Lots of Material for My 5 Favorite Anime Sites From 2022
Every Friday, I go through the massive list of anime sites that I maintain. From those sites, I pick 5 posts that were my favorites. That’s a lot of fun. I not only enjoy reading all of those posts, but I like sharing my favorites with you. Publishing my favorites also helps sent some traffic to other bloggers (I hope — I described how here). I hope that it’s a win-win-win situation!
Starting in 2018, I kept track of the number of posts I selected from each site. Then I published an annual list of my favorite sites among all the anime blogging sites. And here we are for the fifth year!
There were 80 sites whose work I featured in 2022. There were several sites that appeared for the first time. What that means is when I start going through the sites every Friday night, I have no idea where I’m going to find gems. They could be anywhere!
An Important Note about My 5 Favorite Anime Sites From 2022
I want to draw your attention to the word “favorite” in the title. I didn’t say “best” or anything like that. These are the sites that gave me the highest number of my personally favorite posts. If your site did not appear on this list, please don’t take it as me saying anything bad about your site. In fact, let me be clear: there are a ton of great and interesting sites that did not make this list!
On the other hand, I would make the case that if your site does appear in this list, it not only means I like your content. It means I consistently like your content. Which means I think you’re doing a lot of things right!
My 5 Favorite Anime Sites from 2022
Number 5: Confessions of an Overage Otaku
Appearances in 2022: 12
The Overage Otaku, on the site Confessions of an Overage Otaku, specializes in in-depth analysis of the craft of anime story telling. The posts might be a story about how the medium of anime affects story (like this post), a character analysis (like this post), or a piece of how the writers and artists constructed a specific series (like this post). Whatever the topic, I almost always come away with a better understanding of the craft.
Does it mean I know so little about telling stories that each of The Overage Otaku’s posts are a revelation? Maybe. But in this case, I don’t think so. I wrote my first story when I was 12, I’ve had short stories published in independent publications, I wrote 155+ technical articles for a variety of commercial outlets, and I’ve published two novels. So while I generally speak in a self-deprecating way, I have to say that it’s not my ignorance that makes The Overage Otaku’s posts enlightening. It’s his combination of deep technical skill and his manner of making those topics accessible.
Number 4: Anime Evo
Appearances in 2022: 15
Flareknight, on the site Anime Evo, specializes in episodic reviews. The series reviewed vary wildly, from this review of SPY x FAMILY to this review of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. There are many ways to write reviews, with as many philosophies. I’m not going to weigh in on the rightness or wrongness of any given approach. I’ll just say this of Flareknight’s reviews: he often picks up on a detail that I missed; or maybe he just praised something I enjoyed, too. Whatever the specifics, I always come away with a deeper appreciation for the episode.
Number 3: I Drink and Watch Anime
Appearances in 2022: 16
This is the fifth iteration of My 5 Favorite Anime Sites. In those five years, Irina, with her site I Drink and Watch Anime, is the only blogger to place every year. And every year (well, except the first!), I try to find new ways to say why I like her posts so much. I could point to individual series reviews like this one of Blue Period. Or I could point to reviews of individual episodes like this one of My Dress-Up Darling’s fifth episode. It could even be a thought piece like this one defending anime comedy. That makes it sound like variety is an important part of I Drink and Watch Anime’s appeal.
You would be not wrong. Yet, it’s only a part. I don’t have the vocabulary to capture what sets this site apart. I mean, come on: I’m an emotional cinder block, and me trying to describe subtle emotions is like trying to use a tactical nuclear device to drive a nail. So instead, let me use an example. Check out the comments to this post. Take a moment to absorb the quality and honesty of those perspectives. It takes real skill and, as importantly, real kindness, to create an environment like that. That’s why I Drink and Watch Anime is in this list again.
Number 2: Shallow Dives in Anime
Appearances in 2022: 17
Dewbond and his site Shallow Dives in Anime are no strangers to My 5 Favorite Anime Sites. They’ve both been in three of the previous four My 5 Favorite Anime Sites posts. Part of it might be that Dewbond and I have similar tastes. You could see that in his review of Jobless Reincarnation’s second cour or in his review of The Eminence in Shadow. But like Flareknight’s reviews, Dewbond’s have the ability to make me either see the shows I’ve seen in a new light; or they make me want to see a show I missed, like this review of Tiger & Bunny’s episodes 1 to 13. There’s also a perspective in his reviews that I find appealing — a perspective that explicitly rejects following the opinions of the majority. Individuality is cool!
Number 1: The Magic Planet
Appearances in 2022: 21
Jane the Anime Witch, on her site The Magic Planet, specializes in episodic reviews. There are times when those reviews help me appreciate an episode of a series, like this review of My Dress-Up Darling episode 4. Then there are reviews that help me celebrate an episode that I particularly liked, like this review of Healer Girl episode 3. And then there are reviews like this one of Chainsaw Man episode 2. Reviews like that one helped me appreciate specific characters (like Makima).
But it’s not just that Jane the Anime Witch’s reviews helped me appreciate a given episode or character. It goes beyond that. Jane the Anime Witch sees things that I don’t. Or, maybe it would be more accurate to say she makes connections that I don’t. The end result isn’t just that I appreciate the episode more. I understand it better, too. I appreciate that in a review! And apparently, I appreciate it often — I celebrated posts from The Magic Planet 21 times in 2022!
More Posts from Other Sites to Crow About/My 5 Favorite Sites
- Other Sites to Crow About – My Favorite Sites from 2018
- Other Sites to Crow About – My Favorite Sites from 2019
- Other Sites to Crow About – My 5 Favorite Sites from 2020
- Other Sites to Crow About – My 5 Favorite Sites from 2021
- Other Sites to Crow About – My 5 Favorite Sites from 2022
- Other Sites to Crow About – My 5 Favorite Sites from 2023
Ovearge Otaku is the only one here I don’t follow religiously. I’ll have to check it out.
I think you’ll be glad when you do!
Wow! Thanks!
You’re welcome — and thanks for your posts!