The Fall 2022 anime season still has a few weeks left to go, and it included some truly huge anime titles like the return of Bleach, Season 6 of My Hero Academia and Spy x Family. However, anime fans are always hungry for more, and many are already eyeing up the Winter 2023 anime season to see what will satisfy their appetite next.
The Winter 2023 season won't be quite the juggernaut that Fall 2022 is, but it still has many charming titles to please viewers, and that may provide a much-needed break from the nonstop action of the Fall season. This includes a few choice morsels for fans of romantic comedies -- one of the best non-action types of anime there is. Some of these series are new, while others are beloved returning series.
Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible Is Gender-Swap Komi Can't Communicate
Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible will make its debut in the Winter 2023 season as a simple but effective rom-com anime set in an ordinary Japanese high school. Fans of series like Komi Can't Communicate and Horimiya will likely adore the Kubo anime, even if it won't do much to reinvent the rom-com or high school anime wheels. The story focuses on the wholesome pair Nagisa Kubo and Junta Shiraishi, with Kubo being a warm-hearted deredere girl who won't let poor Junta be ignored by his classmates any longer.
Junta is a kind young man with a good heart, but no one pays attention to this dandere boy, to the point where he seems literally invisible. The kind Kubo becomes Junta's own Hitohito Tadano, being the first person insightful and compassionate enough to reach out to this invisible student and recognize him for who he really is. A wholesome friendship will soon take root, and through it, Junta will make more friends and might even find love with the first girl to truly see his invisible self.
Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible starts airing on January 10th, 2023.
Don't Toy With Me, Ms. Nagatoro! Is Back for More Paisen Fun
Several anime seasons back, the Don't Toy With Me, Ms. Nagatoro! anime turned heads and even caused minor controversy with its sadodere-style antics. The playful, energetic Hayase Nagatoro is a sadodere, or perhaps a hiyakasudere, who likes to tease, annoy and pester anyone she takes a personal liking to -- in this case, her artistic, introverted upperclassman Naoto Hachioji. Hayase made an iffy first impression when she nearly bullied Naoto to tears, but then the Nagatoro! anime stabilized its tone and fleshed out Hayase as an annoying but genuinely friendly person after all.
Soon, she and Naoto made for an odd but loyal pair, and they support each other more than anyone, even themselves, ever expected. Now Hayase is Naoto's best art subject, and Naoto expresses his timid dandere love when he elegantly draws Nagatoro every so often in his art class. Now Season 2 is around the corner, and time will tell what goofy obstacles might stand in the way of their bizarre but genuine young love.
Don't Toy With Me, Ms. Nagatoro! Season 2 starts airing in January 2023.
Tomo-Chan Is a Girl! Reminds Everyone How Beautiful Tomboys Are
Yet another high school rom-com coming in Winter 2023 will be Tomo-Chan Is a Girl!, based on the completed manga series of the same name. The tsundere heroine, Tomo Aizawa, is a charming tomboy who usually hangs out with boys, including her best male friend Junichiro Kubota. When they start high school, Tomo gathers all her courage and confesses her love to Junuchiro, only to get "I love you too, bro!" as a response.
Amusingly, Junichiro thinks of Tomo as a boyish friend first and a girl second, if at all. Now Tomo must figure out a meaningful balance between her enjoyable tomboy lifestyle and her hidden feminine side so that she can remain true to herself but also win Junichiro's heart and prove that she's a maiden in love, not just "one of the guys." In lighthearted and hilarious ways, Tomo will toy with the boundary between her outwardly masculine and feminine lifestyle. If she can pull it off, her first real romance will blossom at last.
Tomo-Chan Is a Girl! starts airing on January 5th, 2023.
The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague Is About Winning a Kuudere Lady's Heart
The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague gives anime rom-com fans a break from the high school paradigm and takes them to the workplace, where Himuro the ice guy has his heart set on the gorgeous kuudere lady Fuyutsuki, who is also his co-worker. Himuro may have ice-based magical powers, but his heart is warm like a cozy fire, and he only wants to show Fuyutsuki his love. However, this won't be easy, as the aloof Fuyutsuki simply won't take the hint, even when all their co-workers can easily see how infatuated Himuro is. Fuyutsuki merely does Himuro favors and supports him as a colleague, but if Himuro can figure out a winning strategy amid his snowy powers, he and the kuudere Fuyutsuki may become a whole lot more.
The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague starts airing on January 4th, 2023.