September 25, 2024 • 27 mins
Settle in for an insightful episode of "On Cloud Anime" where host Photaru takes you through his standout anime selections for the year. This episode features a rich tapestry of storytelling, beginning with the intense and deeply woven plots of "Oshi No Ko" and "Frieren," each celebrated for their compelling narratives and emotional depth. Photaru also lightens the mood with his thoughts on the uproarious "Shikanoko Nokonoko Kosh Tan Tan," a series known for its lighthearted hijinks and memorable characters. Whether you're a fan of serious drama or comedic relief, this episode offers a well-rounded look at the anime making waves this year. Photaru's personal reflections and keen insights make this a must-listen for anyone looking to dive deeper into the anime landscape of the current year.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello, everybody.
(00:28):
Welcome to another episode of On Cloud Anime.
I'm your host, FOTARU, and today I'm going to be talking about the top 10 anime that
came out this year.
And I just want to say a very personal message, and it's that around the time that this episode
releases, it will officially be one year since I first joined On Cloud Anime, and I just
want to give a very special thanks to all the listeners out there.
(00:48):
So without further ado, these are the top 10 anime that came out this year.
Now before we get into it, I just want to say that I haven't watched every single anime
that came out this year, so take all my opinions with a grain of salt, especially considering
my word is not law.
Starting off this list is Shikan no Konoko Koshikan Tan.
When I first heard this anime, I thought that it was going to be somewhat of a trend, deeply
(01:10):
forgotten in that it probably wasn't even going to be that good.
So I was shocked when I decided to give it a chance, and I was very pleased with the
humor of the show.
It's very random, but in a way that it's not unfunny.
Because there are some animes where I've watched it and I thought that it was a little
too random for me, or brain-rod even.
And Shikan no Konoko Koshikan Tan is kind of brain-roddy, but in a good way, if that
(01:36):
makes sense.
Now the plot is very simple.
The main character Koshikan tries to be the perfect student while hiding a dark secret,
which is that she used to be a delinquent, and some high school deer hybrid knows this
secret and Koshikan wants to make sure that it doesn't get out there.
And it quickly spirals into random hijinks, and one of the episodes, the deer just takes
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her antler and chucks it at the school and it's a grenade, and it's definitely a ride.
Now there is no real deeper meaning to this show, but that doesn't make it a bad thing.
If you're just looking for a chill anime, Shikan no Konoko Koshikan Tan will be the
show for you.
But for me, I usually like when there is a deeper meaning, which is why I'm putting
it at number 10, but it is still enjoyable.
(02:20):
At number 9 is the romance anime Alia hides her feelings in Russian.
Now the plot is pretty self explanatory.
The main girl Alia is half Russian, and she has a crush on this boy, the main character,
and decides to say very flirty things in Russian to make sure that he doesn't hear anything.
But plot twist, the main character does understand Russian and is very like surprised by the
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situation, but it's very surprising how this show actually progresses very well.
There's a lot of romance nowadays are skipping all the old tropes that make the genre as
a whole annoying, and it's very refreshing to see nowadays.
I mean, there is another anime that I'm going to be talking about later on that does the
same thing, but Alia is just overall a very good ride.
(03:06):
It's just for me, sometimes it's a little weird.
Some people may enjoy the weirdness, others will not, and it's been kind of marked as
the degenerate anime.
I mean, there was a very well animated foot scene with the main character putting a sock
on the main girl, and then there's this entire character named Yuki, who is the main character's
(03:28):
little sister.
And the thing about her is that she is the archetype of little sisters, I guess, in anime.
At least she tries to be.
You know, she does weird things like she hops in her brother's bed, she says very incest-y
lines because they're otaku buddies and all that stuff.
She's an acquired taste as a character, if that makes sense.
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Personally, it's kind of hard for me to say that she is my favorite character, but yeah,
she is kind of my favorite character because she brings a lot of energy to the show, and
I think that she's just overall very enjoyable whenever she's on screen, though she is very,
very, very weird.
But one thing that is very unique about Alia's anime as well is that it has 11 unique ending
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songs, which are covers that the main voice actor does of like just popular songs.
I can't really name any at the top of my head.
I think that the second ending is the most recognizable one, and you know, just a little
fun piece of trivia.
Alia's voice actor actually learned Russian so that she could sing the Russian anthem,
and it's a bit random, but I respect it, and for the English dub, a voice actor that is
(04:39):
very popular is Ash Ketchum's voice actor plays Alia in the English dub, which is drastically
different from her previous roles, but I'm here for it, and the main character has the
same voice actor as Miyuki Shirogane from Love is War in the English dub, so they have
a lot of fun with the script as they did in Love is War, which is very... which is a compliment
(05:01):
to me, because if you don't know, Love is War is my favorite show, so having Alia compared
to it is not an easy say, but there are definitely some weird lines, and it's whenever Yuki's
on screen.
At number 8 is Windbreaker.
Now you may have heard me talk about this not that long ago when we had Aura on this
podcast, but I just have to reiterate that Windbreaker is still an amazing show, but
(05:27):
there are other episodes that came out after that podcast that make it not as enjoyable
as it was before.
Now it's still number 8 on this list, meaning that I still find it very enjoyable.
I have to again reiterate that, but the last three episodes of season 1 were really boring.
I'll get back to that later.
(05:48):
So the main character Sakura goes into a new town, and he joins a gang, kind of, except
that they do good things around town, you know, it's not like the typical battle gangs
and all that stuff.
