We got many surprises this season — though not all were positive.
As the Winter 2024 season is almost over, many fans are wondering which series that they might have initially dropped are actually worth continuing. Others wonder if there are anime that were promising at first, but disappointed the viewers later.
Here’s a guide to anime this season that actually became better (or worse) as they went on.
Delicious in Dungeon (Dungeon Meshi) has already amassed some hype before its release (due to the popularity of the source material and due to being made by Studio Trigger). That said, the first episode wasn’t particularly impressive for many: not bad, but not worth all the hype.
Thankfully, the anime won over people with its insane humor and attention to detail. Delicious in Dungeon one-ups itself in every episode, and fans are happy to see an anime that they expected to be just a one-joke seasonal develop into something more.
Fluffy Paradise (Isekai de Mofumofu Nadenade suru Tame ni Ganbattemasu) started as an isekai anime with a reincarnated protagonist who wants to pet cute animals. According to fans, it should have stayed that way.
Instead, it had a weird political plot about how cruel people are to monsters and how bad life in the other world is. Needless to say, fans didn’t like that, as it wasn’t fluffy at all.
Initially, some were skeptical about Blue Exorcist (Ao no Exorcist) getting a third season. After all, the second one wasn’t received very well. And yes, the start of the third season was quite slow.
However, by Episode 4, the pacing evened out, and the anime went back to being the Blue Exorcist fans knew and loved.
While fans were initially excited for Sasaki and Peeps (Sasaki to Pii-chan), it was mostly because of the first episode showing promise. An isekai series with a non-highschooler protagonist, a bird as one of the lead characters, and the real world staying relevant?
Sounds unusual enough, and the double-length premiere helped. Unfortunately, the comedy quickly stopped being funny, and the plot went absolutely nowhere. Maybe the announced Season 2 will help.
The first episode of The Unwanted Undead Adventurer (Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha) wasn’t impressive in any way. It had a fairly standard modern fantasy anime setup with a protagonist turned into a monster. Subpar CGI didn’t help.
By the middle of the season, the anime established itself as a fairly competent take on fantasy. Its protagonist, Rentt, was especially praised for being a realistically-written experienced adventurer. The anime was surprisingly logical, and the character interactions felt very natural.
Became worse: Tales of Wedding Rings
Tales of Wedding Rings (Kekkon Yubiwa Monogatari) teased itself as a wholesome childhood friend romance with a dose of ecchi at first.
It quickly turned into a harem series by Episode 3, but even for harem fans, it was simply not interesting enough. The plot is too convoluted and messy, and the mix of genres just doesn’t work.
Became better: Ishura
Ishura is confusing, for a lack of a better word. The first episode is fairly strong on its own, but after that, 4 more episodes are spent on introducing more and more characters. Many fans dropped it during that part as the plot progression was fairly slow.
Those who kept watching it, though, were surprised by how well Ishura executes its own plot and ties the plot threads together (unlike a certain anime later on the list). The political intrigue of the series was complex but well-written — and very rewarding if you kept up with it.
Became worse: Instant Death Ability
My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! is an odd anime. Bordering on the line of parody, it tells a story of an isekai protagonist so overpowered that he can outright kill or erase anything with a simple word or thought.
While some have complained the premise simply doesn’t work in anime, others were more optimistic and felt the anime was funny enough. That doesn’t excuse the last few episodes, though, where it clearly took itself too seriously.
Fans of Satoshi Mizukami’s works will tell you that his series usually start out fairly generic and evolve into something bigger. It seems that Sengoku Youko isn’t an exception: the first episode, while good, felt like a generic 00s battle shounen series.
After a few episodes and some surprising plot twists, though, the anime established itself as one of the hidden gems of the season. Fans who decided to stick with it are eagerly waiting for the next episode every week.
Okay, this one’s a bit unfair. Metallic Rouge didn’t actually become worse throughout the season, but it was definitely extremely disappointing. The anime had very good animation and an intriguing — yet confusing — premiere.
The first episodes dropped the viewers right into the middle of the plot. Many older series did this, and this approach wasn’t necessarily bad per se: however, it only works if the anime makes sense in the end. Many plot threads in Metallic Rouge remain open, and the anime was ultimately disappointing.
