In the blink of an eye, it’s the new year, which also means that the Fall season in anime has also concluded. This season brought about some highly anticipated shows, but have they lived up to expectations? Have a look at our picks for Fall 2022!
Bocchi the Rock!
With every batch of seasonal releases, there will always be a series which manages to stand out despite having less fanfare than others. For Fall 2022, that show is Bocchi the Rock! which managed to snag a rating of 9.02 on MyAnimeList, making it one of the contenders for “Anime of the Year”.
Bocchi the Rock! is centred around Hitori Gotō/Bocchi, a girl who suffers from extreme social anxiety and introversion; evidenced by her inability to make a single friend throughout her entire middle school. She instead decides to use the time to make guitar videos and practise her skills with the instrument.
In high school, however, she is determined to make friends this time but is unsure how to — owing to her inability to initiate conversations. Luckily for her, Nijika, another one of the main characters, invites Bocchi to join the Kessoku Band, where Bocchi slowly learns to step out of her comfort zone and becomes more recognised!
This was one of our favourite animes from the season, owing to its great voice-acting, plot and animation, which is one of the biggest make-or-break factors when it comes to anime. Therefore, Bocchi the Rock! is to me, along with many others, definitely one of the Animes of the Year!
You can check out the show on Bilibili. But, of course, being a music anime, the soundtrack is also a bop, so do have a listen to the show’s tracks below!
SPY x FAMILY Part 2
One of the best anime to come out in the earlier half of this year, SPY x FAMILY announced a second cour almost immediately after the conclusion of the final episode back in the Spring season. So naturally, fans were understandably excited upon hearing the news.
Ahead of this cour, Anya has already enrolled in the prestigious Eden Academy and even has received her first Stella star. In SPY×FAMILY Part 2, there is a new addition to the family in the form of the white fluffy canine Bond! Bond himself is also remarkable in that he has the ability of future-sight. With this unconventional foursome, the Forger family once again finds themselves in unique situations.
Our comfort show for this Fall, this season was less action-packed than the first part. However, it still made for a great watch on the weekends, still managing to retain its comedic elements and weaving it together with great chemistry between the Forger family.
If you want to watch the show, you can do so over at Netflix or Bilibili! Otherwise, if you want to know what the community thought of the show, you can have a look at the show’s MyAnimeList page.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War
This one’s for all the OG fans. Bleach, one of the anime big three, makes a triumphant return to the small screen — this time bringing fans the much-anticipated final arc from the manga. And the adaptation has lived up to the hype.
The Thousand-Year Blood War arc sees series protagonist Kurosaki Ichigo return, this time facing the Quincies; a race once thought to be almost completely eradicated. They are led by Yhwach, the father of all Quincies, and have declared war against the Soul Reapers; a war that puts Soul Society on the brink.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War brings back much of the original voice actor cast, making it seem as though the anime has never left. But the show has also been updated to keep up with the improvements in animation developed over the years. As a result, it is a gorgeous action-fest that brings nostalgia and excitement in equal measure and is a must-watch for fans of the original show that aired years ago.
The show is available to watch on Netflix and Bilibili. If you want to catch up on what has happened previously, you can watch the original series over at Bilibili too!
Mob Psycho 100 Season 3
Mob Psycho 100 has been one of the best anime series to watch in recent times, owing to its exceptional animation, witty comedic moments, and jaw-dropping action. Season 3 represents the finale of Mob’s story as the show finishes adapting the manga.
It once again focuses on Shigeo Kageyama, aka Mob. His exploits from the last season saw the birth of a giant broccoli tree in Seasoning City, and is now worshipped by religious fanatics. Beyond that, Mob also has school life to handle, particularly with finally confessing to his childhood crush Tsubomi.
Season 3 of Mob Psycho 100 once again flexes the animation quality from Bones studio with gorgeous fight sequences, but it is more than that. This season in particular, has more heartfelt moments from the story, especially with Mob while Reigen, his master, reminds everyone again why he should be Dad of the season.
Mob Psycho 100 Season 3 can be watched on Netflix or Bilibili. You can also see the series’ previous seasons in the same places if you need to catch up on what happened.
Chainsaw Man
The most hyped anime for Fall 2022, Chainsaw Man had one of the biggest followings prior to the airing of its first episode. With one of the most renowned studios taking charge of the show, MAPPA, fans were understandably extremely excited to see their favourite manga come to life.
Chainsaw Man is about Denji, a teenage boy who is saddled with debt from his (now-dead) father. In order to repay this debt, he works for the Yakuza alongside his pet, Pochita, the Chainsaw Devil. But after they betray him, he’s killed but then brought back to life after Pochita sacrifices itself to become Denji’s heart, hence giving birth to “Chainsaw Man”.
Denji is then drafted into the Public Safety Bureau after Makima, the top dog at the bureau, takes him in. With the promise of a more comfortable life and being able to live it beside an attractive woman, he takes up the offer.
Chainsaw Man was an absolute rollercoaster of emotions, from comedic moments between the characters to the sudden shock of how easily favourites of the show are killed off; it promises a great watch that can be binged in a few hours. Shame it was only 12 episodes long.
The show is available for viewing on Prime Video. As a cherry on top, every episode’s ending song is different! It’s sure to be a treat for your ears.
Honourable Mentions
More than a Married Couple, but not Lovers
We’ve all seen a show that is so cringe-inducing, yet at the same time, we can’t turn away. What makes it so good? That was the question running through our heads when we watched this show.
“More than a Married Couple, but not Lovers” is set in a world where students are mandated to go through a “marriage practical” where they are assigned a partner of the opposite sex, are required to live with them, AND they get graded on how well they manage to do so.
Jirou and Shiori, the two main protagonists, were unfortunate enough to be paired together, but to make matters worse, their respective love interests were paired together as well. They then set out to finish in the top 10 pairs in order to be able to change their marriage partner, which thus allows for some of the wackiest and funniest interactions between the characters.
Littered throughout all the episodes are many lewd and corny moments, but surprisingly enough, there are also a number of heart-warming scenes too. It’s made us enjoy this show more than we actually would have. As a whole, it’s a great show to binge-watch in one sitting.
Catch the show on Bilibili, or check out the show’s MyAnimeList page for more information!
Akiba Maid War
Every now and then, there comes something that subverts expectations. Akiba Maid War is one such example. An anime original by P.A. Works, the studio behind the equally unique ‘Ya Boy Kongming!’, is a show that continuously surprises the more you watch.
Set in 1999, it follows Nagomi Wahira, a blue-eyed young girl who moves into the Akihabara area to start work as a maid cafe waitress in the Oinky Doink Cafe. Joining her on her first day is the 36-year-old Ranko Mannen, a maid with a stiff personality.
Very soon, Nagomi realises that being a maid in Akihabara isn’t at all what it seems to be when she witnesses Ranko gun down a rival maid cafe. Turf wars, assassinations, corruption — this is the true world of being a maid in Akiba as Nagomi learns to navigate through the violence while keeping the debt-ridden Oinky Doink Cafe from being put out of business.
The show is a homage to Yakuza films, but flips everything on its head by giving it a maid twist. Though satirical in nature, the show’s plot is no less engaging and has characters, particularly Ranko, who you can’t help but cheer for. Akiba Maid War is an excellent palette cleanser if you are looking for something different.
Akiba Maid War is available to watch on Bilibili! For more information on the show, do visit its MyAnimeList page.
Visuals courtesy of @BTR_anime, @spyfamily_anime, @BLEACHanimation, @mobpsycho_anime, @Chainsaw_EN, @fuukoi_anime, and @akbmaidwar Twitter accounts. Images used are copyright of their respective owners.
