Siliconera Speaks Up, our regular staff and community commentary feature, is back! And right on time for the beginning of the Fall 2022 anime season! This week we’re picking our favorite (and most anticipated) anime debuts of the quarter. Share yours in the comments, and on Twitter!
The Fall 2022 anime season is fully stacked! From the next episodes of Spy x Family, My Hero Academia, Mob Psycho 100, and Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These to the debuts of Chainsaw Man, Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, and the rebooted adaptation of Urusei Yatsura, there’s no shortage of big names to count on.
As a certified Old Person who doesn’t have nearly as much time to watch shows week-to-week as I used to, I’m still looking forward to nearly everything I’ve cited so far, plus a few more niche titles like The Eminence in Shadow and Reincarnated as a Sword.
Above and beyond those for me, though, is the return of Bleach. I watched that show almost religiously through college and past it, and even began my online writing career (such as it is) writing recaps of the show and its manga for Japanator! You could say a good portion of my adult life was linked to some level of engagement with Bleach, so it was quite exciting to learn its final story arc would get adapted. I’m not going to pretend that the story ended particularly well, but it still deserved to be seen through, and Bleach fans are now getting their wish!
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War opens on October 10, 2022. – Josh
There is a certain stigma attached to idol anime. They’re too “fanservice-y” or the story is absolutely bonkers to keep viewers’ interest. But IDOLiSH7, with its strong character writing and surprisingly consistent animation, bucks all conventions as one of the best idol franchises I have ever seen. It focuses more on the pitfalls and struggles that idols face behind the scenes, and presents a fairly grounded view on the industry. There are enough heartwarming and funny moments peppered in to keep the show from becoming too melodramatic to stay invested. And the characters are all so charming that you just want to see them succeed and be happy.
Unfortunately, the world never wants to see them happy. IDOLiSH7: Third Beat ended its first cour with the set-up of a controversy against TRIGGER, as well as plenty of hints that trouble with Nagi’s past and heritage will have a negative impact on IDOLiSH7. While I don’t particularly care too much about Nagi, I am absolutely horrified to see the beginnings of TRIGGER’s downfall. So you can bet that I’m on the edge of my seat already, waiting to see what terrible things lie in store for my favorite boys.
IDOLiSH7 Third Beat! resumed airing on October 2, 2022. It’s available on Crunchyroll. – Stephanie
I am definitely looking forward to Chainsaw Man. I grew up on shonen anime, and as I’ve watched more and more of both shonen and other types of anime, it still holds a special place in my heart. I’ve also heard that it’s a bit darker and more violent than most in the genre, which definitely piques my interest even further.
The premise of the story alone sounds very up my alley. Between all the praise Chainsaw Man has gotten and being a fan of MAPPA’s anime adaptations as well as original works, I couldn’t be more excited to get into this series.
Chainsaw Man opens on October 12, 2022. It’ll simulcast via Crunchyroll. – Adam
What’s your favorite watch out of the Fall 2022 anime debuts so far? What are you looking forward to most? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter! And read our other handy roundtables for other thoughts from the Siliconera team and friends of the site!
