The 10 Best Anime Moments Of 2024

Adding up all the seasonal TV anime listed on AniChart, 199 anime series either premiered or returned to Japanese TV in 2024 — and that number doesn't include shorts, movies, direct to video-slash-streaming releases, and ongoing series continuing from previous years. Simply put, there is too much anime for anyone to watch all of it, and there's reason to fear this high quantity might be approaching too much for anyone to make under current conditions. On the positive side, all this anime being made means there's something for everyone to enjoy from the past year's bounty.

As such, fans of different anime genres will naturally gravitate towards different choices for their favorite moments of the year (though it must be said that fans of fantasy anime were eating particularly good this year). While acknowledging there are still well-loved anime from 2024 I have yet to get around to, the following list celebrates the moments in anime across genres — from mecha to music to shows almost impossible to describe — that stirred up the most excitement and emotion over the past year.

Cast: Atsumi Tanezaki, Kana Ichinose, Sayumi Suzushiro

Episode Director: Hirotaka Mori

Rating: TV-14

Studio: Madhouse

Genre: Fantasy/Drama

Where to watch: Crunchyroll

"Frieren: Beyond Journey's End," a high fantasy series about what happens after the genre's typical brave adventurers save the world from the perspective of an immortal elf for whom 50 years ago feels like yesterday, instantly stood out as one of the best new anime when it premiered in the fall of 2023. The 1st season continued into winter 2024, with the action-packed "First Class Mage Exam" arc, featuring the elf Frieren and her human apprentice Fern competing against other colorful characters in a series of magic tests.

Episode 26, "A Fatal Vulnerability," features the striking conclusion to the series' most intense battle yet, wherein Frieren and Fern have to fight against an exact replica of Frieren with all of her memories and magical abilities. The evenly matched showdown features the biggest displays of Frieren's magical power so far, depicted with the most beautiful animation. The secret to victory in such a tight match? Frieren's clone, just like Frieren herself, underestimates Fern's strength.

Cast: Kentaro Kumagai, Sayaka Senbongi, Asuna Tomari, Hiroshi Naka

Episode Director: Chiho Kiyota

Rating: TV-MA

Studio: TRIGGER

Genre: Fantasy/Comedy

Where to watch: Netflix

The other hit fantasy anime of early 2024, "Delicious in Dungeon," follows a dungeon-exploring crew with two goals: to rescue party leader Laios' sister Falin from the stomach of the Red Dragon ... and to fill their own stomachs with as many monster meat recipes as possible. Perfect for the Venn Diagram of "Dungeons & Dragons" players and fans of cooking shows! Episode 12, the second part of the mid-season three-episode Red Dragon arc, marks a dramatic turning point for the serious quest while still making time for the fun cooking elements.

Having pulled Falin's bones and staff out of the Red Dragon at the end of the previous episode, the elf Marcille reveals her secret knowledge of black magic, using the dragon's flesh and blood to resurrect her mostly-digested friend from the dead. If you thought there wouldn't be consequences for using black magic ... you obviously haven't read a story involving black magic before. But the reveal of what those consequences are is still a few episodes off, and for now, at least, Falin and the party are able to celebrate together with dragon soup and steaks.

Cast: Ryota Suzuki, Yohei Azakami, Kenichi Suzumura

Episode Director: Yoshinari Saito

Rating: 14+

Studio: CygamesPictures

Genre: Mecha

Where to watch: Crunchyroll

One of the few original mecha anime released in 2024, "Brave Bang Bravern!" spends eight of its 12 episodes on a homoerotic love triangle; will Japanese mecha pilot Isami Ao fall for his American soldier comrade Lewis Smith ... or for Bravern, the sentient super-robot who keeps making innuendos about wanting Isami "inside" him? Episode 9, "Isami! We Must Save the World Together!" reveals this choice to be a false dichotomy for shippers. Isami never had to choose between Lewis and Bravern because Lewis is Bravern.

