Enjoy this AI monstrosity I made from a clip from Let's Anime Podcast. Laugh, don't, I don't care. I just know that I haven't stopped laughing since I started. #anime #Animepodcast #podcast #podcastclips

Well this year was long and really, I spent too much time watching anime so this will probably be the only list this year, but if you want to hear the joy and further explanations for why Lindsay and I picked what we did, please listen to the episode on Spotify. I won’t be posting all the categories so if you want our special categories we do, you’ll have to listen to the episode.

Otherwise, here’s our list counting down and remember there’s two picks because we’re two people!

As we always do, we’re not going to give you the best until we give you the worst. Here’s what Lindsay and I thought was the worst of 2024. You can listen to the episode of the podcast to hear us elaborate more and for other fun categories like Music and Husbandos! We have plenty of surprises for you.

Remember, there’s two of us, so there’s two picks, now for our countdown to #1.

By Dustin Cabeal

Usually, I save my reviews for the podcast, that's Let's Anime, but Gods’ Games We Play episode two frustrated and pissed me off so much that not only did I already vent to my co-host Lindsay for at least one-half an hour, but now here I am writing this goddamn review.

The second episode picks up where the first episode left off, which is at the beginning of God's Go hide and seek. In which a giant Titan is smashing a city. We have a group of players, and we are about to explain the rules, even though it seems like the game has already begun when they yelled, “Gods Go Hide and seek.” Instead, one asshole interrupts this little weird floating God turd thing and is like, “statistically this should be a versus God game.” To which the little floating God turd thing goes, “Yeah, no. We’re suddenly bored with doing that.” I mean, you just introduced the concept and the stats for that, but no, we're not going to do that. That's pointless. In fact, we don't even know why we talked about it. We hired someone to say that line just so we could say no. A character and their role on the team was introduced to the story, just for a floating God turd to say, “You’re wrong and now useless to the story.”

Dustin Cabeal and Lindsay Mallard

Youkoso, Youkoso!! This episode is full of surprises! Did it have a different episode title? Possibly. Are there rants? Possibly! What I can say for sure is that Dustin is covering The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie and How To Raise a Boring Girlfriend Movie on the same episode. We also cover Play It Cool Guys, I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss and The Eminence in Shadow.

By Dustin Cabeal

Anime is enjoyable for numerous reasons. From the constant chase of love to the fantastic abilities of magic, mech suits and the best fighter in the universe. They have relatable character moments; seldom do they have relatable plot lines. At its core, Uncle from Another World is about a man that’s been in a comma for 17 years. He’s woken up after the internet ruined everything cool and fun but now middle aged, he wants to connect to the familiar things that he knew from his more youthful days. Yes, there is magic and fantasy, but that core element of being middle aged and wanting youthful connections is the most relatable anime plot line I’ve ever seen. I’m speaking on a personal level because not everyone is middle aged and has fond memories of pre-internet days in which video game information came from magazines and actually needed to be fact checked and approved before printing.

The plus and minus here is that Netflix is adapting to more of a traditional release schedule with its anime and much like Komi Can’t Communicate, Uncle from Another World is being released weekly. I didn’t have this knowledge prior to going in and so I sat down expecting a binge session like with Bastard and was meet with disappointment (Note this review was written before the second episode released). I would also encourage you to listen to this week’s episode of Let’s Anime as I talk about the episode there which has a laugh track provided by me… laughing about the show as I talk about it.

By Dustin Cabeal

With a story that is borderline depressing it still comes as a surprise to me that Engage Kiss has already had one of the best action sequences of the summer anime cour. Its weaknesses in the first episode are addressed in the second episode but that is not to say that the first episode does not stand out or entertain or bring you back for another episode.

By Robert Ramos

Are you guys tired of me reviewing everything Gintama related yet? I surely hope not because this, as you already all know, is the one series I can always talk about AND the one I enjoy discussing the most (sorry,  JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure).  At any rate, Silver Soul is the latest arc/series in the Gintama franchise, and while it’s only the first half of the arc, it has the makings to be the best arc thus far.

By Erika Suarez 

Ancient Magnus’ Bride is a complicated love story in the midst of drama and melancholy that centers in Chise Hitori, a young red-headed girl with a haunting past. Chise is purchased in a magic auction by a mage named Elias Ainsworth and becomes his apprentice and bride. We see an unusual but heartfelt relationship grow between the two as they fight through adversity in an enchanted lateral of London. 

By Erika Suarez 

The Prince of all Saiyans has definitely received his fair share in this series, watching him flourish into an outstanding warrior that Earth can be proud of. It was unbearable to watch are prideful Saiyan go down in this episode, but he certainly gave it his all with the remaining strength he had.