10 Anime With The Best Animation of 2024, Ranked

Anime studios push boundaries to produce top-notch anime series every year. This year alone, Cloverworks produced three breakout series, including Wind Breaker, and Ufotable consistently produced high-quality action sequences for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.

It is a privilege for fans to see talented animators produce extraordinary anime based on popular light novels and manga. However, some trending anime series stood out this year for their animation quality. Here’s the top noteworthy anime series of 2024 that should be on the radar.

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10. Wind Breaker is the Latest Martial Arts & "Yakuza-like" Anime
Showcasing Martial Arts in an Artistic Form

The anime studio Cloverworks had a breakout year. Cloverworks produced trendy anime series, including the shōnen martial arts anime, Wind Breaker. Haruka Sakura enrolls in Furin High School, an institution known to house the strongest fighters. He joins the Bofurin, a group of Furin students who use their fighting skills to protect the townspeople of Makochi. While enrolled in Furin High School, Haruka learns the true meaning of friendship and physical strength by affiliating himself with the Bofurin.

One of the challenges of producing a sports anime is imitating natural human motion, but the animators of Wind Breaker take on that challenge. Wind Breaker is a martial arts anime, and so, there’s a visual expectation that fight scenes have captivating martial arts techniques. Cloverworks honors the love of competition and martial arts through the movements and dialogue in the Bofurin and Shishitoren fights. For example, Cloverworks animators use wind gusts to indicate the quick speed and agility of punches and kicks, and they show the beauty of martial arts as a dance between competitors through the characters' internal monologues. The animators for Wind Breaker truly brought martial arts to life in anime form.

9. Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf is a Remake
Updating the Beloved Series With Modern Animation

In honor of the light novel’s 15th anniversary, Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf is a remake of the 2008 series of the same name. A merchant named Kraft Lawrence meets a female wolf deity of harvest, Holo. Due to her village losing faith in her harvesting powers, Holo joins Kraft on his journey, traveling to neighboring towns. She promises to help Kraft with his business in exchange for returning to her homeland.

The franchise capitalized on the remake trend with its new rendition of the Spice and Wolf anime. Fans can see the advancement of animation by comparing the original and new series. Both series highlight the art style of its time, but the remake adapted the art style of the light novel illustrations. The anime’s character designs showcase distinct and expressive facial features, and the backgrounds are highly detailed and saturated with rustic and blue hues, showcasing the beauty of the woodlands and farmlands. The remastered Spice and Wolf anime is a prime example of highlighting the advancement of animation in contrast to the original series.

8. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Consistency is Key
Demon Slayer Animators Always Impress Viewers

The fourth season of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba premiered this year. The season focuses on the “Hashira Training” arc. Tanjiro Kamado and the Demon Slayer Corps train with the Hashira in preparation for their fight against Muzan Kibutsuji and the Twelve Kizuki. Even though the fourth season was only eight episodes and there wasn’t much content that contributed to the main plot’s progression, the fourth season provided more character development for the rest of the Hashira and the progression of Tanjiro’s training as a demon slayer.

Ufotable has consistently produced high-quality animation for Demon Slayer. This story arc takes on a lighter tone as there are more humorous moments between Hashira and Tanjiro. For example, facial expressions are strategically used to convey specific emotions, such as veins popping to indicate annoyance or frustration. Furthermore, Ufotable took intricate care in the first and last episodes. There’s a strong use of CGI animation when creating the epic explosions of the Ubuyashiki household and Muzan's detainment. In addition, the fights against the demons were so exhaustive in detail regarding the Hashira’s breathing techniques. Unlike some other seasonal anime which are known to have a decline in animation quality, Ufotable has been consistent in producing high-quality animation for Demon Slayer each season.

7. Kaiju No. 8 Contributes to the Trending Kaiju Genre
Kaiju Are More Menancing Through 3D Animation & Hand-Drawing

Kaiju No. 8, a kaiju sci-fi series, was another highly anticipated anime this year. Kafka Hibino dreams of becoming an officer in the Japanese Anti-Kaiju Defense Force. Unfortunately, he failed the exam several times, causing him to give up on his dream. One day, Kafka accidentally consumes a kaiju, allowing him to transform into one. He decides to apply for the defense force one last time and passes the exam. Kafka becomes a reliable officer and uses his kaiju powers for the sake of humanity.

