Anime Feminist Names Its Top Picks for 2025
The list reflects a deliberate focus on shows that center marginalized perspectives and critical themes, rather than a conventional popularity ranking.
Reporting from 1 sources: Anime Feminist.
Anime Feminist published its annual top picks for 2025, a list of staff-recommended anime series and one film. The list includes 18 titles, with Zenshu, Apocalypse Hotel, and The Summer Hikaru Died receiving the most staff votes. The site emphasized that the picks are not ranked but grouped into a "Best in Show" tier for the most-voted titles, followed by an alphabetical list of other recommendations. Eligible series had to be complete as of December 2025 or on the air without a break for over a year, excluding split-cours and ongoing shows that began in 2025. The roundup also includes a bonus film recommendation for Mononoke the Movie Part II: The Ashes of Rage. Each entry includes content warnings and critical analysis from the recommending staffer, covering themes such as queer representation, trauma, and systemic power dynamics. The list was compiled from votes by multiple staff members, with each choosing five titles.
Anime Feminist's 2025 roundup includes 18 titles selected by staff, with Zenshu, Apocalypse Hotel, and The Summer Hikaru Died receiving the most votes to form a "Best in Show" tier. The list also features series such as The Apothecary Diaries Season 2, Ave Mujica -The Die is Cast-, DAN DA DAN, and Medalist, among others. Each entry includes content warnings and analysis from the recommending staffer, covering topics like queer representation, trauma, and systemic power dynamics. The site noted that the picks are not ranked but grouped by staff vote count, with the rest listed alphabetically. Eligible series had to be complete as of December 2025 or on the air without a break for over a year, excluding split-cours and ongoing shows that began in 2025. The roundup also includes a bonus film recommendation for Mononoke the Movie Part II: The Ashes of Rage.
- Zenshu: Best in Show: most staff votes
- Apocalypse Hotel: Best in Show: most staff votes
- The Summer Hikaru Died: Best in Show: most staff votes
- Anne Shirley: Received at least one staff vote
- The Apothecary Diaries - Season 2: Received at least one staff vote
- Ave Mujica -The Die is Cast-: Received at least one staff vote
- Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill - Season 2: Received at least one staff vote
- CITY: The Animation: Received at least one staff vote
- DAN DA DAN: Received at least one staff vote
- The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess: Received at least one staff vote
- Kowloon Generic Romance: Received at least one staff vote
- Maebashi Witches: Received at least one staff vote
- Medalist: Received at least one staff vote
- Sanda: Received at least one staff vote
- Secrets of the Silent Witch: Received at least one staff vote
- There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless...: Received at least one staff vote
- This Monster Wants to Eat Me: Editor bonus pick
- Thunderbolt Fantasy (Complete Series): Received at least one staff vote
- TO BE HERO X: Received at least one staff vote
- Touring After the Apocalypse: Received at least one staff vote
- With You and the Rain: Received at least one staff vote
- Mononoke the Movie Part II: The Ashes of Rage: Bonus film recommendation
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime Feminist Anime Feminist's Top Picks for 2025