The AniTAY Anime Awards 2020: Suggestions & Voting
2020 — in hindsight, not perfect. While this year has been insane around the world, we still had great anime to watch while we were locked in quarentine. One thing that stays the same in 2020 though: when the end of the calender winds down, it becomes the time when we reflect on the best that anime had to offer. Welcome to our annual AniTAY Anime Awards, a collaborative effort by members in the AniTAY community to decide the best of the best!
AniTAY, now more than ever is community first, and we always try to put our own community spin on these kinds of projects because the different opinions fed by the diversity of the community leads to better results. That’s why this Award process is open to everyone!
This article will cover the nominations selected by AniTAY members mucking around on a Google Docs sheet. While what we got here is pretty good, we can’t do this without everyone’s help! If you see anything missing or have any suggestions fill out this form or post comments on the sheet and I’ll try to take suggestions and add it to the list. Suggestions will be closed on 12/28/2020.
Like always, we’ll be running 2 awards, the Author’s Awards and the Reader’s Awards. This way we can keep our voice while including everyone in the process. Make your vote count by filling this form here. Voting will be closed 1/8/2021, when we release the results in a separate article.
This year, we added 2 new categories — Best Dub, and Best Soundtrack. We also changed how we determine a hidden gem — from an arbitrary number we decide to 20% of the top show of the season. Hope you enjoy the tweaks and look forward to seeing your votes!
Anime of the Year
Here’s the category you’re all here for: Anime of the Year. There’s been a lot of great shows this year, but here’s the best. From Comedy to Fantasy to Drama, these are the shows we were immersed in, made us laugh or cry, and made us fall in love: The Best Anime of 2020.
Nominees:
Beastars
Deca-Dence
Dorohedoro
Great Pretender
Kaguya-Sama: Love is War 2
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU! Climax
Radiant Season 2
Re:Zero Season 2
TONIKAWA — Over The Moon For You
AniTAY Movie of the Year
Anime is more than just silly TV cartoons… it’s also on the big screen! While there aren’t a lot of anime movies, here were the anime movies that came out this year, and they were great. If you aren’t watching anime movies, you’re missing out.
Nominees:
A Whisker Away
Burn the Witch
Digimon: Last Evolution
Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul
My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising
Ride Your Wave
Violet Evergarden I: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll
Weathering With You
Sequel Of the Year
There’s nothing better than seeing an old favorite, and that’s what this category, Sequel of the Year is about! These are the best of the best continuations of the best of the best.
Nominees:
A Certain Scientific Railgun T
Aggretsuko 3
Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2
Chihayafuru 3
Fruits Basket S2
Golden Kamuy S3
Haikyuu: To the Top!!
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? III
Is the Order a Rabbit? Bloom
Isekai Quartet 2
Kaguya-Sama: Love is War 2
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax!
No Guns Life S2
Radiant S2
ReZero S2
Hidden Gems (Under 20% of the Top Show of the Season)
Shows that unfortunately flew under the radar and didn’t get the attention they deserved. While the seasonal favorites were making waves, these obscure shows were glimmering treasures waiting to be discovered. The number of members (going by MAL) was 1/5th or less the top show of it’s respective season! These are the hidden gems of 2020.
Nominees:
Adachi to Shimamura
Appare-Ranman!
Arte
Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2
Asteroid in Love
Heya Camp
If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle
Smile Down the Runway
Wave, Listen to Me!
Best Animated
What do you watch anime for? Maybe great story, great music, or something else, but many watch shows for visuals, shows that look stunning at every moment. These are the shows that had the most fluid animation, looked amazing or more: The best Animated shows of 2020.
Nominees:
Akudama Drive
Appare-Ranman!
Beastars
BNA: Brand New Animal
Deca-Dence
Fate/Grand Order: Babylonia
Great Pretender
Haikyuu!! To the Top
Jujutsu Kaisen
Love Live! Nijigasaki
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax!
Rent-A-Girlfriend
Somali and the Forest Spirit
The Day I Became a God
Best Soundtrack
While animation might get all the spotlight, the soundtrack of a show contributes as much, if not more to a show than the presentation itself. Regardless of if it’s getting you hyped up for the next fight, or setting the tone for a dramatic scene, these are the shows with the best soundtrack!
Aggretsuko 3
Beastars
Deca-dence
Dorohedoro
Great Pretender
Haikyuu:To the Top
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU! Climax
Radiant Season 2
Re:Zero Season 2
Best Dub
While the Sub VS Dub debate still rages on in Anime Clubs and random forums, here on AniTAY we appreciate both, and many of our community members love to watch Dubs! So we thought we’d highlight the best that 2020 Dubs has to offer.
