Japan Reveals Top 10 Anime of 2025 So Far in Official New Growth 📈

📈TOP 10 Anime List 👇 please scroll down 👇

2025 is halfway over, and Japanese viewers have weighed in on their top 10 favorite anime of the year (so far).While The Apothecary Diaries topped many of the nation’s popularity charts last year, that series and several others have been pushed out of the spotlight by CloverWorks’ hit dark fantasy shonen, Black Butler.

Per PR Times, Filmarks — the largest Japan-based review service for anime, TV shows and movies — recently unveiled its “Anime Rankings For the First Half of 2025.” Limiting included titles to those streamed or broadcast between Jan. 1-June 30, 2025, Filmarks found Black Butler‘s “Emerald Witch” arc to be the #1 most popular work. Based on Yana Toboso’s titular manga, the series follows 10-year-old supernatural investigator Ciel Phantomhive and his demonic butler, Sebastian. The anime’s fifth season aired from April 28-June 29. The complete top 10 winners and their respective ratings can be viewed below.

Japan’s Biggest Review Site Reveals Most Popular Anime of 2025 So Far

Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc — 4.46 stars / 948 reviews
Uma Musume Cinderella Gray — 4.38 stars / 1,024 reviews
Lycoris Recoil: Friends Are Thieves of Time — 4.33 stars / 1,755 reviews
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man — 4.32 stars / 1,472 reviews
The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 — 4.27 stars / 6,623 reviews
Medalist — 4.26 stars / 7,269 reviews
Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary Season 2 — 4.24 stars / 1.590 reviews
Apocalypse Hotel — 4.21 stars / 1,568 reviews
Fire Force Season 3 — 4.21 stars / 1,074 reviews
Re:Zero Season 3 — 4.20 stars / 3,190 reviews

Last year, anime popularity and trending charts in Japan were largely dominated by works such as Mashle: Magic and Muscles, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Dandadan and The Apothecary Diaries. While the latter two works have released episodes this year, Black Butler‘s newest installment has still managed to make a stronger impact on Filmarks’ users. In the “Emerald Witch” arc, Ciel and Sebastian travel to Germany to investigate a series of mysterious deaths. After discovering that the incidents are connected to a place known as the Werewolves’ Forest, the two are inflicted with a “curse,” adding a new layer of urgency to the situation. Filmarks’ users seem particularly impressed by the series’ animation, which many refered to as “outstanding” and “artistically beautiful.”

Filmarks’ second highest-rated work, Uma Musume Cinderella Gray, is part of a slice-of-life sports franchise whose popularity is mostly limited to Japan. The “Uma Musume” of the series’ title refers to a species of humanoid horses who make up the majority of the main cast. Produced by Cygames Pictures, the series revolves primarily around Oguri Cap, a runner-in-training at Kasamatsu Center Academy. Known by her peers as a “monster,” Oguri frequently overwhelms her opponents with a running style that “defies” common sense. The anime is based on Taiyo Kuzumi’s titular manga series, which was initially released in June 2020.

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Third-place winner Lycoris Recoil is one of the few anime titles not inspired by a previous work. Produced by A-1 Pictures (Solo Leveling), the series revolves around an all-girls crime-fighting organization led by gunslinger duo Chisato and Takina. During the day, they also run a small café known as “LycoReco.” In a unique take on the popular “girls with guns” subgenre, the episodes blend slice-of-life antics with intense, fast-paced action sequences. Lycoris Recoil: Friends Are Thieves of Time is the series’ first official short film installment. Initially released on April 16, the six short “films” primarily focus on the everyday lives of Chisato, Takina and the other employees of LycoReco.

Several of the aforementioned titles, including Black Butler, Uma Musume, Fire Force and Re:Zero, are streaming on Crunchyroll.