Top 10 Action Anime of 2016
1. Kizumonogatari Part 2: Nekketsu
First season of the Monogatari Series, part 3/6. Contains the arc Koyomi Vamp from the Kizumonogatari light novel.
In the spring of his second year of high school, Koyomi Araragi met the beautiful vampire Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade. Koyomi saved Kiss-shot, who was on the verge of death with all four of her limbs cut off, but only at the expense of becoming her minion and a vampire. “In order to go back to being a human again, you must take back all of Kiss-shot’s limbs.” After receiving advice from Meme Oshino, an expert in the supernatural, Koyomi prepares to go into battle.
Awaiting him are three powerful vampire hunters—Dramaturgy, a giant vampire hunter who is a vampire himself. Episode, a half-vampire who wields an enormous cross, and Guillotinecutter, a quiet man who specializes in killing vampires. Will Koyomi be able to take back Kiss-Shot’s limbs from the vampire hunters? Amidst the soft spring rain, the curtain rises on this fateful blood bath…
(Source: Aniplex)
2. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable
JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Diamond wa Kudakenai adapts the fourth part of the JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken manga series.
It's the year 1999, 11 years after Jotaro Kujo's desperate fight against DIO in Egypt. Jotaro meets with Josuke Higashikata, the illegitimate son of his grandfather Joseph Joestar. He discovers that Josuke also has the same "Stand" power and that a new threat is surfacing in Morioh City.
(Source: Anime News Network)
3. Mob Psycho 100
The story revolves around "Mob," a boy who will explode if his emotional capacity reaches 100%. This boy with psychic powers earned his nickname "Mob" because he does not stand out among other people. He keeps his psychic powers bottled up so he can live normally, but if his emotional level reaches 100, something will overwhelm his entire body.
(Source: Anime News Network)
4. Assassination Classroom 2
The second season of Ansatsu Kyoushitsu.
The students return as school is back in session for the second semester. Following their exploits on the island during summer vacation, Class 3-E continues to sharpen their blades with their sights set on their teacher, the slippery Koro-sensei. They have more to worry about than just their teacher, however, as enemy assassins, both old and new, are out for the increased bounty on the octopus' head.
Moreover, their rivals in Class A, as well as Kunugigaoka Junior High's fearsome principal, stand to block Class E from achieving academic excellence. With all of these obstacles opposing them, the group must continue to work together in order to overcome their foes and accomplish their goal of successfully assassinating their teacher.
5. Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu
First season of the Monogatari Series, part 2/6. Contains the arc Koyomi Vamp from the Kizumonogatari light novel.
March 25th—just another day during spring break. Koyomi Araragi, a second year high school student at Naoetsu High School, befriends Tsubasa Hanekawa, the top honors student at his school. Hanekawa mentions a rumor about a "blonde vampire" that has been sighted around their town recently. Araragi, who is usually anti-social, takes a liking to her down-to-earth personality.
That night, Araragi encounters the rumored vampire: she is Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade, also known as the "iron-blooded, hot-blooded, cold-blooded King of Apparitions." The stunningly beautiful vampire cries out for Koyomi to save her as she lies in a pool of her own blood, all four of her limbs cut off. Kiss-shot asks Araragi to give her his blood, and when he does, the next moment he awakes, Araragi finds himself reborn as her vampire kin. As Araragi struggles to accept his existence, Kiss-Shot whispers, "Welcome to the world of darkness..."
(Source: Aniplex)
6. Bungo Stray Dogs 2
The second season of Bungou Stray Dogs.
Despite their differences in position, three men—the youngest senior executive of the Port Mafia, Osamu Dazai, the lowest ranking member, Sakunosuke Oda, and the intelligence agent, Angou Sakaguchi—gather at the Lupin Bar at the end of the day to relax and take delight in the company of friends.
However, one night, Angou disappears. A photograph taken at the bar is all that is left of the three together.
Fast forward to the present, and Dazai is now a member of the Armed Detective Agency. The Guild, an American gifted organization, has entered the fray and is intent on taking the Agency's work permit. They must now divide their attention between the two groups, the Guild and the Port Mafia, who oppose their very existence.
7. Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-
In the story, Subaru Natsuki is an ordinary high school student who is lost in an alternate world, where he is rescued by a beautiful, silver-haired girl. He stays near her to return the favor, but the destiny she is burdened with is more than Subaru can imagine. Enemies attack one by one, and both of them are killed. He then finds out he has the power to rewind death, back to the time he first came to this world. But only he remembers what has happened since.
(Source: Anime News Network)
Notes:
- The first episode aired with a runtime of ~50 minutes as opposed to the standard 25 minute long episode.
- In the Winter 2020 season, Re:ZERO was rebroadcast and re-edited to fit into an hour time-slot. This edit included the first OVA and added slight modifications to certain scenes throughout. It also added an additional scene at the end of the final episode.
8. Mobile Suit GUNDAM Iron Blooded Orphans 2
Second season of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans.
Learning about the world from her journey to Earth, Kudelia founded Admoss Company to strive for the financial independence of Mars. While inspecting a mining site of halfmetal, Orga Itsuka, leader of Tekkadan hired by Admoss as guards, senses an attack from a new enemy and heads out to confront them, along with Mikazuki in the mobile suit Gundam Barbatos Lupus.
(Source: Anime News Network)
9. Durarara!! X2 The Third Arc
The third part of Durarara!!x2
As Mikado Ryuugamine continues to purge the Dollars from within in accordance with his warped sense of justice, Masaomi Kida hopes to bring his friend back to his senses by bringing the Yellow Scarves together once more. Little do they know that a far more dominant force is about to enter their struggle for power, one that their friend Anri Sonohara is all too familiar with.
Meanwhile, the group that has gathered at Shinra Kishitani's apartment realizes that they are on the brink of something life-changing, an event that will throw Ikebukuro into a spiral of confusion. Their anxiety is realized when reports of Celty's head being found in public start to appear all over the news as Kasane Kujiragi begins to make her move.
Gone are the brief periods of tranquility as the current turmoil sets the stage for one final performance in this thrilling conclusion to the story of Ikebukuro's finest.
(Source: MAL Rewrite)
10. Thunderbolt Fantasy: Sword Travels in the East
In an Eastern-styled fantasy setting, a brother and sister team of sacred guardians is beset by the Xuan Gui Zong, minions of Miè Tian Hai, who seeks the Tian Xing Jiàn sword that they possess. Hai's appearance leads to the defeat of the brother, but his sister, Dan Fei, jumps off a cliff to temporary safety. Later, a wandering swordsman comes across a ruined temple, where a statue of Buddha is protected by an umbrella against the rain. When he takes the umbrella for himself, a man resting under a tree nearby informs him that he must be compassionate to the next traveler he meets as a trade-off for taking the umbrella. That next traveler is Dan Fei, still being pursued by the Xuan Gui Zong minions. Both his promise and the enemy's sorcery leaves the wanderer unable to avoid getting involved.
(Source: Anime News Network)