Overall, 2022 was an excellent year for anime, and fans of all different series and genres were in for a real treat all year round. Romance fans were delighted with My Dress-Up Darling in the Winter 2022 season, and isekai fans had fun with Uncle From Another World and Reincarnated as a Sword. For action fans, meanwhile, plenty of outstanding, ongoing titles made their long-awaited return.

These series stood out in 2022 with their new seasons, with each anime pushing its own story and lore in bold new directions with new adventures, new villains and even some drama. Five particular anime stand out for wowing anime fans with the next installments of their sagas, and some of these returns were years in the making.

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My Hero Academia's Sixth Season Begins the Final War of Heroes vs. Villains

Izuku Midoriya must face Tomura Shigaraki in MHA.

My Hero Academia has been coming back practically every year for the next chapter of student hero Izuku Midoriya's quest to become the new symbol of peace. Seasons 4 and 5 amazed fans with Izuku's battles against the mighty Overhaul and the joint training arc at UA. However, Season 6, which started airing in the Fall 2022 season, ushers in the long-awaited final battle between pro heroes and villains, with all of society on the line. Izuku and his classmates must face true villainy on an awesome scale, and on a personal note, Izuku faces his mortal nemesis Tomura Shigaraki once again, while Dabi, now known as Toya Todoroki, unleashes his pent-up rage on his estranged father Endeavor and youngest brother Shoto. Season 6 is, so far, delivering some hard-hitting action, tragic deaths, shocking drama, and exciting new plot twists and action scenes that will change the course of Izuku's hero career forever.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Arc Is #1, Shining Bright for Everyone After 10 Long Years

Ichigo Kurosaki In Bleach

Many anime fans considered Tite Kubo's Bleach the runt of the shonen "big three" in light of its relatively low sales and its anime's cancelation in 2012 as the series' popularity waned. For 10 years, anime-only Bleach fans missed their favorite show, with the story unresolved and many character arcs unfinished. Now, Bleach's anime triumphantly returned with the "Thousand-Year Blood War" arc in 2022 -- the first of four cours to finish Bleach's lengthy story at last. This new arc, complete with vastly improved animation and some fun cameos and bonus scenes, will help prove why Bleach is an essential shonen classic and not a clunky relic of the 2000s. Protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki is ready for one more action-packed adventure against the Quincy threat, and so are Bleach's most loyal fans.

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JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean, Part 2 Continues Jolyne Cujoh's Jailbreak Escapades

Jolyne with a baseball in JJBA.

The legendary JoJo's Bizarre Adventure saga returned in the Fall 2022 season to continue protagonist Jolyne Cujoh's daring, all-or-nothing bid to escape prison and most of all, save her father Jotaro's life while also uncovering the truth of White Snake. Stand users are suddenly everywhere in this coastal Floridan prison, and the seemingly innocent Father Pucci is the worst of them, scheming to bring back his long-dead vampire friend, DIO himself. Jolyne will need all her wits, her good friends and her Stand Stone Free to survive in this concrete ocean and prevent the return of the Joestar family's worst enemy of all time. The adventure recently concluded in Part 3, with the final 14 episodes launching on Netflix on December 1st.

Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun! Season 3 Launches Iruma's Own Chunin Exam

Iruma-kun is returning with his demon squad for Season 3

Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun! is an isekai anime at heart, but this charming series also has strong "school life" elements reminiscent of My Hero Academia, plus plenty of comedy and a bit of drama and mystery. Set soon after Season 2's events, Season 3 of Iruma-kun! started airing in the Fall 2022 season and presented Iruma Suzuki with his greatest challenge yet. Iruma and his Royal One classmates must take part in the intense Harvest Festival tournament and reach the lofty rank of Dalet by year's end, or they will lose their Royal One classroom privileges forever. Now Iruma and his demon classmates must go Plus Ultra and reinvent themselves as true demon students who can do anything they set their minds to. Iruma will even gain a new weapon, while his classmates all push their bloodline trait abilities to the next level to survive this jungle trial.

Mob Psycho 100 III Shows Mob Finally Growing Up

Mob psycho season 3

The quirky, beloved supernatural anime Mob Psycho 100 returned for a third season in 2022, and anime fans couldn't ask for more. This third season offers more of the same wacky humor and charming characterization that makes the franchise so great, but this time, the dandere psychic Mob has to finally grow up and become a proper young man. He's not just a kid with esper powers -- he must prepare for adulthood, and that means facing his school's career form, something any anime schoolboy can relate to. Also, Mob must reconsider his naive, easygoing ways and face his past trauma if he intends to mature into a respectable man who's confident in himself and what he can do. However, in the meantime, Mob might have his hands full with the office's new recruit, a certain Katsuya Serizawa.