It’s a new year and you know what that means, new anime and 2022 is already stacked with a lot of exciting releases like Spy x Family, Chainsaw Man, the Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Arc and more! With the Winter 2022 anime season kicking off in December, we have a lot to look forward to in the coming months.
Not only are favorites, like Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 2, The Case Study of Vanitas Part 2, and the Demon Slayer Entertainment District Arc returning this season, new releases, such as Tokyo 24th Ward, My Dress-Up Darling, and Love of Kill are airing as well.
Here are all of the new anime we are looking forward to watching most in the Winter 2022 anime season!
Sabikui Bisco
Studio: OZ
Release Date: January 10, 2022
Sabikui Bisco has a post-apocalyptic setting, which I tend to enjoy, but it also looks like it’s going to be action-packed. After watching the trailer, I kind of got Kill la Kill vibes after seeing the style and the character designs, which made me invested in this story even more.
Sabikui Bisco seems like it will be a unique watch thanks to the world it is set in and the characters it follows. The main character of the story is Bisco Akaboshi, who is also known as the “Man-Eating Mushroom”. Some see him as a criminal, to others he’s an archer, but he’s actually a “Mushroom Protector,” an individual that spreads fungi across the land in order to restore it back to a rich and inhabitable state.
His main goal though is to find Sabikui, a fabled mushroom that is said to devour all rust. He travels the land with his companions, Akutagawa the crab and doctor Milo Nekoyanagi, in search of it. I already get the feeling that I’m going to love the characters in this story and it sounds like an anime that will have incredible world-building as well.
And then there’s the team behind it! Atsushi Ikariya, who’s worked as an episode director and character designer on Fate/Zero, Akame ga Kill!, and The Devil is a Part-Timer!, which is getting a Season 2, in the past, is directing the anime. Sadayuki Murai (Cowboy Bebop, Perfect Blue, Durarara!!) is writing the script as well as doing the series composition for the series. The sound director is Kisuke Koizumi, who’s worked as a sound director for anime like Dororo and The God of High School, which had some of my favorite music and opening themes of 2019 and 2020.
It’s one I can’t wait to watch and I’m looking forward to its release on January 10, 2022!
Where to Watch
My Dress-Up Darling
Studio: CloverWorks
Release Date: January 8, 2022
My Dress-Up Darling is a new anime that’s airing this Winter with animation by CloverWorks, who are the studio behind another anime on this list, Tokyo 24th Ward! My Dress-Up Darling seems like it’s going to be a really charming series, but I also get the feeling that it has a lot of lovable characters, including our main characters Gojou and Kitagawa. What really excites me the most about this one though is the fact that it’s centered around cosplay, which is unique.
As to what its about, My Dress-Up Darling follows an introvert named Wakana Gojou, who finds solace in the home ec room of his high school. Since he was made fun of in the past for his love for traditional doll making, he isolates himself away from others. One day though, Marin Kitagawa, discovers him in the home ec room and notices how good he is with a sewing machine. She begins to talk about her love for cosplay but admits that she cannot sew and enlists him to make her outfits instead.
I really appreciate the fact that My Dress-Up Darling delves into two hobbies that, to my knowledge, have rarely been explored in anime or manga and I’m excited to watch the anime on January 8, 2022!
Where to Watch
Love of Kill
Studio: Platinum Vision
Release Date: January 12, 2022
Love of Kill is another Winter 2022 anime series that I am highly anticipating, because it follows a bounty hunter named Chateau Dankworth, who’s new target is a notorious killer named Son Ryang-ha. But when she finds him things don’t necessarily go as planned when he confesses that he is also after her, but only for her heart.
Love of Kill sounds like it’s going to be one of those forbidden romance, will they or won’t they kind of stories, but it is also an action story as well since it involves a game of cat and mouse between two killers. That being said, it looks like its going to lean more into the action than the romance side of things, which I’m excited by.
Platinum Vision, who worked on Kono Oto Tomare! and Servamp, are animating the series with Hideaki Oba (Dr. Ramune -Mysterious Disease Specialist-) serving as director and character design by Yoko Sato (Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits). I’m looking forward to its release on January 12, 2022!
Where to Watch
Tokyo 24th Ward
Studio: CloverWorks
Release Date: January 5, 2022
Anytime CloverWorks, the studio behind The Promised Neverland, Horimiya, and the upcoming Spy x Family anime, announce a new original anime I’m excited, but there’s something about Tokyo 24th Ward that has me looking forward to it even more than usual. And this is partially because they teamed up with Naokatsu Tsuda, the director of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and Baio Shimokura, the writer of STEINS;GATE‘s visual novel game to create the series.
