By examining what series that MyAnimeList users consider being the absolute best anime series of 2020 so far, this article reveals is a lot of interesting trends in this year's anime. What's most apparent, though, is that this year so far has been a great one for adaptations or continuations of pre-existing stories.
Updated September 25th, 2020 by Morgan Austin: While we get closer to the end of 2020, there are still plenty of new anime shows and seasons that have been released, and still have time to be released. Some anime fans might've already binged many of these shows and are looking for something new to watch. Others might want to know if their new favorite anime made it on this list. Either way, there's no doubt that the anime shown here have become stars this year, and they're worth a watch.
15 Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu (Season 2)
The first season of Re:Zero was extremely popular, and the second season has a lot of hype around it too. The series overall follows Subaru Natsuki's adventures in a world of fantasy after he was mysteriously brought there after a normal visit to the convenience store. He meets a unique cast, including a half-elf girl named Emilia, who he travels with in the series.
Subaru finds that he is stuck in a loop where he wakes up on the same day each time that he dies in this world. He uses this to his advantage to take on enemies in the world, but season 2 follows what happens after the world has changed more than it ever has from one of his death loops.
14 Enen no Shouboutai: Ni no Shou
Also called Fire Force, this 2020 release is the second season of the show. In this world, The Great Disaster left much of the world destroyed, and flames now surround any survivors. As time goes on, some of the survivors can control fire, while some others unfortunately become creatures known as "Infernals" who are consumed by flames.
The main character, Shinra, has a lot to deal with in the first season alone when he is starting out in the Fire Force. The second season has its own set of problems, from different forces trying to cause another disaster to Shinra hoping to find a cure that will make the Infernals human again.
13 Major 2nd (Season 2)
Major 2nd is a sports anime that follows Daigo Shigeno, a young boy who gets to be the captain of his baseball team in season 2. After the first season, Daigo feels excited about upcoming games with his team. However, it turns out that some events came up that caused the team to only have 6 members, including Daigo.
Daigo must try to find new members, which isn't easy as he and the rest of his team have to try and bond with anyone new if they hope to enter and win their upcoming tournament.
12 IDOLiSH7: Second Beat!
After the events of the first season of IDOLiSh7, this idol group is back for more, though they may have more on their plate than they can handle. After a successful performance wrapping up the first anime, the boys in the group IDOLiSH7 have an overwhelming amount to work to do, fans to please, and personal problems to overcome.
Not only that, but the pile of responsibilities begins to affect one of the group members, Riku, who starts to get very ill. Now, the group must try to manage this attention and work while also deciding how much they can really take as their fame grows.
11 The God Of High School
Originally a WEBTOON series, The God of High School follows Mori Jin as he and his friends enter a fighting tournament for high school students. The winner will be named the "God of High School" and they get to have one wish.
Mori is fairly confident about his skills and his chances of winning the tournament. However, the title and prize might not be everything that he and his friends hoped for. The show is full of lots of action-packed fights, emotional bonds, and even plenty of humor to break up the seriousness of the tournament.
10 Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War (Season 2)
The best anime of the year according to MyAnimeList by a decent margin is the second season of Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War. The show's second season continued to build upon the series' successful blend of sincere heartfelt romance and hilarious comedy as two elite high school students try to confess their love to one another.
The show's second season also show a stronger interest in telling longer storylines than the first with the student council election and sports festival adding a more continuous narrative in the series. The second season also improves upon its predecessor by fleshing out characters like Ishigami from the first season and introducing new characters like Lino to add interesting new dynamics to the series.
9 Kingdom (Season 3)
The second highest-rated anime on this list is a surprising one. Kingdom is an anime series based on a manga that tells the story of the rise of the Qin dynasty in ancient China. The story tells of the rise of a Qin warrior named Xin as raised from war orphan to the kingdom's best general.
With this season adapting, what readers of the manga consider, the manga's best arc guarantee that this season is a better rate than the previous two. That's not all going in Kingdom Season 3's favor, as it is the rare anime to see its animation get better after switching studios between the seven-year gap between seasons. Along with this better animation is a better score at the hands of noted composer Hiroyuki Sawano of Attack on Titan fame.
