First Look at the New Titles for Winter of 2026

 It's that time once again!  A whole new batch of shows to add to the watch list, letting you ignore you're growing pile of shame.  Here are the ones that have piqued my interest...kind of a sparse season for me...hopefully it means I can meaningfully address my pile of shame!

 

Tamon's B-Side

     Utage is a fan girl for the bad boy of a rising boy band called F/ACE, Tamon.  She ends up covering for another woman at the cleaning company she works for and comes face to face with her God.  Unfortunately while not in the spot light he is a gloomy, depressed introvert who struggles constantly with his self image.  Did Utage see something she was never meant to see?

    This is cute and feels a little like The Wallflower.  Utage is a straight up fan girl, almost to the point of dangerous.  What makes this interesting is the drastic switches and twists in the presentation.  Honestly this may be the best show of the season...

The series is being released on Crunchyroll. 

Journal With Witch

    Asa, a sudden orphan, is taken in by her estranged aunt Makio.  Makio is someone who is incompatible with sharing space with other people but could not sit by as their family debated ignoring the girl in the depths of her grief out of being inconvenient.  Both have to navigate each other while dealing with grief in their own way.

    I always appreciate a nice grounded drama centered around realistic human experiences and interactions.  I would like this one to actually have a resolution to its overall plot but I'm not going to hold my breath.

This series is being released on Crunchyroll. 

 

Hana-Kimi

     Mizuki has decided to transfer to a private boy school in Japan in order to get closer to her idol, a high jumper named Izumi.  The problem...she has to pretend to be a boy while attending the school.

    Many of the beats to the first episode made me think of Here is Greenwood.  Its not going to get anywhere near the weirdness and comedy of that series and I am not sure if I can stomach an entire season of Mizuki struggling to hide her secret.  Like its just not realistically possible for the way she is presenting.  But for now, I will keep up with the show until it gives me a reason to stop.

This series is being released on Crunchyroll.

Wash It All Away

    Kinme is an energetic young woman who runs a small cleaning service all by her self in the seaside town of Atami.  (I cheated a little even though it started to hint at it in the first episode) Kinme lost her memory and with nothing else going on she has devoted herself to taking pride in her business.

    I am not sure how I feel about this one, but since its legit a mystery story I think I will have to stick with it in the long run.  The first episode was OK, but it seemed to lack something.  It may just be a really slow burning story, given you gotta work to stretch out a mysterious past thing pretty hard to keep people interested.  But there is a fine line that might be crossed and bury the whole thing in ennui.

This series is being released on Crunchyroll. 

My Hero Academia Vigilantes season 2

    Its been some time since the end of the first season.  Koichi and Pop Step are carrying on, occupied with the continuing work promoting a local department store.  They are about to find themselves smack dab in the middle of the growing effort by the authorities to squash the illegal villina drug distribution ring.

     Season one was fantastic and brought a lot of enjoyment.  Episode 1 of the new season doesn't disappoint.  I wonder how long this side story can go in the somewhat vacuum of the original series concluding.

This series is being released on Crunchyroll. 

You and I are Polar Opposites

     Miyu isn't your typical gyaru, she's studious and internally concerned about how others see her.  She is also madly in love with the quiet nerdy boy in class, Tani.  She is so madly in love with him she finds it difficult to talk to him normally and cherishes every interaction she has with him but struggles to make her feelings known out of her deep insecurity.

    This may be the top romance of the season.  This is the perfect series for those who love the romance portion of Dan Da Dan and want to only focus on that.  I was happily surprised by how wholesome and sweet the first episode of this series was and can't wait to see more!

The series is being released on Cruchyroll.

Oshi no Ko season 3 

    The story picks up six months after he end of season two and B Komachi is moving up in the idol world.  But things are tense between everyone following Aqua's declaration of getting into a legitimate relationship with Akane.

    Its good to be back into this story and at least with the first episode, we are shifting attention.  Season two was primarily focused on Aqua and everything revolving around the stage production but this time we might be getting more with Ruby.  Things look to be getting spicy!

The series is being released on both Hi Dive and Crunchyroll.

Frieren Beyond Journey's End season 2

    Frieren, Fern and Stark are through their ordeal and back on the road, continuing their journey North.  They are entering a land that is beginning to stir again with agitation and conflict. 

