A new anime season has started, and once again, fans are awash with new offerings from Japan’s best studios. Let’s explore the 12 new anime series you should not miss in the Winter 2026 anime season!
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What Are the Best Winter 2026 Anime to Watch This Season?
Anime isn’t slowing down any time soon. The Winter 2026 anime season features a mind-blowing 61 new series broadcast on Japanese TV and various streaming services around the world. It can be quite hard to know which shows are worth watching, which is why I like to write up my recommendations in a blog post at the start of each season.
Sousou no Frieren Season 2
The 2026 winter anime season marks the return of “Frieren Friday,” when fans around the world watch the new episode of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, then go on Reddit to share memes about the episode. I can’t wait!
Oshi no Ko Season 3
Another thoroughly enjoyable anime is Oshi no Ko, which starts out as a standard idol anime, then becomes a twisted tale of reincarnation and revenge. Let’s hope we get a little less detail about how stage plays are adapted from novels this season.
Fate/strange Fake
Although I’ve given up trying to follow the Fate universe in detail long ago, I always check out a new series when one comes along. The budgets are usually so massive that it feels like it would be a crime against animation to not check them out. So I’ll be watching!
Chained Soldier Season 2
Fans loved Mato Seihei no Slave when it aired back in 2024. The characters were great, and the military uniforms really set the anime apart. But best of all was the ecchi setup: the prideful, haughty girls were forced to give sexual “rewards” whenever they relied on the male lead’s power during a battle.
More Winter 2026 Anime: A Misanthrope Teaches a Class for Demi-Humans
We never know ahead of time which shows will really resonate with fans. Interviews with Monster Girls was about a teacher in a world in which demi-humans are part of everyday society. The anime follows his efforts to understand his students better. If you’d suggested that this show would become one of the most beloved shows in years, some might have doubted you.
I’ll certainly be checking out Jingai Kyoushitsu no Ningengirai Kyoushi, about a teacher with a classroom full of monster girls.
Even More Shows to Watch in the Winter 2026 Anime Season!
Golden Kamuy: The Final Chapter
I immediately fell in love with Golden Kamuy, a historical adventure set in Meiji era Hokkaido about the search for lost Ainu gold, and have evangelized it a lot on the J-List blog. The show is so ridiculous, with off-color gags and amazing characters, I can’t recommend it enough.
MF Ghost Third Season
J-List is based in Gunma Prefecture, so Initial D is quite important to me. I’ve totally been enjoying the sequel, which follows Kana Katagiri, a half-British driver who was trained by Takumi Fujiwara. While I like the updated racing scenes, complete with drones that follow the cars, I certainly enjoy the fanservice, too.
Mayonaka Heart Tune: Finding the Girl Behind the Voice
At first, I assumed this was another idol anime, and I clicked into the trailer to verify whether it used low-quality CG animation like every other similar show seems to these days. I was pleased to see the show used proper hand-drawn animation. It’s about a boy on a mission to find the owner of a voice he heard on the radio, and four girls’ dreams of doing voice-related work in the future.
Is Anime in a “Hero Bubble”?
There are no less than five new series that feature yuusha (hero) in their titles this season. The shows are:
- Sentenced to Be a Hero. A fantasy anime in which those convicted of crimes are forced to become “heroes” and fight in the Demon War.
- Jack-of-All-Trades, Party of None. The standard “kicked out of my party, I was forced to level up alone.” The visuals of this look really good, though!
- Roll Over And Die: Kicked Out of the Hero’s Party, I’m Starting a Laid-Back Life in the Royal Capital. Another “kicked out of my party” setup, this time focusing on a female heroine and a slave girl she’s in love with.
- There was a Cute Girl in the Hero’s Party, so I Tried Confessing to Her. A guy gets tensei’ed to a fantasy world where he joins a party because one of the members is cute.
- Yuusha no Kuzu: Scum of the Brave. A futuristic Tokyo in which Blade Runner-esque police known as Heroes must hunt down demons in human form.
Which one of these shows will generate buzz among anime fans? Your guess is as good as mine!
Is “Torture Anime” Becoming a Category?
If I had a nickel for every anime with ‘torture’ in its title this season, I’d have two nickels. First is season 2 of Himesama “Goumon” no Jikan desu, about a girl who gets “tortured” with delicious foods. Then there’s The Daily Life of a Part-time Torturer, about a world where killing and torture are everyday events. Are you okay, Japan?
Finally, Lots of Seinen Anime
We’ve got new seasons of Jujutsu Kaisen, Fire Force, and Vigilante: Boku no Hero Academia Illegals 2nd Season. These look fine, if you’re into the genre. There’s also Trigun Stargaze, a sequel to the recent Trigun reboot… but it’s a 100% CGI anime, so it’s not something I’ll be watching.
Thanks for reading this blog post about the new anime series we recommend for the Winter 2026 anime season. Did we miss any important series? Tell us in the comments below!
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J-List has great news! We’re having a huge 25% sale on all 2026 calendars. Grab a huge discount on the final stock ever of these amazing calendars from Japan, including anime, traditional photo and art, and awesome JAV pinup calendars. Start browsing here!
