My Actual Opinions on The Fall 2022 Anime Season

Alright, enough with the more objective takes. Let’s see what I actually think of the Fall anime season.

So I used Anime Corner’s tier list system and posted the results on my Twitter. I saw some other people who pay attention to that site do the same, including the admins, and it was a nice scroll through other people’s opinions even if a lot of them were so goddamn predictable. Of course the fucking big shonen are going to be at the top of most lists.

Anyways, I haven’t actually made a full summary of my Fall 2022 anime opinions since I didn’t include them in my “best of 2022” summary, so might as well do it here complete with tier-list grading. Also, I’ll also make notes on some of the popular anime I didn’t watch/barely watched just to indicate why they’re not on here.

Akiba Maid War — Probably C-Tier

A lot of people seem to like this show’s humor, which is why I see a good chunk of the more professional fan sites rating this as one of their favorite anime of the year. I personally cannot agree. I’ve seen some of this show and found the humor to be so fucking gimmicky. It all revolves around the fact that it’s a violent yakuza story except the characters are maids. Now that’s partly my problem because I usually have zero interest in monogender shows, but the main reason I don’t like monogender shows for the most part is because the character personalities are nothing but generic anime cliches, and nothing I’ve seen of the Akiba Maid War cast convinced me otherwise.

It’s literally just a throwaway Tokyo Shock movie made into an anime series and has nothing beyond that premise. Does look nice and has some decent action, but at the end of the day, I need something like how Kongming used its premise to get invested in a show. I have no idea why that show is not getting on over Akiba Maid War on more lists since while neither is that popular, I know more people know about Kongming. I’m calling recency bias on that. This is why the Fall anime are banned from the Crunchyroll Awards guys.

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War (Cour 1) — A-Tier

Do I really need to say anything about Bleach at this point? Yeah it’s still style as substance. Yeah it’s very inaccessible to those who haven’t read/watched any of the prior Bleach arcs (I had to read a ton of chapters after getting somewhat lost with the first two episodes). Yeah it still has too many characters and favors Ichigo at the expense of everyone else. But goddamn is it so cool to watch with its updated animation and pacing. There’s no real reason to like Bleach other than it’s cool, and while that reasoning doesn’t work for every show (especially in the shonen genre), I think it definitely works for this.

Blue Lock (Cour 1) — A-Tier

This one was surprising in regards to how much I enjoyed it. I knew Blue Lock was hyped to be the next Haikyuu in terms of sports anime appeal due to the manga fandom and cool-looking previews. What I wasn’t expecting was for the show to be so fun in regards to its shonen camp. Unlike most sports anime (or stories in general), this one prioritizes being a selfish asshole in order to win. So while you still have to rely on your team, you don’t have to play nice about it, and that’s what really draws me into this ridiculous death-game like soccer premise. That and the hot boys. Got to simp for the hot boys in these types of shows now don’t we?

Bocchi the Motherfucking Rock!!! — S-Tier…no…BOCCHI-Tier

I mean how can Bocchi not be given the highest anime tier of all-time? We all know the true reason I didn’t put it on Anime Corner’s initial list. It’s not because it’s a 4-koma adaptation with 4-koma jokes, and thus far from my kind of humor. It’s because the anime was too good that it transcends S-tier and becomes a godly show that’s to anime what The Shawshank Redemption is to movies. Bocchi is what every anime aspires to be to the point that surpassing it is literally impossible. You’re better off trying to solve the Black Dahlia case than to make a show better than motherfucking Bocchi.

Housing Complex C — F-Tier

Do I really have to explain this one? It was so bad I forgot to put it in D-tier, and honestly that seems too low, hence the F-tier. Not scary. Nothing interesting happens. Just plain failed project.

Chainsaw Man — A-Tier

As far as introductory seasons to a bigger shonen series go, Chainsaw Man is off to a pretty good start with its fun cast, amazing direction, and bloody action. Story isn’t anything to write home about yet, but it’s not like I expect amazing storytelling from big shonen to begin with. I want to see a bunch of characters do well-animated action and grow over the course of a bunch of arcs that coalesce into one narrative, and Chainsaw Man is yet another one of those. That said, can I just say that the directing in this series is some of the best I’ve ever seen in anime? It almost like a prestige-live action series with an anime filter at times, and that visual aspect alone puts Chainsaw Man as one of the top dogs in the current anime sphere.

