2025 has been another interestingly varied year for TV anime. There’ve been new entries from long-running franchises like Digimon and My Hero Academia, and hotly anticipated debut adaptations of Sakamoto Days, Twisted Wonderland and Devil May Cry. Cowboy Bebop creator Shinichirō Watanabe returned with futuristic, stylish sci-fi Lazarus, and Fullmetal Alchemist’s Hiromu Arakawa contributed her distinctive art style to the characters of Moonrise.
Meanwhile, some breakout debuts made a surprisingly big impact: the Chinese series To Be Hero X wowed audiences with Spider-Verse-esque animation, Gachiakuta dumped gritty, trashpunk all over the shonen genre, and The Summer Hikaru Died (my personal pick for the best of the year) brought the intense melancholy of a Lana Del Ray ballad to both body horror and Boys Love.
What lies ahead of us now are 12 more months of sequels, spinoffs, and newcomers to put on your watchlist. I’ll begin with some honourable mentions that didn’t quite make the cut before moving on to the most essential anime series of the new year, ranked from least to most anticipated. Please note that some release dates have yet to be confirmed at the time of writing, but I’ve included estimated release windows.
Honourable mentions
- Fate/strange Fake (January 3)
- Golden Kamuy, Season 5 (January 5)
- Fire Force, Season 3 (January 10)
- Oshi no Ko, Season 3 (January 14)
- Trigun Stargaze (January)
- The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Season 2 (April)
- Ascendance of a Bookworm (Spring)
10. Sentenced to be a Hero / Scum of the Brave
I’m going out on a limb for this first double-entry with two titles I don’t know much about in their original incarnations (a web novel and manga adaptation), but based on their reception in Japan, their intriguing premises, and the novelty of sharing the same author, novelist and YouTuber Rocket Shoukai, I think they have hit-making potential. Not a bad start to 2026 for Rocket.
Originally slated for October 2025, Sentenced to be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004, to give it its full mouthful of a title, is a dystopian dark fantasy story where “heroism [is] a punishment for only the worst criminals”, as per English publisher Yen Press. Similar to All You Need Is Kill, heroes are forcibly enlisted to fight waves of monsters while trapped in a never-ending resurrection cycle if they perish. Protagonist Xylo Forbartz, convicted of murdering a goddess (so you know he’s not to be trifled with), teams up with another one for the sake of dramatic irony… and badassery, no doubt. If you got deep into Solo Levelling recently, it should fill the time before the next season.
Scum of the Brave, meanwhile, leans more into sci-fi and a lighter tone, focusing on slacker Yashiro, who is roped into mentoring three young bounty hunters in a world where affluent mobsters are becoming surgically superhuman. It’s giving Zom 100 in its apathetic lead and My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen in its educational setting.
Release dates: January (exact date TBC)
9. Hell’s Paradise, Season 2
One of the more underrated shonen series of the past couple of years, Hell’s Paradise takes place in the Edo period and follows ninja Gabimaru the Hollow. After surviving an execution, Gabimaru is enlisted by Sashiri, his would-be executioner, to help complete her mission to find the legendary elixir of life.
The manga is gorgeously violent, and the anime, produced by MAPPA, the superstar studio behind Attack on Titan Season 4, Vinland Saga, Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man, do a typically splendid job here. If you’re already a fan of the latter two, which also share the same publisher, this is definitely a good, bloody chaser.
Release date: January 11
8. Re:Zero, Season 4
I’m not especially partial to isekai – less the concept of being trapped in another world, which is obviously broad and ubiquitous, and more the cookie-cutter deluge of animated slop based around it. Re:Zero is one of the exceptions, which is why, after a decade on the air, it’s about to enter its fourth season.
If you know isekai, you know the drill: a going-nowhere guy gets randomly sucked into a fantasy world, usually RPG-inspired. In Re:Zero, this guy is Subaru, who can come back to life a few hours in the past each time he dies, and is the only one to remember it. Naturally, this takes a psychological toll each time, so if you’re after something a bit deeper than your standard power fantasy, Subaru’s misadventures might be worth catching up on.
Release date: April (exact date TBC)
7. Classroom of the Elite, Season 4
Based on one of Japan’s biggest-selling light novel series, Classroom of the Elite fans had to wait five long years for a sequel to the first anime adaptation. As of 2022, the seasons have been releasing much quicker, with the fourth arriving around two years after the last.
