Best Sci-Fi Anime of 2022

In the futuristic Californian metropolis of Night City, dreams are destined to perish. David Martinez, a teenager residing in the slums, strives to realize his mother’s lifelong ambition for him to ascend the ranks of Arasaka, the globe’s premier security corporation. To achieve this, he attends the elite Arasaka Academy while his mother works tirelessly to sustain their family. When a confrontation with a street gang ruins his life, David discovers Sandevistan cyberware, a prosthetic that bestows superhuman speed upon its user. Driven by rage, David implants the device in his back and uses it to take revenge on one of his abusers. This act leads to his expulsion from the academy, crushing his hopes of ever making his mother proud. After observing David’s new abilities, the alluring data thief Lucyna "Lucy" Kushinada proposes a partnership, offering him a path to salvation. However, associating with Lucy exposes David to the realm of Edgerunners—cyborg criminals willing to violate any law for profit. Edgerunners frequently die, either through their cyberware or mental breakdown, but in his struggle for survival within a corrupt system, David is prepared to gamble everything.

Having survived the brutal trials of Idofront, Riko now holds a White Whistle, granting her passage into the Abyss's sixth layer—the Capital of the Unreturned. Together with Reg and Nanachi, Riko begins exploring this uncharted territory, where the ruins of the promised Golden City lie. As the trio adjusts to the harsh surroundings, they soon encounter dangerous creatures and treacherous terrain. Their journey leads them to a village inhabited by strange beings called "hollows." Despite the unsettling atmosphere that greets them, the three press onward to uncover the secrets of the settlement and the forgotten legacies of adventurers who once descended into the unexplored Abyss's horrors.

Shidou Itsuka’s mission with Ratatoskr continues despite the many obstacles he has already surmounted. His routine is disrupted when he finds and aids a starving woman on the street, who then leads him to her apartment. There, she reveals her true identity as Nia Honjou, a well-known manga artist writing under a pseudonym, and discloses that she is a Spirit who knows the details of his secret work. Eager to test his charm, Nia dares Shidou to take her on a date. While attempting to seal her powers, Shidou uncovers more about Nia and her past connection to Deus Ex Machina Industries, an organization he knows all too well.

Reito Mizuhara is a medical student at the National Advanced Medical School in Tokyo who contracts a rare and fatal illness known as cellular sclerosis. To receive treatment, he is placed into cryogenic sleep for five years. When he wakes up, he discovers that one year into his slumber, a global pandemic emerged caused by the novel Male Killer (MK) virus, which exclusively targets males and has wiped out all other men on Earth. Fortunately, Reito and four other men were spared during their cryosleep and are now immune to the virus. As the only remaining males in the world, they are tasked with mating with as many women as possible to repopulate the planet. However, Reito remains devoted to his childhood friend and only love interest, Elisa Tachibana—only to find out that she went missing three years ago. While the other male survivors adapt to this new reality, Reito chooses to search for Elisa, resist constant temptation, and investigate the mysterious virus.

A catastrophic event has turned Japan into a vast desert, and a mysterious rusting plague is devastating what remains of civilization. The authorities blame the spread of mushroom spores for this grim new reality, pointing to Bisco Akaboshi, whom they call the "Man-Eating Mushroom," as the culprit. Bisco, however, sees things differently. He is a "Mushroom Protector" on a mission to find the fabled "Sabikui" mushroom, believed to be the ultimate remedy for the rust disease. Accompanying him on this journey are his giant crab, Akutagawa, and Dr. Milo Nekoyanagi, a kind physician seeking a treatment for his sister's rust poisoning. Despite the prejudice he faces from the public, Bisco remains determined to cleanse the decaying world.

Aliens called the Oni threaten to invade Earth, but they offer a deal: a randomly chosen human must defeat Lum, the Oni leader's beautiful daughter, in a one-on-one game of tag. The "lucky" contestant is the lecherous and unlucky high schooler Ataru Moroboshi. He has ten days to grab Lum's horns, but her extraterrestrial powers make the task seem nearly impossible. Driven by a promise of marriage from his childhood friend Shinobu Miyake, Ataru manages to catch Lum off guard. He first grabs her bikini top by mistake, but eventually succeeds in his real goal. Though the game ends, Lum misinterprets the situation and believes Ataru wants to marry her, so she moves into his home. The hapless student constantly tries to get rid of the clingy Lum while attempting to win back his intended fiancée. After his heroic feat leads to such a disastrous outcome, it's doubtful whether luck will ever be on his side.

