When we meet 14-year-old Chakuro, he is the archivist for his utopian island called the Mud Whale. 90% of the people who live on the Mud Whale have powers known as saimia, which give them incredible gifts but also shorten their life span dramatically. Chakuro and the others on the Mud Whale have come across other islands before, yet they have never met another person who wasn’t from their island. When Chakuro meets a mysterious girl from a different island, his life changes forever…

Shuan is an older man who heads the Vigilante Corps, which is made up of people with the strongest gifts to protect the island. Even among these notorious ranks, Shuan is the strongest wielder of thymia. He is shrouded in mystery, always wearing the mask of a smile while hiding his true unknown feelings. He actually has little regard for emotion and sees no point in fretting over death. Shuan doesn’t have much of a personal regard for Chakuro either – his responsibility is to protect the Mud Whale, and he does so for all its inhabitants.

At Hyakkaou Private Academy, students are not just taught the basics of math, science and reading. These students from rich families are also taught about the real world – that is, the real world of manipulation and gambling! Yumeko Jabami is a new transfer student, looking to get in on the school’s prestigious gambling den. Though she seems rather naïve, Jabami could actually turn the gambling crowd on its head. Rather than playing to win, she plays for the thrill that comes with betting it all – and she may just have to do that in order to be the best!

Kaede Manyuda is the student council treasurer at Hyakkaou Private Academy, and Jabami’s rival on her way to the top. Manyuda does have some respect for Jabami, although he initially sees her as a pawn to help him become student council president. When he is forced to face off against Jabami for the title, Manyuda learns just how crafty Jabami can be! Though Manyuda is an interesting character, he is at the bottom of our list because he does little more for Jabami in the end than just being her enemy.

Asta and Yuno are both orphans, raised together at a tiny church in a small village. The two boys dream of becoming the next “Wizard King,” a magical guardian of the kingdom that is second only to the king himself! Yet, while Yuno has an incredible gift for magic, Asta struggles to use any magic at all… It is only when he receives his unusual five-leaf clover Grimoire that Asta discovers he has his own gift, one that no one else in the kingdom has yet recognized!

Asta first meets Magna Swing when he joins the Black Bulls, the rejected group of wizards known for being the worst group of magic knights. Magna becomes something of a mentor to Asta, as they have similar personalities and come from similar, small-town roots. Magna is a very loyal person, holding his own mentors in high regard. He strives to be worthy of their praise someday, to become a man in his own right. Magna can be stubborn at times, but his heart is in the right place, making him an important part of Asta’s life.

Traveling can not only give you great insight into the world around you, but also let you realize more about yourself! And for 15-year-old Kino, traveling around to different countries brings a joy unlike anything else. Along with her best friend Hermes, a motorrad with the ability to speak, Kino witnesses the best – and worst – that humankind has to offer. When faced with danger, Kino can handle herself. She only has one consistent rule: never stay in one country for more than three days. Kino takes us on a journey to learn about morality and the truths of the world, allowing the people she meets along the way to teach us about ourselves.

A lot of the people that Kino meets along her journey make a lasting impression, but none more so than the solemn Shizu. Though Kino meets Shizu during a deadly tournament, she learns he is peaceful, only killing when he has to in order to one day take revenge on the tyrant king, his father. Shizu is technically next in line to be king, but he decides not to fight for the throne after his father’s death, choosing instead to travel around with his dog companion Riku. He later meets Kino again, this time in a ship country where he tries to save the citizens from their overlords. Shizu has a pure heart, and is a good example to Kino of many positive things about the world.

Kobayashi is an average office worker with a rather serious personality. But one night, when she gets drunk and encounters a dragon, she accidentally invites the dragon to stay in her home! The dragon, named Tooru, shows up the next day, transforming from her large magical form into an energetic girl in a maid outfit. Tooru has incredible abilities, so Kobayashi reluctantly agrees to let her stay. Soon after, our protagonist’s life is filled with much more excitement – and plenty of crazy magical situations!

While some people may focus entirely on Kobayashi and Tooru’s relationship in this show, there are actually other dragons living among humans in this series. One such magical being is Fafnir, a dragon with a calm, serious manner about him. Though he originally hates humans, Fafnir befriends Kobayashi’s coworker Makoto Takiya, who lets Fafnir live with him and teaches him about video games. He quickly becomes addicted to video games, which allows him to grow closer to Takiya. Fafnir’s change of heart teaches us how to be more accepting of other people, something we could all use a little reminding about!

