This year’s slate blew me away.
By Josh Rosenberg
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Anime's popularity skyrocketed in 2024. Like Vegeta's scanner after reading power levels of over 9,000 in Dragon Ball Z, the cultural force of Japanese animation this year was unbelievable. The Haikyu!! movie made just as much money at the international box office as Challengers. Hip-hop duo Creepy Nuts scored back-to-back number-one hits in Japan for their songs on Dan Da Danand Mashle, and Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles hid Yu-Gi-Oh! cards in his tracksuit this summer for good luck. Then ... he won. The list goes on, but we nerds are finally winning.
I can't say I wasn't worried about what might follow the new "Big 3" of Jujutsu Kaisen, My Hero Academia, and Demon Slayer, but the new slate of anime series has yet to disappoint. Titles such as Kaiju No. 8, Dan Da Dan, and Blue Lock will become fan favorites in no time. On the lighter side, Blue Box and Delicious in Dungeon were also among some of the year's best cozy watches. If that wasn't enough, even long-running classics such as One Pieceand Dragon Ball surprised fans with brand-new animation styles that reinvigorated enthusiasm for the next decade.
Honestly, every new year feels like the best year in anime history. 2025 already promises a new Chainsaw Man film and the exciting debut of Sakamoto Days. Until I'm back here claiming that 2025 is even better than 2024, check out all of our favorites from the year below.
View full post on YoutubeWhen you think about anime, the image of a muscle-popping cartoon man with spiky hair is likely your first response. For most offerings, you're not too far off. But Japanese animation isn't onlybound to screaming macho men. If you're looking for something a little more intellectually stimulating, look no further. In Orb: On the Movements of the Earth, a scientist's journey to convince 15th-century Poland that the Earth revolves around the sun is dramatized into a life-or-death scenario against the teachings of the church.
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View full post on YoutubeDespite Sound! Euphonium entering its third season, I caught up on the wonderful animation late this year. I'm very glad I did! The series follows members of a high school music club as they seek to restore their once-renowned concert band to its former glory. Kyoto Animation—who produced 2016's excellent A Silent Voice—helms this beautiful story of music and friendship.
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View full post on YoutubeWhen a young college student is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he uses his final years left to learn a new skill. Negative Positive Angler, as the title describes, is a story about turning our lowest days into self-affirming experiences. (It's also about fishing.)
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View full post on YoutubeThe studio behind Jujitsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer produced a remake of the classic Ranma 1/2 at the tail end of 2024. The gender-bending story follows two martial-arts students who are arranged to marry each other against their wishes.
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View full post on YoutubeThe Elusive Samurai is a simple tale. After a trusted confidant betrays his family, the young Hojo Tokiyuki sets out in 1300s Japan to find allies who will aid him in his revenge. The series excels due to its stellar animation, as it's helmed by the same studio in charge of Spy × Familyand Bocchi the Rock!
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View full post on YoutubeDragon Ball returns this year for the series' first new entry since 2015's Dragon Ball Super. Titled Dragon Ball Daima, the series follows Goku and his superpowered friends after they're mysteriously aged down into children. It might feel like a cheap way to reboot the series, but there's plenty to love for both new viewers and longtime Dragon Ball fans.
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View full post on YoutubeWritten by Chainsaw Mancreator Tatsuki Fujimoto, the short story Look Back was turned into a full-fledged film on Amazon Prime Video. The story follows a young artist who finds purpose in life after discovering her passion for drawing manga.
View full post on YoutubeThe hit volleyball anime has only skyrocketed in popularity ever since the summer Olympics, where Japanese fans wearing Haikyu!! jerseys filled the stands in Paris. Now that the televised anime series is complete, Haikyu!! plans to finish out the story with two movies in theaters, starting with The Dumpster Battle. The first Haikyu!! movie became the second-highest-grossing Japanese film of the year so far. Now it's available to watch at home.
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View full post on YoutubeTired of a long day at work? Bartender: Glass of God will soothe the soul. The anthology series follows a bartender named Ryu who can make any thirsty customer forget about their troubles.
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View full post on YoutubeIn a fantasy world where people explore massive dungeons to find treasure and fight mysterious beasts, one group of companions takes to cooking and eating the monsters to survive. The humorous and lighthearted series is finally adapted in this Netflix original, which is sure to make you hungry—even when they're eating something insane.
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View full post on YoutubeBefore season 2 of the popular soccer anime arrived, Blue Lock decided to keep the ball rolling with a spin-off movie. Titled Blue Lock: Episode Nagi, the film focused on the backstory for one of the fan-favorite characters—a prodigy whom the main character teaches to fall in love with the sport once again. His story continues in the second season, which tackles the next stage in his soccer journey.
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View full post on YoutubeSend some prayers to One Piece's animators, because the series didn't even take a week off between seasons. Debuting a flashy new animation style in the opening and hopping right into an adaptation of the manga's current arc, the team behind the celebrated pirate series is steamrollering into season 21 and has the anime looking the best it ever has.
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View full post on YoutubeBlue Box is the heartwarming story of two sporty teens who fall in love. But amid their budding romance, can both Taiki and Chinatsu lead their respective teams to nationals?
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View full post on YoutubeMomo believes in the supernatural but doesn't believe in aliens. When she meets Okarun, a conspiracy-minded fanatic who doesn't believe in ghosts, both of their worlds are flipped upside down.
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View full post on YoutubeAfter a chance encounter on the train, romance blossoms between Yuki, a 19-year-old college student who is deaf, and Itsuomi, a multilingual classmate who sets out to learn sign language to communicate with her.
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View full post on YoutubeAs you read Kaiju No. 8, it's clear that the Godzilla-esque kaiju series was perfect for an anime adaptation. Borrowing heavily from classic mech series such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, the story follows Earth's need to protect itself from massive intelligent monsters by borrowing the technology of defeated past foes.
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View full post on YoutubeSolo Leveling follows the weakest human on Earth during a full-scale alien invasion. After a chance encounter, he's given the power to fight back and solve the mystery of the monstrous invaders.
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View full post on YoutubeFollowing an explosive third season, Demon Slayerreturned this summer with a one-hour premiere as the story heads into the Hashira training arc. The series is also embarking on a worldwide fan tour in 2024, including special screenings of Demon Slayer's most emotional episodes.
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View full post on YoutubeMashle season 2, subtitled Magic and Muscles, is an absolute hit. The Harry Potter parody series about a protagonist who is all muscle and no magic debuted the song "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" by Japanese band Creepy Nuts in the opening credits, and the song once spent 15 straight weeks on top of Billboard's Japan Hot 100 chart.
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View full post on YoutubeCrunchyroll's newest anime, Wind Breaker, is a brawler that hits like a truck. There are no anime magic or power levels here—just high school delinquents looking for fights.
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