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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.
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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.
Updated on April 9, 2023, by Louis Kemner: 2023 promises to introduce and bring back some of the best Japanese anime a fan can ask for, including new seasons from top-billing titles and the debut of exciting new series that manga fans have been waiting for. We’ve updated this list with even more information for anime fans.
Vinland Saga
1 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.
Welcome To Demon School, Iruma-Kun!
2 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 continues 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.
Mashle: Magic And Muscles
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, and Mashle will get its anime in Spring 2023’s 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.
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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 Eaton school, where he must merely pose as a wizard and survive countless challenges.
Oshi No Ko
Release Date: April 12, 2023
Oshi no Ko is another popular, gripping manga that’s about to get its anime at long last 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 will explore 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.
Dr. Stone: New World
2 Complete Seasons, Season 3 Release 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.
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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.
Demon Slayer’s Swordsmith Story Arc
2 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 will visit a reclusive village where Nichirin swords are forged, and there, Tanjiro will meet many new friends and enemies. And as brutal as Daki and Gyutaro had been as the Upper Moon 6, Tanjiro will feel fear when even higher-ranked Moons make their debut.
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.
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In the Summer 2023 anime season, fans will 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.
Jujutsu Kaisen
1 Complete Season, Season 2 Release Date: July 6, 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. It will air in the Summer 2023 anime season, including flashbacks of a younger Satoru Gojo and his strained relationship with his friend, Suguru Geto.
Konosuba
2 Complete Seasons, Season 3 Release Date: Fall 2023
The popular parody isekai anime Konosbua has two seasons and a movie called Legend of Crimson. For a time, it seemed Konosuba‘s anime would end there, but then the good news arrived: Konosuba is getting a third season in 2023, and any and all isekai anime fans are encouraged to watch it.
Konosuba fans are in for a double treat in 2023, actually. Aside from the main series, the Megumin spinoff manga is also getting an anime known as An Explosion On This Wonderful World!. However, it’s not yet clear if the two Konosuba seasons will air at the same time or not.
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.
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.
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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.
Edens Zero
1 Complete Season, 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.
Bungou Stray Dogs
4 Complete Seasons, Season 5 Release Date: July 2023
The popular Bungou Stray Dogs anime returns for its fifth season in Summer 2023, giving anime fans plenty to look forward to after the impressive Spring 2023 lineup is finally complete. 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.
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.
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
1 Complete Season, 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.
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.
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