Despite its slice-of-life status, TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You managed to be breathtaking.

With its clean and crisp character designs and impressive backgrounds, there was never a moment in the show that looked dull or bland. With no big action pieces to speak of, TONIKAWA focused more on simple beauty – to great effect.

Much of this show’s charm came directly from its animation.

Magic and animation go hand in hand. Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina took full advantage of that.

Although this was a show about a humble traveler (who happened to be a witch), when the visuals went big, they went BIG. Fire, winds, storms, and sunsets; there was so much force behind every scene and moment.

And for a series that was comfortable being cutesy and dark, there was always a chance to impress.

Following its predecessor’s footsteps, which ranked 2^nd in animation last year, Fruits Basket 2^nd Season was gorgeous.  

This series can be calm, friendly, and warm one minute, then dark, freighting, and bleak the next. Much of that credit does belong to the show’s story and characters, but we cannot ignore the role the animation played.

When all goes silent and a moment is allowed to exist, it is the visuals that become the storyteller. Fruits Baskets 2^nd Season understood this concept well.

The Academy City series can always be counted on to look great; to BE great, though, is never certain. A Certain Scientific Railgun, on the other hand, has proven to be both, and Railgun T solidified that reputation.

With some of the most powerful espers being highlighted, it should be assumed things would get crazy. “Crazy,” it turned out, would be an understatement.

This was the third installment of the Railgun storyline. Thus, there were expectations. The animation, among other aspects, exceeded those expectations effortlessly.

Most anime are based on manga, so this is going to sound strange. Nevertheless, Toliet-bound Hanako-kun was like a comic come to life.

This show had striking visuals, vibrant colors, and powerful imagery, both heartfelt and frightening. Don’t forget that this is a ghost story through and through, and ghost stories have a tendency to go dark.

When Toliet-bound Hanako-kun went dark, the animation was there to back it up in force.

If there were ever an isekai anime to dabble in horror, it would be the Re:Zero series. While the show’s setup and story build the foundation for its success, the animation brings everything to another level entirely.

There is joy in Re:Zero and the visuals bring this to life. But when things turn south, which happens all the time, the animation hits much, much harder.

Re:Zero Season 2 art style might make you feel uncomfortable, but know that is the whole point.

The God of High School was a martial arts heavy series. Thus, the animation needed to be fluid, flashy, and impactful; otherwise, what would be the point? This series took what had to happen and ran with it.

“[T]he animation, particularly during the many, many fight scenes, was thrilling at this show’s weakest and awe-inspiring at its best.“

–The God of High School review

Any old-school fan of Dragon Ball will find a home in The God of High School’s animation.

Although a series can (and should) build atmosphere with its story and characters, this is where animation can become an indispensable tool. Of course, this isn’t to say Tower of God had a poor story or characters; it did, and the visuals added more to them.

Plus – this probably shows some bias – in an age where anime CGI animation is still working out its kinks, any series that has a hand-drawn feel gets a few extra points.

Tower of God mastered its visuals and delivered something remarkable.

Spots 1 and 2 were difficult to decide. Both shows had remarkable visuals. In the end, Great Pretender claims the penultimate rank.

“[M]other-of-everything, Great Pretender was a gorgeous spectacle for the eyes…“

–Great Pretender review

This series knew how to use color and movement. It was flashy and bright and utterly amazing; there is no doubt it is a marvel of anime’s visual prowess. Great Pretender gave us an animated version of our world fit for the modern-day.  

Keep Your Hands of Eizouken was one of the first 2020 series to be reviewed on the site, and it set a standard no other show could match.

It’s fitting that the show about animation would be the top animated anime of the year. This series highlighted the amount of blood, sweat, and tears that goes into a single frame of animation, not to mention a completed project.

It is hard to appreciate what goes on in the mind of creativity, but we got a pretty good glimpse of it here.