Fall 2022 anime seasonis done, and it was undoubtedly the strongest of the year. In terms of hyped shows, Fall 2022 was about as stacked as they come.Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War,Chainsaw Man,Spy x Family Part 2, andMob Psycho 100 IIIwere all highly anticipated, and they were accompanied by some surprising hits too.
Hype is all well and good, but that does not mean much if a show fails to deliver. Now that the season is over, thebest anime of Fall 2022can be decided. The ranking contains shonen, romance, comedy, slice of life, and even a touch of mecha.
To qualify, a show must have debuted during the Fall 2022 season. Therefore, no Summer 2022 continuations (Uncle from Another World) or long-running series (One Piece).
Where to Stream
Crunchyroll,VRV
Due to the passing of a key staff member on the production team,Golden Kamuyseason 4 has been indefinitely delayed. The current cour is slated to run for 12 episodes, with half of those already airing; however, Brain’s Base has opted to put episodes 7-12 on pause for the time being. As the studio has not canceled the series,Golden Kamuyis likely to return in the future, although everyone involved should take as much time as they feel is necessary.
As this is a unique situation,Golden Kamuyhas been removed from the weekly rankings. That said, season 4 has maintained the high standard of quality set by the anime’s previous runs, and it is arguably shaping up to be the series' strongest cour.
Following a strong opening episode,Arknights Animation: Prelude to Dawnhas lost some steam, all the while still remaining an above-average experience. The series takes place in a world rife with Catastrophes, natural disasters that leave behind an energy source that can also infect people. The latter often face discrimination, leading to a divided society filled with terrified people who are willing to subdue others to ensure their own security.
Prelude to Dawnintroduces Rhodes Island, a pharmaceutical company that acts like a rogue army while seeking to find a cure. Led by Amiya, Rhodes Island rescues the “Doctor” from Reunion, a group that fights for the infected by attacking everyone else. Although a noble cause, Reunion is the anime’s main threat.
Individually,Arknights Animation’s episodes are decently animated and feature flashes of tense sequences. Rhodes Island is very much the underdog, and the heroes are constantly on the verge of being overwhelmed. However, when taken as a whole,Prelude to Dawnfeels like it is running in place. It does not help that the anime introduces a few new characters per episode, resulting in a large but mostly forgettable cast.
Prelude to Dawn’s last two episodes were a step in the right direction following a string of mediocre entries, even if the finale lacked much in the way of tension. Ultimately, season 1 is a glorified prologue that exists to establish this universe and the story’s main characters. In that sense, the show did its job, and, hopefully, will lead to a superior sequel.
Based on Yuki Kanamaru’s seinen manga,More Than a Married Couple, But Not Loversis a unique romance anime. In this universe, high school students are paired off so they can play house and pretend they are married. Each couple is graded depending on their willingness to work together during the assignment; if they get a high enough score, they earn the option to pick a different partner. The shy Jiro Yakuin is matched with the reasonably popular Akari Watanabe, someone he barely knows and who does not seem to have a positive opinion of him. However, as they both have crushes they would rather be “married” to, they need to co-exist to get what they want. As Jiro and Akari spend more time together, they start to grow an appreciation for each other.
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More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers' premise creates this weird start-and-stop romantic tension as Jiro and Akari are clearly presented as the primary couple, but their relationship is frequently put on the back burner to allow the story to push other options as genuine contenders. The secondary love interests are not particularly bad, but their dynamics with Jiro and Akari are less interesting than the central pair’s unorthodox situation. When focusing on its leads, this anime is pretty great.
By definition, slice of life is understated. These shows are designed to teleport viewers to a relaxing and conflict-free world, and when executed well, slice of life anime can be something special. Along with a lack of options, Fall 2022 did not produce a standout entry in the genre, and most series seem destined to be forgotten once the season concludes.Encourage of Climb: Next Summitundermined it by launching with a 4-episode recap, whileManagement of a Novice Alchemiststruggles to stick out from the myriad of fantasy anime that have debuted in recent years.
That said, Fall 2022 was not totally devoid of charming slice of life shows.Play It Cool, Guyshas been a pleasant surprise, with Pierrot’s anime improving with each passing episode. The story revolves around four cool but clumsy guys who wind up convening around a cafeteria. The show’s early episodes are dedicated to the individual characters, and it takes a while for the cast to come together. While the former chapters are decent,Play it Cool, Guyspicks up considerably once the leads start to interact with each other.
Out of all of Fall 2022’sslice of life anime,Do It Yourself!!seemed the most likely to develop into a series worthy of sitting alongsideYuru CampandNon Non Biyori. So far, Pine Jam’s series has not quite managed to reach those heights, although it is still an easy watch. More importantly,Do It Yourself!!is probably the best pure slice of life anime of the season.
Set in an alternate reality where technology has advanced to such a point as to render “do it yourself” projects obsolete, this anime revolves around a high school club that wishes to keep the outdated practice alive. The injury-prone Serufu Yua stumbles her way into joining the DIY club, and she is quickly accompanied by a transfer student, a shy classmate, and a girl who ends sentences with “meow.” The cast is rounded out by Rei, the club’s president and founder, and Miku, Serufu’s childhood friend who attends a more prestigious school.
