So, on Thanksgiving 2024, a thing happened to me. One that I have gone over in past blogs and will not bore you here. But needless to say, I had some time on my hands while I recovered. Between sleeping and working on blogs and writing projects, I had one hobby that occupied my time.

And I mean a lot of time.

It is called . . . Anime!

Love it or hate it, it is a huge industry that many, many have found endless entertainment and joy. A couple years ago I subscribed to the streaming service known as Crunchyroll. And it has been a love/hate thing with the service. I love it because it offers endless entertainment. And I hate it because it is a dangerous chronophage.

It’s one of those things to do in moderation. And I was doing it in moderation this year. But I fell down the Crunchyroll rabbit hole hard during December. The service is awesome and has some features that make it easy to marathon through genres and animation styles. For every series profile on Crunchyroll, there is a “More Like This” tab that lists other series that may pique your interest.

Another cool but very unnecessary feature on Crunchyroll is the “History” tab that allows you to see a list of each episode of Anime you have been watching. And the servers remember far, far back of your history.

And I am not exaggerating, it is amazing how far back the episode history Crunchyroll remembers. There is an option to clear your history but it also clears your “currently watching” list. Maybe I’ll get to that in the future. So for laughs, I looked at my history and my, my, what a list for December.

Well, maybe a little of November’s end will be included as I make this list. Just for kicks. Since I need a break from Anime, I might as well listen to some podcasts I need to catch up with. So as I listen to “How Did This Not Get Made” I look through my episode history on Crunchyroll.

And . . .

37 Animes! Yes, thirty-seven, wow! It is no wonder my eyes did not grow and my hair didn’t turn blue. Because you gotta have blue hair. Ha! Anyway, yeah, if I needed any evidence to my anime addiction, there it is. Because many of these are 12 episodes long, each around 23 to 24 minutes long. Some I watched went for two seasons. I avoided the ones that go on for more than two seasons because an anime can get old after I marathon it for too long.

And my rule for this is that I list what I watched in full. Because I have a three episode rule which means if an anime does not pique my interest after the first three episodes, I move on to something else. And a few anime after one or two episodes I passed on popped up while looking at my history, so I do not list them.

After making this list for fun, I decided to do a retrospective looking back on the anime I watched during December. At the very least, all that time watching Anime will be good for at least a blog or two. So, sit back and enjoy my look back at all the Anime I enjoyed during December of 2024.

[Inserting this after writing this article and yeah, going to have to break this one down. So much to say and I’d like to spread it out for the readership’s sanity. And my own]

1# A Journey Through Another World: Raising Kids While Adventuring

I love Isekai anime, which are all about someone from the real world being transferred to a fantasy setting. Each Isekai I have seen has some interesting twist to it. This had our lead raising a pair of twins that are way too adorable and super powerful. Honestly, this was the first I watched after my injuries and it was a welcomed cheerful and feel-good watch.

2# Am I Actually the Strongest

We go from an Isekai that is adorable and cute to a loner geek from the real world dying, being reincarnated and becoming an all powerful mage. Seriously, our lead has superpowers as a baby and intimidates a powerful wolf demon to become his servant. This was a power-fantasy anime, and much of the Isekai genre is like that. This one was pretty fun though, especially since the lead is very protective of those he loves and is not afraid to get his hands dirty.

3# Beast Tamer

So one frequent fantasy anime trope that comes up is “I was kicked out of the hero’s party and better things happen to me.” It's a genre all in itself where there is a big bad, usually a demon king, and a hero is chosen to defeat the big bad. But, the twist is that the story does not follow the hero, but one of his fellow companions. The companion is kicked out of the hero’s party for reasons and ends up living a better life in the process.

This story follows a lead who is a beast tamer and has magic that lets him form a bond with animals. He is kicked out of the hero’s party because the hero and the others have massive egos. Our lead then finds out he can form a body with fantasy races like Cat-People and Dragon-People and becomes a badass.

This is a fun watch for those of you who like seeing someone who starts with nothing grow into a hero in their own right. I love this kind of anime too. I especially enjoy how comically evil the hero and his party can be because of how privileged and self important they are. And then the ball drops, they need help, the lead comes in to rescue them, and they get put in their place. Classic!

