The 6 Anime of Spring 2024 You Should Watch

It has been exactly ten years since AniTAY first published a seasonal list of recommended anime series. Since then, we have put out a list each season without fail. Ironically, this tradition almost met its end this spring after the years of regular posting and various real life events caught up with many of us. Before we knew it, the season was already over without a finished article in sight.

But it seems like such a waste to stop right when we hit ten years, doesn’t it? And so we decided to come together for another list of top new anime, timing be damned.

As you all know, the spring season ended a few weeks ago. All of these series have already aired their final episodes (barring renewal). Thus, our recommendations take a slight departure from the usual list: instead of selecting based on how much we enjoyed the first few episodes, we voted based on the complete episode count. Every show on this list is being recommended on its merits as a complete series.

I am not sure if or in what format this article series will return in the future seasons, but for now, please let us make our case to you for what we consider the best new anime series of spring 2024. — Protonstorm, Editor

A Salad Bowl of Eccentrics

Written by: Reikaze

Genre(s): Reverse Isekai, Comedy, Slice of Life

Where to Watch: Crunchyroll

Spoiler-free Synopsis: While fleeing from a coup d’etat, the princess Sara da Odin and knight Livia de Udis are suddenly transported from their fantasy world with magic into… Gifu, Japan. Sara finds herself living with Sousuke Kaburaya, an impoverished detective, and Livia finds herself homeless. Now they must adjust to living in modern day Japan and the hijinks that ensue!

Why You Should Watch: On first impression, A Salad Bowl of Eccentrics seems to be a totally nonsensical name, but as you watch though the show you’ll come to see that it perfectly defines what the show has to offer. Salad Bowl is unapologetically a slice of life comedy. Every single character has screws loose in some manner — they’re all eccentric. Everyone has strongly defined personalities and it’s fun to watch them as they do their wacky things. Everyone is likable and the cast has great chemistry with each other, which makes the show an easy and delightful watch. The main characters of the show (Sara, Sousuke and Livia) are the best in this regard for me, as the banter between Sara and Sousuke is endlessly enjoyable and Livia is delightful to watch interacting with basically anyone.

As for the plot: it’s pretty light, but pretty enjoyable. Salad Bowl leans into its ensemble cast and tells a variety of different stories all at once, mixed together — like a salad. The events that happen are pretty absurd, partially because of the reverse isekai elements but also just because they’re wacky for a typical slice of life. While Salad Bowl can end up feeling episodic, the story moves at a good pace and the characters’ lives progress to a surprising degree. The season also ends on a pretty satisfying note, which further increased my overall enjoyment of the series.

Recommended by: Doctorkev, Reikaze, Tenshigami

Astro Note

Written by: Doctorkev

Genre(s): Comedy, Romance, Sci-fi

Where to Watch: Crunchyroll

Spoiler-free Synopsis: Astro Lodge is a rustic Japanese boarding house where unemployed chef Takumi Miyasaki applies for a part-time job as Breakfast Chef. While the building is inhabited by an eclectic collection of eccentric characters, Takumi is instantly smitten with beautiful and mysterious landlady Mira Gotokuji. Although she claims foreign nationality, none of Astro Lodge’s residents know she’s really an alien princess in hiding!

Why You Should Watch: Do you enjoy your anime rom-coms with not just a hint of retro flavour, but a complete saturation of it? Then Spring 2024’s most criminally underlooked show Astro Note is most definitely your thing. A loving homage to those great 1980s Rumiko Takahashi comedies Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku, Astro Note wears its influences on its vintage-fashion sleeves.

Unlike its two main progenitors, Astro Note isn’t designed to run and run for dozens of episodes without romantic or plot progression. Taking inspiration from its modern contemporaries, Astro Note’s story and relationships are resolved completely and satisfactorily in a mere twelve episodes filled with absurd humour, nuanced character development, sweet romance, and demented plot twists.

