Many anime fans agree that 2022 was a strong year for anime, and the Fall 2022 season, in particular, was simply packed with one superstar anime series after another. 2022 may seem like a tough act to follow, but fortunately for anime fans everywhere, 2023's lineup easily rivals 2022 at its best.
Even just a few weeks into 2023, anime fans can list dozens of exciting new and returning anime titles that will dominate the airwaves this year. A handful of fan favorites will return with new seasons, and a few other must-watch anime will make their debut to help keep the anime industry fresh with new characters and new stories. These are the best anime 2023 has to offer, and the anime community can't wait to watch them all.
Update on August 31st by Sage Ashford: With so many incredible anime for 2023, it's hard to keep track of them all. This list has been updated to reflect some of the great series that released and are releasing throughout the remainder of the year.
23 Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch From Mercury
2 Complete Seasons, Season 2 Release Date: April 9th
The first new Gundam series since 2016's Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, The Witch From Mercury proved just how versatile Gundam can be. After a grim prologue chapter, the series took viewers to school alongside its protagonist, Suletta Mercury. Suletta begins attending the Asticassia School of Technology, where she hopes to learn enough to eventually build a school on her home planet Mercury. However, it isn't long before her presence causes the status quo to spiral out of control, changing not just her own life, but society's as well.
After an incredible season 1 in the Fall of 2022, the series returned in Spring 2023 and again proved itself to be one of the best shows of the year. It's also one of the best written and animated mecha series in around a decade. While longtime fans doubted the series early on because of its school and romance focus, most of them understood once they saw how the usual Gundam tropes came into play.
22 Reign of the Seven Spellblades
1 Season, Season Start Date: July 8th 2023
Kimberly Magic Academy is a school so dangerous that only 80% of its students graduate, with the remainder either dying or being consumed by their own spells. There, six students meet and become friends, relying on each other to survive in an academy where if the curriculum and the teachers aren't a threat, the social standing of the other students are.
Reign of the Seven Spellblades starts out feeling like Harry Potter, but anime. However, it manages to separate itself from other magic high school anime through its world building and character development. The series' twists and turns make each episode feel like a new adventure, with danger lurking around every corner.
21 Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective
0 Complete Seasons, Season 1 Release Date: October 2nd 2023
Totomaru Isshiki wants to become a reputable detective that solves murders. Lacking the requisite skills, he's told to study under the fallen detective, Ron Kamonohashi. Whatever Isshiki expected from him, what he got was something completely different. Ron's entire life is a mess, and he barely listens to the people around him. However, he's still just as talented as a detective as he ever was, leading Isshiki to become his partner, and hopefully discover what changed his new mentor.
Ron Kamonohashi is the latest manga from Hitman Reborn creator Akira Amano. Presenting entertaining mysteries and a strong pair of protagonists, Ron is hopefully going to be a more plot driven version of Case Closed. There's just one season greenlit so far, but hopefully the entire manga gets adapted.
20 The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady
1 Complete Season, Season 1 Release Date: January 4th 2023
Reincarnated into another world, Anisphia adapts surprisingly well. There's just one problem: she can't use magic in a world where magic users are everywhere. Rather than give up though, she begins working on scientific experiments that not only grant her magic, but will hopefully one day allow her to fly. Though this turns her into something of an oddball amongst her royal family members, Anisphia does notice her brother's fiancée Eupyhillia being rudely dumped after she crashes into her brothers banquet. In an attempt to spare Euphyllia any more embarrassment, Anisphia offers to make the girl into her new assistant.
Genius Princess is a lot cuter than anyone would expect from any synopsis. While Anisphia claims to want Euphyllia for an assistant, she's actually in love with her. The story quickly turns from a wacky comedy into a wacky comedy with adorable yuri elements. Fans of drama should still check in though, as the story also explores the darkness that made the lead characters the way they are.
19 Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story
2 Complete Seasons, Season 2 Release Date: April 8th 2023
Birdie Wing was one of the most pleasant surprises of 2022. A series about women golfers, the lead character is Eve, a talented young golfer who makes her money betting on and defeating other noteworthy golfers. Known as the "Rainbow Bullet", Eve's never met a challenge she didn't feel she was up to. However, her entire world changes when she meets Aoi Amawashi, a woman referred to as the "Innocent Tyrant", who seems to be just as talented as she is.
The second season of Birdie Wing premiered this Spring, and trades the Eve vs. Aoi match-up for something new: putting them on the same team! Together, they're forced to battle against other talented golfers to win the All-Japan Girls' High School Gold Doubles Championship. Birdie Wing is just as goofy and over the top as it looks, and it gained a sizable audience for not being ashamed to be ridiculous.
