Anime of Note 2024 Edition
Hello hello, it's 2024 end of the year so I'm throwing out my usual anime garbage! As always, these are in the order I watched and remember things, how great and well organized I am!
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Past Write Ups
This is a list of some of the anime I enjoyed or did not enjoy this year. Mostly enjoyed though. I hope you also enjoy this thing I did for
This year was a good year for anime. I liked a lot of shows this year and I thought I would write up another one of these! Again, they're in
2018 was some kind of a year wasn't it? It was long and a pain in the ass but there was some anime out this year I really enjoyed. I'm here
***Before I start this list, I would like to continue to send out good vibes and hope to all those affected by the Kyoto Animation arson att
2020... Ok, on to anime. I realized the other day, this is the 5th year I've done this little list which is pretty nuts when you think about
Hello and welcome, welcome once more to that time of times. Where I look over all the various bullshit I watched through the last year, tap
Hi hello! It’s that time of year again! The time where I put in random anime shows I liked for the year and maybe go over dumb things that h
Here we go again, it's 2023 and the year has gone by with another year of anime and all those kinda fun things. It felt like another year wh
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Freiren
Frieren was one I actually started watching last year but it's definitely one of my favorites I watched through the beginning of the year. The story is very simple: we follow an elf from a heroic party that defeated a demon king and join her many many years after her original journey. Frieren is not very good at socializing or picking up on the cues involved with them. It all comes with the territory of being a long lived race perhaps. Or Frieren is just that awkward of an elf, who can say.
The show is very nicely animated and the cast is super fun too. Fern and Frieren's dynamic is very fun, and so is good boy Stark. I enjoyed all the fun little expressions, even when it's something as simple as a pout or a "nyoron" ass look of disappointment. The show is soothing and a little melancholy given the subject matter, but there's also action in between to go along with it. It's enjoyable to see Frieren going through her journey to meet up with her old party member Himmel, even if she's more than content to take as much time as she pleases to get there. Sometimes that means getting stuck in a Mimic's grasp and crying about how dark it is. Frieren is a good time, highly recommended.
Dungeon Meshi
I wrote about Dungeon Meshi the manga on a previous year's list, and now it's out in anime form! By Trigger no less! The show is pretty much everything I could have asked for, except being trapped in Netflix jail which means I probably won't be able to get a bluray of it which is stupid. Actually the only thing it's missing from the manga is the stat readouts of the food when it's completed.
But again, Dungeon Meshi/Delicious in Dungeon is a manga about an adverturing party returning to the mysterious dungeon where they're trying to get back a beloved party member who was eaten by the Red Dragon that took them all out. They don't have enough money for supplies though so they must learn to live off the dungeon itself by cooking and eating the monsters within. With help from a new dwarven party member, who's very used to cooking these things, they venture forth!
Dungeon Meshi is really good still and I'd recommend both the manga and anime. I even went to a Dungeon Meshi collab cafe on my Japan trip this year. Can't wait for season 2.
Happiness Charge Precure
If you've been keeping up with these lists, you'd know every year me and my friend Cheapsteaks have been watching minimum 1 old Precure series. Well this year we made it to the final old show, Happiness Charge. Going in, I've been told a lot of bad things about this one, that it's one of the worst and all. Of course worst by Precure standards still usually has something in it I enjoy? And I'd agree that it was not one of my favorite seasons but atleast it has Hime who gives it more good will than it probably should have.
The villains are pretty silly too, I love a doofus trio though they're nowhere near as fun as say the Smile dorks. It's not a bad little season but I can definitely see why it's not held in as high regards as the others. Blue just sucks like…a whole lot. But I guess what can you expect from religion right? Also the fact that he has atleast 2 underage girls with a crush on him is awkward and bad. You suck Blue, get outta here. Again, atleast there's Hime who kinda carries the whole show on her dumb noises and faces.
