Best Anime of 2026
Ranked by our critic's grades, best first.
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Season 2The second season keeps the first one's nerve: it still refuses to hurry, and it is still right not to.Read the review
Witch Hat AtelierKamome Shirahama's storybook magic finally animated, and the adaptation matches the page line for line.
Journal with WitchTwo people who do not know how to be a family try anyway, and nothing is ever rushed.
Sparks of TomorrowKyoto Animation builds a steam powered Kyoto and hands it to a first time director, who repays the trust.
You and I Are Polar OppositesA school romance with no villain and no misunderstanding, and no need for either one.
Akane-banashiA shonen series about rakugo, and the rare adaptation that makes one performer on a cushion feel like a fight.
Daemons of the Shadow RealmArakawa's new one arrives with a twist in the first episode and a production that can carry it.
Fate/strange FakeThe best looking Fate in years, and the least willing to explain itself to anyone new.
The Ghost in the Shell (2026)Science SARU go back to Shirow's manga and restore the jokes the earlier versions played down, with animation that bounces as often as it broods.
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3MAPPA animate the manga's most argued over arc, and the animation is not the part anyone argues about.