In Kaiju No. 8, the fight scenes use a mix of traditional hand drawing and 3D animation. There is an extensive use of 3D animation during action sequences involving complex camera movement. For example, 3D animation is heavily used during the fight between Vice-Captain of the Third Division, Soshiro Hoshino, and Kaiju No.8. In these action sequences, Soshiro Hoshino swiftly uses his dual swords to slice through a kaiju’s exterior. Furthermore, the animation crew took inspiration from actual military combat to depict epic battle scenes against kaiju. Kaiju No. 8 excels in balancing the hand-drawn art style with 3D animation, so it doesn’t look too overbearing.

6. A Sign of Affection: An Anime For Viewers Living with Hearing Disabilities
Animators Animate Speech Effectively

A Sign of Affection focuses on the love story of two college students: a student living with congenital hearing loss, Yuki Itose, and a multilingual foreign traveler named Itsuomi Nagi. A Sign of Affection is a refreshing young adult college romance anime. College romance manga isn’t always produced into an anime series, but A Sign of Affection is an exception.

A Sign of Affection sets itself apart from other romance series because it animates different forms of communication. The series is told from the perspective of Yuki Itose. Viewers witness Yuki’s opinions and thoughts on Itsuomi firsthand through her internal dialogue. However, it is difficult for her to express her feelings to him, so the animation helps bring these thoughts to life. Animators show effective communication beyond verbal dialogue. Viewers must visually read Yuki and Itsuomi’s dialogue through text messages, written notes, and sign language. Animators show great care and authenticity in animating sign language so that even viewers living with hearing loss can also comprehend the story. A Sign of Affection allows individuals who have hearing disabilities to enjoy the medium of anime, expanding anime’s popularity to a new marketing audience.

5. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End - A New Type of Hero's Adventure
An Appreciation for Everyday Life as a Mage and Hero

Although Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End premiered in the fall of 2023, the anime continued airing in the 2024 winter anime season. The elf mage, Frieren, embarks on a journey to the land where souls rest to visit her friend and comrade Himmel. During her journey, Frieren reflects on her history with Himmel and their adventures while slaying the Demon King.

Unlike other fantasy series, Frieren is a slow-paced anime featuring vignettes of Frieren’s adventures. Madhouse animators show great attention to detail when crafting an intricate and magical world. Animators would use the same locations but differentiate the past and the present by using subtle imagery or characters' aging physical appearances. Animators and editors also strategically use smooth transitions to indicate a time change. The subtle changes in imagery and transitions help the audience understand Frieren’s story.

Frieren delivers action-packed and exciting moments. In the “First-Class Mage Exam Arc,” viewers witness how powerful Frieren and Fern are as mages when they fight against replicas of themselves. The animators create an epic battle of magic among mages without overwhelming viewers with explanations of what’s going on. The use of magical imagery and the minimal tactical thoughts of the individuals in battle are enough to tell the story. Frieren excels at balancing dramatic and action events with slice-of-life moments. This strategic form of storytelling separates itself from other anime by focusing more on the subtle and everyday life of a hero rather than always having grandiose heroic adventures.

4. Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! - Animating Love & Rejection
Movement in Nature Brings Melodrama

Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! became a fan-favorite for summer. The male high school protagonist, Kazuhiko Nukumizu, befriends many of his female classmates, like Yanami Anna, because they get rejected by their crushes. The series focuses on the lives of adolescent teenagers as they navigate the challenges of unrequited love and rejection.

Consists of heavy color saturation and meticulous details to convey summer, and the color grading for the summer backgrounds is also used to create dramatic atmospheres. To represent a realistic version of summer, there is a massive amount of greenery surrounding the school, but at the same time, the greenery is heavily saturated to cast deep shadows as if the trees are blocking the sunlight. The cool and earthy undertones create a dramatic ambiance as each heroine faces rejection regarding love.

Furthermore, the characters’ emotions are dramatized through the subtle acts in nature. In Episode 1, “Professional Childhood Friend Yanami Anna’s Style of Losing,” Anna’s strands of dark blue hair blow in the wind, captivating Kazuhiko Nukumizu’s eyes. Anna’s hair strands blowing in the wind create a dramatic moment. Each character is introspective as they reflect on their romantic encounters. The animators strategically use nature's movements to create tense and melodramatic effects for the characters. It isn’t just the characters expressing their feelings in dialogue, but the setting conveys these emotions too.

