Anime, a Japanese animation medium becoming more and more mainstream in the U.S., is famous for its unique concepts, phenomenal animation and creative stories that keep you hooked every episode. Each series has something incredible to offer to its viewers, whether that be an intriguing plot, likable characters, or beautiful designs and artwork. New and returning series tend to be sorted by season, and the spring 2022 season is full of gems.

Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 (2019-)

One series to look forward to this spring is the second season of Rising of the Shield Hero, a dark fantasy/isekai show. The first season follows easygoing hero Naofumi after he is summoned to a parallel universe with three other young men to fight hordes of monsters called “waves.” 

Season 1 was well-received by viewers, with an 8.0/10 ranking on MAL. Many were impressed by the series’ ability to overcome typical “isekai” tropes (a genre about when a character from the human world gets transported to a fantasy world, which tends to be rather repetitive) and found the main characters to be very well-written and creative. Season 2 will be available on Funimation and Crunchyroll on April 6, 2022.

Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 3 (2019-)

Another popular series coming out this spring is the third season of the psychological romantic comedy show, Kaguya-sama: Love is War. The series follows protagonists Kaguya and Miyuki, two genius high school students who have fallen in love with each other but refuse to admit it, in their bizarre and prideful attempts to get the other to confess. 

The series’ previous seasons quickly became popular for their unique characters, hilarious gags, and twist on the traditional romantic comedy genre. Season 3 has been confirmed to come out April 9, 2022 on Hulu, Crunchyroll and Funimation.

Komi Can’t Communicate Season 2 (2021-)

The adorable slice-of-life series Komi Can’t Communicate has a second season arriving this spring as well. The first season is about an ordinary high school student named Tadano helping his aloof classmate Komi, a girl with social anxiety, make 100 friends.

Season one was aired in October 2021 and exploded in popularity, receiving an 8.1/10 on MAL and a large following of fans.

“The show has a lot of charm,” Lean Chen Fu, a fan of the series, said. “It’s really funny.”

The second season will be available on Netflix on April 7, 2022.

Spy x Family Season 1 (2022-)

An entirely new series coming out this spring is Spy X Family. The series follows Loid, a spy who needs to go deep undercover for a mission, so he “builds a family” by faking a marriage with an assassin named Yor and adopting a young mind reader named Anya. 

The manga that the anime is based on has done very well; it was the 8th most popular manga in all of 2021, selling almost 5 million copies, due to the silly concept and adorable characters mixed with the brutal spy-esque action. The first season of Spy X Family will be available on Crunchyroll and is set to air on April 9, 2022.

Summer Time Render Season 1 (2022-)

Summer Time Render is a less popular mystery/horror series arriving this spring. The series is about Shinpei Ajiro who, after his parents’ deaths, moved in with his childhood friends Mio and Ushio. Since then, he has grown up and gone to live on his own in Tokyo. After being notified that Ushio has passed away, however, he returns home; but something about her death isn’t quite right.

The manga that the show is based on is a bit more obscure than others mentioned on this list, but fans hope an anime adaptation will give this series the recognition it deserves. The first season is coming out on April 15 on Disney+.

All in all, this season seems to be one to look forward to. As opposed to the past few seasons which have had a surplus of romance and shounen series, this season’s large variety of genres is a breath of fresh air. In addition, most of the series mentioned already have their own following, so it’s virtually guaranteed that they’ll be worth watching. Either way, each series seems to be interesting in its own way, so if any of them sound interesting, be sure to check them out when they’re available!