With 2022 coming to a close, now is the perfect time to look back at all the great anime series that came out this year. This year we saw the return of Bleach and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, as well as highly anticipated new releases like Chainsaw Man and Spy x Family. With a wide variety of genres to choose from, here are ten of the best anime from 2022.
Blue Lock
The lone sports anime on the list, Blue Lock tells the story of Yoichi Isagi (Ricco Fajardo), a high school soccer player in Japan. After Yoichi makes a pass at the end of a game that results in his team losing, he thinks about quitting soccer, until he is invited to the mysterious Blue Lock academy. Blue Lock is an experimental facility that brings in all the best high school strikers in the country to compete with one another, with the winner getting the chance to represent Japan in the World Cup. Blue Lock delves into the balance between individuality and teamwork in sports. All the athletes at Blue Lock are competing to be crowned the best player at the facility, but they can only achieve that if the team they are placed with wins.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War
After ten years, the Bleach anime returned this year for its final story arc, The Thousand-Year Blood War. Former foes return after a century, waging war on the soul society by stealing the Soul Reapers' greatest weapons, their Bankai. Now part-time Soul Reaper Ichigo Kuraski (Johnny Young Bosch) has to step in to save his friends. Unfortunately, if you haven’t seen Bleach already you have a healthy 366 episodes to watch before getting to this newest season. Even so, now is the perfect time to watch this icon of anime if you haven’t already, because the production and story quality have never been better.
Chainsaw Man
In Chainsaw Man, the world is haunted by devils who have been born from human fear. Denji (Ryan Colt Levy), Chainsaw Man’s main character, starts his career as a devil hunter after gaining the power of the chainsaw devil. Denji and his new team of devil hunters look for clues about the mysterious Gun Devil that attacked the world ten years prior. Chainsaw Man blends horror and comedy together perfectly for some of the most disturbing and hilarious moments of the year. And for any cinema lovers out there, Chainsaw Man’s opening will please you with its many references to Western cinema.
Spy x Family
For a secret mission, renowned spy Loid Forger (Alex Organ) must create a fake family, taking assassin Yor (Natalie Van Sistine) as his wife and psychic Anya (Megan Shipman) as his daughter. Spy x Family is a found family at its truest and shows why it is so important to be close with people. This anime blends slice-of-life and action into one of the most hilarious and heartfelt shows of the year. All of these characters come from a place of isolation, Loid and Yor because of the extreme fields they work in and Anya because of her psychic abilities that led her parents to abandon her.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean
Jolyne Kujo (Kira Buckland) is the star in the sixth installment of the JoJo's franchise, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean. After being framed for murder, Jolyne is sentenced to fifteen years in prison at Green Dolphin Street Prison. When her father Jotaro (Matthew Mercer) visits, they soon discover all of this was an elaborate plot to steal Jotaro’s memories. The final 26 episodes of Stone Ocean came out this year and brought with it all the creative fight sequences and wild character personalities that we have come to expect with JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Stone Ocean has proved to be one of the most creative and funny parts in the entire series.
Cyberpunk Edgerunners
A spinoff from the video game Cyberpunk 2077, Cyberpunk Edgerunners brings to life the futuristic atmosphere from the game. Edgerunners are technology-powered mercenaries who are all trying to make enough money before they lose their minds to cyber-psychosis. The story follows David (Zach Aguilar) after he joins a group of edgerunners and his relationship with the group's netrunner, Lucy (Emi Lo). Whether you're a fan of the original game or this is your first introduction to the Cyberpunk world, you'll enjoy this action-packed dystopian thrill ride.
My Dress Up Darling
After years of being bullied for his love of hina dolls, Wakana Gojo (Paul Dateh) keeps his interest a secret. After school, Marin Kitagawa (Amanda Lee) stumbles upon Wakana making a dress for a doll. Shortly after, she decides to help Wakana with his stitching by cosplaying all the dresses he makes. My Dress Up Darling is a great romantic comedy about high schoolers exploring their unique passions and finding community with those who have shared interests.
Lycoris Recoil
If you took the John Wick franchise and made it into an anime about a school of highly-trained girls you would get Lycoris Recoil. The Lycoris are a group of assassins and spies that are government-sponsored to help protect the people of Japan. After Takina Inoue (Xanthe Huynh) makes a dangerous decision on a mission, she is forced to work with a rogue Lycoris named Chisato Nishikiga (Lizzie Freeman). Chisato works offsite because she refuses to use real bullets in her weapons. The appeal of this series comes from the relationship that forms between Takina and Chisato as they both learn from one another and become unlikely friends.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yiaba Entertaintment District Arc
In the second season of Demon Slayer, Tanjiro (Zach Aguilar) continues to search for a way to turn his demon sister Nezuko (Abby Trott) back into a human. In his search, he ends up helping Hashira Tengen and his three wives as they hunt down the demon responsible for the mysterious disappearances of women from the entertainment district. With some of the most intense fight sequences in anime, Demon Slayer continued its hype train this year. Animated by studio Ufotable, Demon Slayer has some of the best animation that you can find on television.
The Orbital Children
In 2045, a group of children goes on a sponsored visit to meet the last surviving child born in space. However, something goes wrong when an unexpected comet hits the space station and strands the kids. The Orbital Children tell the story after this event and how these kids use their surroundings to stay alive. One of the main appeals of The Orbital Children is how fun the story is, despite the dire situation. It's satisfying to see the kids discover new ways of operating their space equipment, and you quickly grow attached to the characters.