It’s hard to believe we’ll be hitting that big 2020 soon so let’s take a look back at the last ten years to pinpoint some of the highlights!

Anime

Best Anime: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika (2011)

This was an easy pick for me and surprisingly it’s from a series near the beginning of the decade. Madoka is one of those animes that wasn’t afraid to do its own thing and it did it well. Initially beginning out as a standard magical girl type show, it quickly twisted into a psychological deconstruction of the genre with a surprisingly emotional impact for such a short series. If you’ve yet to see this series, then really I recommend it even if magical girl animes are not your thing… in fact, I would recommend it, especially if it’s not your thing.

Honourable Mention: Fate series, Monogatari series (started 2009 however)

Best Studio: Kyoto Animation

Best action: Tiger and Bunny

Honourable Mention: Boku no Hero Academia, Attack no Titan

Best psychological: Shinsekai Yori

Honourable Mention: Erased, Mawaru Penguindrum, Death Parade

Best Science-Fiction: Steins; Gate

Honourable Mention: Psycho Pass, Houseki no Kuni

Best Fantasy: Made in Abyss

Honourable Mention: Fate / Zero, Akatsuki no Yona

Best sports: Yuri!!! on Ice

Honourable Mention: Haikyuu!!, Welcome to the Ballroom

Best comedy: Monthly Girl’s Nozaki kun

Honourable Mention: The Devil is a Part-Timer!

Best short: Shelter

Movies

Movie of the Decade: Inception (2010)

This was a hard pick for me and I’ll admit when I looked back over the last ten years of film releases… not a lot stood out for me. Maybe it’s because so many films nowadays are remakes or adaptations but not a lot has really stuck with me of late. I find myself more drawn to television shows where there’s the airtime available to truly develop characters and plotlines. Not to say that it’s been a decade of bad films because it hasn’t – there have been some great films but honestly, not a lot has resonated with me.

And then I remembered when Inception came out and how excited everyone got, including me. The film had some great concepts, characters and made you think as well as have fun. It might not be an Oscar winner but it’s definitely one I can still see myself rewatching throughout the next decade.

Honourable Mention: Guardians of the Galaxy, The Great Gatsby, Cloud Atlas

Television

TV Show of the Decade: Sherlock (2010 – Present)

I actually forgot that Sherlock began in 2010 – it seems to have been around for so long. Whilst there have been justified complaints regarding the last few seasons, this is still a series that works so well, primarily due to the phenomenal acting by Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in their roles as Holmes and Watson. It’s intelligent, witty and still manages to keep you invested despite the series’ episodic nature. It’s unsure if we’ll ever see more from the series, particularly with how popular the lead actors have gotten since it first debuted but I look forward to any future stories it may still have to tell.

Honourable Mention: Stranger Things, American Horror Story, Hannibal

Video Games

Game of the Decade: Stardew Valley (2016)

I’ll admit this one was a hard pick for me – I haven’t played many of the big AAA games that have gotten huge acclaim in the last couple of year so natural contenders like Breath of the Wild, The Witcher 3, Bioshock Infinite and others aren’t going to make it on my list (yet!). I’m someone who tends to play older games and wait for the shiny new ones to reduce in price a little before I play them. So, what game for me has really hit a chord with me during the last decade?

A little indie game about farming. Yeah, I know it’s a pretty low-key choice. But for me, when I’ve had a bad day or I’m going through a rough patch Stardew Valley is the game that makes me feel just a little bit better. Sometimes, simple really is the best and this game is proof that you don’t need fancy graphics and big names to make a mark.

Honourable Mention: Persona 5, Life is Strange