Carlos

I completely disagree with the idea that 2025 has been a bad year for anime. If we take a step back and look at the bigger picture, storytelling —especially in long-form art— has always required patience. The Lord of the Rings saga took nearly seven years to unfold, and the Harry Potter series spanned an entire decade. Expecting every anime arc to be released instantly simply doesn’t align with the nature of great storytelling.

The truth is, there’s an overwhelming amount of anime available today. Hundreds upon hundreds of new series and adaptations are constantly being released. That abundance alone makes anime one of the richest and most diverse entertainment industries in the world right now.

When compared to the Western comic industry, such as Marvel or DC, manga (and its Korean and Chinese counterparts, manhwa and manhua) tend to offer more coherent and well-developed storylines. The fact that so many of these works are later adapted into anime is a strong indicator of their narrative quality. Demon Slayer is a perfect example — its animation didn’t make it great; it amplified a story that was already exceptional.

Moreover, the success of realistic or grounded adaptations such as One Piece, Rurouni Kenshin, Fullmetal Alchemist, Kingdom, and many others demonstrates that anime continues to evolve — not decline. We are, in fact, living in one of the best eras to explore new stories, genres, and artistic directions.

So, rather than calling 2025 a bad year for anime, it should be seen as a transformative one — a year that reflects how broad, creative, and alive the medium truly is.