One of the best anime seasons in recent memory marches on, and some shows are definitely proving themselves to be better than the rest. Either through stunning animation, gripping stories, engaging characters, or all of the above, they’ve proved themselves well worth sticking with for another month; and more worth one’s time than every other new offering crowding the medium. To that end, these are our picks for the top 7 best anime of November 2022 you should watch.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War
There are triumphant comebacks made by series after a lengthy hiatus, and then there’s what Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is pulling off.
Making full use of the improvements made to animation practices since the original Bleach series concluded, this show is a masterclass in how to properly adapt a Shonen anime. The animation of this new adaptation outdoes its predecessor by leaps and bounds, with fights and quieter moments alike moving crisply while still maintaining the well-known aesthetic of Tite Kubo.
Likewise, the story is moving at a brisk but manageable pace. Viewers are able to see the full scope of the war between the Quincies and Soul Reapers playing out without having to invest dozens of hours into back and forth monologues, needless flashbacks or a metric ton of Filler.
It’s everything fans could have hoped for, and newcomers will find just as much to love about the series. As such, there’s little doubt it will continue to establish itself as one of the premiere shows of this ongoing anime season.
Blue Lock
While other sports anime may have initially grabbed more attention at the start of the season, Blue Lock has quickly established itself as their better.
There are a few different reasons for this, and they span the range of usual factors that put a show over for most anime fans. On the animation front, it’s above average and fairly high quality. The matches and contests between characters is made all the more intense by bursts of Sakuga, with every articulation of a person’s body being noticeable as they slam a soccer ball into a goal.
Likewise, the story is one that is both familiar and somewhat novel to the sports genre. Following a long streak of losses and embarrassing performances, the Japanese national soccer team aims to make their team the best of the best. To do this though, they must do away with conventional sportmanship and training, instead gathering the most promising prospects in soccer to put them through grueling training until only the best of them remains.
It’s a somewhat darker approach to the usual Sports anime framework, but Blue Lock is all the better for it. It’s an edgier affair with a grim view of sports anime that most series would never dream of attempting to emulate, but that’s exactly why it stands so far apart from its competition.
My Hero Academia Season 6
Though the show was characteristically slow to start this season, My Hero Academia Season 6 is still one of the premiere anime to keep an eye on in November 2022.
This isn’t so much because it’s a juggernaut of flawless animation or that it offers a groundbreaking new spin on the Shonen story structure. On the contrary: The animation for this season is on par with what has come before it, with bursts of Sakuga at key moments while the rest of the series maintains a steady base level. The story, meanwhile, is exactly what it appears to be on its face, with good guys clashing against bad guys who are just as determined to see their beliefs proven to be the correct ones.
Instead, it makes this list because it manages to execute its expectable premise so well. Even if its characters and story are a little trope-heavy, it’s still providing a decent story for Shonen fans to sink their teeth into and enjoy week to week.
There’s also the minor detail that the series is finally gearing up for the bigger fights and story beats of its source material, meaning the next month or so will see a notable step up in action and plot developments. As such, we’d be remiss not to include the show on our list of the best anime of November 2022 you should watch.
Mob Psycho 100 Season 3
Mob Psycho 100 isn’t messing around this season, or at least that’s the impression it’s given based on the first four episodes.
While there have been plenty of the usual story beats fans have come to know and love, the show has quickly shifted toward a storyline that’s much darker than anything the series has seen thus far. Where Mob might have spent an entire season figuring out how to determine his path in life, the show is now moving into questions of how Mob will react to his entire home being brainwashed by a new foe, forgetting about him entirely or turning against him in a split second.
All the while, this season’s animation has been just as spectacular as any before it. Anytime Mob or one of his friends unleashes a psychic power, the show pops off with so much Sakuga and bursts of flowing colors that one can’t help but be fully enraptured by the visual splendor on display.
Given that all of this can be said of its first few episodes alone, it’s clear that Mob Psycho 100 Season 3 remains a must watch this season and an easy addition to our list of the best anime of November 2022.
Spy x Family Part 2
Amid a season jam-packed with action and conflict-heavy shows, it’s nice to see a show like Spy x Family standing out as well as it does.
To be sure, its first few episodes weren’t completely free of action and conflict. There were plenty of spy-based escapades to be found, with Anya and Floyd doing their parts to thwart a bombing plot set up by radical terrorists. Several of these featured spectacular animation segments, and even the most ardent Shonen fan would be hard-pressed to point to better executed fight scenes than the ones where Yor showed up to quickly solve a problem.
And yet, these moments aren’t what helped this show snag a spot on our list of the best anime of November 2022. Instead, it’s thanks to the softer moments that could melt any viewer’s heart. Bond finally feeling at home with the Forgers, or Anya falling asleep on Bond after they both spend the day playing together, are the exact kind of positivity-fueled dopamine every anime fan could use in their weekly viewing schedule.
Even if it doesn’t manage to be a violence-fueled masterpiece like Chainsaw Man or a triumphant return like Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, Spy x Family is unabashedly itself through and through. As such, it remains an easy recommendation for us going into the current month.
Uncle From Another World
In all honesty, Uncle From Another World should have stopped appearing on our Best Anime lists months ago.
This isn’t because it ended up petering out or proved itself unworthy of putting one’s time into the full season. On the contrary: Its humor remained on point no matter how many episodes it was used in, as did the story of a less-than-attractive man returning from a fantasy world to become a YouTuber. Likewise, the animation never faltered, always holding itself to a generally high benchmark that it always managed to meet.
Instead, it’s because this show was supposed to end well before the start of the Fall 2022 anime season. Due to COVID-19 wreaking havoc on its production schedule though, the second half of the series was delayed until the end of November 2022, meaning this surprise hit is now set to kick off once again.
Fortunately, it’s a good fit for the current season and stands to gain all the more attention as a result. Where Spy x Family is the heartwarming change of pace everyone could use in their lives, Uncle From Another World is the comedic oddball that will have everyone laughing themselves silly.
To top things off, it’s far from a difficult show to catch up on, with only seven episodes to watch before its Nov. 25 return on Netflix.
Chainsaw Man
The fact that Chainsaw Man is on our list of the best anime of November 2022 should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen even a few minutes of it.
One of the most visually stunning shows in recent memory, the show is everything fans of the original source material could have hoped for. It brings series creator Tatsuki Fujimoto’s insane story to life, giving even the most mundane activity or motion a crazy amount of Sakuga. Scenes with Denji ripping and tearing his way through a giant Bat Devil are just as well animated as one where he buys a drink from a vending machine, and the series is all the more engaging as a result.
That isn’t to say that the series is slacking in the story or character department though. Denji attempting to carve out a proper life for himself while putting his Chainsaw Devil powers to good use is a simple yet effective main through line for the plot. Likewise, the short snippets we get to see of other characters like Power makes their struggles just as engaging, and makes their involvement in the story all the more worthwhile.
Needless to say, Chainsaw Man continues to be the show to watch this season, and will definitely be the show other series will need to dethrone to become the best anime of November 2022.