    AFter quite a bit of a break we are back with the laid back fantasy series that largely focuses on introspection and personal relationships over action and spectacle.  I was really upset with how the series ended before the pause, wasting so much time on that stupid test arc.  But now we are back on the road and I couldn't be happier.  We shall see how the story progresses from here but I will enjoy it while I can.

The series is being released on Crunchyroll.

A Look Back at TV Anime from 1996

With how impactful 1995 was to the fate of anime moving forward, although not as easy to determine at the time, 1996 didn't have too many important series, let alone ones I bothered to watch.  Here are the very few number of brand new anime for that year that I ingested.

 

After War Gundam X

    The third Gundam TV series not set in the Universal Century, Gundam X tells a grim post war story about desperation.  It didn't fare well at the time of broadcast, resulting in the series being truncated at only 39 episodes and even thirty years later garners little recognition from fans around the world.  This was the second Gundam series I ever watched and the first one I completed.  It's been far too long since I watched it to remember if I even enjoyed it, but the mega beam weapon the X used will always stick with me.

Boys Over Flowers

    One of the seminal shojo and romance manga ever, the anime adaptation is well loved and was the first in a series of adaptations.  Again, its been a super long time since I watched this but I do recall loving the anime when I watched it.  I really need to watch it again and give it a proper review!

Rurouni Kenshin

    Rurouni Kenshin, in light of the original authors criminal problems, has a problematic history now.  It was a generally well received adaptation at the time it aired.  My first exposure to it was getting a VHS tape of TV anime broadcasts from a Japanese pen-pal at the time.  It was a few years later that I got around to watching the fansubs and greatly enjoyed the 4 episode prequel OAV series.  It is currently being remade and I watched the first few episodes but couldn't justify continuing due to the problematic habits of its author and the lower quality of the remake compared to the original 90's version.  As a whole the anime community needs to turn its back on Kenshin and its author.

Slayers

    This is the first anime series I hated...and still hate.  The story is obnoxious, Lina is a terrible main character and Naga and her stupid laugh holds a place of deep hatred in my soul.  I can't understand why this series is so damn popular and beloved.  By the time it came out I already had a distaste for fantasy anime, thanks to the Record of Loduss War...but the foolishness of this series pushed me over the top.  Don't get me wrong, I have a low of stupid anime but this series is just...horrendous.

Those Who Hunt Elves

    Those Who Hunt Elves is a series I have never gotten around to watching but I included it in this list because of the role it played, in conjunction with Evangelion, i establishing the viability of late night anime.  It too was forced in the a shinya time slot and became quite successful in light of that.  I do really need to watch this. 

The Vision of Escaflowne 

    The first time I saw Escaflowne, the best isekai ever in my opinion,  was the showing of it in a side room at Gencon by a group doing video programing, largely playing fansubs.  It was at a time when surround sound was more of a novelty outside of movie theaters and standing at the back of the room when the epic music kicked in was fundamental to my love of this series.  It was a fun fantasy story with mecha added in, cus of course, Sunrise.  Sadly the remake movie that came out at the turn of the century told too different of a story for me to care or enjoy.  The original TV anime will always hold a place in me heart.

Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway

 Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway (機動戦士ガンダム ハサウェイ) is a theatrical adaptation of the first part of the Hathaway Flash novel series written by Tomino Yushiyuki.  The movie initially premiered in 2021.

    In the Universal Century, year 0105, the Earth Federation has a pretty solid grasp on humanity, after a few decades of constant conflict with the different groups of space colonists looking for independence if not outright dominance.  Though things aren't exactly peaceful for the Federation politicians.  They have been targeted by a newly formed terrorist group called and lead by Mafty Navue Erin.  Hathaway Noa finds himself on a flight to Earth that becomes targeted by the terrorists.  Seeing an opportunity to take action, coordinated with a young military officer, they end up taking out the terrorists and allowing the plane to and safely, with few casualties.  This event brings him to the attention of a strange woman named Gigi.  The young officer, Kenneth, is appreciative of the help from Hathaway and extends the support of his new post in his layover.  Kenneth has been assigned to take over control of a special unit hunting Mafty.  Hathaway finds himself stranded in the city of Davao, awaiting the Federation to conclude their investigation of the incident.  Gigi convinces the authorities to allow them to bunk together in a luxury hotel while they both await their approval to continue their travels.  She to Hong Kong, he to a distant island for studies.