We got many surprises this season — though not all were positive.
As the Winter 2024 season is almost over, many fans are wondering which series that they might have initially dropped are actually worth continuing. Others wonder if there are anime that were promising at first, but disappointed the viewers later.
Here’s a guide to anime this season that actually became better (or worse) as they went on.
Delicious in Dungeon (Dungeon Meshi) has already amassed some hype before its release (due to the popularity of the source material and due to being made by Studio Trigger). That said, the first episode wasn’t particularly impressive for many: not bad, but not worth all the hype.
Thankfully, the anime won over people with its insane humor and attention to detail. Delicious in Dungeon one-ups itself in every episode, and fans are happy to see an anime that they expected to be just a one-joke seasonal develop into something more.
Fluffy Paradise (Isekai de Mofumofu Nadenade suru Tame ni Ganbattemasu) started as an isekai anime with a reincarnated protagonist who wants to pet cute animals. According to fans, it should have stayed that way.
Instead, it had a weird political plot about how cruel people are to monsters and how bad life in the other world is. Needless to say, fans didn’t like that, as it wasn’t fluffy at all.
Initially, some were skeptical about Blue Exorcist (Ao no Exorcist) getting a third season. After all, the second one wasn’t received very well. And yes, the start of the third season was quite slow.
However, by Episode 4, the pacing evened out, and the anime went back to being the Blue Exorcist fans knew and loved.
While fans were initially excited for Sasaki and Peeps (Sasaki to Pii-chan), it was mostly because of the first episode showing promise. An isekai series with a non-highschooler protagonist, a bird as one of the lead characters, and the real world staying relevant?
Sounds unusual enough, and the double-length premiere helped. Unfortunately, the comedy quickly stopped being funny, and the plot went absolutely nowhere. Maybe the announced Season 2 will help.
The first episode of The Unwanted Undead Adventurer (Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha) wasn’t impressive in any way. It had a fairly standard modern fantasy anime setup with a protagonist turned into a monster. Subpar CGI didn’t help.
By the middle of the season, the anime established itself as a fairly competent take on fantasy. Its protagonist, Rentt, was especially praised for being a realistically-written experienced adventurer. The anime was surprisingly logical, and the character interactions felt very natural.
Became worse: Tales of Wedding Rings
Tales of Wedding Rings (Kekkon Yubiwa Monogatari) teased itself as a wholesome childhood friend romance with a dose of ecchi at first.
It quickly turned into a harem series by Episode 3, but even for harem fans, it was simply not interesting enough. The plot is too convoluted and messy, and the mix of genres just doesn’t work.
Became better: Ishura
Ishura is confusing, for a lack of a better word. The first episode is fairly strong on its own, but after that, 4 more episodes are spent on introducing more and more characters. Many fans dropped it during that part as the plot progression was fairly slow.
Those who kept watching it, though, were surprised by how well Ishura executes its own plot and ties the plot threads together (unlike a certain anime later on the list). The political intrigue of the series was complex but well-written — and very rewarding if you kept up with it.
Became worse: Instant Death Ability
My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! is an odd anime. Bordering on the line of parody, it tells a story of an isekai protagonist so overpowered that he can outright kill or erase anything with a simple word or thought.
While some have complained the premise simply doesn’t work in anime, others were more optimistic and felt the anime was funny enough. That doesn’t excuse the last few episodes, though, where it clearly took itself too seriously.
Fans of Satoshi Mizukami’s works will tell you that his series usually start out fairly generic and evolve into something bigger. It seems that Sengoku Youko isn’t an exception: the first episode, while good, felt like a generic 00s battle shounen series.
After a few episodes and some surprising plot twists, though, the anime established itself as one of the hidden gems of the season. Fans who decided to stick with it are eagerly waiting for the next episode every week.
Okay, this one’s a bit unfair. Metallic Rouge didn’t actually become worse throughout the season, but it was definitely extremely disappointing. The anime had very good animation and an intriguing — yet confusing — premiere.
The first episodes dropped the viewers right into the middle of the plot. Many older series did this, and this approach wasn’t necessarily bad per se: however, it only works if the anime makes sense in the end. Many plot threads in Metallic Rouge remain open, and the anime was ultimately disappointing.
