My 5 Favorite Anime Sites From 2023

Lots of Material for My 5 Favorite Anime Sites From 2023

I look forward to Fridays, for two reasons. First, my ordinary work week is Monday to Friday, so on Friday, I’m ready for the weekend. Second, I’ve reserved Friday nights to take a trup to all of the anime sites listed on my Massive List of Anime Sites. I’m constantly impressed by the range and high quality of the post I get to read every week. Every week,

At the end of the year, I total the number of favorite posts for each site, and I publish the list of the five sites with the highest count. I’ve been doing that since 2018! I’m not saying anything negative about your site if it’s not on this list. Instead, I’m trying to say something positive about the sites that are on the list! Towards that end, I’m changing things just a little this year. I’m not only talking about the top five in detail; I’m also listing the next five so you can see that a lot of sites produce a lot of material that I really enjoy reading!

Putting the Numbers into Perspective

You might be interested to know some of the raw numbers involved this year:

• I celebrated 260 individual posts
• From 80 sites
• With 275 active sites still on the Massive List of Anime Sites at the end of the year

It’s true that we’re down from a peak of over 330 active sites. Many of the sites we lost over this year were sites near and dear to me, and I miss them. Keeping this focused on the positive, though, the sites that remain are wildly entertaining and absolutely worth your support. I hope that this lists helps you appreciate the entertainment that these sites produce on an ongoing basis.

Positions 6 to 10

Tenth Place

There was a three-way tie for the tenth position:

• Wrong Every Time (celebrated 7 times)
• Merlin’s Musings (celebrated 7 times)
• D&A Anime Blog (celebrated 7 times)

Seventh Place

• Otaku Sinh (celebrated 9 times)

Sixth Place

• Jonah’s Daily Rants (celebrated 10 times)

My 5 Favorite Anime Sites from 2023

---

Number 5: Anime Evo

Number of Appearances: 13

Anime Evo continues its streak of appearing the top five. Last year, it placed number 4. The reason’s easy to define: FlareKnight focuses on episodic reviews. Each review cleanly breaks down what happened in an episode, then talks about why it mattered. I’m all about celebrating anime, and when FlareKnight finds an episode he likes, he can get all fired up about how good it was. That’s the kind of thing I like to read! My favorite FlareKnight review from 2023 happened during week 20. The review, which you can read here, covered episode fifteen of Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure. I chose this review because not only does it showcase FlareKnight’s style. It also changed my mind about the series!

---

Number 4: Confessions of an Overage Otaku

Number of Appearances: 15

This is not Confessions of an Overage Otaku’s first appearance here. The Overage Otaku’s site placed number 2 in 2019 and number 5 in 2022. This site publishes wonderfully clear and concise analyses of all aspects of storytelling, from characters to plot to tropes and everything inbetween. I’ve been writing most of my adult life; I wrote my short story over fifty years ago, and I still look forward to learning something new almost every time I read one of The Overage Otaku’s posts.

My favorite post from 2023 was THE POWER OF FOUR PLUS ONE: TORADORA, which came out around week 39. Picking this post is a bigger deal than it might first appear. Toradora! is one of my all time favorite shows, so I’m very particular about any posts talking about it. This one, though? Absolutely nailed it. And the site is full of stuff like that!

---

Number 3 (Two Way Tie): I Drink and Watch Anime

Number of Appearances: 17

I Drink and Watch Anime is no stranger to this list. Irina, the site’s owner, placed number 1 in 2018, number 1 in 2019, number 2 in 2020, tied for number 1 in 2021, and number 3 in 2022. Not only that, but until this year, Irina published daily. Think about that! That’s a massive amount of work! And her posts remained enjoyable and easy to read. She brings an enviable combination of talent and skill to the table, so it’s no wonder I liked 17 of I Drink and Watch Anime’s posts this year.

Picking a single favorite post challenged me, but I think I picked a good one: Akiba Maid Wars – A Retrospective from week 24. The posts is a tour de force of humor and insight delivered with wit and charm. The style felt particularly appropriate for the topic, which was Akiba Maid War. Since Irina publishes episode reviews, editorials, lists, and several other formats, if episodic reviews aren’t your thing, it’s likely you can find something else to enjoy.

---

Number 3 (Two Way Tie): Shallow Dives in Anime

Number of Appearances: 17

Dewbond, from Shallow Dive in Anime, is also no stranger to this list. The site placed number 4 in 2019, number 1 in 2020, tied for number 1 in 2021, and number 2 in 2022. Dewbond reviews anime and manga series, with an occasional listical thrown in for good measure. I’m particularly fond of his tell-it-like-it-is-and-damn-the-consequences style. We need more of that in the world! My favorite post is from week 44, and it’s about High School of the Dead. In Shallow Dives in Anime Halloween Special: High School of the Dead, Dewbond didn’t hold back. He talked about the glory and horror that is High School of the Dead, and I loved reading every line!

---

Number 1: Kvasir369

Number of Appearances: 18

This is the first time KVASIR369 and the site Kvasir369 has appeared in my year end top five. Not a bad debut at number 1, is it? KVASIR369 publishes mostly episode reviews, and they represent what must be a huge investment of time. Each contains a synopsis, review, and a comparison to the source manga. I particularly enjoyed KVASIR369’s treatment of The Ancient Magus’ Bride, particularly The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Part 2. My favorite was from week 51, and it was called Ancient Magus Bride: Season 2 – Episode 24 Review [Season Review]. I episode itself captivated me. Reading the review made it even better. Don’t you love it when a review helps you appreciate something you enjoyed even more?

---

More Posts from Other Sites to Crow About/My 5 Favorite Sites

• Other Sites to Crow About – My Favorite Sites from 2018
• Other Sites to Crow About – My Favorite Sites from 2019
• Other Sites to Crow About – My 5 Favorite Sites from 2020
• Other Sites to Crow About – My 5 Favorite Sites from 2021
• Other Sites to Crow About – My 5 Favorite Sites from 2022
• Other Sites to Crow About – My 5 Favorite Sites from 2023