by January is now in the second half, and the winter anime being broadcast is in full swing, but have you decided on your “recommended works”? Anime, voice actor, and event information site “Anime Hack” surveyed this season’s anime from January 1 to 19th, asking, “Which works did you decide to continue watching after watching the first episode of [Winter 2025 Anime]?” In this article, we will introduce the “Top 10 works that you decided to continue watching” in a ranking format, summarizing the results of the survey of 381 participants. Thank you to everyone who participated! In this survey, participants were asked to select all the works from this season’s anime that they decided to continue watching and also answered, “Among them, which one is the one you are most looking forward to and why.”
What anime do anime fans “really recommend” after watching the works that are not based on advanced reviews? We will introduce the “Top 10 works you decided to continue watching” and your passionate comments! This survey is for works whose first episodes were broadcast or distributed from December 20, 2024, to January 12, 2025. If the comment is long, we will introduce it with an excerpt.
[2025 Fall Anime] Top 10 works that people decided to continue watching after watching the first episode 1st place “The Apothecary Diaries (Season 2)” 192 votes 2nd place “Takao Amakusa’s Mystery Chart” 123 votes 3rd place “Medalist” 103 votes 4th place “SAKAMOTO DAYS” 94 votes 5th place “My Happy Marriage (Season 2)” 92 votes 6th place “The Villainess Reincarnated Uncle” 75 votes 7th place “Zenshu.” Sixty-nine votes 8th place “Dr.STONE SCIENCE FUTURE” 62 votes 9th place “Only I Level Up Season 2 Arise from the Shadow” 61 votes 10th place “I’m a Guild Receptionist, but I Don’t Want to Work Overtime, so I’m Going to Solo Defeat the Boss” 58 votes *This ranking was created by survey participants who chose “all the works that they decided to continue watching (= one person can vote for multiple works).”
The No. 1 spot goes to “The Apothecary Diaries,” a quality that meets expectations from the first season. The No. 1 spot goes to the second season of “The Apothecary Diaries.”
Even during the interim tally, “The Apothecary Diaries” was the clear leader, leading the way to the finish line. Many of the comments collected in the survey praised the animation and story. Some said it was “quality on par with the first season,” suggesting it lived up to expectations from the first season.
In addition, as mysteries were left in the second season, many people were curious about what would happen to Maomao. They paid attention to the relationship between Maomao and Jinshi. Anime Hack also interviews Aoi Yuki, who plays Maomao, and Takeo Otsuka, who plays Jinshi. Please check them out if you are interested. [Interview for Season 2 of “The Apothecary Diaries”] Aoi Yuki & Takeo Otsuka talk about the “complicated relationship” between the close-knit Jinshi and the cold Nekoneko https://anime.eiga.com/news/122931/ ▽ Major comments on “The Apothecary Diaries” “I watched the first episode of the second season (preview screening), and it exceeded my expectations, so I’m looking forward to it!” “The visuals, structure, and content were all fantastic and highly polished. It exceeded my expectations.” “It was just as exciting as the first season.”
“The first episode started with the unexpected, the cutest episode, ‘Neko Neko and Ke Ke’! It was so precious to see Ke Ke and Jinshi together.” “The content and visuals were fantastic, and I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time.” “I’ve read the novel, and the anime is just as amazing. The drawing skills and voice actors match perfectly, and I want to continue watching it!” “I’m enjoying it much more than the first season.” “It’s the long-awaited second season! I’m curious about the relationship between Neko Neko and Jinshi, but what problem will they solve this time? I’m curious about all the characters.” “I’m curious to see what happens to Jinshi and Neko Neko from now on.” “I can’t wait to see Neko Neko’s deductions and her relationship with Jinshi.” “You can see the dialogue between Nekoneko and Jinshi and their attitude towards the case again.”
“The story is interesting, and the sound and animation are also great.” “Not only the story but the worldview and design are wonderful!” “The development and foreshadowing that leads to more mysteries.” “This is the second season we’ve been waiting for with bated breath!” Second place: “Amakura Takao’s Detective Chart” is perfect enough to satisfy fans of the original work. Second place went to the new anime “Amakura Takao’s Detective Chart.”
The work is based on a medical mystery novel written by Mikito Chinen, a writer who is also a practicing doctor, and Noizi Ito, an illustrator known for “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.” The original author, Chinen, also wrote the script for the anime version, and the first and second episodes were completely new episodes written by Chinen and were broadcast back-to-back in a one-hour slot. Fans of the original work gave many positive comments, such as “It’s a medical mystery that’s just as interesting as the original work, with a good pace!” and “The anime adaptation has further enhanced the original work’s fun.”
Some people paid attention to the unique characters, including the main character, Amakura Takao, and the voice actors, including Sakura Ayane. Significant comments were received on “Amakura Takao’s Detective Chart.” “The original is exciting, and the illustrations are beautiful.” “I love the original, and the voices are a good match, which is interesting.” “It was interesting, and I was drawn in from the first episode. I can’t wait to see the next one.”
“The original is just so interesting, and the anime adaptation has made it even more interesting.” “I’m a big fan of the original. It’s just as interesting as the original, and the pace is good, making it an enjoyable medical mystery!” “As a mystery story, it feels like the challenge is based on knowledge rather than tricks or imagination, making it different from mystery stories that have come before.
The main character is also cute.” “The voice actors are all great, and the animation is beautiful.” “As a fan of the original, I can watch it without discomfort.” “The cast, animation, music, everything feels natural.” “Takao-sensei is just too cute! And Takao-sensei’s deductions are good.”
In third place is the figure skating anime “Medalist.” Watch for the passionate story and theme song by Yonezu Kenshi. In third place is the new figure skating-themed anime “Medalist.” The original work is Tsurumai Ikada’s debut, serialized in “Monthly Afternoon” (published by Kodansha).