3. Dandadan - Ghost & Hunting Duo Brings Fun and Stress to Their Lives
Color Symbolism in Reality & the Supernatural

Dandadan has obscure supernatural entities and a dynamic “ghost and alien hunting duo.” After entering a haunted and abandoned tunnel, Ken Takakura gets possessed by Turbo Granny, causing him to lose his male private parts. With the help of his new friend, Momo Ayase, they go on a journey to retrieve his private parts.

The animators of Dandadanstrategically use color to differentiate between reality and the supernatural. Everyday life and the main characters' visuals are shown in flat coloring. Yet, when Momo and Ken enter a supernatural realm or encounter aliens, these entities have distinct color representations. Turbo Granny is visually seen in a demonic red and the Serpo aliens that kidnapped Momo are featured in a blue hue. Furthermore, the second episode, “That’s a Space Alien, Ain’t It?!,” is cast into a monochromatic hue, establishing the Flatwood Monster’s territory. Color theory and symbolism heavily influence the animators’ character designs and backgrounds for Dandadan.

2. Delicious in Dungeon: Blending Different Genres
Western Cartoons' Influence on Anime

Delicious in Dungeon is currently the latest anime in the “Dungeons & Dragons” genre. Laois Touden and his fellow party members explore a dungeon to find a Red Dragon that kidnaps Laois’ sister, Falin.

The anime studio Trigger produced the first season of Delicious in Dungeon. Trigger has a unique animation style. Their characters' designs are more cartoonish, drawing inspiration from Western cartoon shows. The characters in Delicious in Dungeon showcase their distinct personalities through their exaggerated facial expressions and unique costume designs. For example, the party leader, Laois Touden, has extremely crazy eyes as a form of comic relief. Laois’ crazy eyes show his excitement when he discovers dungeon creatures or eats meals using dungeon monsters. His enthusiastic expressions give a comedic effect to the party’s situation, as their lives are often in danger when encountering monsters.

Studio Trigger put a great effort into the world-building of Delicious in Dungeon. The studio is known to strategically use intense coloring and an extensive amount of detailing for their backgrounds. Each floor provides a unique habitat for the monsters living there such as Living Armor, Living Paintings, and various man-eating plants. Trigger animators bring the dungeons to life with their vibrant visuals and the dynamic camera movement in each scene. In every episode, audiences witness the party being chased after by monsters or fighting them, which involves intense animation. The unique world-building and stylized character visuals make it easy for anime fans to identify a Trigger series.

1. Oshi no Ko Season 2: An Underwhelming Season, But Delivers in Animation
Animators Make Viewers Part of the Stage-Play Spectacle

Unlike its first season, the second season of Oshi no Ko was underwhelming. The second season covers the “2.5D Stage Play,” and the “Private” story arcs. Aqua is a stage play cast member for the manga series, Tokyo Blade, and he is using this opportunity to get closer to one of the actors. As for Ruby, her revival idol group, B-Komachi, is slowly gaining popularity, and they have multiple projects underway, including an original song and a music video.

Even though the storyline and character development failed to impress fans, the animation is worth discussing. The animators are limited to the composition of a stage play, and they have the difficult task of bringing a stage play to life for audiences. The animation team creatively had the actual real-life viewers of the anime act as the audience members of the stage play. In addition, they use simple stage play techniques to show movement, such as the stage lighting focusing on a specific character or the simple transitions of set displays to indicate a new location for the play. The animators seize the opportunity to showcase to viewers how a stage play operates with their animation.

Furthermore, the animators continue to impress viewers with their illustrations of the symbolic starry eyes. In this season, Aqua and Ruby unlock a dark version of their starry eyes which represents feelings of hatred and anger. The black starry eyes are further emphasized with dark imagery and shadows. For example, in the season finale, “Wish,” fans saw the final product of B-Komachi's music video for “POP IN 2.” In the colorful music video, fans can see the bubbly personalities of Kana Arima and Mem-cho, but Ruby’s camera shots are masked in darkness by her black starry eyes. The music video creates a dramatic and impactful impression on the viewer because they are aware of the circumstances behind Ruby’s visuals. The crows and dark watercolor imagery emphasize Ruby’s vengeful nature. Oshi no Ko animators continue to show the complex relationship between the viewer and the entertainment industry through animation. The animation is one of the biggest markers of success for this anime, which is why it is on the list.