4# Reborn as a Vending Machine

So this average guy who loves vending machines dies and is reincarnated into a fantasy world as . . . a vending machine. I love it when anime sum up their premise in the title. Having a vending machine in a fantasy setting is hilarious. People put silver and gold coins into the vending machine and get fresh water, hot food, utilities, it’s magic! Unfortunately, our Isekia’ed vending machine lead can only say a few set sentences and is vulnerable without a companion.

I will give this anime one thing that separates it from other Isekai, it is very educational. I learned more about japanese vending machine culture then I ever thought possible. Our vending machine lead knows more about vending machines then a human should. But it comes in handy as he morphs into various vending machines to save the day.

And he saves the day a lot in this show. People almost die and his quick thinking saves them. Oh and he has a super strong but super cute and sexy companion. And she is an absolute goofball and the dynamic between the vending machine and her is charming as all heck.

I highly recommend this one and hope it gets a season two.

5# The Great Cleric

All I remember about this one is that it’s another Isekai and the lead is a healer in a world where healers are greedy assholes. I vaguely remember the lead being trained by a tough adventurer, the lead drinking this nasty stuff that made him stronger, and the lead spending almost half of the season in a labyrinth with undead. I remember a cute bunny girl and that’s it. Not a memorable anime but fun while it lasted.

6# The Fruit of Evolution, Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made

What was this? Oh, I remember it being an Isekai and what happened in it. How could I forget? A whole classroom of high school kids gets teleported into another world. One loser in the class gets separated, eats a mystery fruit that makes him a badass, and he romances a pink gorilla that evolves into a hot girl. And that’s just the first couple episodes.

This started as a comedy but like many anime, they start as fun and laughs then become serious as the series goes on. It went for two seasons and while the comedy is there in the second season, it gets super serious and ugh. I don’t mind a tonal shift when it's merited. A lot of good anime are like that. But this anime clearly was a slapstick, irreverent comedy that became a serious drama.

It's interesting to watch this anime for the first season for its insane laughs. But skip season 2 unless you are super invested into it. I kept going after season one out of curiosity and was very meh at the end of season two.

7# In Another World With My Smartphone

So, another Isekai, and the lead is accidentally killed by God. Yes. And God, as an apology, sends our lead to another world with his smartphone upgraded with magical powers. And the phone barely comes up in this anime about a guy with his smartphone in a fantasy world. You want to know what it’s about really?

This guy, this Isekai lead, becomes a cool adventurer with the help of two lady adventurers he befriends. He then meets more ladies on the way and . . . it is foretold that he will have nine brides. I just can’t get over this. One bride is enough for most protagonists. But nine?! And on top of that, he finds hidden futuristic fortresses with girl robot maids and they become his servants.

I don’t know, maybe I am old fashioned and I try not to step on others' fantasies but having nine wives seems like a lot. But despite how I feel about this plot point, it was still a fun anime with a smart and cool protagonist, likeable side characters, and an interesting mystery. It is two seasons long and each episode flies by.

8# I Got A Cheat Skill In Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too

Imagine being a loser, your grandfather leaves you a house, and you end up walking through a secret door to another world. You then kill one monster, level up like from a video game, and then morph into a hot guy with super powers. This one was a blast because the animation was top notch and the lead is likeable enough that you want to see him succeed.

There are cute monster pets, a rabbit that talks and has killer kicks, hot babes and princesses, and all the while the lead wears badass armor and does badass things. This was a blast to watch and I hope it gets a second season.

9# Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Power

This is the first Isekai I have seen where the protagonist is from a fantasy world and is transferred into another fantasy world. Usually, a normal person from the real world is taken to a fantasy world and learns more about it. This time, the lead knows about magic and just casually goes through life after being sent away by the kingdom that brought him into the world.

He ranks up to level two and all of his stats are ♾️. Yes, this guy becomes OP at level two. And even with all of this power, he just wants to live a quiet life. It's a slice of life story where the adventuring and excitement come to him and ruin his peaceful time.

And this makes the second Isekai where the lead uses his overpowered magic to tame a wolf demon to become his ally. Only this time the ally slowly becomes his girlfriend and then bride. Yes, this lead gets married but only one wife and he's not looking for eight more. This was a fun anime to watch and I do hope there is a second season.

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