We are now down to our final ten animes of the list as we focus on the next set of five before we close it tomorrow with the final five. For the last ten, I’m gonna do things a little bit differently and talk about my favorite moment(s) from each series while hopefully providing a clip for them.

Who are the next five to start the top 10?

Let’s find out.

Previous lists:

• 20-16
• 15-11

10. The Millionaire Detective Balance: Unlimited

– We all enjoy a good buddy cop type genre once in a while, no matter how goofy a good majority of them can be but this one was done well. We follow a detective named Haru Katou as he has been demoted to the detective division of the police department after an incident during an armed robbery but during his time, he’s met with the millionaire himself and the newest member of the division, Daisuke Kambe. The two would team up together with Haru believing in true justice and doing it by the book and Daisuke by throwing large amounts of money to the criminals to make them talk or just to help compensate for damages. But don’t worry, his balance is unlimited and could buy anything. At the end of every episode, they even show you how much money he spends from damages, buildings, people, anything in between, he’s bought it in nearly every episode. The dynamic between the two has been one of the highlights of the series as they’re so different in personalities but was able to respect each other and get along.

The pacing for the first couple of episodes was off and it was hard to tell what exactly was the direction for it or if there wasn’t any and it was just random episodes with Daisuke flexing with his money. However, we finally find out what this whole thing is about as it’s about the Kambe family. Daisuke joined to find out about the murder of his parents, that’s why he joined their division since one of the employees were apart of it years ago and wanted to get more info to see who and why. While we get deeper into the actual case, you see things coming to light with the people involved, the first twist that happened and then finding out that it wasn’t that twist but another one instead. During the end of the case, Daisuke would finally get some closure to what happened and decided to become a vigilante with Haru, cleaning up the mess his family made with his money and fancy gadgets, an anime like Batman. My favorite in terms of underrated anime and something that should be viewed if you’re into crimes,

Favorite Moment: It would have to be the OP for one as it was my favorite OP in terms of visuals, the song, and just a banger. Same thing with the ED but outside of those, it would have to be the actual case itself and how crazy it gets with each episode. Another fun moment is how the first and last episode end, Haru hanging off a bridge, Daisuke smirking down at him while Haru lets go, falling into the water.

9. Akudama Drive

– This one was a last-minute entry as I had time to binge only one series before closing out the list, so I was recommended this and dove in is what I did. I can safely say that I wasn’t disappointed in watching this as it turned out to be one of my favorites. One thing I wanna point out is how stunning the animation is, the design of it is beautiful, it’s crystal clear with color, and just simply gorgeous to look at. This was basically if Blade Runner was an anime with a story like Reservoir Dogs, and you get something like this which was able to work. You follow the story of an ordinary girl, who takes on the nickname Swindler shortly but she was sent to jail for a silly reason and would soon be caught into the mix of Akudama, who were all meeting to help get Cutthroat out of jail and because of this once this was over, she was soon apart of the group to save herself from dying. They all have different codenames like Doctor, Brawler, Hoodlum, Courier, Hacker, Cutthroat, and now Swindler. They were all hired to do a job in taking over a train for certain goods but it would soon turn out to be they needed to escort two people, Brother, and Sister to set them free of this place, going back to Kansai.

The fight scenes between Akudama and Executioners were some of the best in terms of animation and fighting as they’re so well-choreographed that you didn’t want it to end. Not all would go well in this mission as one of the Akudama members appeared to be a traitor to the group to steal Brother and Sister, even causing one of the team members deaths by messing up her healing on purpose. One thing I do wanna point out that I liked was how ironic the OP is similar to how each member died, making it kinda symbolic in a way to see their fate’s played out. While everyone may have died, their sacrifice wasn’t in vain as they were able to carry out their mission in getting those two to safety while taking down the police station and their executioners on top of it with the people rallying behind them in the end. A lot of the people in the Akudama crew were all enjoyable characters that even when their demise came, you couldn’t help but feel sad since you would root for a good majority of them except for two. Outstanding world, brilliant story, just everything in between to get a great series out of it.

