You voted. We tallied. Here are The Avocado’s favourite media works and most memorable comments of 2024.

Without further ado, let’s get to the awards!

Film

Hosted by Owen1120 [Ballots | Full results]

Best Film of 2024

This was a very close race, with the winner eking out a victory over the runner-up by just 6 points. Congratulations to Dune: Part Two for winning, with 197 points, and to Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga as well for coming in second place, with 191 points.

Rounding out the top 10:

3. I Saw the TV Glow
4. The Substance
5. Anora
6. Love Lies Bleeding
7. Challengers
8. Wicked: Part I
9. The Wild Robot
10. Deadpool & Wolverine

Fun fact: Furiosa appeared on more ballots than Dune: Part Two (29 vs. 25).

Retrospective Best Film of 2023

This wasn’t quite as close a race, with a 41-point gap between the winner and runner-up. Congratulations to the winner, Oppenheimer (188 points), and the runner-up, Poor Things (147 points).

Rounding out the top 10:

3. Barbie
4. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
5. Godzilla Minus One
6. Past Lives
7. Killers of the Flower Moon
8. The Holdovers
9. The Zone of Interest
10. May December

Fun fact: Despite coming in third, Barbie appeared on the most ballots: 26.

Television

Hosted by El Santo [Ballots | Full results]

Best Comedy

This was an extremely close race, with just one point separating the winner and the runner-up. Congratulations to the first-place finisher, Hacks, with 103 points, and the second-place finisher, What We Do In The Shadows, with 102 points.

Rounding out the top 10:

3. English Teacher
4. Girls5Eva
5. Star Trek: Lower Decks
6. Agatha All Along
7. Abbott Elementary
8. Man on the Inside
9. Only Murders In The Building
10. Shrinking

Fun fact: Last year, What We Do in the Shadows was the runner-up to Reservation Dogs, despite receiving more votes. It’s the victim of the same thing this year, with 14 votes to Hacks‘s 13.

Best Drama

The victory in the drama category was much more decisive. Shogun takes the top spot with 183 points. Fallout follows in second place with a respectable 129 points.

Rounding out the top 10:

3. X-Men ‘97
4. The Penguin
5. House of the Dragon
6. Interview With A Vampire
7. The Bear
8. Baby Reindeer
9. Slow Horses
10. Rings of Power

Fun fact: You folks really loved Shogun. It was first place on a whopping 11 ballots! No other drama earned more than 3 first-place votes.

Books

Hosted by Lamb Dance [Ballots and results]

Best Fiction

This year’s winner was James by Percival Everett, with 40 points. Coming in second was The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo, with 33 points.

Rounding out the top 10:

3. Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
4. The City in Glass by Nghi Vo
5. The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey
6. [tie] The Daughter’s War by Christopher Buehlman
6. [tie] Death in the Spires by K.J. Charles
6. [tie] House of Bone and Rain by Gabino Iglesias
9. You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian
10. Star Trek Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way by Ryan North and Chris Fenoglio

Fun fact: We read a lot! We voted for 82 different books.

Best Non-Fiction

We have a 10-way tie for first place. Congratulations to:

• Animal Crossing by Kelsey Lewin (10 Points)
• Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt (10 Points)
• Candy Darling: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar by Cynthia Carr (10 Points)
• Combee by Edda Fields-Black (10 Points)
• Keeping the Faith by Brenda Wineapple (10 Points)
• Knife by Salman Rushdie (10 Points)
• The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates (10 Points)
• Play Nice by Jason Schreier (10 Points)
• Women in Power: Classical Myths and Stories, from the Amazons to Cleopatra – Edited by Stephanie McCarter (10 Points)
• Wrong Norma by Anne Carson (10 Points)

Fun fact: Only nine other non-fiction books received votes, meaning that there are more winners than losers in this category.

Music

Hosted by Side Character [Ballots and results]

Best Album

In a runaway victory, Brat by Charli XCX takes the top spot with 121 points. The runner-up is Kendrick Lamar’s GNX, with 64 points.

Fun fact: Brat had by far the most votes, at 17, nearly doubling GNX‘s 9.

Best Song

This was a much closer contest, but the same two artists still came out on top. In first place, we have “Von Dutch” by Charli XCX, at 39 points. Coming in second with 36 points, we have “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar.

Fun fact: We’re an eclectic bunch. We voted for 238 different songs!

Best Live Show

This year’s winner is Ratboys with 26 points, and second place is a tie between TR/ST and Mclusky, with 20 points each.

Fun fact: Ratboys received 3 votes, making them the only artist to earn more than 2.

Anime

Hosted by Lutair [Ballots | Full results]

Watanabe Award for Best Anime Series

This year’s winner scored a runaway victory, with a whopping 182 points and 20 votes. Congrats to Delicious in Dungeon! Congrats as well to the runner-up (and last year’s winner), Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, which earned a respectable 112 points.