Appare-Ranman!
Beastars
BNA: Brand New Animal
Dorohedoro
Fruits Basket Season 2
Golden Kamuy S3
Great Pretender
Higurashi Gou
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? III
Radiant Season 2
ReZero S2
Best Action
Action! These are the shows that get your blood pumping, and your adrenalin skyrocketing. Animation that excel in the fast, the frenetic, the flashy and the weighty. Shows that make you feel every punch, soar every flight, and leaves you breathless with every exertion. To those shows whose kineticism is made tangible, we honor with our “Best Action” Award.
Nominees:
Akudama Drive
Appare-Ranman!
BNA: Brand New Animal
Chihayafuru 3
Darwin’s Game
Deca-Dence
Dorohedoro
Golden Kamuy S3
Haikyuu!! To the Top
Jujutsu Kaisen
The God of High School
Best Drama
The Best Drama Award is for the shows that give us a major case of the feels. They can move you to tears and give you characters to empathize with-some you may find a lot in common with. Say hello to the Best Dramas of 2020.
Nominees:
Ascendance of a Bookworm S2
Beastars
Chihayafuru 3
Fruits Basket S2
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax!
Re:ZERO S2
Sing “Yesterday” for Me
Somali and the Forest Spirit
The Day I Became a God
Best Romance
Romance shows: The shows that get our hearts stirring, those that get us thinking in love dodecahedrons and more. These are the shows we loved to love, the Best Romance shows of 2020.
Nominees:
Adachi and Shimamura
Beastars
Chihayafuru 3
Fruits Basket Season 2
Great Pretender
Kaguya-Sama: Love is War 2
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax!
Sing Yesterday for Me
TONIKAWA — Over The Moon For You
Best Comedy
Some shows try to make you fall in love with a story, others try to wow you with spectacle. Others, like the shows here, try to put a smile on your face, to get you laughing out loud: These are the best comedies of 2020!
Nominees:
Isekai Quartet 2
Kaguya-Sama: Love is War 2
Kakushigoto
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
Princess Connect! Re:Dive
Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle
The Day I Became a God
Toilet-bound Hanako-kun
TONIKAWA — Over The Moon For You
Wave, Listen to Me!
Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun
Best Slice of Life
Sometimes, there’s nothing more enjoyable than watching people chill out and do their stuff. These are the best Slice of Life shows, the shows that make amazing out of the mundane.
Nominees:
Asteroid in Love
Heya Camp
If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die
Is the Order a Rabbit? Bloom
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle
TONIKAWA — Over The Moon For You
Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!
Best OP
This year was absolutely flooded with top quality OPs, but these were the ones to best combine stunning visuals with amazing songs. These were the OPs you just could not skip no matter what.
Nominees:
aranami by tacica (Wave, Listen to Me!)
Centimeter by The Peggies (Rent-A-Girlfriend)
Chaos Drifters by SawanoHiroyuki[nZk], Jean-Ken Johnny (No Guns Life S2)
Chiisana Hibi by flumpool (Kakushigoto)
Daddy! Daddy! Do! by Masayuki Suzuki, Airi Suzuki (Kaguya-sama: Love is War S2)
Easy Breezy by Chelmico (Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!)
G.P. by Yutaka Yamada [composer] (Great Pretender)
Grey by FOMARE (Golden Kamuy)
I got it! By Mia REGINA (Appare-Ranman!)
Kaikai Kitan by Eve (Jujutsu Kaisen)
Koi no Uta by Yunomi (feat. Akari Kito) (TONIKAWA — Over The Moon For You)
Literature by Reina Ueda (Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina)
Mr. Fixer by Sou (ID: Invaded)
SPARK-AGAIN by Aimer (Fire Force S2)
Starmaker by KANA-BOON (My Hero Academia S4)
Synthetic Sympathy by Who-ya Extended (Psycho-Pass 3: First Inspector)
Theater of Life by Konomi Suzuki (Deca-Dence)
Welcome to Chaos by (K)NoW_NAME (Dorohedoro)
Best ED
Many people like to skip the ED, but every now and then you’ll run into one that you just can’t get out of your head. Some of these EDs were so good they even made us wish the episode would end just so we could see them again, even if we loved the show they were attached to.
Nominees:
Alive by Mashiro Ayano (Darwin’s Game)
ALPHA by STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION (Moriarty the Patriot)
Goodbye Seven Seas by JunMaeda x Nagi Yanagi (The Day I Became A God)
I’m Nobody by Shoutarou Morikubo (Appare-Ranman!)
