Jan 23
AniTAY’s Top Anime of 2022: Part One
If I could sum up 2022 in how it was for anime, it’d be “… hm”.
Not remotely a bad year for shows or movies, and I am reminding myself to avoid comparing it to the ungodly 2021 as that’d be incredibly unfair; it was a more than solid outing for the medium, even though it didn’t feel quite as varied as I was hoping it to be. If you were into cute girls and Cloverworks though, 2022 was your year, but if you were into, say, mecha shows like I am, going from nearly half a dozen the previous year to just one (that’s on hiatus to boot)… 2022 felt like a bit of a downgrade. Anyway, with my minor grievance out of the way, I and over two dozen AniTAY contributors still managed to come through and put together ballots for the annual Favorite Anime of the Year poll!
The idea is simple (the rules, less so): each AniTAY contributor is allowed to vote for ten total shows and/or movies based on rank, with their most favorite getting ten points, and their least-most favorite getting one point, effectively a ranked-choice vote (however, ballots with between 5 to 10 entries are accepted as well). Any anime that got an official release in the US is fair game, which unfortunately means non-officially released media like Summertime Rendering weren’t allowed, but anything that came out a previous year to then see a wide release the following year is eligible. (Belle for example was disqualified last time, but was fair game this time). Also, any pre-existing show from a previous year that got another season/cour this year is allowed as well, as is any show with a split season over two years counting into the incoming year. This means if something started in 2021 but went into 2022, it counted as a 2022 show, and if something started in 2022 but goes into 2023, it isn’t eligible (Ranking of Kings, now was your tiem to shine). Also, if a show ran into a hectic release schedule that got most of its episodes out in time, it’s also eligible for the past year, hence why Uncle From Another World got a bit of a pass.
The rules stated, here are the results: 25 contributors filled in ballots, resulting in 56 total entries getting points. Surprisingly, despite the small increase in voters, this resulted in over 10 fewer total entries from the previous year. I will also say that this was by far the most stressful poll I’ve ever had to run, due to messy release schedules for more shows than usual, and an incredibly packed winter season. Anywho, part one will list the shows that had fewer than 10 total points, part two on Wednesday will list the shows that cracked two digits up to eleventh place overall, and part three on Friday will list the ten finalists, along with AniTAY’s overall pick for Anime of the Year (and keep your eyes out for a future podcast episode where yours truly announces the results). And with all that out of the way:
Tied for 51st Place (1 point each):
All Saints Street
Bastard!! Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy
Kingdom Season 4
Komi-san Can’t Communicate Season 2
Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games Is Tough for Mobs
Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 2
Tied for 46th Place (2 points each):
Cardfight!! Vanguard will+dress
Deaimon: Recipe for Happiness
Love Live! Superstar!! Season 2
Lupin Zero
Shadow’s House Season 2
Tied for 44th Place (4 points each):
The Orbital Children
Tiger and Bunny 2
Tied for 42nd Place (7 points each):
The Demon Girl Next Door 2
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These — Intrigue
Tied for 34th Place (8 points each):
Aharen is Indecipherable
Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai
Jobless Reincarnation — Eris the Goblin Slayer
Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya - Battle for Sanctuary
Laid-Back Camp: The Movie
Loves Flops
One Piece Film: Red
Uncle From Another World
Tied for 29th Place (9 points each):
Belle
Miss Kuroitsu from the Monster Development Department
More than a married couple, but not lovers
Sabikui Bisco
The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting — One first place vote
And so ends part one of three of the overall results! Tune back in over the week to see what democracy has wrought in terms of anime popularity!
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