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If you thought 2023 was a damn good year for anime, just wait until 2024 wraps up. Nearly every major series returned to air this summer, alongside theatrical releases that are already breaking box-office records. You may be thinking that anime couldn't get any better following last year's stellar Jujutsu Kaisen season 2, but this year's slate is blowing me away. One Piece is boasting a new animation style, Demon Slayer opened its third season with a mind-blowing one-hour special, and the action-packed Maschle contained a title song so catchy that hip-hop du0 Creepy Nuts' "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart for 19 nonconsecutive weeks.
This fall will also see Dragon Ball debut its grand return, alongside another rework of Junji Ito's Uzumaki. If that wasn't enough, new titles such as Dan Da Dan, Blue Box, and Kaiju No. 8 are sure to become fan favorites in no time. They'll also join My Hero Academia, Bleach: The Thousand Year Blood War, and Chainsaw Man, which are all set to premiere new seasons by the end of the year. Plus, hit sports anime Haikyu!! and Blue Lock took their next installments to the big screens, keeping anime fans happy at home and at the theater.
If there was ever a year in contention for the best year in anime history, 2024 is absolutely stepping up to the plate. Check out our favorites below.
1
Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle
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The 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.
2
Bartender: Glass of God
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Tired 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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3
Delicious in Dungeon
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In 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.
4
Blue Lock: Episode Nagi
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Before season 2 of the popular soccer anime arrives, Blue Lock decided to keep the baling rolling with a spin-off movie. Titled Blue Lock: Episode Nagi, the film focused on the backstory for one of the fan's favorite characters—a prodigy whom the main character teaches to fall in love with the sport once again.
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5
One Piece (Season 21)
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Send 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.
6
Blue Box
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Blue 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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7
Dan Da Dan
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Momo 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 world's are flipped upside down.
8
A Sign of Affection
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After 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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9
Kaiju No. 8
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As 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.
10
Solo Leveling
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Solo 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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11
Demon Slayer (Season 4)
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Following an explosive third season, Demon Slayer returned 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.
12
Mashle (Season 2)
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Mashle 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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13
Wind Breaker
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Crunchyroll'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.
14
Tonbo!
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Simple and serene, Tonbo! is the best new sports anime of 2024. Less fiery than the genre's more shonen-dependent staples, the new golf series on Amazon Prime Video that's set on Japan's Tokara Islands takes its time to breathe and embody the inner peace that a sport like golf provides.
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15
Metallic Rouge
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Blending themes from Neon Genesis Evangelion and Kill La Kill, Metallic Rouge is a genre-bending mech anime that doesn't shy away from its queer undertones.
16
My Hero Academia (Season 7)
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My Hero Academia heads into its long final arc beginning in season 7, as the school for superheroes plans on bringing down the League of Villains once and for all.
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17
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
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Frieren: Beyond Journey's End combines Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings fantasy with magical anime battles. The story follows a thousand-year-old elven mage who reunites with her fellow heroes years after they killed the Demon King.
18
Sand Land
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Alongside Dragon Ball Daima, Akira Toriyama's earlier project, Sand Land, received an anime adaption in 2024 thanks to Hulu. The series follows a demon child and a desperate sheriff on the lookout for water after natural disasters cover the world in sand.