Best of Anime 2021

[Music] 2021 might not have lived up to be the savior of 2020 as we all originally hoped it to be but you know what at least the anime was pretty banging right [Music] this year was the year of anime that we deserved after 2020. there was so much great stuff that came out this year that when picking my favorites i had to be pretty cutthroat in what i talked about today or we'd be here all day b stars 2 dragon maid 2 and slime 2 won't be making my list because even though i watch them all and love them i don't have anything interesting to say about them other than yeah it's more the same good [ __ ] in it jujitsu kaisen and my previous anime of the year re zero pretty much continued what i said about them last year so if it was a sequel or continuation i didn't have anything more interesting to add it's cut but before we get to the best shows i saw let's see all the other amazing things that happened for anime in 2021 hello the year started off with x arm an anime that broke new records by being one of the lowest rated anime to come out on mal on release an anime that had more bugs than cyberpunk by a team that had never worked on an anime before to the surprise of everybody that made berserk 2017 look like violet evergarden using animation techniques never before seen in the history of the medium in summary anime of the year not to be outdone after years of radio silence high guardian spice dropped to stunning praise i mean just look at this the opening has 9 000 likes and not a single dislike i guess everyone enjoyed it a lot of people refused to call this anime at all but how could you not when this is clearly the most accurate adaptation we've ever gotten of those early 2000s how to draw manga books not also forgetting we got the groundbreaking release of the revolutionary biopic about the greatest gamer to ever live redo of healer completing quests like its final fantasy collecting chicks like its pokemon healing [ __ ] like its overwatch and for his ultimate move enchanting dicks like its minecraft what a true gamer honestly shock value aside i would have preferred this just be a proper hentai with full-length scenes so i don't have to pretend to give a [ __ ] about the writing i think it speaks wonders that redo tried so bad to be offensive not even twitter was offended because it was so bad overall history deleted phone used holy water needed meat let me get this straight one of the wealthiest most powerful men in the world is secretly a vigilante and your plan is to blackmail this person i'm right it is because you are black and you are male after much anticipation netflix released their reimagining of cowboy bebop and i mean what can i say you got fantastic scripting straight out of seinfeld vicious looks just as threatening as a dogecoin millionaire and i'm happy for all these cast members getting another great acting gig what what happened to james um john cho's [ __ ] killing it on a sick hit netflix show that's what happened to john show promised neverland season two thought it would be a good idea to skip 60 odd chapters worth of content containing one of the most beloved arcs of the manga to skip right to the end and kind of hope that people just wouldn't notice shockingly they did one piece celebrated its 1000th episode which is an absolutely amazing achievement showing that one piece fans are unmatched in their sheer commitment to one thing proving that they are in fact the ideal life partner anyone could hope for if it was actually possible for a one-piece fan to get laid speaking of not getting laid evangelion fans were finally recorded i don't know why i'm making these tricks i'm an ava fan and a one-piece fan evangelion fans were finally rewarded as evangelion was three plus one twenty one as fans were given the one ending no one ever expected an actual [ __ ] ending yes long time fans like myself were finally able to say goodbye as evangelion turned around one last time and said good night good morning thank you and finally hello hello honestly it's hard to put into words the wave of emotion i felt watching a franchise so dear to my heart actually being put to rest but even so there was something else this year that hit me even harder every so often we come across someone in history that seemingly been able to immortalize themselves through their work someone standing at the pinnacle of their craft setting the standard their fellow peers aspire to reach and inspiring countless others with a sphere of influence you'll never be able to directly quantify but you feel it someone like this doesn't appear every day but if there is a person out there who i think can claim that title it's kintaro miura berserk is a title that should need no introduction a manga that's constantly at the top of everyone's favorites of all time it's a gruesome story with some of the most nightmarish imagery you can find anywhere in the medium yet i can't think of any other way to describe this tale other than beautiful there's a soul to berserk i can't even begin to describe but i can feel it emanating from every panel as though a piece of miura himself was etched into every page it's something that went beyond the medium of manga a craft we rarely ever get to see and now something we'll never be able to see the end of in times like these it can be easy to lament the things that we'll never be able to experience we'll never be able to see griffith's kingdom the ancient king's full backstory guts finding his revenge and closing off the final chapter of everything he's been through but to me no matter what things we'll never get the chance to see in the future what we were lucky enough to get the chance to bear witness to in the first place will always trump that you were able to bear witness to a lost soul finding purpose in life in a place he really shouldn't have been able to you were able to bear witness to someone who had found beauty in the most hellish of places you were able to bear witness to one man who never gave up on life never stopped fighting never backed down when not a single soul would have