Favorite Moment: Would have to be Swindler’s sacrifice in the final episode. It played off nicely and was something people didn’t expect since she was the main protagonist in the series but what happened after is what really turns into something special. She was killed by one of the exterminators/officers and was seen by the whole town, seeing these cops as killers since they killed a regular person. While she was considered an Akudama but the truth of the matter is that she really was an ordinary person who got caught up in the middle of this mess in the first place but she made sure she helped Brother and Sister escaped with Courier. The people would rebel to fight off the exterminators as they were seen as these crooked people that killed a person for no reason, leaving a big impact on the series.

8. Tower of God

– Webtoon has produced a few anime series for Crunchyroll and while two of them were unable to make it to my list, there was one that did and that was Tower of God. There was so much hype leading into it and after watching it, rightfully deserved the hype. The story follows Bam as he was accompanied by his friend Rachel but would later find out that Rachel disappears as she tends to climb the top of the tower to become a God and have a wish granted. Since she was the only person he knew, he had to find her and by doing so, he needed to climb the tower. Along the way, he got partnered with people such as Rak and Anges, who are some of the best characters on the show. While he gets closer to his goal, even meeting up with her eventually, he does happen to make some friends in the process. Later on during one of the tests, we see that he has a certain power within Bam, making him special and could be the one who will climb.

Some people did complain about the lack of action in this anime, given the title of it to make it seem like it would be an action anime. However, I think it works out better the way they did it since it was more character-driven and they played that our perfectly. Every single member of the cast had their own motives for climbing the tower, you getting backgrounds on them, even just regular development for those that aren’t familiar with their backstories. Even when they do have action, there isn’t a lot of it but it was enough to help elevate the plot since it’s more than action. The OP for this one was also one of my favorites as the visuals of Bam and the music itself mixed with it was just a chef’s kiss. No idea if we’ll have a season two or when but when we do, it’s about to get a whole lot bigger.

Favorite Moment: I wouldn’t say this is a favorite in terms of something that made me happy but it was something that had a big impact on the story. It was the betrayal of Rachel where she pushed Bam off the bubble they were in, leaving him to fall into the abyss and tie while she gets closer to the top of the tower. You see her perspective in the next episode as she was incredibly jealous of Bam and was told to climb to the top, she would have to betray and kill him. This lead to her wondering if it truly was worth it but she then decided that it was and pushed him off. Bam’s friends were devastated, they didn’t even see her pushing him too, meaning that they’re out of the dark. Even Rak of all people was upset, crying out for him when he screamed, it showed how much he meant to him. We later find out that Bam is still alive and his real training and story are about to begin.

7. Jujutsu Kaisen

– Everyone has at least one shounen anime make it to their lists and this would be the one that does it as it turns into my favorite of the season and one of my favorites overall in terms of potential. Like typical shounen fashion, it starts at a high school and we have our protagonist, Yuuji Itadori and he would eventually be a vessel with one of the most powerful curses, Sukuna after eating one of his fingers after being caught in the middle with the Jujutsu’s affairs when he was trying to help out his friends. Because of this, he is seen as a threat and the academy wanted him executed before Sukuna would completely take over Itadori’s body but we find out that Itadori has control over his own body to keep Sukuna in check. This causes Gojou to let him train at the academy to tap into his curse energy while using him to search for the rest of Sukuna’s fingers so that they can destroy him once they’re all found. During this adventure and like all shounen animes, we meet a bunch of characters that get involved with the story such as Megumi, Nobara, Nanami, Inumaki, Panda, Zenin, and Moukou as they’re all such a treat in their own right.

