Top 10 Most Anticipated Anime of Summer 2022

With July comes the start of the Summer 2022 anime season, and ComicBook.com has rounded up our ten most anticipated anime of the new season! The Winter and Spring seasons got the year off to a pretty great start with many releases already taking potential spots on many top of the year lists. It has been an especially competitive year too with many interesting looking releases, but only so much time in the Summer to catch them. It’s a Summer full of returns, adaptations, and even some big premieres that could rival anything we have seen in the Winter and Spring. 

As you will see from our selections below, the Summer 2022 anime schedule is mostly dominated by returns. The most appealing new anime of the Summer include returns of some classic franchises such as The Prince of Tennis, the returns of cult classics like The Devil is a Part Timer!, returns of new classics like Made in Abyss, returns of big franchises like Overlord, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, adaptations for RWBY and Kamen Rider, and that’s only scratching the surface of the kind of variety at fans’ disposal this season. 

With so many new anime to look out for, ComicBook.com has narrowed down ten of our most anticipated new anime releases of the Summer 2022 anime season! Read on below for our picks, and let us know which anime you’re most excited for! Which anime will you want to see first? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 2

Release Date: July 1st (Crunchyroll)

Originally premiering during the very rough Summer 2020 anime season, Rent-a-Girlfriend managed to make quite an impact despite all of the early complications from the ongoing COVID pandemic. But it’s getting ready to return during a year that’s going to have one of the most competitive Summer schedules in recent memory. Thankfully Season 2 is looking to not only hit the mark, but surpass the first season. Kazuya Kinoshita will be navigating even more of the complicated lies and loves that he was wrapped in with his rental girlfriends during the first season. The tail end of that debut season started to scratch the surface of its deeper stuff, so this is going to be the leading romantic comedy return of the Summer overall. 

RWBY: Ice Queendom

Release Date: July 3rd (Crunchyroll)

RWBY has been one of Rooster Teeth’s longest running animated originals, and although the franchise has played with anime elements throughout its run, it has finally made its official anime debut this Summer. Many fans have been able to check out how RWBY: Ice Queendom gets off the ground thanks to the early debut of the series’ first three episodes, but it already looks like there will be much more to look forward to over the course of the rest of the anime’s run. The series is taking on the events of the original in a whole new way (with Puella Magi Madoka Magica creator Gen Urobuchi) creatively contributing, so this is definitely one major action offering that fans will want to keep an eye out for. 

Classroom of the Elite II

Release Date: July 4th (Crunchyroll)

This was one of those shows you might have seen the first season of during the early 2010s. One that many likely gave up hope of ever seeing in action again due to how little ground it seemed to be picking up with fans back then. But those patiently holding out for more all this time have finally been rewarded with the highly anticipated return of Classroom of the Elite. Not only that, but the series has also confirmed a third season will help to fully adapt Class D’s entire first year in their tough school. That means with everything going down this Summer, fans can rest easy knowing that there will be even more on the way. It’s a big transitional period for the series, and that’s just exciting to think of how it’s going to all build up. 

Overlord Season 4

Release Date: July 5th (TBA)

The Overlord franchise is making a huge return with not only this fourth season, but a new feature film in the works as well. When we last had seen Ains, he was on the verge of his biggest conquering yet. Officially being crowned as the Sorcerer King in the Season 3 finale, Ains was preparing to build further on his Sorcerous Kingdom. Given all the new characters and situations Ains seems to be wrapped up in with the promotional materials, Season 4 will be continuing Ains’ expansion as he takes over the world. Definitely the major Isekai return of the Summer. 

Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun

Release Date: July 6th (HIDIVE)

Made in Abyss is coming back too with its second season officially titled, The Golden City of the Scorching Sun. Picking up after the events of the Dawn of the Deep Soul movie as Riko, Reg, and Nanachi dive deeper into the titular Abyss, the new season will be exploring a major flashback with lots of new characters. The first season was such a cult hit that thanks to the success of the compilation films and sequel released in the years since. The audience is now bigger and better than ever, so it’s going to be the most eyes Made in Abyss has had on a weekly basis. Season 2 is going to be a must watch for sure. 

The Prince of Tennis II: U-17 World Cup

Release Date: July 6th (Crunchyroll)

Can’t really talk about returns without highlighting the biggest one yet. You might have likely noticed that a ton of classic anime franchises have been returning with new projects, and The Prince of Tennis really went all in for its milestone 20th Anniversary. The franchise returned with a fully CG animated feature film, and is now getting the first full TV anime series in a decade. Picking right up from where it left off, the series is kicking off a full World Cup so those not completely caught up with everything will have a nice point to jump in and enjoy the nostalgic ride. There’s a reason it’s one of Shonen Jump‘s biggest classics. 

Call of the Night

Release Date: July 7th (HIDIVE)

It’s not all returns this Summer, however, as one major adaptation will be making its debut. From the same creator behind Dagashi Kashi, Call of the Night follows a boy named Ko Yamori who is bored with daily life. Meeting a mysterious vampire girl named Nazuna Nanakusa one night, Ko ends up piquing her interest and thus she ends up taking him along to show off what her life as a vampire is like. This is one of those cult manga series that’s going to get even bigger with a successful adaptation, and features an early contender for the “Best Girl” of the season if the support for her from manga fans is anything to go by. 

The Devil is a Part Timer!! Season 2

Release Date: July 14th (Crunchyroll) 

It’s a pretty big Summer for anime fans never thought would get a second season. The Devil is a Part Timer! is one of those relaxing series that has a few big moments throughout, but it was also such a relatively small cult hit that hope for a second season dwindled to basically nothing. That’s all changed this Summer as the anime has been picked up by a new studio and had some changes of staff behind the scenes. Season 2 is promising a return to the slice of life shenanigans Maou got into all those years ago, but like at the end of the first season too, there’s also a tease for some pretty big action. There seem to be more of the characters from the other world too. Fans have been waiting for this return for quite some time, so hopefully it hits the mark. 

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Season 4

Release Date: July 22nd (HIDIVE)

The final return on this list s not the least in the slightest as Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? is coming back for a fourth round. While it’s not the loudest release of any particular season (with Season 3 notably getting the least amount of general traction in the series’ history), it’s the kind of anime that rewards fans who return for each new season with tons of cool moments, fights, and reveals. Bell Cranel continues to be a fun lead to see develop as the mysteries of Orario develop even further. With Season 4 introducing more of the dungeon, there’s a lot to look forward to. 

Fuuto PI

Release Date: July 31st (Crunchyroll)

The final entry on this list is the most intriguing debut of the Summer! Toei is celebrating the 50th anniversary of their massively popular Kamen Rider Tokusatsu franchise with the very first anime in the franchise’s history! Adapting the original manga series written by Riku Sanjo and illustrated by Masaki Sato, Fuuto PI is an official sequel series to Kamen Rider W. This was the 11th Heisei Era series, and 20th for the franchise as a whole. It’s also one of the most popular iterations of the series among fans, so add a nice layer of anime to it and we’ve got a potential home run here. Definitely worth just the first watch alone for sheer curiosity.