First of all, Merry Christmas Everyone!
The fall season of 2022 has already come to an end, and what a mind-blowing season it was.
This was a dream come true of an anime season, as it came with some of the most anticipated works of all time.
Sequels and New shows craved by weebs for years, which delivered beyond our wildest expectations.
The weekly doses of peak entertainment we received in fall 2022 is unmatched by any other season this year or even this decade.
Its Thousand Year Blood War Arc was one of the most hyped arcs in the series, and studio Pierrot pulled out all the stops to blow the minds of its fans.
Visually, this is the best Bleach has ever been.
With its extravagant animation quality and Sagisu's masterful score composition, the arc which was already action-packed was elevated to great heights of enjoyability.
However, it is still Bleach, and all the style and action come at the expense of proper storytelling or narrative buildup.
The Paranormal Liberation War arc may have waxed and waned in production quality, but it undoubtedly has the most impactful storytelling of the season. It was the product of everything the preceeding seasons built up, particularly the "My Villains Academia" arc, all culminated into an epic endgame-level clash between heroes and villains.
The intensity of this war was unreal.
It gave several epic battle showcases which perfectly highlight the passion from both sides of the spectrum.
Its twists and turns during this grand battle made every episode exhilarating, with serene moments of character progression.
It was undoubtedly a phenomenal sequel to an already fantastic show, filled with impeccably produced action and heart-wrenching moments of character development.
The final episode which recently aired was a thing of beauty, as it provided proper closure to Shigeo's story and the characters that surround him.
If your blood wasn't pumped enough by all the action from these afforementioned sequels, we've also got the 3rd season of The Daily Life Of An Immortal King.
It was a step up from its disappointing second season, as it once again delivered incredible action sequences backed by its stunning animation.
The final 2 cours of Part 6: Stone Ocean were released this fall and they were nothing short of mind blowing.
At this point, Stone Ocean has already been solidified as one of the best parts of Jojo and one of the most unforgettable sequels this year.
It delivered exceptional storytelling while injecting Jojo's signature extremeness into its numerous exhilarating and mind-bending action sequences.
And with all this, it maintained incredible production quality in terms of its designs, animation and sound direction.
Welcome To Demon School Iruma Kun also had a sequel in Fall, and so far the third season's been wildly entertaining, as it further showcases the triumphs of Iruma and his friends.
Wholesome character dynamics, hilarious comedy flicks, exhilarating sequences with stunning animation- Spy X Family has it all, and we can only hope the upcoming 2nd season and movie delivers just as well.
The wholesomeness didn't end with Spy X Family, as we also got the 2nd season of Uzaki Wants To Hang Out. It's been a refreshing sequel that surprisingly focused more on romantic development than ecchi tropes.
If you love comedy, you better be watching the 2nd season of Pop Team Epic. Backed by its innovative visual explorations, it's delivered another extremely hilarious season that stands out even among the wild releases beside it.
But unfortunately, the death of a prominent staff member among the anime team halted its broadcast until next year, so we can only hope it retains its quality.
Speaking of deaths, an anime show which had shown us quite a bunch- To Your Eternity returned with its second season, and it's delivered another captivating story to add to the developments of the preceeding season.
For even more entertainment, we've got Yowamushi Pedal: Limit Break, a sports sequel which has been completely amazing so far.
For fans of Ecchi, we've got the second season of Peter Grill and The Philosopher's Time and it's been as erotic and fun as one would expect.
With all these, it's pretty clear we got a ton of sequels this season.
But how about the New shows?
Some of the most beloved titles of all time finally got their anime adaptations in this glorious season.
And to add to all the heat, we've got a plethora of entertaining sleeper-hits that make this season's roster the most impressive of the year.
We got a beautiful collection of debut shows covering a variety of genres- Action, Fantasy, Comedy, Sports, Ecchi, Romance, Sci-fi, and even a bit of Music.
And what's most astounding is that majority of the new releases this season are at least entertaining.
Well have no fear guys, because there are shows you'll love this season and I'm here to recommend 24 of of them.
Yeah, for the first time ever, my seasonal review countdown is going to have 24 plausible New shows which you should definitely try out.
