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Not gonna lie, this one’s looking pretty rough.

At this point my instinct for how these things go is honed pretty sharply. There’s a process that plays out, a cycle. After a period of really grim anime announcements I know it’s going to take two or three seasons for the schedule to really reflect it. Same with bursts of interesting ones, though those are more rare these days. This fall schedule is, in a word, lousy. On paper at least. But I’ve known it was coming, just as I was vibing all year that summer was going to the strongest season of 2026. It sucks, but at least it’s not a surprise.

It’s not the worst thing in some ways. Summer sees me covering 13 shows, which is frankly too many. So a light season isn’t the worst thing in the world – I can recoup my energies a bit. Indeed summer has turned out quite good in hindsight – it checks all the boxes. It has an AotY candidate at the top, it has volume of watchable series, and it has a handful that are genuine Top 10 contenders. Based on the fact that I haven’t seen any uptick in the quality of those announcements (with the inevitable rare exception) I suspect it’s going to be the last season for a while we can say that about.

Quantity isn’t the problem. We have 67 series premiering, up 10% from last fall’s 61. 60-70 year-round seems to be the default now (yes, that’s too many). The usual roughly one-third are LN adaptations (21). The issue, as always, is the lack of creative ambition. It’s an absolute swamp of CGDCT shows, with the usual mix of isekai and game adaptation. Very occasionally those shows are good but overall they reduce the pool of contenders by their prominence. Production committees don’t like to take chances, and strong manga sales don’t seem to be as persuasive as they used to be when the series doesn’t fit one of the usual boxes.

As you probably know in an average season a third of the schedule makes the preview, more or less. This time it’s only 15 14, Junket Bank crashed out) shows, or about 21% – which is one of the lowest hit rates since I’ve been doing this. Of that group only one made “Highest Expectations” – Ao Ashi II, and given the director and studio change that was generous. Seven made “Mid-table” and the remaining six are “Modest Expectations”. Again, not great, but that fits the tenor of the schedule. There are three sequels among the previewed group, which is pretty much a normal ratio.

Unlike in summer there’s only one new adaptation of a manga I follow, Fool Night (and that’s Shaft). So that does at least increase the variability and chance of being surprised on the upside, though I don’t have “that” feeling about any of the other shows on the schedule. There are a fair number of originals this season though again, not much that really leaps off the schedule as having big potential. It’s just a vaguely depressing 2020’s bloated anime schedule with a pretty typical genre and demographic mix. It just has a few less standout manga adaptations than average, and the outlook pays the price for that.

This is my 62nd (I think) Season Preview here at LiA. Thanks to everyone who’s joined me for part of that ride. Here’s hoping efforts to make the site financially sustainable bear fruit, and these previews will continue to be free for anyone who finds them useful and entertaining. As you know my costs continue to skyrocket, so more than ever I’m going to be dependent on your financial support to keep LiA alive. To everyone who’s pitched in to help that cause – you have my sincere gratitude.

 

Let’s move on to Fall 2026.  As usual, the poll is in the sidebar – please go vote!

 

Highest Expectations:

Ao Ashi Season 2 – TMS Entertainment: (PV) Make no mistake, I’m heartily glad to see Ao Ashi return to our screens. It’s one of the better sports anime of the past few years and in a weak season like this, the closest thing I have to a tentpole series. Seinen sports manga are often really good, and Ao Ashi is one of the most successful.

That said, the first season was blessed with an adaptation by Production I.G.. And while it didn’t quite soar to Haikyuu-like heights, it was still outstanding in terms of production. Now we’re in a lower rent district with TSM Entertainment. And the director is Yokoyama Kazuki, in his first go in that role. He did work in a minor role on S1, but most prominently was the #2 on Blue Lock – a soccer show I genuinely dislike, though less for the production than the writing.

Even so, in this environment I still have to put Blue Foot on top of the table and I hate leaving this category empty, so call me sentimental but I’m putting it here. As sports series go this is a real all-rounder. The family of the MC is important (the older brother has a spinoff series), and soccer is chronicled from the youth level all the way to first division pros. It’s just really good, and hopefully the changes on the production side don’t impact that.