Suletta Mercury comes to the Asticassia School of Technology at her mother's request, leaving her home planet behind. In this school, disputes are settled through student duels, and the top-ranked duelist is promised Miorine Rembran as their betrothed—a prize arranged by Miorine's father. When Guel Jeturk, the school's finest pilot and Miorine's current fiancé, orders his betrothed to live with him, Suletta objects, prompting Guel to challenge her. Though she wins the duel, Suletta is then placed under suspicion for piloting a forbidden mobile suit type—a GUND-ARM, also called a "Gundam"—and her victory is nullified. Refusing to tolerate further unfairness, Miorine challenges Guel to another duel with even greater consequences. This time, Suletta must win again, or she will be expelled and the Gundam Aerial, which holds deep meaning for her, will be destroyed.

In a near-future world where technology has made great strides, renowned AI TV fortune teller predicts high school student Asahi Kashiwagi's day with uncanny precision. On his way to school, he runs into Aoi Izumisawa, Bai Mongfa, Karin Istel, Amelia Irving, and Ilya Ilyukhin. Though he has never met them before, by the end of that same day, Asahi receives love confessions from all five, exactly as the fortune teller foretold. As if that were not enough, Asahi soon discovers that these five individuals are actually candidates to become his bride, and they have been sent by his father to live at Asahi's home. With no other option, he reluctantly lets them stay, leading to a raucous series of events that liven up his otherwise mundane high school life. Yet, as Asahi grows closer to them, forgotten memories begin to resurface. While peeling back the hidden truth, Asahi starts to feel that his connection with these potential partners might be far more than simple coincidence.

Located in Tokyo Bay, the 24th Ward is a special jurisdiction where the Hazard Cast surveillance system ensures public safety by predicting accidents and aiding victims. Yet, the system cannot determine the specific nature of these incidents or stop them from occurring. Ran Akagi, Kouki Suidou, and Shuuta Aoi, a trio of friends known as "RGB" for their hair colors, witnessed the limits of this protection when Suidou’s sister, Asami, died in a high school fire. A year later, Shuuta is consumed by guilt for not saving her, Ran strives to become a renowned street artist, and Kouki serves in the Hazard Cast intervention unit. During a memorial for the fire victims, the RGB trio receives strange phone calls showing images of the future and presenting them with two terrible choices. Unwilling to accept fate, they confront this mystery, initiating a series of harsh dilemmas they must navigate to safeguard the 24th Ward and its inhabitants.

Following the devastation of World War III, which decimated the global population and rendered vast regions uninhabitable, private military contractors started deploying combat androids known as "T-Dolls" to maintain stability in volatile nations. Although these androids possess physical advantages over human soldiers, they lack the ability to devise complex strategies and thus depend on human commanders to issue orders. Sangvis Ferri, once a leading manufacturer of T-Dolls, faced catastrophe when it tried to install a specialized android as its sole commander, causing the immediate death of all personnel at that facility. The rogue AI that emerged seized control of Sangvis factories and declared war on the surviving remnants of humanity. With a hostile robot invasion underway, Griffin & Kryuger stands as the sole paramilitary organization capable of resisting and stopping this destructive advance. While investigating Sangvis Ferri’s aggression, the elite task force "Team Anti-Rain" seeks confidential information in an abandoned warehouse but is suddenly ambushed. To protect their discoveries, the group temporarily disbands, with each Doll going into hiding. Meanwhile, Gentiane, a lazy yet talented individual, is hired by Griffin as a rookie commander and assigned her first crucial mission: to locate Team Anti-Rain and retrieve the classified data before Sangvis Ferri can.

As the dawn of a decisive confrontation approaches in Leyte Gulf against the Abyssal Fleet, mysterious entities that hold dominion over the oceans, the Kanmusu—young girls embodying the souls of warships—prepare to reorganize as the sole force capable of opposing them. Shigure, a destroyer of the Shiratsuyu class, is deployed to the First Striking Force, Third Section, commonly referred to as 1YB3H. However, this unit comprises only a handful of surviving Kanmusu and has been designated as a diversionary force. Tasked with facing the Abyssal Fleet directly, this assignment may well mark their last operation together. Undeterred by the grim odds, Shigure is resolved to prevent the enemy from claiming any more of her comrades. During this seemingly suicidal advance toward Leyte Gulf, the members of 1YB3H must rally around one another and endure the hardship to demonstrate their value as capable vessels.

