It’s winter in Japan, but the heat is on with the influx of new, and continuing anime of 2024. I have here a mix of continuing anime from last year, and new releases. It’s an interesting set with some heavy hitters from this year and last year. That’s what happens when you have consecutive cours from the same anime. Is that an advantage? Let’s find out with my countdown, shall we?
At number twelve I have “The Witch and the Beast”. This is THE supernatural anime of the season for me, and it comes from Yokohama Animation Lab. I look at this as “The Case Study of Vanitas”, but instead of vampires you have witches. Does it have the same intrigue as Vanitas? Yes, it does. Will it have the same longevity? I’m going to have to wait till the end of the season to determine that. Still, it has a lot of lore to it accompanied by mystery, and action. It’s good enough to make the tail end of my list.
At number eleven, I have “Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!”. This is a slice of life harem anime with main character Tsubasa moving from Tokyo to Hokkaido. You’d think that would be a bad thing with the extremely cold weather, and all. Not for Tsubasa who gets to meet some pretty, and interesting girls in his school. Though he can’t really decide which among Minami, Sayuri, and Rena he likes best. If I were him though, I’d place all my cards on Rena senpai. But, that’s just me. This anime is funny, and charming in all the right places. Don’t tell that to Tsubasa’s grandmother though. She might just ship you back to Tokyo.
At number ten, I have “A Sign of Affection”. That title is a play on words since Yuki, one of the main characters, is deaf, and mute. So, Itsuomi learns sign language to show his affection to Yuki. The two end up together soon enough with Yuki having the initial feelings which Itsuomi later on also reciprocated. I’m not used to having this many slice of life anime on my watch list (two so far). “A Sign of Affection” has one of the best animation of the season coupled with (pun intended) a heartwarming story. I just hope this doesn’t go the way of “A Silent Voice”. Tears will flow if that were to happen…
At number nine, I have “The Wrong Way To Use Healing Magic”. The only isekai on my list, and I initially wasn’t to keen on watching it. It only took me two episodes for Ken, and company to prove me wrong. Ken gets trained by “drill sergeant” Rose in the ways of healing magic with a boot camp-like affection. Ken’s ability is quite rare, and yet he wasn’t supposed to be transported to this magical world unlike Suzune, and Kazuki who were intentionally transported. Just how wrong is Ken’s use of healing magic? Watch the anime to find out.
At number eight, I have “Delicious in Dungeon”. If you liked “Campfire Cooking in Another World“, then you’ll most likely appreciate this anime as well. In “Delicious in Dungeon” you have a group of adventurers who are down in funds for supplies, including food. So, with the help of Senshi, they decide to get their meals from monsters they defeat in the dungeon so that they can rescue Laios’s sister before she gets ingested by a dragon. It’s a hard pill to swallow, yet it goes down just fine. I know that sounded forced down your throat. Alright, I’ll stop now. Seriously though, this is one of those anime’s that you watch to tone down, and chill. Just be sure you’ve already eaten when you watch it otherwise you might get hungry, monster diet notwithstanding.
At number seven, I have “Classroom of the Elite”. Now in its third season, Ayanokouji is back with his dead pan manipulative self. And he is such a joy to see playing puppeteer to his own tune. Nobody does it better than Ayanokouji, just ask the girls who are part of his slowly growing harem. Oh he won’t admit to having one. In fact, the girls won’t admit to being part of his harem. But, you aren’t fooling me Ayanokouji. Time to move along to the next anime as if nothing happened just like Ayanokouji.
At number six, I have “Shangri-La Frontier”. This is a continuing anime from last year due to its consecutive cour. This wasn’t even on my list of best anime of fall 2023. Now it’s in the middle of my list because of a more entertaining second cour. With its first cour, it was entertaining enough to watch but not good enough to even be mentioned. What a turn it has made, and recent episodes have kept me on edge with interest. Sunraku has shown to be a tier one gamer, and his skills are truly extraordinary. Also, this anime is setting itself up for a wild ending. It’s doing pretty well now for a video gaming anime.
Speaking of consecutive cour anime, at number five, I have “Undead Unluck”. I love this anime, and its underlying themes. Recently, it has become self referential which is quite meta. More mysteries have been unlocked, and it appears that Fuuko, and Andy are fighting a losing battle. Can they stop the world from ending (again)? Will Andy get his wish of dying? One thing’s for sure though. Fuuko has already admitted to herself that she loves the immortal Andy. That’ll bring a stroke of unluck on a scale we haven’t seen before. Will it be enough though to save the world from destruction, and give Andy the eternal slumber that he so desires? So many questions that we’ll be lucky to find out by the end of the season.
At number four, I have “Solo Leveling”. There’s a lot of hype coming in with this anime from A1 Pictures. It also has an avid fan following with the manhwa. This is the best new anime of the season, but it’s not good enough to even reach my top three. I know I’ll raise a lot of eyebrows with my ranking of this anime. Don’t get me wrong, the animation is top notch. The pacing of the story though can be found wanting at times. When the episode is fast, it’s hot. When it slows down, it’s…passable. “Solo Leveling” should learn a few lessons from my number one anime on this list when it comes to pacing. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Moving up…
At number three, I have season two of “Mashle: Magic and Muscles”. This is the better A1 Pictures anime. Mash is such an entertaining character that the slow moments are made up by the absurdity of the character. If it’s not fast-paced action, it’s slapstick comedy at its finest. And you’d think Mash would run out of ways to ‘simulate’ magic use through his otherworldy physical prowess. Time and time again, Mash has proven to have an infinite variety of ways to show how much of a muscle bound oaf he is. And, that’s a compliment. If you haven’t seen this second season yet, don’t skip the opening credits. It’s funny as hell, and sets the tone of the entire anime season. This is what happens when Harry Potter meets One Punch Man. Pure genius.
At number two, I have “The Apothecary Diaries.” This is historical fiction at its finest with Maomao, the lead female protagonist, guiding us through a take on the Chinese Imperial Period. Just like the anime at number one, just when you thought the first cour of this anime was good, it just got better for the second cour. The overarching mystery of Jinshi’s background coupled with Maomao’s own mysterious background lie at the heart of what makes “Apothecary Diaries” so engaging. Having said that, this anime wouldn’t go anywhere without Maomao. That is a compliment of how good of a character she is. Though she is only a far second to the female lead of my number one anime of the winter season. It’s no coincidence that the number one anime on my list also has the number one female character as well.
At number one, I have “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End”. I’m running out of superlatives to describe this seminal anime by Madhouse. Just when you thought the first cour of this anime was excellent, it comes up with a second cour for the winter season that is BETTER than the first. That in my book is too OP, though it appears that “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End” took a page from its female lead disguising its true power, and making viewers complacent as to how much magicl this anime has. And it is such a beautiful anime from opening credits to ending credits. In fact, the only complaint I had with “Frieren” was the subpar opening in the first cour. No sweat to Madhouse. They came up with a far superior opening song, AND opening sequence. Then they came up with a better closing animation to match, to my mind, one of the best anime songs (not just ending) in recent history.
“Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End” was my anime of the Fall Season of 2023. It was my anime of the year for 2023. It IS my Anime of Winter 2024, and my current fruntrunner for Anime of the Year for 2024. Right now, it’s effortless for this anime to have more anime awards this year, just like it was effortless for Frieren to take down Serie’s force field. Till any anime proves otherwise, this anime will remain on top of the food chain. Just ask a mimic how delectable “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End” is.
And that is my list. Agree with me? Disagree with me? Let me know in the comments.
Obskura And Then Some 