Heya, everyone! I did something similar already for 2024. Time to do it for 2025 as well!
Like before, I thought it would be fun to do something like this, since I noticed some people I spoke to would love to watch something "recent" with kemono content, but they don't know where to begin or what to try. So this journal is to point out the ones I know and can recommend, and it can also be a place to discuss anime with or about kemono characters released this year or to be released later.
The rules are simple: it has to be an anime released in 2025 or continued that year. Anime that also has a new season in 2025 counts as well. The anime also needs at least one kemono character as part of the main cast or, even better, if the setting is pretty much about kemono.
Like everyone, I don't have the time to watch every single anime released xD. So if you know others who follow those rules, feel free to leave a comment. This journal can also be a fun place to discuss such anime, especially the ones that follow those rules I mentioned (released that year, etc.)
I will factor only two things into this list. How good the anime is IMO and how "strong" the kemono presence is in there. Obviously, I'm not saying that just because an anime doesn't have kemono it sucks or something like that, but the point of this journal is to talk about anime with or about kemono characters! And since this is still my list, maybe you will like or dislike some of those anime more than I and would rank them differently. Keep that in mind~
Now, for this list...what is considered a "kemono" character? That's a character that can be considered a furry, no matter if anthro or feral or what.
I'm only going to talk a bit about them here. It doesn't make sense to go into detail for any of them because each could be the next "target" of my "It's Kamikazetime for..." review series. If you don't know what I'm talking about, see https://inkbunny.net/j/535492-kamikazetiger-its-kamikaz.... All base descriptions of the plot are taken from Wikipedia.
If you like the kemono characters from those anime mentioned here and others that I already commissioned with and do want to see more rule 34 of those characters, then please contact me! We see what we can commission together~
Honorable mentions in no particular order:
- Araiguma Calcal-dan: This one was such a massive disappointment! We live in an age that has stuff like You Shou Yan, so you know there's a market for anime all about kemono characters doing their thing for like ten minutes an episode, it doesn't even have to be the "average" anime time of around 20 minutes an episode. But while the designs of the characters are very, very good, you only see them for like one minute an episode. So, no time to do anything meaningful with those guys. Easily the most wasted kemono characters of the year.
- The Rising of the Shield Hero (Season 4): While that was better than season 2, kemonowise I expected MUCH more and better. Can't believe they went to the place that should have offered the most kemono in the entire anime, at least so far, and yet we barely have more than a couple of them as main characters of that season. Not counting kemonomimi and without going into spoilers, but yeah, kemonowise this one disappointed.
- Dekin no Mogura: The Earthbound Mole: I liked this one quite a bit, original plot with humor that reminds me of stuff like Gintama, which is good! But, kemonowise...let's just say I hope to see much more in next seasons.
- Shabake: For an anime that is supposed to have a lot of kemono in the setting, it's crazy we only saw some of them in one episode, not counting the little ones. It's clear they are going almost 100% for "human-looking" for all the youkai characters, which is sad.
- Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill Season 2: Still need to watch this one, have too much to watch, and, so far, it seems we're only getting a single new kemono. For that reason, as awesome as Fel still is, I can't give this one much attention compared to other stuff atm.
- Ishura Season 2: While it delivers more kemono in this season, we haven't seen the plot going forward with them as of yet. It was more like them setting everything for later, once again, haha.
- Ao no Exorcist: Yosuga-hen: The season before that one delivered on some foxes, shame was too little too late, and in the end, didn't do much with them. This was even worse, such an important season, and all we got were some ghost dogs? Really?
- May I Ask for One Final Thing?: While I like this one, the kemono is probably wasted in it. Weird since the few designs we got for kemono are quite good...
- The Daily Life of a Middle-Aged Online Shopper in Another World: The designs of the kemono here are good, but sadly wasted in an isekai that isn't even one of the best of the year. And all of them are barely characters...
- My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero: A certain black cat alone almost makes this one get into the list! If only he were more important or we got more kemono...!
