July - September • 221 anime
Summer 2021 felt like a scattershot season — tons of new originals plus a handful of heavy hitters. Belle showed off Mamoru Hosoda's visual flair, and Record of Ragnarok was the sort of over-the-top action that got people talking.
My take: Summer 2021 was crowded but strangely satisfying if you picked through it. Belle landed as the season's emotional and visual high point — its animation and score really stuck with you — while Record of Ragnarok embraced absurd, cinematic fights that made it appointment viewing for spectacle fans. My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission kept the franchise's momentum, offering big set pieces and a surprisingly tight emotional beat for a movie.
On the smaller side, My Next Life as a Villainess Season 2 doubled down on charm and character work, and the TONIKAWA OVA was pure fan service done well. The season leaned heavy on originals (nearly 200), which produced both bold experiments and neat niche wins, especially in music-forward projects. Studios like Studio Chizu, CloverWorks and Bones brought a lot of polish, even when some adaptations favored spectacle over subtlety. All told, it was a season where a few standout titles carried a massive slate.
