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2022 has been a stellar year for anime fans, bringing back shows like Mob Psycho 100, and Kaguya-Sama Love is War and introducing new hits like SpyxFamily and Chainsaw Man. Safe to say this year brought something for everyone. The sci-fi genre in particular received many notable new shows. The sci-fi genre has never been a saturated one, but most shows that do tackle its elements end up becoming instant favorites.

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While most shows this year focused on action and laughs, there was still a good deal of noteworthy sci-fi anime that dealt with themes like time travel, giant robots, and dystopian futures. Here are this year's best sci-fi anime that amazed audiences with their intriguing premises and reached mainstream popularity.

5 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

Mobile Suit Gundam The Witch from Mercury

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is the fifteenth mainline entry in the popular Gundam franchise and tells a new stand-alone tale filled with robots, and greedy corporations. The show stars Suletta Mercury, the first female protagonist of a Gundam TV series, as she transfers from Mercury to Asticassia School of Technology on Earth, which is an academic institute run by the mega-corporation known as the Benerit Group.

In her new school, Suletta must prove her abilities as a Gundam pilot if she wants to be acknowledged by her peers. Her path also crosses with Miorine Rembran who is trying to escape from the institute to be free from the clutches of her father, the president of the Benerit Group. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury has a rating of 7.92 on MyAnimeList

4 The Tatami Time Machine Blues

The Tatami Time Machine Blues

The Tatami Time Machine Blues is a sci-fi time travel comedy series that is set in The Tatami Galaxy franchise. The show centers around a group of friends from a science fiction club, that go about wasting their days fooling around in their clubroom. The protagonist of the show is a boy named Watashi who is constantly worried about wasting his life.

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One summer morning a chain of events leads to one of the boys accidentally spilling coke on the remote of the clubroom's air conditioner. The remote breaks and they are unable to find a replacement for it. But suddenly a guy appears in their room in a time machine and then escapes leaving behind his device. The boys first think that they were being pranked but when they soon find out that the time machine is real, they think of using it to go back in time and save the remote from being broken. The show has a rating of 8.19 on MyAnimeList.

3 Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun

Made in Abyss The Golden City of the Scorching Sun

The Golden City of the Scorching Sun is the second season of Made in Abyss and continues the quest of Riko to find her mother by diving deeper into the depths of the Abyss. Now possessing the White Whistle, Riko and her friends Reg and Nanachi descend into the sixth layer of the Abyss where they land upon the ruins of the Promised Golden City.

After arriving in the city of the unreturned, the trio is greeted by strange creatures known as hollows. As Riko, Reg, and Nanachi begin to take it easy, new dangers start appearing. The three friends must now uncover the lost legacy of the Golden City and the true origins of the hollows before they can dive deeper into the Abyss. Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun currently holds a rating of 8.69 on MyAnimeList.

2 Summertime Render

Summertime Render

Summertime Render became an instant hit after it started airing in the spring of 2022. The show stars a young man named Ajiro Shinpe who returns to his hometown after two years to mourn the death of his childhood friend Ushio. Soon after he arrives though, Shinpe realizes that something unnatural is afoot and that the death of his friend was no mere accident. Summertime Render is a show that leans more toward the supernatural genre, but the main theme of the show revolves around time travel.

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Ajiro Shinpe finds out that he has the ability to go back in time and start over every time he dies. With his new ability and the aid from his island friends, Shinpe must find out what really caused the death of his best friend and save the island from mysterious beings known as shadows. Summertime Render currently holds a rating of 8.55 on MyAnimeList.

1 Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Cyberpunk Edgerunners

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is a sci-fi show that serves as a prequel series to CD Projekt Red's infamous game, Cyberpunk 2077, taking place one year before the events of the game. The show is set in a dystopian future rampant with corruption, crime, and cybertronic implants. It stars a street kid named David Martinez who loses his everyday normal life as a result of a drive-by shooting incident.

To exact revenge on the perpetrators, David turns to the wrong side of the law, becoming a mercenary and joining the ranks of the Edgerunners, who are cyborg criminals that will do anything to make money. Developed by Netflix, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners became an instant hit breathing life back into its parent game. The show has a rating of 8.65 on MyAnimeList.

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