Fall 2022 was an amazing season, there were so many incredible shows that I felt I was only able to keep up with a small fraction of them. I watched 16 from start to finish and here are my thoughts on them. I’ll be making full reviews for a few of them. They are ordered from my least to most favorite.
I’m the Villianess so I’m Taming the Final Boss - (Crunchyroll)
A young woman dies and is reborn into her favorite reverse harem game but as the villianess. She sets out to claim the Final Boss (the demon lord Prince) and claim the throne as her own. There are some great moments of romance and humor and a fun cast of characters, even if they are mostly one dimensional.
I found this anime to be a little stiff and while I admire the creativity I was unimpressed by the writing and animation. I overall enjoyed the anime but it was my least favorite of the season.
Shinobi no Ittoki - (Crunchyroll)
A young man finds out he is actually the future head of a ninja clan but almost being murdered while on his first ever date. It is fast paced and exciting with lots of fun high-tech ninja shenanigans.
I really enjoyed the action of this anime and the story improved as we neared the climax of the season. The harsh lines used in the art style emphasize the drama and intensity of the story. Truly, a solid addition to the world of shinobi anime.
Uzaki Chan wants to Hang Out - Season 2 - (Crunchyroll)
The second season of this cute romance anime. It wasn’t as compelling as the first but does make far more strides to an actual relationship developing between the protagonists. They manage to spend more time together and grow comfortable but aren’t quite willing to admit they want to be in a real relationship yet.
I enjoy this show but this season wasn’t quite as fun as the first. I look forward to more seasons and hope the excitement picks back up.
Love Flops - (HiDive)
An interesting and weirdly banana obsessed harem anime with a fantastic twist and a very emotional climax. I’ll be doing a full write up on this very interesting anime at a later date. I will say that I never knew what was going to happen in the next episode and was not prepared for the gut punch climax.
I almost didn’t watch this because the first episode was just so very strange, but once I got past that aversion, the show was very good. The climax and ending are so different from the initial feel. It was the biggest surprise of the season and my full review will show why and include spoilers.
Eminence in Shadow - (HiDive)
This is another isekai but quite a fun one. A young man wishes to become strong enough to live through a nuclear bomb but is unable to achieve this and instead meets truck-kun and awakens in another world. There he starts his great quest to become the Eminence in Shadow, running the world from the darkness while appearing to be a plain background character.
The animation and voice acting are top tier for this anime. It is continuing on through the Winter 2023 season and I plan to give a more detailed review once it has ended. I’ll say that it has had some of the delightfully edgiest dialogue I have enjoyed in a show.
Beast Tamer - (Crunchyroll)
This adorable harem anime has possibly the most positive character with the edgiest background. Rein’s journey as a beast tamer rejected by the hero’s party is incredibly cute. He is a real hero that just wants to keep people safe after losing his village. The show follows him as meets and tames various Ultimate Species (who are all cute girls), grows stronger and looks ready to take on the demon king.
The visuals are soft and cute and simplistic in many ways. It is not what I expected and I enjoyed this different take on a harem anime.
Reincarnated as a Sword - (HiDive)
Man is reincarnated as an amazing sword in another world, meets a cute cat girl and vows to help her evolve into her strongest form. This adorable show is about a sword becoming a teacher to Fran, a young black cat who wishes to grow strong. He frees her from slavery and they set off to join the adventurer’s guild and evolve. Watching Fran’s growth from scared child to strong adventurer is heart warming and fun.
The character design of this anime was childish but it played well into the charm of the overall show. There were also some areas that could have had a higher animation budget. The show was great, very fun and the characters were relatable. I’m looking forward to a second season.
Spy X Family - (Crunchyroll)
The second half of the awesome Spy X Family first season. A fun action-packed and cute series. The completion of the Forger family with the addition of Bond, a dog that can see the future and some slow progress on Project Strix. I’ll be doing a full review discussing this anime and the full first season soon.
Arknights: Prelude to Dawn - (Crunchyroll)
This was an eight episode start to the anime version of a popular gatcha game. The story is fantastic and the animation was very visually striking. It is an emotional start and the story is the main reason I play this particular game. The anime adaptation is great and I’m looking forward to seeing the full development in the future. I plan to write up a full review of both the anime and the game so far.
