From Arcane to Fallout, Black Myth Wukong to Marvel Rivals, and The Substance to Anora, 2024 has undoubtedly been a big year for film, TV, novels, video games, and music. We, the writers of Nerd|Otaku, had a long discussion on what our favourite media from this year was. Obviously, it was a calm and amicable discussion. Because of this, we decided to democratically make this difficult decision by putting everything to a vote. Eventually, we arrived at the following conclusions on each of our favourite pieces of media from 2024. We defended our choices as one would protect their thesis because that’s how dedicated we are to loving and appreciating media/art in whatever form it’s portrayed. We hope you enjoy the rankings!

Dune Part Two excelled, by finely intertwining characters and showcasing how damning the choices an individual makes are. By greatly emphasizing how far Paul Atreides would go to further his “prophecies,” which are edged on by a sect of the Fremen, the movie paints an idea of what happens when radicalism and mere sectorial beliefs collide. Proving oneself to a hoard of apprehensive and xenophobic individuals is not easy, but Paul can dance so finely between those lines that he almost convincingly makes it look easy. Lady Jessica did nothing to satiate her son’s pursuits, and only fueled them more all for the fulfilment of hers. If the first movie was about how the planetary divide is brought about by the greedy capitalisation of a natural resource, then the second movie emphasizes the interplanetary ramifications that come with it. It’s not hard to fathom what the movies, and ultimately the books are implying here. All in all, the movie was an amazing experience, and one I can confidently place in some of my favourite movie theatre experiences. Pssst. Watch Furiosa while you’re at it.

Dune Part Two ticks all the boxes and sets the bar even higher for the next film, my favourite aspect is definitely the cinematography, the first scene looks absolutely beautiful with the orange desert, and the lighting is perfect. Paired with a captivating narrative, it leaves you eagerly anticipating more. It’s undoubtedly my favourite film of the year.

Runner Up: THE WILD ROBOT

Arcane isn’t just a love letter to art, it’s a serenade; it’s a cultural phenomenon that has gone down in history as a “once-in-a-generation masterpiece,” and the reception of the sequel has proven that the crown is heavy. This addition to the highly acclaimed first season brings more to the table, more of Studio Fortiche’s legendary hand-drawn animation comparable to paintings in the Louvre being somehow made to move, more visceral performances, and more of a star-studded soundtrack that takes you through the whole range of human emotions and reflects the story being told, so much more, maybe even to a fault. Arcane season one spent a lot more time on “street level” conflicts in a world with multiversal level threats and wrapping up, or rather connecting it to the bigger picture made the final act of the second season seem like too drastic a jump for some. It left audiences wishing there was more in between. If you view it only as the final season and not just the end of one of many chapters you will see that Arcane hasn’t mastered the art of being an individual piece in a larger story. It needed to balance being self-contained enough to feed the audiences sufficiently and also introduce the vast universe it’s a part of. Even Marvel movies often have trouble pulling this off so keep an eye out for what the team at Riot Games makes next.

How do you improve on perfection? With more perfection of course. Sometimes you have to ignore logic and maniacally do your own thing because “there is no prize to perfection, only an end to pursuit”.

Arcane’s “fantasy-meets-steampunk” world is supernaturally natural as well as naturally supernatural, and EVERYTHING (in both the show’s world and writing) is intentional and connected through messages hidden within the pattern. This is very rewarding so why not pretend like it’s the first time and give it a 6th rewatch? 

Runner Up: FALLOUT

Imagine filming a documentary about your mom who passed away 17 years ago only to have her reappear halfway through. I would not have a dignified reaction to that.

This book was very real about what actually happens when your family member comes back from thin air. While there is a whole fantasy to fill out, and while you missed them with all your heart and while you had so many things that you felt you never got to say, there’s a struggle with having them fit back in, because life moves on and you eventually build around the void they left.

The Reappearance of Rachel Price highlights the potency in the small struggles of building trust again, not understanding the complexity of your feelings, doing your own detective work because the math isn’t mathing .… It’s a found family trope with your actual family and as a classic with Holly Black’s work, there is a neck snapping plot twist, the lightest, most refreshing dash of romance, and a bone chilling end.

The book is easy enough to follow because it happens in a laid back setting, just following the lives of the characters and gives us insight to how they’re feeling at the time and the depths they’re willing to go to for their desires. It also uncovers some depravities in the family and sheds light on the power dynamics involved in a family that has something to hide.

It’s also packed with lots of tense moments and what happens behind closed doors in a dysfunctional family that is struggling to communicate and blend back together after having suffered this seemingly great loss.

On the outside, they’re having their biggest wish come true and the time of their lives but on the inside, everyone is falling apart because it wasn’t what they thought it would be at all and dark stuff is coming up to the surface. There are so many questions to be answered and you start to question everything.

