The Best Anime Of 2022, Ranked

Just when we all thought there was no way to beat the embarrassment of anime riches that was 2021, along comes 2022 to blow every expectation away with so many fantastic shows it was nearly impossible even to begin to try and stay up to day with all of them.

There were giant favorites shocking audiences by returning with their best seasons yet, hugely anticipated sequels delivering tons of thrills, brand new shows succeeding expectations, and even entirely original shows full of surprises. No matter your taste, there truly was something for everyone. 

This makes it rather tough to even begin to boil down all the great anime of the year into a best-of list, but that won't stop us from trying. Here is the best anime of the year, ranked.

It is very hard to recommend anyone watch "Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun" because this series contains some of the most brutal imagery in a modern anime. We're talking absolutely gut-punching, heart-wrenching, revolting, heartbreaking moments of pure cruelty and savagery. Not really gory, but gruesome nonetheless, like a creature being skinned alive and torn to pieces.

And yet, the show is simply fun, and most of all, absolutely fascinating in how it puts the audience in the shoes of the characters, forcing them to experience increasingly disturbing things while constantly introducing new parts of a wonderful world you desperately want to explore. A lot of the show, about two kids venturing down a giant chasm in the middle of an island from which there is no return, is about the dangers of the world and the purpose of enduring said danger and pain in order to explore the beauty that is also found in the world. For every moment of terror and pain, there are two moments of pure wonder and awe that make you want to keep going. It is one of the most complex works of storytelling in anime, and it is aided by one of the best anime soundtracks in years, by Kevin Penkin. (Rafael Motamayor)

"Lycoris Recoil" is the first full anime series ever directed by Shingo Adachi, famous for handling character design and animation direction for "Sword Art Online." You'd expect that the involvement of such a talented artist on a rare original series would necessitate its parent company Aniplex to give it the time and resources it needed to flourish. Instead, "Lycoris Recoil" was a mess right out of the gate, kludged together from disparate parts under pressure. It's a political thriller with no politics and an action series where fighting is subordinate to hanging out with your girlfriend in a cafe. A perfect storm of cliche, cuteness, and sheer bombast. So of course, it's the most successful original anime to release this year and a favorite of video game legend Hideo Kojima. I might be tempted to call it 2022's happiest surprise before the fall season's slate of megahits.

"Lycoris Recoil" uses cliches to set audience expectations and then rewards that audience at every opportunity. The fact that the plot never amounts to much simply gives them even more time with the show's lovable heroines, Chisato and Takina. The series predictably dances around the exact nature of their relationship, but then pulls a fast one and puts two aging gay assassins at the heart of the narrative in the climax. Recent original anime have aimed for the stars only to fall short more often than not. "Lycoris Recoil" aims low, but it hits that mark every single time. (Rafael Motamayor)

Mitsuro Iso is one of the greatest animators of all time, responsible for game-changing sequences in films like "Ghost in the Shell" and "End of Evangelion." His 2007 series "Dennou Coil," a near-future tale of death and adolescence that plays like the best season of "Digimon" ever created, proved he was just as capable a director. But "Dennou Coil" bombed commercially. Iso sent the next several years in the wilderness, fighting to create more ambitious, original projects in an industry no longer willing to invest the time and money needed to support them. The efforts of his team finally bore fruit this year in "The Orbital Children," a film duology released this year on Netflix as a miniseries.

The first half of "The Orbital Children" is a delight, introducing the audience to a believably bratty team of kids who must pool all of their strengths together just to stay alive. Intriguing ideas are introduced every few minutes, as the story expands from a simple survival narrative to an ambitious future history of humanity transformed by AI. Once the second half begins, the series sags under its own weight as it struggles to bear what must have been enough plot for two or three times as many episodes. As grateful as I am that "The Orbital Children" was made, it could have been even better with the right editor. But then it wouldn't have been "The Orbital Children," would it? (Adam Wescott)

"Ya Boy Kongming!" has the honor of being the anime show with the single best opening theme song of the year, a song that tells you everything you need to know about the tone of this infectiously entertaining and hilarious anime.

The show follows Zhuge Liang, courtesy name Kongming, one of the most accomplished military strategists of the Three Kingdoms period. After he dies, he gets reincarnated into modern-day Shibuya in Japan. With a head full of ways to crush his enemies to the ground, what does Kongming do? He becomes a manager to an amateur singer and helps her achieve stardom, of course!