Disillusioned with the status quo, youths across Neo-Tokyo banded together into tribes to seek belonging, but intense factional loyalty frequently erupted into violence. To curb this chaos, authorities enacted the XB Law, mandating that all tribal disputes be settled through Extreme Baseball. This futuristic iteration of the sport features modified regulations, fewer constraints, and bizarre technological enhancements, such as extendable bats and specialized pitching gear. Haru Shirokane, a timid young man, is bullied until he is rescued by Shun Kamiya and Taiga. Shun serves as the ace pitcher for the Minato Tribe, the premier squad in Minato City, while Taiga seeks to defeat Shun to prove himself as the strongest player. Through a series of unexpected events, Shun recognizes the latent abilities of Taiga and Haru, prompting both to join the Minato Tribe. As a new danger emerges under the command of the enigmatic Oujirou Otori, the Minato Tribe must rely on the strength of its two new recruits to fend off the encroaching threat.

Ichigo Momomiya is thrilled to begin her high school journey and experience romance. Her wish seems to come true when she encounters the charming and handsome Masaya Aoyama, instantly developing feelings for him. After learning that Aoyama cares deeply about environmental issues, Ichigo uses tickets to an endangered animal exhibition as an opportunity to invite him on a date. During their outing, Ichigo is hit by a strange light and loses consciousness. When she awakens, she sees Aoyama unharmed—but they are forced to flee from an enormous rat-like monster that wounds Aoyama. To protect her crush, Ichigo unleashes her latent abilities and transforms into a feline-powered heroine. Following her victory over the creature, researchers Ryou Shirogane and Keiichiro Akasaka inform Ichigo that she was selected for the Mew Project: a team of five magical girls whose DNA has been merged with that of endangered animals. Her mission is now to locate the other members and combat the Chimera Anima—creatures corrupted by aliens aiming to conquer the world—before time runs out.

A group of four—an alien, a former ninja, a weak telepath, and a boy disguised as a girl—all attend the same school: Kashihara Girls' Academy. Each one hides their true nature from the world. Rikka, Chiyo, Sekine, and Tsubasa appear to be close friends, but every one of them carries an immense secret that must never be revealed. To keep up their facade as typical middle school girls, they constantly devise clever tricks to conceal their real identities. However, this proves harder than expected, as the four students repeatedly find themselves caught up in all sorts of chaotic situations.

Tucked away in the fifth ward of the Imperial Capital, the Black Cat Cafe employs restored Automata, advanced mechanical dolls whose original purpose vanished when the war concluded years ago. Dressed in elegant kimonos, these dolls navigate their new existence while grappling with lingering memories of their past duties that prevent them from fully embracing the peace. Among them is Haizakura, recently restored but missing her memories due to a reset. Though her identity and role remain unclear, her passion for singing is undeniable. Guided by her endless curiosity and melodic talents, Haizakura and her fellow Automata embark on a journey to discover their new purpose, standing by one another through every challenge they face.

Yang is ordered to appear before the Free Planet Alliance, and the corruption he encounters leaves him deeply unsettled. At the same time, Marshal Reinhardt discovers treachery within his own ranks when an ambitious admiral mounts a fierce assault aimed at recapturing the Iserlohn Fortress. As both sides struggle to gain ground in this endless, bloody conflict, they come to realize that their true adversary is not an external foe—but the enemy within their own forces.

The united world struggles to defend its freedom against the alien Neuroi, aided by human girls with magical powers known as witches. As the ongoing conflict weighs down morale, Grace Maitland Steward—a retired witch still serving in the army—proposes a plan that emphasizes music as a crucial support capable of turning the war's direction. Her proposal is dismissed, so Grace sets out to demonstrate its potential to her commanders. She recruits Aila Paivikki Linnamaa and Eleonore Giovanna Gassion, two witches who have already achieved some success as singers, to help gather other witches and establish the League of Nations Air Force's Music Squadron. This recruitment drive yields seven promising candidates. Among them is 14-year-old Virginia Robertson, who lacks any military background yet appears to have an ability too remarkable to ignore.