Ojomajo Doremi
In absence of another older Precure, we have now broken the glass on the Doremi option and have now latched ourselves to this series for the next 4 years. Ojomajo Doremi is the story of a young girl, the unluckiest pretty girl in the world, who wants to become a witch. With good luck, she's able to meet a real one! Unfortunately, that means the witch's secret is out and she's been transformed into a witch frog. Good work Doremi. Thanks to this, Doremi has to work at the witch's magical shop as an apprentice until she can turn her back. Doremi is a cute little show with fun characters. You have annoying little sister Pop, nerdy and laughs at dumb joks Hazuki, tomboy and street smart Aiko and celebrity and pro hater Onpu. I also love Doremi's little faerie DoDo (stupidest faeries need the MOST care).
The series is very silly but throws in some episodes that are actually really heart felt in there and are like man, that's pretty deep show for babies. The fact a major plot point of Aiko's is living in a divorced family feels like something you don't see much in magical girl shows to be honest. Anyway, the Ojomajos are fun and we have begun season 2 already where now Doremi has to raise a witch baby because the Witch Queen cannot be assed to herself.
Wonderful Precure
Dog Precure! The dog Precure is here! I think Wonderful has easily been one of my favorite Precures in recent memory, maybe because it feels different than most of them. Usually you get the thing where Precures are just kicking and punching the bejesus out of dumb monsters before purifying them and letting people get their dreams back or something. Well this time you can't really do that because these monsters of the day are usually corrupted animals and that would be just mean. So the fact the cures have to basically calm them down and be gentle/smart about it is a welcome new angle.
The main cast in this one is really solid too. You have Iroha, who is our usual good girl who just wants to do her best, who is accompanied by her dog Komugi who is a dog. Her character is dog and it rules because it causes so many random issues by her suddenly talking in public. There's Mayu, the new girl in town who is socially awkward, especially when she is hyper focused on something like knitting a gift for a friend and you have her cat Yuki. Yuki's character is cat, so she is aloof but loves Mayu best of all and will murder for her. The secondary cast is good too and has Satoru who is the nerdy friend who helps out but he's the first one of those who I don't think is a twerp in any way (not like Syrup, you suck Syrup). He also has Daifuku who is his bunny who is just hyper chill. Wonderful Precure rules and they even got a crossover episode set with Shin Chan where both characters got to be on the others' shows.
Wan-derful!
Oshi no Ko Season 2
Oshi no Ko was pretty good this year, I liked the continuation of last season, even if the opening song was not as good. I really enjoyed getting to see the exploration into both Aqua and Kana's past experiences that made them act how they do today. I also just liked watching the characters put on the play amidst the drama inside of it. Plays within a play are usually fun and I liked the designs of the characters in that play, and the original manga creator's design too. I guess I like the designs of a lot of the things in this show most of all which is kind of what drew me too it initially. Season 2 needed more Mem-cho though.
Girls Band Cry
Girls Band Cry is a wonderful little show that Toei didn't want us to watch it felt like. Sure, the graphics are a bit janky but I think that gives it a fun style all its own and they can get pretty expressive to be honest. Following the trials and tribulations of little anger gremlin Nina as she tries to find herself in the world was a good, if sometimes painful, time. Forming a band with Momoka, the former lead in a band that sang the song that changed her life, leads to all sorts of adventures. Like learning what the middle finger is and then making your OWN middle finger too.
This show probably had one of my favorite opening songs of the year, just really good at getting you pumped up. I also liked the cast a lot, all my ladies love Rupa and you can't deny it. Like it's a hard one to write about cuz it's one where it's like "no I like this one. It was good and the chars are good." I don't know what else you want from me.
Bang Dream! It's MYGO!!!!!
Another girl band anime, this one was actually from last year but I just got to it this year. The story of a girl who collects rocks outside the school yard and all the sea creature band-aids that she can and how she manages to get girls who all wanna be in her band. Honestly, I don't know what all to say with this one, it made me feel sad when the characters were sad and I felt happy when they were happy. Also Raana is here and I was amused any time she did anything..or any time she just left cuz she thought everyone was being boring women. Raana is good.
Mayonaka Punch
When I was visiting Japan, I saw an episode of this and we were intrigued by it since…couldn't really understand it fully being non-subs. Coming back and putting it into my weekly rotation though, I'm glad I did. The character designs in this one are also really top notch, I like Live and Fu's a lot. Plus the thought of a streamer who got kicked out of her group for knocking the shit out of one of the other members having to start a whole new channel with a bunch of moron vampires is great.