And Sakura is used to being the outcast, but he starts to find his place slowly but surely.
A lot of people early on compared it to Tokyo Revengers just because it's a gang, but it's
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actually deeper than that.
I think that the themes of belonging is very noble of the main character, since he isn't
like the normal hot-headed archetype, he's very open, I guess you could say, about his
feelings even though he doesn't want to be, he's still an open book.
And the first six episodes are incredible, like, actually no, the first eight.
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The first entire arc was amazing because the fights were on another level, like, they were
outstanding.
And I think that if you want a show that has a deeper meaning and has the action as well,
Windbreaker might just be the place to start.
And I will say that there are a bit of flashbacks from episodes four through eight, but I think
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that they're all very well planned out and add to the story a lot.
So some people may not be into that, some people will.
Personally, I liked it a lot, I liked the details.
That being said, there was a lot of randomness going on in the last three episodes, and it
was very hard to watch.
To the point where when Windbreaker first started, I was on it, like, the day it came
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out, the hour it came out, I was watching Windbreaker's new episode.
But it started to dwindle down a bit with the final episode.
I was like, I can wait another week for an episode because it really is just kind of
boring.
That being said, still a very solid season.
And if you're new to anime, I'd give it a shot if you want a show with a good message
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and good fights.
Coming in at number seven is Signs of Affection.
This is a romance anime about a girl who's deaf and a guy who wants to learn what it's
like to be in her world.
Now if you want me to be entirely honest with you, the main thing that hooked me was the
deaf girl.
I can't lie to you.
And the reason for this is because my favorite movie of all time is a little one called A
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Silent Voice.
And that movie has a deaf girl with pink hair.
Oh, would you look at that?
This anime has a deaf girl with pink hair also.
But I definitely was not disappointed when I watched this.
Because this show is not like crazy in any way.
I mean you can easily predict anything that's happening, but it's the experience.
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Now what I would say as its biggest weakness and why it's at number seven and not higher
is that, well yes, the dynamic between the main characters is very special.
I feel like all the other characters are very forgettable.
They usually just kind of have one thing that goes on to them and then we go straight back
to the main cast.
And I can't say that at the end of the twelve episodes there was a particular character
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that I was attached to.
But this is a romance anime, not a slice of life.
So with that in mind, the romance itself is still very enjoyable.
You don't really see dynamics like this that often, where two different worlds collide
and each world tries to understand the other.
So Sides of Affection is a very sweet anime, but it's not particularly something I go
(09:10):
crazy about when mentioned.
Number six on this list is the second core to season two of Mushoku Tensei.
Now there's a lot of controversial things about Mushoku Tensei.
A lot of the writers kinks, I guess, being written into the light novel, but also being
added out.
We'll get to that later.
But Mushoku Tensei, deep down, is still a very well-written show.
(09:34):
It's just a little much.
One thing I will say and always give props to Mushoku Tensei is the way that it depicts
heartbreak.
There's always these depressing scenes that go on and it always affects the main character
of Rudeus in some way, shape, or form.
This particular season had a very hard-hitting moment, I'm not going to spoil what it is,
(09:54):
that really affected Rudeus in a way that he had feelings of complication, he didn't
know how to feel, and the way it was depicted was very well.
It was to the point where I could understand what he was feeling even though I had never
been in his position.
Now immediately, one misconception I see about Mushoku Tensei sometimes is that people think
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that Rudeus being born into a new world, because this is an isekai, means that he's trying
to redeem himself, which is not true at all.
Rudeus is running away from the problems that he caused in his past life and is trying to
make a new one, which isn't very noble and it's not supposed to be at all, but there
are moments where he is human and he has likable interactions such as his dynamic with his
(10:40):
little sisters in this world, Aisha and Norn, or how every time he looks back at his past
life he ends up hating himself.
There is no redemption, Rude has never done anything to redeem himself, he's just trying
to move on.
And you can take that as you will, for me, I don't really care too much.
But what I do care about is the double marriage.
(11:03):
Now I'm going to go into spoiler territory, if you don't want to hear spoilers for the
second season of Mushoku Tensei, skip ahead.
Alright so, the first half of Mushoku Tensei season 2 is spent building up Rudeus' relationship
with a previous character, Sylphie, and you see them grow close together and eventually
get married and have a kid on the way.
(11:25):
And if you look hard enough, there is a clip of two of the dub voice actors on the Crunchyroll
TikTok page saying that they think that these two are so cute together.
And to that I agree.
So what happens?
Rudeus cheats on her.
So within the second core of Mushoku Tensei, he ends up meeting up with his first love
and goddess, Roxy, his teacher.
(11:48):
And they end up growing close together because Rudy saved her in the dungeon that they were
traversing in and she thought she was dead.
So from that point on, she started crushing on Rudeus.
Keep in mind, he's still married to Sylphie.
And eventually, Roxy hops into Rudy's bed one night and they have sex.
And the worst part about this is that Roxy knew that Rudeus was married to someone.
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And towards the end of the season, Rudy ends up also marrying Roxy and telling Sylphie,
hey, about what I said earlier, I know I said that I wasn't gonna marry another person
even though I wasn't allowed to, but I'm still asking for your permission to be married to
you and someone else.
And I'm just like, okay, sure.
That makes sense.
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Even his sisters are like, what?
Like is this really what you were doing on a life-threatening mission?
