Fall 2022 Anime Awards

Hey guys! The Fall 2022 Anime Season has officially come to a close this week and I'm excited to shout out my superlatives for the season!

(Original) Anime Of The Season

I'm The Villainess, So I'm Taming The Final Boss is my pick for the anime of the season. This might be a low key cop out cause you know I'm a sucker for this new genre of anime in which we see our hero isekai-ed into the villainess of the comic but I loved this one so so so much more than the previous villainess anime I've watched cause Aileen was a star here. She was still a bit of a airhead but not to the degree Katarina was cause it felt like Aileen picked up some of her character's evil traits but just enough so she wouldn't be a placemat for others. She was able to solve every problem that came her way through her own intelligence and with the help of a few minions that she handpicked. I loved that we got multiple story arcs throughout the season so everything felt fast paced and I loved the romance!

Runner Up - Chainsaw Man

Hidden Gem 

Raven Of The Inner Palace is my pick for hidden gem of the season cause I truly don't think anyone was watching this gem of a show. I really don't think I've ever seen another anime with the setting in an imperial palace harem other than one anime from long ago that I only ever watched half of. I wonder if it's cause China was more into the palace dramas than Japan was but I imagine at some point in Japanese history we had Emperors so it's an uptapped market! Either way this show was basically saying what if ghosts and the supernatural existed and the Emperor worked alongside one of his consorts to hunt down these ghosts. The music in this show was incredible as was the animation and directing and story!

Runner Up - Blue Lock

Best Sequel 

Spy x Family Season 1 Part 2 is definitely the best sequel of this season and there really was no competition based on how much I adore Spy x Family! This second season gave us more of everything we loved in the first half! More cute Anya faces! More wacky plots! More hijinks! But seriously I liked seeing the small bits of character development we got across the season. Loid and Yor are starting to fall in love given the fact that they don't want the other to find a better partner and Loid is starting to see Anya and Yor more as his family and less as tools in his mission. I imagine that eventually he'll take the two of them with him if he ever leaves. Anya and Damian are still hilariously adorable together and I ship them so hard.

Runner Up - My Hero Academia Season 6

Greatest Animation/Character Design

Raven Of The Inner Palace had the best animation this season and seriously you only need to look at one scene in this show to know why. I love the soft colors and dreamy aesthetic of this show as well as the unique character designs.

Runner Up - Blue Lock

Best OP 

True Fool Love by Liyuu from More Than A Married Couple, But Not Lovers is the best OP of the season. The lyrics are so catchy and the music makes you want to dance.

Runner Up - Kyо̄kan Sarenakute mo Ii Janai by Rie Takahashi from I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss

Protagonist(s) Of The Season

Aileen Lauren D'Autriche from I'm The Villainess, So I'm Taming The Final Boss is my protagonist of the season and you might have actually guessed this from when I was gushing about her earlier! I absolutely adore Aileen to pieces cause she totally takes everything she knows about the otome game she is in and uses it to her advantage which is usually not a thing that female protags do. She is able to solve every problem that comes her way and yet is airheaded enough to act as the female lead when accidentally seducing capture targets after she uses the lines that should win them over. I love that she's unafraid to be a bitch when she has to and at every moment she's ready to thrown down to get what she deserves.

Runner Up - Fran from Reincarnated As A Sword

Antagonist(s) Of The Season

The League Of Villains from My Hero Academia are my antagonists of the season and like maybe that's cheating cause unlike a lot of other antagonists in this season we have had 6 seasons to get to know these bad guys over the others but I can't help but choose them anyway! I mean what other antagonists have had a full half season to give us their backstories to the degree that we low key start to see them as the heroes of their stories the way they see themselves. You feel pity for how society failed them and see that a lot of them could have been heroes in their own rights if only society was built better! The time spent with them is so intense that you even start to wonder if the heroes even have the power to defeat them!

Runner Up - Lilia Reinoise from I'm The Villainess, So I'm Taming The Final Boss

Ship Of The Season

Aileen Lauren D'Autriche and Claude Jean Elmeyer from I'm The Villainess, So I'm Taming The Final Boss are my ship of the season cause they were absolutely the cutest couple this season had from the moment we saw the two on screen together. I absolutely adore the dynamic between the two where Aileen has all these goals and missions and wants and Claude sort of just fangirls for her from behind giving her support when she needs and otherwise not doing anything unless it has to do with her. He didn't even want to become Crown Prince until Aileen's dad was like yo Aileen wants to be the future Queen so you need to step up. I love that they're so in love with each other that they would never allow anyone to step in the middle and they trust each other so much.

 

Runner Up - Eliana Veilstein and Christopher Selkirk Ascherald from Bibliophile Princess

And with that I'll see you all in the Winter 2023 Season!! Here's hoping that we get a better crop to choose from!

xoxo Allie