Top 10 Anime of 2026 So Far

[00:01] [clears throat]

[00:11] >> Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're

[00:13] counting down our picks for the best

[00:15] anime of 2026 so far. We'll only be

[00:19] including series and seasons that

[00:21] started airing this year.

[00:30] Number 10, Hell's Paradise season 2.

[00:33] While the first season was an

[00:35] exceptionally solid start, the latest

[00:37] foray into the disturbing land of

[00:39] Shinsengumi blew it out the water.

[00:49] With Gabimaru and the rest of his

[00:51] mismatched crew of prisoners and

[00:53] executioners finally facing head-on

[00:56] against multiple Tensens, Hell's

[00:58] Paradise delivered some exceptionally

[01:00] awesome and brutal fights.

[01:10] >> [groaning]

[01:16] >> With the anime now covering 2/3 of the

[01:18] original manga, we're hopeful that MAPPA

[01:21] can finish off this excellent adaptation

[01:23] sooner rather than later.

[01:26] >> [screaming and groaning]

[01:29] >> Number nine, Nippon Sangoku, The Three

[01:32] Nations of the Crimson Sun. Every so

[01:35] often, a new anime series emerges that

[01:38] completely flies under the radar at

[01:40] first, only for everyone to realize just

[01:42] a few episodes in that it's a top

[01:45] contender for one of the year's best.

[01:53] Nippon Sangoku takes place in

[01:55] post-apocalyptic Japan, where it has

[01:58] been split into three imperial

[02:00] territories known as Yamato, Buo, and

[02:03] Sei. The protagonist, Alteru Misumi,

[02:06] leads a movement and aims to reunify

[02:08] Japan with his sharp intellect rather

[02:11] than brute force.

[02:17] >> [music]

[02:20] >> If you feel like watching something that

[02:21] is unique in both its setting and art

[02:24] style, you can go wrong with Nippon

[02:26] Sangoku.

[02:32] Number eight, Baki Dou, the invincible

[02:34] samurai. If you thought Baki couldn't

[02:37] top its ridiculousness with the likes of

[02:39] the prehistoric fighter of Pickle and

[02:41] the epic father-son battle, then boy,

[02:44] you were wrong. The latest series in the

[02:47] martial arts anime somehow brings back

[02:49] the legendary Japanese swordsman,

[02:51] Miyamoto Musashi, from the dead to duke

[02:54] it out against Baki's already unique

[02:56] roster of combatants.

[03:10] Musashi's unique fighting style brings a

[03:12] fresh angle to the world of Baki,

[03:14] especially his imitation cut technique

[03:17] where he can essentially slash his

[03:19] opponents with an invisible sword.

[03:28] No matter what weird gimmicks this

[03:30] series introduces, you're guaranteed to

[03:33] be always glued to the screen with each

[03:35] showdown.

[03:43] Number seven, Dorohedoro season two.

[03:46] Welcome back to the hole. It's like six

[03:48] long years, but Dorohedoro finally

[03:50] returned to our screens in all its gory

[03:53] and [music] twisted glory.

[04:01] >> [groaning and screaming]

[04:03] >> Mappa has once again done a fantastic

[04:05] job of bringing Q Hayashida's wacky

[04:08] world to life in this second outing,

[04:10] which was certainly worth the wait. The

[04:13] mystery surrounding Caiman's past slowly

[04:15] unraveled as we were also introduced to

[04:17] the members of the Cross-Eyes gang who

[04:20] are certainly linked.

[04:29] All the while, we got to learn a lot

[04:30] more about how the Sorcerers Society

[04:33] functions. If you haven't already caught

[04:35] up with this show, don't hesitate any

[04:37] longer because you're not going to find

[04:39] such a perfect balance of humor and

[04:41] brutality anywhere else.

[04:50] >> [screaming]

[04:51] >> Number six, Oshi no Ko season 3. The

[04:55] latest series of Oshi no Ko initially

[04:57] starts with a greater focus on Ruby

[05:00] after her brother believes that the true

[05:02] mastermind behind their mother's death

[05:04] is dead.

[05:17] Of course, it was never going to be that

[05:19] simple and after discovering the truth,

[05:22] Aqua decides to take his schemes even

[05:24] further than ever before.

[05:36] Like with previous seasons, Oshi no Ko

[05:39] is a wild ride of a mystery drama within

[05:42] the shady underside of Japan's

[05:44] entertainment industry. We can't

[05:46] recommend this series enough, and now is

[05:48] the perfect time to catch up before the

[05:51] [music] fourth and final season.

