The winter 2025animeseason is about to come to a close. As with every year, the winter season often helps set the tone for what people can expect from the next year of anime as a whole, and while not everything was a winner, 2025 was another year that mostly opened with a bang and gave people plenty to be excited about.
The winter 2025 anime season was a season to remember, and it’s easy to see why. The season was filled with a great combination of old favorites returning for new content and new shows that quickly became hits in their own right, and because of that,the winter 2025 anime season had plenty of old and new anime that were great to watch from day one. A few anime like that especially stand out, and if someone hasn’t already watched them, now’s as great a time as any to give them a try.
I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time
Cast
I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time follows Alina, a guild receptionist who secretly battles dungeon bosses to avoid overtime, earning the nickname Executioner for her prowess. Released in January 2025, the film explores her efforts to maintain anonymity while managing work-life balance.
CloverWorks’I May Be a Guild Receptionist, But I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Timestars Alina Clover, the receptionist of an adventurer guild whose desire to live an easy life is constantly ruined by the incompetence of the local adventurers. To that end, Alina has taken to using her secret divine powers to clear the dungeons that the regular adventurers can’t deal with, but when a top-level guild uncovers Alina’s secret, her life just becomes even more stressful.
Not only does the anime have plenty of great action and animation, but the writing, in addition to being incredibly funny, is plenty cathartic for anyone who’s ever worked a thankless retail job.I May Be a Guild Receptionist, But I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Timewas a fun, easily accessible fantasy anime from day one, and it’s a series every fan should give a try.
Satelight’sThe Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another Worldstars Togo Asagaki i.e. Kizuna Red, the leader of thesentaiteam Kizuna Five who just sacrificed himself to save the world. To Togo’s surprise, however, his death transported him to a fantasy world, and with his new world having its own share of danger, Togo once again takes up the mantle of Kizuna Red to protect the innocent from evil.
The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another Worlddoes a great job of using its premise to jump between parodying and deconstructing the typical tropes oftokusatsu, all while paying plenty of love totokusatsuwith how often it references specific tropes and brings in voice actors associated with the genre. It’s one of the bestisekaianime of the season, and any fans ofPower Rangersor similar shows would be remiss to pass it up.
Sakamoto Days
Sakamoto Days centers on Taro Sakamoto, a former top-tier hitman who has traded his life of crime for a peaceful existence running a convenience store. Despite his attempts to leave the underworld behind, Sakamoto’s past catches up with him as old rivals and dangerous enemies reappear, threatening his newfound tranquility. Forced to defend his family and business, Sakamoto must draw on his lethal skills while navigating the humorous and unexpected challenges of balancing his ordinary daily life with the chaos of his former profession.
TMS Entertainment’sSakamoto Daysstars Taro Sakamoto, a man who was once the world’s greatest assassin before he retired to start a family. Five years later, Sakamoto runs a convenience store and has put on a lot of weight, but when a bounty on his head starts putting him and his family in danger, he’ll have to come out of retirement to protect his new life and the people he cares about.
WhileSakamoto Days’ production leaves much to be desired, between the creativity of its fights and how fun the heroes and villains are to watch,Sakamoto Daysis a great anime to watch, even if its overall direction isn’t always the best. It’s one of the biggest and best Netflix anime in quite some time, and with the second half of season 1 set to premiere this summer, there’s still plenty in store for fans old and new.
Production I.G’sKinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arcis the sequel to the legendaryshōnenanimeKinnikuman. After Kinnikuman was crowned the king of Planet Kinniku, the galaxy was supposed to enter a new era of peace, but that was shattered when the villainous Perfect Chojin returned to destroy all Chojin they see as inferior, forcing Kinnikuman and his friends to once again fight for justice.
Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arcreturned for its second season in winter 2025, and not only is the animation far more consistent compared to season 1, but the story has done a great job of playing off of season 1 for an even stronger narrative, as well.Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arcseason 2 solidifies it as one of Netflix’s most underrated anime of all time, and even if someone is mostly familiar withUltimate Muscle, it’s still plenty worth watching.
Bibury Animation Studios’The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love Youstars Rentaro Aijou, a boy who’s fallen in love 100 times and been rejected at every turn. Before entering high school, though, Rentaro gets a chance at true love when the God of Love appears before him and tells him that he will meet 100 soulmates over the next three years, all of whom he must love equally or else risk putting their lives in danger.