(Fantasy, Adventure)
Management of a Novice Alchemist is a slice of life fantasy which tells the story of Sarasa Ford. After losing her parents to bandits at a young age, Sarasa becomes determined to become a great alchemist and open her own alchemy shop. And after graduating from Royal Alchemist Academy, she begins her journey by opening up her own alchemy establishment in a remote location.
(Ecchi, Fantasy)
Futoki No Guild is a classic ecchi-harem fantasy setting centered on Kikuru Madan, an adventurer who wishes to retire, but gets put in charge of a party with a group of peculiar girls.
And making things even more crazy, the monsters in the city seemed to have grown fond of sexually assaulting the girls in his party.
(Action)
The story focuses on Ittoki Sakuraba, a normal highschool student whose life gets derailed after a failed attempt on his life leads to him finding out about his ninja heritage, and a lingering war between his clan- The Iga and a rivaling clan called the Kouga clan.
Now enrolled in Ninjitsu Academy, he conducts investigations into the mysterious recent events.
But if you're here for the action, you're in for a treat.
It's got plausible animation during its numerous ninja fights, which makes it quite entertaining.
(Fantasy, Action)
The story is centered on Rein, which as the title implies is only skilled at taming beasts. For his lack of combat skills he was banished from the hero's party, and not long after he met a powerful cat girl. After rescuing her, he forms a contract with her, and got stronger in the process. Now they embark on a journey together, while Rein makes contracts with more powerful species in order to level himself up.
It may not offer much, but it can be relaxing to watch. What it does offer is a bunch of new animal girl waifus to lighten up your mood.
(Harem, Comedy)
Love Flops is an ecchi-harem-comedy tells the story of Asahi Kashiwagi, who's life takes a turn after he stumbles onto 5 strange girls on his trip to school in an accidentally erotic manner. It turned out the girls were his classmates, apart from the one that was his teacher, and they now all live together with the girls fighting for Asahi's heart.
It's got a bunch of female characters with amusing personalities, and their differing romantic dynamics with the main character make it such an entertaining show.
(Comedy, Slice of Life)
The story is centered on 4 eccentric students at Kashihara girls school consisting of alien soldier- Rikka, a runaway shinobi- Chiyo, a crossdressing boy- Tsubasa and a psychic named Sekine.
During their daily fun as friends, the girls hide their true identities while posing as normal highschool students.
(Comedy, Slice of Life)
Similar to the previous entry, it's also a comedy centered on a peculiar quartet. Only this time, it's cute but clumsy guys.
The main characters consist of Economics university student- Hayate Ichikura, highschool athlete- Shun Futami, salaryman- Takayuki Mima, and Art Scholer- Soma Shiki.
These guys are really attractive but prone to silly mistakes which they have distinct reactions to.
The word 'Cool' in its title isn't just for show, as it is indeed one of the most relieving animes this season.
It's genuinely amusing, and despite its short episodic runtime, it's a wholesome weekly experience.
(Action, Sci-fi)
Based on the popular video game, Arknights: Prelude To The Dawn is set in a dystopian apocalyptic future on Planet Terra.
The world was plagued with a terminal disease called oripathy, and in the midst of all the magic and chaos this pandemic brought forth, a team of operators lead by 'Doctor' search for a cure for Oriphathy while government forces oppose them.
It does present a chaotic world in such an invigorating fashion.
(Romance, Drama)
This story is centered on a young princess named Elaina Bernstein who enjoys the company of books more than anything or anyone.
She came into an agreement with the Crown Prince Christopher Selkirk Asherald to pose as his fiancé while he protects her.
But years later, their false relationship started becoming very real, as both of them started developing and expressing feelings for eachother.
(Fantasy, Romance)
A girl gets reincarnated into a dating game she's familiar with as Aileen Lauren d'Autriche- a Villainess who died in the original story.
She uses her knowledge to navigate the game and change things so she doesn't meet this demise, mostly putting her efforts into making Demon Lord Claude- the one meant to kill her to fall in love with her instead.
