The spring season is upon us… That usually means new manga adaptations being released on our preferred streaming platforms. I had to compile a small list of recently released and upcoming manga adaptations, so we can all impatiently wait together for all of them to come out. Check out 15 unmissable upcoming manga adaptations you can either tune in immediately or in the future!
You’ve read the manga, the webtoon, the light novel… now you want to see it on your screen, right? You want to hear the voice actors saying your favorite lines, see your favorite scenes in action, and get excited about your favorite couples. I totally get that! I tend to watch animated adaptations more than live-action adaptations, so you’ll see more anime in this list than anything else. This year, though? This year is filled to the top with good content, and I’m ready to tell you all about them.
Usually, manga gets adapted because they want more profit out of it. An anime adaptation, or a live-action adaptation, means selling merchandise about the new show, like toys, clothes, figurines, etc. But also it means selling the manga. You’re probably wondering why, because the manga is already selling, right? Well, more is always better. More often than not, whenever an anime is released, the manga sales go through the roof.
With all of that said, which manga adaptations should you give your attention to? Read on to find out.
Upcoming Manga Adaptations You Cannot Miss
Chainsaw Man (Mappa)
Release date: 2022
Even though the official release date hasn’t been announced yet, it’s clear that the Chainsaw Man anime adaptation is coming out this year. It’s not an overreaction to say that when the anime releases, the world will cease to be the same. Chainsaw Man is probably the most anticipated release of this year. I mean, it’s a global sensation, with 12 million manga copies in circulation, so you can bet that pretty much every single person in the world is waiting for the adaptation.
The story follows Denji, a sixteen-year-old boy, who is so poor he would do anything for money to survive. One thing leads to another and somehow Denji is hunting demons with his pet devil-dog, Pochita. But then his life turns upside down when circumstances make him the Chainsaw Man!
Spy x Family (Wit Studio and CloverWorks)
Release date: April 9th
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Without an anime adaptation, Spy x Family was right there on the top manga sales chart each and every week. Usually, whenever a manga is on those lists, they already have an anime, creating more profit and more manga sales. Not the case with Spy x Family (and Chainsaw Man as well!). So, you better believe that the manga sales are going to skyrocket as soon as the anime releases.
Join Twilight as he has to build his own little perfect family in order to save the world. He’s a spy, a very good one, but he does need a wife and a kid to achieve the impossible. Except he doesn’t realize that the woman he fake marries is an assassin and the kid he adopts is a mind reader.
Blue Lock (8-Bit)
Release date: 2022
Now, we all know sports anime completely owns us. Every time a new show comes out that features any sport, you bet I’m tuning in. With a year where the World Cup is happening, this anime couldn’t come at a better time.
In Blue Lock, the Japanese Football Association has started putting things together in order to win the World Cup. First, they need an eccentric coach who is going to take their team to the next level. Coach Jinpachi Ego creates Blue Lock — a facility that will pit strikers against each other.
Kakegurui Twin (MAPPA)
Release date: August 2022
Where to watch: Netflix
When I tell you that even friends that don’t watch anime watched Kakegurui, you know it’s the real deal. There’s just something about this story that the world instantly loved. Maybe it was the morally grey characters or the intensity of games, either way, it led to Netflix picking up the sequel (or really, the prequel) for an adaptation.
Kakegurui Twin is set one year prior to the original show and stars Mary Saotome. She is a first-year student at Hyakkaou Private Academy, and her future is looking bright. But when she suddenly encounters an old classmate of hers, she quickly enters a whole new world: gambling!
Kaguya-sama: Love is War (A1 Pictures)
Release date: April 8th
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Kaguya-sama: Love is War is returning for a third season this year. I’ve both read the manga and watched the previous seasons and I do have to say that this story is pure romcom goodness. With its hilarious cast and incredible dialogue, this anime will hold nothing back.
This third season is going to continue the story of Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya and their quest to make the other one confess their feelings first.
The Devil is a Part-Timer! (Studio 3Hz)
Release date: July 2022
I’m going to be cheating in various picks because some of them are originally light novels. Light novels and webtoons are getting more and more popular, so it’s clear to say that you’re going to be seeing them more often on screen.
The Devil is a Part-Timer! tells the story of how Satan tries to go back to the world of Ente Isla after he escapes a confrontation with the hero, Emilia. Escaping Ente Isla leads him to modern-day Tokyo and its unmagical world. There, Satan takes a part-time job at a fast-food restaurant, trying to come up with ways to return to Ente Isla.
Komi Can’t Communicate (OLM)
Release date: April 27th
Where to watch: Netflix
The first season came out on Netflix on October 21st, 2021, which was very recently. So, you see, this anime got a second season green-lighted incredibly fast. Netflix knows what we all need in our lives right now: more romantic comedies!