Unlike many other, longer-running anime rom-coms, Astro Note treats its characters with respect. The humour is never mean-spirited or cruel, and characters learn, grow and develop throughout. Every episode not only progresses the incredibly touching relationship between Mira and Takumi, but also adds new characters, or complications, or evolves the ongoing meta-plot. Every side character completes their own satisfying story arc, from awkward but loving dad Tomohiro and his gender non-conforming son, to shy Aoi, and ostentatious Shoin. Even poodle-like alien Naosuke, so often the butt of jokes due to his role as “pet dog” becomes a rounded and sympathetic character.

Mira in particular is a magnetic lead, with her delightful character design, cheerful optimism, quiet determination, and burgeoning crush on Takumi. Takumi himself is a fairly standard anime protagonist, in that he’s often the straight man confronted with a constant array of insanity (especially once the show goes full on sci-fi bonkers towards its conclusion), but he’s easy to root for. Astro Note was one of my top shows of the last season, and it would mean a lot to me if you could give it a chance to warm your heart as much as it did mine.

Recommended by: Doctorkev, Nomad, Requiem, Tenshigami

Kaiju Nº 8

Written by: Alistair Hyde
Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll

Spoiler-Free Synopsis: In a world where Japan is the constant target of monsters, the government assembles a specialized defense force to face the menace with power suits created using the remains of defeated monsters. In this setting, we follow Kafka Hibino, a victim of these attacks who wishes to become a defense force member. Despite his childhood dream, he ends up as a disaster worker cleaning the remains of slaughtered monsters off the streets after they are defeated. One day, he meets Reno Ichikawa, a coworker who pretends to join the defense force and inspires Kafka to try again. However, a parasitic creature suddenly turns Kafka into a kaiju known by the defense forces as “Kaiju №8,” which forces Kafka to apply while keeping his monstrous form a secret.

Why You Should Watch: This is the best anime of the season. It will take you by surprise with its great visuals and outstanding graphic composition, the changes in color palette between scenes, and the detailed drawings of the monsters and gear used by certain characters. The same applies to the opening and ending animated sequences, which are also unusual in that they are both sung by Western artists and invert the usual upbeat opening and slow tempo ending pattern of other series

Kaiju №8 encourages its audience to reflect on humanity’s role each time one of these monsters appears by highlighting how the conflict’s resolution comes down to the survival of the fittest. However, the transformation of Kafka into one of the Kaiju further blurs the boundary between man and monster. Kafka himself is a reference to Franz Kafka, the author of the book “The Metamorphosis,” in which Gregor Samsa, just like Hibino, struggles to survive in a society replete with monster haters who would destroy him if he were to reveal himself in front of them.

Kafka is a compelling character because you can empathize with his cause; after all, this is his last opportunity to materialize his goal. I can relate personally because I have been in Kafka’s shoes several times in the past. In my case, the goal is always to write the best piece for a review as much as I can.

Moreover, the interactions between the squad members of Division 3 are heartwarming through the eyes of Kafka, because you get to see him become part of the group and figure out his role.

Even better, this season concludes with a fantastic plot twist that will leave you wanting more. Luckily, a second season may premiere in spring 2025.

Recommended by: Alistair Hyde, Doctorkev, Nomad, Requiem, Tenshigami, TheMamaLuigi

Mission: Yozakura Family

Written by: Marquan

Genre(s): Action, Comedy, Romance, Drama

Where to Watch: Hulu or Disney+

Spoiler-free Synopsis: Taiyo is the sole survivor of a horrible car accident that killed his family, living as “The Ultimate Introvert.” His life takes a bizarre turn when he marries his childhood friend, Mitsumi, the head of the Yozakura Family, a legendary family of spies that sit atop the criminal underworld. Now it’s Taiyo’s responsibility to protect his wife and new family from all those who would do them harm.

Why You Should Watch: Mission: Yozakura Family is undoubtedly one of the best anime to air so far this year. It mixes facets of some of the most entertaining action anime with dashes of the most wholesome romance anime offerings, all while sprinkling in some of the best comedy bits that the genre has to offer. Yozakura Family is also flush with unique characters that boast cool character designs and has a creative power system. Moreover, the heart on display encourages you to actually want to root for the lead without making you feel like you’re supposed to just because they’re the anime’s main character.