Rounding out the top 10:

3. Dan Da Dan
4. A Sign of Affection
5. Yatagarasu
6. The Apothecary Diaries
7. Orb
8. Makeine
9. Natsume’s Book of Friends
10. 7th Time Loop

Fun fact: Frieren isn’t the only series to repeat in the top 10. The Apothecary Diaries is another repeat winner.

Miyazaki Award for Best Anime Film

This year’s winner is SPYxFAMILY: Code White, with 65 points. The runner-up is Look Back, with 49.

Rounding out the top 10:

3. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
4. Sailor Moon: Cosmos
5. The Colors Within
6. The Imaginary
7. Trapezium
8. Bocchi the Rock! Re:
9. My Oni Girl
10. My Hero Academia: You’re Next

Fun fact: These were the only 10 films to garner votes.

Comics

Hosted by Blip [Ballots | Full results]

Best Comic Book

This year, Ultimate Spider-Man takes the top spot, with 39 points. The runner-up is Ultimates, with 30 points. Yes, those are two different series.

Rounding out the top 10:

3. Absolute Batman
4. Ultimate X-Men
5. Absolute Wonder Woman
6. Transformers
7. The Power Fantasy
8. Star Trek / Star Trek – Defiant
9. Fantastic Four
10. Absolute Superman

Fun fact: Every “Ultimate” or “Absolute” title that got a vote appears in the top 10.

Best Strip or Webcomic

The Avocado’s favourite comic strip, Wallace the Brave, takes first place in a runaway victory: 78 points! In second place, we have the much-loved Sally Forth, with 38 points.

Rounding out the top 10:

3. Crustacean Singles
4. Heathcliff
5. Hagar the Horrible
6. Six Chix
7. Pooch Café
8. Love Is…
9. The Tyrant Wants to Be Good
10. 3rd Voice

“Fun” fact: I can’t tell which of these votes are sincere and which ones are ironic.

Best Manga

In a close contest, A Sign of Affection takes first place with 24 points. We actually had a tie for the next most points: both Delicious in Dungeon and Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End got 20 points, in the exact same voting patterns (two first-place votes). Breaking the tie by coin flip, I’m assigning the silver to Delicious in Dungeon and the bronze to Frieren.

Rounding out the top 10:

4. SPYxFAMILY
5. Don’t Call it Mystery
6. Akane-banashi
7. Witch Hat Atelier
8. Blue Box
9. Insomniacs After School
10. The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten

Fun fact: Many of these manga series also earned votes in the anime series category!

Podcasting and Online Video

Hosted by Grumproro [Ballots | Full results]1If you’re wondering why 5-4 appears as “45416” on the ballots, I’m guessing it’s because Grumproro was trying to get Google Sheets to stop formatting it as a date.

Best Comedy Podcast

This year’s winner was, once again, Blank Check, with 65 points. Comedy Bang! Bang! came in second place, with 41 points.

Rounding out the top 10:

3. The Flop House
4. Doughboys
5. The Weekly Planet
6. Hollywood Handbook
7. We Hate Movies
8. Free With Ads
9. How Did This Get Made?
10. The Dollop

Fun fact: Hollywood Handbook and We Hate Movies garnered the exact same number points (18) in the exact same voting patterns (one first choice and one third choice), so their tie was broken by a coin flip.2Just like a real election!

Best Non-Comedy Podcast

The winner for this category was If Books Could Kill, with 36 points. 99% Invisible came in second with 28 points.

Rounding out the top 10:

3. Maintenance Phase
4. Axe of the Blood God
5. Remap Radio
6. 5-4
7. A More Civilized Age
8. The Lowe Post
9. The Next Picture Show
10. The MinnMax Show

Fun fact: Just like last year, we really loved podcasts about video games! Three of them made it into the top ten: Axe of the Blood God; Remap Radio; and The MinnMax Show.

Best YouTube Channel

Despite only posting a single freely available video on YouTube this year, Jenny Nicholson came in first place, with 44 points. It turns out that we really love analyses of failed hotels! Repeating at second place, with 33 points, we have Mr. Sunday Movies.

Rounding out the top 10:

3. Todd in the Shadows
4. Secret Base
5. Japan Eat
6. Drew Gooden
7. Watch it for Days
8. Ryan George
9. Patrick Willems
10. Late Night with Seth Myers

Fun fact: Both Jenny Nicholson and Todd in the Shadows appeared on 5 ballots.

Video Games

Hosted by Merve [Ballots | Full results]

Best Video Game of 2024

We had a close race this year, but in the end, it comes as no surprise that The Avocado’s game of the year is Astro Bot, with 89 points. Our runner-up is Balatro, with 85 points.

Rounding out the top 10:

3. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
4. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
5. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
6. Animal Well
7. Unicorn Overlord
8. Metaphor: ReFantazio
9. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
10. UFO 50

Fun fact: Balatro actually earned more votes than Astro Bot (11 vs. 10).