This story follows Shouko Komi, a popular but not very social girl, who befriends a classmate named Hitohito Tadano who is going to help Komi make friends with 100 people.
I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss (Maho Film)
Release date: October 2022
Every time I look at what’s new in the anime/manga world, a new isekai story comes up. With the popularity of anime like The Rising of the Shield Hero and My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, be certain that we’re going to continue to see anime adaptations of isekai stories.
I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss follows Aileen d’Autriche, a noblewoman whose engagement is suddenly broken off by her fiancé. She should have been devasted, but instead, that moment is when she realizes she is living inside an otome game. Her fate isn’t looking good: she’s the villain of the story and her life is about to end at the hands of the Demon King! So, Aileen decides to make him fall in love with her in order to save herself.
My Hero Academia (Studio Bones)
Release date: Fall 2022
If you have been following this story since its beginning, you’re awaiting the sixth season just as much as I am.
The story starts with Izuku Midoriya, a young boy who wants to be like his favorite hero, All Might. This dream is getting harder and harder to accomplish because Izuku doesn’t have a Quirk, or a special power. But one encounter with All Might may grant Izuku everything he needs to become the hero of his dreams.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War (Studio Pierrot)
Release date: October 2022
Bleach fans, you can finally breathe! The Thousand-Year Blood War arc is finally getting an adaptation. This is the final arc in the Bleach manga and it ranges from volumes 55 to 74.
When Will Ayumu Make His Move? (SILVER LINK.)
Release date: July 2022
My Dress-Up Darling has become one of the top romantic comedies right now in the anime calendar. With its unique storyline of cosplaying, it’s a tough act to follow. Then there’s Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie. Although it only has a couple episodes out so far, I feel like it’s going to take the top spot pretty soon. This year really seems to be the year of the romcom. And we still have long way to go in terms of content to be released.
When Will Ayumu Make His Move? is about Ayumu Tanaka, a first-year student, who quit the Kendo Club to join the Shogi Club. There he meets Urushi Yaotome, the president of the club. She is taking it into her own hands to become the mentor Ayumu needs as well as a student role model for him. Ayumu finds her very cute, but he’s not confessing his feelings until he finally beats her at shogi.
Call of the Night (LIDENFILMS)
Release date: July 2022
I think we are all ready for a new vampire anime. Call of the Night follows a middle-school student, Kou Yamori, who suddenly decides to quit school. Because of that, he develops insomnia, so he spends a lot of time roaming dark streets late at night. On one such walk, he meets Nazuna Nanakusa, a weird girl who tells him he needs to experience real freedom to make his insomnia go away. When Nazuna invites him back to her place, he feels like he’s going on the right path… but then, she leans over him and bites his neck!
Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer
Release date: Summer 2022
Fantasy anime set in a modern-day setting make for a more interesting story. I feel like anime like Mob Psycho 100 can easily become classics (and I think they totally are!). Let’s hope that Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer can become a classic for current generations.
One day, Yuuhi Amamiya awakens with a lizard on his bed. This particular lizard, Sir Noi Crezant, tells him (because it talks, obviously) that he has been chosen as a Beast Knight and that his job is to help the princess defeat a powerful mage. He isn’t that sure of doing it until he meets the princess who tells him she wants to defeat the mage only to destroy the world herself.
Sasaki and Miyano (Studio Deen)
Release date: January 10th
Where to watch: Funimation
Little by little, we’re seeing more LGBTQ+ content, be it in manga or anime. In the manga publishing world, there are definitely more sapphic and gay romance stories out there. Soon enough, we’re definitely going to see their anime or live-action adaptations on-screen.
One of them is the newly released Sasaki and Miyano, the story of two boys who couldn’t be more different yet find themselves orbiting each other constantly.
A Business Proposal (SBS)
Release date: February 28th
Where to watch: Netflix
Now, I have to mention A Business Proposal. It recently got a Korean drama adaptation. It was originally a webtoon, published in Tapas. This probably was one of the biggest hits of this season, and everyone was waiting for its release. It’s a super fun romantic comedy featuring a CEO and a woman who have to fake date. The thing is, he doesn’t realize she’s his employee at first!
Adaptations are plenty in the world. Many of the works you see on sale, inside stores, and in the movie theatres come from an original source. They get adapted and the story becomes able to be enjoyed in another format. Even Disney’s classic movies used the original works of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. It’s the same with manga and anime. A good part of it is original content, like Yuri on Ice!! or Kill la Kill. But most of what you see on the streaming services are adaptations from manga, light novels, webtoons, etc. If you’re looking for more adaptions, take a look at these upcoming bookish adaptations.