Like I get you were depressed, but still dude, like, come on.
And the worst part about it all is that Rudy doesn't get punished in any way, shape, or
form.
Sylphie is like, I mean, like, that kinda sucks, but I'm glad that it was this person in particular
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because you already liked them before me and I'm just like, what?
And then the season just kind of like goes deeper into Rudy's drama so that we can forget
about the fact that he cheated and went back against his word of only marrying Sylphie.
Sure.
And this is just one example of the writer of Michoko Tensei going off the bars and just
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writing stuff that is heavily outdated and even if it was outdated, it should never be
written as a light novel.
So for every feat of writing that Michoko Tensei has, which there is a lot of great
writing, there is also a bit of a sour taste that you have from reading some of the material
so if you approach this series, I would tread lightly and considering it's number 6, that
(13:42):
means that there is still something in here that is worth reading.
Coming in at number 5 is Konosuba Season 3.
Now this was a long time coming.
It has been 7 years since the second season of Konosuba and Konosuba was one of my first
anime, at least the first 10, and I even have a Konosuba poster in my room so it is a very
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special anime to me.
That being said, I remember Konosuba being a lot funnier when I was younger and the more
I grew up the less funnier it became.
Season 3 was still a very great season because it focused more on the dynamics between the
characters, specifically darkness, and I love darkness.
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The comedy was still there with Konosuba, you'll still get a laugh somewhere and enjoy
the character dynamics, it's been very consistent.
So there's nothing new to really bring to the table involving this one.
If you love Konosuba Seasons 1 or 2, you should definitely watch it.
If you are unfamiliar with Konosuba, it is kind of degenerate.
No, no, no.
It is very degenerate.
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Be careful who you decide to watch this in front of, but it's funny.
That's all.
Number 4, My Hero Season 7.
Now say what you want, but I like My Hero.
I like it better than a lot of other shounens.
I would even go as far to say that I like it better than the most popular modern shounen
Jujutsu Kaisen.
(15:08):
So I was excited for Season 7, and it's not disappointing so far.
There are some insane moments, like Chiguraki in All for One fights.
There are some insane reveals.
And since we're in the endgame, stakes are higher, so a lot of things are going down.
And I don't want to say too much with My Hero Season 7 because this is a lot more popular
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and people are probably going to be more particular with spoilers.
But I will say that so far, every time Chiguraki is on screen, I just have to like sit there
and just prepare for the fight of the episode because every scene with him is just crazy.
I can't lie to you.
Like Chiguraki is genuinely the MVP for the hype this season.
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As for the anime of My Hero, there's only one season left before they end the anime
because the manga just recently ended and it's um...
It's something...
Empty and unfulfilling is a word that people use.
Personally, I think that the ending makes sense for the manga, but I can understand
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why people don't like it.
So far, Season 7 is pretty cool.
Like I think we should get on that.
So yeah, Season 7, highly recommend.
If you were on the fence about watching Season 7, go watch it.
I don't know why you would watch up to Season 6 and not watch Season 7.
That would be kind of strange.
Now I'm kind of cheating with this one, but number 3 on my list is Friren, which is an
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anime that came out in fall but had 24 episodes.
So it was here for a good amount of time.
Friren...
I mean there's nothing new I can really add to Friren.
The show blew me away.
The first time I heard about it was around this time last year when I was reviewing my
anime hot takes and someone said, hey, you should watch Friren.
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And I was like, huh, okay.
And I read it and I was amazed by the character dynamics.
And when I...
I don't say this lightly, but I think Friren has probably some of the best character dynamics
I've seen in an anime.
The connections that Friren has with her fellow characters is very deep.
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The story of Friren is an elf who can live for hundreds of years.
And this particular elf went on a journey with a hero named Himmel.
And they ended up sharing a very close bond with each other.
And so eventually, age catches up to Himmel and Friren realizes that she's crying at his
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funeral, which is weird to her because people come and go.
So to her, she's wondering why is this affecting me so much?
So she goes on a journey and meets two other people, Fern and Stark.
And seeing these two grow, it's very refreshing because there is no fan service in the show,
meaning that Stark doesn't look like a pervert and Fern doesn't do like, oh my God, how did
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you walk into my dressing room or something like that, that every anime loves to do?
You know what I'm talking about because it's not at all rare.
But even when there are moments that you could consider fan service, but it is nowhere near
comparable to other animes.
There's probably like two scenes that are considered fan service and they're not that
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bad.
Now, when it comes to flashbacks, Friren hands down probably has the best ones I've seen
out of any anime because normally when you see flashbacks, you just kind of sigh and
you think, oh, can they just end already?
But with this one, it's different because it feels like you're seeing two stories happen
at once.
Now, the flashbacks are brief, but they do so much for Friren's character.
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The best example I can think of is when she went to a restaurant with Stark and Fern and
she reflected about the good times she had with Himmel.
Since in the beginning of the journey that she had with Himmel, she didn't really look
at life the way she did after it.
Because before everything was so insignificant, time passes by so fast, everything just dies
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in a blink of an eye to her.
But then she looks at the journey that she had and she realizes that each tiny moment
is so valuable.
My friend randomly threw out a joke saying that this should be called the melancholic
journey of Friren and I couldn't agree anymore because there are so many happy moments shrouded
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in depressing memories and it's incredible that the mangaka of Friren is able to balance
these feelings so well.