"Ya Boy Kongming!" uses its titular strategist's very real military tactics, adapting them for the ruthless combat arena of the music business. This leads to some hilarious scenarios wherein Kongming explains and recounts how he used a certain tactic to annihilate an entire army, and we see them play out on a way smaller scale like humiliating a rival band so they don't steal your audience

The anime is also a great showcase for the power of music to heal people and bring them together. Plus, it is refreshing to see a show about adults living their lives, not dealing with school or growing up. Characters talk about depression, creative burnout, imposter syndrome, and anxiety, and rather than mock them or treat these as simple problems to be solved, they are treated with respect, as problems that don't just go away easily. (Rafael Motamayor)

"Cyberpunk 2077" was a disaster at first. Mismanagement, controversy, and a notoriously buggy first release led many to dismiss the game as a disappointment on its release in 2020. CD Projekt Red rallied behind the scenes to fix the game, uploading a series of patches over the next two years. By September 2022, Steam's charts were blowing up with folks returning to "Cyberpunk 2077." But CD Projekt Red had little to do with it. It was "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners," an anime spin-off of the series on Netflix, that transformed "Cyberpunk 2077" from a failure to a late-blooming success. Hiroyuki Imaishi and his friends at Studio Trigger took the gameworld's abrasive pastiche and made everything bigger, badder, and just a bit weirder. "Edgerunners" didn't just convince folks to give the game another shot; it made the whole "Cyberpunk" project better in retrospect.

Studio Trigger is famous for its original projects, but maybe even more effective at hyping up other people's works. Their best works, "SSSS.Gridman" and "SSSS.Dynazenon," are a passionate introduction to "Ultraman" and the greater world of tokusatsu. Similarly, "Edgerunners" drills down to the core of "Cyberpunk 2077" and captures its appeal. The sights and sounds of Night City are replicated faithfully, but this time with a close-knit group of characters you care about despite their simplicity. The action swings from Michael Bay-style bombast to emotional devastation. Not to mention that it's funny, courtesy of characters like the small and rude Rebecca. "Edgerunners" will not change the minds of folks who find Imaishi's shtick exhausting. But its success this year speaks to anime's power, whether used for good or evil. (Adam Wescott)

Cosplay, the art of wearing outfits based on your favorite fictional character, is deeply ingrained in the anime fandom, which makes it surprising that there had never been an anime about it — until now. "My Dress-Up Darling" was the, well, darling of the winter season, a rom-com all about uncommon hobbies bringing people together.

The show follows Marin, a popular girl at school who hides a deep passion for cosplaying anime and gaming characters, particularly ones from lewd titles, and Gojo, a shy introvert with a talent and passion for traditional Japanese hina dolls. The two quickly strike up a friendship through cosplay, while an awkward yet adorable romance starts to blossom between them.

As a show about cosplay, "My Dress-Up Darling" does a lot to show why the art form matters, and how intricate it is, explaining in great detail the arduous process of making an outfit from scratch, what you can do on a budget and what all the different elements are and what they are for. Likewise, this is an anime that is all about how validating it is to share your hobbies, and how gratifying it is to embrace your passions and encourage others to embrace theirs. There is no shaming in the show whatsoever, and it is quite refreshing to see an anime so openly validate a female character's love of eroge (erotic games).

Gojo and Marin's romance starts out from a place of mutual respect for each other's passions, and it is a delight to see them support one another and learn to be more open to other ideas. Granted, this is still a romance anime, and it is a steamy hot one. (Rafael Motamayor)

"Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury" is a bold new vision for "Gundam." The first new franchise title in seven years, it ditches the fan-favorite Universal Century timeline in favor of a high school run by powerful arms manufacturers. Scriptwriter Ichiro Okouchi delivers the big crowd-pleasing swings he's famous for while leaving just enough unsaid for fans who enjoy speculation to tie themselves into knots. Director Hiroshi Kobayashi has had a tougher time keeping the show's animation to the standard of his earlier projects, but the giant robot fights have remained entertaining throughout. Of course, knowing Okouchi's past history and the show's rough schedule, "The Witch From Mercury" could collapse at any time. But it's earned a devoted following among both young and old fans, just as producer Takuya Okamoto hoped.

The heroines of "Witch From Mercury," Suletta and Miorine, begin the series knowing nothing about the term "Gundam" and what it signifies. Just like the audience, they must decide what "Gundam" means to them, and whether the path they walk to adulthood ought to be lined by flowers or fires. As much as the series diverges from the past at first glance, its heart burns with the anger of "Gundam" proper. It's inspired a number of folks I know to seek out earlier seasons of the franchise to see what all the fuss is about. Whether or not "Witch From Mercury" sticks the landing, I applaud it for bottling the appeal of "Gundam" in an accessible package without compromising its sheer weirdness. (Adam Wescott)

Yes, this is a movie, but it is worth making an exception for "Inu-Oh" because it is one of the best movies of the year, regardless of medium. This may also be the last time we see a project helmed by Masaaki Yuasa, and that's worth homaging.

