Every year feels like the best year of anime yet. 2024 once again is not an exception to the rule. There may be less immediately recognizable titles hitting screens, but that opens the door up for surprises. Decades-old stories are punching right alongside new biggest deals, which has led to a pretty diverse line up for the first half of the year. Here’s what InBetweenDrafts has enjoyed so far, alphabetically:
A Sign of Affection
Through painstaking and thoughtful animation, A Sign of Affection has become one of the greatest surprises of 2024 so far. The shojo anime delicately handles its protagonist’s hearing disability through dextrous animation that captures sign language and her other means of communication with seamless grace. The romance at its center is tender and sweet as we grow to better understand the two and why they’re drawn together. It’s the best romance anime of the year so far, delivering visuals as potent as its story. [Ally Johnson]
Watch A Sign of Affection on Crunchyroll.
Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!
On the surface, Cherry Magic! presents a ludicrous premise as it follows a man who, after turning 30, discovers new magical powers due to being a virgin. However, Yuu Toyota’s BL manga adaptation is a shockingly thoughtful and compassionate look at adult romance and communication. While the animation doesn’t always meet expectations, the narrative is beautifully handled. Miscommunication between our romantic leads works itself out through adult conversations, and what begins as a gimmick with the magical powers resolves itself into an integral storytelling element that allows for their romance to blossom further. [Ally Johnson]
Watch Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! on Crunchyroll.
Delicious in Dungeon
Delicious in Dungeon (called Dungeon Meshi by the hardcore) isn’t just one of the year’s best anime so far. It’s one of the best pieces of media released, period. Studio TRIGGER is the perfect home for Ryoko Kui’s manga adaptation, with its madcap animation style and kinetic action. With delightful world-building and some of the most lovable characters in anime this season, the series finds new ways to up the ante in each episode. The show is, literally, a feast for the eyes as we take in the details of this world that work both against and in tandem with the broad strokes of comedy that fuel certain episodes of the series. The way it marries mayhem with heartfelt, character-driven stories is magic. [Ally Johnson]
Watch Delicious in Dungeon on Netflix.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End second cour
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is one of the top anime of 2024 and there’s no doubt about it. The second cour of the anime revolves around two major plot points. The first being Sein leaving the party to find his friend while the second is all about the first-class mage exam. Both plots play an important part in continuing Frieren’s growth that we’ve seen throughout the first cour. We also get to see another elf interact with Frieren and how their kind of tense relationship impacts the story as whole. The second cour of Frieren does what the first started to do: humanizing Frieren herself in small ways with people outside of the party and it does it excellently. [Kayla Chu]
Watch Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End on Crunchyroll.
Go! Go! Loser Ranger!
Go! Go! Loser Ranger takes a unique path to deconstruction. Superhero takedowns are hardly a new concept, but Loser Ranger frames the darkness in its Sentai team as a given. The surprises instead come from those who join Fighter D’s espionage plan. By framing the story entirely within the Rangers, the series can be critical of Sentai beyond “superheroes bad.” This narrative is paired with surprisingly elastic animation that fits the silly inspiration without undermining the darker seinen elements. On top of all this, Loser Ranger gets to be paired with a new Tatsuya Kitani banger for its OP. [Travis Hymas]
Watch Go! Go! Loser Ranger! on Hulu.
Jellyfish Can’t Swim In The Night
Jellyfish Can’t Swim In The Night is a breath of fresh air in its genre. The story of four young women who come together to create is heartfelt in every frame. Anyone who has ever tried to create will identify the complex emotions that come with creating. The girls of JELEE are their own harshest critics, as we all are want to do. As they find success and struggle in equal measure, the self-doubt threatens to break the group up. Jellyfish celebrates modern day creators online by showing characters overcoming in this world with their art. Dogo Kobo couches this in a beautiful presentation, every performance shines with the skills they honed on Oshi No Ko. [Travis Hymas]
Watch Jellyfish Can’t Swim In The Night on HiDive.
