Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Happy New Year to everyone outr there. As is tradition around here we celebrate the new year by taking a look back at the previous year. The anime scene of 2024 was a rollercoaster. There were seasons where we had great anime and then some seasons with duds. But through it all I managed to put together what I consider to be the best animes. I’m Nitsuj and these are the Top 11 Anime of 2024.
Honorable Mentions
Mashle S2, Classroom of the Elite S3, Ninja Kamui, Chained Soldier, Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!, Spice and Wolf (2024), Gushing Over Magical Girls, Tales of Wedding Rings, High Card S2, Urusei Yatsura (2022) S2, Reincarnated as a Slime S3, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince So I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability, GO! GO! Loser Ranger!, Date A Live S5, Oshi no Koi S2, SHY S2, Wistoria, Shangri-La Frontier S2, SAO Gun Gale Online S2, Rourouni Kenshin (2023) S2, Ranma 1/2 (2024), Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii, My Deer Friend Nokotan, and Danmachi S5.
And now, onto the list:
#11. Kimetsu no Yaiba S4
It’s the beginning of the end for our beloved demon hunting samurais. With Muzan’s goal as clear as day now, the Demon Slayers prepare for the final battle that will determine the fate of not just Japan but the entire world. This season may not be as action-packed as the others but it did give us a chance to see the other hashiras and their interactions with Tanjiro. Some like him, some are jealous of him, and then some flat out hate him. This anime serves as the calm before the storm and ends on an epic note with the final battle set to take place in Muzan’s infinite castle. Who’s gonna be left standing at the end? We’ll have to watch the movies to find out and if they’re anything like the anime then we are in for quite the treat.
#10. Viral Hit and Solo Leveling
The rise of manhwa continues. Viral Hit shows what would happen if Youtube was cool and unhinged for once while Solo Leveling shows us what would happen if dungeon crawling was a thing in our world. While I enjoyed Viral Hit more because of it’s story, characters, and fights I still think Solo Leveling was also good with its realistic takes on characters and the mental health these dungeons would have on people. Both animes show us once again how S.Korea has a library of media that’s worth checking out and adapting to anime.
#9. Konosuba S3
Hands down the funniest season of the bunch. Rather than focus on battling generals of the demon lord we instead focus on the group. Seeing how much they care for each other, why they work out so well, and how the biggest threat to them isn’t a villain out to destroy the world but rather someone splitting them up. Like I said this season did have the biggest laughs and a few surprises such as seeing Kazuma be a legit threat when he gets serious and could easily take down some of the strongest adventurers around if he has to. Konosuba continues to show everyone why it’s one of the best isekai animes out there. Speaking of isekai, join me at number 8.
#8. Mushoku Tensei S2 Part 2
The second half of season 2 focuses on Rudy’s personal life. He’s getting married, he has to deal with his siblings, and must save his mom from certain death. It’s a season that has a lot going on but they manage to balance everything out. Each arc gets the appropriate amount of time and ends with a lot going down that changes the lives of the characters forever, but lets you hang on to the hope that things can get better. This season moved the story in the right direction and shows us that Rudy’s life isn’t perfect but he rolls with the punches and does his best to do the right thing for himself and others. Just like us.
#7. The Elusive Samurai
From the author of Assassination Classroom comes the Elusive Samurai. This is a very unique story. Unlike previous shonen stories where the MC starts off weak but steadily gets stronger overtime, the MC of this story remains weak. He’s not the strongest, smartest, sneakiest or fastest, his only redeeming trait is he’s good at evading attacks and relies on others to cover his weakness. Shockingly, this gives us a great story. Overcoming weaknesses is always great, but to recognize those weaknesses and rely on others to cover them doesn’t make you a coward it makes you smart. The animation is great here and I like how it manages to balance out the comedy, action, and gore (like holy shit there is sone seinen level gore here). I knew I was going to love this anime when it first came out and I didn’t leave disappointed as it really exceeded all my expectations.
#6. My Hero Academia S7
If you thought S6 was action-packed then you haven’t seen nothing yet. S7 gives us a war as the heroes and villains go at it. From start to finish each episode is packed with fighting and shocking moments as heroes and villains fight for what they believe in. With the last season set to come out possibly this year and the manga finally coming to an end I hope everyone can enjoy the ride and look forward to the ending of a great series.
#5. Re:Zero S3 Part 1
Speaking of action, Re:Zero also brought the action from beginning to end as Subaru and the others find themselves trapped within a city against the archbishops of sins. Each episode did a good job building on top of each other and one thing I like is how Subaru hasn’t been using his return from death ability a lot this season. Showing us how he’s gotten stronger and tougher. Along with the action we get to meet new characters, learn about them, as well as meet learn about already established characters and their connection to other characters. It’s a season that keeps the surprises and storytelling coming and ends on a great cliffhanger with Subaru crashing a wedding. Hurry up with the second half already.
#4. Kaiju no. 8
This anime adds a whole new spin to the kaiju genre. There was a lot of hype around this anime and it delivered. The anime gave us everything. A main character you could relate to no matter your age, cool kaiju designs, interesting characters, some good humor, awesome fight scenes, and great weapons to use in battle. This anime went hard and left a lot of people speechless with each episode because of how good it was and brought in a whole lot of new fans. I’m reading the manga but I seriously want a second season to see them animate what happens next.
#3. Orb: On the Movements of the Earth
This is a unique anime. It’s not the most action-packed but it presents a great story about pursuing your dreams when going up against the world and how your dreams can live on and influence others long after you die. I do like how the anime continues to introduce new characters and get you invested in all of them. Some of them play a big role while others play a minor role in the grand scope of things, but they’re all important roles that will no doubt help the masses and future generations down the line. We’ve reached the halfway point in the anime but it’s set to continue and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
#2. Dandadan
It was a close call between this, Orb and number 1. But Dandadan won it for me with it’s bizarre and crazy set up that shouldn’t work but manages to do so because the author is dedicated to the setup. You would think mixing aliens and yokai in the same anime would spell disaster but this anime not only finds a way to make it work but it actually connects the two in a way that would make conspiracy theorists nod their heads and applaud. The anime is just a wild trip from beginning to end and our main characters are just as much a part of the ride as we are and don’t know what happens next. The anime has good action, funny writing and characters, and also deep and emotional moments that make you cry and see characters differently. Here’s hoping the second season continues this trend.
And number one. . .
#1. Beastars Final Season Part 1
This anime almost got past me. All 12 episodes of the season were uploaded at the start of December and they were incredible. The story goes from a high school drama to a real world drama as Legosi finds himself out in the real world and dealing with the prejudice issues that plague his society. It’s not just him but his friends also deal with these issues. The issues they do touch on are great and have even been issues that I’ve come across in my life. We also get to meet new characters including learning more about Legosi’s family and even getting introduced to mixed species which is something I didn’t think about until they brought it up. So far this is hands down the best season of Beastars. The anime grew-up with its audience and is now tackling issues while expanding on its world. Part 2 is most likely set to come out this year and I can’t wait to see what happens next. Hopefully they change up the ending.
And that’s my list. What was your favorite anime of 2024. Let me know in the comments below. Happy New Year, thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.