Retrospective Best Video Game of 2023

This was a solid victory. Our retrospective game of the year is the same as our game of the year last year: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, with 90 points. Also repeating in second place: Super Mario Bros. Wonder, with 79 points.

Rounding out the top 10:

3. Baldur’s Gate 3
4. Pikmin 4
5. Chants of Sennaar
6. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
7. Resident Evil 4 Remake
8. Alan Wake 2
9. Slay the Princess
10. Gravity Circuit

Fun fact: Super Mario Bros. Wonder was on more ballots than Tears of the Kingdom (12 vs. 10), but only one point separated it from Baldur’s Gate 3, which, like ToTK, was on 10 ballots.

Commenting Awards

Hosted by Merve [Votes]

Our annual awards show wouldn’t be complete without taking a second to honour you, the community. We have 26 awards to hand out, plus Hall of Fame inductions.

Let’s get to the awards!3Numbering starts at 2, because Hall of Fame nominations were numbered at #1. Last year, I said I would fix that. I didn’t. Oh well.

2. Best Discovery: Anime series Ya Boy Kongming!, recommended by kajigger desu [8 votes]
3. Best Comment – Funny: The Prighlofone, with a witty rejoinder [35 votes]

4. Best Comment – Serious: Mod messages in the PT. Thanks to Chester A Arthur Fall Down for the warm words! [15 votes]
5. Best Conversation: the one we’re having with God, according to Dicentra [0 votes]
6. Best Use of “The Avocado” as a Response: Pachylad knows we’re Simpsons fans [13 votes]

7. Best Username: Crybailey Boobie and Loan, the current display name of Crybaby Boobie [6 votes]
8. Best Avatar: Blargg, but fabulous [5 votes]

9. Best Gimmick Account: Werdup, whom I’m obligated to point out is not actually a gimmick account, but the people have spoken. [18 votes]
10. Best Pet Photo: This category is dedicated to nonsequitur’s cat Tim [39 votes]

11. Best Photoshop Job: Disquified, for their dedication to the craft of shitposting [15 votes]
12. Best OT or PT Header: Pictures of Tim (RIP) [21 votes]
13. Best Meme Spiral: Are you telling me a shrimp fried this rice? [5 votes]
14. Best Recurring Thread: The Comic Strip Club. Thanks to Joey Blowey for giving us a place to post Heathcliff and Wallace the Brave. [22votes]
15. Best One-Off Thread: Black Sound and Image ’24, by Headphone Princess [16 votes]
16. Best Avocado Tournament: Best Anime Opening (OP) Tournament, run by Blip [10 votes]
17. Best 30-Day Challenge (specific day): 30 Day STEM Challenge Day 27: Favorite Number, Equation, or Statistic run by Thingamajig [7 votes]
18. Best Werewolf Game: Sweet Werewolf High 2, modded by Cork and Mrs. Queequeg [5 votes]
19. Best Rabbit/Hyperbeam/Tuturru Screening: A very apologetic Shaun the Sheep Dutchaturu showing [10 votes]

20. Best Live-Chat: The Olympics [25 votes]
21. Best Review or Spotlight: Recap/review of Hot Frosty by Afro Pig [9 votes]
22. Best Recipe: Colonel Mustard’s “King of Culinary Mountain” series, which isn’t a recipe, but is about food, so I guess it counts [2 votes]
23. Coolest Fact You Learned from The Avocado: “Judge my vow, sphinx of black quartz” is a pangram. (Taught by Lancashire Crab) [27 votes]
24. The Ack-Ack Memorial Kindest Commenter Award: bortman [52 votes]
25. Best buds: The Comic Strip Club crew, a.k.a. the Best Friends Gang [18 votes]
26. Rookie of the Year: Pops Freshenmeyer, who is in no way, shape, or form a rookie [8 votes]
27. The Holy Guacamole Lifetime Shitposting Achievement Award for Most Active Commenter: Dual victory for EinsturzendeNoDoubtin and Pinot Pie, for dedication to the art of upvoting [19 votes]

And now it’s time for the Hall of Fame inductions. We have 9 inductions this year!

• BlackCommenter, for witty observations and a thoughtful perspective on pop culture
• Brakeman, for his contributions to gaming content
• Bresson, for Dutch movie screenings, Crate Skimmers, and show reports
• The Hayes Code, for contributions to Werewolf and the Politics Thread, being one of the funniest people on the site, and having a book in publication
• Katie, for running video game music tournaments and being delightful
• Nate the Lesser, for running both the Nature Thread and the Mental Health Thread
• Ninjaneer, for making political discussions enjoyable
• Terry Bogard, for considerate, witty, and down-to-earth conversations about pop culture and politics
• Warmerdam, for running The Book Nook and being a Discworld dork

That does it for the 2024 Pits! Thanks to the topic leaders for filling out spreadsheets and compiling results. This would not have been possible without you. And thank you to the community for making such a wonderful, thoughtful, and hilarious place to hang out. See y’all in 2025!