The Best Anime of 2024

Winner: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

Adapting the manga series by Kanehito Yamada and illustrated by Tsukasa Abe, this beautiful, thoughtful, and deeply engaging series took our top spot and our hearts. Our review of the premiere episode described it as “a leisurely paced trip into a lush fantasy world,” which certainly sums up one of the reasons the series sings. But this isn’t some simple adventure fantasy. Instead, the series offers a deep, introspective look at life, friendship, and grief through the eyes of an elf mage after they beat the Demon Lord and brought peace to their kingdom.

Working on multiple levels, the show is dynamic and gorgeous to look at as it follows the recognizable trope of a found family on a quest, but adds an existential and unique twist as it delves into the nature of leaving loss and loved ones behind and how we deal with it, while also pondering what happens after your hero’s journey is complete. It helps that it’s also a delightfully animated show with characters you care about.

In Japan the series debuted with a record breaking 8.6 million viewers. The overwhelming response to the series has been one of wonder and excitement, especially with the knowledge that there is a second season in the works, and it was so popular that it doubled the sales of its manga and became a word of mouth smash as new and old anime fans alike discovered the sentimental show and quickly became deeply invested.