Hello, and thanks for stopping by Anime Rants. Can you believe it’s been ten years since 2014? Me either. Time really flies by when you’re an adult. I think we should take a bit of time to honor the good anime series from a decade past. I’ve watched a lot of anime from 2014 – about 30 different series. Narrowing those down to my top ten was somewhat challenging. The result is the list below, which is in alphabetical order.

Disclaimer: These are my personal favorites and are not meant to reflect the most popular series of the year nor the ones with the highest production value.

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Akame ga Kill!

Personal Enjoyment: 8/10

Tatsumi is a young adventurer in a typical fantasy setting. He fights monsters and travels with his best friends to the glorious capital to make a name for himself. But Tatsumi is about to find out the world is a far darker place than he imagined, with the capital city full of twisted and corrupt nobles and officials. Tatsumi is destined to join Night Raid, a group of assassins who target the scum of humanity to better society.

The best thing about Akame ga Kill is the subversion of expectations at several key points. I don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t seen it yet, but this series challenges the standard tropes of fantasy anime. This anime also appeals to me with its inclusion of strong female characters and a gay man.

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Akuma no Riddle (Riddle Story of Devil)

Personal Enjoyment: 9/10

Akuma no Riddle focuses on a young female assassin-in-training, Tokaku Azuma, who is sent to isolate and kill a teenage girl target – Haru Ichinose. Tokaku arrives at the high school as directed and finds herself plunged into a sadistic “game” between prominent assassin families in the underworld. There are twelve assassins, and all of them are trying to kill Haru Ichinose, who seems completely harmless. Though initially Tokaku resolves to commit her first kill and dispose of Haru, she soon finds herself enchanted by Haru. Assassin becomes protector in this “Girl’s Love” anime.

I watched Akuma no Riddle when it first came out in 2014, and I’ve loved it ever since. It’s not a well-written story overall, and there are issues such as the sexualization of young female characters. In addition, the show often tries to be super serious, but sometimes fails and just seems stupid. Nevertheless, I love the aesthetic of this anime as well as the character designs, the main characters, and the central Sapphic relationship.

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Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders

Personal Enjoyment: 7/10

This is part three of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. It follows Jotarou Kujo, a deliquent highschool student who reunites with his grandfather to save his mother from the curse of Dio – an ancient vampire who hates the Joestar family. Jotarou, AKA JoJo, begins an international adventure to get to Egypt and fight Dio. This is one of the most popular seasons of JoJo because the Stand system gets introduced.

I still haven’t quite finished this season of JoJo, but I’ve had the main points spoiled for me already. I plan to watch it with a friend eventually. To be honest, JoJo is sometimes off-putting to me because of the sheer weirdness and the intense graphic content. But there are also things about this anime I enjoy, including the colors, unique art-style, and hilarious poses taken by the characters. There’s also the fact that JoJo doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously at any point. That’s refreshing.

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Love Stage!!

Personal Enjoyment: 7/10

Despite being born into a family of actors, Izumi has no interest in the spotlight. However, he occasionally couldn’t refuse the pressure from his family. In one incident, Izumi was in a commercial dressed as a bride. He was short and petite, with a soft face, so it worked well. The co-actor for the commercial, Ryouma, assumed Izumi was a girl and made romantic advances. Much to his surprise, even after discovering Izumi was a boy, Ryouma was still attracted to Izumi.

This is a Boy’s Love anime with more than its share of tropes, stereotypes, and other issues. However, it was one of the first BL anime series I ever watched, and I liked it a lot. The overall vibe of the show is very wholesome and cute. I also love the colors and art-style. Even with its problems, Love Stage is a decent anime for a) getting familiar with the BL genre, and b) enjoying a sappy romance.

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Mushishi: The Next Chapter (Parts 1 and 2)

Personal enjoyment: 10/10

Mushishi follows Ginko, a traveler who helps people deal with mysterious and problematic creatures called mushi. The series is episodic rather than serial, with very few installments having any connection. The only plot is that Ginko goes around to different villages – usually in the forested mountains – and exorcises the mushi that presents the problem. The Next Chapter is the second season of Mushishi.