Kaiju No. 8
Even without the giant monsters, Kaiju No. 8 is easily one of the biggest anime of the year. Rookie Pirate Radio listeners will know my skepticism of some of the production choices, but credit where it’s due. Kafka, the thirty-something kaiju, is very much a shonen protagonist, but is very unique given his age. Rather than being a cynical gag character, Kafka is just as earnest as any Naruto or Deku. He is easily the series heart, inspiring everyone around him and the audience as we’re taught in real time that it’s never too late to try to dream again. [Travis Hymas]
Watch Kaiju No. 8 on Crunchyroll.
Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation
Yes, One Piece has been cooking with gas all year long. But Monsters is the first chance in a very long time for a different kind of Eiichiro Oda adaptation. E&H production, led by Jujutsu Kaisen’s Sunghoo Park, makes the very short one-shot sing despite the short run time. While being a different tone than Oda’s grand opus, Monsters has a lot of what makes Oda’s work so enduring. Ryoma is an atypical hero, but stands up when something is clearly wrong and makes short work of those behind it. It’s not difficult to see many of the Straw Hats in him. [Travis Hymas]
Watch Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation on Netflix.
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2, part 2
Originally, I didn’t think I was going to make it through Mushoku Tensei. The protagonist is a 34 year old hikikomori that gets reincarnated into a fantasy world, and treats it like a JRPG in various troublesome ways. His growing pains of becoming a more genuine part of his new world and leaving his past behind has won me over. The problematic tropes dwindle as Rudeus ages, and more of his past gets closure in this world as he grows into a new person. Season 2 is highlighting that growth. Now, I’m genuinely looking forward to each new episode. [Drea H.]
Watch Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 on Crunchyroll.
My Hero Academia Season 7
It is frankly shocking just how good the seventh season of My Hero Academia is. Perhaps because it’s run into some slumps in recent years (most notably season five), there’s just always a back-of-the-brain assumption that the longer a series goes on, the more fatigue is evident. That is not the case here. With some of the series’ greatest visuals to date and one of the best episodes the series has ever released, season 7 reminds us why we became fans in the first place. As our heroes face their greatest threats to date while hurtling along in the decisive war of their times, the series finds necessary gravitas as Deku, Bakugou, and co. stand up against seemingly impossible stakes. [Ally Johnson]
Watch My Hero Academia on Crunchyroll.
Sand Land
Really, it is absolutely unacceptable that there is a stellar new Akira Toriyama adaptation that you can watch right now and you probably didn’t know it. Hulu has absolutely dropped the ball marketing it, but Sand Land is worth seeking out. Hands down one of the best CG anime in the entire medium, Sand Land effortlessly adapts Toriyama iconic character designs. The series even gets the honor of being one of the last Toriyama consulted on, which leads to the second half being an all new adventure for Beelzebub, the son of Satan. That sounds like filler, but it fits like a glove. [Travis Hymas]
Watch Sand Land on Hulu.
The Apothecary Diaries
What do you get when you combine a girl with a taste for poisons and a historical drama? The Apothecary Diaries! Set during the Tang dynasty, Maomao is an apothecary who works in the red-light district but is eventually sold to the Imperial Palace as a lady-in-waiting. Her knowledge of medicines allow her to help the emperor’s children and concubines who have fallen ill – this also catches the attention of Jinshi who runs the administration of the rear palace. The growth of Maomao within the palace and with Jinshi in particular is an amazing thing to watch throughout the anime. As the season goes on, The Apothecary Diaries only gets better with each episode. [Kayla Chu]
Watch The Apothecary Diaries on Crunchyroll.
Wind Breaker
If you’re looking to fill the Tokyo Revengers hole in your heart, Wind Breaker is the anime for you. Following the teenage delinquent trope, Wind Breaker revolves around Haruka Sakura, a teenage boy who transfers to Furin High School, a school most known for it’s gangs and fighting, after being treated like a reject all because of his looks. The animation in Wind Breaker is smooth, and stays true to the manga aesthetic that makes it more than just another story about delinquents fighting. Wind Breaker is definitely one of the sleeper hits of the 2024 anime scene and more people should be watching. [Kayla Chu]
Watch Wind Breaker on Crunchyroll.
Feature image Hulu, HiDive, Crunchyroll, Netflix
Travis Hymas is a freelance writer and self appointed Pokémon historian out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Known to be regularly obessive over pop culture topics, gaming discourse, and trading card games, he is a published critic featured on sites such as Uppercut and The Young Folks.