blamed him for doing so you were able to bear witness to one of the greatest stories ever told [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] all right let's get to it anime has conditioned me into thinking every romance needs a little bit of drama a little bit of conflict a little bit of spice but what happens when you present me the anime spice master a completely spiceless vanilla romance about people who like each other then end up together with little resistance turns out it's pretty damn good horimia proves that you don't need some complicated love dodecahedron to have a great anime romance the most extraordinary thing it does is how many unextraordinary things happen in it well that's exactly what makes it so great it's so casual so unbelievably real that it's comforting you see this girl well she heard her boyfriend was hanging out with another girl and getting a bit chummy i know you're thinking right classic misunderstanding that is until she did this one simple trick every romance writer hates her for she asked him about it and he explained it to her this is some kind of twisted joke it's just refreshing seeing characters like each other get together then act like mature [ __ ] people and watching this made me realize that you know what a nice wholesome simple vanilla relationship is the best thing any person can hope for can you come help me pick up the evangelion arnold holes i just got the 50 kilogram anime titties in the mail and i had to go pick up the [ __ ] of the round table too so i could really use your help a little bit here okay [Music] in a medium with some of the most decorated sci-fi shows of all time you'd think it wouldn't take this long before some exec would have the realization of huh maybe a star wars anime would be a good idea star wars visions is what happens if we give a bunch of talented creators and studios the budget and creator freedom to do whatever they want with an ip and see if they can deliver which they did nine stories filled with wonderful ideas that pushed the imagination of what we've seen in the star wars universe and the concert episode i'll be honest i'm not even a star wars fan except for two things jedis and lightsaber battles and oh boy we've got light sabers that look like katanas this chick has a lightsaber umbrella that she uses to helicopter into a fight this dude uses a crystal to supercharge his lightsaber into a rainbow super saver so he can go out hyperspeed while standing on the nose of an x-wing so i can tear a [ __ ] star destroyer in half the [ __ ] had so much lightsaber porn general grievous had to watch it in incognito mode star wars visions is the star wars i wanted from star wars it reels you into a corner of this amazing universe then spits you off for the next exciting exhilarating ride before you have a chance to catch your breath and i really hope we don't have to wait as long again to see the next anime set a long time ago in a galaxy far far away [Music] with the amount of sequels these days that feels more like a quick cash grab my gut reaction seeing any continuation for a story that's already clearly finished is just stop it the original megalo box detailed the rise of gearless show and his journey of winning the prestigious boxing tournament of megalonia and by the season end everything was wrapped up the character arc was complete the plot threads were tied up the story was over there was nowhere left for this tale to go nomad was a sequel i didn't want or asked for yet somehow it managed to exceed its predecessor in just about every way possible forget a boxing anime with some character development this was a character-driven drama with some boxing in it it took the hero it had so carefully built up and completely broke him depression drug abuse managing grief this is joe in megalo box season 1 and this is joe post 2020 joe's story is no longer a simple rise to fame underdog tale it's an introspective saga of the fall of a hero the inability to live up to legacy and the struggle for redemption that comes after it this is the benchmark of how to make a sequel to a story that's already ended showing us there's always a new angle to explore a new place to take a character because there's always something that happens after happily ever after jesus christ did i just [ __ ] quote shrek [Music] it wouldn't be a gig video without some anime girls and 2021 saw the tale of two waifus on the opposite side of the spectrum i can't pick between so i'm gonna cheat and put them in the same place on one side we've got the cute but quiet komi-san she's hashtag relatable because she's a super introvert i knew that and she has trouble speaking because she has social anxiety i do that but she's so beautiful and good looking that everyone respects her and wants to be friends with her anyway and on the other side is nagatoro basically just a dojin character who found herself her own anime with enough smug energy to power the entire nation of switzerland before airing these were the two anime girls that dominated every profile picture i'd see and i thought 2021 would be the war of the anime profile pictures where komi sims and nagatoro fans would compete over which profile picture would get clowned on the most on the internet then out of nowhere nft bros appeared and went hold my circus both of these shows follow its own simple formula that just works seeing comey's journey of conquering her social anxiety just triggered this innate desire in me to protect at all cost but the biggest surprise was nagatoro i thought this was only going to appeal to the average discord user who has the aspiration to one day be stepped on i mean just look at this devious smile look at the way she's making this guy cry look at this face and tell me she didn't just post memes in general the [ __ ] but seeing the relationship develop between the unlikely couple was just the most wholesome surprise for the year the smile far exceeded the smug and i couldn't help but get invested it's just simple pure light-hearted fun on all sides of the spectrum so what can i say except