More than a Married Couple but not Lovers - (Crunchyroll)
This was probably my favorite romantic comedy of the season. The whole concept of it is absolutely ridiculous, no school would ever make part of your grade a marriage practice. It was hilarious though and you are really rooting for the characters to develop a real relationship based on the fake one for school. Akari and Jiro are my number one ship of the Fall 2022 line-up.
I love the bright colors they chose for the setting of this, it allows you to feel the emotions of the characters readily. A cute romance anime that I really hope more people watch and enjoy. It hits on all my favorite slice-of-life and romantic comedy notes, while also being innovative and funny.
Urusei Yatsura - (HiDive)
This anime is only higher on the list than More than Married Couple because of the outstanding animation and incredible opening and ending songs. It is a beautiful remake of a classic anime and it is very fun. The word darling has lost all meaning though. The relationship dynamics do feel very dated but all of the characters are interesting and I look forward to watching the full series as it comes out.
The animation is where this show really stands out.The vibrant and smooth motions really stand out against most of the other shows for this last season, which is saying something. I’ll be doing a more indepth look at this show later on, and looking at the original version as well.
Do It Yourself - (Crunchyroll)
This was a standout cute girls doing cute things anime. It follows Yua Serafu and her friends slowly learning to build new things and gaining a passion for doing something with their hands. This group of girls plan to build a treehouse as a secret hideout to attract more members to the DIY club at their school. They have to learn to use various tools, raise money, and overcome their own biases to do it. The anime is just outstandingly cute and educational.
There are so many details I really enjoyed about this anime. The attention to detail on all the power tools, the different color for the underside of each character's hair, the callback to previous quirks and ideas. It is a touching and cute story of friendship and hardwork.
Chainsaw Man - (Crunchyroll)
This was probably the most anticipated anime of the season and possibly the year. Denji and his trusty devildog Pochita merge to become Chainsaw Man, an incredibly strong devil hunter. He teams up with the city to work with Aki and Power under Makima to exterminate devils. This is a violent, gory anime with one of the most relatable characters ever. Denji has grown up in strict poverty, even selling his organs to purchase food, and his simple dream is to have bread with jam and eventually touch some boobs.
I will be doing a full write up of this including discussion of the manga in the near future. The animation was stellar and Mappa creating their own in-house CGI studio to help with transitions has definitely paid off. They really nailed the nitty gritty off center feel of the manga. I can’t wait to see season 2.
Bocchi the Rock - (Crunchyroll)
Truly the greatest portrayal of introversion and social anxiety. Bocchi is a young girl starting high school hoping that people will come talk to her because of her cool rocker persona. She has been honing her guitar skills so that she can be in a band even though she has severe social anxiety. Watching Bocchi get adopted by an extrovert and forced into a band because she was physically carrying a guitar is amazing. It is matched by the fantastic and interesting visuals along with some amazing music. I intend to give a full write-up of my opinions on this stand-out anime in a later review.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - (Crunchyroll)
I feel like this had a head start on being great by being Mobile Suit Gundam, but it is great even if you aren’t as into the franchise. The characters are compelling, the story is dark and fun. I’ll be doing a more indepth review of this along with an update as we get further in the season. The complex relationships between Suletta, Miorine and their friends and family creates an interesting dynamic that I’ve not seen before in the franchise.
The animation is, of course, stellar with very smooth CGI and fantastic battles. The Witch from Mercuy lives up to the high standards set by years of previous Mobile Suit Gundam series and has been real highlight of Fall 2022 and I hope continues to be amazing as it goes on.
Akiba Maid War - (HiDive)
My favorite anime of Fall 2022, this violence filled moe that reminded me heavily of Quentin Tarantino films, stood out from the rest for me. The story is more reminiscent of a mafia film than anything involving maid cafes. The cute setting is offset by shootings, beatings and mob wars in the streets. Nagomi was not prepared for the violence she would encounter when she set off to take a job as a maid at the Oinky Doink Cafe. Luckily, she makes friends Ranko, who is both experienced in voilence and as a maid.
The animation is fun and the various musical scenes are entrancing. The opening and closing credits are part of what really pulled me in and I’m going to do a full write-up of this anime for next week.
Thank you for reading! I really hope that you will continue to read my future posts, I’ll be posting at least twice a month going forward. I’m working on a backlog to help keep my schedule when I fall ill. The end of 2022 was not great on my health but I’m feeling better and I promise to do better.
Let’s all keep watching and enjoying as the Winter 2023 season begins!