Another big reason as to why I can’t wait to see this anime is because of its premise. Tokyo 24th Ward is set in a special district outside the laws of the Far East commonly known as the 24th Ward and it follows three childhood friends, Shuta, Ran, and Kouki, that were born and raised there. A certain incident happens though that changes their relationship with one another, but they are brought together once again when they all get a mysterious call from a dead companion pressing them to make a “Future choice”. They’ll have to rise together to protect the 24th Ward that they’ve grown up in and love.
CloverWorks animation is always crisp and this one still has a slight mystery to it that makes its intriguing. The character designs as well look incredible and I am anxiously awaiting its release on January 5, 2022.
The Case Study of Vanitas Part 2
Studio: Bones
Release Date: January 14, 2022
The Case Study of Vanitas is one of my top anime of 2021, so it’s no surprise, that I’m looking forward to Part 2, which is airing on January 14, 2022! Jun Mochizuki, the creator of The Case Study of Vanitas‘ manga and Pandora Hearts, is an incredible artist and character designer. I really appreciate the staff of The Case Study of Vanitas‘ anime, because they did a wonderful job adapting the series and they did the source material justice.
Bones is one of my all-time favorite animation studios. They’re the studio behind Bungo Stray Dogs, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, My Hero Academia, Noragami, Mob Psycho 100, Soul Eater, and many more, so I was excited to hear that they were brought on to do the animation for The Case Study of Vanitas. After seeing the first season, I’m excited that they are returning to animate Part 2, which adapts the Beast of Gevaudan arc.
This is an anime that does the source material justice and even elevates it to some degree thanks to the beauty of its animation and the scores and music that were added to further set the scene and mood of this story. The voice actors they chose also really brought these characters to life and I felt as if they really embodied the personality of the characters. All-around it’s an extremely well-done adaptation and I can’t wait to see how they adapt the upcoming arc. As a result, The Case Study of Vanitas Part 2 is one of my most anticipated Winter 2022 anime!
Where to Watch
Demon Slayer Entertainment District Arc
Studio: Ufotable
Release Date: December 5, 2021
A new season of Demon Slayer, which adapts the 8th arc of Demon Slayer‘s manga, the Entertainment District Arc, released on December 5, 2021. It hasn’t been too long since we got to see Demon Slayer in action with the release of Mugen Train in 2020, which was also adapted into 7 episodes and released as the Demon Slayer Mugen Train Arc in 2021.
What really excites me about this season is that we get to see more of the Sound Hashira, Tengen, and it also introduces two new Upper Six demons, Daki and Gyutaro. It’s one of my favorite arcs in Demon Slayer and I’m excited to see how Ufotable animate the battles, which are some of the best, within this arc as well! They have done a phenonmenal job animating the previous seasons and I am looking forward to checking out more episodes this Winter.
Where to Watch
Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 2
Studio: MAPPA
Release Date: January 9, 2022
You guys probably already saw this one coming. You can’t have a most anticipated Winter 2022 anime list without the biggest event of the season, Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 2, which is the final installment in the franchise. It’s a bittersweet moment knowing that an absolute titan in the anime industry is reaching its conclusion. But it’s an anime that’s been going strong for 8 years with four seasons, two of which were split into 2 parts (Season 3 and Season 4). Not to mention, it is one of the best anime I’ve ever seen, so there’s much to celebrate as well.
The Attack on Titan manga by Hajime Isayama wrapped up not too long ago also with the final volume, Volume 34, releasing in October. I am extremely grateful to Hajime Isayama for everything he’s given us over these years and for creating one of my favorite manga of all-time. With the anime ending, I highly recommend checking out the manga if you have yet to do so, especially if you are looking to fill the giant Attack on Titan sized hole that may be left in your heart after all 12 episodes the final season air.
The manga has released in four different formats, the paperbacks, the manga box sets, the Attack on Titan Colossal Editions, and the omnibuses. If you are wondering which is best though, check out my review of the Attack on Titan Colossal Editions. I included a video on there that compares all of the different editions of the AoT manga side by side! A big thank you as well to the staff that brought the characters and the manga to life on screen.
That being said, Attack on Titan is coming to an end and while I’m partially dreading January 9, 2022 because it marks the beginning of the end to such an influential series, I still can’t wait to see the remaining chapters adapted and in action this Winter!
Where to Watch
These are the anime I am looking forward to most in the Winter 2022 anime season! To see all of the anime you have to look forward to in 2022, check out the 2022 anime release schedule.