Led by a charming energetic female protagonist, it's a fun show which develops its romance in an amusing and wholesome manner.
(Fantasy, Action)
Following up with yet another Isekai, we've got Reincarnated As A Sword.
The story begins with a man waking up in a fantasy world as a sword after dying. During his wait for a worthy weilder, he fought several monsters and gained skills in order to make whomever weilds him powerful.
He soon partners up with a formerly enslaved catgirl- Fran, who gives him the name 'Teacher' and embarks on dangerous adventures with him as her weapon.
For one, the reincarnated main character doesn't climb the mountain alone, and his dynamic with Fran is developed in a comforting manner as they travel together.
Also, it's one of the most entertaining fantasies this season, as it's packed with well animated fights and fun characters.
(Slice of Life, Comedy)
Do It Yourself!! is a new anime from Pinejam with a story centered on a young girl ironically named Yua Serufu (rhymes with Yourself).
She's a laidback accident-prone student at Gatagata girls' school who joins the DIY club in order to recreate a vital monument to rekindle the withering friendship with her childhood friend at Yuyu Girls' school- Suride Purin (rhymes with 3D Print).
She gets along with the new club members, and they have tons of fun while engaging in the act of woodcrafting.
This is a CCDCT anime whose cute girls are just charming and lovable, as a wholesome dynamic between them is established during their day-to-day affairs. It's got amusing flicks as well as great character development.
(Action, Comedy)
If you're looking for fun this season, one of the anime you should definitely catch up on is Akiba Maid War.
Set in 1999 Akihabara where the maid cafés are now turfs of violent gangster maids, 17 year old Nagomi Wahira begins working at a pig-themed café with the dream of becoming a cheerful hard-working maid.
However reality hits rather quickly, and when she's exposed to the true bloody nature of her job she struggles to accept this harsh reality, while supporting her new work friends.
It's also got incredible humor, which add to make this one of the most enjoyable animes of the season.
(Drama, Comedy)
Based on the popular Korean webtoon of the same name, Lookism is centered on Park Hyung Suk- a 17 year old highschooler whose fat ugly appearance got him bullied on a daily basis by ruffians. This led to him changing schools, and before he could start at Jae Won High, he's hit with a certain curve ball.
He wakes up in the body of a handsome man, with his main body lying down lifeless.
He takes this new form and uses it to experience a new highschool life, while trying to uncover the mystery behind this development.
Aside from that, it introduces an interesting cast of characters that factor into the story in a fun and energizing way.
It's even got a bit of music to complete the comforting experience.
(Romance, Comedy)
A Netflix release in Fall which was even better than Lookism was Romantic Killer.
Anzu Hoshino is a simple girl who lives for only 3 things- video games, chocolate and her pet cat.
While having no interest in real romance, she spends most of her time playing otome games. Her peaceful life gets turned around when a tiny wizard named Riri appears, siezes her 3 great pleasures and turns her life into a romcom by forcing romantic clichés into her daily activities.
Anzu is determined to resist this wizard's efforts and return to her former life.
It parodies the standard romance setting and develops its characters in a captivating way, elevating the overall impact.
(Romance, Slice of Life)
An even better romcom of Fall 2022 is Fuufu Ijou Koibito Miman.
Jirou Yakuin's school begins a "Marriage Training" project which boys and girls are paired and pretend to be married couples while being monitored.
He hoped to get paired with his childhood friend- Shiori Sakurazaka whom he had feelings for, but got paired with beauty queen- Akari Watanabe.
Akari herself wasn't satisfied with this pairing, as she hoped to get together with her crush Minami Tenjin.
What seemed like a forceful union between Akari and Jirou begins to blossom into something more as they spend time together.
This is one new show that exceeded my expectations.
It does seem like a typical tropey romcom, but it's so much more.
It provides a heavily captivating love story by impeccably highlighting the individual romantic dilemmas of the lead couple, and even that of the side characters.
Their dynamic is a wholesome one, which becomes intoxicating with the addition of well crafted ecchi content, accompanied by a lot of romantic tension.