In the cyber city of Tom Sawyer, society revolves around earning "Love," similar to receiving likes on social media. Citizens of this augmented reality exchange Love for public services and appearance-altering avatars through the Decoration Customizer, or "Deco," a hologram device implanted in people's eyes from early childhood. Under careful government management, the inhabitants of Tom Sawyer live peacefully, aside from the occasional appearance of Phantom Zero, a mysterious criminal who reduces all Love to zero within their vicinity. Berry, a mischievous girl fascinated by Phantom Zero, lives comfortably within Tom Sawyer's system until her Deco malfunctions, allowing her to see a camouflaged prankster named Hack. Believing Hack to be Phantom Zero, Berry chases after the suspect and, in doing so, begins to uncover society's most closely guarded secrets. As it turns out, Hack is not the only person living outside the system's rules—and the vibrant colors of Tom Sawyer conceal a darker reality.

Using Professor Yuuko Kouzuki's technology and Kasumi Yashiro's psychic abilities, Cadet Takeru Shirogane returns to his original world. With no time to spare, Takeru seeks Yuuko's aid in his world to complete the Alternative IV project—humanity's last hope against the BETA, an alien species invading Earth. As the anti-BETA project nears completion, Takeru and his fellow cadets graduate from the Yokohama pilot training academy. But during a test of the new operating system for the Tactical Surface Fighters—the giant combat suits humanity uses against their enemy—the BETA ambush Takeru and his team. Barely escaping with his life, Takeru is left traumatized after witnessing the brutal death of one of his close friends. Losing his will to fight, Takeru flees back to the other world, where he experiences a similar tragedy. According to Yuuko's theory, people from parallel universes are destined to suffer the same fate. Thus, Takeru must overcome his trauma if he wishes to protect those he cares about.

After Yang Wen-li seizes the Iserlohn Fortress, the Free Planets Alliance becomes increasingly confident in its military pursuits. With repeated invasions of Galactic Empire space and controlling an ideal staging area, the Alliance can now inflict substantial harm on the Empire. Yet Reinhard von Lohengramm is determined to prevent the Free Planets Alliance from establishing any foothold. He is resolute in pursuing his late best friend Siegfried Kircheis' most cherished ambition: to be the one who brings the entire universe under a single rule. As large-scale armed conflicts persist, the calculating Adrian Rubinsky, Fezzan's ambitious head, seeks to exploit the ongoing war to advance his own schemes.

Second part of Kyoukai Senki.

Hiyori Hayama is a young singer who moves to Tokyo hoping to launch her career. She has always loved singing and dreams of performing on stage like her favorite artist. But the entertainment industry is far from easy—she fails audition after audition and struggles to sell her songs. Still stuck at the starting line, Hiyori seizes her only chance to move forward: entering Extreme Hearts. This popular event is a Hyper Sports tournament where contestants compete in various sports using gear that enhances their abilities, all for a shot at a big break. Though Hiyori is athletic, her lack of experience with Hyper Sports becomes a hurdle. Luckily, she becomes friends with girls who are skilled in different sports, and they join the tournament alongside Hiyori, determined to help her succeed. Now playing as Team RISE, Hiyori and her teammates learn the unspoken rule of Extreme Hearts—every competitor must be an entertainer or have aspirations to become one. For the members of Team RISE, taking on the competition head-on is an inspiring journey that leads them to discover new passions and forge lasting friendships.

In a far-off future, Japan's cities are sealed off from each other behind walls, with tourism and relocation heavily restricted—nearly impossible. Each region is managed by an AI moderator that operates its territory according to its own design. These clusters are perfected around a single ideal, where every inhabitant plays their part in sustaining the moderator's vision. Yet not everyone is content with the narrow purpose of the city they were born into, and some seek covert assistance to move to a more suitable cluster. By day, Equa, Ferres, and Martese are typical high school students; by night, they work as Extractors—those who illegally ferry people across city boundaries. Carrying clients courageous enough to abandon everything, Equa and her friends risk their lives to offer them a fresh start. However, the perils of extraction escalate when the cluster moderators grow more aware of the group's activities, which threaten their flawless utopias.

In a world where distinct kaijuus suddenly emerge in various locations across the globe, members of the United Nations Monster Observatory explore a reality where immensely powerful kaijuus and humanity coexist.

Second season of Megaton-kyuu Musashi.

This revised edition of the series compresses its narrative from 50 episodes into nine, incorporating fresh animation sequences. The plot focuses mainly on the mercenary organization Tekkadan and its personnel.

This story follows a mysterious button that gives whoever presses it a million yen, but at the cost of spending 500 million years alone in an empty void. When those 500 million years conclude, the person loses all memory of the experience and returns to the moment they first pushed the button. A bearer of this button appears before three siblings—five-year-old Tonio, fourteen-year-old Jaibi, and seventeen-year-old Suneko—who urgently need money to pay for their father's hospital treatment.