- Jigoku Sensei Nube: For an anime with this setting, you would expect a lot of kemono, but not what we got, even if Tamamo is a nice fox.
- I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability Season 2: Technically, it's still as solid as season one, but I can't say the few new kemono we got are that solid; none are even close to being as good as the ones from season one.
- Even Given the Worthless "Appraiser" Class, I’m Actually the Strongest: I like this one, but it's another case of wasted kemono and not many there to begin with.
- I Left My A-Rank Party to Help My Former Students Reach the Dungeon Depths!: One of the most disappointing anime, at last kemonowise!
- Farmagia: Another big disappointment, even if the plot suddenly became quite good by the end. But the kemono aren't as solid as Fairy Tail, which doesn't help...
- S-Rank Monster no "Behemoth" dakedo, Neko to Machigawarete Elf Musume no Pet toshite Kurashitemasu: If only this one were a bit different. Wish the "behemoth" had a more "adult" cat form too, but he only goes from small cat to giant monster xD.
- Yaiba: Samurai Legend: Not bad at all, both animewise and kemonowise! But the plot isn't over yet, and a few other issues stopped this from getting on the list, but you can consider this number 11!
- From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad's Been Reincarnated!: This one also got close to entering the list, quite nice and funny! But, at least for season 1, it's quite lacking in kemono.
- The Beginning After the End: Siiigh, this one...what a waste. Idiots that make the call to fuck up anime like this and One Punch Man, sorry, I mean, One Frame Man, should be fired on the spot, seriously.
Now, let's go to my top 10 kemono anime of 2025~
10 - Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu HAIKARA!
"The era is Taisho - full of the scent of romance, people's hearts still knowing the feeling of love.
Unzen, Sukayu, Unohana, Oshamanbe and Aso are male students who spend their days in the clubroom, lazing around as the Do Nothing Club/Defense Club and living normal (?) lives together in the student dorm, the Kurotama Dorm.
However, on a certain day, the 5 people are having a morning bath in the Kurotama Dorm when something slippery moves in the bath...
They just manage to catch him - the talking Pallas's cat, Nuru!
Nuru says they are charged with an important mission from a far, far future - he came to convey the fact the earth's destruction is approaching.
Although Nuru says he wants to protect the earth and just by notifying them of the danger to themselves, they would fight for the sake of the earth out of free will...but that was what Nuru wanted them to decide. "Isn't this running away from responsibility...?" the Defense Club suspects.
"If whatever's fine, I'll do it! That's because it's Hi-CARA!" Unzen says, in high spirits.
The 5 people, who decided to fight of their own accord with hearts of freedom, are transformed into the Hi-CARA Romantic Squad by Nuru using feline science.
Meanwhile...the mysterious 3 person group operating behind the scenes, the Ban-CARA Avant-Guard Corps. They are a group that plans to conquer the earth"
Good to see this series still going strong! If you are a fan of the "Binan" series, then you can expect to enjoy this one as well. It's still one of the most funny and gayest, like GAY AS FUCK, parodies of the magical girl genre that I've ever seen! Sadly, it didn't deliver on as many good kemono as Binan Koukou Chikyuu Boueibu Happy Kiss, but it still gave us some!
9 - Disney Twisted-Wonderland
"Based on the popular mobile-game of the same name we follow Yuu as he is summoned to another world by a magic mirror and arrives at a magical school, Night Raven College. The main character is taken in by the school's headmaster and becomes acquainted with the school's top students, each in seven different dormitories (each based on a different Disney villain), while searching for a way home."
While this one isn't even over yet, I had to include it because it's not every day you get a character like Grim! A mischievous and prideful magic cat that is one of the main characters? Hell yes! Let's see what else this anime might deliver by the end, not to mention in future seasons!
8 - My Gift Lvl 9999 Unlimited Gacha: Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon, I'm Out for Revenge!
