2024 was a good year for anime. Both debuting series and the new seasons of returning series delivered major moments for anime fans. The best anime of the year became instant hits and are probably destined to be watched and talked about for years to come.
However, 2024 also saw several high-quality anime get overshadowed by the major series that dominated anime fans' attention over the past year. The Anime Away has put together a list of the top five series that many anime fans may have missed in 2024 that deserve a watch.
Luckily for anime fans who missed these underrated anime series the first time, streaming has made it easier than ever to catch up. That means these series can finally get the attention and love they deserved when they first aired.
1. Bartender: Glass of God
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
A remake of the original 2006 Bartender anime (itself adapting the manga that ran from 2004 to 2011), Bartender: Glass of God clearly has a deep respect for the profession of bartending. In pursuit of the prefect drink, the Glass of God mentioned in the title, protagonist Ryū Sasakura essentially sees himself as having a sacred duty to provide his patrons with exactly the right drink at exactly the right moment. Ryū's greatest strength as a bartender is an ability to read people and deduce their personal situation that would make Sherlock Holmes jealous. He combines this with an encyclopedic knowledge of cocktails to mix the ideal drink.
For a series driven primarily by the characters discussing drinks, Bartender: Glass of God is an amazingly profound and intelligent series. In discussing and educating viewers on the history and techniques behind the various drinks, most of the characters have surprisingly deep and nuanced backstories and his previous experiences and perceived failures drive Ryū's mission to help his patrons in exactly the way they need at the moment they order from him.
2. Dungeon People
Where to watch: HIDIVE
Even just on HIDIVE, Dungeon People will probably get significantly overshadowed by the latest season of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, which debuted a little later in the year. However, beyond the same basic premise of being set in an RPG-style dungeon, the two series don't really have that much in common and Dungeon People is a pretty unique spin on the premise and shouldn't be overlooked by fans of Fantasy anime.
Following the thief Clay as she takes up a job working in the dungeon, Dungeon People is basically about the everyday life of the monsters living inside the dungeon, turning a dungeon crawl that will be familiar to Dungeons & Dragons fans into a workplace comedy. Dungeon People is a refreshingly laid-back and wholesome Fantasy anime that deals with low-stakes everyday life, rather than epic adventures of high-stakes quests to save the world.
3. Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance
Where to watch: Netflix
Our review of Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance noted that the Unreal Engine 5-animated series was a noteworthy enter in the franchise, with some impressive stylistic choices but a few stumbles in its actual execution, particularly where the animation of the human characters were involved. Still, the 6-episode series is definitely worth watching at least once..
Despite boasting the most high-tech animation in the long-running franchise, in many ways Requiem for Vegeance is a return to the series's' roots. Set concurrently to the original Mobile Suit Gundam, Requiem for Vengeance follows a squad fighting for Zeon, to the almost total exclusion of the Federation forces. Requiem for Vengeance is a recapitulation of the strong anti-war themes that have been a major part of the franchise from the very beginning.
4. Mononoke The Movie: The Phantom in the Rain
Where to watch: Netflix
Our review described Mononoke The Movie: The Phantom in the Rain as the Mononoke franchise at its best. However, even a cult classic at its best was probably destined to get overlooked by my popular series, though the massive global reach of Netflix will likely help Mononoke reach a whole new audience and expand its reach by orders of magnitude. Anime fans who like mysteries, supernatural stories, and unique art styles owe it to themselves to watch The Phantom in the Rain.
Announced as the first movie in a Mononoke film trilogy, The Phantom in the Rain follows a haunting of the Shogun's harem at some point during the Edo period. A mysterious Medicine Seller with an uncanny ability to show up at exactly the right moment in exactly the right place during the haunting sets out to discover the malevolent spirit's Form, Truth and Reason — essentially, what it is, what caused it to become a malevolent spirit and its ultimate goal. This supernatural investigation leads to a plot filled with twists and turns and further mysteries, backed by one of the best and unique animation styles in the medium.
5. Rising Impact
Where to watch: Netflix
Golf has a reputation of being one of the most boring sports to watch. Based on an anime that ran at the Turn of the Millennium, Netflix original anime Rising Impact turns that notion on its head by turning golf into something that resembles the martial arts tournaments from classic Dragon Ball and a lot of mythological symbolism coming from the stories about King Arthur. The series's title comes from the main character Gawain's inborn ability to perceive exactly how to hit the ball off the tee to send it huge distances. Other characters have similar golf-based superpowers, such as an ability to perceive a path across the green to deliver the perfect putt.
Despite turning golf into a larger than life contest fueled by the participants superpowers, Rising Impact also discusses and explains the real-life sport of golf by educating viewers on the techniques and physics behind the sport. Similarly, although Rising Impact presents the sport of gold with high stakes and absolute serious, it's also a genuinely and often uproariously funny series.
Now that 2024 is done and dusted, keep following us here on Anime Away for all the latest about anime coming in 2025 and beyond!