    In reality, Hathaway is Mafty and he found himself aboard the plane in an act of hubris.  Many of its other passengers are his organizations current targets and he wanted to see them before they were assassinated.  Gigi has a keen sense and realizes that the unassuming young man is the most wanted terrorist on the planet.  Before the government can dig too deep into him with in their possession he connects with members of his organization to smuggle him out of the city.  The operation does a good job of causing a distraction but at the last moment he delays his escape, concerned for Gigi's safety and once again finds himself in the hands of the government.  When he finally makes his statement he heads off to regroup with his team...only to have Kenneth suss out his identity and try to stop him from acquiring a new weapon in his war on the Federation.

 

    This story is based on a novel series written by Tomino at the beginning of the 90's.  Without reading that material it is hard to sat what has been altered.  This movie, out of all of the Gundam I have watched, is the least Gundam of anything that exists.  It is a refreshing new entry into the almost half a century old franchise and gives me hope for its future.   The CG is well done and the action sequences are the best we have ever seen in Gundam.  Apparently this is the first project in which the animation team worked with experts to try and determine how a mobile suit would behave on Earth.  End result...spectacular.  My biggest complaint with Gundam in general is that it hasn't done enough to remove the influences of the super sentai/giant robot hero stories that came before it.  This movie does a pretty good job of that and reminded me more of Armored Core than Gundam...I am absolutely here for that!

    This also feels like a really good way for people to get into the franchise as casual viewers.  In reality it doesn't really require knowledge of the past UC series'.  It also helps that this first entry is a trim 90 minutes of action that plays out more like a Hollywood film than anything Tomino has ever slapped his name on.  But without having read the source material its hard to tell how much of this presentation existed in it and how much is an attempt to breathe modernization and perhaps Americanization into the product.  It works, at least in my mind.  I have a general disdain for a lot of the traditional aspects of Gundam in general and this movie removes most of those.  Sadly we still have the stupid rival love triangle garbage.  And most of the stories in the UC end up going hard on the Newtype magical god bullshit near the end of their story...so only time will tell is Hathaway fails me as well.  But the first episode, couldn't ask for anything better.  It's so satisfying.

The movie is available in sub and dub on Netflix.

Year in Review - 2025

 Once again we are on the cusp of a new year and its time to reflect on the world of anime and manga in 2025!!  Top of the pile is an alphabetical synopsis of the ones I watched with the ones I thought were the best held to the end in their order of greatness in my mind. 

    100 Girlfriends season 2

    Season 2 went off the rails in it's insanity and I think it lost me near the end...not sure if I will watch season 3.

    Aharen-san season 2

    Everyone always hates that romances end when the relationship starts.  A full season of this fun couple dating was well loved.

    Anyway I'm Falling in Love With You 

    The only thing interesting about this reverse harem is vague references to the Covid 19 pandemic...otherwise it was terrible with a subplot that could have been cool if explored better.

    The Apothecary Diaries season 2

    This season saw the revelation of a significant plot thats been in place from the start and paid off incredibly well.  Such an amazing story!!

    April Showers Bring May Flowers 

    While not the worst, ugly duckling romances are still painful to watch.  I still need to finish this though but its better than Honey Lemon Soda by a long shot.

    Bad Girl 

     An off kilter comedy that also acts as a yuri with a lot of weirdness.  Funny but not memorable.

    Blue Box

    The second part of the first season didn't make it any more enjoyable...its really been a let down and an unneeded waste of time. 

    Can a Boy-Girl Relationship Survive

     An atypical high school romance that is as good as it is bad and ends in a rather unsatisfying manner.

    Chitose is in the Ramune Bottle

    A weird romance slash self help tutorial that feels more like a spite move against popular kids by the original author.  Kinda hated it. 

    Detectives These Days are Crazy

    A crazed gag comedy adaption that did a pretty solid job of expressing compartmentalized insanity into a long form episode.  Not for everyone but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

    Every Day Host 

    A short form gag comedy about a bunch of weirdo's in a host club.  No How I Attended an All Guy's Mixer but it was cute. 

