9 brand-new anime releasing in 2026

It’s raining anime this year. We recently covered the most hyped anime coming in 2026, but that list included sequels and returning favourites. Now we have another list for all anime fans out there, and it’s a little different.

This time, we’re focusing exclusively on shows dropping their very first episode ever in 2026. That means no second seasons or continuations, and only completely fresh starts. While there are a whole bunch that meet this criteria, we’ve cherry picked nine of the most anticipated ones.

Fate/strange Fake (January 2026)

The Fate franchise has been around for ages, but this particular story has never gotten a proper TV anime until now. It’s set in Snowfield, a fictional American city, years after the Fifth Holy Grail War.

Masters and Servants are gathering once again, though this time things are even weirder than usual. There’s a missing Servant class, impossible summonings, and a city that was literally designed to be a battleground. A-1 Pictures is producing, and Hiroyuki Sawano is doing the music.

The Darwin Incident (January 2026)

This sci-fi thriller introduces Charlie, a half-human, half-chimpanzee hybrid with incredible intelligence and physical abilities. A terrorist group called The Animal Liberation Alliance wants him for their own purposes, and they’re willing to go to extreme lengths to get him.

Charlie isn’t having it though, and the series follows his fight to protect the people he cares about. This show is already streaming on Amazon Prime.

Witch Hat Atelier (April 2026)

This anime has been a long time coming. The manga has been running since 2016 and fans have been begging for an anime adaptation for years. The story follows Coco, a young girl who dreams of becoming a witch in a world where magic is supposedly something you’re born with.

When she accidentally turns her mother to stone, she sets off on a journey to reverse it. Studio BUG FILMS delayed this from 2025 to ensure they could do the source material justice. And indeed, the animation in early previews looks gorgeous.

Daemons of the Shadow Realm (April 2026)

If you’re a fan of Fullmetal Alchemist, you’ll want to pay attention to this one. It’s the latest work from Hiromu Arakawa, the creator of that beloved series. The story centres on twins named Yuru and Asa who were separated as children. They possess the ability to command supernatural beings called Daemons, and the plot follows them as they fight to reunite.

Studio bones film is handling animation, and the show is confirmed to run for two consecutive courses, meaning we’re getting a substantial adaptation right out of the gate.

Kill Blue (April 2026)

Here’s a fun premise. Juzo Ogami is a legendary hitman whose name alone terrifies people in his profession. One day, he wakes up in the body of a teenager with no idea how it happened. To figure out what’s going on, he has to do something he never thought he’d do again. He has to go back to school.

The manga that this show is based on comes from Tadatoshi Fujimaki, who also created Kuroko’s Basketball. Studio CUE is producing, and the voice cast includes Shunsuke Takeuchi as adult Juzo and Yuko Sanpei as his younger self.

The Ramparts of Ice (April 2026)

Not everything has to be about battles and supernatural powers. This romantic comedy follows Koyuki Higawa, a high school girl who keeps everyone at a distance because of her cold demeanour. Then she meets Minato Amamiya, a boy who keeps trying to get close to her despite her walls.

ALSO READ: My Neighbor Totoro to Your Name: 10 best anime movies of all time

Two more characters join the mix, and what follows is an awkward, charming story about four complicated teenagers figuring out youth and relationships.

Black Torch (July 2026)

This shonen series follows Jiro Azuma, a young man from a ninja lineage who can communicate with animals. His life gets flipped upside down when he encounters an injured black cat named Rago, who turns out to be a legendary spirit called a mononoke. The two end up fused together, and now Jiro has to navigate a hidden war between humanity and dark spirits.

Sekiro: No Defeat (2026)

FromSoftware’s critically acclaimed action game is getting the anime treatment. Sekiro sold over 10 million copies when it launched in 2019, and while fans have been hoping for a sequel, they’re getting an animated adaptation instead.

The story follows a shinobi warrior on a quest to rescue his kidnapped lord in a fantastical version of Sengoku-era Japan. The production team has emphasised that this is entirely hand-drawn, with no AI involved in the creation process. It’ll stream exclusively on Crunchyroll outside of Japan.

The Ghost in the Shell (TBA 2026)

Science Saru, the studio behind last year’s Dandadan, is tackling one of the most influential anime properties of all time. And it’s a full remake too.

OG anime fans may recall that the 1995 film version basically invented the cyberpunk aesthetic that shows like The Matrix borrowed heavily from. But even if you’ve never watched Ghost in the Shell directly, you’ve probably seen something that was shaped by it.

As for the release date, we don’t have a solid one as of writing, but that doesn’t change the fact that this anime is easily one of the most anticipated projects of the year.