I mean, this woman was gone for your entire lifetime, presumed dead, and all you’ve heard about her is through stories and seen her through videos, only to have her pop up at your front door and claim to have been alive the whole time? She’s not just a figment of your imagination anymore, she’s real and nothing like what you thought you remembered. There are understandably so many emotions to sort through.

And imagine, through all this, Holly Black STILL was able to write some secret detective work in the background and lay the groundwork for shock after shock as you read on.

In as much as it’s supposed to be a story about settling back into the wish you had and the hopes you held on to, actually coming face to face with “if my mom came back I would hold her forever” is hard, and this book explores those complexities beautifully.

Runner Up: BUTCHER AND BLACKBIRD – BRYNNE WEAVER

2024, the year we found out two legends cannot co-exist (and that one might like to diddle kids).

To cap off what has been an amazing comeback year for Kendrick Lamar, the album GNX had it all; 12 Songs and 44 minutes of unfiltered lyricism, head bops, Crip walks, and of course that one song that had me screaming Mustard at the top of my lungs for days on end.

It is the perfect ending to an incredible chapter for Rapheads and the Rap Messiah. My favourite song off the album is undoubtedly TV Off, closely followed by Squabble Up, but each song has its merits.

Of course, the Album isn’t perfect, especially if you’re a Drake Fan, or not big on Rap music. Some songs can be a little boring on repeated listening and I wouldn’t rank this as Kendrick’s best-ever album, but it is a really good addition to an amazing Discography

Runner Up: TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT – TAYLOR SWIFT

Some may see this title pop up, look at the header image and think, surely, not a card game? Dear reader, I assure you, Balatro is nothing more than a card, but it is also so much more. Created by solo independent developer LocalThunk. Balatro is best described as an arcade spin on Poker. The twist is various Joker cards allow the player to bend and twist the rules in their favour. The presentation, music and frenetic nature of the rounds is what kept me hooked and quite frankly addicted to this game. By the time I was rolling credits, I had sunk close to 50 plus hours of the game and I had to literally uninstall to stop myself from playing this on my second screen at work. Balatro is easy to learn and easy to get hooked on, it’s also the most fun I’ve had on a game in 2024. That is why it is 2024’s Nerd|Otaku’s Best Video Game.

Runner Up: MARVEL RIVALS

Yes, for the millionth time, FRIEREN IS THAT GOOD.

“Is art dead?”. No, she’s an elf who’s lived over 1,000 years but still oversleeps every day. We live in a world where popularity is often prioritized over substance in production, and that leaves us with a decline in quality across the board. Just look at the isekai genre – 21 titles were released in the year of our lord 2021 alone!

Frieren tells a story that focuses on different people with different pasts and paths and the many ways they converge. It plays with character tropes we’re used to then it throws a curveball. The show is incredibly intentional in its message and rich in detail, I’m still discovering new things on my fourth rewatch.

Frieren is full of detail, but it doesn’t hold your hand. It allows you to enjoy the journey regardless. Plot-defining events may happen without any “yellow paint” to point you towards explanations. Depth and subtlety are Frieren’s weapons of choice. The story connects you to nature, magic, food, and other aspects of what it means to be human. The animation is gorgeous, the cinematography is breathtaking, and the Slavic music ties everything together with a bow. The pacing is brilliant, taking the time to make you care about every character as if they were real people.

Over a year ago, Frieren charted number one on MyAnimeList’s best anime list, replacing the long-standing champion, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. By that metric, it’s considered the best anime of all time. That’s because Frieren doesn’t try to be popular; it simply exists out of passion, and that shows in its production.

The hypercommercialization of art has led to art being tailored to you, which isn’t its natural state. I’d go as far as saying we should normalize ingesting art that challenges us because nothing good comes from overindulging only in what we agree with or desire. In Frieren’s words, “Mages who only know how to fight are horrid at the softer things.”

Frieren focuses on the parts of stories commonly overlooked and ignored. When digesting media, and even in life, it’s important to remember that there’s still a lot of life to live “Beyond Journey’s End.”

Frieren is everything we love about anime in one package. Frieren won’t give you bright flashy colours, or tropy comedy; it’s unapologetically unorthodox. The writing is sincere, and the visual storytelling rewards you for watching attentively. It’s everything One Piece is, minus the length and flaws brought about by trying to appeal to the masses. Frieren has cracked the code. It may well be the best anime series ever made.

Runner Up: KONOSUBA S3

That’s our show folks!

After seeing this list, I’m sure you can understand why it was no easy feat agreeing on it. There were many strong contenders in each category, but few made the cut because, unfortunately, there can only be one winner! We hope you enjoyed this article and spotted a few of your favorites! Feel free to interact with us on any of our social media platforms to give us your feedback on our rankings! We would love to hear from you.

Special thanks to our writers; Khoumie Mwashingwele, Tamani Banda, Choolwe Himayumbula, Dennis Banda, Robert Chipeta, and Loniya Mubanga for their contributions to this article! We hope to review and rank more pieces of media next year!