The summer anime season is always an exciting time for fans of the medium, promising brand-new shows and continuations of series from the Winter and Spring seasons to keep fans hooked for the remainder of the year. The past two years have been massive for the industry, and this season proves that, with a loaded catalogue that’s sure to make it difficult for anime fans to nail down what exactly they’ll want to watch.
In addition to feature films like My Hero Academia: You’re Next, Kimi no Iro, and the return of the Monogatari series with the animated adaptation of Off & Monster Season, here’s every Summer 2024 series we can’t wait to watch.
Kimi ni Todoke 3rd Season
Finally returning a whole decade after season 2 concluded, Kimi ni Todoke‘s anime adaptation is returning in full swing during the Summer 2024 anime season. With the original cast reprising their roles and Production I.G. picking up where they left off with the previous adaptation, there’s plenty for shojo fans to be excited about with this upcoming season.
While new fans unfamiliar with the anime’s original release may have a harder time diving into the series by having to watch the first two seasons, longtime fans have been looking forward to season 3 since it was originally announced by Netflix in September of 2023. Following Sawako, a teenage girl that’s mocked by her classmates for looking like the ghoulish horror icon “Sadako”, hopes to find new friends amid rumors about her, and ends up discovering much more in the process.
Tower of God Season 2
One of the most popular manhwa to hit the mainstream with an impeccable anime adaptation, Tower of God fans were left with no updates regarding a secon season for quite some time, but thankfully, this summer will finally unveil what Sola Entertainment has been working so hard on.
Instead of focusing on the previous season’s protagonist, Bam, Tower of God instead puts a spotlight on Ja Wangnan – a young man struggling to make it past the tower’s 20th floor. In his struggles, he encounters the mysterious Viole. The two begin traveling together, taking on the otherworldy struggles of the tower together as they ascend.
My Deer Friend Nokotan
While WIT studio is well renowned for their work on series like Attack on Titan, Spy x Family, and Vinland Saga, the studio has begun to expand into more eccentric territory by adapting the slapstick deer-girl series My Deer Friend Nokotan. The anime has already gone viral thanks to its over-the-top marketing and ear-bug of an opening theme, and its likely to stick around once the anime finally begins to air.
My Deer Friend Nokotan follows Torako Koshi, an upstanding high school student who rescues a strange deer-human hybrid on her way home from school. The girl later transfers to Torako’s school, and begins following her around. Even worse – Shikanoko, the mysterious deer girl – somehow knows that Torako used to be a delinquent, and Torako is the only person who seems to know there’s something off about her new classmate.
Suicide Squad Isekai
In addition to tackling eccentric comedies like My Deer Friend Nokotan, WIT Studio will also be working alongside DC comics to produce Suicide Squad Isekai. While the concept is admittedly out there, the idea of putting of some of DC’s most iconic characters in an oversaturated anime genre is interesting.
Suicide Squad Isekai follows the eponymous super-villain group as they’re sent on a mission by A.R.G.U.S. through a portal to a fantasy realm filled with orcs, dragons, and other fantastical threats roam free. As soon as the group make it to the fantasy realm, they get arrested, and after a discussion with Queen Aldora are sent on a quest to conquer her enemies. The premise sounds outlandish, even by Suicide Squad standards, but the animation quality from the trailers looks infectiously fun, making the series one to keep an eye on.
Oshi no Ko Season 2
One of the most sensational anime in the last decade, Oshi no Ko, is returning with its second season this summer. From the marketing materials, it seems as though the anime will be covering the Movie arc, one of the most popular in the manga, and will begin exploring many of the deeper psychological components in the series’ main character, Aqua. Doga Kobo will be returning to produce the new season, and with a live action adaptation on the way as well, 2024 will likely be dominated by Oshi no Ko.
The murder mystery series has a penchant for making poignant commentary on Japan’s entertainment industry, especially the treatment of idols and idol culture, which has made the series a stand-out hit for anime fans familiar with the culture, and has introduced other fans to the dark underbelly of the entertainment industry. While Oshi no Ko does have a lingering supernatural element to its storytelling, the narrative feels raw and is loaded with surprisingly heavy themes for a series that, on the surface, appears of colorful.
