What is the best Kyoto Animation anime?

Tearjerkers, music-club comedies and a few cult oddities all carry the same Kyoto studio's meticulous hand, and fans rarely agree on which one cuts deepest.

1. 1
   Hyouka

   A 2012 low-key mystery series about an energy-saving student pulled into small puzzles by a curious classmate.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Clannad: After Story

   The 2008 second season following Tomoya into adulthood, marriage and fatherhood, one of anime's most famous tearjerkers.
   935pts
3. 3
   The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

   The 2006 meta school comedy about a bored girl who unknowingly bends reality, the show that made KyoAni a household name.
   897pts
4. 4
   Violet Evergarden

   The 2018 series about a former child soldier who becomes a letter writer to understand the words 'I love you'.
   808pts
5. 5
   Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions

   A 2012 romantic comedy about a boy trying to bury his fantasy-obsessed past and the girl who still lives in hers.
   673pts
6. 6
   Sound! Euphonium

   The 2015 concert-band drama praised for its precise music animation and tense ensemble rivalries.
   610pts
7. 7
   K-On!

   The 2009 light-music club comedy that sparked a real-world boom in guitar sales among fans.
   610pts
8. 8
   Kanon

   KyoAni's 2006 adaptation of Key's snowy visual novel about a boy returning to a town he half remembers.
   455pts
9. 9
   The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

   A 2010 feature film in which Kyon wakes up in a world where Haruhi never existed, widely rated the franchise peak.
   455pts
10. 10
    Nichijou

    A 2011 absurdist comedy where everyday school life explodes into surreal, lavishly animated gags.
    455pts
11. 11
    K-On! The Movie

    The 2011 film that sends the Light Music Club on a graduation trip to London.
    455pts
12. 12
    Free!

    The 2013 swimming drama that grew into one of KyoAni's longest-running franchises.
    455pts
13. 13
    Violet Evergarden: The Movie

    The 2020 finale film that closes Violet's story and became one of the studio's biggest box-office hits.
    359pts
14. 14
    Tamako Love Story

    Naoko Yamada's 2014 film about a mochi-shop daughter facing a childhood friend's confession.
    359pts
15. 15
    A Silent Voice

    Naoko Yamada's 2016 film about a former bully seeking redemption with the deaf girl he tormented.
    359pts
16. 16
    Air

    The 2005 Key adaptation that began KyoAni's run of visual novel series, a summer story of a wandering puppeteer and a sick girl.
    359pts
17. 17
    Lucky Star

    A 2007 slice-of-life comedy about four otaku-leaning schoolgirls, famous for its opening dance.
    359pts
18. 18
    Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

    The 2017 comedy about an office worker who ends up sharing her flat with a dragon in maid form.
    245pts
19. 19
    Clannad

    The 2007 adaptation of Key's visual novel about a delinquent student who befriends a lonely girl repeating her final school year.
    0pts
20. 20
    Liz and the Blue Bird

    Naoko Yamada's 2018 Euphonium spin-off film, a delicate study of two wind players drifting apart.
    0pts
21. 21
    Beyond the Boundary

    A 2013 dark fantasy about a half-demon boy and a girl who wields her own blood as a weapon.
    0pts

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