"The world is inhabited by nine tribes: dragonutes, demons, ghouls, dwarves, elves and dark elves, beast men, centaurs, and humans, with the last ones being the weakest of all. Despite this, there are humans who receive a special power, known as a "gift", once they reach the age of 10.
Light is a human adventurer bestowed with the gift of "unlimited gacha", allowing him to summon an endless number of cards to support his comrades. He is a member of the Concord of the Tribes, an adventurer group consisting of the dragonute Drago, the elf Sasha, the dark elf Sionne, beast man Garou, the dwarf Naano, the centaur Santor, the ghoul Diablo, and Oboro from the demon race. The group was seemingly formed to fight against the discrimination against humanity.
One day, when Light had to be saved in the world's most dangerous dungeon, known as the "Abyss", the members revealed to Light that he was no longer a member of the adventurers group and the sole purpose of the group was to observe him for being a potential "master" candidate. It is said that the master is a being with the power of overruling the world and destroying civilization. As Light only was able to summon useless cards they decided to classify him not as a threat, to get rid of him and disguise his death as a monster attack. Before Garou was able to deliver the final blow Light managed to activate a teleportation trap by accident, which transported him to the deepest part of the dungeon. As his wounds attracted the attention of numerous monsters he used his gift out of desperation in the hope of summoning something to distract the monsters. He summons the seeker maid Mei, a SUR card, who is able to defeat the monsters with only one blow. Mei reveals to Light that he was able to summon her due to the density of magic in this place and that his summons until now were useless because of the lack of magic on the surface. He responds to her question about how he was able to reach the deepest part of the dungeon to summon her, relating his story of how he was betrayed and nearly killed by his former comrades. Hearing this, Mei offered to support him in his plans to take revenge on those who betrayed him.
For the next three years, Light spends his time and power building an underground base in the Abyss, and decides to return to the surface of the world to start his revenge against his former comrades. When he visits his hometown he learns that it was completely destroyed and its people were massacred, including his parents. He witnessed other races enslaving humans, using them in horrendous experiments or killing them just for fun. So, Light decides to enlarge his revenge to all the other races to free all the humans from enslavement and discrimination as well as to search for his siblings, who have seemingly survived the attack on his former hometown. "
It is starting to become common to see anime in which revenge is either part of the plot or it's even what the main plot is all about. But Gacha, aside from Shield Hero, is the only one of those in which we got some kemono. And in this case, kemono are also some of the main characters! This one didn't finish as of the time of this journal, but it's clear that they will need more seasons to conclude the plot, and I'm all down for it.
7 - Clevatess: The King of Magical Beasts, the Baby, and the Corpse Hero
"After killing a group of heroes and destroying an entire kingdom as revenge for attacking his lands, one of the Four Beast Kings, Clevatess, takes in a baby belonging to the kingdom's royal family. He then resurrects one of the heroes, Alicia Glenfall, whom he enslaves so she can help him take care of the baby while hoping to examine humanity more closely. "
Not only do we have an anime with an original plot which is also good, but the main character(?) and villain are a kemono in a world that has more kemono! One of the best surprises of the year. Hope the next seasons are just as solid as this one was!
6 - With You, Our Love Will Make It Through
"The story is set in a world where humans and beastfolk coexist amidst societal prejudices. High school student Mari's life takes an unexpected turn when she encounters Tsunagu, a beastfolk student who transfers into her class. Initially apprehensive, Mari soon discovers Tsunagu's gentle and steadfast nature, leading to a deepening bond that challenges societal norms and her own perceptions. "
One of the best surprises of the year! Romance and drama with kemono? Sign me up! Not yet finished as of the time of this journal, but if you like stuff like Beastars, then most likely you will enjoy this one too!
