Anime I Need to Watch in 2022

It seems like everyone got into new hobbies while stuck inside throughout 2020. Some people learned a productive skill, like cooking or sewing. I, on the other hand, started watching anime for the first time, which is far less useful and may actually be a detriment to my social life. What started with a show or two somehow skyrocketed anime into my core hobbies, to the point where it may be overtaking gaming as my main source of post-work entertainment.

Even with the impressive (or sad, depending on your view) number of shows that I managed to finish from my first year of watching, I still have so many beloved titles that I haven’t gotten a chance to watch yet. Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to create a shortlist of the shows I want to prioritize in 2022. When making this list, I tried to put in a good mixture of shows that I’m genuinely interested in, as well as huge hits in the genre that I want to experience to form an opinion on them, even if that opinion turns out to be negative. Let’s get into the list!

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

This is probably the biggest show of the group, so I am placing it at the top of the list. As far as I can tell, everyone who watches Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood immediately falls in love with it. Honestly, this probably should have been one of the first shows I watched, but the level of hype scared me off a little bit. When I go into a piece of media knowing that everyone loves it, it sometimes sets my expectations too high. Regardless, however, I need to watch through it soon so I can have an opinion on it for myself.

Demon Slayer

If I’m being totally honest, I don’t know that I will love Demon Slayer. Based on everything I’ve heard, it sounds like it is a very action-heavy show that is a little lighter on plot than I would probably prefer. Even knowing that, though, I still want to give it a shot because it’s one of the biggest currently-running series and I want to have an opinion on it. The art is also pretty phenomenal, so it may be a nice show to have on in the background while I play Final Fantasy XIV.

Hunter x Hunter

Hunter x Hunter wasn’t on my radar until my brother started singing its praises at every opportunity. Admittedly, based on the art style from its Netflix page, I thought it was a kid’s anime or a shonen that aimed for a younger audience. I have been thoroughly corrected by my brother and told that its looks are deceiving, and that it’s actually a show that gets quite dark and tackles some tough topics. Its length scares me a little, so it may be one I watch alongside some of the shorter anime on this list, but I’m excited to give it a shot.

Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai

I love romance anime. In fact, quite a few of my favorite shows and movies so far have turned out to be romances. This show seems like it’s a romance with some supernatural elements, which is basically describing my favorite kind of show, given that I grew up in the Twilight era. It’s also short, which will contrast well with some of the much longer titles on this list.

Gurren Lagann

Even after watching several shows in the mecha genre, I’m still not quite certain if I actually enjoy giant robots punching each other. I liked Bokurano well enough and I loved Gunbuster and Neon Genesis Evangelion, but I really didn’t enjoy FLCL or Diebuster, so I’m all over the place when it comes to this genre. I’m hoping that Gurren Lagann might help me come to a verdict regarding whether seeing the mecha tag on an anime is a pro or a con since it’s another behemoth of the genre, but I guess I will have to watch it to find out. This is hardly the only mecha show I want to watch in 2022, however, because…

Speaking of behemoths of the genre, I have heard fantastic things about Code Geass. In particular, I’ve been told that it has a great plot with lots of twists and turns that I won’t see coming, which is exactly how I get sold on a new show. I’m still not certain of the mecha genre as a whole, but I think Code Geass will turn out to be a winner.

Paranoia Agent

I love Satoshi Kon. Every one of his movies is unique and unlike anything I have ever seen before. If he hadn’t died so young, he would have gone on to produce masterpiece after masterpiece. Unfortunately, Paranoia Agent is the only anime by Satoshi Kon that I haven’t watched yet, which hurts me a little. I keep saving it because it hurts me to think about being in a position where I have nothing left to watch by him, but it’s time to give it a try.

March Comes In like a Lion

March Comes In like a Lion first caught my attention because I love the art style, but when I looked it up, I saw rave review after rave review over the characters and use of shogi to move the story forward. I don’t know if a show about shogi really counts as a sports anime, but I do love character development via the use of contest and competitions, so I am guessing that this aspect of sports anime will be intact throughout March. While I don’t want to overhype anime for myself, this is one that is likely to rank amongst my favorites.

Re:Zero

I’ll admit it: I love a good isekai from time to time. In fact, the isekai doesn’t actually have to be good. All it needs to do is provide a level of escapism from the real world. With that said, however, I have heard nothing but good things about Re:Zero‘s take on getting transported to a fantasy world, so I’m excited to give it a shot and see how it goes.

Gintama

I’m saving the longest for last on this particular list. I highly doubt I can watch the entirety of Gintama in a single year, especially given all of the other lengthy titles on this list and the many seasonals that I will likely watch throughout 2022, but I would like to start it. While I don’t know much about the premise of Gintama, I know that it’s funny and still manages to pack an emotional punch here and there. Besides, there must be a reason that so many of the top entries on MyAnimeList are related to this series, right?

This is just a peek at all of the amazing anime that I hope to watch in 2022. I can’t wait to produce more anime content on The Hannie Corner, so stay tuned to learn more about all of the highs and lows of the medium as I watch more shows. What anime do you hope to tackle in 2022? Let me know in the comments below!