100 Girlfriendsreturned after over a year with its second season, and sure enough,100 Girlfriendsseason 2 does as great a job of being an unhinged harem comedy with a surprising amount of heart as season 1, if not a better one. It remains one of the best new-gen anime a person can watch, and hopefully, there’s plenty more in store for the series for years to come.
White Fox’sRe:Zero — Starting Life in Another Worldstars Subaru Natsuki, an ordinary boy who finds himself transported to a fantasy world. There, Subaru finds himself with the power to return to specific points in time whenever he dies, with him dying in increasingly horrific ways as he slowly gets involved in the darker elements of his new reality, all while slowly learning to become a true hero beyond his fake bravado.
Re:Zero’s third seasonhas returned to adapt the “Counterattack” arc, and in addition to having all the same dark and all-around great writing,the second half ofRe:Zero — Starting Life in Another World’s third season upped the anime’s visual quality to have some of the best animation of any modern anime.Re:Zerohas never been as fun to watch as it is now, and that’s only going to get better from here on out.
A-1 Pictures’Solo Levelingtakes place in a world where people can awaken to supernatural abilities and become Hunters to challenge mystical Gates for profit and to protect the innocent, and among those Hunters is Sung Jinwoo, an absolutely weak E-Rank Hunter. When a near-death experience gives Jinwoo a video game-esque power, however, he’ll use it to slowly become stronger than everyone and find the means to support his family and gain a sense of self-worth.
Solo Levelingseason 2was one of the most hotly anticipated anime of winter 2025, if not 2025 as a whole, and sure enough,Solo Levelingseason 2 more than lived up to its hype by constantly delivering one explosive and gorgeous fight scene after another in nearly every episode.Solo Levelingseason 2’s animation is a sight to behold, and it’s already an easy contender for the best-looking anime of the year.
OLM, Inc.‘sThe Apothecary Diariestakes place in an Imperial China-esque setting and follows Maomao, a sharp-witted apothecary who is abducted and sold into the emperor’s palace. Using her extensive medicinal knowledge and keen observation skills, Maomao demonstrates her value beyond just being a worker, andher talents soon attract the attention of the enigmatic eunuch Jinshi, leading to a deeper and more dangerous involvement in court affairs.
The Apothecary Diarieswas one of the biggest hits of late 2023 and early 2024, and a year later,The Apothecary Diariesseason 2 has been a perfect follow-up to season 1 with its incredible visuals and animation and equally impressive clever writing from day one. Season 2 is set to continue up through the summer, and if it maintains this momentum, it will once again be seen as one of the best modern anime, by far.
Toei Animation’sDragon Ball Daimais the latest installment in the legendaryDragon Ballfranchise. A year after the Buu saga, Goku and his friends’ new era of peace is interrupted when Gomah, the king of the Demon Realm, uses the Dragon Balls to turn them all into children, and now it’s up to Goku to travel through the Demon Realm to defeat Gomah and turn everyone back to normal.
Dragon Ball Daimaclosed out its run in February, and despite a few issues with its pacing, it was still a visual masterpiece from start to finish with plenty of great writing that got to the core of what makesDragon Ballso special.Dragon Ball Daimawas easily one of the bestDragon Ballprojects in years from both a visual and narrative perspective, and there was no better story to serve as a tribute to Akira Toriyama’s legacy.
MAPPA’sZenshustars Natsuko Hirose, an antisocial animator who dies from food poisoning and awakens in the world ofA Tale of Perishing, the film that got her into animation in the first place. Natsuko knows thatA Tale of Perishingis supposed to end in tragedy, but with how important the movie was to her, she’s decided to use her newfound powers to bring her drawings to life to change the story and give everyone the happy ending they deserve.
Original anime are almost always a hard sell, but between its gorgeous visuals, emotional storytelling, and stellar meta-commentary about tragic endings and anime, in general,Zenshuis easily one ofMAPPA’s best animefor how much it succeeds on both a visual and narrative level from start to finish.Zenshuwas truly a sight to behold, and there’s no better contender for thebest anime of winter 2025.
