This gives you two, maybe three weeks, to catch up on anime. Now, I know what you are thinking. Surely, One Piece is off the table. Yes, the anime is on everyone’s radar because of the highly successful Netflix adaptation. But three weeks is not enough time to watch a thousand episodes. And I agree with you, to an extent. Forget about watching the show from episode one.
Start with the ‘Impel Down Arc’ on episode 422 and continue to the show’s most famous arc (Marine Ford). The anime pads each episode to excessive levels by providing highly detailed flashbacks at the start. Those flashbacks will tell you who everyone is and why they matter.
If you like what you see, you can backtrack to the beginning or even continue forward. But if ‘Impel Down’ is not enough to win you over, you can give up on One Piece for good. Pluto is a re-imagining of Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy, written by Naoki Urasawa. If that name sounds familiar, Naoki wrote Monster, which ranks among the best thrillers of all time, better than most live-action films and TV shows.
Pluto follows a robot detective on his mission to solve a series of murders. The detective thinks mechanical hands did the killing, which makes no sense because strict programming prevents robots from killing humans. Many have touted the Netflix adaptation as the best anime of 2023, because of its gorgeous art and hard-hitting themes. I recommend watching the trailer if you doubt those claims.
If any anime can give Pluto a run for its money, it is Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, which takes a fascinating approach to a cliched fantasy trope. Rather than following a crew of plucky heroes on an adventure to save the world, Frieren shows viewers what happens when the quest ends and the Demon Lord dies.Â
Imagine a scenario in which the fellowship of the ring defeats Sauron in Lord of the Rings, but then Legolas, an elf, watches as his mortal friends succumb to old age one after another. Frieren is as beautiful and thoughtful an anime as you could ever hope to watch.
We can end with Zom 100: Bucket List of The Dead, which sounds too somber for Christmas. After all, a zombie apocalypse strands the protagonist in an apartment building in the first episode.
However, Zom 100 is far more touching and lighthearted than the synopsis suggests. Akira Tendo, the protagonist, sacrificed his personal goals and dreams to pursue a soul-crushing career in the corporate arena.
For the depressed young man, the zombie apocalypse is a godsend, an extended vacation that allows Akira to accomplish every task on his bucket list.
Even with rivals like Frieren and Pluto, Zom 100 is still the best anime you will encounter in 2023 because you can’t help but smile as you watch Akira’s adventures, and what else do you want from Christmas?
Attack on Titan deserves a mention. After ten long years, the show is finally over. You can binge all four seasons in one go. But I should warn you; if you jumped ship after season 1 (because of the long hiatus), the latter seasons are incredibly depressing. You won’t see Eren’s transformation coming.
That should do it for this Christmas. Happy viewing, and Merry Christmas!
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