There’s something special about Tanjiro…I mean Taiyo. In all seriousness: yes, he has a tragic backstory like a lot of shonen protagonists, but in his case, you actually care. A lot of the time, I can’t really bring myself to care about the struggles of most other shonen leads, but Taiyo is different. You want to get to the bottom of what happened to him, and you want him to get stronger so that he can protect all those that he cares about. That’s the type of guy he is. He faces enemies at every turn, so you’ll have ample opportunity to cheer him and the rest of the family on. Every episode treats viewers to stellar action scenes and demonstrates how this family of spies is at the top of the underworld and why they are such a close knit unit. How they all come together whenever one of their own, including Taiyo, is in trouble is a sight to behold. The superhuman feats they perform can sometimes stretch the imagination, but man is it satisfying whenever they get serious and let loose.

This anime is something special, especially in a time where we’re drowning in copy and paste, unimaginative, and uninspired schlock. Yozakura Family has a cool power system, a diverse ensemble cast with stellar character designs, an easy to follow yet engaging plot, and most of all: a delicate balance of drama, action and comedy with romance sprinkled in that leaves you wanting more every week.

Recommended by: Doctorkev, Marquan, Requiem

Tonari no Yokai-san

Written by: Requiem

Genre(s): Slice of Life, Drama, Talking Cats

Where to Watch: Crunchyroll

Spoiler-free Synopsis: Welcome to Engamori, just your average small town in the Japanese countryside. Well, except that here, people live in harmony with yokai, spirits, gods, and the like. Meet the old housecat who’s turned into a nekomata, or the local tengu who protects the village, or your friendly neighborhood fox spirit. Just remember, while humans and yokai live in peace, they are still quite different.

Why You Should Watch: Tonari no Yokai-san is one of those shows that fools you a bit. It appears at first to be a fairly lighthearted slice-of-life story about a little mountain town where people live alongside creatures and spirits from traditional Japanese folklore. But as the series progresses, it begins to peel back the curtain and reveal layers of depth you didn’t expect. It’s not just this one village, it turns out, it’s all of Japan that sees human/yokai cohabitation- and while it’s mostly peaceful, there are still conflicts and some dangerous yokai.

Most interestingly, the show absolutely does not shy away from heavy topics, especially those that would naturally arise from people living and having relationships — sometimes romantic — with yokai, such as the potentially significant difference in life spans or the difficulties sometimes faced by mixed children. The various interweaving storylines tackle loss, grief, the transitory nature of life, and the burden of long memory. It’s a plethora of somewhat tricky topics, all handled with gentle aplomb by the writers.

The cast is quite colorful, as you’d imagine, headlined by Buchio the nekomata, who has just become a yokai after 20 years as a loyal housecat. His journey of self-discovery is the baseline through the show: his wide-eyed innocence and just utterly adorable nature are a joy to watch. But there’s more than just a cute two-tailed talking cat; there’s a half-kappa girl with a crush on a schoolmate, a kitsune with serious family issues, Buchio’s close-knit and fun human family, and even a Volkswagen tsukomogami! It’s a wide, varied cast, and the show uses them deftly.

I urge you to please give this wonderful little show a shot. It’s so much more than meets the eye.

Recommended by: Requiem

​​Train to the End of the World

Written by: Nomad

Genre(s): Drama, Adventure, Comedy, Post-Apocalyptic Fiction

Where to Watch: Crunchyroll

Spoiler-Free Synopsis: The introduction of a 7G Cellular Network distorted reality and everyone’s lives are in disarray. Humans have transformed into various creatures, landscapes have warped, and the remaining Japanese population is trying to restore a semblance of normality to their unrecognisable existence. Four human schoolgirls are taught by an iguana teacher and help their menagerie of aging relatives ward off animal instincts in a settlement surrounding the mysteriously intact Agano Train Station.

