Forum - View topicWinter 2026...not picks, but hopefuls.
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Edjwald
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I like to wait for Crunchyroll to announce its lineup schedule before trying to start any threads on new seasonal anime, but there's a lag between seasons this winter, so I thought I'd see if anybody wanted to talk about what shows they've got their eye on aside from the returning sequels. Here are four new anime I have an eye on - it's not that I think they're going to be the best or most original or whatever, but that I hope (1) they'll fall squarely in my wheelhouses and (2) the trailers haven't made them look like cheaply made attempts to use a cool idea to bilk money and run.
Anybody else have a couple of dark horses they're keeping an eye on? (1) Sentenced to be a Hero 
Plot Summary: Heroism—a punishment for only the worst criminals. Those sentenced to the fate of a hero are forced to fight at the front lines against the demon king's army—and if they die, they can expect to be revived and continue the battle. But when their leader, convicted of killing a goddess, meets another goddess himself, the contract they forge may be enough to change the world... (from manga) The weird semi-suicide squad vibe makes me hopeful that this will be more than the usual generic fantasy soup stock. At least, the trailer looks good. (2) Wash it All Away 
Plot Summary: For two years, Wakana Kinme has run a laundry service in the seaside resort town of Atami. Kinme Cleaning is a well-loved business, and Atami residents admire Wakana's devotion to her trade. She builds a fulfilling life making friends with the locals and visiting hot springs. Although Wakana has no knowledge of her own past, her cleaning services safeguard memories imbued in customers' precious items. (from manga) I have a hard time making it through a season without at least one decent slice of life show, and I have high hopes for this one. I couldn't find a trailer with English subtitles, but the anime looks purdy, and there appears to be at least an undercurrent of a romantic element as well. (3) There Was a Cute Girl in the Hero's Party, So I Tried Confessing to Her 
Plot Summary: Yōki is a man reincarnated into a fantasy world. Yōki did not reincarnate as a hero or the demon lord, but as the demon lord's underling. When a hero's party attacks the demon lord's castle, Yōki is naturally there to fight against the heroes. However, when he sees the priest Cecilia, who is part of the hero's party, he falls in love at first sight. This one's been announced by Crunchyroll, and I'm an isekai doormat - at least when it comes to trying them out...my drop rate for isekai that feature overpowered protagonists, adults in child's bodies, and cut rate animation is pretty high. But I do love the genre, and this one seems like it's got comedic, subversive potential. I can't tell about the animation from the trailer, but the voice acting seems pretty stellar, and the artwork is good. (4) Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table 
Plot Summary: In a world where death games are a robust, underground entertainment industry unto themselves, Yuki is a seasoned player who seeks to survive 99 games. (from manga) The fact that it's all women being put in maid costumes to participate in televised death games actually makes me less likely to endorse this - I'd prefer it if it were just ordinary people ala Squid Game - but the set-up could give the proceedings a macabre air if handled right instead of just being a quick fetish fix to cover for lack of quality. I like death game anime if handled well, it's just that so few of them are handled well. From the trailer, it looks like these are teammates working together, not a descent into human degeneracy from the first whiff of danger, so that's promising. And it looks like they're in a haunted house scenario with traps, not some wildly spilling out of all logical boundaries arena set up, which is also hopeful. And the background visuals look creepy.. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 25599 |
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Ooooo, cool topic! I don't have time right now to respond properly, but will come back when I do. I definitely have a few, "I'm Willing to Try You Out, But I'm a Little Dubious" targets.