If you saw "Elvis" and thought that movie was too tame and grounded, but also had rather little to say about the nature of art and the politicization of it, then you need to give "Inu-Oh" a chance. This is a movie that asks, what if Beatlemania happened in 14th-century Japan? The answer is one of the most energetic and electrifying movie musicals ever made. Packing a lot of story into a compact run time, "Inu-Oh" centers on the friendship between the titular Inu-Oh, a dancer cursed with a unique physiology, and a blind musician named Tomona, and how they launch themselves into stardom by revolutionizing musical performance.

And it is the musical performances that make the film. The songs are catchy as hell, with Avu-chan's vocals blowing any actor-turned-singer out of the water, and melodies that reference everyone from Prince to Freddie Mercury — there's a "We Will Rock You" homage, and a song with the operatic vibes of "Bohemian Rhapsody." But the visuals sell the songs, with Yuasa and his team delivering bombastic and psychedelic musical numbers that are as electrifying to the audience as it seems to be to the characters in the film. If you thought Baz Luhrmann didn't include enough shots of Elvis' gyrating crotch or enough anachronistic moments, wait until you see a 14th-century month dress like Elvis, and play guitar like Jimi Hendrix, all before inventing breakdancing. (Rafael Motamayor)

"Kaguya-sama: Love is War -Ultra Romantic-" didn't have to go so hard. This is the third season of an already popular high school comedy built on a reliable comedic engine. It could coast on the back of its enjoyable characters and call it a day. But that wouldn't do for "Kaguya-sama," a series that operates by taking an already-absurd idea and blowing it up to such ridiculous extremes that the viewer can't help but laugh. So yes, when it came time for the third season's "rap episode," it wasn't just enough that the voice actors put everything they have into rapping. The staff had to lay out the sequence as an absurd riff on music videos complete with a fish-eye lens, film grain, and elaborate choreography. Then the ending credits blow the roof off with a fantastic animated concert performance featuring redesigned versions of the entire cast. There's even breakdancing.

Director Mamoru Hatakeyama earned critical acclaim for his anime drama "Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu." After three successful seasons of "Kaguya-sama," he's likely better known as a master of comedy at this point rather than tragedy. But perhaps that's not such a bad thing. Few other recent anime have accomplished so much with so little as "Kaguya-sama," which spins its simple formula into a non-stop barrage of creative visual gags. Yet few other comedy anime are as affecting, investing the audience in the cast and their relationships through careful direction and specificity. (Adam Wescott)

While this show technically premiered in 2021, half of the season aired in 2022, so we're counting it, as it is truly one of the best shows of the year. "Ranking of Kings" is all about not judging a book by its cover, and Wit Studio even uses the very medium of animation to illustrate the point, with a colorful, childlike, fairy-tale-book-like art style that hides an emotionally complex story full of dark twists and turns.

"Ranking of Kings" follows Bojji, a young prince everyone looks down upon because of his lack of hearing and physical strength — especially compared to his literal giant of a father — and his adventures trying to become a worthy king. The show thrives in engaging with expectations set by centuries' worth of archetypical stock characters from classic fairy tales, before flipping the script and revealing the characters' deeper motivations and personalities. An evil stepmother becomes one of the most well-rounded people on the show, a valiant knight can hide a darker purpose, or a scary monster turns out to be a great ally.

Then there are the visuals. "Ranking of Kings" may not appear to be an action-packed show like "Chainsaw Man" or "Attack on Titan," but it hides some of the best action choreography of a show this year. This is particularly thanks to storyboarders and directors like Gosso, who find inventive angles and camera movements that make even the smallest fight feel grandiose. (Rafael Motamayor)

In a season full of big-name sequels and adaptations of massively popular manga, along comes "Bocchi the Rock" and carves a place as one of the best shows of the year. At first glance, there's nothing novel or mind-blowing about this anime, which appears like just another cute-girls-become-friends-and-play-music like "K-On!" but quickly evolves into a phenomenal, memorable, stunningly animated show — one unlike any other show this year.

"Bocchi the Rock" Hitori "Bocchi" Gotoh, a high-schooler with crippling social anxiety who taught herself to play the guitar to make a band and gain friends. When she is asked by a student from another school to join her band, she has to face her biggest fears and anxieties — being anywhere in public, and dealing with other people.

What makes this anime so unique and special is how deeply sympathetic the story is towards social anxiety and Bocchi's journey to overcome it, and how outright hilarious and visually inventive it is. Studio CloverWorks gets us inside Bocchi's state of mind through different art styles and even mediums, using everything from claymation, zoetrope, and even live-action footage, referencing all kinds of anime from "Neon Genesis Evangelion," to "Ashita no Joe," "Dragon Ball Z," and even "Fist of the North Star." Week by week, "Bocchi the Rock" gave us some of the most memorable moments in anime this year. (Rafael Motamayor)

"Chainsaw Man" is one of the most exciting comics running in Shonen Jump right now, and its anime adaptation is one of the best shows to air this year. It's packed with memorable characters, like disaster protagonist Denji, the megalomaniacal Power and Makima, the world's most dangerous girlboss. The staff list is packed with luminaries including action director Tatsuya Yoshihara, composer kensuke ushio and demon designer Kiyotaka Oshiyama. Force of nature Shota Goshozono comes on board to direct episode 8, one of the single meanest episodes of anime produced this year. Not to mention the opening sequence, which is perfect, and the many ending sequences, which spin the nonstop energy of "Chainsaw Man" into weird and wonderful directions. 