One of the girls, Shizuru Chikura has fruitlessly been searching for her missing friend, Youka Nakatomi, in this remote wilderness. Then Shizuru spots Youka in the background of an old photograph taken in Ikebukuro and decides to track her down. Like Agano, the stations along the old Seibu-Ikebukuro railway line have been surprisingly preserved, but now are seemingly endless distances apart. Still, the path to Ikebukuro is clear. Along with her other friends, Shizuru commandeers a disused Seibu 2000 train and they venture into the unknown together.

Why You Should Watch: Train to the End of the World is utterly bizarre and one of best anime series in recent years. It is actually a disservice to the viewing experience to describe details, so really the best advice is to watch the first episode and see for yourself. Much like the protagonists tell themselves, Train to the End of the World asks the audience to have faith that the destination will be worth the peculiar journey. Suffice to say, the journey is also quickly captivating.

The trick to the outlandish and propulsive story not throwing itself entirely off the rails is a deft control over the characters. Train to the End of the World reunites director Tsutomu Mizushima and screenwriter Michiko Yokote, who last collaborated on the brilliant Shirobako. Shirobako cleverly used the protagonists’ emotional arcs to tour various facets and departments of the anime industry. Likewise, Train to the End of the World has a very specific story to tell, centred on Shizuru’s personal growth, as the group of four girls navigate each foreboding stop along the way to Ikebukuro. This is not to say that the other girls — Akira, Reimi, and the fondly nicknamed Nadeko — are irrelevant. So much of the series’ charm evolves from their interactions and conversations. Shizuru, Akira, Reimi, and Nadeko have acute desires, fears, perceptiveness, styles of speech, and their various dynamics are efficiently established within seconds of their first scenes together. They are a rounded, expressive group of friends thrust into impossible circumstances. Perhaps this is why Train to the End of the World is so often delightfully funny as well. The best sitcoms thrive on well-defined characters thrust into various situations and seeing how their dynamics are teased and tested. That is true for Train to the End of the World.

And by god are there some absurd situations. Despite aesthetic weirdness, the seeming randomness has underpinning reason, leading to a whimsical internal logical consistency. Moreover, the unusual imagery creates subtle metaphors that are ripe for interpretation and discussion. Train to the End of the World is imbued with the beautiful bombast that only anime as a medium affords. Yet it is also a delicate character study with clear dramatic and thematic intent. The series can be likened to A Place Further Than the Universe, beyond superficial adventurous trip comparisons, by delivering catharsis.

Train to the End of the World is about both the journey and the destination. It is a total experience. You should definitely get on board.

Recommended by: Doctorkev, Nomad, Reikaze, Requiem

Our seasonal recommendations articles are the results of weeks of collaboration and discussion by many members of the AniTAY community. Some wrote part of the article, Stanlick made the header image, and many took part in the voting and discussion to bring this season’s list to life.

• Alistair Hyde
• Doctorkev
• Gugsy
• Lia
• Marquan
• Nior
• Nomad
• Protonstorm
• Rasoja
• Reikaze
• Requiem
• Stanlick
• Stinolez
• Tenshigami
• TheArcaneRanger
• TheMamaLuigi

Additionally, thank you to everyone past and present who has been involved in our collaborative projects over the last decade. Recruiting writers for our first few recommendation guides was one of the main reasons we were able to foster a community to begin with. These projects have often been the impetus for long friendships, the cause for old friends to return after leaving for a while, and a reason for new friends to join in. We owe a lot to the fact that even as people’s lives have become busier with age, so many members still volunteer to produce an anime recommendation list every new season. It is through our members’ involvement that we are still a thriving community. So thank you to everyone for collectively keeping it going this long, and we hope we can see out another ten years together.

First time experiencing our seasonal recommendation list? Check out our recent Summer 2024 Sequel Guide or our earlier Winter 2024 anime recommendations!

Interested in joining our community? Please fill in this application form.

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