With 2018 finally ending, it’s time to take a brief look at the top 10 anime that I watched for this year.
1. Yagate Kimi ni Naru
Yagate Kimi ni Naru is one of the most interesting yuri romance anime of the year. While it has some drama as Touko tries to figure out what person she wants to be instead of being a timid girl, Yuu tries to figures out the special feeling that she is missing in regards to falling in love. While Touko obviously have some secrets with her self-loathing and desire to become like her deceased older sister, Yuu has some as well. Although Yuu allows Touko to show love to her and not return the feelings back, Yuu starts developing feelings for her. Of course, there is Sayaka, who is Touko’s best friend who prefer girls. She has a crush on Touko, but afraid of sharing her feelings as it might break her friendship.
Besides preferring Touko’s true self, towards the end, Yuu starts containing her feelings for her. While the story is still ongoing, I liked the overall direction and of course the production values.
2. Kase-san and Morning Glories
Unlike Citrus, which is filled with drama, Kase-san is a fluffy yuri romance story which involves a normal girl named Yui and a tomboyish girl, Tomoka. As expected, there is not much drama, except a misunderstanding over Yui not used to seeing Tomoka’s naked body when they went into the bath and figuring out future college plans. Otherwise, there is a lot of heartwarming and cute moments, especially that moment when Tomoka went to Yui’s house. Hopefully someday, this series will get a full 12-episode series.
3. Comic Girls
As for the most memorable and enjoyable Manga Time Kirara series of the year, in my opinion, Comic Girls takes the cake. It’s because the characters are very enjoyable, especially Kaoruko, Koyume and of course, Fuura. Sure, Kaoruko self-depreciates herself quite a lot with her shy personality, short height, and dealing with constant rejections, but I’m happy that she is able to publish one series after so many tries.
Of course, there are a lot of yuri moments, especially involving Koyume and Tsubasa. While there are some moments that didn’t make it to the anime, it’s nice to see them go on a date at an amusement park. Not only that, you can’t forget about Fuura. It’s funny to see her scare Kaoruko and others numerous times, especially the former.
4. Slow Start
Slow Start is yet another adorable and light-hearted Manga Time Kirara series. The characters are enjoyable. It’s not too surprising since Kamuri have a lot of similarities to Kanna Kamui, except her shy personality. Compared to other Manga Time Kirara adaptions that aired this year, Slow Start probably had the best animation.
As expected, yuri in this show is very strong. Besides the more obvious Kamuri and Eiko pairing, Eiko also have some attraction to her homeroom teacher, Kiyose. Also, there is the Hana and Tamate pairing. It’s not surprising with those two teddy bears tied together and Tamate taking a bath with Hana together. Of course, we can’t forget the fact that Tamate has two grandmothers as parents.
5. Harukana Receive
Haruka Receive is not only a sports anime that has endless beach episodes and beach volleyball action, but also enjoyable characters. Haruka inspires Kanata, who is short to get back into beach volleyball. Also, there is also the lovable Thomas twins. Since beach volleyball is played in pairs, there is a lot of yuri since the pairs can be seen as a couple as seen with Narumi (Kanata’s ex-girlfriend) and Ayasa. Not to mention, Kanata seems to have an attraction to Haruka. Aside from that, the volleyball matches are well animated and exciting.
6. Citrus
Citrus is probably one of the most anticipated yuri romance story that aired in the first half of 2018. I liked how the story develops as Yuzu starts falling in love with her strict and stoic step sister, Mei. It happens when Mei steals her first kiss. However, there were a few things that make it far from the ideal yuri romance and more like a soap opera.
It’s frustrating how Yuzu’s and Mei’s relationship takes several steps forward and then several steps back. It shows with how many times Yuzu say how much she loves Mei. Adding to the frustration is the Matsuri and Tachibana arcs. Despite its flaws, it’s still enjoyable to watch as there are great moments as well.
7. Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card
At last, the classic magical series is now back and better than ever. Granted, I never finished the original series from my childhood. Still, everything that makes Cardcaptor Sakura enjoyable is back with the various costumes Sakura wears, Sakura capturing cards while Tomoyo records it, and of course, the cute moments with Sakura and Syaoran. While the Clear Cards have similarities to the Crow Cards, the mystery behind the Clear Cards, Akiho and of course Kaito being the main villain adds a new spin to this new arc. While the series is ongoing, it should be interesting how the arc will ultimately end.
8. Uma Musume
Sure, the idea of horse girls based off real racing horses running in a derby and perform songs as idols is absurd, it’s still entertaining. While some fans became annoyed by the male trainer, at least he didn’t impact any of the potential pairings. After all, the yuri pairings are strong as seen with Special Week and Silence Suzuka along with Gold Ship and Mejiro McQueen.
Still, it’s nice how the show incorporates some of the real-life events as seen with Suzuka pushing herself too hard, thus injuring herself. Thankfully, she didn’t die compared to her real-life counterpart.
9. Tonari no Kyuuketsuki-san
Tonari no Kyuuketsuki-san is a fluffy and enjoyable slice of life show. It involves a normal girl living with a vampire girl. While this show feels like Kiniro Mosaic since Akari has a very similar personality to Shinobu, there are a lot of fun and cute moments. As always, all the characters are enjoyable, especially Ellie and Hinata of course.
10. Anima Yell!
Aside from Harukana Receive, Anima Yell is the other Manga Time Kirara series that focuses on sports. This time is with cheerleading. While it’s nice to see the girls learn cheerleading techniques with a lot of fun moments, the yuri is especially strong in this series. Aside from Kon, who is Kotetsu’s friend, openly admitting that she has a crush on a female tutor, Uki and Kana also have feelings for Kohane and Hizume respectively.
With that, this is all the shows I find enjoyable this year. Feel free to share the shows you find the most enjoyable this year in the comments.
Only show I didn’t watch was the new Cardcaptor Sakura. I may do so at some point. The rest I watched and enjoyed as much as you did. Excellent list good sir!
Yes, you should definitely watch it at some point. But overall, 2018 is a pretty good year, especially for yuri.
I didn’t watch much last year, but from this list, I also enjoyed Comic Girls and Harukana a lot. Yuru Camp’s also one of my favorites from last year. From Fall, I picked up the Slime anime on a whim and also enjoyed it more than I think I would, lol. I’ve since put it on hold though since it’s a 20-episode show, probably will come back to it once there’s more episodes.
That reminds me, I have to see Yuru Camp one of these days. But yes, I enjoyed Comic Girls and Haruka quite a lot.