Top 10 Most Anticipated Summer 2024 Anime to Watch
Here are 10 of the most anticipated anime coming this Summer!
Suicide Squad Isekai
Release Date: June 27th (Max, Hulu)
Kicking things off with a bang this Summer is Suicide Squad Isekai, which is likely the most anticipated new anime of the season overall. The massively popular DC Comics rogues group have made a resurgence with a new movie and video game in the last few years, and now they're going to be branching out into the world of anime. But it's also going to be taken to the next level as the Suicide Squad are thrown into a fantasy world with Wit Studio (Attack on Titan, Spy x Family) and Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-'s creator behind it all.
Warner Bros. Japan announced this as part of a new endeavor to showcase more of their projects in anime in the coming years, so if this succeeds we'll likely see many more DC Comics projects and more on this kind of level. That's plenty of reason to tune in.
Oshi no Ko Season 2
Release Date: July 3rd (HIDIVE)
The first of the major franchises returning for new episodes this Summer is Oshi no Ko. The first season of the anime taking on Aka Akasaka (Kaguya-sama: Love is War) and Mengo Yokoyari (Scum's Wish)'s original manga series was one of the biggest new releases of last year overall. After kicking off with a feature length first episode, even the anime's opening theme took over the Billboard charts due to how many fans flocked to those new episodes. When the first season ended, it was immediately clear that there was already a huge amount of anticipation for Season 2.
The new season will be picking up with the 2.5D Stage Play arc as Aqua not only is introduced to many more talented actors he'll be competing with, but also gets one crucial step closer to figuring out who killed his former favorite idol turned mother. It's definitely going to be the biggest season of the anime yet.
The Elusive Samurai
Release Date: July 6th (TBD)
The latest of the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine series to make their debut this year is The Elusive Samurai. It's the latest series from Assassination Classroom creator Yusei Matsui, and has been steadily running in the magazine since 2021. It's not the biggest hit in the magazine as fans are more likely drawn to juggernauts like My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen, and more, but there's a good chance the anime can change that. It's a historical fantasy that features a different kind of main character than you would expect as he's a fighter who's really only good at running or hiding.
The real draw for The Elusive Samurai, however, is the fact that it's going to be produced by CloverWorks. This studio has been behind major releases like Spy x Family, Wind Breaker, My Dress-Up Darling, and more. This means this quiet series is likely going to have some of the best animated sequences of the Summer, so you're going to want to tune in.
Wistoria: Wand and Sword
Release Date: July 7th (Crunchyroll)
Another major action manga adaptation to keep an eye out for is Wistoria: Wand and Sword. Originally created by How to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? series writer Fujino Omori with art by Toshi Aoi, Wistoria: Wand and Sword debuted in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shonen Magazine in 2020. If you have been seeking the vibes from missing anime such as Black Clover or Mashle: Magic and Muscles, then this series could be right up your alley. Following a young kid name Will who enters a magical academy with the intent of rising to the top of its ranks to fulfill a promise to his childhood friend, things take a turn when he realizes he has absolutely no aptitude for magic.
Instead, Will needs to make his way through school by clearing out monsters with sword fighting. As he steadily increases his physical prowess, Will just might have figured out a way to achieve his dream through physical force. If its fights can be as cool looking as the promotional materials tease, we could be in for a winner here.
Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest
Release Date: July 7th (TBD)
Another major franchise returning in a whole new way is Fairy Tail! Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest is the official sequel manga that has been steadily updating in the years since Hiro Mashima's original Fairy Tail anime and manga came to an end. This sequel picks up right from the tease from the finale as Natsu, Lucy, and the core Fairy Tail guild members take on the titular "100 Years Quest," which is the S-Class quest that no one in the Fairy Tail guild has ever been able to complete before.
Needing to seal the Five Dragon Gods, five powerful beasts that are basically on par with Acnologia (who took teamwork on a massive scale to overcome), this is a challenge that in a century no one was cleared. But with Natsu and the others up to the task (with the voice cast all returning for their respective roles), it's going to be fun getting this classic airing new episodes again as it confirms some relationships, advances other romances and more!
Tower of God Season 2
Release Date: July 7th (Crunchyroll)
It definitely feels like it's been forever since the first season of Tower of God hit. The anime was one of the first collaborations between Crunchyroll and Webtoon, and was such a hit that fans have been asking to see new episodes ever since. It's been a four year long wait for this new season, but six years has passed within Tower of God's story. Following a brand new character six years after that massive cliffhanger with the first season, we're going to be introduced to a whole new kind of world in the new episodes this Summer.
Along with the main character (who's different from Bam, but shares a voice actor) hiding a secret, there are the promises of bigger fights, bigger stakes, and all around a bigger expansion of the universe seen in the first season. It's been a while, and Tower of God looks to deliver!
My Deer Friend Nokotan
Release Date: July 7th (Crunchyroll, Prime Video)
The likely wildest new anime of the Summer, however, is My Deer Friend Nokotan. Produced by Wit Studio, the studio behind anime such as Attack on Titan, Spy x Family, Ranking of Kings and more, this new comedy series looks to tap into that nostalgic vein where characters exist within an exaggerated world and just kind of do whatever they want with their in-universe physics. This anime's already taken off with fans thanks to its viral opening theme, and is becoming a hit in its own right thanks to just how smooth all of the action and gags look. If it sticks the landing, it's going to be where we get the laughs all Summer.
Kinnikuman Perfect Origin Arc
Release Date: July 8th (Netflix)
As part of the celebration for Kinnikuman's 40th anime anniversary, Kinnikuman Perfect Origin Arc is picking up right where the original anime run left off all those years ago. Fans in the United States might recognize this better by its licensed "Ultimate Muscle" name, but either way you know it, this series has quite a lot of fun in store. It's going to throw fans right back into the mix of a massive wrestling tournament for the fate of the universe as a whole new group of villains arrive and Kinnikuman is forced back into the ring years after he fought for peace in the original anime series. It's the kind of chaotic fun that only a few series can offer, and it's going to be a major draw for the Summer for sure.
No Longer Allowed in Another World
Release Date: July 9th (Crunchyroll)
A different kind of comedy we'll get to see with a dash of Isekai is No Longer Allowed in Another World. Based on Hiroshi Noda and Takahiro Wakamatsu's original manga series, No Longer Allowed in Another World imagines the legendarily depressed author Osamu Dazai (a name and character you might recognize if you've seen Bungo Stray Dogs) being transported to another world. Every time he attempts to take his own life, he's instead saved by heroic characters from this new fantasy world.
The series then sees Dazai being wrapped up in a much larger tale as his has no desire to interact with this new world around him due to his mental distress and trauma from the previous world. But upon seeing how twisted some of the other "heroes" truly are, Dazai warms up to the idea of getting involved. It's a true reluctant hero story that hopefully will hit all the marks.
From Me to You: Kimi ni Todoke Season 3
Release Date: August 2024 (Netflix)
Finally, we're at the final returning franchise you need to keep an eye out for. Karuho Shiina's original Kimi ni Todoke: From Me To You manga made its run with Shueisha's Bessatsu Margaret magazine from 2004-2017, and the anime adaptation ran for two seasons that ended in 2011. In the decade plus since, there's been a live-action film and TV series, but now it's coming back for a proper third season of the anime. The second season might have felt like a proper conclusion, but there's still plenty of material for the manga to adapt in this new season.
The third season is not only bringing back the voice cast from the original, but also much of the staff from the first two seasons as well. It's going to look updated, but it's going to have that same classic romance vibe that fans loved so much in that original anime. Which means this could end up being the best comeback of the Summer if everything works out.
