It really depends on what you like, but these have been my favorites from the last couple years:
- The Apothecary Diaries - Drama about a girl who gets kidnapped and becomes a lady-in-waiting for a high-ranking concubine, but really she just wants to make drugs. A hint of mystery and romance.
- Dan Da Dan - Sometimes it’s absolutely crazy paranormal combat involving yokai and aliens, sometimes it’s a well-written romance. Sometimes it’s both.
- The Elusive Samurai - A lot of other people didn’t care for this one because they didn’t care for a show that can rapidly switch between silly comedy stuff and brutal medieval Japanese history. It has amazing animation though, and I personally didn’t find the tonal shifts off-putting.
- Chainsaw Man - The perfect show for someone who wants to watch a teenage boy have a bad time. Lots of insane action and insane people.
- LOOK BACK - This one is a movie. It follows a pair of young artists, and is a bit of a heartwrencher. Same author as Chainsaw Man. Probably the best thing I saw in 2024, and that includes Delicious in Dungeon and Frieren.
- Bang Brave Bang Bravern! - Really funny action show about the gayest robot you’ll ever see.
- The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You - Honestly you probably know from the title if this is for you. If you like harem stuff, well, this is one of the craziest and best-written harem things out there.
- Skip and Loafer - This is the only TV show on this list I liked as much as I liked LOOK BACK. It follows a young girl who leaves her rural town to go to a fancy high-school in Tokyo. Equal parts coming of age, romance, and slice of life. The thing that really sets Skip and Loafer apart, at least to me, is the characters. This is the only anime I can think of where the characters feel like people rather than cartoon caricatures of people. Don’t get me wrong, I love my goofy anime goobers, but there’s something refreshing about watching a show that follows normal people who have normal problems and react to those problems in normal ways. Now that I’ve written it out like that I have no idea how the mangaka made such a thing interesting to watch/read but it works well. Season 2 airs later this year btw.
- BOCCHI THE ROCK! - An asocial guitarist joins a band. Probably my favorite “cute girls doing cute things” anime, though I also liked “A Place Further Than the Universe”.
- Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - This works as an entry point to the Gundam franchise, if you’re interested in giving that a try. Some students get drawn into corporate conflicts as they do their best to develop piloting and mechanical skills. This one really felt like it was originally meant to be 36 episodes but got cut down to 24; the second half is somewhat rushed unfortunately.
mo_lave@reddthat.com 4 days ago
Spirited Away
Jujutsu Kaisen
Bocchi the Rock
Cowboy Bebop