Akiba Research Institute's editorial staff has taken the liberty of announcing their personal top 5 anime of the first half of 2021! Here are the most interesting anime of the first half of this year!

It's early, and before we know it, 2021 will be around the corner. Two anime seasons, winter and spring, have already been completed. Now, we take a look at the anime works of the first half of the year. Six members of the Akiba Research Institute editorial staff brought together the anime works they thought were interesting and selected their personal top five. We hope you will use this article as a reference and watch back any notable works you missed during your free time during your summer vacation.

The following is a list of the top 10 anime titles that were selected by the six members of Akiba Research Institute's editorial staff based on their personal top five anime titles for the first half of 2021, with the points totaled up. The first-place work each member gave five points, and the fifth-place work was added up to one point. The comments of each editorial team member are listed below for your reference.

Overall evaluation: "YuruCan△ SEASON2" came in first place by a landslide!

No. 1: " YuruCan△ SEASON2 " (19 pts)
No. 2: "Kyokushudo" (9 pt)
3rd : "Odd Taxi" (7pts)
No.4: "Tokyo Revengers" (6pt)
No.4: "A Spider, What is it?" (6pt)
No. 6: "The saint's witchcraft is universal" (5pt)
No.6: "Super Cub" (5pt)
No. 8: "Zombieland Saga: Revenge" (4pt)
No.8: "Unemployed Tensei: Isekai Igarashi de Genkidasu" (4pts)
No. 8: "Mashiro no Otoko" (4 pts)

Yuru Can △ SEASON 2" was selected as No. 1 with a whopping 19 points. Five out of the six members of the editorial staff ranked this work among the top five, indicating its high level of perfection. This is the second season of the popular "Nokuru" series, but the spotlight this season was on each of the "Nokuru" members, and the deeper relationships between them were depicted.

In second place, "Kyokushukyudo" came in with 9 points. Although it is a comedy, Kenjiro Tsuda's hammy performance as the lead actor made people laugh, and it received high marks from both men and women. If one is looking for a lightly funny film, this was the best film of the first half of the year.

Third place went to the surprising "Odd Taxi," which, after just one episode, may seem like a mere anthropomorphic animal animation that is a bit hard to understand, but in fact contains a rather deep mystery. Many people may have missed it, so be sure to check it out on TV.

In fourth place, two works were ranked in the same ratio. The first, "Tokyo Revengers," is a popular work that is also being made into a live-action movie this summer. It is a masculine story of a war between yankees, and features a cast of splendid male voice actors. The other, "Spider, desu dake, nanika? is a comedy work that was broadcast in two winter/spring seasons. The lead actress, Yuuki Aoi, has a reputation for her god-like acting, and the ending theme sung by Yuuki is also excellent.

The following are the top five works selected by the Akiba Research Institute editorial staff and their comments on them.

Akiba Research Institute Editor-in-Chief K (♂)'s Personal Top 5 Anime

No. 1: "Super Cub" (Spring)
Bishojo + mecha + somewhat lyrical story. This combination has been ironclad since the beginning of otaku culture, not to mention the examples of "Galpan" and "Ship This. This work, which was created completely in accordance with this equation, was the most captivating anime of the 2021 spring anime season. Personally, I was also impressed by how realistic and beautiful the art was, partly because of my memories of the areas along the Koshu Highway. The music is also good.

No. 2: "YuruCan△ SEASON 2" (winter)
It probably needs no explanation already, but this is a stable and interesting film. The story is heartwarming and lyrical in some ways, and the music is great. Along with the above-mentioned "Super Cub," I think this work has greatly improved the status of Yamanashi Prefecture.

No. 3: "Hataraku Cell BLACK" (Winter)
The main story is good, but for some reason, our recorder prioritized "BLACK" over the main story, so we ended up watching only this one. However, I felt the main characters' pain and sense of helplessness more deeply than in the main story. In a way, this film made me think of taking care of myself.

