Welcome to Part 2 of our best anime picks from the Winter 2024 season! We ranked our top ten anime of the season in Part 1, and now we’re going to share some great anime titles that barely missed our top ten ranking.
Here are five extra honorary mentions from the Winter 2024 anime season!
1. The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash
In a fantasy world where one’s stars and skills determines everything, Ivy is unfortunately born starless and cast out from her village. After taming a weak slime called Sora, she decides to venture out into the wider world armed with only her wits, Sora, and the memories of her past life on Earth.
Unlike most isekai shows where an overpowered protagonist is dismissed but proceeds to stomp their enemies easily, The Weakest Tamer takes a different approach and puts our dear Ivy in a truly vulnerable position throughout the entire show. Her innocence and kindness means you can’t help but root for her. The slow and explorative pace of this show combined with its many heartfelt moments makes this show a relaxing watch.
2. The Witch and the Beast
Guideau is a ferocious women who was cursed by a witch. Determined to break the curse, she joins the Order of Magical Resonance and is partnered with the mysterious mage Ashaf. The two of them travel throughout the land solving various magic cases that are bizarre, horrifying, deadly, or sometimes all three at once.
The complete opposite of the previous anime, The Witch and the Beast is a no-holds barred show where the dark and gory side of magic is on full display. The worldbuilding is also very enjoyable and we also get to see how other members of the Order tackle different cases in other parts of the world. While this show is definitely worth a watch, it might not be suitable for everyone given its brutality and controversial themes.
3. 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!
Rishe is reborn for the 7th time after being killed again by Prince Arnold. Armed with her knowledge and skills from her past lives, she is determined to escape her death this time. However, fate has other plans as she becomes the fiancée of Prince Arnold and needs to plot for her survival again.
In a world of airy lovestruck female protagonists and damsels in distress, Rishe’s competence and resourcefulness is a breath of fresh air. It is also amusing to see her falling in love with Prince Arnold despite her best efforts. As this is a shoujo anime, this show is unlike most romance anime as there is no fanservice and glitzy romantic moments (yet). It also has a faster pace compared to other romance anime in this list.
4. Metallic Rouge
In the far future, mankind has colonised other planets and coexist with androids known as Neans. As a group of rouge androids known as the Immortal Nine terrorizes society, Nean android Rouge Redstar and human investigator Naomi Orthmann head to Mars to hunt down the android terrorists and rediscover Rouge’s past.
This show is an original sci-fi show that has beautiful animation, intense action and quirky characters. It’s worldbuilding and lore is also deep and helps immerse you into the world quickly. However, the pace can be a little too fast even for our tastes. The lack of explanations and messy plots also makes this anime quite hard to follow and understand completely.
5. The Unwanted Undead Adventurer
Rentt Fanina is an adventurer whose life changes when he is killed in a dungeon. Instead of just dying, he is reawakened as a skeleton monster. Now armed with an undead body filled with unlimited potential, Rentt decides to disguise himself and embarks on a journey to turn back into a human and become an S-rank adventurer.
This show truly excels in showing how the main character levels up by relying on his own wits and skills. The character dynamics between Rentt and his alchemist friend Lorraine are also enjoyable to watch. Although this show is slightly slower, there is sufficient action to keep you engaged and interested for more.
If you want to check out our top ten anime of the season, read Part 1 here. Or if you want to read our picks from the previous Fall 2023 season, read our article here.
