Although 2016 was a very difficult year for the world and for me personally, it certainly delivered when it came to enjoyable anime. There were fantastic stories, great slice 0f life experiences, moe shows, and some groundbreaking yuri and other LGBT shows.
I focus mostly on the latter- anime with cute girls and yuri themes. However, I have a large range of tastes and instead of just listing my top favorites, I have decided to break down all of the anime I watched into different categories. That way you can browse through and find shows that fall under your area of interest. The first anime listed in the section is my top choice for that category. After that, the order of shows are in no particular order.
I apologize if these titles are mostly from the summer and fall. The first half of 2016, especially the spring, was very difficult for me personally and I barely watched any anime.
Strong To Medium Yuri
Izetta: The Last Witch
- Flip Flappers
- Sailor Moon Crystal Season 3
- Hibike! Euphonium
- Amanchu!
- Ange Vierge
- Love Live! Sunshine!!
- New Game!
- Magical Girl Raising Project
More Subtle Yuri
Anne Happy
- Pandora In A Crimson Shell
- Pan de Peace!
- Scorching Ping Pong Girls
- Show By Rock! #
- Stella No Mahou
- Aokana
Comedy
Konosuba
- The Art Club Has A Problem
- Myriad Colors Phantom World
- Pandora In A Crimson Shell
- Anne Happy
- Love Live! Sunshine!!
- Show By Rock! #
- Stella No Mahou
- Scorching Ping Pong Girls
- Rewrite
Drama
Erased / Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi
- Re: Zero
- ReLIFE
- Hibike! Euphonium
- Rewrite
Slice of Life Cuteness
Stella No Mahou
- Anne Happy
- Pan de Peace!
- Sweetness and Lightning
- Amanchu!
- The Art Club Has A Problem
- New Game!
- Girlish Number
Workplace Themes
ReLIFE
- New Game!
- Girlish Number
Magical Girls
Sailor Moon Crystal
- Magical Girl Raising Project
- Matoi The Sacred Slayer
- Flip Flappers
Cute Sports Anime
Aokana
- Scorching Ping Pong Girls
- Long Riders! (still airing)
Action
Re:Zero
- Erased
- Izetta: The Last Witch
- Magical Girl Raising Project
- Flip Flappers
Music Related
Hibike! Euphonium
- Show By Rock! #
- Love Live! Sunshine!!
Shows With Chuunibyou Characters
Love Live! Sunshine (Yohane)
- The Art Club Has A Problem! (Colette & Imari)
- Konosuba (Megumin)
Unique Animation
Flip Flappers
- Myriad Colors Phantom World
- Anne Happy
- Sailor Moon Crystal
A Lot of Fan Service
Myriad Colors Phantom World
- Pandora In A Crimson Shell
- Konosuba
- Ange Vierge
- Matoi The Sacred Slayer
Other Personal Favorites That Need To Be Highlighted
Amanchu!
New Game!
Pan De Peace!
The Art Club Has A Problem!
Do you agree with my choices? Should I have added more categories? Let me know!
Rai's Anime Blog 
Great choices for each category. I need to finish Matoi, Girlish Number and even Yuri!! on Ice at some point.
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I really enjoyed Matoi, even though it has its flaws. Girlish Number was really enjoyable too. I liked being able to see into the life of a seiyuu. I actually just started Yuri On Ice and it is a lot better than I expected. Thank you for the comment!
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Yay, Amanchu! And New Game didn’t get enough credit for how damn heart-soothing it was. I have fond memories of watching that show.
I don’t remember Myriad Colours having that much fanservice, really it was just those first one or two episodes. I’m glad I wasn’t put off by the limbo scene and kept up with it, it was just such a fun, happy and life-affirming anime.
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Yaaaay Amanchu!!! :333 That is my favorite from last year, after Flip Flappers. And I really enjoyed New Game as well. It was so cute and lighthearted.
The first episode of Myriad Colors was definitely the worst when it came to fan service and I was put off by it at first too. But just like you, I decided to keep watching and I am glad I did because it is such a great show. Thank you for the the comment :3
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I personally would add Keijo!!!!!!!! (the exclamation mark is part of the title)…
It is silly and one could say full of fanservice, but it is shounen at heart and once you immerse in its world, you’ll focus mostly on how cool, creative, and imaginative the characters and actions are, instead of its “fanservice”…
It is closer to Symphogear than average ecchi show (like masou gakuen hxh)…
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