What better way to start the year, than with a look back at the best of 2024. Since I watch a lot both new and retro, I’m opening these categories up to anything I saw for the first time in 2024. It doesn’t matter if was released this year as long as it was new to me.  Here are my favorites across both horror and anime for 2024!

Anime:

Best New Show:

It’s DanDaDan. Everyone knows it’s DanDaDan, and they know why.  Now that we got that out of the way, I want to talk about some of my other favorite things this year in anime.

Best Fights:

So many good beatdowns this year. I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability (or just 7^th Prince) had beautiful magic effects and a massively overpowered hero smacking down demons just to see if he could. Mashle’s  Mash Burnedead beats magic users with biceps magic in order to make the world a better place, and The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic delivered on the title in the best way possible.

But for me, there was only one series that continuously delivered cinematic character-building fight scenes: Wind Breaker. Umemya, the class president of a school full of fighting delinquents devoted to protecting their town, tells his friends, “A fight is a conversation”. The choreography delivers on that concept, showing the characters personality through their moves and tactics.

Best Remake:

I didn’t add this category just so I could talk about how much I love the new Ranma ½; after all, Urusei Yatsura season 2 came out this year too. Ranma ½ is the better update though. The characters are more likeable, and the animation has a pop art feel that I really vibe with. Plus, in either girl or boy type, Ranma is just too adorable.

Best Show I Should Have Watched Years Ago:

The three front runners here are Gintama, Dragonball (all-inclusive), and YuYu Hakusho. I’m going to throw My Hero Academia in here too; I watched the movies for the first time this year and got caught up in Deku’s hyper-infectious enthusiasm. 

The overall winner is however: Dragonball. Akira Toriyama is responsible for so many elements of modern anime that we take for granted, especially battle anime, that it would be hard to rank it behind any show it inspired.  On top of that, I find his art so soothing to watch, probably because through Dragon Quest, I grew up on his character designs. I spent the last half of this year making my way through all things Dragonball-related and enjoying every minute of it.

Best Show I Rewatched – The Exception to the Rules:

Yeah, new stuff is cool but let’s talk about comfort shows. I tend to put on old familiar favorites when I’m feeling stressed or after a particularly rough day. This year had a few of those (three surgeries between me and H³ ). Lots of time for comfort watching and there were only a few shows that really soothed me: That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime, Komi Can’t Communicate, and the most comforting of all anime ever – Laid-Back Camp.

It’s right there in the name; Laid-Back Camp or Yuru Camp, depending on how precise you want to be, is one of the lowest stakes shows out there. Filled with charming characters, hilarious adventures, and a large amount of practical camping tips and information, Laid-Back Camp follows four teen girls as they learn how to camp in the winter and cook good camp meals.  The animation is lovely, the music is better, and it’s perfect for watching while not thinking about anything stressful.

Best Boy:

Okay, I was able to narrow this one down a bit better. Honorable mentions go to Sung Jin-Woo from Solo Leveling, Sunraku from Shangri-la Frontier, and Okumura from 2.5 Dimensional Seduction; he really should get more credit for working to fix his issues.

The male character I enjoyed watching the most this year was boy-type Ranma. Everything about his design and humor really worked for me. Seeing him slowly be won over by Akane was equal parts hilarious and heartwarming.

Best Girl:

This is one H³ and I might fight over. He’s strongly in favor of Nephy from How to Love Your Elf Bride and probably a half a dozen others. But this was a good year for heroines, so he’s not wrong. Now, I prefer my leading ladies a little more on the chaotic side.

Makoto from Senpai is a Otonoko, Rys from Chillin‘ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers, the entire 2.5 Dimension Seduction crew, Anna from Too Many Losing Heroines!, not to mention the return of the useless goddess herself Aqua in KonoSuba. How can I pick from a year stacked with loveable and relatable female characters? My editor tells me I have to pick, and I can’t pick Ranma for both, so I’m going with Yae Amagami from Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister.  Why? Hmm, It’s a secret.

Best Couple:

This was a hard category in a year filled with cute couples. I loved Itsume and Yuki from Sign of Affection so much I started learning Japanese so I could read the original manga faster.

Zagan and Nephy from How to Love Your Elf Bride were socially awkward couple goals. Despite an overwhelming sense that the source material was probably better than the anime, this was a charming series. Overcoming her reserved personality and trauma, she saves him from himself as much as he saves her from a cruel fate.

My hands-down favorite couple and the best of 2024 is Jogaro and Osani from Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary. They are both social misfits in different ways. They compare their temperaments to the fox and the wolf. He’s too smart for his own good and she’s, well, she’s got a strong sense of justice. They start the show promising each other they will try to be ordinary kids, but things don’t work out that way. This is a couple that needs each other, even if they might not realize it yet.

Best Show I Never Heard Anyone Talk About:

Astro Note was a retro ‘80s delight, filled with some of the best animation, humor, and voice actors of the summer. The character designs were some of my favorites this year and could have stepped out of my childhood. More people should be aware of this show and the love the studio put into it.

Shoshimin is however the best show that more people should be talking about. The characters are complex and intelligent as are the everyday mysteries they solve.  I talked above about how much I love the characters. So here I’ll mention the art, breathtaking cinematic backgrounds that elevate every conversation into a masterpiece. It’s getting a second season, so go watch the first one now.

