Fall 2016

My take: fall 2016 ended up being one of those seasons you remembered for a few very specific highs rather than a steady stream of must-sees. The movies were the big moments — Kyoto Animation's A Silent Voice tackled bullying and guilt with restraint and clean, expressive animation, and In This Corner of the World offered a quietly devastating, hand-crafted look at wartime life that lingered. Both films kept conversations going long after their runs.

On the TV side, Flip Flappers stood out as an oddball creative win, trading coherent plotting for dazzling color palettes and inventive episode-to-episode shifts that felt refreshing. Ajin's second season amped up the political stakes and tension, giving the story more bite even as its CGI style kept dividing viewers. And then there was Keijo!!!!!!!! — unapologetically silly and surprisingly well-animated when it leaned into the joke. With about 130 titles that fall, the mix of serious films and bold originals made the season feel like a grab-bag of risks that actually produced a few lasting favorites.