It has arrived. TheSummer 2025 animeseason is underway and, frankly, overwhelming. Seriously, the lineup has almost too many great shows, be it sequels to some of the biggest recent anime or adaptations of highly-regarded source material. Also, you don’t need to worry about a lack of variety, as Summer 2025 appears to have every genre covered. Action, romance, comedy, slice of life, harem, isekai, and even horror have representatives, ensuring that most desires should be met to an extent.
With so many exciting series, and so little time to watch them all, I know how frustrating it can be to narrow down the selection and pick thebest anime of Summer 2025, or at least the ones that suit your preferences. Therefore, to try and support that process, let’s go through some of the season’s highlights.
Updated on Jun 01, 2025 by Mark Sammut:Two more of thebest Summer 2025 animehave been added as recommendations: Kaiju No. 8 and Clevatess.
Here are some criteria and notes:
Kaiju No. 8will probably not be thebest anime of Summer 2025, but it could be among the most entertaining. After all, who does not love some good old-fashioned big monster action? The sequel has not done anything too extraordinary so far, as its main focus has been on reshuffling its cards by installing characters in new environments.
Still, season 2 has already produced a funkaiju battlefeaturing, basically, Godzilla, all the while throwing Gen into the limelight. Kafka has not had much to do, but he will be a major player as he tries to prove that he can be a valuable addition to the First Division. With the manga ending around the same day as season 2’s commencement, the anime’s future is a bit uncertain at this point. Hopefully, we will get a full adaptation, as there is still plenty of content that needs to be covered.
Call of the Nightis a vibe. I mean, the story is pretty weird when viewed in isolation. Kou is a teenager who, due to suffering from insomnia, goes on midnight walks, and he ends up meeting an enigmatic vampire named Nazuna. Kou wants to become a vamp, but for the transformation to stick, he needs to fall in love with Nazuna. Unfortunately, neither of them understands love, so they form a cute but weird dynamic that is somewhere between platonic friendship and romance.
Putting aside thevamp cultureaspect and even the “falling in love” story beat,Call of the Nightis essentially a pretty wholesome slice of life romance and coming-of-age story, and the latter covers both Kou and Nazuna. They are both constantly evolving and exploring their growing feelings (or lack of them), and season 2 has so far built nicely on its predecessor.
Nowadays,Dr. Stoneis nothing if not reliable. To be honest, I find it somewhat difficult to get too excited about a new part in the series, just because surprises are not a big part of theDr. Stoneexperience. The shonen anime simply delivers a consistent mix of solid humor, splashes of action, scientific breakthroughs (at a breakneck speed), and an ever-expanding scope that reached global status in the currentScience Futureseason.
Dr. Stoneseldom misses the mark, but the only people who are watching the current cour are die-hard fans who, presumably, will be sticking around until the end. Don’t get me wrong, I’m one of them, but I can hardly recommend the Summer 2025 season to the uninitiated.
That said,Dr. Stoneis, overall, a great shonen anime that everyone should watch, particularly if you want a protagonist who is all brain and no brawn.
One of the more highly anticipated newcomers of theSummer 2025 season,Gachiakutahas an intense opening episode that does a brilliant job of setting up the world and establishing Rudo, the protagonist, as a sympathetic figure. In this universe, society is divided into the elite, who live in the wealthy side of town, and descendants of criminals, who live in the slums.
If the latter are caught breaking the law, they are sentenced to death and dumped in the Abyss. Even among the have-nots, Rudo leads a particularly terrible life, due to having scarred hands and being the son of a murderer. Long story short, he is framed for a crime he did not commit and flung into the Abyss, all the while swearing revenge against those who damned him.
Although still too early to definitively shower Bones Film with praise,Gachiakutaseems set to be a pretty great adaptation, with top-notch animation that does justice to the manga. The anime laid the groundwork seamlessly for this universe’s social climate, and Rudo’s blight makes him nearly impossible to dislike.
They needed to wait a long while to make their comeback, butanime’s worst angelsare back and more self-centered than ever, and we would not have them any other way. Newcomers should start with the original 2010 series because it is fantastic and directly leads into the Summer 2025 sequel; that said, the latter should be easy enough to follow since, well, its main priority is to be as absurd and hilarious as possible.