When Lewis dies in battle, his ghost refuses to pass on to the afterlife, instead traveling back in time and becoming Bravern — the exact sort of over-the-top heroic figure Lewis grew up idolizing watching TV shows. This wild twist sits right at a delightful intersection of clever self-awareness and camp sincerity, a perfect representation of the appeal of the series' "fantastic super-robots in a realistic world" premise.

Cast: RINA, Yuri, Mirei

Episode Director: Miho Hirayama

Rating: 12+

Studio: Toei

Genre: Music

Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Hoopla

Due to unusual delays in streaming licensing, "Girls Band Cry" was one of the more unsung anime of 2024 among American fandom, but those catching up on the year's best should make time for it. This computer-animated series about girls in a rock band stands out for its refreshingly messy characters whose screw-ups and personal drama make the musical performances all the more powerful.

Togenashi Togeari's performance at the music festival on Episode 11, "The Center of the World," is the high point. Diamond Dust, the band that Togenashi's guitarist Momoka left for going too pop, has suddenly gone back to its rock roots to the audience's delight, so pressure is on for Togenashi to put on their best possible show. The credits start rolling early, so you might be tricked into thinking the episode's going to end before we get to the performance, but that's a fake-out. After taking the stage, Nina introduces the group with brutal honesty about her insecurities — and then puts those insecurities to song. The sequence's incredible cinematography presents one of the strongest arguments in favor of CG anime yet.

Cast: Takeo Otsuka, Seiji Maeda, Megumi Han

Episode Director: Daisuke Hiramaki

Rating: TV-14

Studio: Doga Kobo

Genre: Drama/Mystery

Where to watch: HIDIVE

"Oshi no Ko" is among the stranger anime hits of recent years to describe — an otaku reincarnation fantasy as a Trojan horse for a vengeance-seeking murder mystery, which is itself a Trojan horse for a grounded, realistic study of various parts of the Japanese entertainment industry. In 2024, the anime's 2nd season centers around the production of a "2.5D" stage play based on a "Demon Slayer"-esque manga called "Tokyo Blade."

While Season 2's developments in the murder-mystery parts of the plot were as thrilling as hyped, it's even more impressive how the primary theater story proves equally compelling. Episode 17, "Growth," is a particular standout as the moment of redemption for arrogant model Melt Narushima, defying low expectations from early rehearsals and putting Kana's extra training to good use to display far more acting talent than anyone expected. Thanks to Doga Kobo's top-notch animation, Melt and Sakuya's stage combat sword fight ends up being one of the year's most impressive anime fight scenes.

Cast: Yumi Kawai, Mizuki Yoshida

Director: Kiyotaka Oshiyama

Rating: 13+

Studio: Studio Durian

Genre: Drama

Where to watch: Prime Video

"Look Back" is the best anime movie released stateside in 2024 (and one of 2024's best movies in medium). This adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto's one-shot manga takes a dark turn in its second half, but its most iconic sequence comes earlier on: the scene of Fujino running in the rain.

The moment comes after Fujino meets Kyomoto for the first time, realizing the artist she'd negatively compared herself to years ago is actually a fan of her work and wants to collaborate on projects together. Having found a friend and a creative partner who inspires her to start drawing again, Fujino starts to speed up on her walk home through the rain. Soon, she's skipping and splashing and sprinting — a torrent of complicated emotions about her life so far and the new opportunities ahead of her. Oshiyama's animation fleshes out panels of the manga into a minute-long sequence of beauty.

Cast: Uki Stakae, Shin-ichiro Miko, Mariya Ise

Episode Director: Hiroshi Nagahama, Kouichirou Sohtome

Rating: TV-MA

Studio: Fugaku (for this episode)

Genre: Horror

Where to watch: Max, AdultSwim.com

When a four-episode anime spends over five years in production, it could only mean one of two things — either the animators were taking their time making something perfect, or something went really wrong in the production. In the case of the Adult Swim-produced adaptation of Junji Ito's classic horror manga "Uzumaki," it was unfortunately mostly the latter — except for the first episode, which is still one of the most stunning pieces of television animation in recent memory despite the ugly mess that would follow.

