The Best Anime of 2024
John Wintroub lists his favorite new anime in 2024.
Solo Leveling
Based on the incredibly popular Korean webcomic (webtoon) of the same name, Solo Leveling's Urban fantasy setting allows for a unique blend of traditional literary and modern video game-inspired fantasy. Its focus on an ordinary blue-collar worker who makes his wages by aiding dungeon explorers allows for a compelling character arc as we watch his abilities exponentially grow after the first episode. Although, this also creates some unique world-building as dungeon crawling is treated as a job. It is used not only to explore how crimes would change inside these dungeons, but also class systems and how being more fortunate can potentially aid/hinder your work. The amazing animation aided by director Shunsuke Nakashige (Mother of the Goddess’ Dormitory, Sword Art Online) allows the animation to feel like a masterful adaptation of Chugong’s webtoon.
Bartender: Glass of God
The first of two reboot manga-to-anime adaptations on this list, Bartender: Glass of God was a surprise hit for me this year. The series’ perspective is split between bartender Ryu Sasakura and his regular Miwa Kurushima as she attempts to convince him to work at her father’s hotel. Bartender balanced out the action-packed Spring 2024 anime with its chill, easy-going vibes. If you love the cooking aspects of Delicious in Dungeon or Restaurant to Another World, this series will be right up your alley.
A Sign of Affection
The shoujo romance genre always manages a spot on my end of year anime lists, and this year, it’s the wonderful exploration of love through disability, A Sign of Affection. Overall, the show is about two characters learning to explore each others’ worlds. Yuki, a deaf college student, wishes to break out of her bubble and no longer fear the world around her. Meanwhile, Itusomi, a multilingual well-travelled student interested in cultures across the world, treats Yuki’s language with just as much reverence. A Sign of Affection explores how relationships help you grow with each other and how those unique experiences shape the person we want to be with. The use of inner monologue within the series, and how it is illustrated on screen, does an excellent job adapting what makes Suu Morishita’s original work so loved.
Go Go Loser Ranger
Power Rangers (or Super Sentai) themed anime are always a slam dunk with me. Go Go Loser Ranger follows Footsoldier D, a grunt of a villainous army that rebels and decides to infiltrate the Dragon Keepers, essentially this world’s Power Rangers, from within. In the process, he meets a Dragon Keepers recruit, Hibiki Sakurama, who chooses to work with him in hopes of creating a world where the Keepers no longer abuse the villainous army for entertainment. Go Go Loser Ranger exists in a world similar to The Boys, where the heroes with all the power use them to gain money and fame rather than protect the people. The villainous army may have been an actual threat in the past, but with their leaders dead, they are now used as glorified punching bags for the Dragon Keepers. This unique premise was enough to get me hooked. However, the execution of it thanks to original creator Negi Haruba, script writer Keiichiro Ochi (My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, Hinamatsuri) and director Keiichi Sato (Tiger & Bunny) is what kept me engaged.
Dan Da Dan
Dan Da Dan one of my favorite manga, so naturally I was excited about an anime adaptation. As if that was not enough, the anime is directed by Fuga Yamashiro, who directed two of my favorite episodes of Keep Your Hands of Eizouken, with a legion of talented animators behind him. That team includes Hiroshi Nishikiori (A Certain Magical Index, Trigun Stampede), Kenji Maeba (INU-OH, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off), Kotaro Matsunaga (Love Live! Superstar!!, The Witch From Mercury) and Moko-chan (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Heike Story).
Based on the comedy romance manga series by Yukinobu Tatsu, Dan Da Dan is an action-packed comedy-filled romantic drama that manages to balance each of its subgenres perfectly. It’s two protagonists, the psychic spirit-obsessed Momo Ayase and the extraterrestrial/occult nerd Ken “Okarun“ Takakura, have such a compelling dynamic that it is hard not to get deeply invested in their journey. That along with the sensational animation, terrific voice acting in both English and Japanese and Hiroshi Seko’s (Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen) great script adapting make Dan Da Dan an absolute must watch. I cannot wait for its second season coming this summer.
Ranma 1/2 (2024)
The success of the David Productions’ Urusei Yatsura adaptation in 2022 all but guaranteed further new adaptations of Rumiko Takahashi’s manga series. For those unfamiliar with Ranma 1/2, the series follows martial arts prodigy Ranma Saotome as he returns to Japan from a training regiment in China. This return is due to his family arranging a marriage between him and Akane Sendo, the third daughter of a prestigious dojo in Japan. However, they quickly discover that whenever cold water is dumped on Ranma, he turns into a girl, a process that can only be reversed when hot water is poured on him instead.
MAPPA’s Ranma 1/2 reboot promised to be a more accurate adaptation of its manga due to a larger budget and more time to meet episode deadlines. Based on its overwhelming success on Netflix, and my own personal enjoyment of the series, I would say it succeeded. This is in no small part due to director Konosuke Uda (One Piece, Transformers [1984]). Uda has been in this industry for decades and brings that experience, along with so many talented animators, to create what was nearly my favorite anime of the year.
Delicious in Dungeon
Winter 2024 was an amazing season for fantasy anime fans, as we got a phenomenal anime adaptation from one of the most beloved Japanese studios. While I could be talking about the second cour of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End from Madhouse, this also applies to Studio Trigger’s adaptation of Delicious in Dungeon. Based on the dark fantasy manga series by Ryoko Kui, Delicious in Dungeon follows a poor dungeon-crawling party as they learn how to cook the monsters within the dungeon to survive. This is particularly ironic because their journey is to save their friend who was eaten by such a monster; a dragon to be precise. Delicious in Dungeon is all about the circle of life and how we must consume other living things to live, a theme that is explored differently through each member of its main cast. As if that was not enough, the exceptional direction by Yoshihiro Miyajima (SSSS.Dynazenon) and the amazing animation team behind him are what made Delicious in Dungeon my favorite new anime of 2024.
Is there a new anime that released in 2024 that you loved that did not make my list? Comment below!