The story depicts a young man with a shattered dream, Tsukasa, who becomes the coach of a young girl, Inori, who aims to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating. The two of them work together as a team. In the first episode, Tsukasa and Inori take their “first step,” and many viewers commented that they were “moved” and “moved to tears” by the passionate story. Some commented that the animation was “beautiful,” especially in the skating scenes.
The theme song is Kenshi Yonezu’s new song, “BOW AND ARROW .”Yonezu, originally a fan of the original work, asked to participate, and that’s how the collaboration with the work was decided. In this survey, many voices praised the song, and it was clear that Yonezu’s love for the original work was conveyed to the viewers through the music.
Main comments gathered for “Medalist”: “The first episode captured me,” “I’m a fan of the original work, and the anime had a good first episode,” and “The animation is beautiful.
The voice actors are spot on. You can tell it was made carefully. The story is interesting. I can’t wait to see how Inori grows.” “It’s inspiring to see a girl with low self-esteem not let go of what she loves and keep trying.” “The opening by Kenshi Yonezu and perfect casting.” “Kenshi Yonezu is on fire.” “It made me cry. It’s passionate.
The original work is divine,” “The range of emotions and laughs is wide. The story is good.” “I became interested in it because of how the original work was written, and when I read it, I found the work to be very interesting, and the animation didn’t take away from the fun. It also expressed the dynamism of figure skating, so I was satisfied with the finished product.” “The depiction of the skating scenes is perfect, and you can see the intention to make it well.” “There’s a lot of passion in the anime. You could feel the passion for the sport that was almost painful.”
“While depicting the harshness of the world of figure skating, Inori-chan’s determination to face it is wonderful and makes you want to cheer her on! The fact that Inori-chan’s coach and rivals of the same age support her also makes you feel the strength of the bonds that connect people and warms your heart.” “The Apothecary Diaries” also tops the list of “most anticipated works.” In this survey, we asked viewers to tell us “the one work they are most anticipating” in addition to “the work they have decided to continue watching.”
The results of the “most anticipated works ranking,” which was compiled from the results, were also topped by “The Apothecary Diaries,” just like the “Top 10 works they have decided to continue watching”! The results show how high expectations are for the second season. In addition, “Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun 2”, which was not in the top 10 in the continued viewing survey, ranked 4th, “The Wizard’s Promise” ranked 6th, and “BanG Dream! Ave Mujica” ranked 9th.
Top 10 “Most anticipated works” 1st place “The Apothecary Diaries (2nd season)” 86 votes 2nd place “Medalist” 49 votes 3rd place “Amakura Takao’s Detective Chart” 36 votes 4th place “SAKAMOTO DAYS” 19 votes 4th place “Toilet-bound Hanako-kun 2” 19 votes 6th place “The Wizard’s Promise” 18 votes 7th place “Zenshu.”
15 votes 8th place “The Villainess Reincarnated Uncle” 13 votes 9th place “BanG Dream! Ave Mujica” 10 votes 10th place “Dr.”STONE SCIENCE FUTURE” 9 votes 10th place “Only I Level Up Season 2 Arise from the Shadow” 9 votes*4, 10th place is tied with two other works *For this ranking, survey participants were asked to choose “the one work they are most looking forward to (= each person could only vote for one work).” From here, we will introduce all the comments collected for the titles ranked 4th to 10th in the “Ranking of works that people decided to ‘continue watching’ after watching the first episode.” Check out the works that interest you from the recommended comments!
4th place: “SAKAMOTO DAYS” “The original is divine” “Because I’m a fan of the original and Sugita-san” “I’m looking forward to it because it’s Sugita-san’s voice” “The characters are intriguing” “The setting is interesting” “The contrast between the everyday comedy and the intense action is fascinating!”
5th place: “My Happy Marriage (Season 2)” “I like the original, and the anime is just as good.” “I’ve also watched the previous season.”
6th place: “The Uncle Reincarnated as a Villainess” “The setting is exciting, with a Showa-era uncle voiced by Inoue being reincarnated as a villainous young lady in a game. Everything about it is interesting, but the Matsuken samba ending is too good.” “I always liked the original; the anime has been more fun and powerful. The voices are also the best.” “Because it seems like it won’t hurt anyone, I can watch it peacefully.
It might be considered tedious work, but these works are a great way to relax when working in the harsh everyday world.” “I was impressed by Elegant Cheat.” “There are no bad guys, so it’s not stressful.”
7th place: “Zenshu.” “Working in anime production – I’m looking forward to the novelty of an alternate world reincarnation story disguised as an anime.” “It’s exciting. I’m generally not interested in alternate worlds, but the relationship between the main character and this world is good, and the main character’s twisted personality is also good.
The artwork is also excellent.” “It’s an original work, and the quality of the artwork.” “Natsuko’s trump card is ‘zenshu’. I can’t wait to see which work she’ll respect each time and how it will be revised. More than anything, the artwork is fantastic. I can’t help but be captivated.”
8th place “Dr. Stone Science Future” “I’ve always been a fan of the work, and it’s faithful to the original, has a good pace, and the new opening was good too.” “The story and characters are exciting.” “I’ve been watching the anime since the first season, and I’ve finally been waiting for the final season.”
9th place “Solo Leveling Season 2 Arise from the Shadow” “The story is fascinating, and the artwork is beautiful.” “Because the first season was excellent.” “The plot develops well.”
10th place: “I’m a guild receptionist, but I don’t want to work overtime, so I’m going to try to defeat the boss solo.” “The drawings are good, and the story is interesting.” “The pictures are beautiful.”