18 Vinland Saga
2 Complete Season, Season 2 Release Date: January 10, 2023
2023's winter anime lineup features several fan-favorite returning series to help 2023 start off with a bang. One long-awaited anime is the seinen title Vinland Saga, continuing the tale of Thorfinn Karlsefni the antihero and his adventures across medieval Europe.
Back in Season 1, the bitter Thorfinn swore to slay his father's killer, only to lose his chance at revenge and end up sold into slavery in Denmark. Now a pacifist, Thofinn must face his bloody past, reinvent himself, and form a plan to buy back his freedom before he can create Vinland across the sea.
17 Welcome To Demon School, Iruma-Kun!
3 Complete Seasons, Season 3 Release Date: October 8, 2022
Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-Kun! returned in the Fall 2022 anime season with its third season, and this colorful isekai adventure continued in the Winter 2023 season as well. Many generic isekai titles have come out recently, such as My Isekai Life, but Iruma-Kun! is a different beast.
Iruma-Kun! is a cartoony, heartfelt isekai story about the deredere Iruma Suzuki trying to survive and thrive in the demonic Netherworld with his classmates. He has made many friends and allies by now, and he will need them all, plus a new bow, to survive the Harvest Festival challenge.
16 Mashle: Magic And Muscles
1 Complete Season, Release Date: April 7, 2023
Manga fans already love Mashle: Magic and Muscles as a bizarre but engaging cross between Harry Potter and One-Punch Man. The Mashle anime debuted in the Spring lineup. The story is almost like My Hero Academia as well, set in a magical world where being born without supernatural talents is a serious problem.
Protagonist Mash Burnedead has no magic, but he's got superhuman physical strength and speed to make up for it. He'll need the magic of bulging biceps and infinite stamina to survive at the Easton school, where he must merely pose as a wizard and survive countless challenges in one of the best new anime of 2023.
15 Oshi No Ko
1 Complete Season, Release Date: April 12, 2023
Oshi no Ko is another popular, gripping manga that has already become one of the best new anime to watch in 2023. Author Aka Akasaka of Kaguya-Sama fame wrote the story, meaning anyone who loves a playful but also emotionally complex and deep story is bound to enjoy watching Oshi no Ko.
This anime explores the surprisingly brutal pop idol industry, exposing the industry's polished lies and vicious drama for all to see. Protagonist Ai Hoshino is an idol with a secret, and there are those who mean her harm because of it. Even all the fame and money in the world might not save Ai from catastrophe.
14 Dr. Stone: New World
3 Complete Seasons, Season 3 Start Date: April 6, 2023
The Dr. Stone manga may be over, but for anime-only fans, the Stone Age adventure is still ongoing, with another season right around the corner. The Stone Wars saga is over, with Senku's Kingdom of Science bigger and better than ever, with Tsukasa's thugs now following him as manual laborers.
The upcoming New World arc will expand Senku's world like never before, with the teen scientist and his crew preparing to sail across the vast ocean to find new resources and opportunities. This means awakening a brand-new character with a strong personality and even stronger navigation skills to help.
13 Demon Slayer's Swordsmith Story Arc
3 Complete Seasons, Season 3 Release Date: Sunday, April 9
Demon Slayer has long since established itself as a shonen must-watch with two seasons and the Mugen Train movie, and there is plenty of adventure left to go. Shonen anime fans will definitely tune in to Demon Slayer's Swordsmith Village arc, which will showcase a few Hashira and demon Moons alike.
Tanjiro Kamado and his friends visit a reclusive village where Nichirin swords are forged, and there, Tanjiro will meet new friends and enemies alike. And as brutal as Daki and Gyutaro were as the Upper Moon 6, Tanjiro will feel fear when even higher-ranked Moons make their debut.
12 Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War
17 Complete Seasons, TYBW Part 2 Release Date: July 2023
In Fall 2022, the long-running Bleach anime returned after 10 years off the airwaves with an exciting new story arc, updated animation, and new music, and fans couldn't get enough of it. In 13 episodes, the Thousand-Year Blood War story arc pushed Bleach and its characters in bold new directions, and there's more to come.
In the Summer 2023 anime season, fans join protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki once again as he fights to free the world from King Yhwach's menace. Ichigo will face many new Quincy foes, fight alongside old allies, and even contend with a shocking betrayal along the way.
