Dean Daley’s favourite anime of 2023

A yearly tradition at MobileSyrup is going over our favourite things of the year. Considering how the pandemic has eased, 2023 has probably been the best year for me since 2019.

Despite the fewer restrictions and spending a ton of time with my friends, one of my favourite things this year was just getting stoned and watching TV — specifically anime.

So, like last year, let’s discuss my favourite anime of 2023. These are not in any order, and I’m not saying this is objectively the best anime of the year, either — they’re just my favourite. I’ve only included new anime, not season two of Jujustu Kaisen or season three of Demon Slayer. It’s also worth mentioning that I cheated a bit and included some content that isn’t technically anime, as Japanese studios didn’t create them all.

Hell’s Paradise

Starting with a banger, Hell’s Paradise by Mappa came out in April of 2023. The series focuses on Gabimaru the Hollow, a ninja sentenced to be executed; however, he can’t seem to die due to his superhuman body. Considering his abilities, the Shogunate will pardon him for his crimes and let him return to his wife if he and other criminals sentenced to death go to an island to find the elixir of life on Shinsenkyo.

Shinsenkyo is not what they expected, with monsters and magic forces in their way. Hell’s Paradise is an action, dark fantasy, psychological thriller with very nice animation when it actually gets to the fight scenes.

The series was renewed for a second season, and in Canada, you can watch it on Crunchyroll.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

I’m not really into mecha anime, as they aren’t really my cup of tea, but my roommate wanted to give this series a shot — and I’m glad that I did. The Witch from Mercury is the fifteenth mainline series Gundam entry and focuses on Suletta, a girl who grew up on Mercury and has the signature Gundam.

The series has a lot of mystery and is pretty messed up as the Gundams increase the performance of their pilots but also cripple or even kill the user after prolonged usage. Suletta, on the other hand, never experiences this pain when using a Gundam, so her classmates at her new school of Asticassia, an institute run by a megacorporation, call her a witch.

This story is also cool because it’s the first mainline Gundam series to feature an LGBTQ protagonist.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch from Mercury is available on Crunchyroll.

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

Have you ever had a job that ran you straight into the ground? Akira Tendo has, as his job required him to work many overnights, to the point where he’s barely gotten the chance to go home. Tendo is extremely depressed about his job, but when the apocalypse begins, and Tendo no longer has to go to work, he has a new outlook on life.

He then creates a bucket list that he wants to complete before turning into a zombie. Bucket List of the Dead is a fun series because of how light-hearted Tendo takes the zombie apocalypse. However, after many people get turned into zombies, Tendo adds one more to his list — becoming a superhero who saves people from being zombies.

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is on both Netflix and Crunchyroll.

Fate/strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn

Fate/strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn takes place in the American city of Snowfield, and as always, a Holy Grail War has just commenced. Magicians, known as magi, have summoned their Servants, heroic spirits from the past, to fight for them and have one of their wishes granted.

Oddly, this is an imperfect Holy Grail War as the ritual wasn’t properly executed and has resulted in the lack of the Saber class — a staple in the series — and weird Servants being summoned.

Fate/strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn is a 55-minute episode with a full series to be released in July 2024. You can watch this episode on Crunchyroll.

The Boy and the Heron

I had the opportunity to watch Hayao Miyazaki’s How Do You Live? (translated title, The Boy and the Heron) in theatres at TIFF earlier this year, and the movie is a masterpiece that’s executed beautifully. Miyazaki combines Spirited Away and Chronicles of Narnia elements to create a well-paced Isekai film that takes you on a journey.

I won’t say anymore, as Miyazaki says himself that it’s better to go into this movie without knowing anything, but it’s a film worth watching.

This movie is currently in theatres.

Castlevania: Nocturne

Castlevania: Nocturne is not an anime as an American studio created it, but either way, I’m including it on this list.

The series is awesome and takes over 100 years after the original Castlevania series. Vampires still ran rampant during the French Revolution, but Richter Belmont, a descendant of Trevor of Sypha, was there to save the day. Richter Belmont is joined by Maria Renard, a woman named Annette, a slave in the Caribbean. The three become allies and try to stop the rise of a Vampire Messiah.

This series is now on Netflix.

Special Mention: My Daemon

If Castlevania: Nocturne isn’t an anime, then neither is My Daemon, especially considering a Thai animation studio made it and it doesn’t have the typical look of an anime. Either way, I love this show.

The series takes place after a nuclear explosion fundamentally changes the earth; new creatures called Daemon exist. These Daemon come in various forms and sizes but are looked at as demonic creatures and are typically killed on site unless you become a Daemon user.

Daemon users use shock collars to control Daemon, and typically the relationship between Daemon and users isn’t great, except for the main character Kento, who’s an 11-year-old that found a Daemon and raised it from a daemonic particle (pretty much an egg).

The series draws so many parallels with Pokémon that it’s difficult not to love it, considering my admiration for the Game Freak series. However, the series is a lot darker and more realistic than Pokémon.

This series is now on Netflix.