it's wholesome what can i say except it's awesome alan got that i remember the first time watching shows like serial experiments lane evangelion fooly cooley and not being able to understand anything i'd watched at all yet something about them stuck with me like a parasite in my thoughts that i didn't come to fully appreciate until years after i had first watched them and i have a feeling that sunnyboy is gonna do exactly that for me sunnyboy is easily the most overlooked anime of 2021 hell even i overlooked it until one day i was just randomly recommended the oc to the show on youtube and on a whim i gave it a listen and instantly i just fell in love i needed to know what this show was about sometimes you don't watch a show because of something concrete that you can verbalize but because of a feeling it gives you and i don't know how i can say that without sounding like some pretentious art snob but i have no other way to describe it its complex multifaceted message is hidden behind a web of story paths steeped in surrealism that i can't even begin to untangle from the concept of death to the inner depths of the human psyche to the nature of life itself it's not ideas that will immediately leave an impact on you but ones that slowly soak and seep in over time i'm not gonna pretend i understood everything about this anime but i can already tell that part of it is gonna stick with me for years to come i just finished the show a month ago and i already feel nostalgic about it it won't be appreciated immediately but just give it a few years and i swear to god this is one of those anime that will have aged like fine wine 2021 was the year mecca anime came back with the vengeance we've got to see 2d mechs again we're going to see sequels to old beloved ips we've got to see sequels to new beloved ips we got to see the greatest thing to ever exist gundam hathaway alan have you been tampering with my script again the right at the forefront was 86 watching 86 made me feel like i was a new anime fan again discovering mecca in the mid-2000s anime boom it's been so long since i've seen a good old-fashioned military mecha show engage old fans while introducing a plethora of new ones to the genre right off the bat we're introduced to a nation at war that seems to be reminiscent to world war two germany so you're like oh okay it's a story where racism bad and indeed racism is bad to racism no but as the show goes on and then lays get peeled back you start to realize there's so much more play here the horrors of war the corruption that comes with it and the desperation of survival that can drive any person to commit atrocities in the name of victory it constantly keeps you guessing keeps you thinking season one sets up the stakes sets up the drama only to have season two shatter everything you knew about the world it presented this feels like a long lost generabuchi show from his prime and i hope this is just the first of many upcoming mecha shows that can introduce a lot more of the current new generation of anime fans to the genre [Music] you jojo in it if you think you can graduate from this school without kissing my [ __ ] you are the drunk [Music] at this point i'm just convinced studio wits have hacked enabled because i don't think it's actually possible for them to make a bad show vv was just a showcase of what happens when you have a top tier production in every aspect take a time travel terminator plot line with a badass female cyborg full-fledged action hero written by the guy who wrote re-zero with wit absolutely smurfing on the animation and what you have is a complete exhilarating ride from start to finish this year was the year of anime original shows and vv is the prime example of what happens when it goes right this felt like watching a hollywood blockbuster production in anime form and my god was it a joy to see [Music] pretty much the only negative thing i could say about it is that it does everything great but doesn't do anything exceedingly great animation writing characters music this was a top contender for pretty much every category while having a show or two that did a better job in one of those aspects it's the master of everything but grand master of none and the fact that it's number seven is more of a testament to how tough the competition was in the top ten rather than how much of an all-around banger this series was souls prepare to cry edition but sometimes no amount of emotional prep can prepare you to your eternity follows the journey of an immortal shape-shifting object gaining sentience from the people and experiences it encounters there's a poetic beauty in watching something that's the furthest thing from what you can call mortal discovering its own humanity from the small pieces of everyone it meets after watching a single episode a single arc you know how the series is going to play out you prepare for the worst with everyone that meets but it breaks you down anyway because it just carries this emotional weight that pulls down on your heart no matter how strong it is what does it mean to live forever what is there to be scared of when death isn't a fear how do you go on living when everything around you does not to your eternity erects this wall around your heart tears it down helps you build it back up just so you can shatter it over and over again but every time you let it because like fushi a part of that journey sticks with you with every new wall that you build for a lot of us there is nothing more frightening than death but to me there's something inherently beautiful about taking a being that cannot die and teaching it what it means to be alive every minute for years now a chinese animation has been knocking out the door of the anime community for one massive hit one super sensation and in 2021 we went wait is this what i think it is a succulent chinese meal link click doesn't [ __ ] around when it comes to introducing you to its premise from the very first shot we are showing the rules we are showing the characters we understand the stakes the curtains roll the stage is set and your thrust