Japanese Animation has become a major influence on western animation and contemporary cinema, because of its brilliant storytelling and beautiful look. Anime is not only limited to Japan, because it has earned fans worldwide, with thousands adding themselves to the list daily. With 2022 being such a big year for anime fans we at CinemaBlind decided to tell you our pick of the 15 best anime shows of 2022.
Ya Boy Kongming! (HIDIVE)
Synopsis: The music industry becomes a battlefield when ancient strategist Kongming is transported to modern Japan. He’ll use military tactics to turn his new friend Eiko into a music star, and together they’ll take the party hotspot of Shibuya by storm!
Summer Time Rendering (Hulu)
Synopsis: A sci-fi, summer story filled with suspense set on a small island begins with Shinpei Ajiro, whose childhood friend Ushio Kofune died. He returns to his hometown for the first time in two years for the funeral. Sou Hishigata, his best friend, suspects something’s off with Ushio’s death, and that someone else can die next. A sinister omen is heard as an entire family next door suddenly disappears the following day. Furthermore, Mio implicates a “shadow” three days before Ushio’s death.
Kotaro Lives Alone (Netflix)
Synopsis: Kotaro Lives Alone, the anime based on the comedy manga by Mami Tsumura that is regarded as “the most heartwarming manga in Japan” with over 1.4 million copies sold. Ding-dong! There is a little boy standing at the door. He hands over a nice box of tissues as a gift and says, “My name is Sato, and I have just moved into number 203. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” He is Kotaro Sato, and he has moved into Shimizu Apartments to live by himself. He is four years old. He makes his daily shopping trips alone with a toy sword strapped to his side. Both grown-up and childish at the same time, Kotaro starts to affect the people around him with his wise ways. This is the story of a four-year-old boy who is determined to live strong until the day he can live with his parents.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Season 5 (Peacock, Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video & Crunchyroll)
Synopsis: Based on author Hirohiko Araki’s groundbreaking Shonen Jump manga series, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure follows the multigenerational tale of the heroic Joestar family and their never-ending battle against evil.
Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun (HIDIVE)
Synopsis: There is no going back for Riko, Reg, and Nanachi, and the only way forward is to the bottom of the Abyss. However, the three friends weren’t the first to enter the unknown. Whatever happened to all the other explorers who braved the Abyss?
Also Read: Feel Good Anime Like ‘Spy x Family’ To Watch After Binging Season 1
Spy x Family (Hulu & Crunchyroll)
Synopsis: World peace is at stake and secret agent Twilight must undergo his most difficult mission yet—pretend to be a family man. Posing as a loving husband and father, he’ll infiltrate an elite school to get close to a high-profile politician. He has the perfect cover, except his wife’s a deadly assassin and neither knows each other’s identity. But someone does, his adopted daughter who’s a telepath!
Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part II (Crunchyroll & Hulu)
Synopsis: Just as the Jaegerists seize control, Marley launches their counter attack. Now shouldering the sins of the past, Eren enacts his true plan to protect Paradis. But what will remain in his wake The line between right and wrong blurs in the fog of war.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War (Hulu)
Synopsis: When a new enemy appears, Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki jumps back into the battlefield with his Zanpakuto to help those in need.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Netflix)
Synopsis: The series tells a standalone, 10-episode story about a street kid trying to survive in Night City — a technology and body modification-obsessed city of the future. Having everything to lose, he stays alive by becoming an edgerunner — a mercenary outlaw also known as a cyberpunk.
The Orbital Children (Netflix)
Synopsis: The story begins in the year 2045, when AI has advanced and anyone can travel into space. Children born on the moon and children from Earth who are on a trip to space meet at the Japanese-built Anshin space station. The series will consist of six episodes and will be distributed worldwide!
Mob Psycho 100 Season 3 (Hulu & Crunchyroll)
Synopsis: Kageyama Shigeo, a.k.a. “Mob,” is a boy who has trouble expressing himself, but who happens to be a powerful esper. Mob is determined to live a normal life and keeps his ESP suppressed, but when his emotions surge to a level of 100%, something terrible happens to him! As he’s surrounded by false espers, evil spirits, and mysterious organizations, what will Mob think? What choices will he make? The anime based on the original story by ONE, the idol of the webcomic world and creator of One-Punch Man, is coming your way with animation by leading animation studio Bones!
Lycoris Recoil (Crunchyroll)
Synopsis: For these peaceful days――there’s a secret behind it all. A secret organization that prevents crimes: “DA – Direct Attack”. And their group of all-girl agents: “Lycoris”. This peaceful everyday life is all thanks to these young girls. The elite Chisato Nishikigi is the strongest Lycoris agent of all time. Alongside is Takina Inoue, the talented but mysterious Lycoris. They work together at one of its branches–Café LycoReco. Here, the orders this café takes range from coffee and sweets to childcare, shopping, teaching Japanese to foreign students, etc. It’s mostly tasks unbefitting of Lycoris. The free-spirited and optimistic pacifist, Chisato. And the cool-headed and efficient Takina. The chaotic everyday lives of this mismatched duo begin!
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 2 (Hulu & Crunchyroll)
Synopsis: It is the Taisho Period in Japan. Tanjiro, a kindhearted boy who sells charcoal for a living, finds his family slaughtered by a demon. To make matters worse, his younger sister Nezuko, the sole survivor, has been transformed into a demon herself.
Blue Lock (Crunchyroll)
Synopsis: Prefectural Final for the National High School Soccer Tournament. Isagi Yoichi, a first-year forward, loses his chance for the Nationals because he has passed the ball to his fellow player in front of the goal. That’s when he receives an invitation for Blue Lock. It’s a facility to train one world’s greatest striker out of 300 high-school-aged forwards so that Japan can win the World Cup. Isagi and others are assembled in a small room, and they take their first test to decide which 11 of them get to move in to the dorm out of 12 of them.
Also Read: Anime Like ‘Chainsaw Man’ To Watch If You Liked the Series
Chainsaw Man (Crunchyroll)
Synopsis: One day, as he was living his miserable life trying to pay off the debt he inherited from his parents, he got betrayed and killed. As he was losing his consciousness, he made a deal with Pochita, and got resurrected as the “Chainsaw Man”: the owner of the Devil’s heart.
