The Winter 2022 anime season is looking to continue the impressive momentum of Fall 2021, providing an amazing amount of sequels, movies, original content and even some epic conclusions. While it can get hard to sift through all the shows being offered on so many different streaming services, here are nine anime to keep an eye on, whether they be a continuation, an adaptation or an entirely new series.
Attack on Titan Final Season Part 2
One of the greatest anime phenomena of the past decade is coming to a close this winter as the story of Eren Yeager reaches its conclusion with Attack on Titan's final season. Many people across the world were casually introduced to anime by the series' sudden raging popularity so it will be a melancholy farewell.
However, fans of the show are in luck because Crunchyroll and Funimation will be airing the Attack on Titan OVAs -- eight in total -- from Sunday, Dec. 19 on, allowing those who didn't buy the series to also enjoy the extra episodes bundled within. These include a Levi origin story and special episodes about Annie Leonhart and Mikasa Ackerman.
Attack on Titan Season 4, Part 2 will premiere on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022 and will be streamed on Crunchyroll, Funimation and Hulu.
The Irregular at Magic High School: Reminiscence Arc
The Irregular at Magic High School's third season will begin with the "Reminiscence" arc, taking audiences back to Shiba Tatsuya and his sister Miyuki's past, one where the siblings were not quite so close -- or even able to be in the same room together for long.
This story is a looking glass at the relationship that holds the show together, as well as an offering of character introspection that helps explain why Tatsuya and Miyuki are the people they've grown to be. Studio 8bit, which handled Season 2 of Irregular, is once again at the helm with director Risako Yoshida and the main cast returning.
The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Special will premiere on Dec. 31, 2021 on Crunchyroll, with Season 3 airing in January 2022.
Tokyo 24th Ward
This original anime from Cloverworks has a lot of talent behind the scenes, with Naokatsu Tsuda (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable) directing and Vio Shimokura -- author of the Steins;Gate visual novel -- returning to write for the series. Full of talented voice actors, an impressive selection of music and flashy colors that make the characters pop from the screen, Tokyo 24th Ward aims to deliver a bold original story about three friends attempting to protect their home in the best ways they know how.
Tokyo 24th Ward will premiere on Jan. 5, 2022.
Teasing Master Takagi-san Season 3
Teasing Master Takagi-san is back, with Season 3 premiering in Winter 2022 as well as a movie scheduled for later in the year. The innocent antics of these kids are pure serotonin, just what anyone can use amid the post-holiday rush.
When Season 2's events left off, it seemed like Takagi and Nishikata might finally be forced to confront their feelings. While the events of the summer festival have fans wondering if it's finally time for a confession, the quick succession of Season 3 and a movie are a sure sign that something big is coming for the two middle schoolers.
Teasing Master Takagi-san Season 3 will premiere on Jan. 7, 2022.
Requiem of the Rose King
Fans of Black Butler and Pandora Hearts will want to pay attention to this twisted version of Shakespeare's tales of the monarchy. Based on the manga by Aya Kanno, the story follows Richard III of England through the War of the Roses, a little-known time period that nevertheless ended with much bloodshed -- the perfect place for a youth with dark passions to hone his skills.
With the manga just finishing up, Requiem of the Rose King has the potential to become one of the next great horror anime and the trailers look promising, if not for the faint of heart. Kentarou Suzuki (Angels of Death) will be directing with horror music master Kow Otani (Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah and Shadow of the Colossus) writing the score. This is what Shakespearean adaptations were meant to be.
Requiem of the Rose King will premiere on Jan. 9, 2022 on Crunchyroll.
Sasaki and Miyano
The manga series Sasaki and Miyano has waited since 2016 to finally get an anime adaptation. This sweet BL, which only consists of seven volumes, is the comfort food of high school romance: a heartwarming story of the popular kid and the shy one, thrown together by circumstance.
Hopefully this will be Studio Deen's opportunity to create a healthy LGBTQ couple, having tackled BL several times in the past and fallen short. However, the source material is highly loved and the characters being only one year apart in age is a definite step in the right direction. Sasaki and Miyano will be an anime to keep an eye on, with definite potential to be excellent LGBTQ representation and a sweet love story to boot.
Sasaki and Miyano will premiere on Jan. 9, 2022.
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom Season 2
Economists unite, because Souma Kazuya is back for a second season with a passion for infrastructure and experts on market inflection points. How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom is a fun and refreshing take on the isekai trope, witty without ever being condescending and catering to more audiences than the typical action-packed isekai. Souma makes for a truly likable realist hero with obvious flaws that have consequences, while ultimately trying to do right by this fantasy world he got dragged into.
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom Season 2 will premiere on Jan. 9, 2022 on Funimation.
Love of Kill
There is nothing wholesome about the spy-versus-spy couple in Love of Kill. Chateau Dankworth has taken the bounty to eliminate Son Ryang-ha, a ruthless killer who also happens to be very good at his job. However, when the two meet face to face, Ryang-ha confesses his feelings instead of killing Chateau -- and the game commences.
Chateau is forced to track her bounty down while he woos her with captured criminals instead of roses, but how they feel is hardly set in stone; and for two people who kill for a living, wandering feelings can be dangerous. Chateau needs to make sure she can still make the kill shot, but there's no telling when Ryang-ha might decide he's had his fun.
Love of Kill will premiere on Jan. 13, 2022 on Crunchyroll.
The Case Study of Vanitas Season 2
Season 2 of The Case Study of Vanitas will pick up with Noé Archiviste and Vanitas on the hunt for the Beast of Gevauden, in the hopes this manhunter is a curse bearer whom Vanitas will be able to heal. While it took nearly a full season, Noé and Vanitas have finally reached a tentative friendship, but forces working beyond the former's control and the latter's murky past with the Vampire of the Blue Moon can easily tear that apart.
Season 1 set up a lot of new character introductions and several more overlapping schemes that Noé and Vanitas are likely to stumble right into -- and there are some things even Vanitas can't talk them out of.
The Case Study of Vanitas Season 2 will premiere on Jan. 14, 2022 on Funimation.
