My Best Anime of 2022

So here we are at the beginning of a new year, and in the middle of the first month. Still good enough time for me to come up with my top ten anime of 2022. If you’re curious about my top fall anime of 2022, you can find it here. There are a couple on that fall list that make it to my Best Anime of the Year list. Which ones exactly? Read on to find out…

Mizuki, Takina, Chisato and Kurumi

At number ten, I have ‘Lycoris Recoil’. A lot of people will remember this year for A-1 pictures because of ‘Kaguya Sama’. That anime is not on my list which would probably get the ire of many slice of life fans. ‘Lycoris Recoil’ is good enough to make my top ten, and as I always say, original anime have a special place in my heart. That’s not to say Chisato, Takina, and the rest of the staff of Cafe LycoReco are not entertaining. In fact, this dramedy of an anime is quite good, and reminds me a lot of how I was surprised with ’86‘. The second season is imminent, and it’s more of a question of ‘when’ than ‘how’. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Chisato dodging bullets with her spanking new heart.

Tengen Uzui and Tanjiro Kamado

At number nine, I have ‘Kimetsu No Yaiba’ aka ‘Demonslayer’. Arguably the anime with the best fight scene of the year, Ufotable continues not to disappoint with ‘Demonslayer’. My biggest complaint with this anime is that it only has one cour as compared to the first season’s double cour. That’s probably one of the reasons why Tanjiro and the rest of the demonslayers make it only to number nine on my list. With the new year, we are getting a season three of ‘Demonslayer’, and my hope is it holds up more in storytelling to season one with the much improved animation of season two. Let’s see what happens as Tanjiro tries to reforge his broken sword.

Marin and Gojo

At number eight, I have ‘My Dress-Up Darling’. One of my surprise anime of 2022, I took a risk on this, and it lived up to the hype. Marin and Gojo have a very loyal manga following, and I’m glad to join them in the anime. This is yet another beautiful anime by Cloverworks which continues to impress with the eclectic nature of the properties under its wings. This romcom is a cosplayer, and phtographer’s dream come true. It’s also one of those anime wherein the good guy attracts the best girl of the 2022. Gojo, and Marin are lucky to have each other in their lives. How they decide to properly express their feelings towards each other is something that many fans are looking forward to happening…while getting a ton of laughs along the way.

Kongming and Eiko

At number seven, I have ‘Ya Boy Kongming!’. When you combine an isekai with an idol anime, this is what you get. The mentor-mentee (father-daughter?) relationship of Kongming, and Eiko is just downright inspiring to see. Kongming uses his knowledge of battle tactics ala Sun Tzu to help Eiko realize her dream of becoming a successful performer. The road to stardom is wrought with many challenges, and Kongming has so far provided the answers to each one of them Eiko faces. Needless to say, ‘Ya Boy Kongming!’ has one of the best set of anime songs of the year. Just like ‘My Dress-Up Darling’, I’m looking forward to seeing Eiko succeed in achieving her dream.

Mio, Shinpei, and Ushio

At number six, I have ‘Summertime Render’. Now this is one anime that was on my radar, but still caught me by surprise. Composed of two consecutive cours, this masterpiece from OLM will reward you for sticking around. It’s not that it didn’t have good episodes to start. It’s that in order to get to the better episodes you had to endure the good ones. Sounds confusing, right? Well, the biggest initial concern with me was that Shinpei was a bit wimpy at the beginning. It took me time to understand that it was all part of the beautiful development of the character into manhood. Albeit, man enough to be a match for the alpha female that is Ushio. If you like time travel, and myster anime, then this is the best one of the year for me.

Reg, Riko, and Nanachi

At number five, I have ‘Made in Abyss’. It took five years for a second season of this anime to come out. Though a movie came in between, I needed a better fix deep into the Abyss with Riko, Reg, and Nanachi. Is it possible for the second season to actually be better than the first, and yet ‘Made in Abyss’ will most likely not win as many awards in the second season? I think that’s going to be the case. There are just so many excellent anime this year. That shouldn’t discredit the excellence that you find in the best Kinema Citrus anime of the year. There is news circulating that a new season is coming up, and I’m wondering how that will happen with just a few chapters left from the source material to animate. ‘Made in Abyss’ will make you sad, and sadder some more before providing you the hope it shares by season’s end. It’s pretty standard by now for the adventures of Riko as she searchers for her mom. Here’s hoping she finds her alive with a little help from Reg, and Nanachi.

Bojji, and Kage

At numbe four, I have ‘Ousama Ranking’ aka ‘Ranking of Kings’. Just like Cloverworks, Wit Studio has shown with this tale of deaf-dumb Bojji that it has a wide range of animation approaches. I’ve been rooting for Bojji since 2021, and this has carried over to last year. More so, the second cour of ‘Ousama Ranking’ puts Bojji and Kage in a more favorable position than the first. Bojji is really a character to my mind that’s worth rooting for. Sure Bojji is a prince, but that just underscores how misereable, and sad his live is to begin. There is no better anime on my list to inspire you in achieving greater heights in spite of overwhelming challenges than this one. Long live Bojji!!!

Pochita, and Denji

At number three, I have ‘Chainsaw Man’. Highly anticipated, and highly hyped, this anime lived up to the expectations. Though there’s something about studio MAPPA and its penchance for supernatural anime. Is it a coincidence that they made both ‘Chainsaw Man’ and ‘Jujutsu Kaizen‘? I think not. The big difference between Denji, and Itadori is that Denji is a true blue antihero. I’ve said this before already, Denji’s needs are very basic: food, women, and lodging. Can you blame him though? With an upbringing like his, it’s no wonder Makima can manipulate him the way she does. This also has my vote for best music of 2022. Of all the thirteen songs there is not a one worth ignoring. It’s just a question of choosing your favorite. No word yet on season two, but that is a sure as Reze appearing soon.

Yor, Anya, and Loid Forger

At number two, I have ‘Spy Family’. The Forger family was my frontrunner to be my anime of the year for 2022 but fell a bit short. Not its own fault, but rather due to the surprise, and excellence of what is at my number one spot. For now, let’s focus on ‘Spy Family’ which is a masterpiece of both Cloverworks (My Dress-Up Darling), and Wit Studio (Ousama Ranking). It’s really unfair to have a version of Bojji in Anya, Marin in Yor to combine with the suave super spy that is Loid Forger. There is no greater family anime on my list. There’s already a new season set for this year to go along with a movie. More Spy Family is always good. Also, more Anya means more peanuts.

Ichigo

At numer one, I have ‘Bleach: Thousand year Blood War’. A while a go I mentioned that ‘Made in Abyss’ took five years for the second season to come out. In the case of ‘Bleach’, it took studio Pierrot over ten years to come up with the latter portion of Ichigo’s saga. I was just happy to have this anime back with little expectation of it being good. Surprise, surprise…it has gone well beyond what I expected. Cinematic animation. Excellent Storytelling. Hightened Anticipation. Whatever those creators from Pierrot ate while making ‘Bleach’, keep feeding it to them. And, it appears that the best is yet to come. This makes ‘Bleach’ my Best Anime of 2022.

Do you agree with me? Disagree with me? Tell me what you think in the comments.