October - December • 199 anime
Fall 2020 tilted toward big-screen moments — 106 shows arrived that season, but the movies stuck in people's heads. Demon Slayer: Mugen Train was unavoidable, and Violet Evergarden's film felt like a proper, beautiful coda to its series.
My take was simple: Fall 2020 was a season where films did the heavy lifting. With a surprising number of theatrical and long-form releases, the quarter felt less about weekly chatter and more about singular, cinematic moments that lingered.
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train practically rewrote how anime box-office success looked — it picked up the show's momentum and turned one arc into a full-on event with stunning action and tight pacing. Violet Evergarden's movie gave that series an emotionally polished follow-up; the animation and score made it an easy rewatch. Talentless Nana stood out as an original TV series with a sharp, mean-spirited premise and surprisingly clever plotting, while The Day I Became a God carried Jun Maeda's signature melancholy and kept the tear ducts working. On the quieter side, Adachi and Shimamura delivered gentle, patient character work and Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle leaned hard into goofy, character-driven comedy.
Studios like Production I.G, Sunrise, Bibury and J.C.Staff showed up with solid-looking projects, and the mix of sequels and fresh originals left the season feeling like a reset — memorable for a few big hits and a lot of bold bets.