Also this show is pretty gay and that usually gets you some points on my end. Is it a bias? Sure. Will it stop me from saying I like it? You bet your ass it won't. It's a cute little show with some good jokes and even some good dramatic moments too. You really want Live to get the blood she so desires and you want Masaki to hit a million subs! Also it helped me with memorizing kanji for my college course because one quiz had "mayonaka" on it so thanks anime!
Ranma 1/2
Ranma is a series that has long been a part of my anime history. It was one of the first ones I rented from the video store back in the day, and one of the first ones I downloaded to watch episodes in the early days of file sharing servers. So the fact they remade it and did it so well is awesome. It's a lot more like the manga and even retains a lot of the original cast for some of the most important characters. And those who are newer cast are super great too like Tomokazu Sugita as Kunou and Aoi Yuuki as Azusa. If you liked old Ranma, I guarantee you will enjoy this new one.
Seriously it's just so good to see these old shows I have nostalgia for getting GOOD remakes. It's been fun watching with friends and seeing how they animate it all. Seeing something that inspired a lot of my creative endeavors through the years is enjoyable too because…not gonna lie I got a lot of my dumb character ideas thanks to Ranma. Can't wait for season 2, Rumiko Takahashi rules.
Dan da Dan
This one is one I came a bit late to and I can understand why some would be a bit wary on it. The first episode is understandably intense with a situation in it and I would not fault anyone for not wanting to continue because of that. Scene aside though, everything after has been good and has honestly some of the most fun cast I've seen in a shounen series in a while. Everyone is equal parts smart and dumbass and they're often just screaming about dumb shit at each other. I really love it. Also Momo's fit is on point at all times pretty much. Also it's by Science Saru so like..hell yea you know?
It's a fun show, I think it has good character designs and a fun set up with fighting against both spooky spirits and fucked up aliens. The cast are all likable idiots and we get more next year so..yay!
Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night
A lot of parts of this series definitely made me think of my own struggles with regards to creative things. I have often run into times where I just do not like what I draw so a lot of Mahiru's struggles hit close to home. I've never outright hated my work but it's a very relatable feeling and I think this series touches on it well. The show is a fun little series, sometimes dramatic, often cute with girls forming an online band and tryin to show the world that they can do it on their own.
From cool vibes former idol Kano to strongest vtuber and gender gremlin Kiui, I really enjoyed a lot of the characters and their arcs in this one. There's even a fun side character who is a mom in her 30s still trying to make it as an idol (her daughter is her biggest fan). It's really fun and the music is good too and the visuals and designs are really fun. I would definitely recommend it if you ever feel like you're in a creative slump of your own.
Love Live Superstar!! Season 3
This year we had the third, and presumably final, season of the Liella cast. We got to meet up with the new cast members, former rival Margarete, and younger Onitsuka sister Tomari. It starts with an interesting premise of Kanon leaving Liella to form her own side group with the newer girls, something Chisato is okay with because she feels it'll make both sides stronger. It's an interesting way to start, delaying the pay off of them teaming up that everyone watching (and all the other students) is waiting for.
There's a lot of fun little side stories here, getting to explore Natsumi and Tomari's relationship, some amusing little bits with Shiki and Mei, and even a trip to Shanghai. It's nice seeing them all again, even if part of me kind of wishes the other shows got 3 seasons too, but I'll take it. We even got giant isopod costume again so, overall I'd say a win!
Here are some little side things that one was a movie and one is just dumb. I hope you enjoy.
Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Beginning of a New Era
This is a movie that Cheapsteaks and I watched on a Friday night in an empty theater in Heiwajima this summer. We had 0 subtitles but it's not like it was a hard plot to follow. This was a fun time and I'm putting it on here more for the experience than the content but I had a blast with this movie.
Special Deer Award: My Deer Friend Nokotan
Nokotan, you did it. Seriously, that opening song is an ear worm. Or a deer worm. Deer tick?
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So that's it! That's anime for the year! Did I spell check this? Not really! Do you or I care? Probably not!
Happy new year! Try to keep it safe and fight on! As Nox Ryugasaki says "Goodbye sekai!"