This is a strong recommendation for those who like psychological teen dramas: set in an experimental, rigorously hierarchical school for promising future leaders. It’s something of a Lord of the Flies meets Battle Royale situation, but with mind games rather than death games. Season 4 is only the second school year, too, so there’s plenty more to come.
Release date: April (exact date TBC)
6. The Beginning After the End, Season 2
We’re back in ‘reborn in another world’ territory now with Season 2 of The Beginning After the End, the second batch of episodes following the first cour in 2025. Taking place in a fantasy realm, the story, based on a popular American webtoon, kicks off with the death of ruthless King Grey at the ripe middle age of 38 (extremely elderly in anime terms). He’s reincarnated in another land as Arthur, younger and magically gifted, but with all his memories and knowledge from his past life.
Its high fantasy setting and warring families are very Game of Thrones, and mirroring the HBO show’s final season, The Beginning After the End divided opinion with its first. Some fans were so unhappy with the animation quality that a 40,000-signature-strong petition to remake it made the rounds online. It’s not the disaster that One-Punch Man has become, but it certainly makes the next half a make-or-break instalment.
Release date: April (exact date TBC)
5. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Season 2
By the time the second season of this My Hero Academia spinoff airs, the main series will have wrapped up for good – so if you’re looking to fill that cape-shaped hole in your life, Vigilantes is it. As a prequel, it somewhat works as a standalone, though with plenty of cameos from MHA characters in their younger days, familiarity with the world is beneficial.
Away from the high stakes of the One For All vs All For One war and centred on a protagonist who’s even more of an underdog than Deku, Vigilantes is a fun reprieve that expands the MHA universe with a fresh cast of scrappy heroes and villains operating on the fringes of society.
Release date: January (exact date TBC)
4. Witch Hat Atelier
Manga readers will no doubt be familiar with this one. As a book series, Witch Hat Atelier has gained a huge international following and racked up award nominations and wins. Its whimsical, witchy world, drawn with traditional art techniques and inspired by classic fantasy literature, is often compared favourably to Ghibli movies.
Moving away from Miyazaki, there’s also a bit of Fullmetal Alchemist in there, both in the Eurocentric setting and the inciting incident: dressmaking, wannabe witch Coco turns her mother to stone with a rogue spell, leading her on a mission to undo her mistake that uncovers an anti-magic conspiracy in her world. Hopefully, the long-awaited anime adaptation can capture the source material’s vintage, fairy tale magic.
Release date: April (exact date TBC)
3. Frieren, Season 2
You may only know Frieren from the viral ‘looking up’ meme, but did you know that wonderfully bad piece of fan art comes from a slightly more wonderful and better drawn anime about a sad, immortal elf? Subtitled Beyond Journey’s End, Frieren follows the titular elven mage as she seeks to reunite with the lost soul of her human comrade while reminiscing about their last quest together, and the small matter of what existence means when time drags on for centuries.
Meditative and offbeat, Frieren truly breaks the mould for expectations of fantasy anime, and gathered plenty of critical acclaim in its first season as a breakthrough piece of TV in any medium. The pressure’s on for Season 2 to pick up the baton.
Release date: January 16
2. The Apothecary Diaries, Season 3
This historical mystery series has an ardent following in Japan; it’s taken a little longer for it to find the audience it now has internationally, no doubt boosted by Netflix picking up its first two seasons in 2025. Now, as The Apothecary Diaries prepares to roll out a third, it’s doing so as easily the most in-demand, mainstream shojo show around.
Set in an alternate version of China’s Tang Dynasty, the series follows Maomao, who works as a pharmacist in the Emperor’s palace, solving medical mysteries and forming a ‘will they, won’t they?’ relationship with supposed eunuch, Jinshi. If you enjoy other gentle, historical romance dramas like My Happy Marriage, or live-action fare like Bridgerton, this is a cuty and cosy time.
Release date: October
1. Jujutsu Kaisen, Season 3
Alongside Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen has been one of anime’s big box office drivers at the cinema in 2025. In 2026, it returns to the small screen for its third season, which those who contributed to the franchise’s aforementioned box office success in November will have already seen the first two episodes of as part of the compilation film’s story.
Adapting ‘The Culling Game’ arc of the manga, the Jujutsu sorcerers face off against new antagonist Kenjaku, while trying to rescue their quirky, OP mentor, Gojo, from his sidelined prison. While darker and more violent than the likes of One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen is a great gateway anime for older kids, or existing anime fans who vibe with supernatural battle series like Bleach, or the newer hotshot pair I namedropped at the top.
Release date: January 8