And that's not even scratching the surface because Friren has the feelings and it has
the animation.
Because Friren, oh, the animation is smooth and it is insane.
Any animator that you talk to will talk about how Friren is probably one of the best animated
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animes out there.
Because Matt House decided to do this thing where they do absolutely nothing for years
on end and then decide to drop a banger out of nowhere.
Now I won't lie.
It took some time for me to actually get into Friren.
The first couple episodes were a bit slow for me but afterwards everything was smooth
sailing.
So if you're thinking that you know you started Friren and you're not on the hype train, watch
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it more.
I promise you, you will not be disappointed.
Coming in at number two is The Dangers in My Heart Season 2.
Now when I first saw this anime last year I thought, ew, the main character is into
killing things and he wants to kill the main girl?
That is absolute trash.
Who would write something like that?
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And then this weird thing started happening.
Every time I heard about The Dangers in My Heart, people were praising it to be one of
the best animes ever made and I thought to myself, what?
There's no way.
Nothing like this could be that good, right?
So then season 2 drops and I gave it some time and eventually I decide, I'll bite.
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I'm probably not gonna like this but I'll give it a shot.
And now The Dangers in My Heart is one of my favorite romance animes that I've ever
watched and might just be a top 10 anime for me.
Even a top 5.
You see, normally when I look at animes it's so hard for me to connect with one.
I like a lot of animes but something about this just hit different.
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This is literally the definition of don't judge a book by its cover because the way
that the main character grows from the beginning of the show to the end, oh my god, it's incredible.
Like I'm gonna be so honest with you, if it wasn't for this show I wouldn't have even
watched Shokunoko Koshikan Tam because towards the end of season 2 they were like feeding
deers and I'm like, I need a new show after this.
(21:48):
I guess I'll watch the deer anime.
But oh this show just, I can't, I can't.
Watch it.
Watch it.
I'm not saying anything more.
Just watch the show.
Every single episode I just thought to myself I need another episode.
I need one more episode.
I watched the entire thing in 2 days.
Each season took me one day.
I haven't feed it like that for an anime in so long.
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Watch it.
Now, you may be thinking to yourself, after singing such high praises for a show like
that, how could anything be number 1?
Well that's because it's Oshinoko.
Yeah.
Number 1 on this list is Oshinoko's second season.
Now take everything I just said about how hard it is for me to connect to an anime and
then there's Oshinoko and Love is War.
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Both written by Akasaka and I will defend both series till the day I die.
So with the second season coming out there was some pushback since some events happened
in the manga I'm not gonna say what.
And now nobody really cares about this show.
And I think that kind of sucks because this season is incredible.
And if you're thinking of what you've heard on the internet, shut up!
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Like please just watch season 2.
I beg of you if you're gonna drop it, fine.
But like just watch season 2 because it's the play arc.
Like all these cool things going around with the camera and stuff.
Like please, I'm begging you.
If you're gonna drop the show, please do it after season 2.
Please!
I'm excited to see Oshinoko's take on the entertainment industry once again as it goes
into the play arc.
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Now even though I've read the manga, I still sit there and enjoy every last minute of each
episode and does it sound like I'm glazing?
Yes, because I am.
And that's because as a manga reader, watching the anime is still enjoyable because they
do so many things that a manga can't.
Such as creating the play Tokyo Blade.
In Oshinoko's season 2, they create the play called Tokyo Blade and there are so many cool
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things that go on.
There's like actual fight scenes in a slice of life drama.
Like come on!
And season 2 goes for a more artistic feel compared to season 1 and I appreciate it heavily
cause it looks amazing whenever they just decide to pop off.
There was like a whole minute sequence in the anime where it was not even in the manga
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and I thought, wow, you just animated this out of the blue.
How did you think of this?
And it continues to show how much the directors and animators just care about this show.
So that being said, I'll say it once, I'll say it a hundred times, watch Oshinoko!
Please!
Anyway, that was my top 10 animes that came out in 2024.
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Now of course, there are animes I watched that I did really like but unfortunately did
not make the list.
Such as Apothecary Diaries.
Very interesting show, it's just that some moments I enjoy more than others.
A condition called love, the first 6 episodes had me kind of iffy on the main couple's
since it seemed kind of red flaggy but it improved over time.
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Also the main reason I watched this was because the main girl's name was Hotaru, which is
similar to FOTARU.
Listen, the reason may be dumb but it's my reason, okay?
Mashal was a pleasant surprise but it's not the type of show that I would watch.
And also I know people would crucify me if I did not mention the second opening for Mashal
made by Creepy Nuts which to this day still gets played a lot.
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And Creepy Nuts' popularity is not gonna dwindle down as they are also making the opening
for Dandodon so look forward to that.
Cause a lot of fans seem to be enjoying it ever since Netflix accidentally leaked the
entire season for Dandodon but that's a story for another day.
And I think that's about all I have to say for now.
But the year's not over yet and it looks like there's a bunch of animes coming out this
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fall that are definitely going to be heavy hitters.
And I just want to give another special thanks for being the host of On Cloud Anime for an
entire year which is insane.
I am so thankful for the people who decide to give me a chance as the host of this podcast
and continue to support me even outside of it.
As well as the people who have listened to me rant about anime for the last year.
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And if you want to hear me rant about anime more, go to my YouTube channel at FOTARU where
I just do a bunch of random anime related content and if you enjoy, subscribe.
But that's all.
I'm your host FOTARU and I'll see you later.
