20 Best Anime Of 2022 Ranked

2022 was a historic year for anime, with several returning after a long hiatus and many amazing shows having their final season. Anime fans had their pick of the litter among the plethora of amazing and diverse anime series ranging from romance to tragedy.

With the sheer amount of new shows, it is tough for fans to keep up with them, which might result in them missing out on many gems.

In this list, we shall be helping fans out by ranking best animes that the industry had to offer in 2022.

What Won Anime of The Year In 2022?

Crunchyroll is undoubtedly one of the most well-known names among anime fans known for its extensive collection of anime series.

Their anime of the year awards are also highly followed while causing happiness and anger among fanbases.

While the name of the award might be confusing, the best anime for 2022 is awarded to anime released in 2021.

The beloved Attack on Titan Final Season Part 1 was considered by Crunchyroll and most fans to be the winner of Anime of the Year 2022.

With its amazing change of setting, as we are shown the perspective from those outside the wall and the dynamic character development of its protagonist, Eren, this is well-deserved.

Now, we shall look at the best anime of 2022, which is a much more competitive battle compared to its preceding years.

20. The Orbital Children

• Number of Episodes: 6
• Number of Seasons: 1
• Genres: Adventure, Sci-Fi
• MAL Rating: 6.87
• Where to Watch: Netflix

Netflix original anime have a poor reputation for their quality and execution. However, The Orbital Children is a pleasant surprise, as it presents a unique and thrilling storyline.

It starts as we are shown a group of children who visit a space station to meet a rare boy born in Space.

Their trip soon turns into a disaster as their space station collides with a comet leaving the children stranded on their own.

We watch these brave kids fight for their survival in Space with limited resources and no one but themselves to rely upon.

Despite having no original manga to refer to as source material, this anime manages to tie up all loose ends and is one of the most underrated and best anime of 2022.

19. Ya Boy Kongming

• Number of Episodes: 12
• Number of Seasons: 1
• Genres: Comedy, Fantasy, Slice of Life
• MAL Rating: 8.20
• Where to Watch: Disney+, HIDIVE

While Ya Boy Kongming seemed destined to fail at first glance, it managed to blow everyone’s expectations away by being an amazing comedy anime infused with music.

It follows a great tactician in ancient China named Kongming, who is on his deathbed while regretting the life he had to lead.

However, his journey starts from there as he is reincarnated into the modern world and finds himself in the middle of a busy Halloween night.

Enamoured by the music, fun atmosphere and even freestyle rap skills, he loves his second life when he runs into a talented yet struggling singer.

Recognizing her skills, he decides to become her manager and help her achieve stardom.

Facing several hurdles on their way, we watch the two of them work together while also eventually forming a delightful friendship.

With a story that keeps you hooked from the first episode, Ya Boy Kongming is worth watching.

18. The Tatami Time Machine Blues

• Number of Episodes: 6
• Number of Seasons: 1
• Genres: Comedy, Mystery, Romance, Suspense
• MAL Rating: 8.18
• Where to Watch: Disney+, Hulu

The Tatami time machine blues is a brilliant romantic comedy anime that is memorable despite its few episodes.

As a story set in the same universe as Tatami Galaxy, it shows us a young man who wishes to turn on the Air-conditioner on a hot day.

Before he can, a mischievous friend spills his drink on the remote, leaving them all suffering in the heat.

When wondering what to do, they find a time machine and use it to avoid letting the drink spill on the remote.

While their objective was simple, it sets off an adventure they were unprepared for.

With the beautiful animation that Tatami Galaxy was known for and an amazing cast of main characters, The Tatami Time Machine Blues was loved by its niche audience.

17. Akiba Maid War

• Number of Episodes: 12
• Number of Seasons: 1
• Genres: Action, Comedy
• MAL Rating: 7.68
• Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Prime Video, HIDIVE

Akiba maid war is one of the wildest and most enjoyable anime series to release in 2022.

We are introduced to a nice and simple girl who wishes to become a maid while providing happiness to the customer with her cute acts.

With hopes of this, she moves to a place called Akihabara while working at a maid cafe.

When she thought her day was going normal, a series of violent battles occurred.

Trying to escape, she sees her fearless co-workers defend themselves and battle their enemies.