I’ve written about this several times, so at the risk of being redundant, this show helped me through a very hard time in my life. The calming nature of Mushishi is powerful for me. The mystery and low-level creepiness are also amazing. In terms of audio-visual quality, this anime is top-notch. The peaceful, green shots of forests are captivating. In my opinion, the music for Mushishi is probably the best anime soundtrack in existence. (The OST for Madoka Magica is probably my other favorite.)

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Noragami

Personal Enjoyment: 7/10

Hundreds of years ago, Yato was a Shinto God of War. As modern times came about, people stopped worshipping this type of god, and society moved toward peace and less war. Yato is now a weak god trying to make enough money to survive. He decides to do deliveries and odd-jobs. He is eventually joined by two unlikely companions – a human girl named Hiyori and the spirit of a weapon, a boy named Yukine.

I only recently and begrudgingly admitted to myself that Noragami is a good anime. Initially, I strongly disliked it. Though I still have some misgivings about the fantasy systems in Noragami, I can now appreciate its charming aspects. These include funny characters, great art-work, and good music. A lot of it is humorous, but at the same time, the more serious side of Yato makes for interesting character psychology.

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Psycho Pass 2

Personal Enjoyment: 9/10

In a dystopian future where law and order have collapsed, Japan is one of the only remaining countries that maintains peace. It does so using the Sybil System, which judges people on their psychological states and likelihoods of committing crimes. The Sybil System measures everyone by assigning them an indivisualized Psycho Pass. In this context, a young woman named Akane works in the Public Safety Bureau, solving crimes and capturing criminals. Psycho Pass 2 is obviously the second season.

Although it’s not quite as amazing as the first season, Psycho Pass 2 managed to be a great sequel. Like the first, it tackles topics of justice, law, morality, technology, and abnormal psychology. Akane is one of my favorite female anime characters – possibly my #1. It’s great to see her in action again in the second season.

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Survival Game Club! (Sabage-bu!)

Personal Enjoyment: 9/10

Momoka Sonokawa joins the Survival Game Club at her academy after one of the other members used convincing fake guns to scare away a sexual predator. The club is unusual, made up of quirky girls who love guns. They spend all their time playing violent survival games with replica/airsoft/BB guns. Momoka unlocks her own weird and sadistic side as she adjusts to the Survival Game Club.

I wanted to include one comedy on this list. Although the more popular choice for 2014 would have been Space Dandy, I personally enjoyed Survival Game Club more. It may not be much in terms of audio-visual quality, but the humor is usually right up my alley, being both dark and absurd with many repeated character gags. The funniest parts are when the animation depicts the mock-battles as real, showing blood and bullets as the girls imagine killing each other.

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Terror in Resonance (Zankyou no Terror)

Personal Enjoyment: 8/10

A pair of mysterious boys commit acts of terrorism in Tokyo. The story follows these two young savants, who call themselves Nine and Twelve. Who are they and what is the real reason behind their terrorism?

The art for this anime is stunningly beautiful, and the story is exciting. Though the two main characters are adequately well-written and developed, the tertiary protagonist, Lisa, is often seen as nothing but a plot device. That may be a weakness in this anime depending on your view of the character. Some parts of the plot also lack believability, and the ending of the show was divisive. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this anime for its themes and messages.

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Tokyo Ghoul

Personal Enjoyment: 7/10

Ken Kaneki is a young university student in Tokyo in a time when creatures called ghouls were rising to public consciousness. Ghouls are man-eating creatures who normally look just like humans, but have superhuman strength and other abilities, including kagune: specialized tentacles that come out of their backs.

One day, Kaneki finds himself in an unfolding horror story: the woman he went on a date with turned out to be a ghoul. She attacked him, but there was a mysterious accident. When Kaneki woke up, the dead ghoul’s organs had been transplanted into him. Kaneki is now human-ghoul hybrid who must learn how to navigate the dark world of ghouls.

I have always been fascinated by Tokyo Ghoul, whether I admitted or not in the early days. It isn’t the most satisfying story in terms of either plot consistency nor unique themes. However, I’ve come to think of it as a classic dark thriller in the world of anime. That’s at least true of the first season. I admit I lost interest during the third season when the plot was meandering wildly.

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~Thank you for reading~

PATREON