eta: ...and I'm back. So just to be clear, I'm only mentioning some shows that COULD work out for me... or not. I'll save identifying the shows that are making me salivate for the official Winter 2026 anime discussion thread. (Sorry, but I can't figure out how to get thumbnail sized images like Edjwald.) (1) The Daily Life of a Single 29-Year-Old Adventurer Plot Summary: Hajime Shinonome is an adventurer and experienced dungeon delver. When he saves a girl named Rirui from being devoured by a slime monster, he finds out that the girl has been abandoned by her parents and has nowhere else to go. Unable to abandon the girl himself, he decides to take her in, and finds out that she is no normal girl. Red Flag #1: The title. It absolutely reeks of, "this will be a bog standard, mediocre fantasy show." Red Flag #2: The premise is a double-edged sword. I can see the comedic/kawaii potential in an adult male suddenly thrust into father figure role. As long as it doesn't go into the whole, "ha ha, the little girl is jealous of other female characters in a girlfriend-y kind of way." Anime finds that hilarious. Blood- does not. So we'll see. (2) Dark Moon: The Blood Altar Plot Summary: Welcome to Riverfield, where the most popular boys at two rival schools happen to be vampires and werewolves. When a mysterious new student, Sooha, transfers to Riverfield, the rivals find themselves inexplicably drawn to her. As horrible incidents start to shake the town, the boys' forgotten pasts slowly start to unravel... and their world turns upside down. This seems like it's a reverse harem which often doesn't work for me. But the werewolf/vampire thing makes it kind of irresistible. If it is visually stylish and atmospheric enough, I might be able to go the distance. But yeah... reverse harem. (3) New High School! Kimengumi Plot Summary: The gag comedy centers on a group of five idiosyncratic, wacky students, known in the school halls as Kimengumi, who all befriend the cutest girl in school and her best friend. Whereas the original manga (and its first television anime) were set in the 1980s, this new anime will set the story in the modern Reiwa era with a new cast. I'm into anime comedies lately... if they actually are funny. Detectives These Days Are Crazy! is a recent example of a comedy that tickled my funny bone. Will this one? The school setting is far from my favourite, but who knows? So far, there isn't even a teaser video or trailer to check out... not that it matters if the dialogue doesn't have English subtitles, mind you. My guess is I will know pretty quickly if this is for me or not. (4) Osananajimi to wa LoveCom ni Naranai Plot Summary: Eiyū is a high school boy whose two childhood friends, Shio and Akari, also go to the same school as him. He has now started looking at them with both romantic and lustful eyes, though he knows that they have no interest in him, which causes him no end of worrying. However, Shio and Akari have their own secrets. I'm really off rom-coms set in school these days which makes this an unlikely match for me, but there's just something telling me to check it out and I can't even really articulate why. Oops, just did a bit more reading and there is an "angelic or devilish little sister"-type girl who suddenly started living with Eiyū and expresses her attraction towards him more upfront than anyone else. She is one of four heroines in this story." HUGE RED FLAG but I'll still try it out. This is easily the darkest of my dark horses. |
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Lymoraxis
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Cool thread — always fun to see what people are secretly rooting for before the season starts. Personally, Wash it All Away caught my eye too; the trailer has a really chill vibe. Can’t wait to see what Crunchyroll confirms for the lineup
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Edjwald
Posts: 3507 |
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I get where you're coming from with The Daily Life of a Single 29-Year old Adventurer. It sounds like it might have promise, but as I was reading the summary I flashed back to a traumatic light novel experience (I read Japanese Light Novels for about a year solid when I first started getting into anime) called If It's For My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat a Demon Lord. where an adventurer raises a young orphaned demoness from child to...ummm...let's just say, not child. Part of me wants to see a "no aberration" clause in a signed contract before I emotionally invest in this.
And I believe Kumengum! High School (2026) is a remake. You could always check out some of the original on Youtube. |
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Edjwald
Posts: 3507 |
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@Lymoraxis - I did see a few anime trailers with the Crunchyroll logo when I was looking about. Sentenced to be a Hero, Jack of All Trades, Party to None. There Was a Cute Girl in the Hero's Party. Trigun Stargaze. The Invisible Man and His Soon to Be Bride. And I think "An Adventurer's Daily Grind at Age 29" is probably their retranslation of "The Daily Life of a Single 29 Year Old Adventurer."
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 10358 Location: Virginia |
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@Edjwald When I read the summary of The Daily Life of a Single 29-Year old Adventurer I also had a flashback to If It's For My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat a Demon Lord. Do you think its the same work or just a very similar story? I quit reading the series for what I suspect upset you. If the girl turns out to be a demon with a broken horn, just no.
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Eilavel
Posts: 475 |
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Nice concept. I'll check more out,I guess these would be some I have specific hopes for.