Many might start this anime expecting a slice-of-life story with cute characters but end up getting an equally entertaining high-octane fighting series.

The series’ cast perfectly enhances this story by having unique personalities and traits.

16. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

• Number of Episodes: 12
• Number of Seasons: 1
• Genres: Action, Sci-Fi
• MAL Rating: 7.94
• Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Disney+

The Gundam series has continuously produced some of the best mecha anime series out there while constantly raising the bar with every project.

The Witch from Mercury adds to this legacy while being a valuable addition.

It follows its female protagonist, Suletta, who joins a school far away from her home planet.

In this new environment, strength is all that matters and battles between students in Gundam robots frequently occur.

When the top-ranking fighter in the school is defeated by Suletta, a chain of events sets off where she is accused of cheating.

In addition, the champion, who is set to marry a beautiful girl of high status named Miorine, is now unclear.

With all of society against her, Suletta needs to constantly prove her strength or risk losing everything she holds dear.

The Witch From Mercury is an under-appreciated anime with a strong female protagonist and a cast of diverse characters in a school environment which makes for a bundle of fun.

15. My Dress Up Darling

• Number of Episodes: 12
• Number of Seasons: 1
• Genres: Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life
• MAL Rating: 8.27
• Where to Watch: Crunchyroll

My Dress Up Darling was a great romance story to start off the first season of anime in 2022.

This anime adaptation of the popular manga follows a shy and quiet boy named Wakana, who has a secret hobby of designing, which he got from helping his grandfather make hina dolls.

He is extremely scared of sharing this with others due to the fear of ridicule.

While designing an outfit one day, a beautiful young girl walks in on him, but she is instantly impressed, to his surprise.

Having an interest in cosplay, the girl, Marin Kitagawa, seeks his help to make stunning outfits based on fictional characters.

The sensuality behind dress-making, however, keeps their relationship professional for only so long as they find themselves falling for each other.

With a lot of source material left to be covered, fans are eagerly waiting for the second season of this entertaining series.

14. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean

• Number of Episodes: 38
• Number of Seasons: 1 (3 Parts)
• Genres: Action, Adventure, Supernatural
• MAL Rating: 8.23
• Where to Watch: Netflix

Jojo’s bizarre adventure is a series that keeps growing in popularity and success with several anime seasons, fighting games and spin-offs.

Stone Ocean Part 1, 2 and 3 add to this while having another unique main character, a strong and independent woman.

We are taken on an adventure through the life of Jolyne, who finds herself in jail after being framed by mysterious enemies.

Being extremely bold and brave, however, Jolyne doesn’t give up and recruits allies to discover the mystery behind her becoming a criminal.

With its creative power system known as Stand and the electrifying and eccentric fights Jojo’s bizarre adventure is known for, it keeps us completely invested through every scene.

The anime shows us how to perfectly bring the original manga to life while serving joy to the fans.

13. Bocchi the Rock

• Number of Episodes: 12
• Number of Seasons: 1
• Genres: Comedy, Slice of Life
• MAL Rating: 8.94
• Where to Watch: Crunchyroll

While the slice of life music genre has slowly been gaining popularity, no one expected the acclaim that Bocchi the Rock would receive.

The story follows an introverted young student named Hitori who spends her time playing the guitar.

Dreaming of making friends and performing with a bad, she often tries to interact but is held back by her anxiety.

After coincidentally meeting an outgoing girl, however, her luck turns for the better as she is introduced to a band and asked to join them.

With high hopes, the distinctive band members all play together and find that they are enjoying themselves a lot.

Through this, we watch the hilarious and wholesome journey of Bocchi the rock, where a relatable girl struggles with her fright but slowly learns to handle it to shine on stage.

The chemistry between characters is the stand-out feature of the series, as watching their interactions never gets old.

12. Spy x Family

• Number of Episodes: 25
• Number of Seasons: 1 (2 Parts)
• Genres: Action, Comedy, Drama, Slice of Life
• MAL Rating: 8.68
• Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Disney+, Hulu

Spy x Family managed to win anime fans over with its hilarious and sweet story starring a cast of highly entertaining main characters.

We are introduced to a skilled spy who has undertaken several dangerous tasks for the sake of his country.

His latest mission asks him to procure a daughter and enroll her on a school where one of the parents is his target.

