Since Fall 2022 anime was stacked I decided to make summary, because there’s so much good stuff. Am I slightly late? Yes. Does it really matter? No.
And to get it out of the way, I didn’t watch Chainswman anime, because I read the manga and found it not nearly as entertaining as most of the people do. Denji just really doesn’t work for me as protagonist.
I also dropped My Hero Academia, because I feel nothing, but pure disappointment for the direction its manga took.
Bocchi the Rock - best comedy and best exploration of social anxiety all at once. Those two elements shouldn’t work together so well and yet they do. If you want to see a girl with crippling social anxiety realizing her dreams to join a band and shred the guitar before actual live public then you won’t find anything better. No, scratch that, this is probably the best this fall anime season has to offer with extremely creative animation and well-crafted set characters that compliment each other perfectly
Gundam: Witch of Mercury - generational trauma the anime. The series is ongoing, but so far the setup had been excellent. The addition of school setting was actually a brilliant move, as it allowed to explore the twisted relationship between the wealthy corporation owners and their children. And have I mentioned the main plot centers around a lesbian engagement? This shows creates a beautiful intersection between a corporate profit, giant robots, personal vendettas, and teenagers entering adolescence.
Raven of the Inner Palace - a slowly burn romance between a young emperor and the girl with ability to summon ghosts, who’s confined inside the palace. With totally not Chinese palace as a backdrop to all the court intrigue and supernatural drama. If any of those elements sounds interesting then I would recommend it. The story isn’t finished and the second season is unlikely, but even then I enjoyed how different this story felt from everything else that aired this season.
Do It Yourself - fluffy story about DIY school club with some solid character interactions and nice jokes. It’s a pure feel good story, and it really excels in that aspect. It gets a bit ridiculous at the end with how far the characters go to not use their own money to resolve issues that could be really easily resolved that way. Still, it was a nice watch. I’d definitely recommend it if you want a series to cheer you up with unrelenting good vibes
I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss - a solid if a bit too rushed comedy. Even if the final episode was painfully rushed, I think it’s still worth experiencing this hilarious romance of a go-getter villainess and a sadistic demon lord. Consistently strong gags and endearing characters make up for the failings, resulting in a pleasant if ultimately forgettable experience
Urusei Yatsura - Rumiko Takahashi’s old manga had received a new adaptation to prove that it contains plenty of joke that can entertain even the modern audience. The show will continue into the second season, but given that the plot is mostly an excuse for new gags, there’s no reason not to start now. There’s just a certain charm to Rumiko Takahashi’s style of comedy that’s still worth experiencing
Management of a Novice Alchemist - A really wholesome story of an orphan attempting to maintain her own alchemy business with some surprisingly solid economic beats in it. Who will be able to wield capitalism to their advantage? This anime is just a good comfort food and I want to shout out the animator who despite the show having mostly average animation, just went really hard during some action cuts. They were only a few seconds long cuts, but I’ve seen you and I respect you.
Reincarnated as a Sword - exactly what it says on the tin. Rather than being an overpowered character in it’s own right, the next victim of Truck-kun reincarnates as a powerful sword who ends up saving a slave catgirl and decides to become her weapon so she can find happiness and achieve her dreams. Pretty wholesome and fun overall with announced continuation.
Bibliophile Princess - A romace involving a bookworm and a prince. I’ve seen people consistently complain that it’s a subpar adaptation and while I don’t know the source material I feel like they might have a point. It felt like this anime was constantly underutilizing its own potential, not using it’s medium to properly communicate plot or character moments and relaying way too much on telling viewers things which could have been shown. Still, it was a pleasant romance which had something going for it.
Spy x Family Part 2 - If you’ve seen first part you know exactly what to expect, though focusing more on shorter unconnected gags makes this half feel weaker overall. It’s still good, but ends up feeling a bit too diluted when it comes to the proportions of main plot and just pure gags
Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun S3 - remains the tastiest comfort food. My son grew up and went to win school’s survival tournament. I’m proud of him and all his friends, who are proving just how skilled they are.
Mob Psycho 100 S3 - a great send off for the series, though it did drag a bit for me at times. But the final arc was such a great conclusion that it easily makes for the slower pace of this season.
