Back in 2012, watching anime used to require a lot of patience. Your favorite anime was probably drawn out, and you were relying on fansubs, sketchy streams, or DVDs that took ages to arrive. Shows ran for dozens of episodes at a time, padded with recap and filler, and if you wanted to keep up with a big shōnen title, you were signing away months (if not years) of your life.
If you would see the number of terribly subbed and dubbed anime that have graced anime fans over the 2000s and early 2010s, you’d feel no pity for people who started watching anime in 2020. The pandemic years brought global recognition to the anime world, and with Crunchyroll and Netflix investing significant funds in storytelling, anime has become an international phenomenon.
In this article, we’re talking about the 2020-2025 period in anime, the new types of stories, and some anime we recommend watching.
Anime Is Global: Deal With It
Anime earned $25.3 billion in 2024, with 56% of that revenue coming from overseas. As Megumi Onouchi, a member of the AJA (Association of Japanese Animations) and the CEO of HumanMedia Inc., said, “Overseas revenue is now climbing high and has not yet reached the peak. We believe it has the potential to expand to even more markets. We’re also seeing a rise in international events related to anime. There are currently 160 events across 50 countries, and the numbers are increasing.”
Large conglomerates across Japan have also jumped on the bandwagon. Sony International’s non-profit arm is now investing in animation courses across the African continent to meet the animation labor crunch in Japan.
The number of anime shows gracing international screens is likely to double within a few years. Japanese entertainment companies will look to increase the revenue generated from the series. For context, while the gaming industry in Japan retains 90% of its profits, anime producers are only able to save around 10% of it.
But money talk is boring, and very few of us are anime executives, so let’s talk about the stories.
Animation Is Darker, More Gory, and More Prestigious
HBO ushered in the era of prestige television with the debut of The Sopranos in 1999. And while anime has been telling complex, dark stories since the 1960s, adult anime is only becoming a regular feature of the studios today.
Part of the boom is due to Shonen becoming darker and more gory as a whole. Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen feature action scenes that differ significantly from those in early One Piece, Naruto, or Bleach.
The significant change here is in animation styles. While older anime titles shied away from blood, with some brutal moments in Naruto and Bleach being completely cut out from the anime, the new shows are practically drenched in it. One great example is the “Thousand-Year Blood War” arc from Bleach. While the original series (which aired until 2012) cut out majorly bloody scenes, the three seasons of the show have already shown the deaths and injuries of some fan-favorite characters.
This has also led to some interesting stories finally making it to the screen. Pluto, a dark retelling of Astro Boy, was finally picked up by Netflix and created one of the best anime of 2023. Similarly, the beautiful action of Jujutsu Kaisen and One Punch Man also made it onto the screen (even if the second season 2 of both of these anime don’t quite hold a candle to their first seasons).
Of course, with Shounen battle manga tackling darker themes, other genres have also begun telling more expansive stories.
There’s No Big 3 Anymore
While One Piece still keeps kicking, the big 3 are not a tour de force of the anime world anymore. This means that lesser-known series have become more popular. Take Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. While the series features some great fights that involve magic, the core of the story revolves around human connection.
Dandadan has a slight shounen feel, but the show is so weird and so visually delightful that it’s hard to box it into a corner. And while you’re at it, watch SpyxFamily and Sakamoto Days, two delightful series that deal with family dynamics, spies, and assassins. This is great for anime as a whole. More animators will get a budget to produce experimental stories, and we’ll probably get more series like Neon Genesis Evangelion.
But, before you jump off this article, let us introduce you to three standout series that you should be watching.
Odd Taxi
Odd Taxi is a tightly plotted mystery series about Odokawa, a gruff walrus taxi driver whose late-night conversations with his eccentric passengers slowly entangle him in the case of a missing high school girl. Set in Tokyo and populated by anthropomorphic animals, it begins as a quirky slice-of-life and gradually unfolds into a dark, interlocking crime story.
Solo Leveling
I am (in)famously not the largest fan of isekai, but few anime have caught the fancy of the broader public as Solo Leveling has. The RPG-like action is a power fantasy animated really well, and it’s already fueling an isekai revival across anime.
Apothecary Diaries
The Apothecary Diaries follows Maomao, an apothecary who was forced to be a servant at the palace. While it appears to be a cottagecore fantasy, the series delves into some mature themes. There’s a lot of classicism at play inside the castle, and Maomao ends up doing a lot of political maneuvering to save herself from trouble.
Look, anime is changing. Most kids don’t watch fan subs, and even the dubbed anime sound fantastic. Additionally, otakus have been proliferating worldwide, with Japan focusing on increased distribution. But, if you take a bird’s-eye view, production companies now have more freedom to experiment, and they’re trying out new things. It’s the Golden Age of Anime, and it’s a glorious and beautiful experience.
Up Next: In Search of Lost Treasure: The 7 Greatest One Piece Arcs