Under the name of Loid Forger, he adopts a girl named Anya, who turns out to be able to read people’s thoughts.

Due to a coincidental meeting and their circumstances, he also gets a fake wife named Yor Forger, who Anya soon finds out is an assassin.

Together, this fake family puts up an act for the sake of their own goals.

While initially, they were in it for selfish reasons, we soon watch them forming a bond and begin to care for each other.

This collaboration between Wit Studio and Cloverworks has some stunning animation and is filled with funny moments.

The childcare and cute moments between the family is the cherry on top of the cake as we grow to care about each and every one of them.

11. Summer Time Rendering

• Number of Episodes: 25
• Number of Seasons: 1
• Genres: Drama, Mystery, Supernatural, Suspense
• MAL Rating: 8.53
• Where to Watch: Disney+, Hulu

Summer Time Rendering is yet another anime that rose to prominence very fast, to the surprise of many.

It follows a young boy named Shinpei who returns to his hometown after the sudden death of his childhood friend, a girl named Ushio.

While initially, everything seems normal, after hearing several rumors from those around him, he begins to suspect that there might be something deeper behind her death.

While searching for clues, he ends up being shot, and right when he thinks he’s about to die, Shinpei finds himself transported to earlier in the day.

With several supernatural elements around him and a mysterious organization orchestrating everything from behind the scenes, Shinpei goes deep into this to expose them and protect those he loves.

Summer Time Rendering has an animation that’s easy on the eyes and a complex story that makes the watcher think a lot.

The suspense and action sequences are very engrossing, and all come together to make this one of the best anime series of 2022.

10. Blue Lock

• Number of Episodes: 17 (Currently Airing)
• Number of Seasons: 1
• Genres: Sports, Drama, Action
• MAL Rating: 8.28
• Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Disney+

The exhilarating story of Blue Lock is quickly rising up to become one of the best soccer anime out there.

It follows a young boy named Yoichi Isagi who gets enrolled in a program known as Blue Lock, which aims to create the perfect striker for the Japanese National team and allow them to win the World Cup.

While he had been taught about the importance of teamwork his whole life, he gets shocked when the Blue Lock program advocates playing selfishly and developing one’s ego.

With his ideals completely overturned, we watch Yoichi trying to adapt to his new life while slowly gaining skills to achieve his dreams.

Blue Lock is a story that stands out in its genre while staying away from any trope and getting us hooked in its characters and progression.

09. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Entertainment District Arc

• Number of Episodes: 44
• Number of Seasons: 2 + 1 Movie
• Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Supernatural
• MAL Rating: 8.82
• Where to Watch: Netflix, Disney+, Hulu

The first half of the second season of Demon slayer recaps the devastating incidents of the Mugen Train.

Following that, the arc begins as the Sound Hashira, Tengen, enlists Tanjiro and his friends’ help to go to the entertainment district.

Losing contact with his wives, who were there undercover, Tengen suspects foul play and decides to investigate, only to find an extremely strong enemy hiding in the bright district.

With the show’s animation breaking barriers and the charming story we all love, Demon Slayer yet again manages to show why it’s one of the best Battle Shounen of this generation.

It keeps our eyes fixed on the screen while making us wait eagerly for the third season.

08. My Hero Academia – Season 6

• Number of Episodes: 131
• Number of Seasons: 6 + 8 OVAS + 3 Movies
• Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
• MAL Rating: 8.28
• Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Disney+, Hulu

The much-awaited 6th season of My Hero Academia follows the epic Paranormal Liberation War, where every villain battles against all the heroes.

With this battle of ideals between the two, we watch the drastic effects of War as both sides face irreparable damage.

With a much darker tone than what we have grown accustomed to, several plot twists and brutal development of our favourite characters, this is a painful yet amazing season to witness.

At the second part of the season, we also watch Deku finally leave school and move on his own to gain more power.

This mature and sombre phase of his is also something that manga fans have been waiting for.

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

• Number of Episodes: 25
• Number of Seasons: 2 + 3 Movies
• Genres: Adventure, Fantasy
• MAL Rating: 8.68
• Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Disney+, Hulu

The second season of the shocking dark fantasy, Made in Abyss pushes the gore to even more extremes while expanding upon its dangerous yet beautiful world.

