Highlights
- The highest rated anime movies of 2025 list were led by Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc and Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, which dominated box office and MAL rankings.
- Major franchises like My Hero Academia, Solo Leveling, and Kingdom drove global streaming demand and manga sales, along with seasonal and new releases.
- MyAnimeList scores, IMDb ratings, and award nominations confirmed 2025 to be one of the strongest years for the anime industry.
The anime industry had one of its strongest commercial and critical performances on record in 2025. The growth was driven by a mix of theatrical blockbusters, globally dominant TV series, and unprecedented engagement on rating platforms. Japanese animated films alone accounted for multiple billion-yen domestic releases this year, led by Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, which became the highest-grossing anime release of 2025 and one of the top-performing Japanese films globally.
Investors and licensors' activities correlated with box-office revenue, streaming demand, and downstream manga sales, reinforcing anime’s role as a core pillar of Japan’s media exports. Several 2025 titles secured major international award nominations, including Critics Choice Awards and Astra Awards recognition, expanding anime’s cultural legitimacy beyond fandom spaces.
Based on MyAnimeList’s (MAL) highest-rated titles released in 2025, the following ten anime series and films defined the anime industry in terms of audience reception, revenue impact, and franchise growth.
10) Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray
The seinen sports anime based on Cygames’ multimedia franchise Umamusume: Pretty Derby holds the tenth rank with an 8.58 rating on MAL. The anime series aired from Apr 6, 2025 to June 29, 2025, as a part of the Spring line-up.
It adapts the spinoff manga Uma Musume Cinderella Gray, following Oguri Cap’s journey to become a legendary horse girl.
9) Solo Leveling Season 2: Arise from the Shadow and Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity (Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku)
The ninth place on the list goes to a joint mention of Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity and Solo Leveling season 2. Both of them flaunt similar scores on MAL at 8.60.
The second season of Solo Leveling solidified the franchise’s dominance in the fantasy genre, while Fragrant Flower distinguished itself as a slice-of-life title depicting emotional vulnerability and adolescent life. Unlike Solo Leveling, the other one is a newer title by Miyuki Kuroki, Haruka Tsuzuki, and started its serialization in 2021.
Despite the low score on MAL, Solo Leveling has 100% Tomatometer rating and an 8.5 IMDb score. It has won nine awards, including Crunchyroll’s Anime of the Year award. Beyond animated series, the original webtoon and RPG adaptations of the franchise performed well in 2025. Netmarble’s Solo Leveling: Arise and Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE have contributed significantly in increasing the publisher’s Q3 revenue by 8%.
8) Lord of Mysteries (Guimi Zhi Zhu: Xiaochou Pian)
The 2025 release of Lord of Mysteries marked another significant moment for Chinese animation’s integration into global anime discourse. Adapted from Cuttlefish That Loves Diving’s bestselling web novel, the series blends Lovecraftian horror, steampunk aesthetics, and psychological mystery.
The anime debuted with an 8.63 MAL score, alongside an 8.6 IMDb rating, underscoring its global reception. The success of Lord of Mysteries highlighted the expanding definition of “anime” in 2025, as audiences increasingly embraced high-quality adaptations beyond Japan.
7) Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray – Part 2
Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray – Part 2 continued the franchise’s pivot toward grounded sports drama, focusing on Oguri Cap’s rise and psychological endurance rather than idol spectacle. The season maintains an 8.68 MAL score, broadening the appeal of the Uma Musume universe beyond its mobile-game origins.
6) Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle
The first of the Demon Slayer final saga films in 2025 extended the franchise’s record-breaking history. While its previous theatrical releases were hits, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle broke the franchise record with a $729 million USD box office revenue.
The movie currently has an 8.70 MAL score, 98% Rotten Tomatoes approval, and 8.5 IMDb rating. Apart from the record revenue, it received multiple national and international award nominations, such as the Golden Globe, Critics' Choice Awards, and Astra Award.
Highlights
5) To Be Hero X (Tu Bian Ying Xiong X)
To Be Hero X marked one of the most closely watched cross-border animation releases of 2025, expanding the To Be Hero franchise into a darker, more serialized superhero narrative. The original To Be Hero, a Japanese-Chinese joint production that first debuted in 2016, was created by famed director Shinichi Watanabe and Li Haolin, and gained cult popularity for its subversive humor and adult themes.