Do It Yourself — Probably C-Tier

Not my kind of show. Zero interest in seeing it.

The Eminence in Shadow (Cour 1) — Probably C-Tier

Just fucking stupid chuuni isekai parody crap. The animation is actually decent so it’s not that bad a watch, but otherwise there’s nothing here for guys like me who don’t like the mixture of stuff you’d see in a dark fantasy and stuff you’d see in a harem manga. At this point, putting harem cliches in an isekai story is like shoehorning in a romance in an action movie. It’s never believable and I could have done without it. Also, none of the quotes I’ve seen like Cid’s “I am atomic!” has convinced me to give this a proper chance. I don’t find isekai funny, and I don’t find isekai parodies funny. At least not the light novel ones. Give me a manga or an anime original isekai adaptation, then maybe I’ll give it a shot.

Also, I’m not going to give Reincarnated as a Sword its own highlight because I just literally don’t care if it’s also a “decent” isekai. Probably a C-tier as well.

Golden Kamuy (Unfinished) — C-Tier

You know, for such a well-written manga epic with a lot of manly characters and wacky humor, it sure is dull to watch a lot of the times. Mainly because the directing is so plain that it sucks away all of the energy from whatever is happening on-screen. The actual animation is okay, but I’m not finding any personality in the visuals, which is why I have such a hard time caring about what’s going on. Or maybe Golden Kamuy isn’t my thing since it’s not like I’m motivated to read the manga for it.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean (Cour 3) — B-Tier

Cour 3 was definitely better than the first two. I definitely remember more of the episodes in this one and the animation got better as well, culminating in a finale that was a fitting tribute to Jojo fans all around the world. I think some people were mixed on how the story ended because everyone fucking dies and we end up continuing in a parallel world where all of the old characters are now alternate versions we didn’t grow up with. As someone who doesn’t care about Jojo and only watches it because it’s one of the big shonen, I have zero opinion on the matter. Also, I find it funny that the show’s popularity dropped so bad while a non-fan like me has been good at keeping up with its release.

Lookism — B-Tier

I’m surprised this was on here because it’s a Korean anime, but I guess any animated show from Asia gets recognized on these types of sites now don’t they? Anyways, Lookism is also a shonen action series, although more of the grounded Tokyo Revengers type than the fantastical Chainsaw Man type. And with only eight episodes, it doesn’t even have much action, focusing more on the main character adjusting to his super-powered handsome body and the discrimination that comes from being ugly with only the occasional gang fight. Animation is only okay with the climactic concert scene being in horrific CG, and it takes a while for the main character to become likable in his original ugly body (he’s more likable in his handsome body due to the cute awkwardness that comes from suddenly being OP), which is why it’s a B-tier show right now. Hopefully we get more so we can some cool gang fights.

Mob Psycho 100 III — A-Tier

This is probably the most invested I’ve been in a Mob Psycho 100 season. I honestly didn’t like Season 2 as much as everyone else did, but Season 3 really hooked me after its first three boring episodes (might have been S-tier if it wasn’t for that) and didn’t stop afterwards even though the ending was pretty goddamn predictable. I saw that rejection coming a mile away, and Reigen confessing that he’s a fraud to Mob was more of a “about time you found out” moment than something revelatory. Yeah it’s more of an epilogue to Mob’s story, but what I love the most about this season compared to the others is that it really highlights how much Mob has grown over the series. The evil bad guys and such are honestly pretty weak to the point that I don’t even remember their names. Don’t care about their world-ending schemes. I want to see this kid with psychic powers learn how to live life and lose control when Truck-kun comes for him.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch from Mercury — B-Tier

This is a pretty fun take on the Gundam formula, especially when compared to some of the other Gundams I’ve watched recently like MS 08th Team and Unicorn. It’s still in the prologue stage of the story regarding building this company and all the different factions involved, which is why it’s not in a higher tier. I know enough about Gundam to know that it can shoot itself in the foot when it feels like it, so it’s better to wait until the end to properly judge it. Not to mention all the production issues that come from trying to animate 2D-mecha fights in 2022, especially with all the complicated moves the robots have to do.

It’s a good show so far, but I’m not giving it love until it delivers on the promise it’s building up. And so far all it’s delivered in regards to that are the fight scenes.