8 Haikyuu!! To The Top
Speaking of anime getting a new season after a long time, the popular anime series about male high-school volleyball has returned after a four-year gap. While the second half of Haikyuu's fourth won't air till this summer, the new season has been well received by the fanbase so far.
Despite some minor controversy over some sight change in visual due to Production I.G. having a different production staff for this season, the series is still well received. This is likely due to this season being more character-driven than previous ones with the arc it adapting being one about the boys at training camp rather than a major volleyball tournament than the last season.
7 A Certain Scientific Railgun T
2020 seems to be a good year to make a new season for a show after seven years, as this top ten list includes another anime that the third season for a show that last came out in 2013. A Certain Scientific Railgun adapted the popular manga spin-off of a Certain Magical Index with this season adapting the manga's Daihasei Festival and Dream Ranker Arc.
This season counties the last two season success blending of fun character with crazy, fun to watch fights. What season bring improvement-wise is that it lacks the filler arcs that plagued the show's first two season thanks to the seven-year-long gap given J.C. Staff more source material to work with. A testament to the show's popularity is that its numerous delays brought about by the current pandemic situation didn't discourage fans from watching.
6 Fruits Basket (Season 2)
The rebooted adaption of the Fruits Basket continues to impress anime fans with its second season. This season continues Tohru entanglements with the Sohma family, a family whose children are cursed to transform into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. This season should be noted as having gotten past the material that was used as the base for the now-disowned 2001 anime adaption.
The second season continues to build upon the strengths of the reboot's first season. This includes most noticeably great animation from TMS animation and more manga-accurate character design. The anime also benefits from adapting a manga long-concluding allowing the staff to make a better adaption thanks to knowing how the series ends.
5 Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
Science SARU continues its successful brand of making great adaptions of off-beat manga series. In this year's case, its the manga Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! that follows three high school girls as they try to start up their animation studio.
The series is well regarded for a ton of reason, ranging from its unique art style to its being surprisingly educational about how animation is done and produced. The series also stands out due to it taking place in a simultaneously familiar and futuristic Japan.
4 Dorohedoro
Studio MAPPA continues to build up its reputation of creating great adaption of various Seinen manga series. In this year's case, its Dorohedoro. The series takes place in the Hole, a dystopian city, whose denizens are exploited by sorcerers from another dimension. The series follows Kaiman, a human transformed into a lizard-man by an unknown sorcerer, as he tries to hunt the sorcerer responsible.
The series is highly rated for several reasons. One is that the series proves that in the right hands, a manga's art style can successfully be translated to a mostly CG-anime. Another is that series does a great job in balancing its grim setting with some of the best bits of black comedy seen in the medium.
3 BanG Dream! (Season 3)
The most surprising entry here would be the third season adaption of Bushiroad's popular music franchise. This season focuses on three bands from the franchise, Poppin' Party, Roselia, and RAISE A SUILEN, as they seek to establish themselves as musicians.
The third season is well-received compared to its mixed predecessor for a couple of reasons. One is that the production staff has figured out how to make its CG animation style look nice. Another is that show decided to focus on three bands than the franchise's five allowing for it to tell a more narratively tight story this season.
2 Ascendance of a Bookworm (Season 2)
The most well-received isekai series of 2020 so far would be Ascendance of a Bookworm's second season. The series follows librarian Urano Motosu as she is reborn in a fantasy world as a young peasant girl named Myne. The show's second season sees Mryne join the church in her effort to become the first librarian in this medieval fantasy world.
Ascendance of a Bookworm's second season continues to build upon its first season to craft a rather unique entry in the isekai genre. Unlike other series in the genre, Ascendance of a Bookworm is more grounded focusing less on grand fantasy conflict and focuses more on a hero trying to improve the society there stuck in.
1 Tower Of God
Tower of God is the first of what appears to be a series of major anime adaptions based on Korean manhwa. The series follows a young man named Bam as he tries to find his best friend Rachel in a gigantic tower that is alleged to grant the wish of anyone who reaches its top.
The series has been well received for its distinctive feel, being both an approachable fantasy series and a darker take on the genre. The series also enjoyed great animation and a beautiful score by Kevin Penkin of Made in Abyss fame.