You and I are Polar Opposites -this was a really good manga and I'm excited to enjoy the story again in adaptation. Fate Strange/Fake - I wouldn't consider myself a particular Fate fan, but I know this is from the author of Baccanno and Durarara so I'm optimistic. Darwin Incident- don't know much about it, but it's got a strong high concept and that makes me want to check it out. Love Through a Prism - I like period works, and I also always want more works that aren't adaptations, so I want this to be good. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 25599 |
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@ Edjwald - yes, I had independently discovered the original was running on YT so checked out some of the first episode. Yep, seems like this is not going to be for me, but I will give the modern version a shot, just in case.
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Edjwald
Posts: 3507 |
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@Blood - Yah, a good gag anime is tough to pull off. I did like Student Council Staff Members back in the day, but I'm not even sure that qualifies.
@Alan45 - they already made an anime version of If It's For My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat A Demon Lord which I avoided like the plague. I assume the anime only covered the seemingly wholesome first light novel or so hoping to lure unsuspecting viewers into the trap as it were. The daily life anime is probably fine? I mean, most of the anime that are about people raising a cute kid are just heart warming, healing anime, like School Babysitters for example. @Eillavel - I haven't heard of the prism one. Is it non-Japanese? Chinese anime don't get much attention although that's slowly beginning to change. As to Polar Opposites, i didn't really much pay too much attention since it sounds like a generic rom-com, but if you say the manga was good, that does raise my interest level. |
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Eilavel
Posts: 475 |
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Love through a prism is Japanese- the deficiency in awareness is probably due to it being on Netflix.
Polar Opposites is ultimately more an ensemble piece, a bit like Skip to Loafer perhaps. |
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Edjwald
Posts: 3507 |
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That's even better. We talked a little about this over on Star Brighter Than the Sun but the success of a Romcom often rides on the development of a supporting cast. Okay, here's another shot in the murk. 
Plot Summary: Van, the fourth son of a powerful noble, is only two years old when he remembers his past life as a salaryman in Japan. With his adult brain in a young body, he's considered a child prodigy...until he displays the "Production Magic" skill when he turns eight. In a family that favors offensive magic, this crafting skill is considered useless in battle, and Van is banished to oversee a tiny country town in disgrace. With only his personal maid, the memories of his past life, and his "worthless" magic, Van improves the fortunes of this little village—and himself. (from manga) Okay, there are clear red flags here - adult in a young kids body...signs of the underdog becoming crazy OP in what appears to be a standard isekai...an older maid accompanying the young boy who has a slavish expression of adoration on her face...but I saw the trailer and got intrigued anyhow. Why? Welp, my two favorite video game types are RPGs and Minecraft like building games, and from the trailer, it looks like the MC's production magic isn't just the usual alchemist take...he can do crazy wall and trench and house building with earth magic. And I do like me a good settlement/empire building anime. In fact, I love the much bedamned Fallout 4 because of it's settlement building options. So, yeah, raised hopes despite potential warning signs. |
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Eilavel
Posts: 475 |
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I broadly enjoy "generic fantasy" anime, so I typically do end up watching at minimum a show in the style most every season, but I'm terrible at guessing which. I wouldn't have guessed I'd watch all of Last Boss this season, for example. I never would have expected to have enjoyed two seasons of Grieving Souls.
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smurky turkey
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I tend to take a wait and see approach these days instead of getting hyped but the novels of Kunon the Sorcerer Can See I really enjoyed. Kunon is such a magic fanatic and it is a joy to read about him tinkering away and making discoveries. He is also a rather unique person and that is putting it mildly.
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Edjwald
Posts: 3507 |
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Yah, since I'm going to watch almost every show for at least one episode (less if they really repulse me from the get go like Failure Frame) this exercise is ultimately futile. But it's not a waste of time because for me, anticipation of the next season is part of the fun, and so is being surprised, at least when it's a good surprise. It's a mix. Some anime I thought I would like, I wound up being apathetic about, like Chitose in the Ramune Bottle. There were some I never saw coming and would have missed if I didn't check out most everything, like Days With My Stepsis. Some I called in advance even though they never caught on with most people, like Catch Me at the Ballpark. |
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smurky turkey
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It seems like a lot of people are hyped up for a likely great season after one that was not all that good (though not terribly either in my opinion). Giving everything one episode is a good approach, though it can burn you.... looking at you Takopi.
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