More Than a Married Couple, But Less Than Lovers — Probably D-Tier

If you’re asking why I never really gave this anime a chance, it’s because I find the premise to be absolutely horrible. A boy and a girl are forced to be with each other because the school implemented a stupid marriage system not too dissimilar from that Love & Lies anime that came out in 2017, and it was a dumb idea then too. However, the boy and girl have other partner preferences, but they can switch partners if they do really well as a couple. I’m sorry, but why is that the condition for switching partners? “We have a great marriage, babe. Now let’s see other people.” This is such a forced scenario that is impossible to overlook.

On top of that, the story is so cliche. Obviously the main couple get feelings for each other, but because this is a long-running romance series, they won’t confess by the end of the first season. The boy still has feelings for his first crush, but the girl gets over hers by the end to form a love triangle at the season’s end rather than resolve it right away. I don’t care if what I’m complaining about is what anime romcom fans love about this genre. I don’t have any patience for romance stories with such a bad first impression and the only reward for getting past it is to wait longer for a resolution. The only way I’d accept that is if the story dealt with the obvious psychological issues that would occur from such a flawed school system, but the series is not interested in that. It just wants to be another goddamn love triangle anime story where the appeal of the characters are that they’re “flawed but lovable”.

My Hero Academia S6 (Cour 1) — B-Tier

So the entire war arc started off pretty exciting with every character getting their moment to shine like My Hero is wont to do. Towards the end though, it got somewhat anticlimactic apart from when Dabi revealed his identity that we all figured out years ago. Shigaraki got way too overpowered and the animation got kind of lame. My Hero Academia at this point has honestly lost everything that made it special due to how its fight scenes have never been good combined with how it can’t keep up with its colleagues in terms of delivering on the spectacle and character that we expect from big shonen. I’m still going to watch it, but I will not miss it when it ends.

Romantic Killer — B-Tier

This was a pretty decent shonen romance that parodies shojo tropes similar to Nozaki-kun did a decade ago. It starts off a little rough for me because I wasn’t too keen on the premise that the main girl was having this otome game situation forced on her. But then they reveal that all the magical pet is doing is giving her opportunities she couldn’t get because she was too distracted by other things, and I started getting into it more afterwards. It even gets pretty creepy in the end in a way that was built up pretty well while not shying away from how fucked up obsession can be. And despite the art looking kind of washed-out on the poster, the animation is actually pretty good and energetic.

It didn’t get too much popularity because it’s a Netflix show with no big names attached to it to boost the advertising. The irony being that because it’s based on a cancelled Shonen Jump manga, the only reason this show even exists is because of Netflix.

Spy x Family (Cour 2) — C-Tier

Spy x Family was kind of average in the Fall season. Half of the episodes I thought were pretty good. The other half has that usual problem the series has with its slice-of-life in that it’s about random crap, and since I don’t think Spy x Family’s humor is funny, it doesn’t do anything for me. The characters are still fun of course, but when there isn’t much story to carry the jokes in case they fall flat (which they almost always do), I get bored real easily. I’m still going to watch more of it, but it’s just not a fun show to talk about because Anya carries the series a little too much for my liking.

To Your Eternity S2 — C-Tier

I didn’t rank this one initially because I haven’t caught up on it. Season 2 has been somewhat weak in the few episodes I watched due to lackluster animation along with the story being somewhat uncertain. I didn’t hate it, but I wasn’t confident the production team could make something emotional out of the series again. Apparently it’s gotten a little better while not being anything amazing, so I’ll get to it eventually, but I’m in no hurry to do so.

Urusei Yatsura (2022) — S-Tier

So the new Urusei Yatsura hasn’t exactly caught on with today’s audience. Lots of people find the humor to be bad. Lots of people find the characters to be annoying and unlikable. Lots of people find the reboot to be unnecessary. Lots of people would rather watch Akiba Maid War or Bocchi the Rock over it.

You know what I think though? I think Urusei Yatsura is one of the funniest fucking anime I’ve ever seen. This remake made me realize that no, I don’t think time has been unkind to this series. Its humor is the best that anime has ever been because it gets that combination of unrealistic sitcom writing just right with its beautiful animation, all the characters being assholes to each other while secretly liking each other, and how it just leans on the absurdity that all of these weird things just happen to exist in Japan. I am so sad this show isn’t doing well in Japan. I can kind of understand it doesn’t have much international appeal, but I really was hoping Japan would enjoy an old classic coming back.