head first into a super wild ride the concept immediately grabs you pulls you in and refuses to let go you're put on the first episode five minutes pass and then you finish episode 5. time travel is a concept that's been explored to hell and back but it's genuinely refreshing and addicting when you find an angle that hasn't been done before and link click capitalizes on this to the fullest i know there's going to be that one comment saying hey giggle this isn't really anime and well i mean you can watch the official japanese anime stuff if that makes you happy because i think this is just going to be the start of high quality chinese animation having more of a presence in the anime community years ago i was chinese we get told the phrase never judge a book by its cover time and time again and then time and time again we go what the [ __ ] is this stupid children's cartoon doing my seasonal anime chart skip on the surface ranking of kings looks like your typical cheesy fairy tale of a deaf prince fighting against all odds to become the greatest king in the world i mean just look at this little munchkin what could possibly go wrong then episode 2 comes out you see this guy's entire clan gets massacred while he escapes only to be rewarded by the sight of his dead mother's corpse being paraded around this guy gets to see his dad's frozen body get crushed into mush [ __ ] beheads a bird and is forced to drink the blood from his head this [ __ ] just goes ahead and chops off his own hands clean off after a fight the entire thing looks like a children's story book but the things that happen in it can be anything but through all the cute wholesome moments this is a mature tale with complex multi-faceted characters that are always more than meets the eye you got people like the queen mother the typical evil stepmom you see in every [ __ ] disney movie who's scheming to give her own son the throne at any cost except when it's shown she just doesn't want to give the insane pressure of becoming king to her disabled stepson and actually loves and cares for him as much as her real son and you can find examples like this all over the show as soon as you think you know a character they'll do something unexpected that adds an extra layer of depth to them people with minimal lines feel like they have a complexity to them that most shows can't give in an entire season even the slimiest person has their morals even the most noble of people can be slimy ranking of kings is an absolute master class in storytelling it feels like a storybook yet plays out like a historical epic written by george r.r martin this could very much be an anime of the year 2022 in the making if the second half follows through with everything this first half has built up this is an incredible show i almost miss myself because of my preconceptions so i swear to god this is the last time i'll be judging a book by its cover [Music] what is the stupid furry bait doing on my seasonal anime chart oh [ __ ] odd taxi cemented the sentiment this year that the best shows came from the most unlikely of places on the surface this looks like the furthest thing from anime of the year contender material but odd taxi doesn't need fancy animation aesthetic character designs or a big studio budget behind it because it has the audacity to just try and carry itself with sheer engrossing writing which it does while most shows fail to absorb you in a single plot line odd taxi manages to engross you in ten with grounded characters and dialogue so punchy it'll make you sit down and go damn word got hands it's a show that treats you with more of a level of respect than i treat my best friends taste in food there's no hand holding here you are shown what you are needed to be shown one scene one piece of dialogue at a time this shot showed this item okay this piece goes here that character mentioned that thing okay so that piece goes there piece by piece this puzzle starts to unravel itself what seems like a pool of unconnected storylines slowly starts to form a coherent hole but the full picture is never clear until the very last moment where the show stands up takes off his bathrobe and [ __ ] slaps you faster than you can say do you want my rod or this rod the climactic ending didn't just land on two feet it did a double twisting somersault in the process backflipped as an encore then bowed out to a serenade of applause it's shows like these that just reaffirm my faith in anime it shows me that there are still creators out there willing to make original provocative works of art in an industry saturated with mediocrity and pandering and that there is still someone out there who is willing to take the risk to approve it no matter how much i'll gravitate to the hundredth isagile the next big shonen powerhouse it's finding gems like these that keep me coming back and i hope to god that they never stop being made [Music] the ending of breaking bad the original star wars trilogy the conclusion to the infinity war saga i don't think in my history of being an anime fan has it felt like a show transcended from just being a simple anime to a full-blown cultural event but that's exactly what i felt watching the final season of attack on titan i went into the year thinking the hype couldn't peak harder than it did at the end of season 3 but attack on titan season 4 dropped so hard my grandma thought the germans had come back it's ready to see a series with the balls to attempt a story with the sheer scale and ambition of the plot on display here and it's even rarer to see one that actually manages to follow through with it to call this season a new look would be an understatement because until you saw some familiar faces no one would even blame you for thinking you put on the wrong [ __ ] show and even then you still probably wouldn't recognize them mikasa went new haircut who this aaron's gone from hello sir nice to meet you too maria isn't the only thing getting smashed tonight an armin is finally taller than everyone else the villains we hated are now our heroes and the heroes we looked up to are