As thrilling as 2023 has been for anime thus far, 2024 is looking like it could be even better. A variety of new shows will be hitting screens next year, including adaptations of some widely-loved, best-selling manga titles.
The past two years have seen some blockbuster successes for the anime medium, including the long-awaited adaptation of Chainsaw Man. Despite being six months away, however, a few series that could give MAPPA's smash hit a run for its money have already been confirmed to set the anime world on fire in 2024. From action and fantasy epics to monster dramas and sports sagas, it appears anime in 2024 will have something for everyone.
6 Delicious in Dungeon
Set to air in January 2024, this adaptation of the hit seinen manga has already got fans buzzing. Modeled on the dungeon-crawling genre of gaming, the series focuses on the quest to find the legendary Golden Kingdom among other fantastical plotlines.
Along with similarities to the dungeon crawling scene, Delicious in Dungeon also takes inspiration from none other than legendary tabletop RPG Dungeons and Dragons. The cast format, which kicks off with a half-dozen adventurers traveling together, sees each character provide a certain talent, from sword combat to locksmithing. The group also need to consider the price to pay when it comes to resources such as food, weaponry, and medicine. Overall, Delicious in Dungeon promises to be a thrilling fantasy romp very much in line with the tone and style of this year's Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
5 Highspeed Etoile
For racing fans, Highspeed Etoile will likely prove to be the most must-see anime event of 2024. Not only is the series centered around a high-tech, sci-fi take on the future of racing, it's also set to have multiple collaborations with the Super Formula Championship.
NEX Race sees the sport of motor-racing be forever changed for the scarier. With technological advancements now permitting high speed cars to reach and breach a whopping 500km per hour. Unsurprisingly, the fast-paced dangers of the racing track should provide this series with plenty of sports-focused thrills and spills for viewers to enjoy. Lead protagonist Rin Rindou looks like a curious fit for the action-packed racing series, transitioning from a career-ending ballet injury to the hazardous racing scene as the series wears on.
4 Chained Soldier
Chained Soldier is a dark fantasy thrill-ride that focuses on an epidemic of portals opening in Japan. The portals all serve as gateways into a world known as Mato which, in a quirk of bad luck, happens to be the home world of monstrous entities known as the Shuuki.
Considering its eyebrow-raising approach to blending supernatural and sexual themes, it's not implausible this show will garner some controversy when it drops in January 2024. Not a series to shy away from edgier content, Chained Soldier is also effective as both an action series and as a mystery, with the ominous portals into Mato serving as a curious plot point the core cast must piece together the origins of. With engaging lead characters and the thrills and spills of the Demon Defense Force's antic, the series has become a cult favorite in manga circles. This loyal following will no doubt pop up for the anime adaptation as well.
3 Solo Leveling
The grueling plight of struggling hunter Sung Jin-Woo is set to light up the anime world in the first quarter of 2024. The Korean fantasy action web novel source material gained plentiful attention upon its release back in July 2016.
In the years since, the tale of supernaturally-powered hunters locking horns with monsters who pose an extinction-level threat to humanity has only grown in popularity. Amassing a strong cult following, Solo Leveling got the webtoon treatment from 2018-2021 and is in line for an RPG adaptation courtesy of Netmarble. In anime, the action-packed story has found the medium it was seemingly destined for. Lead hero Sung Jin-Woo's journey from alarmingly weak hunter to super-powered, Shadow-collecting warrior is both mysterious and compelling, providing a curious blend of fantasy and gaming themes for viewers to enjoy.
2 Quality Assurance In Another World
This highly acclaimed Isekai fantasy saga has continuously impressed readers first releasing back in May 2020. The narrative all kicks off when a seemingly peaceful world is besieged by monstrous dragons.
While invading dragons is a common trope in the fantasy genre, this series uses it as a starter to a thoughtful series encompassing everything from monster-hunting to deeply personal issues and secret-keeping. Lead characters Nikola and Haga's often dangerous, unpredictable dynamic forms the backbone of a compelling look into a powerful organization named Seeker. The group focus primarily on dealing with supernatural, monstrous threats to the world the series is set in, and their antics unsurprisingly lead to a lot of intense storytelling. Considering the manga's immense popularity and acclaim, it's hardly surprising that the anime adaptation is already garnering hype ahead of its release next year.
1 Kaiju No.8 Provides
The anime treatment is finally on the way for this smash hit shonen manga, Kaiju No.8. First hitting the stands back in July 2020, the series has won over readers with its humor, action, character development, and refreshing take on kaiju tropes and storytelling.
The story focuses primarily on Kafka Hibino, a struggling hero who has frequently failed to pass the tests required to join the Anti-Kaiju Defense Force in Japan. In a bizarre twist of fate, Hibino winds up being able to transform into a kaiju himself. From there, readers are taken on an increasingly thrilling journey that manages to balance both on-point humor and punchlines with the right level of high stakes intensity to keep the plot moving impactfully. Considering the wild creature designs from artist Naoya Matsumoto, the highly-anticipated anime adaptation will have a lot to live up to when it finally releases next year.