It picks up from the previous movie, where we watch Riko and her crew continue on their journey tiresome journey down the abyss.

Using a rare object, they manage to get into the sixth layer of the abyss, where ruins of a legendary golden city are present.

With danger always present, they go into a suspicious village. Still, their curiosity pushes them to move forward.

Over here, they uncover several mysteries, run into many more unique characters and face all kinds of hurdles they would have never expected.

06. Mob Psycho 100 Season 3

• Number of Episodes: 37
• Number of Seasons: 3 + 2 OVAs
• Genres: Action, Comedy, Supernatural
• MAL Rating: 8.75
• Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu

The third season of Mob Psycho 100, written by the same creator of One Punch Man, continues telling us the story of the awkward and shy Shigeo.

While slowly moving towards adulthood, we watch him try to get independent while helping his mentor solve supernatural problems.

With each experience giving him a different takeaway, the amazing coming-of-age story fueled with intense fighting sequences has its perfect and bittersweet conclusion.

05. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

• Number of Episodes: 10
• Number of Seasons: 1
• Genres: Action, Sci-Fi
• MAL Rating: 8.62
• Where to Watch: Netflix

Based on the popular video game Cyberpunk 2077, this game takes us through the dark underbelly of Night City.

We watch a young kid named David who lives his days carefree while being obsessed with any new technology.

After a disastrous incident, however, he gets a reality check on the world, joins a group of mercenaries known as edgerunners and helps them.

With a mysterious opponent controlling everything, David must grow in power to protect those close to him.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners has very bold storytelling while bringing an amazing reputation to both Netflix’s original anime and Studio Trigger.

04. Kaguya Sama: Love is War – Ultra Romantic

• Number of Episodes: 37
• Number of Seasons: 3 + 1 OVA
• Genres: Romance, Comedy, Slice of Life
• MAL Rating: 9.07
• Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Disney+, Hulu

The latest season of Kaguya Sama has been considered by many to be its best.

This is due to the romantic comedy evolving in almost every criteria, right from its jokes and gags to the relationships shared by its characters.

With the much-anticipated confession scene also finally happening while giving an immense sense of satisfaction to fans, it is no surprise that the third season of this anime is considered among the best anime of 2022.

03. Chainsaw Man

• Number of Episodes: 12
• Number of Seasons: 1
• Genres: Action, Comedy, Horror, Fantasy
• MAL Rating: 8.66
• Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Disney+, Hulu

The anime adaptation of the worldwide phenomenon known as Chainsaw Man did not disappoint on any level, with Studio Mappa pulling out all the stops.

It follows a young boy named Denji who gets betrayed by his employers and is nearly killed by a devil.

However, after his pet devil which turns out to be the chainsaw devil, becomes his heart, he gains the power to use his body parts like a Chainsaw while slicing up his opponents.

Recruited by the devil hunters to help protect society, Denji thought his life finally took a turn for the better, only to face stronger opponents and experience a wave of emotions from love to heartbreak for the first time.

02. Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2

• Number of Episodes: 87
• Number of Seasons: 4 + 8 OVAs
• Genres: Action, Fantasy, Horror
• MAL Rating: 8.77
• Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu

Unsurprisingly, the 2nd part of the final season of Attack on Titan was one of the best anime of 2022 with several shocking moments and thrilling twists.

With Eren undergoing a massive change and setting a disastrous plan in motion, the rest of the world attempts to stop him.

While we dive into the past and what resulted in their world being created, we watch the consequences in the present, with everyone struggling to survive Eren’s wrath.

Attack on Titan reaches a whole new level with its storytelling and commentary on real-life society while making viewers fall in love with its gripping episodes.

01. Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War

• Number of Episodes: 379
• Number of Seasons: 17 + 2 OVAS + 4 Movies
• Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Supernatural
• MAL Rating: 9.10
• Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Netflix, Disney+, Hulu

The Bleach anime had a triumphant return after its long hiatus and managed to become the best anime series of 2022.

It follows Ichigo Kurosaki’s final battle as a legendary Quincy named Yhwach returns to annihilate Soul Society and change the structure of the world.

Threatening all that he loves, Ichigo is tested in ways he never imagined in order to protect those he loves.

Thousand year blood war is amazing, with stunning animation and spectacular fights accompanied by its music and it cements its place at the top of this list.