now the villains new characters new settings new conflict an entirely new genre of show and it somehow feels like this was the only direction the story could have ever gone just how seeing the evolution of attack on titan from season 1 has not just been a delight for recent shows i've seen but one of the biggest delights i've had as an anime fan period regardless of how it ends this has done what few series will ever be able to do and whether it lands on two feet or falls flat on its face this coming year you bet your ass i'm gonna be chomping down on that popcorn the entire way [Music] and i think it's an understatement to say that in all my years of being an isekai fan keeping faith while wading through the dozens of the same copy paste shows for the last decades that this was the show i was waiting for mushoka tensei isn't just amazing for anita guy it isn't just amazing for a fantasy it is just an amazing show it's been such a long time since i watched something that awoke that pure childish sense of adventure that just made me feel like i was going on a grand adventure with my friends getting completely lost in a totally new world the world sucks you in and immerses you the water magic feels almost alive you can feel the scorched air of the desert landscape it's another world that's been stunningly crafted and carefully brought to life i can't begin to talk about how good of a job the newly formed studio binds did you see this yeah this is just a throwaway training scene this bread has more care put into it than the entirety of seven deadly sins season three but it maintains this quality through every second of its run time the series has the best action scenes the best dance scenes the best subtle character moments the best bread scenes but it goes beyond just animation the music the cinematography the voice acting they invented not just one but two made-up languages for different races of this fictional world which can and has been translated which is absolutely insane there's an episode which is like 80 spoken in made up languages just to further immerse you in this world studio binds poured their [ __ ] hearts into every single little detail and it shows each frame has more love and care put into it than most anime get in an entire season but behind this masterful craft there's also just a real heart behind the story being told here being a part of rudius's long journey of learning from his mistakes of his previous life is just an absolute joy to be a part of there are many things about our protagonist that will understandably put people off the show and look i get it and i don't stand behind it either because let's not forget he's this guy but the series never lets you forget how flawed of a guy he is and every tiny lesson he learns every small thing he does to change his actions for the better just makes you want to stand up and go yes that's it that's what i'm talking about this isn't a show where i found myself projecting on the main character but instead cheering him on to become a better person this is no longer the self-insert isakai it's a self-reflection itakai and i think this is true for every single person in the show his dad kind of an [ __ ] but learns from it because parents are still human after all heiress well she's your typical short fused violent tinder [ __ ] you've seen in every other anime so what happens she gets the [ __ ] beaten out of her now she knows there are times to be patient characters learn and grow from their mistakes everyone is on their own personal journey you see people flawed people fighting to be the best person they can be after all this time i finally understood what isakai was meant to be about a story that didn't just ignore a person's previous life but used it as a stepping stone to find the path to a better one a series that didn't just show you another world but made you feel like you're a part of it this is what i want jiseki for this is what animation was made for and this is why a god damn [ __ ] love anime isekai trash nah i only watch isekai treasure [Music] but anyway i've talked for far too long already even having to cut out so many other shows i enjoyed but didn't have enough to say about we got it all this year the good the bad the ugly the weird the epic the funny and the downright beautiful it's been an up and down year for me overall but it's been you guys that have helped me get through it and whether 2021 was a great year for you or not you can't deny it was a pretty great year for anime what is that [Music] hello guys hope you're enjoying the new year so far thank you very much this month too alpha sigma basil dysfunctional degenerate elephant aivito jeff levardos manopla payne patchett pony stark walter and everyone else my patreon for helping to support me for this month and making this video possible you know what guys before you comment i do have one little addition i wanted to add to the list because this was way longer than a lot of my usual videos so i had to cut some stuff out and so i wanted to give a shout out to arcane because i know it's technically not anime but as much as i loved mushoka tensei if arcane was an anime it would probably be my anime of the year if not it's definitely my animation of this year and i'm sad i had to cut it out but i didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer for this video also if you enjoyed my rundown of the top anime of this year then you'd probably be interested in what i vote for for the anime awards this year and literally as i'm recording this right now crunchyroll just released their nominations so i'm gonna be doing a live stream just going through all the nominations and picking who i'm going to vote for that's going to be on monday the 24th of january so if everything goes to plan with the schedule of this upload that should be tomorrow or the day after touchwood because i'm filming this a few days before anyway that's it for me for today hope you enjoyed the video hope you've had a great 2021 and let's hope 2022 treats us well i've been giggup and i'll see you all next time

