Two of 2024's Biggest Anime Are the Dark Saturday Morning Cartoons Every 90s Kid Dreamed of

Summary Anime in 2024 caters to 90s nostalgia with sentai and kaiju themes.

New anime like Kaiju No. 8 and Go! Go! Loser Ranger! bring fresh twists to classic genres.

Kaiju No. 8 gains an early lead and popularity on Crunchyroll, but both series are well-received.

90s kids and older viewers might like the dark, violent, funny, and entertaining new anime in 2024 that harks back to Saturday morning shows, including two headliners of this season: the Power Rangers satire Go! Go! Loser Ranger and the new sensation in the giant monster genre, Kaiju no. 8.

Anime audiences have grown immensely since the 1990s, but many long for the halcyon days of Saturday morning cartoons and superheroes. While these never disappeared, mature demographics might discover a renewed appeal of series more geared toward their classic interests, with a uniquely dark twist.

Generally, anime enjoyers appreciate the increasingly vast scope of the medium, exploring aged genres and injecting new style, substance, and newfound direction. But the latest hot new adventures explore familiar territory. Thanks to careful show placement, Saturdays and Sundays get a healthy injection of 90s nostalgia with anime featuring sentai, giant monsters, and subterfuge.

Related Anime's Dark Power Rangers Makes a Classic Element Absolutely Tragic Believed to be thought mindless minions who serve the villains of Sentai shows like Power Rangers, the reality is, putties have a mind of their own.

Sadistic Sentai and Kafkaesque Kaiju Are the Perfect Anime Combo

Sentai and Kaiju Dominate the Weekend to the Joy of 90s Kids

These series are both inspired by classic Japanese fandoms, with Super Sentai inspiring Power Rangers to the delight of 90s kids and Kaiju No. 8 featuring action worthy of a Godzilla or Ultraman story. While neither fandom originated in the 1990s or even as a cartoon, the American adaptations of these properties performed well in this period. Godzilla (1998) generated hundreds of millions at the global box office, and Power Rangers was a franchise sensation.

These anime series most notably honor their respective genres while bringing something new. Kafka Hibino becomes a monster in Kaiju No. 8 and must adapt accordingly while fighting these same creatures, and Go! Go! Loser Ranger! is mainly told from the perspective of a shapeshifting henchman. These two shows don't compete for viewer interest, as Kaiju No. 8 airs on Saturday and Go! Go! Loser Ranger! airs on Sundays, but even if they were competing, the only true winners are the fans.

Will Kaiju No. 8 or Go! Go! Loser Ranger! Be

The Anime Hype Machine Demands Answers

It's an understandable impulse to see which anime series will capture viewers' hearts from the 90s kids and beyond, but Kaiju No. 8 has a distinct advantage. While the Dark Power Rangers series has an early lead on anitrendz.com, this is mainly because it has been out for a week longer. Kaiju No. 8, meanwhile, quickly secured the #10 rank on the MyAnimeList leaderboard for anime currently on the air versus Go! Go! Loser Ranger! which sits at #39; on the Spring 2024 seasonal charts, the former sits at #6 while the latter sits at #14.

Kaiju No. 8's advantage is predictable, as its streaming home is Crunchyroll, the most popular anime streaming app, and it's also the first anime ever to stream on X for an additional numbers boost. However, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! is hosted on Hulu in the United States and Disney+ internationally. While they have a more extensive viewer base, it doesn't have the same draw for anime viewers as Crunchyroll. Kaiju No. 8 is also an adaptation of a Shueisha property, localized by VIZ Media, whereas Go! Go! Loser Ranger! is published by Kodansha, whose properties are still less popular globally.

Close

Regardless of this competition, both series are well-received so far. Kaiju No. 8 achieves instant popularity with a charming cast and intense, gory combat, while Go! Go! Loser Ranger! is a phenomenal concept with a tremendous subversive plot and impressive production values. One may have more viewers, but watching both is the best solution.

Sources: anitrendz.com; myanimelist

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