Heya everyone! I thought would be fun to do something like this since I noticed some people I spoke too would love to watch something "recent" that has kemono stuff in it but we already got quite a few in this year. So this journal is to point out the ones I know and can recommend, also can be a place to discuss anime with or about kemono characters released this year or that will be released later.

The rules are simple: it has to be an anime that was either released this year or continuing this year. Anime that also has a new season this year count as well. The anime also need to have 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 that follow those rules, feel free to comment on them. This journal can also be a fun place to discuss such anime, especially the ones that follow those rules I mentioned (released this year, etc.) If the journal does well, maybe I should make one for every year or one for this sort of anime in general? Let's see.

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 me 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.

Honorable mentions in no particular order:

• Digimon Ghost Game:

Since the anime ended this year, wouldn't even make sense to don't mention it here. As a Digimon fan, there is quite a bit to enjoy here since in some aspects this is one of the best Digimon seasons! Great animation, battles, plots, Digimon...even the human characters are among the best of the entire show. So, why I'm putting it here and not on the official list? Because of some flaws, especially the ending which is...not something everyone will enjoy, to say the least. If you already watched it or don't care for spoilers I already made a journal to talk about it: https://inkbunny.net/j/478198-kamikazetiger-digimon-gho...

• Jidou Hanbaiki ni Umarekawatta Ore wa Meikyuu wo Samayou/ Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon:

Lots of isekai anime those days and this is one of them. You wouldn't think an Isekai about a guy dying and being reborn as a vending machine (yes really) would even have kemono characters in it but...huh! Nice frog monsters and one of the main characters is quite a nice daddy bear. However, anime isn't finished yet so it's too soon to really rank it and put it in a list like this.

• Dekiru Neko wa Kyou mo Yuuutsu/ The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today:

A woman called Saku took a stray black cat, saving his life. Yukichi isn't just an average cat though...he's a masterful cat, see! Not only he's extremely intelligent, he's also a very big cat! Easily towers over Saku! He can cook, clean, go shopping, and much more. Quite an interesting and amusing slice-of-life anime with a crazy twist with that cat should be quite fun for cat lovers. But since it only just barely started, can't rank it properly with the rest of the list yet.

• Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear Punch! (second season of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear)

An Isekai in which a girl called Yuna receives a bear costume from a game's administrators after becoming a shut-in and playing their game for a whole year. When she puts that costume on, she gets transported to another world and can't leave, living now in that world and being extremely overpowered by her bear costume.

As an Isekai genre, this anime really isn't one of the best. It's one of those chill Isekai, not focusing on the action or adventure but more on the slice-of-life aspect of it. So some might find it quite boring. However, not only it has some hot monsters like goblins and wolves, Yuna's summoned "pets" Kumayuru and Kumakyuu already make anime good enough to at least make it to honorable mentions! Those two bears are very cute and even have small, chibi forms and big forms! I'm sure if you're a bear lover and like slice-of-life stuff this anime will interest you.

Now for the list itself: So let's start from the "worst" one and work our way to the top!

5 - Shadowverse Flame: Seven Shadows-hen (the second season of Shadowverse Flame, which is a sequel of Shadowverse)

Do you like kemono and card game anime? Then this anime is totally for you!

Shadowverse is a digital collectible card game developed by Cygames featuring AAA artwork and unique game mechanics. I never played that game before, only decided to check the anime because it has some very nice kemono characters.

Now, this is a very tough anime to recommend because of the first season...Shadowverse. Not everyone will like a card game like this, don't expect something as crazy as Yu-gi-oh because this is not. Usually, for card game anime like this, I watch more for the kemono than the characters and I would say Shadowverse is quite...barely ok in that sense. It's not the worst card game anime I've ever seen, but also not the best either. And it doesn't help that in this one, unlike say Buddyfight, we only see the monsters during the battle animation and that's it. They don't talk, etc.

If that's the case, why I'm putting it on the list instead of adding it to the honorable mention pile? Because the sequel, Shadowverse Flame is quite good! It's better than the prequel in every possible way. The duels are much better and better, do a much better job in "teaching" you how to play the card game, it has a plot that it's not pure nonsense, and the human characters while many are surprisingly fun and well-developed (if only Buddyfight did this too in the first seasons...) and not only that, but it also delivers much more kemono!

Not only there are more kemono than before but this time we also have those chibi "partners" that follow the characters around and they're quite cute. Sadly only one of them talks, but he is also a fun character and this is much better than what the prequel did kemonowise. And Seven Shadows-hen is a direct sequel to Flame so I see no reason to don't recommend it to card game anime and kemono fans~

I would rank this probably at 3 if...you didn't need to watch Shadowverse before watching Shadowverse Flame. Now, you can kinda ignore Shadowverse before jumping into Flame but I'm not sure if I can recommend that since it is a direct sequel to Shadowverse so some character return, plot stuff too, etc. But if you try Shadowverse and think it's quite bad, try skipping it and watching Flame instead. You won't miss that much.

4 - Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi/ Regarding the Display of an Outrageous Skill Which Has Incredible Powers, Tonsuki :

Only Isekai on this list! In this one, a guy called Tsuyoshi is summoned alongside others to another world to become a hero and fight the demon lord. But he is able "talk his way out of the situation" and he is free to do whatever since his unique skill is considered useless.