Panty and Stocking are still embracing Earth’s vices, meaning they have pretty much no chance of making it back into Heaven. Garterbelt kind of helps, while Briefers is the ultimate “fan” (to use a nice term). The first episode went all-out in its ridiculousness, including throwing out a kaiju-esque battle that could have made Godzilla proud. After all these years,New Panty & Stocking with Garterbeltproves that this universe still has plenty of mileage in it.
Summer 2025 has a surprising love for dark fantasy, with quite a few series fitting the subgenre. I thinkClevatessmight just be the pick of the bunch, and the anime takes a potentially wacky premise – a demon and human hero raise a baby – and creates magic. Clevatess is the powerful Demon King who, after defeating a group of heroes, decides to eradicate humanity. However, he ends up adopting a baby, who will serve as humanity’s final chance to save itself. Reviving one of the heroes as a zombie slave, Clevatess sets out on a journey to learn if humanity is worth keeping around, and he will require a lot of convincing.
Alicia, the hero turned zombie, is one of the best new characters of Summer 2025. She has been put through hell so far, but she refuses to lose her sense of self or righteousness. All her scenes have been fantastic so far. Clevatess is an interesting figure as well, as he has a well-written personality while still very much coming across like a force of nature.
Quickfire dialogue, puberty syndrome, and Sakuta being the ultimate MC,Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Clausshould offer exactly what fans of this series have come to expect. So far, it is too early to say if the core mystery will be great or not, butRascal Does Not Dreamhas historically shone the brightest when venturing into an almost slice of life routine that enables Sakuta to bounce off a bunch of complex characters (mainly girls).
The Summer 2025 sequel showcases this series' strengths instantly, blending sharp and relatively realistic discourse with both humor and dramatic depth. Mai and Sakuta are still one of the best couples in anime, while characters like Kaede and Miori bring plenty of additional charm. To be honest, this season’s first arc was probably the weakest and most unfocused in the franchise so far, although it was still enjoyable. Hopefully, things will only improve from here.
Finally, we have a properhorror anime! Along with rarely receiving series, the genre has a history of producing disappointing adaptations that fail to capture the horrifying magic of their source material.The Summer Hikaru Diedshould be better than most, partially thanks to Cygamespictures, a studio that is on a very impressive run.
Based on a beloved manga,The Summer Hikaru Diedis a slow-paced thriller that touches upon unrequited love, isolation, codependence, and grief. Yoshiki knows that his best friend, Hikaru, died months ago, and that an unexplainable entity is masquerading as him. However, Yoshiki is willing to play along so he can keep a version of Hikaru around.
Yoshiki and “Hikaru” have a fascinating dynamic that is both endearing and terrifying, with the latter resembling an excitable child who is experiencing life for the first time. Hikaru is also a threat. A big, big threat.
Introducing the world to the best-ever girl, Marin, and a contender for the best-ever boy, Gojo,My Dress-Up Darlingwas a phenomenon in 2022, and CloverWorks took its time to ensure that a sequel would live up to the hype. More than anything, season 2 feels refreshingly familiar, with theSummer 2025 animeimmediately emphasizing Marin and Gojo’s cute banter that brings out the best in both of them. Sure, the former tends to hog the limelight, but the latter is equally great a character; more importantly, they are better together.
Along with plenty of cosplay photoshoots that venture into fanservice territory (while making complete sense within the context of the story),My Dress-Up Darlingseems set to push its core relationship more to the forefront, which is a very wise move.
OK, your mileage may vary with this one, but I cannot help but bust a gut whenever this anime is on-screen. A rare college comedy,Grand Blue Dreamingcan be vulgar, stupid, trope-ish, and excessive; just to be clear, none of those descriptors are criticisms.
What’s the story? Well, Iori goes to college and joins a diving club because he lives with family members who specialize in that business. Also, he drinks a lot, gets naked regularly with the boys, and unleashes the funniest facial expressions sinceGreat Teacher Onizuka.Grand Blue Dreamingis not particularly deep, but it is relentlessly hilarious.