5 - Uchuujin MuuMuu
"Sakurako is a university student living in the Tokyo metropolitan area. One day, Mūmū, a cat-like alien, appears before her. Mūmū comes from an alien race that was previously technologically advanced, but lost this knowledge. Finding interest in household appliances, Mūmū, along with other aliens, asks Sakurako and others for help in studying Earthly appliances to regain that knowledge. "
Not every day you get an anime with alien kemono that is also on the educational side! Plus, it can be quite cute, and even the human characters are good. The only bad thing about this one is that the manga isn't finished, so we gotta hope when it has more chapters out we will get a second season...
4 - Nyaight of the Living Cat
"A mysterious virus has spread that causes people to transform into cats when they cuddle with the feline animals. The protagonist, Kunagi, must fight his urge to snuggle with cats in order to survive this bizarre and crazy world. "
I didn't expect this one to be so good, haha! One of the best Comedy horror anime out there for sure. If you like horror stuff and/or cats, you need to check this one out!!
3 - The All-devouring Whale: Homecoming
"Reborn after a deadly betrayal, Fan Lingxiao fights to uncover the truth and restore his shattered sect."
This is a good example of how I wish the anime of Pokémon was, holy shit. Very solid stuff of that genre, and it delivers on a reasonable number of kemono as well!
2 - Digimon Beatbreak
""e-Pulse," which is generated by human thoughts and emotions, was used as the energy source for the AI support device "Sapotama." From the shadows of this remarkable development, terrifying monsters appear. Digimon are living beings that evolve by consuming e-Pulse. Tomoro Tenma is drawn into an extraordinary experience after meeting Gekkomon, who suddenly appears from his Sapotama. While living together with Kyo Sawashiro and other members of the bounty hunting team "Glowing Dawn," Tomoro renews his resolve."
I admit, after what happened with Ghost Game, I hesitated a lot to even think about putting it in the list when it's not over yet. But gotta give credit when credit is due, and so far, not only is this one of the best kemono anime of the year, but it is also one of the best Digimon seasons ever made! Let's hope the ending won't fuck it up as it did with Ghost Game. Then again, that anime has other issues aside from the ending, but this isn't a review of Ghost Game...
1 - Zenshu
"Natsuko Hirose, a 22 year old animator who quickly gained fame and notoriety, is working on her next masterpiece when she suffers a bad case of food poisoning and dies. When she awakens, she is in the world of her favorite anime from childhood, A Tale of Perishing. She meets the main cast—Luke Braveheart, Memmeln, Unio, and QJ—after they save her from being eaten by a Void monster, though they think she is a gremlin due to her hair in her face."
Zenshu is one of the best isekai anime ever made. And, not only that, but it has a few kemono as important characters as part of the main cast. Very solid stuff all around! Only something like this could manage to top other stuff from this list, like Digimon Beatbreak, at least for the moment
And for 2025, this is it! So, which ones do you know? Or are you curious to check it out? Feel free to ask questions or talk/discuss them in the comments. Please share his journal with as many people as you can, so more people know about those anime! Also, if there is any anime that aired in 2025 that has kemono that I didn't mention, feel free to do it in the comments as well~
Season 7 of natsumes book of friends finished in April of this year, the whole series is exceptional if you ever get the chance to watch. I don't really watch the new stuff lots of older ones but I look forward to checking out some of your recommendations.
Season 7 of natsumes book of friends finished in April of this year, the whole series is exceptional
Hmm, didn't it finish all in 2024? I could swear I finished watching all the episodes in 2024... I do enjoy the anime as a whole, but kemono-wise it's lacking since the only good one in all seven seasons still is our beloved Nyanko-Sensei!! x3
Haha, if you're starting to watch anime recently and are looking for stuff with kemono, by now there's a lot to look at! I envy you~
Hmm, didn't it finish all in 2024? I could swear I finished watching all the episodes in 2024... I d
Personally I'm on the fence about Beatbreak. The initial 3 episodes were very strong, but since then it hasn't really impressed me all that much. We'll see how it shakes out.
Personally I'm on the fence about Beatbreak. The initial 3 episodes were very strong, but since then
