Best Anime Fall 2024

As the year gradually draws to a close, the last batch of Japanese anime shows air and best anime fall 2024 may very well rank among the strongest offerings of the last 12 months. As with all quarters, the current season has nearly every genre covered, including romance, action, fantasy (isekai and others), sports, sci-fi, and even horror. At first glance, Fall has the most complete lineup of the year, most of which are streaming on Crunchyroll, HIDIVE, or Netflix in North America.

With 40+ Anime series autumn 2024viewers have plenty to choose from, which is both a blessing and a curse. Keeping up with everything can be downright exhausting, so knowing which shows to prioritize can be helpful. Let's go through the best anime of the season.

Here are some criteria and things to keep in mind:

• Leaderboards will be updated weekly.
• The current cutoff date for episodes is October 11, 2024.
• MyAnimeList scores are included for reference but are not the deciding factor.
• Only anime that debuted in Fall 2024 will be included; hence no sequels like
  One piece
  ,
  Tower of God
  or
  Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest
  .
• Click on the anime title to read a preview. Please note that not every show has it.

The waning greatness of horror

This is disappointing. After its first episode, Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror It seemed poised to break the Junji Ito anime curse by finally delivering an adaptation that somewhat lives up to the source material. You chose to replicate the visual style of the manga, Uzumaki delivered perhaps the scariest 20 minutes of the past few years, nightmare-filled minutes that leaned on space and body horror. While by no means perfect or a replacement for Ito's legendary manga, the first episode is very good and worth a watch.

Unfortunately, Uzumaki experienced one of the steepest and fastest declines in quality in anime history. While the first episode calmed people's fears that this was going to be another butchered Junji Ito adaptation, the second entry reinforced and amplified them, to the point where it killed much of the show's momentum or hype. Moments that should have been terrifying were stripped of their menace and become laughable in the process. Despite the lackluster animation, the pace of the story is too fast and feels like a cliff-hanger version of the source material. To be fair, the first episode has this problem too, but its successor is far worse.

7 365 days until the wedding

A unique romance anime about two awkward people who have to fake an upcoming marriage

Based on the manga by the same author Only God knows the world, 365 days until the wedding takes a unique look at marriage by revolving around two co-workers who decide to pretend to be engaged to reduce their chances of being transferred to Alaska by their employer. Both Rika and Takuya struggle with communication to the point where almost no one at their jobs actually knows them (or their voices). The workplace setting and mature cast immediately set the show apart from most other anime romances, and those are hardly its only unusual elements.

Rika and Takuya are not that likable. The former's pragmatism keeps both the latter and the audience at bay; meanwhile, Takuya's subdued personality is relatable but not captivating. However, both begin as fully realized characters, and 365 days does a great job of immediately establishing their dispositions, insecurities and comfort zones.

Like a Warm Blanket on a Cold Night

While not the biggest sequel to Fall 2024, Natsume's Book of Friends is a very welcome return, especially since Season 6 finished airing in 2016. A subversion of typical supernatural stories, the series revolves around Natsuma, a teenager who can see yokai and inherits his grandmother's Book of Friends, which contains the names of spirits and, by extension, controls them. So Natsume decides to start returning these names to their owners, all the while being assisted by Madara, a powerful yokai who is currently in rather weak form.

Natsume's Book of Friends is one of the greatest iyashikei life stories of all time, and it looks like season 7 will maintain the high quality of its predecessor. Moving at a refreshingly lethargic pace, the anime is comforting, fun and (at times) emotional, making it the perfect companion to the many high-octane thrill rides of Fall 2024.

A fitting tribute and celebration of Akira Toriyama's legacy

Months after the untimely death of Akira Toriyama, the legendary mangaka's final project, Dragon Ball Daimafinally started airing. So far so fantastic. Beautifully animated and imbued with timeless whimsy reminiscent Dragon Ballearly sagas, Daima it has all the makings of a modern classic that perfectly blends adventure, action and comedy, something not every storyline in this (generally great) series manages to do.