No. 4: "To the Immortal You" (Haru)
I was interested in this anime because it was written by Ryotoki Ohin, the director of "Form of Unknown", but the story was basically painful. I'm concerned that it's gradually becoming more and more like "Tensura", but I'm looking forward to seeing more of the gritty storyline that's been rare in recent years.

No. 5: "Sayonara me no clamor " (Spring)
I have been paying attention to this story from the beginning because it is based on the novel by Naoshi Shinkawa of "April is Your Lie" fame. The story is set in the town where I actually live, so I'm half local. The drawings and direction may be a bit plain, but sometimes there are parts that make me feel a bit warm and fuzzy.

Akiba Research Institute's Anime & Hobby staff A (male) chooses his personal top 5 anime

No. 1: "Odd Taxi" (Spring)
What seems to be a daily life story about anthropomorphic animals develops into a suspenseful and unpredictable story. The characters, all of whom are dealing with contemporary issues, are connected to each other, and the way they get stuck in a quagmire with no apparent point of termination is breathtaking.
The final episode is a shocking revelation. The development in the last five seconds is spine-chilling. This is the undisputed number one work of the past six months.

No. 2: "Zombieland Saga: Revenge " (Spring)
This is a sequel to the first season. Compared to the first season, in which you couldn't predict what was going to happen, the thrill of the characters was less intense, but the drama that delves more deeply into the characters is as good as you would expect. The last two episodes were the culmination of the series. That being said, the final scene was not as good as it could have been.

No. 3: "YuruCan△ SEASON 2" (Winter)
The content of this episode was stable and made us feel warm and fuzzy again, and it was good that there were more variations in the relationships between the characters, with more horizontal connections drawn than in the first season.

No. 4: "Vivy -Fluorite Eye's Song-" ( Spring)
The music and visuals were of the theatrical animation class, and I couldn't take my eyes off the action every time I saw it. If you expect a hard science fiction story, you will be disappointed to find that it is a humanistic story, but as an entertainment, the temperature was just right.

No. 5: "Tokyo Revengers" (Spring)
I enjoyed the fact that it was a Yankee story and time leap. The drama was interestingly created and the cast was extraordinarily gorgeous. The male voice actors' performances are so hot that it makes one's blood boil without question.

Akiba Research Institute Director K's personal top 5 anime

No. 1: "Kyokushudo Michi" (Spring)
My favorite in the first half of the year. It is fun to watch with an empty head. I like the gap between the voice actors' doughy threats and their competent housewives. The highlight is that the head of the neighborhood association and the housewife's friend are unmoved by anyone.

No. 2: "Unemployed Tensei: I'll get serious if I go to another world" (Winter)
Although this is a Naro type work, it is interesting that the main character has the face of a child and the voice of an old man on the inside. Although it is a typical "otherworldly reincarnation" story, the story is interesting and I was able to watch it to the end without getting bored.

No. 3: "YuruCan△ SEASON 2" (winter)
A stable healing anime. Rin-chan's coolness is wonderful! Is it a coincidence that both "Super Cub" and "YuruCan△ SEASON 2" are set in Yamanashi?

No. 4: "Tensei Takera De Slyme Natta Tekken 2nd Season Part 1" (Winter)
Unlike the first season so far, it is not just about an invincible slime, but also about Rimuru's suffering as a king and the darker side of his character.

No. 5: "The saint's magic is all-powerful" (Spring)
Watched on the recommendation of Mr. H below. I thought it was a reverse harem story and thought it would be for men, but surprisingly, it was a work for girls. However, the story is better than just a work for girls, and the story is well written, so it was easy to watch.

Akiba Research Institute's Anime, Game, and Akiba staff member H (male) chose his personal top 5 anime

No. 1: "YuruCan△ SEASON 2" (winter)
Now that it is difficult to travel with the Corona disaster, I want to watch it again and again to enjoy the feeling of traveling, and I am also looking forward to the upcoming movie.

No. 2: "Seijo no mahou no mouri desu" (Spring)
As I watched the main character, who used to work for a black company, work hard even after being summoned to another world, it was a little sad to see that people can't change easily no matter where they go.

