Ahhhh 2024, a fine vintage for anime. Twenty years from now, the discerning connoisseur of the medium will surely point to these titles as the most potable of the annum. With palatable notes of high fantasy, historical, and far flung science fiction, these titles distinguish themselves from the competition – like Champagne compared to off-brand grape soda. Here they are, the 10 best anime of 2024 – certain to age like the finest wine.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Perhaps the flagship anime of the year, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is a unique twist on a traditional flavor of anime. Any self respecting connoisseur of the genre is familiar with the trappings of fantasy anime: quests to become stronger, defeat the demon king, etc. Frieren distinguishes itself from the rabble of lesser fantasy titles by telling the story beyond the story. Set in a world where The Demon King has already been defeated, the plot asks “so now what?” The story centers around an immortal elf named Frieren, who is determined to answer that question. Frieren wanders across the land, revisiting the sites of her past glories, remembering the fulfillments, failings and friendships of yesterday. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is a melancholy study in high fantasy nostalgia. Even elves get the blues, and have to deal with the existential questions just like humans do.
Delicious In Dungeon
Another spin on the high fantasy genre, Delicious In Dungeon asks its viewers to imagine not just the sights and sounds of a faraway world – but the tastes of it too. And damn, does it taste GOOD. A merry band of dungeon crawlers runs into hot water (fire, really) after one of their own is swallowed by a subterranean dragon. In order to rescue their compatriot, the gang has to journey into the bowls of the dungeon – Finn and Jake style. With the clock ticking and no time to resupply, the group decides to live off the fat of the land – cheffing up the monsters that dwell within the depths. Like an upset stomach, the series flip-flops in tone at the drop of a chef’s hat. Sometimes the squad is frying up some weird looking mushrooms, sometimes they’re fighting for their life against horrifying (but still edible) beasts. Your tastebuds will be on the edge of their tongue-seats.
Dandadan
My personal favorite anime of 2024, Dandadan is shaping up to be one of the finest anime romance stories ever told. The Romeo and Juliet in question are ideologically divided by their approach to the supernatural – Momo Ayase believes in ghosts but not aliens, Ken Takakura believes in aliens but not ghosts. The pair are both proven wrong after nearly being murdered by BOTH of these types of supernatural beings in the course of one night. After Ken is given spirit powers by a ghost lady that stole his testicles (long story) and Momo awakens her latent psychic abilities, the pair embark on a quest to rid their city of supernatural threats. The anime flips the script on traditional anime romance stories that feature a more back-footed female lead, and instead and puts the headstrong Momo in the driver’s seat of the plot. She’s the leader, the one with the good ideas. Ken – endlessly devoted to her – is happy to just be along for the ride.
Mononoke The Movie: Phantom In The Rain
If you’ve never seen the kaleidoscopic horror masterpiece Mononoke series, get your sh*t together and fix that. Clocking in at only twelve episodes total, the only bad part of the series is that it’s over too soon. Hearing fans’ desperate cries for more, the creators of Mononoke came out with the feature length Mononoke The Movie: Phantom In The Rain to make them shut up for a minute. Phantom In The Rain is another day in the life of the mysterious Medicine Seller, a supernatural detective who travels around a technicolor historical Japan ridding the realm of troublesome (sometimes murderous) spirits. After a young woman is inducted into the cult-like ranks of the servants of Edo Castle, she begins to suspect that something… weird is going on. Her co-workers are turning up dead, and there’s only man (possibly spirit) that can help. The spirit detective style plot is deliberately hard to follow and warrants a rewatch, and considering how easy this anime is on the eyes, I’m sure you’ll be happy to oblige.
The Apothecary Diaries
The Apothecary Diaries is a historical fantasy series that takes place in a reimagined Imperial China. Series protagonist Maomao had a good gig working as an apothecary, providing much needed healthcare to the courtesans working in the brothels of the red light district. Unfortunately, the powers that be took notice of her botanical talents, and kidnapped her into forced service for upper echelons of society. She makes the best of her mandatory career change by helping out the imperial concubines, who have been laid low by a mysterious illness. It’s essentially historical fantasy House featuring an equally eccentric and surly main character. Fans of medical mystery anime like Mushi-shi are certain to love it.
Orb: On the Movements of Earth
For thousands of years, the brightest minds on Earth looked up into the stars believing that our pale blue marble was the center of the universe – a celestial body and around which all others literally revolved. One day, a man named Copernicus came along and proved that this was not the case, Orb: On The Movements of Earth is the (embellished) story of how he did it. According to Orb, Copernicus had help. Taking place over decades during The Renaissance, Orb tells the story of forgotten scholars working to solve the mysteries of the heavens, and the Church’s efforts to make sure their findings never see the light of day. It’s a tale of scholars who seek enlightenment at all costs, even if those costs include imprisonment, torture and death at the hands of the Inquisition. Worth it (for them).
Solo Leveling
Adapted from the web novel that took the internet by storm, Solo Leveling is the story of a Sung Jin-woo – the unlikeliest of heroes. After his adventuring party was all but annihilated while exploring a trap dungeon, Sung Jin-woo is chosen by an eldritch intelligence known as The System to be its sole wielder. The System grants our hero the ability to level up in strength, just like a video game! Sung Jin-woo continues to improve his abilities, and he goes from low ranking last man picked for the dungeon crawl to the greatest warrior the world has ever seen! Progression fantasy fans, this is your anime.
The Fable
Don’t like the dour animation style fool you, The Fable is perhaps the funniest anime of the year. It’s the story of a genius hitman known as “The Fable” who is given his hardest job yet: not to kill anyone for 365 days. While The Fable does his best to stay out of the game for 12 months, the criminal underworld keeps on trying to drag him back into it. While the story begins as a slice of life dark comedy series about a violent killer attempting to fit into the mundane modern world, the series ramps up into a thriller as the criminal element rears its ugly head once again. It’s sharp, witty and madcap – anyone looking for a darker version of The Way of the Househusband is sure to be smitten.
Monogatari Series: Off & Monster Season
I’m not sure if I can truly explain Monogatari and its follow up series Off & Monster Season without the help of a Charlie Day style crazyboard, but I’ll do my best. Off & Monster Season is a continuation of the original series, and tells the story of those that vampire attack survivor Koyomi Araragi helped out with their spiritual/psychological problems. Now that Araragi is off at college (safe from vampires), the narrative shifts to center around the side characters of the original series. While one would think that Monogatari is a series about high octane supernatural monster battles, it’s much more cerebral, and serves as a deconstruction of the “spiritual detective” genre. How do you face outer demons? By getting a handle on your own inner ones.
Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction
Easily the most underrated anime of the year, Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction is the slice of life sci-fi story you didn’t know you needed. Borrowing a plot device from Arrival, the story begins when a mysterious and gargantuan alien mothership appears over Tokyo and does… very little. It mostly just floats there. Even though aliens are now confirmed to exist and the government is in a tizzy, life must go on. The narrative follows two teenage girls doing their best to continue doing whatever teenage girls do. They go school, read yaoi manga with their friends, they dream about taking over the world, all while an extraterrestrial cold war simmers on above their heads.
(Featured Image: Crunchyroll)
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