Fall 2022 was a great season for anime fans. From exciting new titles like Chainsaw Man and Blue Lock, to returning fan favorites such as Spy x Family and Mob Psycho, there was a bit of something for everyone. Let’s dive into some of the animes I watched in fall 2022.
- Blue Lock
Poster showing all the characters in Blue Lock. | Source: Shonen Magazine
Blue Lock was one of the lesser-known shows coming into the season, but it quickly proved itself to be one of the best sports anime to come out in recent history. Blue Lock is a show set in modern-day Japan centered around the sport soccer. After being defeated in the 2018 World Cup, the Japanese government decides to gather its nation’s top 300 strikers to rigorously train and develop the world’s best striker. However, this time, they’re not looking for team play, but rather the striker with the biggest ego in the world.
In a season packed with highly anticipated shows, Blue Lock rose to become one of the best anime of the season. Its unique spin on the normal sports genre, paired with its incredible storytelling and action made for a stellar manga adaptation. The show really knows how to hype up big moments and is a lot of fun to watch as long as you can swallow some fairly unrealistic soccer playing at times. Blue Lock is scheduled to have a 24-episode runtime meaning that at the time of writing, there are still 10 episodes yet to be released, so if you’re looking for a new and exciting sports anime there’s no better time to check out Blue Lock.
Overall, I would give this show eight goals out of ten.
- Spy x Family Part 2
Banner showing Loid, Anya, and Yor. | Source: What’s on Netflix
Just a few months after a renowned season one, Spy x Family Part 2 returned hoping to continue its success. Telling the story of Twilight, a spy, who goes on an undercover mission to get in contact with top enemy politicians by infiltrating an elite private school. To accomplish this, he starts a family by assuming a fake identity, adopting a child, and marrying a woman. However, a wrench is thrown into his plans as, unbeknownst to him, his child, Anya, is a telepath, and his wife, Yor, is an assassin.
Although this season maintained many of its original charms, it was not without its faults. Its most pressing issue was the lack of any story progression. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that you could watch the last two episodes of Spy x Family Part 2 and get all the notable story progression from the entire season. The vast majority of the second season simply amounted to very little, albeit a fair amount of fun. For example, one of the longest story arcs in the season, the tennis tournament, resulted in nothing more than a gag. Even though I may sound down on the show, there was still a lot to love for our main trio Anya, Loid, and Yor who are still as lovable as ever and their natural family dynamic is a pleasure to watch. Spy x Family was and has continued to be an extremely fun and entertaining show, even if it is extremely slow in its story progression.
Even with its hiccups, I would still give this season six Stellas out of ten.
- Chainsaw Man
Poster showing Denji in Chainsaw Man form. | Source: Comicbook
Finally, to talk about the elephant in the room, Chainsaw Man. In it, viewers follow the main protagonist, Denji, a young man riddled with debt from his deceased father. After being killed, he makes a contract with his pet devil, Pochita, which allows him to become a devil-human hybrid with the ability to change his body parts into chainsaws.
Before its debut, Chainsaw Man had a never before seen level of hype behind the project. It would be an understatement to say that it was the most anticipated anime of the season as many were already calling it anime of the year before its release. Headed by studio MAPPA, who already have a plethora of award-winning shows under their belt including Attack on Titan and Jujutsu Kaisen, many eagerly awaited its release. And now, with everything said and done, did Chainsaw Man fully meet its expectations? No. But at the same time, there was no way it could have. However, what we did get was one of the most impressive and promising shows of the year.
Chainsaw Man provides a masterful subversion of the usual shonen genre and has some of the most interesting and unique characters in the genre. Even though I can’t really connect with the main character and there are a number of less-than-tasteful scenes, there’s still a lot to love about this show, and it’s an easy recommendation for anyone looking for some gorgeous action scenes and witty character dynamics.
Overall, I would give this show seven chainsaws out of ten.
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