2022 is a good year for anime lovers everywhere, with a host of new anime series, movies and OVAs making their appearance. Even more exciting are the sequel seasons to well-loved anime series, promising fans the next part of a continuing story, new arcs and characters, and more content featuring their favorite characters.
With the year 2021 already coming to an end, let's have a look at some much-anticipated new seasons of anime series which are already confirmed or predicted to air in 2022.
A list of the top 10 anime sequels to keep an eye out for in 2022
Attack on Titan: final season (part 2)
The second part of the final season of Attack on Titan will finally start airing from January 9, 2022 and bring an end to the most hyped anime series of recent years. The series began with humans battling huge man-eating giants threatening humanity towards extinction, but as the series progressed, it kept revealing more and more horrifying and twisted truths.
Attack on Titan took a far deeper turn with the fourth season and the complexity of the plot has left anime-only fans baffled as to how the story will end. But with Hajime Isayama steering this ship and with Studio MAPPA handling the animation, it is sure to be a masterpiece, even if it ends on an incredibly dark and desolate note.
The Case Study of Vanitas (part 2)
The Case Study of Vanitas is an animated vampire-themed drama with action elements mixed in. Set in 19th century Paris, it revolves around vampires Noe, Amelia and Vanitas, and a book belonging to the Vanitas family, rumoured to have the ability to cure predatory vampires of their ‘malnomen’.
Following a three month break, part 2 of The Case Study of Vanitas will resume airing on Japanese television from January 2022. The first 12 episodes of the series aired from July 3-September 18, 2021. The exact premiere date is currently unknown.
Kaguya-sama: Love is War (season 3)
Kaguya-sama: Love is War is a romantic comedy following the unusual and highly competitive love story of Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya. Despite both harbouring feelings for the other, neither’s ego allows them to accept defeat first and confess.
What follows are hijinks and shenanigans, as they keep scheming and laying down plots to make the other confess. Kaguya-sama: Love is War is confirmed to air in April 2022, although the exact date has not yet been revealed.
Fumetsu no Anata (season 2)
Created by Yoshitoki Oima, the creator of A Silent Voice, Fumetsu no Anata follows an immortal being, Fushi, trying to understand humanity. Fushi initially begins as a rock, then moss, and then achieves sentience after taking the form of a dying arctic fox.
Being mistaken by a young boy as his pet wolf, Fushi keeps the abandoned boy company until he dies from his wounds. Fushi then takes on the boy’s appearance, wandering the world, learning about love and loss in the process. The series deals with themes of death, loss and reincarnation, and is a tear-jerker that deservedly gets a second season, confirmed to premiere in October 2022.
My Hero Academia (season 6)
My Hero Academia fans rejoiced with the confirmation and teaser of a sixth season soon after season 5 of the series finished airing. With the fifth season ending with Shigaraki’s ascendance as the new leader of the Paranormal liberation Army, season 6 promises to bring out all the big guns.
Expect Deku and friends, as well as the entire hero society, to likely face off against enemies more powerful and numerous than ever before, in an all-out war. Considering the schedules of previous seasons, My Hero Academia season 6 will possibly air somewhere between June to October 2022.
Tokyo Revengers (season 2)
One of the most popular anime in 2021, Tokyo Revengers combines time travel with an unlikely story revolving around gang wars. With the protagonist Takemichi moving between the past and present, his desperate chase to catch up with fate and save his friends create a moving drama; interspersed with some brilliant characterization and animation.
The series sports a pretty grey moral palette and fans seem to love that. With season 1 ending with a major cliffhanger, fans are desperately awaiting confirmation for season 2 which unofficial sources have hinted will premiere late in 2022.
Rent-a-Girlfriend (season 2)
Rent-a-Girlfriend received positive reviews from viewers, and slightly less positive ones from critics. Though it falls within the genre of a harem anime, the series is far from shallow, with interesting, layered characters and some poignant drama, as well.
Of course, it does have its fill of comic, as well as romantic moments, making it a satisfying watch. Rent-a-Girlfriend was all set to get a second season in 2021, but was ultimately delayed due to the pandemic. While no proper release date has been announced yet, the series will likely premiere sometime in 2022.
Haikyuu!! (season 5)
Haikyuu!! Is one of the most loved anime series among sports anime lovers and is extremely popular in the anime community in general.
Every season of Haikyuu!! gets more intense than the last, and now with a resounding win against Inarizaki High school at the Nationals, the Karasuno team is gearing up for a match against Nekoma. It is likely that the fifth season will consist solely of the “Battle at the Garbage Dump”, and air around October of 2022.
Kakegurui Twin
Kakegurui Twin is something of an anomaly on this list. Rather than a sequel, it is a prequel to the Kakegurui series. Similar to Jujutsu Kaisen 0, Kakegurui Twin is set a year before Yumeko Jabami’s arrival at Hyakkaou Private Academy.
It focuses mainly on Mary Saotome, who also appears in the original series as Jabami’s classmate, and as one of the best gamblers in the school. Kakegurui Twin is set to be released on Netflix in August 2022.
The Rising of the Shield Hero (season 2)
Belonging to the isekai genre, The Rising of the Shield Hero features a fantasy video game-like ambience. The protagonist, Naofumi Iwatani, is transported into a parallel universe where he, along with other people also drawn into this world, train to fight against Waves, which are interdimensional monsters threatening worlds across dimensions.
The first season of the series ran for 25 episodes, airing from January 9 - June 26, 2019. The Rising of the Shield Hero season 2 is scheduled to start airing in April 2022.
While many of these seasons haven't been officially been announced yet, previous season schedules and production times make for reliable predictions. Keep following for more updates when they come out.