Animation Showed Up in a Big Way in 2024

Suffice it to say that 2024 was a banner year for animation, with the next year looking to do the impossible by raising the bar to new heights. As with any year, there is a healthy supply of peaks, valleys and landscapes 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.

highlight

Undoubtedly, the animated projects that seemingly set the year on fire (affectionately) were mystical, Dan Da DanAnd look back. Its last season mysticalEmmy-winner of Riot Games and Fortiche League of Legends series, underscored Netflix’s exclusive animated output and proved once again that video game adaptations are far from a dead-on-arrival creative venture. Despite the frenzy all around mysticalIts budget Being greatly overstatedThe fruits of its animators’ labor spit in the face of any bigwig executive who claims AI is the future of animation.

Likewise the meteoric rise of science Dan da dan It’s so hard to deny that Netflix, Crunchyroll, and Hulu are teaming up to simulcast anime throughout the fall season—a rarity that’s only happened to anime a handful of times before. Chainsaw Man And Zom 100: Bucketlist of the Dead. Despite the orange streamer Reservations about promoting the showBroadcasting shared anime proved to be a big-brained move, considering Dan da dan This fall was consistently the de facto anime to watch, adapting creator Yukinobu Tatsu’s ongoing manga with an unprecedented level of artistry.

Whether you’re creative or not, feature anime films from Studio Durian Chainsaw Man A shot of creator Tatsuki Fujimoto, look back, It was a much needed reminder of why art is as painful as it is inspiring. Furthermore, fearing the film would never make it to North American cinemas, the film was so sought after that it went away to over-performdrink An extended releaseAnd stream on Prime video in quick succession. If that’s not a testament to the power of animation in 2024, we don’t know what is.

Continuous banger

Like the final leg of a relay race, ongoing anime holds the fort for anime fans worldwide. The core of them is like series a piece, Bleach: The Thousand Year WarAnd new series in between The late Akira ToriyamaIts long-running shounen anime series, Dragon Ball Daima.

The aforementioned shonen shows, while still within the anime community, are similar to new-age anime Oshi no Ko And Frozen: Beyond the Journey’s End As an exciting new direction for the genre has become a staple of the zeitgeist. It’s been fantastic to see their explorations of the dark side of the entertainment industry and how life gets strained after taking on an elaborate adventure continue into 2024; We will look for them to raise the bar in the coming years.

Likewise, output with Disney and Pixar films in the West Moana d And Inside Out 2 Proved that even sequels that may seem rote after first blush can still surprise audiences. DreamWorks also came to play big with a surprise: the emotional rollercoaster, wild robot.

low light

Despite the hype, 2024 also had its fair share of stinkers. Chief among them was the adult adaptation of Junji Ito’s magnum opus, Uzumakiand the second season of Ultra-Competition blue lock Anime has had its fair share of forgettable projects in 2024, though Hoist the petard hype For these titles above, to borrow a phrase from Bill Shakespeare.

While it is easy for fans to blame shows for poor quality, it is essential to recognize that the real reason behind the flaws of highly anticipated shows is Unrealistic schedules imposed on animators by higher ups. These conditions compel animators Complete a show under great pressureleading to disappointing results for fans and Crisis for workers. Hope to see you next year More animators are getting the respect they deserve and less Space ceiling-less exclusive.

It would also be remiss not to mention it Massive anime leaks this fall As another bright low light of the year. Fortunately, the online community came together to help stop the spread of the anticipated show, trying not to spoil the fun for fellow fans and animators who poured all their talent into their official release.

A big year for fantasy

In a refreshing change of pace, this year saw a return to animation form Stellar fantasy anime That wasn’t the derivative Isekai and reincarnation series that have oversaturated the space for the past decade. Leading the charge in the fantasy anime renaissance was studio Madhouse to freeze and trigger’s Delicious in the dungeon. Like the Return Fantasy series Mushoku Tensei: Rebirth of the Baker, Re: ZeroAnd anyway High Quality ended the year by reminding fans that the best of the genre still has to offer.

Lots of remakes

Hollywood isn’t the only industry that has innovated in making something that was old again to a new generation of fans. Globally, animation has been riding that wave for quite some time. However, no group remake has come close to the level of acclaim that mangaka Rumiko Takahashi has Urusei Yatsura And Ranma 1/2 In addition to continuing the long-held belief that there are female mangakas out there, these particular remakes showcased the versatility of animation studios. JoJo’s Bizarre AdventureIts David Productions and Jujutsu KaisenIts mappa doesn’t take itself too seriously whenever they are tasked with adapting to shonen. They’re funny and cute, and I want more remakes of Takahashi’s works now

Near the end

The elephant in the room in 2024 was the reality that many marquee Shonen series of anime, e.g My Hero Academia, Demon SlayerAnd Jujutsu KaisenTheir final curtain call is winding down. when JJK will be More time on the clock This is before he reaches the final page of his manga Finished in September, My Hero Academia And Demon SlayerIts ends are closer together. In typical utotable fashion, Demon SlayerIt would culminate in a film trilogy, when My Hero AcademiaIts final season is set to premiere sometime next year These shows are coming to an end not only for their undeniable influence on the anime community as the new wave of shonen—their endings also come with excitement that the new shows will define the next generation of anime.

Testing the water

As mentioned above, this year has seen a new wave of animated projects that boldly enrich the medium with unique stories that innovate beyond the clichés and trends of past generations. In order not to double the length of this already long report card, here’s a short list of more shows that we felt brought something new and worthwhile to 2024:

• Go Go Loser Ranger
• Kaiju No. 8
• The elusive samurai
• Shangri-La Frontier
• Orb: In the movement of the earth
• Yakuza Fiancé
• blue box
• Solo leveling
• Apothecary Diary
• my happy marriage
• Yatagarasu: A crow does not choose its master
• Gentry Chow vs. Underworld
• Invincible Fight Girl
• Ultraman Rising
• Mars Express
• Robot dreams
• Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

If you’ve passed on any of these, be sure to check them out over the holidays and be sure to nod our approval of the artistic taste and thrilling artistry displayed by the media above.

All that to say, 2024 was an exciting year for animation, and 2025 looks set to grow even more with exciting new TV shows, sequels, and movies. If we haven’t mentioned an animated show or movie that you think deserves recognition, we encourage you to sign up before we feed you more animation in 2025—and lead your fellow animation experts to some good shit. .

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