There’s almost too much anime to watch this month

We were just bragging 2025, a huge year for animebut 2026 is set to repeat that – and it’s coming out of the gates with big, crowded banner headlines in January. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of shows we think you should add to your watchlist, who made them, and why they’ll be great.

Freezing: beyond the end of the journey Season 2

Studio: Madhouse
Release date: January 16
Sales pitch: The story of a female elf and her new young companions as they embark on a lustful journey filled with harmless things. impeccable fight scenes and tons of heart.

Heaven from Hell Season 2

Studio: Map
Release date: January 11
Sales pitch: A troop of prisoners and their the executors have their Suicide squad quest for the elixir of life interrupted by a mysterious island (named Kotaku, curiously) whose gender non-conforming beings intend to shorten their lives.

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3

Studio: Map
Release date: January 8
Sales pitch: Yuji Itadori and the rest of the jujutsu sorcerers are forcibly conscripted into a death game a tournament arc with a bunch of rules and lots of action that’s sure to have fans praising him for being “on top!” »

Oshi no Ko Season 3

Studio: Doga Kobo
Release date: January 14
Sales pitch: A doctor and his former patient are reincarnated as children of their favorite pop idol and spend the rest of their adolescence in pursuit of fame as well as their mother’s killer.

My Hero Academia: Vigilants Season 2

Studio: Bone movie
Release date: January 5
Sales pitch: My Hero Academia maybe (Above all) in the history books, but it is prequel spin-off anime (which is actually pretty good) is still trucking, giving people a glimpse of what a more hands-on approach to vigilante Batman-meets-Punisher looks like in the superhero-rich world of Kōhei Horikoshi.

Trigun’s Stargazing

Studio: Orange
Release date: January 10
Sales pitch: THE second and final season from Studio Orange restarting the Trigun animated sees the gang fully reunited with the glorious return of Milly Thompson.

Golden Kamuy

Studio: Base of the brain
Release date: January 5
Sales pitch: The final season of a hilarious, hard-hitting, wholesome series about a group of warriors (read: lovable idiots) as they search for hidden treasure.

Diary with the witch

Studio: Factory
Release date: January 4
Sales pitch: A rare Josei drama (adult female-centric anime) in a sea of ​​shonen anime. It follows a writer named Makio, who, after the tragic death of her ex-sister and her sister’s husband in a car accident, becomes closer to her niece, Asa, through their shared love of writing as they deal with the loss of their family.

The Darwin Incident

Studio: Bellnox Movies
Release date: January 7
Sales pitch: A half-human, half-chimpanzee named Charlie (we listen and don’t judge) attempts to live a normal high school life but is instead thrown into the heart of a conspiratorial terrorist plot.

More to watch in 2026

The list above doesn’t include all the other anime series we’re looking forward to for the rest of the calendar year. Among them, the main ones that we want to monitor and recommend:

• Steel Ball Run: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: the seventh part of Hirohiko Araki’s long series with lots of horse racing and spinning balls, coming to Netflix in March.
• Beastars Final Season Part 2: The last chapter of Studio Orangethe adaptation of creator Paru ItagakiThe furry anime with a lot of heart, is coming to Netflix in March.
• Witch hat workshop: THE long awaited animated adaptation of Kamome ShirahamaThe magical manga series from , arrives on Crunchyroll in April.
• Demons of the Shadow Realm: An animated adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist creator Hiromi ArakawaThe Studio Bones series, available on Crunchyroll in April.
• Marriage toxin: A new shonen manga series that places romance at the heart of its supernatural assassination action, available in April.
• Akane-banashi: A promising rakugo anime adaptation, originally created by the duo Takamasa Moue and Yuki Sues, it is undoubtedly the best current Shonen Jump manga right away. It is essentially about competitive theatrical storytelling, coming in April.
• Mao: Yet another animated series adaptation of Inuyasha And Ranma 1/2 creator Rumiko Takahashi (That’s the Goat) about a girl named Nanoka who, after gaining powers from her isekai-esque jumps between modern times and the Taisho era, is thrown into the orbit of Mao, a cursed cat-demon boy who performs exorcisms. Coming in April.
• Bleach: Bloody Thousand Year War – The Calamity: The fourth and final part of Pierrot Films’ animated adaptation of Tite Kubo’s film Bleach, coming to Hulu in July.
• Jaadugar: A witch in Magnolia: Dan Da Dan studio Science SaruJosei’s latest project, a historical anime adaptation of the manga by Tomato Soup (yes, that’s their pen name) about a Persian woman torn from her homeland and navigating the politics of a world dominated by Genghis Khan, coming July 2026.
• The Elusive Samruai Season 2: The story of a prince named Tokiyuki and his band of friends, under the political tutelage of a prophesying priest claiming that he will become a great hero, on a journey of revenge against those who killed his noble family using the age-old skill of escape. Coming to Crunchyroll in July.
• The Apothecary’s Journal Season 3: Season three follows Maomao, an ever-clever apothecary-turned-detective, who uncovers even more secrets about the royal palace she serves under against her will, coming to Crunchyroll this October.
• The ghost in the shell: The other one from Science Saru “new” the anime brings the OG Ghost in the shell bring the manga to life as only this studio can do; it is planned for 2026.

If there are any shows we missed that are in your 2026 queue for January and beyond, be sure to voice them in the comments and fire up your colleagues.

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