 

 

Mid-table:

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto 3rd Season – OLM: (PV) The Apothecary Diaries is a kaijuu for sure. It’s certainly one of the very best light novel adaptations of the decade (short list I know, but still). It’s also one of the most settled and stress-free anime franchises around. There’s an absolute ton of material to work with – I’m pretty sure the LN and its various manga iterations could end now (it’s not) and the anime could still go ten seasons. It has plenty of budget and a solid staff. It really just comes down to the schedules of the studio and staff.

I didn’t like the second season as much as the first, but it was still very good. Jinshi has become much less unlikable over the course of the series, which is a big help. And of course Maomao remains a funny and interesting heroine. It’ll be interesting to see how she fares in the role of caregiver for Kyou-u, as that seems to cut against her nature and it’s always fun to see cocky characters taken out of their element. But please, more Lakan.

Kanata Kara – Studio Deen: (PV) Honestly, after those first two (both sequels) there’s a pretty big drop-off for me expectations-wise. I’m putting Kanata Kara here but it could be any number of series, honestly. Yeah it’s another ancient shoujo isekai, and the recent track record with those is spotty (and that’s charitable). But the serious shoujo people I know are universally fans of this manga, which is something I put a lot of stock in.

The details look pretty boilerplate for this sort of story – young girl transported through time and space, weird monsters, handsome ikemen. But as I said I’m going on recommendations here. The previews look cheap with a capital “C”, which fits the Deen M.O.. But director Abe Noriyuki is supremely experienced and generally very good, so I expect this adaptation to be at least serviceable in spite of that. Another concern is length – we don’t know the episode count, and the manga was 14 volumes. But for this season, From Far Away ranks as an elite prospect.

Ao no Hako Season 2 – Electric Circus: (PV) Another “Blue” sports series, of which it feels like there are dozens. Theoretically this should be as safe as it gets – a direct sequel for a manga I’ve read wire to wire. Interestingly though the series is switching to the new Electric Circus studio, founded by expats from Telecom Animation Film (which produced S1). And with that comes a new and less experienced director. All that lends just a bit of uncertainty to this sequel.

Blue Box is a manga I like quite a lot, though don’t love. It’s good, and I like both leads. There are a couple supporting cast which seriously grate on me, though, and there are times when the narrative dallies too long in what to me are tiresome distractions. That said, assuming everything is OK on the production side – and as a sports anime, that matters a good bit – I know this will be a solid watch every week.

Fool Night – Sunrise/Shaft: (PV) We did a podcast episode about Fool Night, the story of a future where people sell themselves to be turned into plants in order to provide oxygen for a world starved of it. I’m not as nuts for it as my co-host but it is good and genuinely interesting, asking some hard questions. The art is hit and miss for me but there are some interesting oddballs in the cast, and the core premise has the air of a rather classic sci-fi story.

But you know, I hate Shaft. I almost never like anything they do, which is basically Shinbou Akiyuki stamping his irritating aesthetic on a source material he animated on the cheap. Fool Night is co-produced with Sunrise at least, and Shinbou is not directly involved, at least in credited fashion (I’m skeptical). So this one basically starts the season in probation for me. How Shaft-y is it going to be? Hope for the best, prepare for the worst is my motto and it serves well here.

Hotaru no Yomeiri – David Production: (PV) Another shoujo manga adaptation, but we’re miles away from Kanata Kara here. Firefly Wedding follows a rich girl who’s targeted for assassination and proses marriage to the assassin in order to save her life (am I nuts or does that echo Marriagetoxin a fair bit?). It’s another case where the manga has a good reputation but I’m going in totally cold turkey here.

Length is once again a concern, as the manga is 12 volumes (complete) and we have no episode count. It’s NoitaminA though, which puts the likelihood of multiple cours lower than it otherwise would be as that would usually be announced in advance with them. I don’t see anything especially notable on the staff list here, so this one could go pretty much any old way.

Marronnier Oukoku no Shichinin no Kishi – J.C. Staff: (PV) A relatively rare jousei adaptation this time. It’s the story of the seven sons of a female general who set off across the neighboring kingdoms looking for adventure and princesses to rescue. That sounds fun in a whimsical sort of way.

Unfortunately, J.C. Staff is pretty much synonymous with bottom the barrel productions at this point so expectations must be tempered. To be honest in a normal season this might be a “Modestly Interested” but you know the drill. Being jousei just nudges it into the middle against weak competition.

