a wider umbrella under which cute girls doing cute things shows (a cheeky term that’s often shortened to CGDCT) and the like are included. And thus I primarily focus on such shows. Whether or not CGDCT shows could be considered yuri depends on whether or not the prescription on your yuri googles are high enough, but that is neither here nor there.

With that being said, I also really enjoy comedy. If it’s goofy, then it’s effective Remy bait as long as it doesn’t take itself too seriously. I basically recommend a comedy show in every season. Of course, my sense of humour is probably quite different from yours so some of the shows I enjoy may fall flat for you.

Lastly, I’m also a sucker for action series. Expect a few of those, too.

All this really means is that I’m going to include at 1 – 2 shows for each season that are completely not yuri as well as 2 – 5 shows that could constitute as yuri depending on your point of view. Lastly, I can only include shows that I actually finished (so alas no Hataraku Saibou or Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight).

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The Best of Winter 2018

Non-Yuri Contenders

Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens – Chaotic, dynamic fun that’s a bit predictable at times but is still a great watch. I like to think of it as a contemporary to Durarara!! given how there’s so many perspectives and dangerous individuals. Definitely one of my favourites from winter 2018.

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni – A pensive drama that was promoted to be about a very controversial age-gap relationship, but it ended up being not really about that (to the relief of everyone). This series is beautiful and somber and downright depressing at times, but sometimes we need to cry a little to get our bearings straight in life (your mileage, of course, may vary). And Koi wa Ameagari no You ni would likely do it for you.

Yuri / CGDCT Contenders

Sora yori mo Tooi Basho – Next to Shiobako, this is the series to watch if you want to get motivated. Four young ladies go to Antarctica! They all have their reasons for doing so and they all grow up so much in doing so! Really, Sora yori mo Tooi Basho is just a concentrated dosage of hope and encouragement that was sorely needed in winter 2018, right when the trees are dead and the sky is grey and wardrobes are muted in most areas in the world.

Yuru Camp – a group of girls bond over camping~ truly a very comfy show that can easily inspire you to go camping (make sure you study up first, though).

Hakumei to Mikochi – another comfy series, but this one is focused around tiny people and walkin’ ‘n’ talkin’ animals.

Slow Start – This is probably the CGDCT show yuri fans actually wanted considering how steamy and suggestive the series get. Especially when it comes to that age-gap relationship.

Pop Team Epic – When my brother shared the fact that I liked this show to his friends on a gaming Discord channel, they all called me weird and pointed out that I played meme characters builds in video games so my preference is in-character. For point of reference, I play as Luigi in Super Smash Brothers Melee and I played many many Berserker builds in PoE 3.0, such as Frostblade 2h Zerk and Dark Pact totem Zerk. This entire paragraph doesn’t tell you much about this show at all, admittedly, but I guess I could describe it as an absurdist and disjointed comedy that proved to be quite polarizing.

The Best of Spring 2018

Non-Yuri Contenders

Golden Kamuy – Goden Kamuy will make you feel many things. Don’t let the terribly animated CGI bears distract you from such a beautiful show.

Hinamatsuri – the fact that this series came out near the weekend kept me from being too miserable. A very funny series that is well worth considering.

Yuri / CGDCT Contenders

Amanchu! Advance – some people will fight with you to the death over whether or not this series constitutes as yuri. I personally still think one particular scene wasn’t handled very well. With that being said, this is a sequel so it’s hard to recommend watching this if you haven’t watched Amanchu! Furthermore, this particular season starts straying into the fantastical, which I personally found fantastic but you could definitely agree to disagree.

Uma Musume – the ending sucked, but damn I got pretty pumped watching these girls run!!

The Best of Summer 2018

Non-Yuri Contenders

Grand Blue – fratboy comedy with lots of naked dudes and drinking and sabotage and heartbreak and mean girls and dumb dudes and romantic obliviousness and Titan faces and diving. I sure do love comedy.

Non-Yuri Contenders

Asobi Asobase – another very funny show. To me, this series serves as an indirect counter to those questionable individuals who insist yuri shows are PURE given how these girls act sort of like degenerates. Then again, Asobi Asobase isn’t really heavy on the yuri so maybe I’m really reaching here. Whatever the case, I have to stress again that this series is enjoyable and if you like seeing girls breakdown but aren’t into “darker shows” like Mahou Shoujo Site or WIXOSS or Happy Sugar Life, Asobi Asobase really scratches that itch.

Hanebado! – sports drama the show. The two protagonists are disagreeable at some times which makes the show a bit messy since you end up not being sure whether or not you should cheer for Nagisa or Ayano.

Harukana Receive – sports fanservice the show. Not much else to say about this one.

The Best of Fall 2018

Non-Yuri Contenders

Golden Kamuy 2 – somehow it’s even wilder than before. I love this show.

Yuri / CGDCT Contenders

Yagate Kimi ni Naru – THE yuri show of 2018. It handles a lot of tricky yet common aspects of yuri with poise – such as the dismissal of lesbian relationships and love triangles – and it also guides you by the hand when it comes to navigating the complicated headspaces of the characters. Loving others ain’t easy and this show really does a bang-up job showing that. Incredibly attention to detail. A very strong contender for best anime in 2018.

Himote House – now I know studio Bouncy is sort of hit-or-miss (largely miss, to be frank). Mahou Shoujo? Naria☆Girls is hard to watch for most people, after all. But I think Himote House is an amazing and (dare I say it) underrated show. Sure, there’s extensive use of CGI for almost of the animation, but it’s charming much like that of Kemono Friends. The ad lib sections are hilarious and I did mention that I’m a sucker for comedy, right? All in all, great show, but I understand if you feel otherwise since my tastes are weird.

Zombieland Saga – I looooove (most) idol shows so it’s not a surprise that I love this one! There are lots of great lessons to be learned while watching a show about zombie idols!

Anima Yell! – I was so amused and happy while watching this series. Anima Yell! makes cheerleading look both fun and good and it’s a very solid CGDCT this season.

Tonari no Kyuuketsuki-san – Another great CGDCT. Vampires and normal human girls can be awesome friends – who knew? Probably the producers and the creator of the original material, if we’re being totally honest. Ah, this was simply a lovely treat to watch.

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That’s all from me on 2018, folks.

Thanks for reading.