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The 2020s have been especially formative for the anime industry and featured innovative genre reinventions and the return of old favorites. There are so many top tier animation studios that consistently push their limits and each year has been full of true surprises that draw in larger crowds. The past five years have had the luxury of riffing on existing trends and subverting the audience’s expectations, while also finding cozy and nostalgic ways to embrace tradition.
Some of the most popular breakout hits of the past five years include Jujutsu Kaisen, The Apothecary Diaries, Dandadan, and Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. Many of these modern classics are inescapable, but there are also some equally compelling anime from the past five years that have flown under the radar and are unfortunately obscure.
Sonny Boy Is A Moving Allegory About Adolescence That’s Experienced In A Foreign World
Sonny Boy is an original 12-episode anime from Shingo Natsume and Madhouse that quietly aired in 2022 and doesn't get brought up nearly as often as it should. Sonny Boy takes the isekai genre in a unique direction by presenting an existential survivalist sci-fi saga that's reminiscent of Lord of the Flies.
A group of middle school students find themselves whisked away to an alternate void-like dimension. If this wasn't enough of a surprise, many of these students begin to develop diverse supernatural abilities. Their quest to find their way home and figure out the rules of this realm is paramount, and it's juxtaposed with a powerful coming-of-age parable about making sense of adolescence.
The radical space that these children are put in is jarring in a physical sense, but it also functions as a deeper metaphor for the confusing and often isolating nature of growing up. Nagara, Sonny Boy's protagonist, experiences profound growth during this surreal experience that helps him learn how to take accountability in life and shed his passive ways and properly apply himself.
Sonny Boy is such a powerful philosophical approach to a coming-of-age story that also brilliantly unpacks societal values and cliques that can naturally form when individuals are isolated and left to their own devices. The series tells this story in an unconventional and non-linear manner that prompts the audience to really deconstruct what they see in order to comprehend the full magnitude of what's going on.
The Heike Story Chronicles A Tragic Historical Epic In A Delicate & Artistic Manner
There are so many anime that beautifully touch on real-life Japanese history that's then filtered through a creative or experimental filter. 2021's The Heike Story is in a league of its own with how it chronicles the rise and fall of the Taira clan during the 13th-century and Japan's transition to a militaristic rule. The Heike Story's 11 episodes tell a tragic narrative of legacy, karma, and modernity.
The audience — and Biwa — know that every step forward the Taira Clan takes is still going to end in their destruction. This is a fate that cannot be changed, and it's incredibly powerful to witness their arrogance and persistence as they do everything they can to survive. There's so much to say in The Heike Story about the cyclical nature of war and how one bad decision can trigger a domino effect that never ends.
Historical dramas aren't for everyone, but The Heike Story stands out among its peers and deserves more attention. It takes an epic that's over 800 years old and manages to make it accessible and palatable, almost like it's a children's storybook, but without ever condescending to its audience or making light of this tragedy.
Kageki Shojo!! Highlights The Highs & Lows Of Wanting To Make It As A Theater Performer
Kageki Shojo!! is a 13-episode triumph from 2021 that admittedly focuses on a somewhat niche subject, but its realistic and compelling characters present universal values and dreams that make it a shame that this title didn't make a bigger splash or found a greater audience over time. Kageki Shojo!! is set at the highly esteemed Kouka School of Musical and Theatrical Acts, a cutthroat all-female academy that's produced some of Japan's finest talent.
Kouka is full of interesting and accomplished thespians, but Kageki Shojo!! focuses on Sarasa Watanabe and Ai Narata, two competitive and passionate students who have contrasting backgrounds but comparable trauma. Kageki Shojo!! celebrates Sarasa and Ai's efforts to stand out from their classmates, persevere through the school's intense training and exercises, and come to terms with their painful pasts at the same time.
Despite the anime's dark undertones, which touches on topics like body image expectations and eating disorders, it's a very light and upbeat series that's a passionate odd to theater and acting. Every character in Kageki Shojo!! feels like they're ripped from reality and contains rich multitudes.
Odd Taxi Crafts A Flawless Mystery In An Exciting Anthropomorphic World
Odd Taxi is a 2021 anime that many audiences initially dismissed because of its disarming world of anthropomorphic animals, which are often used in series skewed towards younger audiences. The creates a rich animal world, yet it's a dark, crime-filled mystery that deliberately uses its anthropomorphism as a psychological filter for heavy trauma.
There's a genuine purpose to this distinct presentation style rather than Odd Taxi simply wanting to showcase cute animals. Odd Taxi looks at Hiroshi Odokawa, an introspective walrus taxi driver who finds himself at the center of a criminal conspiracy when he's the primary suspect for the kidnapping of a high school pop idol.
The missing girl, Yuki Mitsuya, was last seen in Odokawa's cab, which has him looking for clues and examining all of his past fares. Odd Taxi is one of the most intricate and well-written mysteries to come out of the 2020s. Every single conversation ends up connecting to the kidnapping's resolution, and it's a masterpiece in foreshadowing and world-building.
This is not a mystery series that hedges its bets or leaves the audience feeling unsatisfied with an open-ended or unresolved case. Odokawa finds himself up against the yakuza, the pop idol industry, and a litany of odd individuals in an immaculately paced, hard-boiled triumph. Nothing goes to waste in Odd Taxi, and it's an anime where audiences discover new clues every time they watch it.
Lycoris Recoil Gives The “Girls With Guns” Genre A Slice-Of-Life Makeover
Lycoris Recoil is a wild genre mash-up that takes high-stakes assassin action and combines it with humble and heartwarming slice-of-life storytelling. It's an extreme pairing that would completely fall apart in less capable hands, but this is instead one of the 2020s' best hidden gems.
Released in 2022 by A-1 Pictures, Lycoris Recoil follows a special task force of assassins that's made up entirely of orphaned girls. Takina, one of the top Lycoris agents, is partnered up with Chisato, a rambunctious pacifist. Takina and Chisato form a powerful bond, despite their contrasting styles and personalities, as they take down terrorists and run the quaint Café LycoReco.
This means that kinetic "gun fu" combat and action spectacles coexist with Takina and Chisato's everyday café responsibilities and mundane civilian tasks, like teaching and shopping. Beyond the original premise, Lycoris Recoil achieves remarkable chemistry between its two leads, who are the anime's heart and soul.
Lycoris Recoil is only 13 episodes, but it's stunning how quickly these two find a rhythm together and evolve as a team, both on a professional and personal level. A-1 Pictures also doesn't hold back when it comes to Lycrois Recoil's chaotic gunplay. Chisato has the unique ability to dodge bullets through precise spatial recognition, which adds an extra element of mayhem to the combat. Lycoris Recoil feels like John Wick mixed with Gilmore Girls, in the best way possible.