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This episode was brought to you by Algid Productions LLC. Thank you for listening!
Hello, everybody.
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Welcome to another episode of On Cloud Anime.
I'm your host, FOTARU, and today I'm going to be talking about the top 10 anime that
came out this year.
And I just want to say a very personal message, and it's that around the time that this episode
releases, it will officially be one year since I first joined On Cloud Anime, and I just
want to give a very special thanks to all the listeners out there.
(00:48):
So without further ado, these are the top 10 anime that came out this year.
Now before we get into it, I just want to say that I haven't watched every single anime
that came out this year, so take all my opinions with a grain of salt, especially considering
my word is not law.
Starting off this list is Shikan no Konoko Koshikan Tan.
When I first heard this anime, I thought that it was going to be somewhat of a trend, deeply
(01:10):
forgotten in that it probably wasn't even going to be that good.
So I was shocked when I decided to give it a chance, and I was very pleased with the
humor of the show.
It's very random, but in a way that it's not unfunny.
Because there are some animes where I've watched it and I thought that it was a little
too random for me, or brain-rod even.
And Shikan no Konoko Koshikan Tan is kind of brain-roddy, but in a good way, if that
(01:36):
makes sense.
Now the plot is very simple.
The main character Koshikan tries to be the perfect student while hiding a dark secret,
which is that she used to be a delinquent, and some high school deer hybrid knows this
secret and Koshikan wants to make sure that it doesn't get out there.
And it quickly spirals into random hijinks, and one of the episodes, the deer just takes
(01:57):
her antler and chucks it at the school and it's a grenade, and it's definitely a ride.
Now there is no real deeper meaning to this show, but that doesn't make it a bad thing.
If you're just looking for a chill anime, Shikan no Konoko Koshikan Tan will be the
show for you.
But for me, I usually like when there is a deeper meaning, which is why I'm putting
it at number 10, but it is still enjoyable.
(02:20):
At number 9 is the romance anime Alia hides her feelings in Russian.
Now the plot is pretty self explanatory.
The main girl Alia is half Russian, and she has a crush on this boy, the main character,
and decides to say very flirty things in Russian to make sure that he doesn't hear anything.
But plot twist, the main character does understand Russian and is very like surprised by the
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situation, but it's very surprising how this show actually progresses very well.
There's a lot of romance nowadays are skipping all the old tropes that make the genre as
a whole annoying, and it's very refreshing to see nowadays.
I mean, there is another anime that I'm going to be talking about later on that does the
same thing, but Alia is just overall a very good ride.
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It's just for me, sometimes it's a little weird.
Some people may enjoy the weirdness, others will not, and it's been kind of marked as
the degenerate anime.
I mean, there was a very well animated foot scene with the main character putting a sock
on the main girl, and then there's this entire character named Yuki, who is the main character's
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little sister.
And the thing about her is that she is the archetype of little sisters, I guess, in anime.
At least she tries to be.
You know, she does weird things like she hops in her brother's bed, she says very incest-y
lines because they're otaku buddies and all that stuff.
She's an acquired taste as a character, if that makes sense.
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Personally, it's kind of hard for me to say that she is my favorite character, but yeah,
she is kind of my favorite character because she brings a lot of energy to the show, and
I think that she's just overall very enjoyable whenever she's on screen, though she is very,
very, very weird.
But one thing that is very unique about Alia's anime as well is that it has 11 unique ending
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songs, which are covers that the main voice actor does of like just popular songs.
I can't really name any at the top of my head.
I think that the second ending is the most recognizable one, and you know, just a little
fun piece of trivia.
Alia's voice actor actually learned Russian so that she could sing the Russian anthem,
and it's a bit random, but I respect it, and for the English dub, a voice actor that is
(04:39):
very popular is Ash Ketchum's voice actor plays Alia in the English dub, which is drastically
different from her previous roles, but I'm here for it, and the main character has the
same voice actor as Miyuki Shirogane from Love is War in the English dub, so they have
a lot of fun with the script as they did in Love is War, which is very... which is a compliment
(05:01):
to me, because if you don't know, Love is War is my favorite show, so having Alia compared
to it is not an easy say, but there are definitely some weird lines, and it's whenever Yuki's
on screen.
At number 8 is Windbreaker.
Now you may have heard me talk about this not that long ago when we had Aura on this
podcast, but I just have to reiterate that Windbreaker is still an amazing show, but
(05:27):
there are other episodes that came out after that podcast that make it not as enjoyable
as it was before.
Now it's still number 8 on this list, meaning that I still find it very enjoyable.
I have to again reiterate that, but the last three episodes of season 1 were really boring.
I'll get back to that later.
(05:48):
So the main character Sakura goes into a new town, and he joins a gang, kind of, except
that they do good things around town, you know, it's not like the typical battle gangs
and all that stuff.
And Sakura is used to being the outcast, but he starts to find his place slowly but surely.
A lot of people early on compared it to Tokyo Revengers just because it's a gang, but it's
(06:10):
actually deeper than that.
I think that the themes of belonging is very noble of the main character, since he isn't
like the normal hot-headed archetype, he's very open, I guess you could say, about his
feelings even though he doesn't want to be, he's still an open book.
And the first six episodes are incredible, like, actually no, the first eight.
(06:33):
The first entire arc was amazing because the fights were on another level, like, they were
outstanding.
And I think that if you want a show that has a deeper meaning and has the action as well,
Windbreaker might just be the place to start.
