The 10 Best Anime Series of Fall 2023, Ranked
Photo Courtesy of Netflix
The latest season of anime is largely wrapped up, and it’s clear this was one of the more stacked lineups in recent memory. For starters, Netflix had a strong outing with two standouts that told complete stories in a single run, a rarity in a medium where adaptations barely ever reach the end of their source material. We also had a few excellent debuts that will hopefully get the follow-ups they deserve, alongside some long-running continuations that kept strong. Frankly, it was such a deep collection of shows that I had to drop many solid productions that I would have stuck with during a weaker season (shoutouts to My New Boss Is Goofy, Tearmoon Kingdom, Stardust Telepath, Power of Hope ~Precure Full Bloom~, and Shy, to name a few). Let’s count down the series that helped end 2023 with a bang.
10. Dr. Stone: New World Part 2
Dozens of episodes in, Dr. Stone continues to be an entertaining little anomaly. While its over-the-top antics conform to a boatload of Shonen Jump tropes, this one stands apart thanks to its protagonist and his methods. Instead of relying on his ability to throw hands, Senku utilizes a bounty of scientific knowledge to get through the many obstacles that come his way in this antiquated world. In the latest run, our brainiac and the rest of the Kingdom of Science continue to investigate why most of humanity was turned to stone thousands of years ago, prompting a face-off against an enemy force that controls a vestige of this petrification technology. Although I admittedly prefer when the series is more focused on highlighting human ingenuity as our group re-develops forgotten technologies to improve people’s lives, it’s still quite satisfying when they use this knowledge to outsmart malicious foes, as they do here. The latest season of Dr. Stone continues to apply battle-shonen logic to educational programming, and the results are a blast.
9. Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2
Jujutsu Kaisen’s second season has been defined by extremes, both in its storytelling and the ups and downs of its production. This latest stretch has focused on the “Shibuya Incident,” where our protagonists fight to survive amidst an influx of powerful curses in a procession of life-or-death showdowns. At their best, like in the stunning Episode 37, “Red Scale,” these battles are defined by creative cinematography and bold aesthetic decisions that draw us into the desperate mental spaces of these combatants. However, just as often, noticeable drops in animation quality demonstrate the highly publicized issues that plagued this production. These visual problems matter so much here because this arc is ostensibly a big fight scene, and without flashy presentation to hammer things home, some episodes simply don’t hit that hard. On the writing side, things also feel somewhat inconsistent, and on top of the series’ usual over-reliance on proper noun jargon, this stretch attempts to pack in so many shocking deaths of fan favorites in such a short period that its nonstop parade of cruelty eventually becomes a little numbing. There are still plenty of highlights and moments of humanity that make this run stand out, such as when the main characters’ beefy bro comes to the rescue, but it’s clear this animation team should have been given the time and improved working conditions they deserved.
8. Undead Unluck
Undead Unluck has quickly proven to be one of the more quietly bonkers action anime in recent memory. Similar to Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure before it, this series is about duels between opponents with outlandish abilities, resulting in puzzle-box battles that are as much about brains as brawn. But perhaps even zanier than these powers is how its worldbuilding slowly reveals the extremes of this setting, nonchalantly dropping exposition bombs that carry all sorts of fascinating implications. We continue to follow Andy and Fuko, a pair who come into the crosshairs of an enigmatic organization that hunts down “Negators,” people who can nullify the rules of reality. David Productions and director Yuki Yase capture these negation abilities through idiosyncratic editing and layouts that convey the strangeness of these metaphysical powers while also heightening the juicy melodrama surrounding its characters. Although this one was visually impressive from the jump, perhaps the biggest point of improvement is that it’s done a much better job building out the relationship between Andy and Fuko, pairing down the disconcerting “gags” between them in the process. With that unfortunate bit largely tossed aside, the show has continued to build on its avant-garde animation and intriguing premise to deliver an exciting action romp.
7. I’m In Love with the Villainess
While it starts off a little rocky, I’m in Love with the Villainess has a lot of charm. The story follows Rae Taylor, who as the title implies, is head over heels for the villainess of her favorite otome game, Claire François. After dying and becoming reincarnated in the world of this visual novel, she sets about to protect her crush from an unfortunate future that she’s seen play out in the game. Although many recent series have shared elements of this setup (My Next Life as a Villainess, Endo and Kobayashi Live!, etc.), this one differentiates itself through its refreshingly frank and empathetic portrayal of LGBTQ+ issues, which while more common in certain manga and light novel circles, is still depressingly rare in anime.
Specifically, while Rae can initially come across as a lot, this story alludes to her previous struggles with living in an exceedingly heteronormative culture and eventually reveals that some of her over-the-top antics are actually a defense mechanism she’s built up to avoid heartbreak. In addition to the slowly building romance between its leads, it has also introduced some interesting political circumstances around its feudal setting that feel like a ticking time bomb. Unfortunately, this is very much a show that excels thanks to the strength of its source material rather than because of this adaptation itself, which is dragged down by some relatively stiff animation. But despite some visual hiccups, I’ve become deeply invested in this central relationship, and I’m very much hoping for a second season so we can see the continuation of this courtship.
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