Horror

Best Final Person:

We don’t discriminate here; final boys are getting more popular too. Sadly, they did not make the best of 2024 list this year as there was a clear winner for me: Sienna in Terrifier 3.  I overlooked her in the second movie, but in this one I just can’t.

Lauren LaVera’s portrayal of a young woman struggling with trauma and survivor’s guilt who still pulls herself together to defend her family, had me cheering in the end, right before the cliffhanger ending. And now, I’m just waiting for more Sienna.

Best Killer:

Well, a final girl is only as good as her monster, so if Sienna is here, Art needs to be here too. I’ll give honorable mention to Johnny from In a Violent Nature. His kills are brutal and creative in a way that makes me miss the slashers of the ‘80s.

Art however, is something special. I raved about him in my Terrifier 3 review, so I’ll keep this short and sweet.  The playful energy he brings to murder is such a contradiction that it’s both horrifying and fun at the same time. I love to watch him, even when I hate what he’s doing.

Best Twist – No Spoilers!

It might have been Abigail if the twist wasn’t a huge part of the marketing. Late Night with the Devil had a much better reveal for its main character, Jack Delroy. Uncovering how far he was willing to go for fame, and what it cost him, was heartbreaking. The reveal was skillfully done, and David Dastmalchian delivered a performance worthy of the reveal.

Best Worst Movie:

My favorite category: a good movie can be fun to talk about for a while, but a bad movie is an almost endless supply of entertainment and discussion. Okay, it’s just me ranting at H³, but I still have fun. Suitable Flesh was not great for me, and Tarot was pretty bad. But the best bad movie for 2024 was AfraAId.

It’s like Megan, focusing on a killer AI. This AI, named AIA, has something of a personality. She’s hostile towards Alexa, and trying to take over families for some reason. It’s all very “Technology Is Bad”, without narrowing that down to a specific, unique point of view. It’s my best worst movie, because in the muddled narrative and nonsense ending, there are hints of something interesting. Talented actors like John Cho and Katherine Waterson give bland material their best, and that helps. In the end, nothing can save AfrAId from itself.

Best Creature:

There may be at least one non-horror film in this category this year.  Holiday action movie Red One had a fantastic Krampus, even if he was more on the cuddly side. The Substance brought body horror to new personal levels, tackling fears about aging and staying relevant.

In a lot of ways, The Substance is the most horrifying creature. But if I’m being honest, I love the Stork from V/H/S Beyond “Stork”. It’s the perfect mix of a recognizable creature turned into something that’s just wrong.  It also helps that the character actor behind the creature was Dane DiLiegro, one of my favorite stuntmen, and the Predator in Prey.

Biggest Surprise:

Not plot-wise; this is for the movie, performance, or effect that I enjoyed more than I expected to. There were a lot of honorable mentions in this category for me; Infested was a great French movie about xenophobia and police brutality disguised as a killer spider movie. In A Violent Nature showed us an ‘80s slasher from the killer’s POV.

Smile 2, however, surprised me the most.  It was such a step up technically from the first film; every part of it, except for the creature, worked better. Naomi Scott was a superior lead, the cinematography was amazing, and the direction had a clear, sharp vision. While I didn’t love every part of Smile 2, I’ll watch the next one just based on how much the franchise improved.

Best Victim:

This was probably the hardest category for me. There are so many ways to judge what makes a compelling victim. There are characters like Dani and Darcy in Oddity who were painful to watch. Their bond and connection made their fate all the more heartbreaking and compelling. On the other hand, there are the victims you just want to see get what’s coming to them. In this category, watching Abigail snack on douchey thieves was way more satisfying than expected. 

For me, the best victim had to be Halley from “Stowaway” in V/H/S Beyond. In a short time, we know who she is, her painful history, and her horrific future. Even though her misery is in a large part self-inflicted, it’s also understandable and relatable.

Most Fun:

Bad movies can be a blast, and good movies aren’t always the easiest to watch, so this is a fairly open-ended category.  I watched some classic horror movies for the first time that easily fit in this category; one was House (1977). The Japanese comedy-horror classic lived up to its reputation as a surreal but unforgettable experience. 

2024 had a clear winner. It was cheesy in parts and over the top in others, but for me, Abagail was a blast. All the right people died in some pretty great ways.  The tone, while comedic, never moved too far into quirky or goofy, a huge selling point for me.  It’s also a movie I can recommend to people as a “starter” horror film. While I’m always looking for movies that will really scare me, getting more entry points into the genre helps it grow. Successful comedy-horror hybrids like Abagail can do that.

Best Movie:

I know you think I’m going to pick Terrifier 3, for the best of 2024 and before Friday the 27^th, I might have. The Substance was another leading contender. That was before Nosferatu. It’s not a perfect movie, those are few and far between, but it’s close. Beautifully shot with thoughtful actors giving nuanced performances, I found myself thinking about the movie days after I left the theater and wanting to rewatch scenes over again to get a better take on them.

I did a full review of Nosferatu here, so I won’t repeat myself too much.  Just know that it’s not recency bias, it’s just that good.

Final Thoughts:

2024 ended strong, and this year is looking promising with Del Toro’s Frankenstein, Danny Boyle returning to 28 Years Later, and Until Dawn, a movie adaptation of a video game that’s basically a movie.  I’ll close out the year with thanks to my editor and H³   for helping me get this site off to a great start. 

Here’s hoping for more hits than misses, and a very scary 2025.