If you can believe it, we've already reached the end of 2024, and that means it's the perfect time to look forward to the best anime that next year has to offer. Whether you're excited for the return of a series like Solo Leveling or the final season of Doctor Stone or desperate for a new, highly anticipated adaptation like Sakamoto Days or Witch Hat Atelier, there's a lot to be excited about. And that's not including the fact that we're getting a new series from the creator of Cowboy Bebop on Adult Swim.
There's something for everyone, so let's delve into our most anticipated anime of 2025, including some already announced titles that we hope end up releasing in 2025.
Lazarus
Shinichiro Watanabe lovers rejoice! Yes, the legendary creator behind Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Carol & Tuesday, and Space Dandy is back with what is sure to be another stylistic hit, this time straight to the iconic Adult Swim Toonami block and a day later to Hulu. While we don't know exactly when the series will debut, we know it should be here in 2025 no matter what, and we couldn't be more excited.
As the title suggests, this series focuses on the search for a vaccine after years later it is revealed that a drug to prolong people's lives is a death sentence. To find a cure, our heroes must hunt down the man who created the miracle drug and fix things before millions of people die.
The Apothecary Diaries season 2
Sometimes an unexpected anime sneaks up on the fandom and draws attention through word of mouth and excitement. In the 2023-2024 season, that was definitely The Apothecary Diaries, which has become a firm favorite since its debut. With a great hook (a young apothecary's daughter is kidnapped and taken to the royal palace), the show soon becomes a perfect blend of judicial intrigue and detective adventure as our young heroine learns to survive in her new surroundings. With season two coming soon, we can't wait to re-enter this dramatic, fantastical world filled with complex women, scheming men, and brilliantly intelligent antagonists.
Sakamoto Days
If you're a fan of The Way of the Househusband, then this delightful blend of life and crime is probably already on your radar. Based on the manga by Yuto Suzuki, it follows an old man named Sakamoto. He was once a feared hitman, but retired after falling in love and having children, becoming a chubby old convenience store owner. However, when his past begins to affect his idyllic life, he has to use his very particular set of skills to protect those he loves. From what we've seen in the trailer, it will be lush, fun and action-packed, with plenty of delicious anime food sequences to feed your eyes and soul. Basically, a perfect way to start the New Year.
Solo Leveling Season 2 (Rise from the Shadow)
The first season of the South Korean portal's hit fantasy web novel adaptation gained fans around the world, so it probably shouldn't be surprising that Solo Leveling season 2 is headed our way sooner rather than later. After Sung Jinwoo is chosen by the mysterious System, he becomes the only hunter in his monster-filled world who can increase his powers (hence the name) and thus begins the story of Solo Leveling. The first season was a huge success, inspiring not only a second season but also a spin-off webtoon, a movie, and a game. When this sequel arrives in early 2025, it will be interesting to see how the series evolves with its supernatural main character and if its viewership continues to rise to even greater heights.
Dr. Stone (Future of Science) Final Season (January 2025)
The fourth and final season of Doctor Stone will hit screens early next year and, while fans were originally worried that one season wouldn't be enough to cover the end of the manga, it was revealed that the fourth season would consist of three parts in place of two. – with almost 40 episodes to close the story – has helped allay those fears. If you're not already a fan, Dr. Stone is set in a future where all humans were petrified for thousands of years until our teenage hero Senku Ishigami is revived and vows to find a cure. He soon figures out how to revive other petrified humans, setting him and his eclectic allies on a wild adventure to save the world and discover what happened to petrify the globe.
I can be a guild receptionist, but I'll just make sure any boss leaves on time.
Based on the light novel series, published in English by Yen Press along with its manga adaptation, this extraordinarily long title has cultivated a fervent fan base. Alina Clover is the overworked and tremendously relatable protagonist who tries to maintain her work life at work and not cannibalize her time outside of the adventurer's guild reception. Ioffle City is not prepared for this non-adventurer and her warhammer as she attacks her overtime problems in such a ferocious manner. The show's Japanese broadcast begins on January 10, 2025, and it looks like the English subtitle shouldn't be far behind.
Witch hat workshop
It's hard to put into words how anticipated the animated adaptation of Kamome Shirahama's hit manga is. Finding a wide audience outside of the anime and manga fandom, this lavishly illustrated series tells the story of a young girl, Coco, who wants nothing more than to become a witch. After a chance encounter at her mother's tailor shop with Quifery, one of the few magic users in her world, Coco finds herself swept into a whole new life in the titular workshop. Shirahama's gorgeous art style seems to have been brought to life perfectly, judging by what we've seen in the trailers so far, and it looks like this cozy, magical, and absolutely fantastic manga series has the potential to be one of the biggest hits from the anime of 2025. .
Gachiakuta (2025)
Kei Urana delivered a modern classic with his Gachiakuta manga, a twisted take on the classic class war trope that looks like a modern-day Alita, the battle angel, mixed with the Count of Monte Cristo. When Rudo's adoptive father is murdered, he finds himself accused of the murder and expelled from his daily life, surviving in the Sphere, where the descendants of criminals live as a lower class, in the mortal landscape known as The Pit, a landscape stinky of infinite garbage filled with deadly garbage monsters. This is easily one of the most anticipated anime of the year as fans wait to see Rudo's world and his quest for revenge brought to life thanks to Bones and director Fumihiko Suganuma. The series will also feature character designs by Tokyo Mew Mew's Satoshi Ishino, who will serve as the project's lead animator.
Omniscient reader (hopefully 2025)
In the dynamic South Korean web novel by Sing Shong on which this anime is based, a young man becomes embroiled in the end of the world after being the only reader of… a web novel that seems to be predicting the very apocalypse that awaits him now. survive! This is the kind of meta commentary we love at Agency, and the novellas have become a fan favorite since they debuted in 2018. While we're not 100 percent sure we'll see Omniscient Reader next year, we do know that It is currently in production. Let's keep our fingers crossed that we can see the anime adaptation sometime in 2025.
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Season 2 (hopefully 2025)
If you're looking for a charming fantasy campaign, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better one from recent years than Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. This unexpectedly existential series centers on an elven mage who decides to find a way to restore her party of past adventurers after realizing she never really got to know them while they were still alive. Exploring notions of pain, growth, and of course, friendship, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is an endlessly entertaining and thought-provoking adventure, and with original animation studio Madhouse signed on for season 2, it will look just as beautiful as the first season. did.
What anime are you most looking forward to in 2025? Let's discuss it in the comments!