The winter 2024 season was incredible. I think we can call it now. And for many like me, just the knowledge that I don’t get to see Frieren and Maomao every week anymore (at least until next year) is enough to break my fragile heart.
It’s times like this when we need to be reminded of what lies ahead. Fortunately, the spring 2024 season is looking incredibly promising in its own right. Here’s just a taste of what you can look forward to as you go through Frieren and Apothecary Diaries withdrawal.
Everything on this list is airing on Crunchyroll unless otherwise stated! (Though usually, series tend to air on a few platforms simultaneously.)
Sand Land
Sand Land, a zany sci-fi series, is a long-awaited adaptation of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama’s short-run 2000 manga series of the same name. But in the wake of Toriyama’s tragic passing, the series’ release has taken on a simultaneously triumphant and melancholic tone. The ways in which Sand Land pays tribute to Toriyama and his legacy feel even deeper and more profound. Sand Land also happens to be excellent—it’s currently airing weekly on Disney+.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc
With the quickest consecutive release of seasons in the series’ history, Demon Slayer is entering its endgame—if the manga arcs continue to be an accurate measurement, the Hashira Training Arc is expected to be the tentpole shounen series’ penultimate season. But if what we saw in the To The Hashira Training theatrical release was anything to measure the upcoming season by, Demon Slayer‘s high standard of quality remains steadfastly in place. Give me the goofy comedy, the gorgeous animation, the adrenaline-pumping fights, the Inosuke.
Kaiju No. 8
Kaiju No. 8 is easily one of the most anticipated anime of the entire year. Naoya Matsumoto’s manga has sold like hot cakes, especially in Japan, so this series—which involves people who can transform in kaiju, like Godzilla and Mothma and such—has a hype to it similar to Chainsaw Man‘s on the dawn of its anime premiere. Hell, if you go to Shinjuku right now, there is a giant Kaiju No. 8 advertisement hanging underneath the giant Godzilla on top of the Toho Cinemas in Kabukicho. That‘s some inspired advertising placement. We’re expecting big things here. Literally, big things.
My Hero Academia, Season 7
My Hero Academia‘s sixth season was easily its best yet. All of the darkness swirling beneath the series, fully present but not fully acknowledged by many of the characters, came bursting through every crack of the facade behind hero society. It was riveting—and often tearjerking—to watch. This season, we have Star And Stripe, America’s Number One Hero, entering the scene as a prominent fixture, and she’ll be voiced by the legendary Romi Park (who you probably know best as the voice of Edward Elric). I’m so ready.
Black Butler – Public School Arc
It’s been exactly ten years since there was a new season of Black Butler, the adaptation of Yana Toboso’s still-running manga. “Adaptation” is used in a particularly strong fashion when talking about Black Butler—half of season one projected an ending onto Toboso’s still-young manga, Fullmetal Alchemist-style, and the second season was essentially fuller. But rest assured, the Public School Arc is a return to the manga’s material.
The catch here is that while the Public School Arc is airing on Crunchyroll, if you’ve never seen Black Butler before, you’ll have to catch up on Hulu. (Or just binge the manga. That might be wiser.)
(More) Delicious In Dungeon
Delicious In Dungeon—or Dungeon Meshi, if you want to be like that (I do)—stood out among the crowd in a particularly strong winter 2024 season. It’s got cozy vibes, brilliant action, incredible characters, and a delightful horn sting which now plays in my head whenever I prepare or am presented with a meal. But I did not know until last week that Dungeon Meshi is airing in two consecutive cours. Consider this a PSA that there’s another 12 episodes to be had! Praise Senshi’s beard!
Delicious In Dungeon airs every Thursday on Netflix, which I know off the top of my head because it has become a semi-sacred day.
Laid Back Camp, Season 3
Speaking of cozy vibes, it’s harder to get cozier than Laid-Back Camp. The chill vibes even in the name. In the words of a friend who turned me onto the series: “The most suspenseful thing that happens is, like, someone fails to catch a bus or something.” I think we all need such a delightful break every now and again.
Sound! Euphonium 3
I will be fully honest with you: I had no idea this series existed until I saw advertisements for it all over Anime Japan. But considering I’m into any music nerd anime, especially ones with female leads, I’m so in. And the main character plays euphonium, the most band instrument-y of band instruments? And the first two seasons have scores of 8 or more on My Anime List? Sign me up.
KonoSuba: God’s Blessing On This Wonderful World!, season 3
Two fan-favorite isekai series are returning in spring 2024: That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, and KonoSuba: God’s Blessing On This Wonderful World! But considering that the previous season of KonoSuba aired all the way back in 2017, its triumphant return bears mentioning, and then some. If you’re tired of isekai, KonoSuba is a delightful parody of the genre. And the production staged a giant frog whose mouth you could walk into and take pictures in at Anime Japan, so it has my undying love.
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, season 3
If KonoSuba stands out among isekai for its parodic tendencies, the very memorably named That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime stands out because it’s arguably the best example of the heights a truly solid isekai can reach. It’s been about two and a half years since the show’s second season, so the chance to get to see Rimuru and the gang again is welcome indeed.
(featured image: Kyoto Animation)