Channel: Gigguk

Views: 2,786,920

Keywords: Anime Zone, Gigguk, Top Anime, OP, ED, Best Anime, Best Anime 2021, Top Anime 2021, Top 10 Anime 2021, Anime 2021

Id: 5ytnKggHwvY

Length: 30min 14sec (1814 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 23 2022

Reddit Comments

[u/Raizzor]

2021 was probably the best year for Anime in recent memory. At least since 2011. Good to see that at least Gigguk acknowledges that while Joe -the so-called Anime Man- is still saying that "nothing good came out this year"

[u/Pollsmor]

If I had a nickel for every time an anime YouTuber's video used Genshin Impact's OST as background music when talking about Mushoku Tensei, I'd have 2 but that's 2 more than I thought there'd be.

(the other was AniNews' Mushoku Tensei episode 23 cut content video.)

[u/Sstargamer]

Goddamn 2021 was a hype year.

[u/IIPIGGAII]

Oh man during the part of the video where Gigguk talks about Berserk and Kentaro Miura was really well done and beautiful , it really got me in the feels , made me tear up a bit. RIP Kentaro Miura

[u/saint1337]

noone really talks about Stone Ocean, did the release schedule kill the hype?

[u/questir]

Solid list.

I'm glad he mentioned Nomad cuss I barely see it being mentioned around here.

Also I could not avoid to feel goosebumps when he mentioned Miura and Berserk and everything he acomplished

[u/Orodalf]

Thank goodness he mentioned Link Click.

[u/Genki_assassin]

Man that Fumestu no Anate E description was so beautiful!

[u/nostoppa215]

Another anime YouTube video that better celebrates anime as a whole then the Crunchyroll awards.

I recommend Echidnuts Anime Award Video too if your looking for more humor then pure impassioned videos.