    Flower and Asura

    This slice of life drama didn't tell the most engaging story and the last arc got a bit weird and over dramatic, but it was a refreshingly unique story premise among the repetitive season fare. 

    The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity 

    Sadly I only watched a few episodes but this may be one of the most satisfying romances of the year?  Great characters, interesting interactions and great artwork. 

    Gintama: Mr. Ginpatchi's Zany Class

    Sadly the return of Gintama as his high school teacher alter ego struggles to remain consistently funny or relevant. 

     Gyagu Manga Biyori Go    

    I actually forgot about the return of the king of gag comedy, it happened so fast.  But it was a welcomed return. 

    Honey Lemon Soda

    A lot of hype was put into this one and I hated almost everything about it...including the obsession with urine colored things.

    I Got Married to the Girl I Hate the Most in Class

    An initially stupid catalyst for the story that turned out to be fun based purely on the two main characters personalities and interactions.  Everything else around them was terrible. 

    I Have a Crush at Work

    There is always room for adult romances and this mildly spicy work place romance didn't  cause any issues.  It isn't amazing but its good.

    I Saved Myself with a Potion 

    I don't do isekai.  Its limited animation.  The protagonist exists in a bubble of naivety that goes unpunished.  But it was really cute and fun regardless! 

    Kowloon Generic Romance

    A spicy sci-fi mystery romance that feathers some incredibly beautiful, if unnaturally drawn characters. 

    Lazarus

    The lauded return of Watanabe Shinichiro (Cowboy Bebop).  The series was repetitive and hollow.  I hated it. 

    Lets Play 

    An anime based on an  American made webtoon about an awkward girl trying to find joy in her past time while navigating awkward romance and pressures.  I didn't hate it but I didn't like many aspects of it.

    A Mangaka's Weirdly Wonderful Workplace

    An all female cast set in an industry setting that actually isn't about them being moe.  I only got half way so far but apparently it gets a bit yuri eventually.  Wasn't bad at all. 

    Medaka Kuroiwa s Impervious to my Charms

    Ecchi for the sake of ecchi done right.  This series was dumb and humorous and outrageous.  It did the assignment quite well.

    Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuX 

    A short series telling a what if style story with the original series that triggered me to watch a lot of Gundam in the second half of the year.

    My Awkward Senpai 

    An OK workplace comedy/romance that feels like a follow up to Toradora is Yuji and Taiga didn't hook up at the end. 

    My Happy Marriage season 2

    While it was lacking in the first season, some of the background machinations came into play in this one making for a more cohesive narrative.  I still dislike the heavy supernatural combat leanings. 

    My Hero Academia Vigilantes

    I will never watch My Hero Academia...but Vigilantes was incredibly fun and reminded me of mid 90's comic books. 

    Okitsura: Fell in Love with an Okinawan Girl, but I Just Wish I Knew What She's Saying

    A fun romantic comedy that works really hard to showcase Okinawan culture.  And doesn't do too bad at either aspect.

    Orb on the Movements of the Earth season 2

    Orb could be considered a modern classic for the ages in line with the respect that Monster and Legend of the Galactic Heroes garners.

    Ranma 1/2 season 2 

    The second season ramped up the awesome in this well needed remake.

    Rent a Girlfriend season 4 

    It was a severe struggle to get through this terrible and pointless section of the story, especially after the strong ending of season 3...terrible.

    Sakamoto Days season 2

    At first it made up for season 1 but kicking up the pace and being interesting and then it shit the bed with an exam arc.

     Shoshimin season 2

     The first season was a bit of a struggle in getting the audience to care but this season took all of the painstaking groundwork and delivered with high quality sleuthing.

    Solo Camping for Two 

    Part iyashikei, part tutorial, part romance?  Strange bed fellows indeed.  Bro...you were in high school when she was born too!!!

    Spy Family season 3 

    More shenanigans and fun until we get a really well executed look at the past that shaped Twilight/Loid Forger.  This would have worked as a hard drama as well, but we love the light hearted comedy book ended by merciless blood letting. 

    A Star Brighter then the Sun 

    A fun shojo romance where the main character isn't a petite flower. The characters lean more into the realistic side than not. 