And I will say that there are a bit of flashbacks from episodes four through eight, but I think
(06:54):
that they're all very well planned out and add to the story a lot.
So some people may not be into that, some people will.
Personally, I liked it a lot, I liked the details.
That being said, there was a lot of randomness going on in the last three episodes, and it
was very hard to watch.
To the point where when Windbreaker first started, I was on it, like, the day it came
(07:17):
out, the hour it came out, I was watching Windbreaker's new episode.
But it started to dwindle down a bit with the final episode.
I was like, I can wait another week for an episode because it really is just kind of
boring.
That being said, still a very solid season.
And if you're new to anime, I'd give it a shot if you want a show with a good message
(07:38):
and good fights.
Coming in at number seven is Signs of Affection.
This is a romance anime about a girl who's deaf and a guy who wants to learn what it's
like to be in her world.
Now if you want me to be entirely honest with you, the main thing that hooked me was the
deaf girl.
I can't lie to you.
And the reason for this is because my favorite movie of all time is a little one called A
(08:02):
Silent Voice.
And that movie has a deaf girl with pink hair.
Oh, would you look at that?
This anime has a deaf girl with pink hair also.
But I definitely was not disappointed when I watched this.
Because this show is not like crazy in any way.
I mean you can easily predict anything that's happening, but it's the experience.
(08:25):
Now what I would say as its biggest weakness and why it's at number seven and not higher
is that, well yes, the dynamic between the main characters is very special.
I feel like all the other characters are very forgettable.
They usually just kind of have one thing that goes on to them and then we go straight back
to the main cast.
And I can't say that at the end of the twelve episodes there was a particular character
(08:48):
that I was attached to.
But this is a romance anime, not a slice of life.
So with that in mind, the romance itself is still very enjoyable.
You don't really see dynamics like this that often, where two different worlds collide
and each world tries to understand the other.
So Sides of Affection is a very sweet anime, but it's not particularly something I go
(09:10):
crazy about when mentioned.
Number six on this list is the second core to season two of Mushoku Tensei.
Now there's a lot of controversial things about Mushoku Tensei.
A lot of the writers kinks, I guess, being written into the light novel, but also being
added out.
We'll get to that later.
But Mushoku Tensei, deep down, is still a very well-written show.
(09:34):
It's just a little much.
One thing I will say and always give props to Mushoku Tensei is the way that it depicts
heartbreak.
There's always these depressing scenes that go on and it always affects the main character
of Rudeus in some way, shape, or form.
This particular season had a very hard-hitting moment, I'm not going to spoil what it is,
(09:54):
that really affected Rudeus in a way that he had feelings of complication, he didn't
know how to feel, and the way it was depicted was very well.
It was to the point where I could understand what he was feeling even though I had never
been in his position.
Now immediately, one misconception I see about Mushoku Tensei sometimes is that people think
(10:16):
that Rudeus being born into a new world, because this is an isekai, means that he's trying
to redeem himself, which is not true at all.
Rudeus is running away from the problems that he caused in his past life and is trying to
make a new one, which isn't very noble and it's not supposed to be at all, but there
are moments where he is human and he has likable interactions such as his dynamic with his
(10:40):
little sisters in this world, Aisha and Norn, or how every time he looks back at his past
life he ends up hating himself.
There is no redemption, Rude has never done anything to redeem himself, he's just trying
to move on.
And you can take that as you will, for me, I don't really care too much.
But what I do care about is the double marriage.
(11:03):
Now I'm going to go into spoiler territory, if you don't want to hear spoilers for the
second season of Mushoku Tensei, skip ahead.
Alright so, the first half of Mushoku Tensei season 2 is spent building up Rudeus' relationship
with a previous character, Sylphie, and you see them grow close together and eventually
get married and have a kid on the way.
(11:25):
And if you look hard enough, there is a clip of two of the dub voice actors on the Crunchyroll
TikTok page saying that they think that these two are so cute together.
And to that I agree.
So what happens?
Rudeus cheats on her.
So within the second core of Mushoku Tensei, he ends up meeting up with his first love
and goddess, Roxy, his teacher.
(11:48):
And they end up growing close together because Rudy saved her in the dungeon that they were
traversing in and she thought she was dead.
So from that point on, she started crushing on Rudeus.
Keep in mind, he's still married to Sylphie.
And eventually, Roxy hops into Rudy's bed one night and they have sex.
And the worst part about this is that Roxy knew that Rudeus was married to someone.
(12:13):
And towards the end of the season, Rudy ends up also marrying Roxy and telling Sylphie,
hey, about what I said earlier, I know I said that I wasn't gonna marry another person
even though I wasn't allowed to, but I'm still asking for your permission to be married to
you and someone else.
And I'm just like, okay, sure.
That makes sense.
(12:34):
Even his sisters are like, what?
Like is this really what you were doing on a life-threatening mission?
Like I get you were depressed, but still dude, like, come on.
And the worst part about it all is that Rudy doesn't get punished in any way, shape, or
form.
Sylphie is like, I mean, like, that kinda sucks, but I'm glad that it was this person in particular
(12:57):
because you already liked them before me and I'm just like, what?
And then the season just kind of like goes deeper into Rudy's drama so that we can forget
about the fact that he cheated and went back against his word of only marrying Sylphie.
Sure.