However, it turns out his skill called "Online Supermarket" allows him to cheaply purchase food products and utensils from Japan which are all unique to this world he is in. Since he can do that, he can cook amazing meals and this catches the eye of Fenrir, the strongest legendary beast which forces him to accept him as his familiar! And from there, the two of them go on to have their adventures.

Now, despite having that unique skill it's not like Tsuyoshi is an overpowered guy like in most Isekai or something. In fact, he's boring and quite a wuss. Can be even annoying to see him and he is one of the worst Isekai main characters IMO. But make no mistake. As terrible as he is as a character, Fenir makes up for it!

I bet it's quite rare for you to see such a fun kemono in anime like Fenrir! If you know, say...Batzz from Buddyfight, you have some idea of how this wolf is. Arrogant, narcissistic, overpowered...but also has this cute and innocent side that he displays sometimes the more time he spends with Tsuyoshi. When was the last time you watch an anime in which a big feral wolf pretty much takes the spotlight from the main character?

Not only that, but anime do have some hot monsters as well like boars/orcs. It seems that the manga has even more kemono characters but the anime stopped before they show up. I sure hope this gets a new season soon!

Isekaiwise, it's not really the best out there and not even the best Isekai of this year but kemonowise you can't go wrong and check this out just for Fenrir. It's no wonder artists like Dangpa even draw stuff with him~

3 - Nokemono-tachi no Yoru/The Tale of Outcasts:

This anime tells the story of Wisteria, an orphan girl living in the British Empire at the end of the 19th century. I want to avoid talking much about it because it's one of those anime that have many twists and even the first episode has a couple of twists there! Let's just say that Wisteria and Marbas, a demon, are trying to find their place in the world after she ended up making a pact with him.

This is a world in which demons exist and make pacts with humans. Many of those demons are quite hot and are among the best demon "kemono" I have ever seen! if anything, if we saw more of them I might even have ranked this with number 2 or maybe it would be a tie.

But, while the plot is good and so are the characters, this one just has few kemono compared to number 2. Hopefully, a new season will show more stuff from the manga including new kemono since the ending hints at that. Until then...if you like historical fantasy stuff, hot demons, and some romance implied between humans and demons this anime is for you.

2 - Niehime to Kemono no Ou/Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts:

Normally, the King of the Beasts and Demons regularly receives female human sacrifices to eat to assert the dominance of his people over the human race. But things changed once Sariphi, the 99th sacrifice, showed up. She wasn't afraid of him or of the situation she was in, intriguing the King. Some stuff happens and now Sariphi has the chance to become the first human queen of the demons and beasts!

This was at number 1 until a while ago and for good reason. It's quite original and few anime deals with this prejudice that living in a world like this has, with two different races at war against each other (demons/beasts and humans). Both of them really despise each other and anime isn't shy to show why. So Sariphi has to work very hard to be accepted as the queen!

While the plot itself is quite good and solid, not sure if I buy the romance. But I guess if it didn't start quite fast as it did we wouldn't be able to focus on the whole point of the anime, which is seeing Sariphi struggling to become queen and...the very hot kemono.

Seriously, anime was made for kemono fans. Since she lives in the beast side of the world, Sariphi is surrounded by many kemono characters like the king and others! And all of them are good, with a good variety to them as well.

For example, at the time of this journal, we recently got introduced to Lanteveldt, a hyena and he is already quite popular among the fans x3! And there are still others since even the normal guards or soldiers are hot kemono too! Heck, it even has Anubis here!!

Really can't recommend this one enough! As I said, it was number one until a while ago. That's because it lost its spot to...

1 - You Shou Yan/Fabulous Beasts

Never heard of it? Yeah, I don't blame you. This is a Donghua (anime made in China) ONA and like many of them, it's quite underground. One of the reasons for that is that there are few Donghua dubbed or even subbed in English so it's quite hard to not only find them but watch and make sense of what is going on.

Fortunately, this one is being uploaded to Youtube and it's getting English subs! You can watch the whole thing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAgi7HS8yJU&list=PL...

This is based on a manhua (Chinese manga) of the same name. I have no idea if the Manhua is translated though. I sure hope the whole thing gets adapted to anime because You Shou Yan is just AWESOME!!

This tells the story of mythical beasts and how they live in modern times. Specifically, we see the misadventures of Pixiu as he ends up having to work for his friend Sibuxiang in his store. And...and I can't stress enough how cute this Donghua is!

All of the characters are mythical beasts. This means they're all characters based on beasts or monsters from Chinese/asian lore like Pixiu and Sibuxiang are. I think the most famous we saw so far would be Tao Tie, at least to persona/megaten fans. There are quite many of them and each has their own personalities and such. Sibuxiang for example, is such a loveable jerk to Pixiu! You can tell how close those two are! I love those two but I like most of the cast, though I have to admit...Lord Rabbit is probably the best one and anyone that saw episode 13 knows why. I still can't believe they even had the guts to show that "stuff" in episode 13, but I'm so glad they did!!! x3

If you sadly only have time to watch a single anime on this list, go with this one. Not only it's the shortest since each episode is only around 7 minutes at most, there are too many cute characters to enjoy! The short episodes also mean an amazing smooth animation which fits with this Donghua quite well. I can't think of a single reason why you should not watch it. So for fuck's sake, give this one a shot and show them there is a Western audience for this sort of content so we can have more amazing Donghua like this!!

And for this year, this is it! So, which ones do you know? Or is 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 this year that has kemono that I didn't mention feel free to do it in the comments as well~