Kago no Naka ni Tori (There’s a bird in a cage) by yourness (Sing “Yesterday” for Me)
Kaze ni Fukarete (Blown by the Wind) by Haruka Fukuhara (Kaguya-sama: Love is War)
Kioku no Hakobune by Kashitarou Itou (Deca-Dence)
Kokoro Somali by Inori Minase (Somali and the Forest Spirit)
Last Dance by Mamoru Miyano (In/Spectre)
LOST IN PARADISE feat. AKLO by ALI (Jujutsu Kaisen)
Max Charm Faces! by Shuta Sueyoshi with Totoko Nya! (Mr. Osomatsu S3)
Namae no Nai Ao by Kami-sama, Boku wa Kizuite Shimatta (Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!)
New World by THIS IS JAPAN (No Guns Life S2)
The Great Pretender by Freddie Mercury (Great Pretender)
Tiny Light by Akari Kito (Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun)
Yuusetsu by THE SIXTH LIE (Golden Kamuy)
Best Male Character
What’s better than our lovable bois? Welcome to our Best Male Character nominees, a category that has everything from loner NEETs, to obsessed fighting maniacs.
Nominees:
Caiman (Dorohedoro)
Golem (Somali & The Forest Spirit)
Hachiman Hikkigaya (SNAFU Climax)
Hanako-kun (Toilet-bound Hanako-kun)
Hototo (Appare-Ranman!)
Juzo (No Guns Life S2)
Kaburagi (Deca-dence)
Kakushi Goto (Kakushigoto)
Kyo Soma (Fruits Basket)
Legoshi (Beastars)
Makoto Edamura (Great Pretender)
Nasa Yuzaki (TONIKAWA — Over The Moon For You)
Saichi Sugimoto (Golden Kamuy S3)
Seth (Radiant S2)
Shin (Dorohedoro)
Shouyou Hinata (Haikyuu!!: To the Top)
Subaru Natsuki (Re:ZERO S2)
Yu Ishigami (Kaguya-Sama:Love is War S2)
Best Female Character
The bold, the brash, the rejected, and the moe- 2020 brought plenty of endearing choices to make the race for Best Female Character a widely debated discussion in anime circles.
Nominees:
Asirpa (Golden Kamuy S3)
Cynthia Moore (Great Pretender)
Echidna (Re:ZERO S2)
Haru (Beastars)
Hime Goto (Kakushigoto)
Isuzu “Rin” Soma (Fruits Basket)
Karyl (Princess Connect! Re:Dive)
Katarina Claes (My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!)
Kokkoro (Princess Connect! Re:Dive)
Kotoko Iwanaga (In/Spectre)
Mary (No Gun’s Life)
Michiru (BNA: Brand New Animal)
Miko Iino (Kaguya-Sama:Love is War S2)
Minare Koda (Wave, Listen to Me)
Natsume (Deca-Dence)
Nikaido (Dorohedoro)
Ocoho (Radiant S2)
Pecorine (Princess Connect! Re:Dive)
Princess Aurora Syalis Goodereste (Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle)
Retsuko (Aggretsuko 3)
Somali (Somali & The Forest Spirit)
Tohru Honda (Fruits Basket)
Tsukasa Yuzaki (TONIKAWA — Over The Moon For You)
Yui Yuigahama (SNAFU Climax)
Yukino Yukinoshita (SNAFU Climax)
Most Trashiest Trash of the Year
For some reason, AniTAY really likes garbage shows, to the point where we have a whole subcategory of AniTAY’ers called animasochists. This is to you, the ones who suffer through the trashiest of trash… for some reason.
Nominees:
Dokyuu Hentai HxEros
Gibiate
Gleipnir
Interspecies Reviewers
Nekopara
Noblesse
OneRoom 3
Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time
Plunderer
Rent-a-Girlfriend
The God of High School
AniTAY Favorites(?)
Last but not Least, AniTAY Favorites! This is one we included to spice things up, to make this list truly our own. These are shows that AniTAY was fixated on, either loved or discussed about for days on end. Take a look at what makes AniTAY, AniTAY! (Note: This doesn’t indicate quality or anything, just shows that AniTAY liked a lot.)
Nominees:
Beastars
Deca-Dence
Dorohedoro
Gleipnir
Great Pretender
Kaguya-Sama: Love is War 2
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax!
Princess Connect! Re:Dive
Radiant Season 2
Rent-A-Girlfriend
Talentless Nana
TONIKAWA — Over The Moon For You