11 Jujutsu Kaisen
2 Seasons, Season 2 Release Date: Summer 2023
Jujutsu Kaisen is Bleach's spiritual successor, and it's like a meaner, leaner version of Tite Kubo's original shonen classic. Fans loved the first season a few years ago, with the kind protagonist Yuji Itadori leading the way into the violent, dark world of curse monsters and sorcery.
Now, after the fantastic Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie, it's finally time for the main anime's second season for the Summer 2023 anime season. The new season includes flashbacks of a younger Satoru Gojo and his strained relationship with his friend Suguru Geto.
10 Attack On Titan
3 Complete Seasons, Season 4 Part 4 Release Date: Fall 2023
The long-running Attack on Titan anime is a classic example of patience paying off with incredible results. This anime's final season was split up into several parts, and at last, the final part will air in 2023 to finally bring this brutal Titan war to a close for all time.
Eren Yeager has risen as a mighty antihero who will use the Founding Titan's power to destroy the non-Eldian world and fulfill his people's destiny. Or at least, that's how Eren sees it, while many of his former friends and allies are now fighting him to save what remains of the world.
9 Konosuba: An Explosion On This Wonderful World!
Release Date: April 6, 2023
Konosuba: An Explosion On This Wonderful World! is the official prequel and spinoff to the main Konosuba anime series. Unlike most isekai anime, however, Explosion is told from the viewpoint of a native of this world, meaning it hardly feels like isekai at all.
Instead, the Explosion anime is all about Megumin the magical girl and her personal quest to become a famous and successful explosion caster. This anime also promises to keep all the wacky, satirical humor that made the original Konosuba anime so successful and popular among isekai fans.
8 Edens Zero
2 Seasons, Season 2 Release Date: April 1, 2023
Edens Zero is the most recent manga/anime series by Hiro Mashima of Fairy Tail fame. Overall, Edens Zero is a trimmer and sleeker version of the aimless and bloated Fairy Tail, inviting sci-fi anime fans along for a wild ride in the Sakura Cosmos.
Protagonists Shiki and Rebecca will gather their own crew of friends and fellow adventurers as they wander the universe, seeking a way to meet the fabled Mother, or the goddess of the cosmos. Edens Zero is back for another action-packed season and gives off serious Guardians of the Galaxy vibes the whole time.
7 Bungou Stray Dogs
4 Complete Seasons, Season 5 Release Date: July 2023
The popular Bungou Stray Dogs anime returned for its fifth season in Summer 2023, giving anime fans plenty to look forward to after the impressive Spring 2023 lineup completed. The overall Bungou Stray Dogs series takes place in Yokohama, following the Armed Detective Agency members as they try to protect the city from the mafia.
Bungou Stray Dogs follows protagonist Atsushi Nakajima, who can transform into a berserker white tiger under the moonlight. Interestingly, the series also stars a variety of historical poets and authors as modern-day young adults with various supernatural powers, including F. Scott Fitzgerald and Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
6 Spy X Family
1 Complete Season, Season 2 Release Date: October 2023
Spy x Family was an instant smash hit among comedy and action anime fans. This charming anime combines Cold War intrigue, found family antics, comedy, and more into a single, sleek package, and anime fans can't wait for more later in 2023.
Season 1, which was split into two cours, launched the story of the Forger household: the Westalis spy Loid, the dandere assassin Yor, and their telepathic, goofball foster daughter Anya. By now, Anya's mission to befriend Damian Desmond is in dire straits. Still, Anya won't give up just yet, and she just might become Ostania's greatest hero when Season 2 launches in October 2023.
5 Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
2 Seasons, Season 2 Release Date: July 2023
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation may sound like a typical, even cliche, isekai anime series at first, but it has a strong following and has more to offer than new fans might expect. Jobless Reincarnation stars a 30-something shut-in who dies and gets reborn as Rudeus Grayrat in one of the best anime of 2023.
Fortunately, Rudeus was born to two loving parents in this new world, and he soon learns the ways of both wizard-style magic and swordplay with the benefit of an adult's mind. If Rudeus' luck holds out, he will really make something of himself as he grows up and might even find true love along the way.
4 Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown Arc
2 Complete Season, Season 2 Release Date: January 2023
The popular Tokyo Revengers anime introduced shonen fans to a brutal but touching story where the gentle, timid Takemichi Hanagaki learned of his female friend's death, so he went back in time to 2005 to change the future. That meant getting caught up in street gang feuds and delinquent antics.
In 2023, Tokyo Revengers fans have been treated to a short but action-packed second season, pitting Takemichi against his most formidable enemies yet. The season is all wrapped up, making it a perfect binge-watch for anyone who might have missed it.