(Fantasy, Drama)
Bandai Namco Pictures gave us a new historical fantasy set in fictional China with a story focusing on a 16 year old 'Raven Consort' named Lui Shuixue. The title of Raven Consort' involves her summoning spirits and performing exorcisms, which Shuixue performs at the Inner Palace.
Despite her position, she doesn't do nighttime duties, however she seemed to be developing a form of semi coordial elationship with the current emperor named Xia Gaojun.
He vows to protect her as they explore different supernatural and personal mysteries together.
(Action, Fantasy)
The top Isekai of the season is none other than Kage no Jitsuryokusha Ni Naritakute.
Cid Kagenou is a guy who always sought power beyond humanity. He wished to be the 'Eminence in Shadow'- a man fighting a diabolical cult behind the scenes and pulling the strings of every character in a fantasy story.
After years of fighting bandits, he jumps in front of a moving truck with the expectation of being Isekai'd and succeeded greatly.
In this new fantasy world, every single fantasy and desire he had came to fruition and he now takes on the name 'Shadow', commanding a team called 'Shadow Garden' in fighting the 'Cult of Diablos' while posing as a mob character during the day.
The Eminence in Shadow is an immensely entertaining new show with an incredibly charismatic main character who guides the viewers through his bizzare antics and hilarious monologues.
The show has a lot of classy action sequences which mostly just showcase the overwhelming powers of Shadow, but this adds to the comedy to make it one of the most enjoyable shows this year.
(Slice of Life, Comedy)
Cloverworks latest production involves a teenage girl named Hitori Goto a.k.a Bocchi.
She's an extreme introvert who fumbles in all her social interaction attempts, and only takes comfort in the online fame she's acquired through her guitar skills which she nurtured specifically to get popular.
She soon joins a rock band called "Kessoku Band" as the lead guitarist, with a new group of friends/partners consisting of Nijika Ichijo, Ryo Yamada and Ikuyo Kita. She has lots of fun with them, while putting effort to make the band successful and overcome her social barriers.
With incredibly executed gags at every corner, surreal music production quality and a story that combines wholesome shananigans with genuine character development, it reaches heights of impact that many CGDCT anime could only dream of.
However, it's pretty undeserving of the spot at the top of the mountain this season which many weebs seem to place it.
(Action, Mecha)
Studio Sunrise went back to its roots this fall, with the 15th title added to the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise named The Witch From Mercury.
In a distant future, humanity had advanced to space and the world's inhabitants were split into 'Earthians' and 'Spacians'.
Ericht Samaya, who narrowly survived a massacre at the Vanadis research facility years ago with her mother, transfers from Mercury into the Benerit Group's Asticassia School of Technology under the name 'Suletta Mercury".
There she gets close to the daughter of the Benerit Group's president- Miorine Membran, and in order to protect her friends and prove her worth, she fights using her Gundam named 'Aerial'.
Whether or not you're a fan of the Gundam franchise or Mecha in general, this is a show you really shouldn't sleep on.
It's got impeccable visuals, which aid its representation of a futuristic world and its mechanisms, with some of the most beautifuly animated mecha fights in all of anime to elevate the experience.
The story itself isn't pulling any punches. With elaborately layered world building, and a cast of incredible characters, it's an action-packed sci-fi story that'll certainly leave an impact.
(Comedy, Sci-fi)
At the top of all romcoms this season is the David Production reboot of the popular 1981 classic- Urusei Yatsura.
When an alien race called the 'Oni' threaten to conquer earth, highschool student- Ataru Moroboshi is chosen to save the planet by winning a game of tag against the invading planet's princess named Lum.
Ataru won this game, and trying to propose to his girlfriend- Shinobu leads to a misunderstanding by Lum, who accepted the role of Ataru's wife.
Ataru's life gets changed forever as he now has to put up with this clingy alien girl and a lot of other crazy developments that came from this arrangement.
When it comes to fun and comedy content, Urusei Yatsura is unmatched this year.
There's literally never a dull moment, as it introduces a stack of bizzare characters which make the episodic adventures in this show wildly entertaining.
It takes an outlandish approach to its romance story which is typical given the period it was created, while managing to provide consistently hilarious content through remarkably executed gags.
