The Winter 2025 anime season is getting the year started on the right note, delivering more than 40 episodes per week. While quantity and variety are selling points for the medium in general, ultimately, only a handful of seasonal series will be remembered once the snow melts away and flowers begin to bloom in Spring. Offering a nice blend of sequels and newcomers, the current lineup could produce greatness, although it remains to be seen whether that ends up being the case.
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With so many shows airing at the same time, keeping track of everything is not only exhausting but also arguably unsatisfying. As such, a shortlist of the best anime of Winter 2025 can serve as a helpful guide, at least in terms of picking out a few starting points. Let’s go through the season’s highlights.
Here are a few important details and criteria:
- The current cutoff date for episodes is January 12, 2025.
- Only anime that debuted in Winter 2025 will be considered, and this includes sequel seasons. Therefore, Fall 2024 leftovers (Shangri-La Frontier, Orb: On the Movements of the Earth, and Re:Zero) will not be included.
- The rankings will be expanded and updated weekly to reflect the season’s development.
- Click the anime’s title to see a preview, if the article exists.
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Sakamoto Days
A Decent Start With Some Rough Edges
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Sakamoto Days
AnimationActionAdventure
Studio
TMS Entertainment
Based On
Manga
Creator
Yuto Suzuki
Streaming Service(s)
Netflix
Putting aside sequels, Sakamoto Days was the most hyped anime of Winter 2025, solely thanks to the quality of Yuto Suzuki’s source material. However, the adaptation’s promotional material undermined its original momentum, garnering criticism for lackluster animation that seemed to fail to replicate the manga’s kinetic energy.
Sakamoto Days is an action-comedy about a legendary hitman who decides to settle down after falling in love. Nowadays, he runs a convenience store and spends his days with his loving wife and adorable child. Unfortunately, retirement is not an option, and Sakamoto will have to protect his new life from his old one. Also, he hires a gunman who was originally sent to kill him.
At this point, the Sakamoto Days anime is still a bit of an unknown. While mostly entertaining, the first episode did not put to bed all the fears born from the initial trailers, incorporating animation that fluctuated between “pretty good” and “pretty stiff.” Still, the anime’s debut managed to mostly preserve the manga’s charm, lovable characters, and humor.
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The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Season 2
The Ultimate Harem Comedy Anime Is Back, And Now With Even More Girls
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The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You
AnimationComedyHaremRomance
Japanese Title
Kimi no Koto ga Daidaidaidaidaisuki na 100-nin no Kanojo
Studio
Bibury Animation Studios
Based On
Manga
Creator
Rikito Nakamura
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll
Harem anime are an acquired taste, and they do not tend to get mainstream attention. While still niche, The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You is more accessible than most of the genre’s offerings due to primarily being a comedy, albeit one that is entirely driven by harem silliness and tropes. The first season established the anime’s style of parody humor, all the while showcasing Rentarou’s brilliance as a worthy MC and the girls’ uniqueness beyond just a defining personality trait.
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Season 2 should ramp up the absurdity as more and more soulmates are added to the mix, continuing the story’s relentless march toward actualizing its title’s promise. Episode 1 instantly set the pace by having the girls swap bodies for a few episodes, allowing them all to exhibit emotional reactions that go against their archetypes. Rentarou’s newest girlfriend also joined the harem, and she will not be the last.
3
Ave Mujica: The Die is Cast
Drama On The Stage (And Off It)
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Ave Mujica: The Die is Cast
DramaMusic
Japanese Title
BanG Dream! Ave Mujica
Studio
SANZIGEN
Creator
Bushiroad (BanG Dream!)
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll
A sequel to 2023’s BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!!, Ave Mujica: The Die is Cast delivered perhaps the heaviest first episode out of any Winter 2025 anime, and if its follow-up was anything to go by, that was not a one-off. As suggested by the title, the sequel pushes Ave Mujica to the forefront rather than MyGO!!!!!, and the dysfunctional girl band seems on the verge of collapse despite only recently debuting.
Ave Mujica: The Die is Cast is more character than music-driven. The episodes emphasize different girls (Sakiko and Uika, so far), diving surprisingly deep into their struggles and psyches. Touching upon themes like alcoholism, abandonment, and anxiety, the anime is willing to go to real places as it explores just what drives these characters toward each other and onto the stage. The CG animation can take some getting used to, but it is high-quality. The music is also fantastic.
2
The Apothecary Diaries Season 2
Maomao Is Still A Flawless Protagonist
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The Apothecary Diaries
Drama
Japanese Title
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto
Studio
OLM, TOHO animation STUDIO
Based On
Novel & Light Novel
Creator
Natsu Hyūga
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll
Setting the bar extremely high with its first season, The Apothecary Diaries is back for another 24 episodes, and there is nothing to suggest the sequel will fail to live up to its predecessor’s high standards. While still early days, the Winter 2025 anime has not missed a beat so far, carefully and seamlessly blending humor, drama, historical inspirations, and world-building.
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With her sly wit, effortless charm, and resilience to romance checkpoints, Maomao is the main reason to watch The Apothecary Diaries. Obsessed with investigating medicine and poison, Maomao’s peculiar talents prove to be surprisingly useful for investigating strange cases that transpire within the Imperial Palace’s grounds.
Season 2 got things going with a pretty lighthearted episode that mostly revolved around a cat. However, this seemingly silly plot thread was used to showcase different sides of a couple of key characters, all the while sprinkling in a few historical factoids. The Apothecary Diaries has been constantly brilliant at using “episodic” stories to peel back not only the characters’ layers but also the larger society they live in.
1
Solo Leveling Season 2: Arise from the Shadow
The Biggest Winter 2025 Anime, And By A Substantial Margin
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Solo Leveling
ActionAdventureAnimationFantasy
Studio
A-1 Pictures
Based On
Manhwa
Creator
Chugong
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll
Arguably the most well-known manhwa of all time, Solo Leveling was destined to receive an anime sooner or later, but quality was far from guaranteed. Fortunately, the responsibility fell on A-1 Pictures, and the dependable studio went on to produce a polished first season in 2024. While the story was nothing too special, the action sequences were fantastic, delivering smooth and fast-paced animation that veered into cinematic territory,
Season 2 is shaping up to be more of the same, which is far from a criticism. Sung Jin-woo tags along on a seemingly easy hunt, only for things to quickly spiral out of control. Consequently, a bunch of hunters are trapped in a dungeon containing enemies well beyond most of their abilities, with Sung being the exception. As fun as dungeon crawling is, Solo Leveling‘s hunter conflicts and the mechanics behind Sung’s power are more fascinating, and they are featured in season 2.
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Fuente: successacademy.edu.vn
Categorías: Anime
