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It’s a great time to be a fan of everything anime! We have only just completed our first quarter of the New Year, but we’ve already had a pretty hype season happen. Alongside big-budget names like Attack On Titan, anime movies trailblazers like Demon Slayer, and cult classics like Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure getting sequel seasons.
We also saw entirely new adaptations of manga sweethearts such as My Dress-Up Darling and the recently premiered Spy X Family, courtesy of powerhouse Cloverworks. The Spring 2022 anime line-up was an absolute banger, but the feature film scene looks just as promising.
From action-packed features of Shonen anime movies royalty, such as One Piece, to heartfelt nostalgia in the form of a Fruits Basket prequel, the variety to look forward to is near endless. Here is a look at what feature-length anime movies we’re most excited about in the upcoming 2022 – 2023!
1. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
With how many times Son Goku has saved the world, could he be considered a superhero yet? Apparently, according to this movie, yes! 90’s kids are going to have a ball with this one, where Goku and the gang will battle it out against a new apocalyptic villain threatening Earth. Expect adrenaline, awesome fight scenes, maybe even a new Super Saiyan form? Here’s hoping!
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is the second installment in the “Dragon Ball Super” series, following Dragon Ball Super: Broly in 2018. This follow-up was slated for an April 2022 release but a recent hacking incident at Toei Animation has made the team postpone the premiere indefinitely. A definite bummer, but still excited for an eventual release.
2. One Piece Film Red
Arriving just in time for the 25th anniversary of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece, the Straw Hat Pirates are back on the silver screen! Seemingly set in a music festival on Sky Island, we can expect a new fiery-headed female character joining Monkey D. Luffy and his merry band, though as friend or foe is yet to be seen. But the biggest hype around this movie is the alluded return of the infamous Red-Haired Shanks, the man who inspired Luffy to take up the Pirate mantle in the first chapter of the series, all the way back in 1997!
With Oda’s blessing, the One Piece Film: Red will be premiering on August 6, 2022, in Japan. Thanks to all the rumors going around, some fans are expecting this to be the best One Piece movie yet. Now that’s a tall claim!
3. Fruits Basket: Prelude
Love and fuzzy feelings galore in this prequel to the beloved 00’s Shojo classic, Fruit’s Basket! However, this story will follow the tale of Kyouko and Katsuya, parents of Tohru Honda, the heroine of the original series. Natsuki Takaya, the creator, even promises extra scenes of Tohru and her life after with Kyo Sohma directly following the anime in this movie, so get ready for all the feels!
The movie has been released theatrically in Japan on February 18, 2022, to resounding success and Funimation is rumored to take the helm for the International release coming soon.
4. Slam Dunk: Movie
Sports anime movies fans, where are y’all at? This basketball epic from the 90s is known as the anime that popularized the sport in Japan. And nearly 2 decades in, creator Takahiko Inoue is returning to the franchise for a new movie project together with Toei Animation, aiming for a Fall 2022 release.
We’ve got a new teaser visual with a very simple phrase: “Just because I didn’t want to lose“. Can we expect the legendary return of Hanamichi Sakuragi and his rivalry? Only time will tell.
5. Suzume no Tojimari
Get your tissues ready! Prolific director Makoto Shinkai is back with a trailer for his new feature-length film, Suzume no Tojimaru, a tale about the titular Suzume and how her life turns upside down following the appearance of a mysterious door at an abandoned hot spring. According to Shinkai, this piece follows closure and “how to close the many doors we left open”. If you’ve watched his last releases Your Name (2016) and Weathering With You (2019), you already know what you’re in store for.
Suzume no Tojimari is expected to premiere in theatres across Japan on November 11, 2022, with a western release following (hopefully!) soon.
6. Black Clover: The Movie
The Annual Jump Festa event in Japan is always exciting, with new anime projects being revealed and trailers being premiered alongside cast announcements.
However, in December 2021, the most recent Jump Festa event was headlined by some big-name anime franchises, which is where we caught our first glimpse of the upcoming Black Clover movie.
