Animation appeared in a big way in 2024

Suffice to say, 2024 has been a banner year for animation, with next year looking to do the impossible by raising the bar to new heights. Like every year, there are peaks, valleys, and a whole supply of scenic views to be had in between. With that frame of mind, here’s a progress report on the highlights, lowlights, and trends of animated shows and movies in 2024.

Highlights

Undoubtedly, the animated projects that apparently set fire to the (affectionate) year were the herculean efforts of Arcane, Dan Da Danand Look back. The last season of ArcaneRiot Games and Fortiche’s Emmy-winning League of Legends The series, underlined the exclusive animated production of Netflix and showed once again that the adaptations of video games are far from a creative adventure dead on arrival. Despite the frenzy around Arcanethe budget of being highly overratedthe fruits of their animators’ labor spit in the face of any bigwig executive touting AI as the future of animation.

Likewise, the meteoric rise of Science Saru Dan Da Dan it was so hard to deny that Netflix, Crunchyroll, and Hulu simulcast anime together throughout the fall season — a rare phenomenon that’s only happened a handful of times before with anime like Chainsaw Man and Zom 100: Bucketlist of the Dead. Despite the orange streamer reservations about the promotion of the showThe joint issue of the anime proved to be a big brained move, considering Dan Da Dan was still the de facto anime to watch this fall, adapting creator Yukinobu Tatsu’s ongoing manga with unprecedented levels of art.

Whether you’re creative or not, Studio Durian’s anime film Chainsaw Man a shot of creator Tatsuki Fujimoto, Look back, it was a much-needed reminder of why art and the pursuit of it are as painful as they are inspiring. Moreover, the film was so highly sought after, given the fears that it would never come to North American cinema, that it went on overperformpick up an extended releaseand stream on Prime Video in rapid succession. If that’s not a testament to the power of animation in 2024, we don’t know what is.

Consistent bangers

Like the last leg in a relay race, ongoing anime has held the fort for anime fans around the world. The key among them are series like One piece, Bleach: Thousand Year Warand the newest series in the late Akira Toriyamathe long-running shonen anime series, Dragon Ball Daima.

While the above mentioned shonen shows are held in the anime community, new age anime likes it Oshi no Ko and Freezing: Beyond the end of the journey have become a staple in the zeitgeist as an exciting new direction for the genre. His explorations of the dark side of the entertainment industry and how life presses on after a sprawling adventure were remarkable to see continue in 2024; we will look to them to continue to raise the bar in the years to come.

In addition, production in the West with Disney and Pixar films as Moana 2 and Inside Out 2 proved that even sequences that might seem rote at first blush can still amaze audiences. DreamWorks also came to play in a big way with a surprise: the emotional roller coaster, The wild robot.

Lowlights

Despite the hype, 2024 also had its fair share of stinkers. Among the main ones was Adult Swim’s adaptation of Junji Ito’s magnum opus, Uzumakiand the second season of the ultra-competitive Blue lock souls While 2024 has had its fair share of forgettable projects, its own petard has lived up to the hype for these titles above, to borrow a phrase from Bill Shakespeare.

While it is easy for fans to blame the shows for being poor in quality, it is essential to recognize that the real reason behind the flaws of the highly anticipated shows is the unrealistic schedules imposed on entertainers by higher ups. These conditions force animators to perform a performance under immense pressureleading to disappointing results for fans and crunch for workers. Hope to see you next year more entertainers getting the respect they deserve and less roofless monopolies of space.

It would also be remiss not to speak massive soul leaks this fall like another light of the year. Fortunately, the online community came together to help stop the spread of highly anticipated shows, trying to prevent them from ruining the fun for their fellow fans and entertainers who pour all their talent into their official release.

A great year for fantasy

In a refreshing change of pace, this year has seen animation return to form, put out stellar fantasy anime that wasn’t the derivative series isekai and reborn that have oversaturated the space for the last decade. Leading the charge in the renaissance of fantasy anime were studio Madhouse’s Freeze and Trigger Delicious in Dungeon. Return the fantasy series as Mushoku Tensei: Reincarnation without work, Re: Zeroand Konosuba concluded the year by reminding fans of the high quality that the best of the genre still has to offer.

Remakes galore

Hollywood is not the only industry that has discovered the novelty of making something that was once old new again to a new generation of fans. Globally, animation has been riding that wave for a long time. However, no remake group has come close enough to the level of acclaim that mangaka Rumiko Takahashi has. Urusei Yatsura and Ranma 1/2 to get. In addition to continuing the long-held belief that female mangaka have the sauce, these particular remakes have shown the versatility of animation studios such as JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure‘s David Production is Jujutsu Kaisen‘s Map whenever they are not in charge of adapting shonen that takes itself too seriously. They are fun and cute, and I want more remakes of Takahashi’s works now

The end is near

The elephant in the room in 2024 was the reality that many of the brand shonen anime series, such as My Hero Academia, Demon Slayerand Jujutsu Kaisenthey stretch until their final curtain call. While JJK will have more time on the clock before he reaches the final page of his manga that concluded in September, My Hero Academia and Demon Slayerthe ends of the animal are closer in view. In typical Utotable fashion, Demon SlayerThe final will be a trilogy of films, while My Hero AcademiaThe final season of the season is scheduled to premiere next year. These shows coming to an end is notable only for their undeniable influence on the anime community as the new wave of shonen – their end also comes with the excitement of what new shows will define the next generation of souls.

Test the waters

As mentioned above, this year has seen a new wave of animated projects that boldly enrich the medium with unique stories that have innovated beyond the clichés and trends of past generations. In order not to double the length of this long balance sheet, here is a short list of more shows that we feel will bring something new and are worthwhile in 2024:

• Go Go Loser Ranger
• Kaiju no. 8
• The Elusive Samurai
• Shangri-la Frontier
• Orb: On the Earth’s Movements
• Yakuza bail
• Blue Box
• Solo level
• Diaries of the apothecary
• My Happy Marriage
• Yatagarasu: A raven does not choose its master
• Jentry Chau vs The Underworld
• Invincible fighting girl
• Ultraman Rising
• Mars Express
• Robot Dreams
• Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

If you have passed any of these, be sure to take a look over the holiday break and nod in approval of our artistic taste and the exciting artwork on display from the media above.

All of this to say, 2024 was an exciting year for animation, and 2025 looks set to raise the bar even higher with exciting new TV shows, sequels, and movies. If we missed out on not mentioning an animated show or movie that you think deserves to be recognized, we encourage you to subscribe – just like that – and put your fellow animation connoisseurs on good shit before celebrating even more animation in 2025. .

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