To Be Hero X currently holds a MAL score of 8.71 alongside an IMDb rating of 8.6, reflecting a strong international reception.
4) Takopi’s Original Sin (Takopii no Genzai) and My Hero Academia: Final Season
The fourth rank goes to Takopi’s Original Sin and the highly anticipated My Hero Academia (MHA) final season, both holding an 8.78 MAL score. Takopi’s Original Sin emerged as one of 2025’s most highly ranked titles among the 2025 Summer lineup with an 8.6 IMDb rating, whereas My Hero Academia final season became one of the highest-rated shonen finales (S8.E8: Izuku Midoriya: Rising) of the year, with a 9.8 IMDb score.
My Hero Academia, based on manga by Kōhei Horikoshi, often hailed as one of anime’s modern pillars of anime, is a known name in the anime community. However, adapted from Taizan 5’s dark one-shot manga, Takopi’s Original Sin is a relatively new name that was a part of 2025’s Summer line-up.
Unlike MHA’s action-packed storyline, Takopi’s Original Sin features themes of abuse, trauma, and moral failure that refuse to offer easy catharsis and sets it apart from mainstream anime releases. Keeping the same MAL score with MHA, underscores its long-term engagement in a list packed with long-time popular franchises.
My Hero Academia distinguished itself as the “Most In-Demand Anime Series” of 2025, according to the Global Demand Awards. The franchise has also expanded with spin-off series and special episodes coming in 2026, as an effort to keep the momentum of its popularity.
3) Kingdom – Season 6
The historical epic Kingdom remained a standout among historical-drama anime in 2025. Season 6 carried forward the saga’s blend of warfare and political maneuvering, generating a MAL score of 8.88 as the third-highest rated anime of 2025. Despite having a niche fandom, the series also holds an 8.8 IMDb score, underscoring its global appeal.
The manga started serialization in 2006 by Yasuhisa Hara, and has sold over 120M by 2023. Apart from the anime adaptation, the manga has been adapted into live-action films as well, resulting in a steady engagement across manga, anime, and live-action movies.
2) The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) season 2
The second season of the highly anticipated The Apothecary Diaries continued the series’ rise as a standout narrative blend of history, political mystery, and character-driven storytelling. Debuting in winter 2025, the season held a strong placement in Japan’s seasonal anime rankings.
With a MAL score of 8.91 and 96% Popcornmeter ratings, the series consistently ranks among winter’s most recommended shows. The manga based on the novel series by Hyūganatsu has sold over 45M copies by Nov 2025, a significant feat in a crowded market dominated mostly by action-adventure titles.
The popularity of The Apothecary Diaries reaffirmed the commercial viability of story-led fantasy anime beyond classics and action-oriented anime. Season 3 of The Apothecary Diaries is already confirmed for a 2026 release.
1) Chainsaw Man Movie: Reze Arc (Gekijō-ban Chainsaw Man: Reze-hen)
The 2025 anime feature Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc served as one of the biggest theatrical anime debuts of the year, grossing over $155M worldwide and entering the year’s top 20 global box office chart. Adapted from Tatsuki Fujimoto’s hit manga, and continuing the narrative from the anime's first season, the film offered viewers an emotional arc with Denji and Reze, blending action with a surprising romance trope.
It not only became the highest-rated anime film on MAL with a 9.13 score, but also received universal reception on Rotten Tomatoes with 96% Tomatometer and 98% Popcornmeter ratings. The international exposure also coincided with over 34M manga copies sold by Dec 2, 2025, since the start of its serialization in July 2022.
The film’s success has also set the stage for the next phase of the Chainsaw Man franchise. In Jump Festa 2026, season 2 covering the Assassins Arc was announced with a teaser.
Beyond the top ten, honorary standouts such as Dr. Stone: Science Future Part 2 (MAL 8.52), Grand Blue season 2 (8.50), and Dandadan (8.45) were popular seasonal anime. MAL’s ranking gave a composite overview of the anime industry that went beyond a single category, genre, or fandom activity. It underscored the niche fanbase of each franchise and its engagement across the world.
Hits like One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen saw a significant rise in manga sales and sustained popularity due to new releases and merchandising activities. Despite lower rankings on MAL, One Piece, Dandadan, and Solo Leveling were the top four Most In-Demand Anime Series according to Global Demand Awards, along with My Hero Academia.
