Anime I Watched in 2024

Good art and really fun deuteragonists. Loved the bantering.

Incredible adaptation of a an incredible source. The colour work, animation and music really brought Dandadan’s odd supernatural action & comedy to life in a way that elevates the already-outstanding original manga.

By only the first episode this series already revealed itself as derivative of everything from Cyberpunk and Blade Runner to Final Fantasy VII, Shin Megami Tensei IV and Breath of the Wild. Not really an original bone in its body, and I groaned when I realised that this unique cyberpunk setting had bait-and-switched me into a streamer anime, but the production qualities and characters kept it enjoyable to watch regardless. I could take another season, honestly.

Fun, crazy, satirical.

Incredibly modest production values, but makes up for it with strong character slapstick. Glad this didn’t go the way of Marchen Maedchen.

Grey, Waver and Raines are a fantastic trio to lead the show. Luvia and Olga-Marie floating around is very nice too. And being set away from the usual royale is able to give a fresh context to its world. Lots of really powerful moments juxtaposing the insanity of the Grail War against normal life at the Clock Tower, seeing how Waver battles with trauma of the fiercest demons in mankind’s history. Like that scene where he just stops and trembles when teaching about Babylonia’s hero king. Man I wish there were like five more seasons, the cast is so good.

More Nijiyon. Not much to particularly say. It’s short, simple gag comedy.

Decidedly less ambitious than S2, though I suppose that was inevitable given they were bringing Wien into the main group. Her aggressive demeanour was such a radicalizing factor for the symbolic mechanisms of the second season that the only way they could bring her into Yuigaoka would be to conform her to its more standard idol motivations. Still very engaging Love Live storylines as per usual – taking Kanon away from Liella for majority of the season was pretty fresh (though I do think she could have been a bit more fierce toward them to really highlight her inner love of song) and Dazzling Game is definitely one of the cooler performances in the franchise for it. It’s just there were just a few things I wish it had done more of with regards to pushing along the thematic evolution and imagery of previous entries (not committing to the feather symbol + Liella not disappearing into a star during the credits roll), and the pacing of the latter half does get a bit wonky with how they rush through qualifiers before you really even have time to take in that they were happening. Perhaps it meandered a bit in consequence of them doing a third season instead of a departure film. But still. It’s Love Live, and that’s just high quality anime. Its bgm soundtrack was phenomenal as usual, the new characters are fun and the emotional payoff of the last episode really does hit.

Great music. Wrath of SANKI and Fighting Monster come to mind.

It’s a heartfelt piece, but not mind-boggling for me. Maybe if I liked One Piece more.

A refreshing, fun gag comedy. Straightforward in concept and absurd in its comedy, these are always the hidden gems. Colour palette and character animation were strong points.

Really awesome to see a modern revival of such an iconic retro property. The comedy feels like it continues right where the 90s series left off, and I enjoyed see references/cameos like Puchiko incarnating into her Winter Garden version and the Panyo Panyo gang appearing.

Banger show honestly. Probably the best anime I watched this year. Fun characters and voice acting. The vibes are kinda a cross between Chobits and Texhnolyze. Super endearing mid-2000s urban setting as a result.

Fun derivative of Megami-sama with Lumalike staples in the main lineup. Every member of the cast had a unique presence that helped enhance the whole ensemble.

A fine enough adaptation of the manga. I do remember the earthquake section of the show occupying a much longer stretch of the story, but it’s actually only a couple of episodes worth. I suppose that just speaks to how much of an impact the shock twist was while reading it during release, and knowing of the natural disaster looming overhead completely changes how I view it on a revisiting.

Tamura Yukari and Megumi Han and Aki Toyosaki – oh my! Then they even throw in an Iguchi Yuka gyaru. Music to the ears. Really good adaptation of one of the current best romcoms around. Art direction good, voice casting great, and Kensuke Ushio’s cinematic soundtrack does so much for it. Just a solid story of youth and growing up. I have wondered lately if I’ve finally tipped into the age where I can’t enjoy school settings anymore, or at least that I kinda struggle, but BokuYaba makes it feel meaningful for the character growth and how its themes are worked into the show.

Sayonara Urusei Yatsura. It was amazing to have you back.

My first one-day clear in a long time. Very endearing as Akane works her way into the group and gets closer to Yamada and Runa. While the show does cut some very noticeable corners on budget by skipping frames, not voicing certain background characters or letting the lineart get loose, but because the characters are so likeable it positions me to view it more positively as if they’re just using their budget efficiently.

Another in the ‘forgot to watch it years ago’ seasonal pile. Super solid. The cast are all better than I remember and the new points of drama in the plot used each girl really well without compromising the comedic flair innate to the zombie idol premise. The two-parter about Yugiri’s past was a particular highlight, and then the disaster arc at the end building tension for the final episode’s concert was super heavy and well-executed.