    Sword of the Demon Hunter 

    A super natural historical action story that tells an interesting tale of cursed hatred and regret.  Kinda lacks a lot of the garbage trappings found in shonen titles. 

    The Summer Hikaru Died 

    An interesting mystery around whispered secrets of semi-rural Japan and the price friends pay for those old rituals. 

    Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School

    A really fun comedy that reposition yokai into stupidity...but then it gets slightly resist in one episode. 

    To Be Hero X 

    A Chinese Japanese joint that tries to reposition super heroes into a darker grittier aspect...but we already have The Boys and  The Watchmen and Rising Stars...to name a few.  It suffered from a lot of things and wasn't very enjoyable for me.

    To Your Eternity season 3 

    The modern arc of the long sprawling fantasy epic about discovering the meaning of existence and consciousness.

    Touring After the Apocalypse

    A fun sci-fi action vehicle disguised as an iyashikei.

    Ubel Blatt 

    A terrible adaptation of a pointlessly visceral fantasy series that tried to Berzerk but failed to be cohesive or interesting enough.

    Watari-kuns **** is About to Collapse

    I still don't understand what point this series was trying to make.  It was bad and suffered from an identity crisis.

     Welcome to Japan Ms Elf

    A reverse isekai that was sweet and loving even though it had the ability to become perverted and exploitative at so many points.

    Witch Watch 

    A goofy super natural comedy that seemed like it should have ended sooner but kept delivering and being amusing.

    Yano-kuns Ordinary Days 

    A reverse ugly duckling romance where a normal girl falls for the awkward guy largely based on her motherly instincts.  No where near as awesome as Shikimori Isn't Just a Cutie but good enough to pass the time. 

     Zatsu Tabi

    A less effective cute girls going on tips iyashikei.  It largely fell flat when compared to the amazing mono...see below. 

 

Without further ado, my top 10 favorite anime from 2025!!

 

    Honorable Mention: Gnosia 

    Based on the social deduction game of the same name, this is essentially Among Us the anime, with a realistically repetitive episode structure.  What makes it so interesting is the amazing character design and the creative world building.  Highly recommend just for the spectacle of it.

    #10 With You and the Rain 

    I will admit it was carried by the amazing voice work of  Hayami Saori but this was a very relaxing and lovable slice of life series about companionship and loneliness.

    #9 mono

    Set in the same universe as Laid Back Camp this takes the same concept of cute girls camping and exploring and injects a lot of zany comedy and personality.  I loved this...maybe more than Laid Back Camp?

    #8 A Ninja and an Assassin

    An all female cast with a lot of yuri action and turns left and right...black humor done well with a lot of ridiculous dialog tossed in for safe measure. 

    #7 Zenshu 

    An absolutely gorgeous love letter to anime as a medium.   This original creation heavily emphasis the importance for companies to allow space for them to exist.

    #6 See You at the Food-court 

    An unexpectedly loved story about two teenagers being teenagers in their own company.  Sadly it was only 6 episodes long.  I could have gone on watching them be themselves so much longer. 

    #5 Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus 

    The second TV series for this amazing light novel series...taking us into the final arc with a pending final movie.  One of the greatest of all time in my mind. 

    #4 My Dress Up Darling season 2 

    Season one was amazing, if uncomfortable at points.  This season got rid of all that and jacked up the love and tenderness.  I can't wait for season 3!!

    #3 Apocalypse Hotel

     Who could have expected so much love would go into a tale of abandoned robots endlessly maintaining an empty luxury hotel?  Heavy on the comedy, laced with fun sci-fi aspects, this was a very fun journey that got a little emotional at the end.

    #2 Dan Da Dan season 2 

    Season 1 exceeded all of my expectations.  Season 2 knocked them out of the park with a keen eye towards timing and presentation.  Even the final frame of the final episode made me more hyped for the next season than any preview can right now.  I WANT MORE!!!  But in the fantastic vision brought to use by Science Saru.

    #1 City the Animation 

    The spiritual successor to one of the greatest anime of all time, Nichijou, by the same author and same anime production company.  Every second and millimeter of this adaption is nothing but love for their process and the manga.   The manga is fun but the animation and direction elevates it to something rarely seen in the industry.  This is a benchmark anime that will not see the level of praise it rightfully deserves.