Six of the best spring 2022 anime moments
We are coming off of an absolutely stellar season of anime. The spring 2022 anime season has been full of great shows and fantastic moments, many of which need to be celebrated for the amount of joy they managed to bring us. From heart-warming moments of found family to strangely romantic encounters with a cake monster, here are some of my favourite spring 2022 anime moments.
It goes without saying, but there are going to be some spoilers ahead for the most recent season, so look away if you’re still catching up.
Yor goes killing again (Spy x Family)
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Spy x Family makes it on this list, just like it shouldn’t be a surprise it’ll feature again later. This moment from episode 4 of this season makes it onto our top 6 moments from the anime 2022 season because it highlights one of the show’s best characters so well. The Forgers have found out that Anya is just on the cusp of making it into the prestigious Eden Academy. She is at the top of the waiting list. If just one person drops out, she’ll be the first one to take their place.
For Loid and Anya, it becomes a stressful waiting game. For Yor, her first instinct is to kill, already mentally plotting the murder that will help get her adoptive daughter into the school of her dreams. The juxtaposition of Yor’s sweet innocence and her propensity for sudden and brutal violence is part of the charm of the show and this scene is a perfect example.
The Kiss (Kaguya-sama: Love is War – Ultra Romantic)
It was a moment we all knew was going to happen, but that doesn’t make it any less special when it finally does. After three seasons and so many episodes of the Cultural Festival arc, Kaguya and Miyuki finally have their moment alone together. Surrounded by heart balloons and standing at the highest point in the school, the two fall just short of fully confessing their love.
Romance is hard to pull off well, with will-they-won’t-they plots often stringing the material along well past the point where it is entertaining. This moment, however, gave us the payoff we’ve been waiting for all this time. The premise of the show almost guaranteed that this would happen, but it still felt organic and fun and as over-the-top as everything else that happened before.
Desumi and Fudo cut the cake (Love After World Domination)
There is nothing more epic in anime than when a show uses its opening theme song during a climactic battle. That is always going to get our blood pumping and our fists in the air. Combine that with the romantic energy of Love After World Domination and this was easily going to make it onto our top moments from the spring 2022 anime season.
The Gelato 5 have combined their weapons but only Fudo remains to wield it against the giant cake monster that threatens the city. However, he isn’t strong enough to lift it on his own, so Desumi, his beloved girlfriend and also his archenemy, shows up to give him a helping hand. Together, they surpass that romantic milestone of cutting a cake together with a giant sword as the opening theme song plays behind them. It is a perfectly silly moment that encompasses everything that made this show one of my favourites this season.
Throwing down the gauntlet (Trapped in a Dating Sim)
For the most part, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs is a very basic and straightforward isekai from the spring 2022 anime season, with very few surprises outside of the main character’s absolute disdain for everyone higher ranked than he is. That problem with authority is what leads him to step up to take on five of the highest-ranked characters in the game.
Leon chooses to become the champion of Angelica less out of love or devotion to her and more because, as he puts it, he wants the prince of the kingdom and his lackeys to “eat a fat one.” It is such a surreal moment that it genuinely caught me off guard. In a show that plays mostly by the rules, that made it stand out in the best way possible.
The Rap Battle (Kaguya-sama: Love is War – Ultra Romantic)
Very few anime take advantage of the transition from page to screen as well as Kaguya-sama. It embraces the chaos of the premise, delivering visual gags that could not be done in the manga. The rap battle that takes place halfway through season 3 was a jaw-dropping moment. Not only does it work better than in the manga, but it is also impossible to imagine it in any other format.
The visuals throughout the rap battle highlight tropes from hip hop history, twisting them to fit the aesthetic of this romantic comedy. It is nearly as good in the English dub as well. It should make me cringe; instead, I eat it up and desperately want more. For sheer laughter, nothing else from the spring 2022 anime season can top this moment.
Anya gets her Stella Star (Spy x Family)
Again, knowing something is bound to happen doesn’t undermine the joy of seeing it come to pass. Knowing that Anya must get a total of eight Stella Stars to become an Imperial Scholar, it was always going to be a big moment when she got her first one. But how she got it made it more special.
For Anya, her gift of telepathy is a curse. It has meant she has been passed from home to home, never having a true family. However, she used her psychic abilities in this episode to save someone’s life. Instead of costing her, her powers can be used to do good and that makes this one of the best moments from the spring 2022 anime season. I got all the time in the world for this girl.
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