For over a decade, remakes and superhero movies have been taking over theaters, not leaving any breathing room for original or unique ideas. Even when it comes to streaming, unique shows with solid plots are hard to come by. Then, during the pandemic, anime experienced a massive boom.
Anime is a type of animation originating from Japan, usually based on manga. Manga is a type of graphic novel from Japan. This allows every anime to be distinct, with each show having different art styles and stories.
One of these popular anime is making a return. “Dragon Ball Super,” the third saga of the “Dragon Ball” universe, is set to continue next year. This is huge news, as this was “Dragon Ball” creator Akira Toriyama’s last story arc before his passing. Characters will reach new heights of power, with villains more heinous than the last.
Since last year, two huge anime movies have come out. “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle,” and “Chainsaw-Man: Reze Arc” were major successes. “Infinity Castle” had grossed around $650 million worldwide. That’s more than “The Fantastic Four,” “How to Train Your Dragon” remake, “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” “F1,” and James Gunn’s “Superman.” This was one of the anime that started in the anime boom and continued to snowball down and get a bigger following.
Even though “Reze Arc” didn’t make as much money, it became the highest-rated movie on letter box for 2025. That means it beat “Sinners,” “Marty Supreme,” and “One Battle After Another.”
The way Tatsuki Fujimoto (Author) wrote the story of the “Reze Arc” was to have the flow of a movie, which is rare for anime to do. Fujimoto gets a lot of his style and storytelling from iconic Western media such as “Reservoir Dogs,” “Pulp Fiction,” “No Country for Old Men,” and the “Evil Dead” series.
The show’s last year, “Solo Leveling” and “Dandadan” season two dropped. “Solo Leveling” for fast-paced fights and “Dandadan” for its comedic romance and action in the anomalies. For this year to come, it’s some of the most stacked and inter-separated anime of all time.
The most notable ones are “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run,” “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End” season two, “Jujutsu Kaisen” season 3 (which is currently airing), and “Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity.” That’s not even half of this year’s biggest hits to come. All of the shows and movies are a must-watch for anyone trying to get into this genre. Anime is the best it’s ever been right now, and there’s no better time to start than this very moment.