Rei Kiriyama is now in his second year of high school, which means all new pressures for both his personal life and his professional shogi career. Though he has been solitary for so long, Rei is starting to open up more to those around him. His closest friends are the three Kawamoto sisters, who treat him as if he was part of their family. Rei is starting to learn how to rely on other people, which is especially important as he searches for a reason to keep playing shogi professionally.

Touji Souya is the current meijin, the best of the best when it comes to shogi. He becomes Rei’s rival in the professional world for that reason, yet he does not resent Rei in any sense. Souya has a similar background in shogi as Rei, having become a professional player in middle school. Souya has looked forward to the day he had a rival who could challenge him like Rei does, and has a certain amount of respect for his opponent. Souya helps Rei more in discovering who he is as a shogi player, but this is still significant enough that he warrants such a high placing on our list!

As Eren Yeager and the other members of the 104th Training Corps recover from the knowledge of Annie’s betrayal, the Titans refuse to let humanity rest. Wall Rose has been breached, and the Titans are threatening everyone’s safety once again! Even as the Survey Corps rushes to find the breach, they discover that not everything is as straightforward as they once thought. And more of Eren’s friends have secrets to hide, secrets that could change everything…

Reiner Braun is one of the members of the 104th Training Corps, who joined the Survey Corps along with the rest of Eren’s friends. Despite his stockier build, Reiner is surprisingly agile and quick, graduating 2nd in his class for the Training Corps. He is close with Bertholdt Hoover, having spent much of their lives together. Without giving away too much from this season, Eren discovers that Reiner has not been truthful with any of them about his past and who he really is. He seems to suffer from PTSD, struggling between nightmares of his past and the balance of being a “warrior.” Reiner deserves a place on this list because he changed drastically this season, which hurt Eren deeply and caused him to learn more about where he stands in the fight against the Titans.

The Abyss is a large chasm, full of mystery and unknown creatures just waiting to be discovered! The young Riko has dreams of exploring the chasm, of becoming a legendary Diver like her mother. One day, she happens upon a robot that looks like a young boy and has no memories of how he came to be there. Naming the boy Reg, Riko decides to take him down into the depths of the Abyss to discover the truths that lie buried there.

Bondrewd is a legendary delver of the Abyss, being a part of the prestigious White Whistles. He is fascinated with the Abyss, driving him to commit illegal and immoral actions in order to fund his research of the area. Though he has been active in his base on the 5th layer for many years through unnatural means, Bondrewd’s thirst for knowledge has yet to cease. Bondrewd is one of the most well-crafted villains of this season, presenting Riko and her companions with a moral dilemma that helps them learn more about who they are in the end.

Moriko Morioka has decided to quit her job and become a full-time NEET at 30 years old, focusing all her free time on what makes her happy – MMO games. She joins a game called Fruits de Mer, creating a male character named Hayashi to get started. Moriko quickly realizes she might need some help in getting used to the game, which is when she meets the kind healer named Lily. The two become instant friends, growing closer and closer as they continue to spend all their time on Fruits de Mer together. But when Moriko’s in-game life and the real world start to collide, her peaceful NEET life will be turned upside down!

Homare Koiwai is Yuuta Sakurai’s senior, working with him at their current office. He also knows Moriko from her past job, although he worked in a different section than her. Koiwai enjoys taunting both Moriko and Sakurai, having a sarcastic sense of humor but also a kind personality. He is also quite supportive, encouraging his friends even as he taunts them a bit. His pushy friendship toward both Moriko and Sakurai is so endearing throughout the series that he deserves a spot on our list, second only to one other supporting character this year.

One of the most popular anime from this year, Boku no Hero Academia follows the story of Izuku Midoriya, a student UA Academy who struggles to learn how to handle his newfound quirk. His power is given to him by the great All Might himself – but with this power comes the immediate destruction of his own body each time he uses it. This year is the renowned school sports festival. This is an opportunity for students to show off their abilities to everyone, including potential recruiters. Izuku must prove himself worthy compared to classmates like Shouto Todoroki, who have naturally powerful gifts. Izuku has always wanted to be a hero. Will this be the chance he’s waited for?

Shouto is an incredibly gifted student in Izuku’s class, with a quirk that allows him to use both fire and ice powers. He is stoic and serious, avoiding close relationships with others due to his harsh upbringing. Izuku has influenced Shouto a great deal, helping him unlock his fire abilities in combat due to powerful memories of his mother. Shouto also wants to become a Hero, in a different way than his father, in part thanks to Izuku’s optimistic influence. Even though he is the strongest student in his class, Shouto struggles with a lot of things in his past. Though he is not technically a supporting character in the 2nd season of Boku no Hero Academia, he was introduced in the series as a supporting character. And Shouto’s influence on Izuku (and vice versa) is easily one of the most important relationships from anime this year!