Hello and welcome back to Otaku Thursday! How are you all this fine Thursday? Star and I are deliriously tired but still going strong! We had a long long weekend at Sakuracon, and while it was definitely great to be back at con–I think we’re both ready for a nap! But did we nap when we got back? NOPE. We caught up on anime and now we’re ready to crown our top 5 anime of Winter 2022. And this season was absolute fire. There were so many good shows that at first, I was afraid it’d be hard to name a top five, but there were some clear standouts amidst the great. So strap in, get ready, and let’s start counting down!
Honorable mention:
This cute BL anime was the best feel-good show for the season. Always there to make us feel better, it was simple–it didn’t have a lot of drama, and it was extremely cute to watch as Sasaki and Miyano grew closer and fell in love. This was one of the slowest burns, but so worth it.
5 ) Love of Kill
This drama was both exactly as I expected and nothing like I expected. The story went a lot deeper than I’d have though, and the relationship drawn between the two mains went far back and deep–intertwining their lives together. The action was also decent, the tea strong, and those last few episodes had me on the edge of my seat. BUT it definitely doesn’t feel complete. There are a lot of unanswered questions, and it left off in an odd place. So a second season is needed.
4 ) Sabikui Bisco
I came for the mushrooms, stayed for the wild animation/plot, and was pleasantly surprised by the elements of BL. Actually, this show was always all-around surprising. I didn’t know what exactly I was getting into, and where it didn’t go as deep as I thought it was always a delight to watch. Even if I often forgot the original plot, I was always excited to see each episode and it managed to bring it all back in the end. The animation was on point, with beautiful shots scattered throughout. And I had no idea that Milo and Bisco’s relationship would end up where it did–but it was all beautifully done. Better yet is that I feel like it completed its story, so even if I’d like a second season. It feels solid as is.
Coming in at number three was My Dress-Up Darling. Now, we may be a little biased because as we watched this show, we were in the middle of con crunch season, so it served as a good inspiration for us to get working on our cosplays. But overall, we really liked this show for showcasing cosplay through the excitement of someone who was new to the craft. Gojo also made a great support for Marin–watching him think through patterns and figure out new techniques to make her look good and comfortable was relatable. Their relationship was also really cute–both as friends, cosplay partners, and potential romantic interests. While the show didn’t have much of a plot, it still left a huge impression on us.
2 ) Ryman’s Club
I had a feeling I would like this anime and it did not disappoint me. A sports anime that was not just about badminton, but also 20-30-year-olds was sure to be a hit or a miss, and it was certainly a hit. I really liked the way they showcased the sport in this and built on relationships between the team members in believable ways. The fact that this was a work sports team wasn’t sidelined either and it tied in surprisingly well to the plot. I enjoyed that we got a little bit of everyone and that it didn’t make light of Mikoto’s trauma. But of course, the shining star of the show was the relationship and teamwork of Mikoto and Miyazumi who wanted nothing more than to keep playing together by the end. I was sincerely rooting for every single one of them, and it managed to tackle drama without it being overly dramatic and best part of all? The drama was resolved in more adult ways. Altogether a really REALLY good sports anime. I really hope they decide to do a second season of it or a movie.
1 ) Tokyo 24th Ward
Star and I both agreed that this was an easy number one. A completely original anime, Tokyo 24th Ward was outstanding in our opinion. From animation to OST to plot, and even characters. It really had everything that you’d want from an anime. The stakes were high, the heroes didn’t always agree or even win, and while there were some plots that felt like they could’ve gone deeper, it all wrapped together to create a solid story. RGB were also really distinct and great main characters. You could both understand how they got along and how they disagreed. But what was really great was that at the end of the day, the story was about getting over grief and trauma–one that they shared together but had each isolated themselves over prior to the show. It was such a good show. It felt like the best viewing experience would be to watch it all in one go–as if it were a movie. Still, it was a good first nomination for anime of the year. And the opening and ending were absolute fire.
Well, there you have it! We had an excellent start to anime in 2022. It was so good in fact, that Star is afraid for the rest of the year. But we’ll see. Maybe a strong start to the year means a strong overall year…maybe not. But for now, here were our top 5 anime of Winter 2022. What about you all? What were your top anime of winter? Let us know! And as always–
Stay weebtastic,
xoxo
Luna
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