No. 3: "Buradorabu " (Winter, Distribution)
This is the first "Oshii anime" in 2025, featuring a splendid cast of voice actors including Ms. Ayane Sakura. The highlight is that homages to past Oshii works are scattered throughout the film.

No. 4: "Yojo President" (Winter)
A short animation with fun slapstick that happens at a company run by a 5-year-old Yojo (president). It is nice that all the episodes can be viewed on the official website.

No. 5: "Kyokushudo Michi " (Spring)
This is an anime that dares not to move, so you can enjoy the fast-paced gags with the voices of Kenjiro Tsuda and other talented voice actors as if you were reading a comic book.

Akiba Research Institute's news staff U (♀) selects his personal top 5 anime

No. 1: "Spider, desu dake, nanika?" (Winter/Spring)
This is by far the best. Anyway, Spider Girl is cute. Or rather, Aoi Yuuki, who plays Spider Girl, is cute. This is a work for enjoying Aoi Yuuki.

No. 2: "Mashiro no oto" (Spring)
I could actually experience sounds that I could not hear when I read the original work. Tsugaru shamisen is the subject of this work, and like "Chihayafuru," I would be happy if Japanese culture, cultural club activities, and the Japanese musical instrument itself could be spotlighted from here.

No. 3: "Kyokushudo Michi" (Spring)
Kenjiro Tsuda is so good in this role that I wish he had played the role in the live-action version. The lack of movement in the picture made Mr. Tsuda's performance shine even more brightly than usual.

No. 4: "Shave your beard. And pick up a high school girl." (Haru)
I happened to see this work and became curious about the rest of the story, so I checked it out every week. The title gives the impression that the story is hard and the content is hard, and I was a bit annoyed that there is no way this could happen in real life.

No. 5: "Log Horizon: Round Table Collapse" (Winter)
It is not an exaggeration to say that this is my favorite MMORPG work, but that is mostly due to Nyanta's team leader. As expected, the leader of the Nyanta group was cute this season as well.

Akiba Research Institute News K's personal top 5 anime

No. 1: "Tokyo Revengers " (Spring)
I thought it was strange that it was set in the 2000s and that it would be a loop series again... but anyway, the story was cleverly structured and there were many characters that appealed to girls (it was like "Higurashi" turned into "Close Zero"). I thought it had an author as good as Detective Conan. The mastermind is unreadable even after looping the story many times, making it an excellent suspenseful scenario.

No. 2: "YuruCan△ SEASON 2" (winter)
Watched since the first season. It is an anime that makes you want to keep it playing in the background like background music.

No. 3: "Dr. Stone Stone Wars" (Winter)
Although it is said to be for boys because of its science theme and pictures, the story is usually interesting and even girls find themselves watching it. The story is usually interesting, and girls also find themselves watching it. It has the elements of a classic boys' manga, such as "adventure" and "friends" (the character of Gen, a mentalist, is popular among girls).

No. 4: "Odd Taxi" (Spring)
I wondered at first if it was necessary to use Natsuki Hanae as the main character in terms of the picture design. At first I wondered, but from the first episode, I was drawn in by the unique reality and rawness of the story (like "Mousou Jyugyoin"). I thought at first that the main character was crazy. That was the point that drew me in.

No. 5: "A Spider, What is it?" (Winter/Spring)
I watched this movie because of Mr. U's strong recommendation above. I don't usually watch otherworldly stories, but the main character is simply interesting. There is "Tensurara" with a similar setting, but it is hard to find such a tragic story where a spider is reborn and even cannibalism is involved. The battle scenes are well done, and the OP/ED music is also good, making the most of the world view.

If you missed it, be sure to check it out now, during the summer vacation!

So, is there any work that you are interested in?　If there are any that you missed, please check out the films listed below. If so, please check out the distribution sites for the films you have missed. The distribution sites for each film are listed on the details page, so please refer to this page for more information.