Ojisan wa Kawaii Mono ga Osuki. – LIDENFILMS: (PV) Unsurprisingly there’s not much on this schedule giving me a sleeper vibe. But Uncle’s Obsession with Cute Things kind of does. It’s about a popular 40 year-old salaryman who’s desperate to hide his obsession with cute things. When his college-age nephew moves in with him, he fears his cover is going to be blown.

Admittedly this one is a total shot in the dark for me, but I just vibe it might be pretty good. A shoujo with a somewhat unusual premise for shoujo, a good director in Makino Tomoe (Aharen-san wa Hakarenai, Kotarou wa Hitorigurashi), a certain “that niche” potential radiating from it. Sleeper-wise it’s pretty much all I got so I hope it pans out.

 

Modestly Interested:

Ranma ½ (2024) 3rd Season – MAPPA: (PV): I enjoy Ranma ½ as a breezy weekly diversion (as long as there’s not much Happousai). But I can’t pretend it’s great or anything. And as I recall things start to get a little repetitive as we get deeper into the series. If anything I’m focusing on the fact that we haven’t heard anything on the next installment of Rurouni Kenshin, which seemed to be alternating with Ranma for a while.

Psyren – Satelight: (PV)  I never crossed paths with it, but apparently Psyren had quite a legion of fans who were upset when Weekly Shounen Jump cancelled it way back in 2010. For their sake I hope this is a good adaptation, though Satelight’s recent track record doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. Why does it get an anime now, almost twenty years later? I’ve stopped asking questions like that. An interesting element is that the plot surrounds phone cards with magical properties, and since no one under 25 will know what those are I wonder if the anime will tweak that.

Seitokai ni mo Ana wa Aru – Passione: (PV) 4-koma manga about a student council full of weirdos and the one normal kid trying not to get sucked into their craziness. Sounds pretty boilerplate but the manga is generally pretty well-liked (it won the print manga division of the Tsugi ni Kuru Manga Awards in 2023).

Juuou Mujin Dandivine – LIDENFILMS, Kayac Animation: (PV) An original mecha series about a toy company in decline because the warrior mecha it built models for are out of fashion in times of peace. The president decides war would be good for business and hijinks ensue. Writer (as you know, the most important person on an original anime) is Inoue Toshiki, who has a very long and generally good track record.

Vertex Force – Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment: (PV) Dandivine’s rival mecha original, this one set in Okinawa. A loser kid whose sister has some sort of power has to save the world, et al. There are several writers credited here so it’s hard to tell whose baby this is – one of them is director Takamura Kazuhiro, who’s worked on some great stuff as an animator (mostly at Gainax) but very little of it as a director and none that I can see as a writer.

Demons’ Crest – Production I.G: (PV) It’s become something of a tradition that the “Mr. Irrelevant” of the preview is a random LN adaptation that might not be terrible. With Kawahara Reki (SAO, Accel World) behind the light novels there’s honestly not much reason to feel optimistic. But it’s an ONA from Production I.G, so if nothing else you would expect it to look good. Predictably, it involves a MMORPG fusing with the real world and kids getting caught up in it.

 

Will definitely blog: Ao Ashi Season 2, Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Season 3, Ao no Hako Season 2. That’s it and I can’t truly guarantee anything else. I’ll probably cover Ranma but we’ll see how I feel once it starts. I’d love to commit to Fool Night and I would if it were any other studio, but with Shaft co-producing? No way I can be sure.

Sleepers: Ojisan wa Kawaii Mono ga Osuki., maybe Seitokai ni mo Ana wa Aru if I squint really, really hard.

 

OVA:

There’s literally almost nothing scheduled so this one coming up blank is no surprise.

 

Theatrical:

Made in Abyss: Mezameru Shinpi – 10/23/2026: (PV) More Made in Abyss is always a good thing, and movies are a viable vehicle for it as the manga updates slowly enough that waits  between TV seasons are always long. As far as I can tell, this is the first of what’s going to be an original trilogy with Tsukushi Akihito cooperating on the story. But details are scarce in terms of plot so that’s about all we know for now.

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Movie: Bouhi no Hihou – 12/11/2026: (PV) Kusuriya no Hitorigoto adds another jewel to its commercial crown, which already consists of the source LN, two manga versions plus a spinoff, a future live-action drama, and the ongoing TV anime. Bouhi no Hihou, like Mezameru Shinpi, is an original story but in this case written by the novelist Hyuuga Natsu. Sounds like a road trip (well, boat trip) setting for Maomao and Jinshi.