[05:58] >> [music]

[06:07] >> Number five, Witch Hat Atelier. It's

[06:10] certainly been a long wait, but we can

[06:12] say with full confidence that the anime

[06:14] adaptation of Witch Hat Atelier has been

[06:17] worth it. The series follows Coco, who

[06:20] is taken on as a witch apprentice by the

[06:22] charming Qifrey after a forbidden magic

[06:25] accident causes her mother to become

[06:27] encased in crystal.

[06:32] >> [gasps]

[06:35] >> With its high fantasy setting, Witch Hat

[06:37] Atelier combines incredible

[06:39] world-building with a unique blend of

[06:41] mystery and adventure that is well worth

[06:44] your time.

[06:47] >> [laughter]

[06:49] >> The team at Bug Films have outdone

[06:51] themselves here, especially with the

[06:53] stunning animation the show provides.

[07:06] Number four, Steel Ball Run, JoJo's

[07:09] Bizarre Adventure.

[07:21] Viz Media, Netflix, what on earth are

[07:23] you playing at with this bizarre release

[07:25] schedule? If you just released this

[07:28] weekly like any normal anime, there's no

[07:30] doubt in our minds that it would be at

[07:32] the top of this list. Now that we've got

[07:35] that out of the way, David Production

[07:36] has once again given us another

[07:38] brilliant anime adaptation of the

[07:40] series.

[07:52] >> [music]

[07:53] >> Taking place in a separate continuity

[07:56] from the previous series, it stars

[07:58] Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli, who

[08:01] both compete in a cross-country horse

[08:03] race in the American Old West.

[08:05] Thankfully, Netflix has announced that

[08:07] the series will return in the fall.

[08:10] Let's just hope this series will be able

[08:12] to cross the finish line without any

[08:14] further delays.

[08:21] Number three, Frieren: Beyond Journey's

[08:24] End season two. Despite being much

[08:26] shorter than the previous one, the

[08:28] second season of Frieren was everything

[08:30] we could have hoped for and more.

[08:37] With the first-class major exam that

[08:38] dominated the second half of the first

[08:40] season out of the way, the show returns

[08:43] to Frieren, Fern, and Stark's journey

[08:46] towards the Aureole. The show continues

[08:48] to build on the bond between these three

[08:50] characters, all the while fleshing out

[08:52] the excellent world-building and lore

[08:55] that it excels at.

[09:07] And of course, there's plenty of

[09:09] dangerous encounters along the way,

[09:11] resulting in some top-quality fight

[09:13] sequences, especially the ones against

[09:15] demonkind.

[09:23] Number two, Re:Zero - Starting Life in

[09:26] Another World season four. Subaru

[09:28] Natsuki's life just doesn't get any

[09:31] easier, does it? After the previous

[09:33] season leaned hard on large-scale

[09:35] battles against the Witch Cults, season

[09:38] 4 returns to its deeply punishing

[09:40] psychological and mystery roots.

[09:53] Taking place in the Pleiades Watch

[09:55] Tower, Subaru undergoes his most

[09:57] haunting challenge yet when he suddenly

[09:59] loses all of his post-isekai memories,

[10:03] which makes things all the more

[10:04] confusing for him when he returns BY

[10:06] DEATH.

[10:09] >> [screaming]

[10:13] >> THIS ARC IS ONE OF THE MOST popular in

[10:15] the light novels, and we can't wait to

[10:17] see where IT GOES NEXT.

[10:22] >> [screaming]

[10:24] >> BEFORE WE UNVEIL OUR TOP PICK, here's a

[10:27] few honorable mentions. Golden Kamuy

[10:29] final season.

[10:39] Fate/Strange Fake

[10:58] Sentence to be a hero.

[11:08] >> Before we continue, be sure to check out

[11:10] WatchMojo's 24-hour live stream. All of

[11:12] your favorite videos in one place, 24/7.

[11:15] Always on, always live.

[11:19] >> NUMBER ONE, Jujutsu Kaisen the Culling

[11:22] Game part one. Following on from the

[11:25] chaos that was the Shibuya incident,

[11:27] Yuji Itadori not only has to carry the

[11:29] guilt and trauma that went down, but

[11:32] also deal with the fact that his mentor

[11:34] Gojo has been sealed away.

[11:40] Now, we know how popular Gojo is with

[11:42] fans of the series, but this is where

[11:44] the latest season thrives as it now

[11:46] allows characters both old and new to

[11:49] take more of the spotlights.

[11:53] >> [music]

[11:59] >> What makes this season feel so special

[12:01] is that the stakes are higher than ever.

[12:04] No character feels completely safe,

[12:06] creating some real tension. And of

[12:08] course, the fights, which are the main

[12:10] selling points of this series, are even

[12:12] more impressive than ever with excellent

[12:15] animation and choreography.

[12:24] >> [music]

[12:31] >> What's your favorite anime of the season

[12:33] so far? Let us know in those comments

[12:36] below.