That said, two things hold "Chainsaw Man" back from greatness. First, the comic doesn't start really cooking for me until the Bomb Devil arc, which the anime likely will not reach until next season. There's plenty of good material in this first bit, but many of the comic's best moments lie far in the future. Second, the adaptation plays things just a little too safe for my liking. It's technically proficient, but director Ryu Nakayama's cinematic approach flattens the go-for-broke energy that made the original comic a hit. They could have made "Chainsaw Man" look like anything, so why did Studio MAPPA make it look like a slightly more polished "Jujutsu Kaisen?" Nakayama and his crew clearly understand and respect the heart of the source comic; I just hope future seasons of the show do justice to its freakier aspects, too. (Adam Wescott)

It used to be said that "Cowboy Bebop" was the perfect gateway anime because of its mix of standalone episodes with serialized stories, so it's not too alienating for audiences familiar with American cartoons. That should change this year, as a new anime premiered that presents the best of what the anime medium can do, in a package that can be universally understood and appreciated no matter your familiarity with anime.

That show is "Spy x Family," essentially a comedic, sci-fi version of "The Americans," about a super spy needing to create a fake family in order to get close to a target. What he doesn't know is that his new fake daughter is an esper who can read minds, his wife is an expert assassin, and his dog can predict the future. A co-production of WIT Studio ("Attack on Titan") and CloverWorks ("Promised Neverland"), this show is a visual marvel, with some of the best action scenes you can get even if that is not the focus of the show. As a show about a family, the Forgers are some of the most likable characters you can find, and as a comedy, the show is utterly hilarious, mostly thanks to Anya Forger. The highlight of the show, the standout character of 2022, and the lady of memes, Anya is an absolute delight, and reason enough to watch one of the best shows of the year. (Rafael Motamayor)

In a year as stacked as this, it can be hard to remember that "Attack on Titan The Final Season Part 2" made huge waves earlier in the year with a true TV event that had everyone glued to their screens on Sundays, while every single episode trended on social media.

And it's easy to see why. Directors Jun Shishido and Yuichiro Hayashi and studio MAPPA took Hajime Isayama's source material and blew every single aspect of it to new heights. The music, the editing, the writing, the character animation, and, of course, the action were firing on all cylinders, delivering anime's answer to appointment TV with episode after episode delivering some poignant observation, some character development, some deeper themes, or some of the most shocking revelations of any anime in recent memory.

Indeed, it will be hard to forget the one-two punch of the mind-melting "Memories of the Future," and the cuckoo bananas, emotionally devastating "From You, 2000 Years Ago." The show has had some terrific villains over the years, starting with the Titans themselves, but nothing could have prepared audiences for Eren's turn from traumatized little psychopath to full-blown genocidal devil. Most importantly, it never feels like a jump in logic, but as the natural progression of his character. By the time the season ends and one of the main insert songs from the first season plays over a truly apocalyptic sight, "Attack on Titan" reaffirms itself as one of the boldest shows of the modern era. (Rafael Motamayor)

The third season of "Mob Psycho 100" has all the ingredients of a great adaptation. It captures the essence of its source material, translating both the tongue-in-cheek and the emotionally raw and heartfelt tone of the manga to the screen. Then, it uses that essence, and what is already a great story to showcase some of the most dazzling cartoon visuals in an anime in years. 

We're not talking about intricate camera movements or fluid action, or realistic character animation, but pure "Looney Tunes" madness that sells the endless possibilities of the animation medium. Studio Bones filters the show through a technicolor lens that gives even the slickest and tensest of fight scenes with goofy physics and colorful visuals to remind you that, yes, this is a cartoon, and yes, it can be pretty ridiculous — and that rules. "Mob Psycho 100 III" can move from thrilling to silly, to horrifying and heartfelt in the span of a single episode, sometimes all of those in the same scene.

At the center of it all, is Mob. It's a bit of a cliché to say that the characters are what sells a story, but here it is absolutely true. What makes this show different from ONE's other major work, "One Punch Man," is seeing how far the titular Mob has come in his emotional development. He's made friends and connections, and he has people that care about him, and when those are threatened — or they give him terrible fashion advice — it can be heartbreaking and have apocalyptical consequences. In three seasons, "Mob Psycho" has given us not only the second-place contestant in the Tumblr Sexyman competition, but one of the most compelling, endearing anime characters ever. (Rafael Motamayor)