Crunchyroll’s Anime Awards are happening next month, and the nominations are out! Fans are particularly excited about the ‘Best New Anime Series’ category, as it highlights the top new shows of the year. The nominees include a sweet romance called The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity, and two action-packed shonen anime. Gachiakuta is being praised for its daring and mature themes, while Sakamoto Days offers a fresh take on the traditional shonen style.
Among the anime released in 2025, Clevatess truly distinguished itself with its unique dark fantasy action and adventure. Takopi’s Original Sin and The Summer Hikaru Died, both released that summer, also captivated viewers with their surprisingly dark themes. In fact, four out of the six nominated anime centered around darker storylines. Some used fantasy settings to explore these themes, while others presented them in a way that felt very real and raw. Ultimately, these anime demonstrate that darker, more complex stories were what audiences connected with most in 2025.
2025’s Best New Anime Series Shared One Common Element
Last year, four anime series explored darker themes, with the exceptions of Sakamoto Days and The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity. These shows were all part of the Summer 2025 season and each featured darkness as a central element. Clevatess and The Summer Hikaru Died were particularly noteworthy for how effectively they incorporated these themes into their stories. Clevatess blends action and adventure with a fantasy setting, and its darker scenes are especially memorable. The Summer Hikaru Died, on the other hand, consistently creates a creepy and unsettling mood with its horror-fantasy approach.
While many new anime series came out this year, Gachiakuta and Takopi’s Original Sin truly stood out by tackling difficult and mysterious themes that reflect the realities of life. Gachiakuta is a particularly strong shonen anime because it doesn’t avoid dark and challenging subject matter, instead exploring themes like abuse, revenge, and the downfall of heroic figures – making it feel very relevant and modern.
Takopi’s Original Sin bravely confronts difficult topics like bullying, depression, and suicide, and uniquely focuses on how these issues affect children. This approach creates a disturbingly honest and realistic feel, highlighting that even young people experience life’s hardships. The fact that Crunchyroll nominated several anime with similar dark themes for its Best New Series award shows that 2025 was a year for anime that delved into these challenging subjects, appealing to viewers who now prefer stories that reflect real-world problems over typical fantasy tales.
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2026-04-07 02:11