Welcome to Anime News Network's Winter 2026 Anime Preview Guide! Here's how it goes: our team of critics writes up their impressions instantly, to be posted here as they go along. Each critic will cover as many shows as they can handle, giving you alternate takes on almost every show.
The guide is ongoing, organized by series, and updated multiple times a day. Throughout the next two weeks, we'll be updating as often as possible with new perspectives on new episodes from our team of critics. New reviews will be posted as soon as they're written, with each critic's name being added to the roster beneath the show's title. Check back a couple of times every day during the guide, and you're likely to see new shows pop up with multiple takes to enjoy!
Please remember that this is a preview guide. It is designed to give you a taste of the first episode of a show with a preliminary opinion and a few thoughts on whether or not the show has potential. These are not intended to be blanket judgments of these series as a whole. All reviews use the same rating scale: 1-5, with 1 being the lowest.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of Anime News Network, its employees, owners, or sponsors.
While everyone else around her remains prisoners of their own regret, pulled into Kowloon like insects by a pitcher plant, Kujirai deserves to fly free, away from this place.― Being a Kowloon Generic Romance fan is suffering. Since I last reviewed volumes 7 and 8 back in November 2024, only two further volumes have been published in English, with the eleventh due at the end of May 2026. The only bri...
Anime's TV special streams on March 29, airs on March 30― Kadokawa announced on Thursday that the anime based on Miku and illustrator Rein Kuwashima's I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World (Isekai de Cheat Skill o Te ni Shita Ore wa, Genjitsu Sekai o mo Musōsuru) light novel series will get a second season. The franchise's television special will stream on March 29 and then air on March 30. The speci...
Trailers, visuals unveiled for 2nd season, game titled Sentenced to Be a Hero -Game of the GODDESS-― The staff of the television anime of Rocket Shokai's Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004 (Yūsha-kei ni Shosu: Chōbatsu Yūsha 9004-tai Keimu Kiroku) light novel series announced during AnimeJapan on Saturday that the series is getting a second season. Update: Crunchyroll...
Video, visual, cast announcement preview Academy arc― The official website for the television anime of writer Hamuo and illustrator Mo's Hell Mode - The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing (Hell Mode - Yarikomi Suki no Gamer wa Hai Settei no Isekai de Musō Suru) light novel series announced on Saturday that the anime will get a second season in July. The staff revealed a...
This is probably the worst season of this show so far.― It's very easy to clown on Rent-A-Girlfriend because it does a lot of things wrong as either comedy or drama. It's a story that follows a protagonist who doesn't really have likable qualities, and anytime those likable qualities are showcased, they are either immediately walked back, or they're not strong enough to compensate for the sheer amou...
Visual unveiled for new season covering The Golden Land arc― The official website for the television anime of Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe's Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (Sōsō no Frieren) manga on Friday announced on Friday that the series is getting a third season in October 2027. The new season will cover The Golden Land arc. The staff unveiled a visual that features Macht of the Golden Land: ...
Jean-Karlo chats with the voice of Zelda, digs into some otome news, and reports that Square Enix is doing what with Dragon Quest X?― Welcome back, folks! I tried making magnolia jelly last weekend, and sadly, it didn't turn out right. I don't know whether I used too much water or what, but the jelly never set (it came out more like syrup than actual "jelly"). Still tasty, at least. I also had the p...
There is no rest for dedicated otaku. The winter season offered a wealth of great stories, from action to romance, and spring is shaping up to do the same.― There is no rest for dedicated otaku. The winter season offered a wealth of great stories, from action to romance, and spring is shaping up to do the same. We have the long-awaited return to Hole in Dorohedoro Season 2, a brand-new pint-sized h...
Teaser video, visual unveiled― Following the final episode of the third season of the anime of Shuuichi Shigeno's MF Ghost manga, the series' official website announced on Friday that there will be a fourth and final season. The website unveiled a teaser video and visual: The anime began streaming on Amazon Prime Video in Japan on January 1 at 11:30 p.m. JST. The anime debuted on TV on Tokyo MX and ...
Teaser trailer, visual, cast, staff revealed― A new official website and X/Twitter account opened on Friday to confirm that Iris and Noboru Kannatsuki's Magical Explorer light novel series is getting a television anime in fall. The website revealed a teaser promotional video, visual, cast, and staff: The anime stars Nobunaga Shimazaki as Kōsuke Takioto. Kazuki Ohashi (Shadows House) is directing the...
GOGOGOGO-GO-GHOST! is for the people who want to see a grown, tax-paying adult revel in petty revenge on everyday annoyances.― Let's just be honest with ourselves: Broadly speaking, manga and anime are full of goody-two-shoes protagonists. They're usually teenagers. They tend to have selfless personalities or goals, and there's usually some element of needing to stop a superpowered bad guy for anyon...
Does manga creator Tomoko Yamashita know us better than we know ourselves? Sylvia and Coop have their suspicions.― Does manga creator Tomoko Yamashita know us better than we know ourselves? Sylvia and Coop have their suspicions. The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead. Crunchyroll...
First 2 seasons' Kōnosuke Uda returns to direct new season at MAPPA― The official website for the new anime of Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 manga revealed on Thursday that the anime will get a third season that will premiere in October on the NTV channel, and will exclusively stream on Netflix right after its broadcast. The third season's teaser visual and first promotional video were also revealed....
Anime based on Project Anima's "Kids/Game" category grand prize winner Hajime Shinagawa's story― Asmik Ace revealed on Thursday Doga Kobo's original television anime Mebius Dust, based on Hajime Shinagawa's story of the same title, which won the grand prize for the "Kids/Game" category of the Project Anima competition in 2019. The company also revealed the anime's debut this year, main staff members...
Kabo gets closer to the beat, but the distance between him and dance is growing.― One of the most delightful things about Wandance is that it continues to buck narrative trends repeatedly. In other sports/club stories, the focus would be on the way the team seems to lack cohesion, while one character or another fails to live up to their promise. Here, people do well sometimes and not so well other t...
Teaser video, visual unveiled for final season― The staff for the third season of the Oshi no Ko anime announced on Thursday that the anime will get a fourth season, which will be the final one. Crunchyroll confirmed that it will stream the fourth season. The staff unveiled a teaser video and visual: The 35th episode, the final one for the third season, aired as a one-hour special on Wednesday. The ...
This is the best these three games have ever been, and the features included ensure that these games remain enjoyable as intended for years to come.― Capcom's trek through the Mega Man franchise continues with Mega Man Star Force! Originally released on the Nintendo DS, the Star Force games serve as a continuation of the setting from Mega Man Battle Network. And if you're too young to have enjoyed t...
With so many excellent anime this season, we had to dig a little deeper to find true disappointment.― With so many excellent anime this season, we had to dig a little deeper to find true disappointment. There's the show that found magical reasoning to make a toddler an object of sexual desire, the "We Have Jujutsu Kaisen at home" series, and others that were just, well, boring. 5. An Adventurer's D...