The first episode does a great job of balancing nostalgia through reworked sequences DBZ's Buu Saga while also using these moments to spin a new story that delves into the concepts it previously touched upon. While Daima has barely taken off, the future is bright and exciting.

A rare sports and romance anime that does justice to both genres

One of the most anticipated Anime autumn 2024, Blue box made its mark, thanks in part to Telecom producing stunning visual effects during the opening episode. Although composed of somewhat familiar parts, the story stands out because of how it combines sports and romance elements, two genres that occasionally interact but rarely share the spotlight equally.

Taiki has a huge crush on Chinatsu, and after seeing his passion for basketball, is inspired to take badminton seriously. Out of the blue, he suddenly has the opportunity to get much closer to Chinatsu when the two end up under the same roof. Blue box it's built around not only cute characters, but ones that have pretty great chemistry, and that goes beyond just the main two. Taiki's friendship with Kyo and Hina is also great and brings a lot of laughs.

The best Isekai anime is back for another (hopefully) great season

Re: ZERO it can be polarizing. Subaru is a frustrating protagonist for most of Season 1, though he improves as he reflects on his behavior and practices more self-awareness. While the season is generally fantastic, it threatens to overstay its welcome at certain points, especially during the long sequences with big dialogue in the second part. Still, when it comes to isekai, this anime is ambitious, cleverly written, well-animated, and likes frequent splashes of disturbing darkness.

Adaptation of the 5th part of the light novel series, Re: ZERO season 3 sends Subaru, Emilia and several other characters to Priestello. This journey is triggered by an invitation sent by Anastasia, a candidate for the Royal Selection who is seeking to win the throne ahead of Emilia and several other girls. The current storyline seems poised to delve deeper Re: ZERO's political situation, with five candidates featured prominently in the (90-minute) opening episode. Aside from Emilia, the rest of the girls should benefit greatly from further exploration, which has already proven to be the case with Priscilla.

However, the main focus of Season 3 involves the arrival of a familiar danger that threatens everyone in Priestella, and Subaru will soon find himself in another “Death Return” cycle. Re: ZERO he's always known how to balance levity with cruel tragedy, a talent brilliantly showcased in Fall 2024's lengthy first episode.

Hilarious comedy with great action and characters

Except perhaps Uzumaki, Dandadan is the most hyped new anime of Fall 2024; in fact, the first three episodes even got a theatrical run just to emphasize the dynamic of the adaptation. Science Saru seems to have completely captured the magic of the manga in its early days, creating perhaps the best debut episode of 2024. Dandadan exudes an irresistible kinetic energy brought to life through a fluid art style and explosive animation perfectly suited for both grotesque humor and fresh action sequences.

Momo and Ken take center stage as two teenagers who make a bet to see who can prove the existence of ghosts or aliens. Naturally, they get a lot more than they bargained for and are thrown into a war of bizarre otherworldly entities, supernatural grannies and confiscated items. Despite starting out as essentially strangers, Momo and Ken's friendship blossoms extremely quickly and doesn't feel rushed or forced.

The redemption arc continues

In 2012, Bleach the anime faded into obscurity, ending a nearly decade-long run that peaked early and gradually lost steam. Despite the series being pretty good in general, it seemed to become a footnote in shonen battle history, at least on the anime side. However, Pierrot decided to revive Ichigo and cover up the manga The Thousand Year Blood Warefforts that have been reworked Bleach's image and produced arguably the most consistent batch of action content of 2020 so far.

Conflictaka Part 3, continues the Soul Society's war with the Qunicy and kicks it off with two jaw-dropping battles that deliver stunning visuals, unique abilities, and shocking moments. Honestly, The Thousand Year Blood War it's so great that the sequel is worth recommending as a standalone animated showcase to someone who has no intention of watching the original Bleach.