As the curtain closes on yet another year, Japan’s entertainment world is reflecting on which anime series attracted the most attention over the past months. After assessing data collected throughout the year, Yahoo! Japan has released an official top five list citing 2025’s highest-trending anime titles.
This list was released as part of Yahoo! Japan’s annual “Search Awards” — a competition that spotlights the site’s overall most popular search terms. The five main categories include People, Artwork, Product, Local and Next Break, the latter referring to celebrities or products that the site anticipates will become trending in the future. Each section contains various sub-categories, with Animation Division listed under Artwork, alongside Film, Games, Drama and Music. Yahoo! Japan’s top trending anime titles can be viewed below.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Officially Crowned the Top-Trending Anime of 2025
Main mecha robot in Gundam GQuuuuuuX anime.Image via Sunrise, Khara
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX
The Apothecary Diaries (alternatively known as The Pharmacist’s Monologue)
Sakamoto Days
Takopi’s Original Sin
You and Idol Precure
Released during the Spring 2025 anime season, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX is the latest anime installment within the larger Mobile Suit Gundam franchise — a mecha-centric multimedia juggernaut that has been around since 1979. The series revolves around Amate Yuzuriha, a young woman whose fateful encounter with a war refugee leads to her participation in an illegal mobile suit dueling competition called “Clan Battle.”
Despite its flashy animation and exciting action scenes, GQuuuuuuX has been one of the most divisive entries released in recent years, with some praising the anime for its daring plot choices and some dismissing it as “nostalgic fanfiction.” The controversial nature of the series likely contributed to its victory in Yahoo! Japan’s 2025 Search Awards.
Produced by Studio OLM (Pokémon) and Toho Animation, The Apothecary Diaries is based on the bestselling light novel series of the same name. Initially released back in 2023, the anime revolves around a poison-obsessed apothecary named Maomao who solves mysteries and conspiracies in a setting inspired by Imperial-era China. Her employer, Jinshi — a ‘eunuch’ charged with protecting the welfare of the royal concubines — oversees her activities while harboring romantic feelings for her.
Season 2, which aired during the Winter 2025 anime season, featured many significant developments, including a major reveal about Maomao’s close friend, Shisui. Season 3, in addition to an accompanying anime film, were recently announced and are both slated to premiere in 2026.
Sakamoto Days Was Most-Watched Netflix Anime TV Show in Official Streaming Ranking
Image via TMS Entertainment
Sakamoto Days originated as a Weekly Shonen Jump manga created by Yuto Suzuki. Set in modern-day Japan, the series revolves around legendary ex-hitman, Taro Sakamoto, who abandoned his assassin’s guild to get married and begin life anew as the owner of a local convenience store. With a billion yen bounty now on his head, Taro is targeted by dozens of eccentric killers throughout the country. Remarkably, despite having gained at least fifty pounds since his retirement, his fighting skills remain impeccable. He is also assisted by a clairvoyant named Shin Asakura and Lu Shaotang, the daughter of a deceased Chinese mob boss.
Praised highly for its well-balanced blend of action and comedy, Sakamoto Days has achieved recognition both domestically and internationally. According to a Netflix report published earlier this year, Sakamoto Days dominated the platform’s global streaming charts for the first half of 2025, amassing over 24.4 million views by users since its January 2025 debut.
Unlike its fellows, Takopi’s Original Sin garnered attention for an extremely dark narrative that addressed societal issues such as bullying, depression and suicide. Produced by ENISHIYA, the anime revolves around an octopus-like alien that comes to Earth to spread joy and happiness among its human inhabitants.
However, the titular Takopi’s simplistic understanding of human nature leaves him woefully ill-equipped to help Shizuka — an elementary school student who suffers physical and emotional abuse at the hands of one of her classmates. The anime became a hot topic on Japanese social media immediately after the airing of its debut episode, which ends on a depressingly tragic note.
Finally, You and Idol Precure is the latest entry in the highly popular Precure franchise — a multimedia IP that combines Japan’s idol culture with the magical girl anime genre. Initially released in February 2025, the series follows 14-year-old protagonist, Uta Sakura, whose quiet school life is forever changed the day she meets Purirun, a fairy from the hidden realm of Kirakiland.
After learning that Purirun’s land is under siege by Team Chokkiri and their leader, Darkiine, Uta resolves to become the legendary magical heroine, Cure Idol, and save Purirun’s land. Originally created in 2004, the anime sector of the Precure franchise consists of 22 televised series and 14 theatrical films.