I love anime, for those who don’t know. I could introduce people to plenty of new anime, or we could look at the best anime of 2023 for an overall viewpoint of what to look out for. Either way, anime and I go together like butter and popcorn.
Anime, in general, has become more significant and prominent over the last few years. Back in 2020 and 2021, when most people were at home, more fans decided to turn to Crunchyroll to see the hype. And from there, millions of people became huge anime lovers. Whether it was watching the last season of Attack on Titan, checking out the latest arcs of One Piece, or even viewing intense new projects like the soccer-themed sports anime Blue Lock, anime became bigger.
2024, so far, has been an excellent year for anime, and there have been plenty of incredible new stories that people have loved. I got to sit down one-on-one with Crunchyroll's SVP, Michel Berger, and see what he thinks the most exciting anime is that people should check out in the spring season. Berger opened up about anime that he's been loving, but he had a pretty simple answer: Kaiju No. 8:
I will tell you, we have a season every couple of months. We just wrapped up a new season, starting last season in January. I think the show I enjoyed the most, well, I enjoyed Frieren a lot, but Solo Leveling is an incredible show. I love Solo Leveling. The words just can't describe it for me. It's a wonderful show…the one I'm looking forward to this season I think the most is Kaiju No. 8. That one feels for me personally, it's my kind of show. I enjoyed the manga. I think it's going to translate really well. So that's what I'm looking forward to.
Solo Leveling was a fantastic anime, and I actually got to speak to the lead VA and ADR director for Solo Leveling regarding the acclaimed adaptation. That said, Kaiju No. 8 is also a great pick.
Kaiju No. 8 is a highly-anticipated anime series that just premiered on April 13th. Based on the manga of the same name, the series follows Kafka Hibino, a young man who lives in a world where monsters called Kaiju regularly terrorize the public, and a defense force is made to stop them. However, Hibino ingests a Kaiju, and in turn, gains the power to turn into one.
The series is part of the Shōnen manga style, which usually targets young men, but truthfully, anyone can watch these anime. Other fantastic anime in this category that I, a young woman, am a fan of are Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, the intense Chainsaw Man, Hell's Paradise, and way more.
Yeah, Kaiju No. 8 is in good company – and Mitchel Berger also agreed, as right now is a "great time to be an anime fan" with how much content there truly is to watch:
There's so much good content right now, and so much great anime being made. It's hard sometimes to keep up with it all because they're just show after show after show after show that are great and different and feel different. I mean, Frieren is about as different as you could possibly get from a show like Solo Leveling, but they both live in the same world…it's a great time to be an anime fan. I'll leave it there. It's a great time to be an anime fan.
Truthfully, this makes me want to go and binge all the fantastic anime out there right now – maybe I'll even have a Hayao Miyazaki marathon, just to enjoy the beauty of anime. It truly is a great time to be an anime fan.
