Kara Dennison
June 2, 2024 
When some viewers think of pretty anime, they default to Studio Ghibli or The Rose of Versailles. And yes, those are legitimately beautiful. But watch anime for long enough, and you’ll learn that beauty in animation comes in all shapes and sizes—from giant robots to fistfights to cooking.
Here are three shows from the spring 2024 season that prove once again that beautiful animation is in just about every anime genre… even where one might least expect it.
Astro Note
Astro Note—this season’s silly, spaced-out spiritual successor to the works of Rumiko Takahashi—is filled to the brim with goofiness. Whether it’s Takumi’s silly face, Naosuke the talking poodle, or the squid monsters constantly invading Astro Lodge, the show is utterly ridiculous. So we would understand if the creators of this original anime decided to go with a goofier, more retro art style to match. Instead, we get a surprisingly pretty anime that holds firm even under the constant physical comedy.
Smitten chef Takumi, alien lodge owner Mira, and the rest of the show’s characters were designed by Eisaku Kubonouchi. If the name isn’t familiar, then maybe the artist’s other work will be. Previous notable projects include Martian music series Carole and Tuesday and corporate mecha anime Bullbuster.
Kaiju No. 8
For a series so full of gnarly giant monsters, Kaiju No. 8 is a surprisingly pretty anime. And we don’t mean the actual kaiju. They’re stunning and compelling, yes, but we’re not sure we’d call them “pretty.” But transferring those bizarre designs to anime and making them move interestingly and believably takes skilled monster design. And Hideaki Anno’s Studio khara has plenty of experience creating big beasties that look good in combat.
Partnered with Production I.G, the Rebuild of Evangelion studio rolls out some of the most gorgeous fight scenes we’ve seen in ages. Colored with the glowing blue light of weaponized kaiju (including protagonist Kafka himself), these scenes are a sight to be hold. The dramatic camera angles, coupled with the sheer size difference as humans go up against towering monsters, is absolutely thrilling.
WIND BREAKER
If we told you one of this season’s top pretty anime was about delinquents, it might be a bit hard to believe. But when we say it hails from CloverWorks, it suddenly becomes much more believable. The anime adaptation of WIND BREAKER hails from the same studio responsible for bringing the Rascal Does Not Dream series and later chapters of Fate/Grand Order to life, and that same gorgeous animation is in play here.
When the students of Furin step up to rival gangs, the fight scenes look absolutely glorious. From choreography to fluid movement, they’re a sight to behold. It’s not the only reason this sleeper hit belongs on your watchlist, but it’s a big one.
Check out another lovely series from this season: Tonari no Yokai-san!
