Japan’s Top Five Anime of Fall 2025 Look Surprisingly Different From the Global Favorites

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The most popular anime in Japan this fall featured many classic fantasy elements, but these didn’t resonate as strongly with international audiences, showing a difference in preferences. Fall 2025 was a huge season for anime, especially with the release of the final episodes of My Hero Academia after almost ten years. The season received widespread praise, with every episode earning over a 9/10 rating on IMDb – a first for a mainstream anime series. Popular shonen title Gachiakuta also continued its success, remaining a top performer on Crunchyroll with its second part.

Even though the animation quality in One-Punch Man season 3 wasn’t great, it still proved popular with viewers worldwide. This, along with other shows, defined the most-watched anime of fall 2025 globally. However, the anime scene in Japan itself told a different story. According to PR Times, citing data from the streaming service ABEMA, none of these globally popular titles ranked in Japan’s top five. Instead, Japanese audiences preferred fantasy and ‘isekai’ (transported to another world) stories over the action-packed ‘shonen’ series that were popular internationally.

Japan’s Top Five Anime of 2025 Are Dominated by High-Fantasy Isekai Tropes

ABEMA, a popular streaming service, recently ranked Japan’s top five anime based on viewership data from September 9th to December 29th, 2025. The most-watched series was My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s, created by the renowned studio Sunrise, known for hits like Code Geass and Gundam. Spy × Family Season 3 came in second. The remaining top titles were mostly fantasy and isekai stories, including Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon, Campfire Cooking in Another World With My Absurd Skill Season 2, and A Gatherer’s Adventure in Isekai. With the exception of Spy × Family, it’s clear that viewers in Japan were primarily watching isekai anime during this period.

Several of these anime feature a common storyline: characters are magically transported to a new world, giving them a chance to start over. These stories are usually epic fantasies filled with action, fighting, and the main character becoming increasingly powerful. While Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon isn’t a typical ‘transported to another world’ story, it’s still set in a fantasy realm and focuses on revenge, eventually incorporating a harem element. Spy × Family is the only show on this list that’s widely popular internationally. The data suggests that Japanese viewers especially enjoy fantasy settings and stories about getting a second chance.

I’ve been thinking a lot about why certain anime really hit home in Japan, and it’s fascinating! It seems like the intense pressure of work there might be a big part of it. People are really drawn to these amazing fantasy worlds and stories where characters get a ‘second chance’ at life – it’s a perfect escape. And it’s leading to some really interesting trends! Looking at the top anime in Japan for 2025, they’re actually quite different from what’s popular everywhere else – it really shows how different things are culturally when it comes to what people enjoy.

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2026-01-29 18:11