While there’s plenty of anime rankings out there that compile all-time must-watch titles, a January 4 survey conducted by Japanese company CMSite and published by Rankingoo ranks anime exclusively belonging to the Reiwa era (May 1, 2019 – present). The survey is based on responses from 1,722 Japanese men and women, and the results are quite telling of mainstream anime tastes in the country.
Here are the top 10 Reiwa-era anime according to the survey, along with the year they were released and the number of votes they got:
1. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (2019) – 158 votes
2. The Apothecary Diaries (2023) – 87 votes
3. Oshi no Ko (2023) – 73 votes
4. Kaguya-sama: Love is War (2019) – 67 votes
5. The Dangers in My Heart (2023) – 66 votes
6. Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (2021) – 65 votes
7. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (2022) – 64 votes
8. THE FIRST SLAM DUNK (2022) – 63 votes
9. Lycoris Recoil (2022) – 62 votes
10. Jujutsu Kaisen (2020) – 61 votes
Surprisingly, The Witch from Mercury and THE FIRST SLAM DUNK were the only two anime based on long-running franchises (the latter being the only film on the list). On a related note, all of the anime either have previous or succeeding seasons/spin-offs that have kept their IPs relevant for long periods of time, which could explain why the latest entries (The Apothecary Diaries, Oshi no Ko, and The Dangers in My Heart) are from 2023.
While shonen anime like Jujutsu Kaisen and the ever-dominating Demon Slayer are present, it’s nice to see some variety, with the drama (The Apothecary Diaries, Oshi no Ko), romance (Kaguya-sama, The Dangers in My Heart), isekai (Mushoku Tensei), mecha (Gundam), sports (Slam Dunk), and action/slice of life (Lycoris Recoil) genres getting some representation.
