Fall Season 2023 has been Amazing for Anime!
Key points for My Favorite Anime of Fall Season 2023:
- Goblin Slayer Season 2: Shifts focus to character development, with Goblin Slayer’s growth and arcs for other characters. Rated 8/10.
- The Eminence in Shadow Season 2: Dynamic start with a vampire arc, transitions to a more execution-focused tone. Delta’s character adds to the enjoyment. Solid 8/10.
- Dr. Stone: New World Part 2: New World arc revitalizes the series with unpredictable twists, mind games, and a compelling plot. Easy 8.5/10.
- The Apothecary Diaries: Unique setting, historically accurate, episodic but captivating. Fun character interactions and decent arcs. Rated 8.5/10.
- Ragna Crimson: Despite flaws, the fun factor is high, especially in recent episodes. Exciting fights and a blast to watch. Rated 9/10.
- Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End: Critically acclaimed for its unique time passage perspective, great world-building, and well-developed characters. A near-perfect 10/10.
Honestly, this might be my favorite season of the year so far. Yes, I know we are only halfway through the Fall 2023 Season so far but this season has delivered some straight-up bangers. And a lot of the anime in this list are scheduled for 24 episodes too so we will have something to look forward to for a long time. Even the anime that didn’t make it onto this list like Shield Hero, Tokyo Revengers, etc. have been really good.
As for this list, this list has my favorite animes from this season. I have ranked them based on my critical opinion and personal enjoyment. And of course, I have not watched everything in this season. This list is my opinion and it is based on what I have watched. Please feel free to let me know your list in the comments.
With that said, here are the anime I have been enjoying the most in this season of Fall 2023. What a year it has been. Let’s get started!
Goblin Slayer Season 2
The action and gore have been peeled back somewhat compared to Season 1. Season 1 had a fight pretty much in every single episode. Not this season though. What we are getting in place of the fighting is character development. And it is a joy to watch. Goblin Slayer himself got so much character development in this season. He really did change a bit when he found the Sorceror Boy. The kid reminded Goblin Slayer of himself when he was young. And he genuinely felt happy that the kid didn’t go down the same dark path as he did.
The Priestess also got her own little character arc and now we are getting one for the High-Elf Archer as well. Good stuff all around. Easy 8/10 rating from me at this point. Curious to see how the 2nd half of this season will go down.
The Eminence in Shadow Season 2
I don’t think this one needs an explanation. The season started with a bang in the absolute spectacle that was the vampire arc. That whole arc was a freaking show-off of how good this show can look and how well can it execute seemingly cliche stories. It was full of action and thrill, concluding with an amazing fight between Cid and the Blood Queen. The 2nd arc though, completely changed the tone. It is a lot more about execution than action. There’s so much stuff about the Economy and all that with the show’s classic humor on top of it.
Even though I enjoyed the first arc more because of how action-heavy it was, the 2nd arc still has been a joy to watch. And characters like Delta just made it even better. Let’s see how this arc concludes. Again, another solid 8/10 from my side.
Dr. Stone: New World Part 2
I think the New World arc in itself brought back a lot of people to the series. Me included. I didn’t hate the previous arc but it felt a little off. The New World/Treasure Island arc though has been a banger since the beginning. Not only did the addition of someone like Ryuusui spice up the cast, but the plot for this arc has been awesome as well. The mind games and the unexpected twists are back in full force. There is an air of unpredictability and chaos in this arc that I really do appreciate.
The reveals and twists have been insane, and it feels like we haven’t even gotten the meat and bones of the arc yet because I know there will be a big reveal at the end! This one gets an easy 8.5/10 from me!
The Apothecary Diaries
I just talked about this anime in detail in a separate article so I will keep this section short. I like this anime because it has a very unique setting, and despite the plot being completely fictional, this anime is also quite historically accurate. It has fun and interesting characters and despite the plot being mostly episodic, this anime will hook you in. The character interactions in particular are fun and entertaining as hell to watch.
Combine that with decent character arcs for the main characters and you have got an absolute banger of a show. The art style is really nice and colorful too. Just as I gave it in the previous article, it is an easy 8.5/10 for me. And yes, it is my 3rd favorite anime of the Fall 2023 Season because the competition for the first two places is insanely close.
Ragna Crimson
As I said, this and Frieren are pretty much equal for me. Frieren is a much better anime, critically speaking. That is why I decided to give the first place to it. Anyway, Ragna Crimson, despite all of its flaws, is an anime that I have had a total blast watching. The last 3 episodes were so much fun to watch through. Ragna just brutalized Ultimatia’s cheat abilities with brute strength. She had so much confidence in her abilities that Ragna breaking through them pretty much gave her PTSD. It was glorious.
All that led to a great moment between Nebulim and Ragna in the new episode. And there’s another upcoming fight that I am really excited about. Critically, there are a lot of flaws in this anime but just for the fun factor alone, I am willing to give it a 9/10.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
One of the most critically acclaimed anime of this year in general, not just the Fall 2023 season. And for a good reason. The way this anime showcases the passing of time is like nothing I’ve seen before. Since Frieren is an elf, the passing of time for her is very different from humans. 50 years is nothing to her but for humans that is a very long time. It is one of the best “journey” type anime I have seen and along with the passing of time, the great world-building also adds a lot to the plot.
Add some really well-written and developed characters to all that and man, you have got something as close to perfect as you can get. It does start off a little slow but don’t let that detract from the charm of this anime. It gets an easy 10/10 because even the animations and soundtracks for it are amazing.
That is all for now!!
Let me know your favorites from this season. I know that this was a rather long article but hey, it was worth it. With that said, I will take my leave here. See ya!!
Also, speaking of, check out my detailed thoughts on The Apothecary Diaries here!