(Action, Supernatural)
2022 was the year anime fans were finally graced with one of the most anticipated adaptations of all time in Chainsaw Man.
This is by far the most popular show this season, so it certainly doesn't need any introduction.
In a mission gone wrong, he gets killed, only to get reawakened moments later after his pet chainsaw devil- Pochita fused with his body.
Now a half-human, half-chainsaw devil hybrid with destructive powers, he joins the Public Safety Devil Hunters and fights several demonic foes to protect the new, better life he had received.
For a story stacked with exhilarating gorey fights, the execution is consistently remarkable, with exceptionally stunning visual effects, impeccable audio engineering, and immensely cinematic designs in all of its scenery.
The music quality as well is outstanding. We not only got a fire opening and banger osts, but for the first time, a cour with 12 different ending songs to fit the theme of each episode.
However, with just a single cour of predominantly monster-of-the-week content, it's clear that this is only the introductory stage of the plot, and the storytelling has yet to reach revolutionary heights that'd make it fitting of the title of anime of the season or year.
But with how explosive the first season has been, there's no doubt the coming arcs will solidify it as one of the best dark fantasy animes out there.
(Action, Sci-fi)
The very first release of Fall 2022 was the anime adaptation of one of the most popular video games of all time- Cyberpunk Edgerunners.
I won't say much about this entry, given that I've already given it a full review which you can check out using this link- Cyberpunk Edgerunners Review.
Presenting one of the most captivating stories of the year in the most luminous form, with excellent visual aesthetics and phenomenal soundtracks in a work that's definitely a contender for Anime of the year.
(Sports, Shounen)
We're finally here.
The anime that sits at the top of the mountain in the most unbelievable season of the year is none other than Blue Lock.
Among all the new big titles this season, this was the one with the most impact as it provided nonstop high quality content right from its start.
This project was Blue Lock- a training regiment crafted specifically to create the greatest striker in the world by unlocking the inner egoism of Japan's finest strikers.
This training programme was also a sort of elimination game as it could only have one winner, and those who fail lose whatever future they have in representing Japan.
He becomes part of "Team Z", getting to play alongside and against a bunch of unbelievably gifted strikers, while remaining determined to succeed and survive in Blue Lock.
The concept alone is incredibly authentic, especially given its genre.
It deviates from the typical shounen-sports approach which equate success to the power of friendship and teamwork, rather establishing a more narcissistic perspective in its soccer themed narrative.
It breaks away from the established sports anime themes and ideas while staying grounded to reality in terms of its structural representation of game of soccer.
Its integrates the survival game setting and all its accompanied craziness into the game of football with such flying colours.
Backed by consistently extravagant visuals and animation, the show presents a load of electrifying clashes which immaculately showcase the passion, skills and impact of every valid player on the field.
The fact that the careers of the players literally hang in the balance make things extremely thrilling, and the animation team did a great job of adapting this strife and desperation into these match sequences.
Not to mention the intense twists and mental gymnastics at every point of the story which has a similar effect to a well made psychological thriller.
It has a single main character, yet the more it progresses, the more it feels like an ever-growing ensemble of amazing and charismatic lead characters.
It's got a wide range of side characters, each given their own unique design, personality, skills and resolve on the football field.
Watching a clip from this show without context, you could literally mistake any of the strikers on the pitch as the main character.
This just shows how surreal the character representation in Blue Lock is.
But as for this season, Blue Lock is undoubtedly the best new anime of Fall 2022.
Ensure to watch a bunch of these recommendations, especially the top ones and you are guaranteed to enjoy this holiday season.
This might very well be the greatest anime season ever, and you really shouldn't miss out on all the fun.
I'm sure you have thoughts on this article or the animes reviewed, and you can feel free to leave those in the comment section.
Thank you for all your support in the year of 2022.
Thanks for this 💯 I didn't even know romantic killer existed 😅
ReplyDeleteReally nice review.
ReplyDeleteCriminal offence that blue lock is namba 1
ReplyDeleteNice
ReplyDeleteBleach is good
ReplyDeleteOfcourse peak lock is number one
ReplyDelete