And this is just one example of the writer of Michoko Tensei going off the bars and just
(13:18):
writing stuff that is heavily outdated and even if it was outdated, it should never be
written as a light novel.
So for every feat of writing that Michoko Tensei has, which there is a lot of great
writing, there is also a bit of a sour taste that you have from reading some of the material
so if you approach this series, I would tread lightly and considering it's number 6, that
(13:42):
means that there is still something in here that is worth reading.
Coming in at number 5 is Konosuba Season 3.
Now this was a long time coming.
It has been 7 years since the second season of Konosuba and Konosuba was one of my first
anime, at least the first 10, and I even have a Konosuba poster in my room so it is a very
(14:06):
special anime to me.
That being said, I remember Konosuba being a lot funnier when I was younger and the more
I grew up the less funnier it became.
Season 3 was still a very great season because it focused more on the dynamics between the
characters, specifically darkness, and I love darkness.
(14:26):
The comedy was still there with Konosuba, you'll still get a laugh somewhere and enjoy
the character dynamics, it's been very consistent.
So there's nothing new to really bring to the table involving this one.
If you love Konosuba Seasons 1 or 2, you should definitely watch it.
If you are unfamiliar with Konosuba, it is kind of degenerate.
No, no, no.
It is very degenerate.
(14:48):
Be careful who you decide to watch this in front of, but it's funny.
That's all.
Number 4, My Hero Season 7.
Now say what you want, but I like My Hero.
I like it better than a lot of other shounens.
I would even go as far to say that I like it better than the most popular modern shounen
Jujutsu Kaisen.
(15:08):
So I was excited for Season 7, and it's not disappointing so far.
There are some insane moments, like Chiguraki in All for One fights.
There are some insane reveals.
And since we're in the endgame, stakes are higher, so a lot of things are going down.
And I don't want to say too much with My Hero Season 7 because this is a lot more popular
(15:31):
and people are probably going to be more particular with spoilers.
But I will say that so far, every time Chiguraki is on screen, I just have to like sit there
and just prepare for the fight of the episode because every scene with him is just crazy.
I can't lie to you.
Like Chiguraki is genuinely the MVP for the hype this season.
(15:53):
As for the anime of My Hero, there's only one season left before they end the anime
because the manga just recently ended and it's um...
It's something...
Empty and unfulfilling is a word that people use.
Personally, I think that the ending makes sense for the manga, but I can understand
(16:13):
why people don't like it.
So far, Season 7 is pretty cool.
Like I think we should get on that.
So yeah, Season 7, highly recommend.
If you were on the fence about watching Season 7, go watch it.
I don't know why you would watch up to Season 6 and not watch Season 7.
That would be kind of strange.
Now I'm kind of cheating with this one, but number 3 on my list is Friren, which is an
(16:37):
anime that came out in fall but had 24 episodes.
So it was here for a good amount of time.
Friren...
I mean there's nothing new I can really add to Friren.
The show blew me away.
The first time I heard about it was around this time last year when I was reviewing my
anime hot takes and someone said, hey, you should watch Friren.
(16:57):
And I was like, huh, okay.
And I read it and I was amazed by the character dynamics.
And when I...
I don't say this lightly, but I think Friren has probably some of the best character dynamics
I've seen in an anime.
The connections that Friren has with her fellow characters is very deep.
(17:19):
The story of Friren is an elf who can live for hundreds of years.
And this particular elf went on a journey with a hero named Himmel.
And they ended up sharing a very close bond with each other.
And so eventually, age catches up to Himmel and Friren realizes that she's crying at his
(17:40):
funeral, which is weird to her because people come and go.
So to her, she's wondering why is this affecting me so much?
So she goes on a journey and meets two other people, Fern and Stark.
And seeing these two grow, it's very refreshing because there is no fan service in the show,
meaning that Stark doesn't look like a pervert and Fern doesn't do like, oh my God, how did
(18:04):
you walk into my dressing room or something like that, that every anime loves to do?
You know what I'm talking about because it's not at all rare.
But even when there are moments that you could consider fan service, but it is nowhere near
comparable to other animes.
There's probably like two scenes that are considered fan service and they're not that
(18:24):
bad.
Now, when it comes to flashbacks, Friren hands down probably has the best ones I've seen
out of any anime because normally when you see flashbacks, you just kind of sigh and
you think, oh, can they just end already?
But with this one, it's different because it feels like you're seeing two stories happen
at once.
Now, the flashbacks are brief, but they do so much for Friren's character.
(18:48):
The best example I can think of is when she went to a restaurant with Stark and Fern and
she reflected about the good times she had with Himmel.
Since in the beginning of the journey that she had with Himmel, she didn't really look
at life the way she did after it.
Because before everything was so insignificant, time passes by so fast, everything just dies
(19:10):
in a blink of an eye to her.
But then she looks at the journey that she had and she realizes that each tiny moment
is so valuable.
My friend randomly threw out a joke saying that this should be called the melancholic
journey of Friren and I couldn't agree anymore because there are so many happy moments shrouded
(19:31):
in depressing memories and it's incredible that the mangaka of Friren is able to balance
these feelings so well.
And that's not even scratching the surface because Friren has the feelings and it has
the animation.
Because Friren, oh, the animation is smooth and it is insane.
Any animator that you talk to will talk about how Friren is probably one of the best animated
(19:56):
animes out there.
Because Matt House decided to do this thing where they do absolutely nothing for years
on end and then decide to drop a banger out of nowhere.