It is rumored to be a canon continuation, adapting the Spade Kingdom Raid Arc (the ongoing arc), with the same cast from the series reprising their roles
The first teaser trailer for the film is already out on YouTube, and the tentative date for the movie premiere is set around next year, in 2023. Here’s hoping it comes out near their 8th Anniversary!
7. Bubble!
Some of the biggest behemoths in the anime movies stratosphere gearing up to bring forth a story of teenagers making a post-apocalyptic Tokyo their playground? A world with no weight surrounded by a sea that follows no physics, thanks to bubbles that rained down and broke the very laws of gravity? Sign me up!
Gen Urobuchi, affectionately known as ‘Urobutcher’ and creator of works such as Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero, and Psycho-Pass, spearheaded the project in tandem with direction from Tetsuro Araki (Attack On Titan), AND character designs done by Takeshi Obata (Deathnote), this is bound to be a historic release. Oh, and did we mention legendary music composer Hiroyuki Sawano is doing the soundtrack? Wow.
Thy synopsis follows Hibiki, a young veteran with a signature delinquent streak, who makes a careless mistake and plunges into the depths of the gravity-bending sea. Uta, a mysterious girl with unknown abilities saves him from doom. The pair are united due to a peculiar phenomenon where they can hear a strange song, a ringing that’s audible only to them.
You can expect Bubble to premiere on Netflix on April 28, 2022. However, the movie will also get a theatrical release across Japanese theatres on May 13, 2022.
8. Isekai Quartet: Another World
Okay so maybe Isekai is everywhere right now, but hey, if it works it works! And no one does more for the genre than the anime company Kadokawa. From the people that brought you hits like KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!, Overlord and Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-, comes a movie based on an anime that involves all the big players in Kodokawa’s Isekai arsenal; Isekai Quartet: Another World.
Isekai Quartet: Another World consists of a chibi-find all-star cast, with fan favorites like Kazuma Satou (KonoSuba) and Ainz Ooal Gown (Overlord) crashing into a parallel universe (Isekaiception!), and hijinks ensue.
The movie has been rumored to release this year in Japan, but international fans have to wait for any western release news.
9. Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Scherzo of Deep Night
Arguably what started the Isekai hype train, Sword Art Online has many anime, side projects, and movies already on the roster. And now, they are releasing an anime movie adaptation of the Sword Art Online: Progressive light novel series by Reki Kawahara. You can expect to see Kirito and Asuna, the original showrunners, back in action as the leads make their way through the convoluted fifth floor of Aincrad alongside the Laughing Coffin guild. The novels are still ongoing, so expect more to come!
The movie, created by Studio A-1 is set to be released in Fall 2022.
10. “My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!” the Movie
Okay, so we can all agree Otome dating games are a guilty pleasure, yes? If so, then the anime My Next Life As A Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, based on a light novel series by illustrator Nanami Hidaka and creator Satoru Yamaguchi, is probably our favorite spin on the reverse harem stereotype! And now, we get an entire movie filled with our hero-reborn-as-a-villain Catarina Claes, desperately trying to weave through all the endings that have her exiled or worse.
Yamaguchi is especially excited about this release, and who can blame her? She thanked all the fans and cast workers for their support in making this movie, saying how she never expected Catarina and the gang on screen.
Even cast members were surprised by the success of the show. Maaya Uchida, the Japanese voice actress for Catarina said she was shocked by how fast they got a second season and a subsequent announcement of the movie.
Studio Silver Link has given a tentative of 2023 for the release of the movie.
Tell us, which of these are you most looking forward to? I know there are many, many more amazing releases set to premiere this year and the next that we haven’t covered here, so if it’s any of those go ahead and sound off in the comments!
All in all, we’ve got some amazing anime movies coming at us, and honestly? We can’t wait!
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Anza Qureshi is a writer, licensed dentist and certified Uchiha fangirl. When she isn't doing root canals or listing down anime waifus, you can find her screeching about her favorite JRPGs across social media.
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