Ranking of Anime 2022

Yet another year has come to an end, and yet another four seasons have turned since I last made this post. During that time, I've been kept entertained by many good anime, and in this post I list the ones I liked the most.



Three lists like last year: non-sequel TV anime, sequels and movies.

Top 10 (Non-Sequel) Anime:

10. Uncle from Another World 

The continuous delays and Netflix's latecast have made Uncle from Another World a bit of a tricky show to follow, but that doesn't take away from its good aspects. A parody of isekai similarly to Konosuba, but taking place in the real world after the isekai protagonist returns. Pretty funny show, Takehito Koyasu is perfect as the uncle's voice. 

9. The Little Lies We All Tell 

I picked up this one quite randomly, mostly because I saw the premise and thought it was amusing. I'd say it matched my expectations quite well - it's clearly not an A-list production by any measure, but what it does have is a surprising amount of heart that really keeps all the zany, sometimes downright ridiculous antics of the characters together. Crossdressing being handled this nicely in an anime, especially a comedy anime, is refreshing to see. (Some other jokes don't land nearly as well...) I hope the manga gets licensed because I grew surprisingly attached to the lead characters over the course of the anime. 

8. My Dress-Up Darling 

This show was fun for me as a Finn because the main girl's name is Marin. Y'know, kinda like our prime minister. Yeah. I definitely didn't see any "why does this busty anime girl show up when I search for Marin" tweets during its airing... Anyways, Kisekoi's nothing really special as a ecchi-leaning romcom, but I did like its respectful approach to the different hobbies of its main couple. Who, by the way, might be one of my favourite anime couples of the year. No, I will not listen to Gojo slander. 

7. Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie 

I will also not listen to Izumi slander. Shikimori's main selling point may be its titular "ikemen girlfriend", but that doesn't make its male lead any less likable. This is another romcom, although significantly less ecchi than Kisekoi - unless you count Shikimori's intense expressions as fanservice, which I am... not categorically opposed to, let's say. Hachimitsu still best character though. 

6. Akebi's Sailor Uniform 

CloverWorks has been on a roll with amazing-looking SoL shows recently, and Akebi is one of the best of the best when it comes to visuals. The Japanese countryside's never looked better. The music is also excellent, as I talked about in my OP/ED ranking last week. The series does, however, have questionable elements which make it a bit difficult to recommend, since select episodes are maybe a bit... too forward with their depiction of the sensual side of adolescence. (I'm not even talking about the foot fetish scene.) I'd say it's more than worth it sitting through those episodes, though, to get to the breathtaking masterpieces that are episodes 7 and 12. There's other good and problem-free episodes too, but those two are the ones I most fondly remember.

5. Do It Yourself!! 

I've been waiting for a good spot to watch the second season of Laid-Back Camp, but in the meanwhile, Laid-Back Crafts more than fit that itch. Really chill and lovely show that mostly throws its edgier elements to the background where you might notice them if you choose to pay attention, but don't have to. Instead, you can pay attention to the fact that the main character's name is Serufu Yua, that is Yua Serufu in the Japanese order, and the show is called Do It Yourself, and it's about Yua Serufu who really gets into DIY, that is short for Do It Yourself, and when you say Yourself with Japanese pronounciation, it sounds like Yuaserufu, and once again the main character's name is... yeah, that joke is brought up a lot. But it's funny every time! Mostly because of how funny Serufu herself thinks it is! She's great, I want to be like her. No thoughts, head empty. What was I writing again? Oh, right, top 10 anime.

4. Spy x Family 

SpyFam was a lot of fun. Neat setting, good mix of comedy and spy intrigue. Anya faces are the best. I don't really have much to say, since every episode was just consistently pretty good and quite enjoyable. Looking forward to season 2 and the movie. 

3. Chainsaw Man 

CSM was indisputably the biggest new anime of the year. Manga readers have been hyping it up as the next big thing since the anime was announced, and with a fandom that large, it becoming the next big thing was never not going to happen. Did it live up to the hype? I guess. I don't really care about hype all that much, but I did really like this show. The high production values, inspired direction and distinctive style of storytelling made it an easily enjoyable watch, especially after shit hit the fan in episode 8 and it became more tense and exciting. Worth watching just for the fact that it has a different ED every episode. How crazy is that?! I ranked them all in an update to last week's post, btw. Twelve songs, twelve ED animations (well, eleven since ep 1 was rolling credits). MAPPA really invested into this show. It should pay off for them. 

2. Lycoris Recoil 

I had my eyes on LycoReco ever since one of the early key visuals was revealed, but I had no idea how big it would end up becoming. Like, we might be talking about Aniplex's most successful original anime since freakin' Madoka. And the key to that success was not drama and despair this time, but being fun and gay. And it sure as hell was fun and gay! So much fun (and gay)! I'll admit I stopped paying attention to the plot somewhere around episode 8 or 9, because the character interactions and over-the-top action were so ridiculously enjoyable to follow. And the crazy part? It then happened to Aniplex again, literally next season! That is... 

1. Bocchi the Rock! 

... with the unbelievably creative adaptation of Bocchi. God, I loved pretty much every second of this anime. The story of its painfully relatable protagonist finding her place in a band and overcoming her weaknesses made me feel more than any other "just like me fr" show I've seen, while also being just so. fucking. funny. It'd be wrong to say the delivery of the jokes was supported by the visuals, because the visuals were such an integral part of the delivery itself. Every week I looked forward to seeing in what medium Bocchi would melt this time, and every time CloverWorks' team Umehara delivered. If I were to talk about even just a few examples, this segment of the post would be longer than all others combined, and you'd be spoiled about some hilarious scenes if you haven't seen the anime yet, so I'm just gonna say: watch it. I can't recommend it enough. It's amazing. The music's top tier too! I've literally ordered the CD album and I don't do that often! What is there left to say? Oh right, there's two incredible bassist characters. I'd let Kikuri step on me and give Ryo money if she asked. No, I will not elaborate. 

Top 5 Sequels: 

5. Ascendance of a Bookworm: Season 3 

4. Komi Can't Communicate: Part 2 

3. Attack on Titan: Season 4 (Part 2) 

2. Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun 

1. Kaguya-sama: Love is War - Ultra Romantic 

Top 4 Anime Movies:

4. Drifting Home 

3. Sword Art Online: Progressive - Aria of a Starless Night 

2. Jujutsu Kaisen 0 

1. BELLE 


That's it for this year! There were some things I accomplished in 2022 - one of which I'll be talking about here on the blog sometime next week - but many that I didn't, and I'm hoping to make 2023 a "year of accomplishments". For now, though, Happy New Year! 

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