Both the OP and ED for this show is the best in a combination of both as both of them are extremely catchy in terms of the song and the visuals used for the opening and closing sequences are just a joy to see. The action in this anime is some of the best in the overall year, the animation of it is fluid, the connection with the characters is always a treat, and just the designs of both protagonists and antagonists are nicely done. If you’ve seen a shounen anime, you’ve seen it all but they were able to do the formula in a more fun and unique way that makes you wanna watch more of it to see how the story and the world surrounding it will progress. Not sure if it because it’s new in terms of anime, I’m slowly liking it more than My Hero Academia but maybe it’s because the atmosphere of this one is something I’m more into in terms of my tastes in any type of show. We only have half of season one done but when it picks up next week, my taste for it might grow to see if it’ll make me enjoy it more than I already am. Great characters, plenty of action and development, a bit of comedy, and just pure badassness. What more could you ask for?

Favorite Moment: My favorite moment for this anime would have to be when Gojou would remove the bandanna that covers his eyes, revealing his beautiful eyes, and would also be when he reveals his domain expansion, Unlimited Void. When he showed off his power, you saw how powerful he can be when he actually takes things seriously. The technique just leaves you in this infinite void that makes you see and feel both nothing and everything, watching it slowly kill its opponents. Since he’s a teacher and incredibly OP in a shounen anime, I’m afraid to see his fate when it’ll eventually happen.

6. Tonikawa: Over the Moon For You

– Who loves a good rom-com? It’s like a big food group in terms of anime genre’s, it’s on a lot of peoples lists but this one would be another popular one to come out this year. Nasa was considered a child prodigy and studied hard to live up to that potential when he was compared to the NASA station but a lot of that will change when the truck would almost Isekai him until a girl named Tsukasa would be there to save him, both getting hurt in the process. It was love at first sight with him, he chased her down to see if she wanted to go out with but she agreed on one condition, he would have to marry her. So with what a lot of rom-com protagonists do in dozens of episodes or hundreds of chapters, he was able to marry her after one episode. He wouldn’t see her for two years but when he finally did, they would officially marry. You think once you’re married that that’s the end of it, right? Wrong since this is just the beginning as this was just the first step but as they start learning about each other, they would let the relationship bloom more naturally with each episode. This’s more rom-com/slice of life with not a whole lot happening in terms of plot, they make up for it with the interactions they have with one another in terms of character and the relationship as well. Also, the other characters involved in this series like Chitose and her maids, and the sisters who run the bathhouse, especially Kaname Arisugawa, who is always a treat to see whenever she appears on screen.

There is one mystery that isn’t fully solved and that is Tsukasa’s past since there’s very little we know about her. The moon is usually mentioned most of the time whenever she’s involved and it’s slowly making me believe in a theory I have about the series once Nasa mentioned a certain title. This feels like this is a modern version of ‘The Tale of Princess Kaguya’. For those that don’t know what it is, it’s a popular fictional story that is written in either the 9th or 10th century and had a different name, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. The story was about a girl who was founded by a bamboo cutter and his wife and they raised her but as the story went on, you find out she’s from the moon and her people came down to Earth to try and bring her back, which they do and erase her memories of her life on Earth in the process. There have been quite a few hints that make me believe that this will be the approach they could go with near the end but at the same time, they could be throwing us a curveball and really is just a normal girl that’s just married to Nasa. Despite all of that, Tsukasa is the best anime wife in recent memory and Nasa can be a sweetheart when he talks about more than how insanely cute his wife is. Charming, comical, and an all-around delightful story

Favorite Moment: My favorite moment for this one might be a little bit silly and also cute but it’s when Nasa and Tsukasa escaped Chitose at her house, hiding in a secret passageway that leads to an abandoned church. Once they get there and Tsukasa explains about the building and how beautiful it is, Nasa would open up as if he was proposing to her despite being married already. This caught her off guard and asked if it was a proposal, Nasa told her it was one and said he loved her, finally giving her their first kiss while the ED music is playing in the background, it was enough to make it beautiful.

That’ll do it for the next set of 5 and join me tomorrow as we close out the countdown with the final five. To some, it might be obvious as to what made it to the top.

But the question still stands, who got the number one spot?