Now I won't lie.
It took some time for me to actually get into Friren.
The first couple episodes were a bit slow for me but afterwards everything was smooth
sailing.
So if you're thinking that you know you started Friren and you're not on the hype train, watch
(20:20):
it more.
I promise you, you will not be disappointed.
Coming in at number two is The Dangers in My Heart Season 2.
Now when I first saw this anime last year I thought, ew, the main character is into
killing things and he wants to kill the main girl?
That is absolute trash.
Who would write something like that?
(20:42):
And then this weird thing started happening.
Every time I heard about The Dangers in My Heart, people were praising it to be one of
the best animes ever made and I thought to myself, what?
There's no way.
Nothing like this could be that good, right?
So then season 2 drops and I gave it some time and eventually I decide, I'll bite.
(21:02):
I'm probably not gonna like this but I'll give it a shot.
And now The Dangers in My Heart is one of my favorite romance animes that I've ever
watched and might just be a top 10 anime for me.
Even a top 5.
You see, normally when I look at animes it's so hard for me to connect with one.
I like a lot of animes but something about this just hit different.
(21:27):
This is literally the definition of don't judge a book by its cover because the way
that the main character grows from the beginning of the show to the end, oh my god, it's incredible.
Like I'm gonna be so honest with you, if it wasn't for this show I wouldn't have even
watched Shokunoko Koshikan Tam because towards the end of season 2 they were like feeding
deers and I'm like, I need a new show after this.
(21:48):
I guess I'll watch the deer anime.
But oh this show just, I can't, I can't.
Watch it.
Watch it.
I'm not saying anything more.
Just watch the show.
Every single episode I just thought to myself I need another episode.
I need one more episode.
I watched the entire thing in 2 days.
Each season took me one day.
I haven't feed it like that for an anime in so long.
(22:11):
Watch it.
Now, you may be thinking to yourself, after singing such high praises for a show like
that, how could anything be number 1?
Well that's because it's Oshinoko.
Yeah.
Number 1 on this list is Oshinoko's second season.
Now take everything I just said about how hard it is for me to connect to an anime and
then there's Oshinoko and Love is War.
(22:33):
Both written by Akasaka and I will defend both series till the day I die.
So with the second season coming out there was some pushback since some events happened
in the manga I'm not gonna say what.
And now nobody really cares about this show.
And I think that kind of sucks because this season is incredible.
And if you're thinking of what you've heard on the internet, shut up!
(22:56):
Like please just watch season 2.
I beg of you if you're gonna drop it, fine.
But like just watch season 2 because it's the play arc.
Like all these cool things going around with the camera and stuff.
Like please, I'm begging you.
If you're gonna drop the show, please do it after season 2.
Please!
I'm excited to see Oshinoko's take on the entertainment industry once again as it goes
into the play arc.
(23:17):
Now even though I've read the manga, I still sit there and enjoy every last minute of each
episode and does it sound like I'm glazing?
Yes, because I am.
And that's because as a manga reader, watching the anime is still enjoyable because they
do so many things that a manga can't.
Such as creating the play Tokyo Blade.
In Oshinoko's season 2, they create the play called Tokyo Blade and there are so many cool
(23:40):
things that go on.
There's like actual fight scenes in a slice of life drama.
Like come on!
And season 2 goes for a more artistic feel compared to season 1 and I appreciate it heavily
cause it looks amazing whenever they just decide to pop off.
There was like a whole minute sequence in the anime where it was not even in the manga
(24:01):
and I thought, wow, you just animated this out of the blue.
How did you think of this?
And it continues to show how much the directors and animators just care about this show.
So that being said, I'll say it once, I'll say it a hundred times, watch Oshinoko!
Please!
Anyway, that was my top 10 animes that came out in 2024.
(24:23):
Now of course, there are animes I watched that I did really like but unfortunately did
not make the list.
Such as Apothecary Diaries.
Very interesting show, it's just that some moments I enjoy more than others.
A condition called love, the first 6 episodes had me kind of iffy on the main couple's
since it seemed kind of red flaggy but it improved over time.
(24:45):
Also the main reason I watched this was because the main girl's name was Hotaru, which is
similar to FOTARU.
Listen, the reason may be dumb but it's my reason, okay?
Mashal was a pleasant surprise but it's not the type of show that I would watch.
And also I know people would crucify me if I did not mention the second opening for Mashal
made by Creepy Nuts which to this day still gets played a lot.
(25:10):
And Creepy Nuts' popularity is not gonna dwindle down as they are also making the opening
for Dandodon so look forward to that.
Cause a lot of fans seem to be enjoying it ever since Netflix accidentally leaked the
entire season for Dandodon but that's a story for another day.
And I think that's about all I have to say for now.
But the year's not over yet and it looks like there's a bunch of animes coming out this
(25:33):
fall that are definitely going to be heavy hitters.
And I just want to give another special thanks for being the host of On Cloud Anime for an
entire year which is insane.
I am so thankful for the people who decide to give me a chance as the host of this podcast
and continue to support me even outside of it.
As well as the people who have listened to me rant about anime for the last year.
(25:54):
And if you want to hear me rant about anime more, go to my YouTube channel at FOTARU where
I just do a bunch of random anime related content and if you enjoy, subscribe.
But that's all.
I'm your host FOTARU and I'll see you later.
(26:35):
This episode was brought to you by Algid Productions LLC. Thank you for listening!
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