The year 2025 is now almost coming to an end, with less than two months to go. Over the course of the year, fans saw the rise of many popular anime series, some of which built on pre-existing success, while others made a massive name for themselves this year. Some would even say that 2025 was one of the best years for anime. However, while the anime series like Solo Leveling and Apothecary Diaries stood out in early 2025and series like MHA are shining right now, the big hits of 2025 should not be underestimated. Summer was definitely the weakest anime season of the year, but Dandadan Season 2 dominated in terms of streaming. Other series such as The Summer Hikaru Died and Sakamoto Days also stood out.
Dandadan is Japan's most streamed summer anime
Summer 2025 might have been the strongest season of the year in terms of anime right now, but fans saw a high-quality anime series. As the year progressed, the most streamed anime series of the summer season were revealed via ABEMA's “View Count Rating”.
To no one's surprise, Summer's biggest anime was revealed to be Dandadan Season 2. Dandadan became an instant hit with the first anime season in 2024 and the hype continues this year with the second season. The quality of the anime has remained consistent and the story keeps getting more interesting, especially as more side characters are introduced to play bigger roles in the overarching story.
Dandadan season 2 was definitely one of the strongest releases of the year in general and fans are already excited about what else the story has to offer. after all Dandadan Season 2 ended on a pretty intense cliffhanger.
The top 5 included Summer Hikaru Died and Sakamoto Days
While Dandadan season 2 was the biggest winner when it comes to summer anime, several other series did quite well. The Summer Hikaru Died was the second most streamed anime series of 2025 and fans can see why. The Summer Hikaru Died is a newcomer to the seriesnevertheless, the psychological horror and romance elements of the series left fans absolutely amazed, especially in Japan.
After The Summer Hikaru Died, Sakamoto Days becomes the third highest streamed series of the summer season. undeniably Sakamoto Days has a great story, but it suffered from a subpar adaptation. Despite all this, he is still doing well for himself. The Water Magician is the 4th most streamed anime as a new hit of the Isekai series, while Kaiju No.8 Season 2 takes the 5th place.
Takopi's original sin didn't make the Top 5
While the top 5 most streamed anime of the summer is certainly solid, fans definitely took notice the absence of Takopi's original sin. Many expected him to make the Top 5 one of the top rated anime of 2025. While Takopi's Original Sin is definitely popular, it's far from the most streamed. That said, it's largely just because it has 6 episodes.
All things considered, 2025 was a strong year for anime, but the summer season was definitely the weakest link. While a few series stand out like Dandadan Season 2, nothing groundbreaking has dropped this summer, especially compared to the other seasons of 2025. Earlier in the year, fans were treated to the release of Solo leveling season 2who rocked the internet with her high-octane battles. The fans also enjoyed themselves Pharmacy diaries this season in what was a highly anticipated return. Other big anime hits of the year included Dr. Stone, Fire Force, Wind Breaker, MHA Vigilantesand from the fall season, One Punch Man, My Hero Academia and of course Spy x Familyamong others.
- Release date
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2024 – 2025-00-00
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Natsuki Hanae
Ken Okarun Takakura
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Shion Wakayama
Momo Ayase