That first episode is the only one credited to the show's originally announced series director Hiroshi Nagahama, and the only time Ito's difficult-to-adapt style has been faithfully replicated in animation. Eerie scenes of people turning into and being consumed by spirals are presented with exceptional fluidity and detailed line-work in black and white. The pacing is a bit on the fast side, and you can argue that a four-episode adaptation of the whole manga was doomed from conception, but for one episode, it's no wonder a lot of critics got tricked into thinking they were witnessing an all-timer.

Cast: Maaya Sakamoto, Kenjiro Tsuda, Koichi Makishima

Episode Director: Masato Miyoshi

Rating: TV-MA

Studio: Madhouse

Genre: Historical Drama

Where to watch: Netflix

It took "Game of Thrones" nine episodes to get to the stunning twist of killing off its seeming protagonist. "Orb: On the Movements of the Earth" gets there in just three. Rafal, a young student devoted to the "heresy" that the Earth revolves around the sun in an age where the Church claims that Earth is the center of the universe, is certainly doomed, but did anyone (well, anyone who hadn't read Uoto's manga first) expect him to die just three episodes in?

But that's exactly what happens on the anime's third episode, "I... Believe In Heliocentrism." Given the choice between recanting his beliefs and being subjected to torture by the inquisition, Rafal rejects both options by taking his own life. But while Rafal dies for scientific truth, the search for this truth doesn't die with him — after his death, the story jumps ahead 10 years later, with a new set of protagonists pursuing the same theories.

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Cast: Kappei Yamaguchi, Megumi Hayashibara, Noriko Hidaka

Episode Director: Parako Shinohara

Rating: TV-MA

Studio: MAPPA

Genre: Romcom/Action

Where to watch: Netflix

The 2024 "Ranma 1/2" anime is thus far a very direct adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi's 1987-1996 manga, the first several arcs of which were previously adapted into an anime from 1989-1992. This isn't a series that's breaking any new ground, but Takahashi's gender-bending martial arts manga became a classic for a reason, and revisiting these beloved characters in MAPPA's stylishly animated new version is a reliable source of entertainment.

Ryoga Hibiki, Ranma's dedicated arch-nemesis (for very silly reasons Ranma barely remembers), is one of the series' best characters. His first big fight with Ranma at school on Episode 4, "The Hunter," is a standout, his heavy weapon umbrella and razor-sharp bandanas pushing the combat to new levels of absurdity. The battle benefits from the colorful stylization of MAPPA's animation, helping answer the question of the point of remaking "Ranma 1/2" to begin with (beyond the obvious answer of money).

Cast: Shion Wakayama, Natsuki Hanae, Ayane Sakura

Episode Director: Kotaro Matsunaga

Rating: TV-MA

Studio: Science SARU

Genre: Fantasy/Action/Romcom

Where to watch: Netflix, Crunchyroll, Hulu

"Dandadan," a fantasy action rom-com that excels in all of its disparate genres, is a serious contender for anime of the year. The show's 7th episode, "To a Kinder World," is its best so far, and arguably the best anime episode of 2024. Who knew an episode that begins with a battle to retrieve a lost testicle could also make you cry?

To be clear, the crying has nothing to do with Okarun's missing junk. What's so tragic here is the backstory for the yokai antagonist Acrobatic Silky. Startling flashbacks to her human life reveal in disturbing detail how she died by suicide after debt collectors kidnapped her daughter. Wandering as a spirit, she became a monster to protect Aira, an orphaned girl who once saw her ghost and mistook her for her mother.

In the name of protecting the now-teenage Aira, however, Acro-Silky eats and kills the girl she believes to be her "daughter." Filled with remorse, she sacrifices her own aura to bring Aira back to life. Before the yokai fades away from existence, filled with regret and suffering, Aira gives Acro-Silky one last hug and prays for the memory of her family not to be forgotten. This beautifully heartbreaking ending reveals the more sensitive side to Aira's character and to "Dandadan" as a whole.

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