Do It Yourself!!’s art style utilizes a soft color palette that complements the show’s positive tone, and the animation is deceptively fantastic. The characters are a mixed bag. Serufu and Miku are great, but the rest of the girls range from forgettable to periodically annoying. However, the anime does have a funny recurring joke revolving around a pig.
Fumetsu no Anata e 2nd Season
To Your Eternitywas one of the best anime of 2021, but the first season ended on a polarizing arc. Consequently, season 2 did not launch with that much momentum behind it, a fact exasperated by a change in studio and a late debut date. Drive’s anime has been a mixed bag, and it is difficult to predict whether things will improve or get worse moving forward.
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Jumping forward generations, news about Fushi’s immortal existence has spread across the land. While some people have taken to worshiping Fushi as a walking god, others see him as a demon. This juxtaposition serves asTo Your Eternityseason 2’s main conflict, especially since the anime is willing to show the faults in the logic of both sides.
Season 2’s storytelling has been decent, and new characters like Bonchien, Todo, and Kahaku have proven to be good additions. However, the show is hurt by inconsistent animation, rushed pacing, and Fushi’s frustrating naivety.
While generally fun, Iruma’s life at Babyls demon school has never been simple, and that has not changed in season 3. In order for the Misfit class to remain in their luxurious classroom, they must all reach Daleth level before their final exam, something that is almost impossible for first-years. To give them a fighting chance, the students have been assigned tutors who can focus on their individual strengths, although their methods might not be all that orthodox.
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Iruma winds up under the tutelage of Barbatos, Balse’s cousin, a powerful girl who treats her protege as a servant rather than a student.Welcome to Demon School!has mostly maintained the qualities of its previous entries, with season 3 expertly balancing humor and character development. The anime has shown love to every member of the Misfit class, setting all of them on a journey of self-discovery and growth. While this has been generally a positive decision, season 3 has been slower than usual since the anime is constantly jumping back and forth between different characters.
HIDIVE
Compared to the isekai-heavy Summer season, Fall 2022 only had a few world-jumping stories.The Eminence in Shadowwas the standout isekai anime of the season, along with being one of Fall’s funnier shows. Cid wishes to be the mastermind pulling society’s strings from behind the curtain, a dream he might be able to actualize after he is reborn in a magical world. While portraying a nobody in public, thepowerful Cid plays out his fantasy by pretending to be the leader of a secret organizationcreated to fight a dangerous cult.
This might be an elaborate game of make-believe for Cid, but for everyone else, it is deadly real.The Eminence in Shadowextracts most of its humor from Cid’s obliviousness and also his willingness to act the fool to keep up his “background character” masquerade. This anime is also not afraid to get violent, bloody, and shocking; in fact,The Eminence in Shadowhad some of Fall’s most visceral fight scenes.
8bit
Arguably the most compelling sports anime of 2022,Blue Lockpresents a different take on the genre. Japan has tasked Ego Jinpachi with winning a world cup, and the coach has concluded that the team’s missing piece is a quality (and selfish) striker. Therefore, Jinpachi invites the best high school-level players to take part in a battle royale designed to produce the ultimate forward; however, the other 299 losers will be forbidden from ever playing for the national team. Yoichi Isagi is one of these players, and he is part of Team Z.
Blue Lockhas a unique twist on the sports genre, one that forces characters to quickly push past their limits if they want to survive. While Yoichi is technically surrounded by (mainly) superior strikers, he is still one of the most promising prospects in the sport, and he primarily needs to better understand his strengths. The premise also allows for a unique dynamic as Yoichi’s teammates are also his opponents.
Despite their popularity, idol anime are an acquired taste. If someone is not interested in Japan’s music industry, these shows can be an impossible sell. While not an exception in the grand scheme of things,IDOLiSH7is one of the better entry points into the idol genresince it is considerably more dramatic than most other series.
Third Beat! Part 2is one of the darkest cours in the franchise’s history, all the while still retaining a sense of hopefulness and camaraderie.IDOLiSH7has never shied away from showing the seedy underbelly of the entertainment business, an element amplified by Ryou Tsukumo and Zool’s recent rise to prominence. The season has steadily built up to Friends' Day, a charity event hosted by a year’s most popular idol groups. IDOLiSH7 will have to survive the marathon while keeping an eye out for potential sabotage.
In the Fall of 2022,Gundamreturned with a new anime, one that does not require prior knowledge of the franchise to appreciate. Set in its own timeline,The Witch from Mercuryenvisions a universe run by corporations, with the most powerful ones forming the Benerit Group led by Delling Rembran. In this story, Gundam technology has been outlawed.
A 17-year-old girl named Suletta joins the Asticassia School of Technology, an academy run by Benerit. This school’s important decisions are decided through duels, and that includes who will marry Miorine Rembran, Delling’s daughter. Suletta quickly finds herself garnering unwanted attention due to her mecha, Ariel, which appears to be a Gundam.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercuryis built on the strength of its main relationship between Miorine and Suletta, two teenagers who have wildly different personalities that complement each other. Like most of the bestGundamanime,The Witch from Mercuryfocuses more on characters and politics than mecha action, although the show has produced plenty of memorable fights as well.
