by Anime fans are calling the 2025 Summer anime season a “bumper crop.” With over 80 titles, it’s one of the best seasons ever in terms of both buzz and quality.
This time, Shohei Taguchi, also known as an “otaku in the guise of an announcer,” picks out some particularly outstanding titles from the high-caliber summer anime lineup! He personally selects “works worth binge-watching even now,” and announces them in a “ranking” format with his passionate thoughts. Currently a freelance announcer, Taguchi is a die-hard anime fan who, while active in game commentary and other activities, checks out almost every anime season that airs. So, which anime will Taguchi choose from his “anime otaku perspective” as the best of Summer 2025? Let’s start with the “Sekiwake Edition”!
Ranking announcement. before that
This summer anime season was a bumper year, with new titles and sequels to major titles. I watch anime every season without fail, and every single one this season is fantastic! While I’d love to list every single anime, I’ve chosen my top five summer anime that even casual viewers can enjoy.
The selection criteria were whether or not they were great animations. While a great story is likely due to the power of the original work, the beauty of anime also lies in the accompanying elements of animation, composition, direction, and voice acting. Furthermore, I’ve also chosen based on whether or not the anime is original, so I’ll be excluding long-running series. Even if you missed out on the summer anime, here are five gems you should still check out… starting with the 5th and 4th place “Sekiwake-class” titles!
In fifth place is the second season of the Jump+ anime “Dandadan”!
I really want to give it first place…!! I’ve placed “Dandadan,” currently serialized in Jump+, in fifth place. Simply put, the direction and animation are incredible. The opening video for the first season, featuring “Otonoke” by Creepy Nuts, became a global sensation.
Science SARU produces the animation, and the characters move with incredible fluidity, utilizing exceptionally unique color palettes that set it apart from other anime. In terms of the impact of the animation, it’s the same feeling I had when I first saw “Attack on Titan.” Jump+ is home to a vast catalog of titles, such as “Chainsaw Man” and “SPY×FAMILY,” so I imagine there was fierce competition between broadcasters and production companies to secure “Dandadan” for the series. Fan expectations were high, and the performance exceeded them easily. It’s incredible how much a TV series can move you. Every episode feels like a movie.
This sci-fi occult anime tells the story of Momo Ayase (Momo), a high school girl whose grandmother is a psychic, and Ken Takakura (Okarun), an occult-obsessed high school boy who doesn’t believe in aliens but does believe in ghosts, as well as their friends. The story sometimes plays out like a love story, and the characters save people by defeating one supernatural phenomenon or unidentified mysterious object (UMA) after another. While many works portray supernatural phenomena and unidentified mysterious objects, this one is brilliantly structured to incorporate both into the story.
The plot frequently pits the protagonist against supernatural phenomena and aliens, and the intertwining of their intentions is fascinating. The comedy tempo is well-paced, and the sense is excellent. The characters are incredibly well-rounded and charming, ranging from nerds to delinquents to cutesy girls to outgoing people. In the animated series, each character’s story arc is typically wrapped up in about four episodes.
The story also faithfully depicts the friendship, effort, and victory typical of Jump, and the diverse group of characters continues to grow. Did the original manga hint at a great evil? So, this season marks the second season of the anime, but let me start by talking about episode 7 of the first season (laughs). It’s a story about the past of Acrobatic Sarasara (hereafter referred to as Akusara), a mysterious being that appears in an episode about the main character, Shiratori Aira. It’s so moving, it’s almost tear-jerking, and cumbersome. It’s like, “They’re really going to depict that in an anime…” It’s so intense, it nearly makes you cry. It’s so heavy.
The parent-child episode has a penetrating, critical impact on all of humanity. Akusara was originally the mother of an only daughter. While raising her beloved daughter as a single mother in poverty, her own daughter is kidnapped by debt collectors. This type of situation is common in other yakuza manga and underground works. But what’s impressive about Dandadan is the way it digs into your heart in just 10 minutes.
The child’s acting when his daughter is kidnapped by scary people (voiced by Kino Hina) is heartbreaking, and Akusara’s breathing and sense of frustration, for whom his daughter is his sole purpose in life, are conveyed directly. The POV (first-person) perspective of when he runs out of the house and chases after his daughter is truly something that can only be expressed through animation. It’s a weighty story, but the original cuts are also excellent. Please, start with the first season! It’s not a constant stream of serious developments; the story moves along lightheartedly, interspersed with gags and features many intense battle scenes reminiscent of “Dragon Ball.”
However, digging deeper into each episode reveals intensely gripping moments, resulting in a visually stunning production. Season 2 begins with an episode about the incredibly cheerful character “Jiji,” and then proceeds to the role of “Sakata Kinta,” a character who serves as a reflection of us all. In particular, the scene in the music room, where Okarun and Momo fight Beethoven and the other musicians, is a wonderful one, with animations that effectively maximize the original battle scenes. It makes you think, “So this is the Reiwa era’s ‘Symphony No. 9.’ It’s the one with Kaworu from Evangelion. The back-and-forth between humor and seriousness is sure to make you physically stronger, so I highly recommend it.
