Welcome to Anime News Network's Spring 2026 K-Comics Guide, the companion to our manga guide! Every included manhwa was published in March or April, although some are ongoing titles without a physical release. This guide focuses exclusively on series premieres, i.e., only the first volume–we're not reviewing the whole thing or the digital chapters beyond volume one.
If you've read ahead, please try not to spoil things for people in the forums. All reviews use the same rating scale: 1-5, with one being the lowest.
The story is as bland and unimaginative as they come, without much of anything to give it any much-needed oomph.― Pretense is king in the realm of romance—especially harem anime. By Arceus, there must be an excuse, no matter how canned or flimsy, for love interests to, say, share an indirect kiss, fall on top of each other, or for one of them to need to give the other mouth-to-mouth. That's simply h...
Are the Crunchyroll Anime Awards legitimate or just a self-congratulatory effort by a platform seeking to dominate the market? Jerome digs in.― A Reader asks: Dear Answerman, with the Crunchyroll Anime Awards hitting their 10th anniversary this May, I keep seeing people call it "the Oscars of anime," but that never quite rings true to me. The Oscars are voted on by the people who make films. The An...
A new game seems to have marked similarities to Blue Archive, while blue armor is the order of the day over in DragonQuest. Plus a red-hot summer update for Love and Deep Space!― It's time again, and I find myself wondering, "What the heck's going on with all my hotbars?" Yep, I've gotten back into Final Fantasy XIV, hyped up on the prospect of the just-announced Evercold expansion, coming next year...
It's the Spring K-Comics Guide! Come get your fill of mostly full-color vertical scroll books and maybe find your next obsession!― Welcome to Anime News Network's Spring 2026 K-Comics Guide, the companion to our manga guide! Every included manhwa was published in March or April, although some are ongoing titles without a physical release. This guide focuses exclusively on series premieres, i.e., on...
"With anime, you've got 40 or 50 pieces all for a single season. If you compose without thinking first, there's no balance to it."― Music is an important part of any anime—and in some cases can make or break the show entirely. To find out a bit more about how anime soundtracks are made, we sat down with Yuki Hayashi, the composer of anime like Haikyu!!, Kiznaiver, and My Hero Academia—including the ...
Jack-of-All-Trades, Party of None is hampered by its own premise as much as it is helped.― Jack-of-All-Trades, Party of None is far from the first “banished from the heroes' party” fantasy story in recent years. In fact, it hits many of the key tropes of this sub-genre. Orhun is looked down upon by his party members for being weak—yet he's actually both the logistical linchpin and the strongest memb...
For better or for worse, Summer Pockets is a quintessential Key anime.― If you like your anime despair in “but surrounded by romanceable girls” flavor, there's a pretty good chance that you're already familiar with Key—or at least, familiar with their works, whether it's their visual novel source material or the anime adaptations that several of them have. But if you're not, Key is a visual novel st...
It's the final update for the Spring Manga Guide, and we're closing out with a new series by Yuu Toyota of Cherry Magic fame: A Starlit Darkness! Plus a series about veterinarians, some zombies, and a contender for longest title!― Welcome to Anime News Network's Spring 2026 Manga Guide! You may have seen one of our seasonal Anime Preview Guides, where a team of critics writes up each new anime tele...
TV anime of sequel novel, OVA of previously unanimated manga chapters― “The Quintessential Quintuplets Special Event 2026 in Toyota Arena Tokyo” announced on Saturday both a new television anime based on the Gotōbun no Hanayome: Shunkashūtō (The Quintessential Quintuplets: The Four Seasons) sequel novel series, and a new original video anime based on the manga chapters that have yet to be animated. ...
If there’s one thing that these volumes have going for them, it’s that both Ichikura and Momose earnestly want to change.― The high school debut or glow-up has become a staple of shoujo and shounen romances in recent decades. You know the story: a kid who was bullied or ignored or perhaps bad in middle school decides that since high school is a chance to start over, they're going to make some seriou...
Jean-Karlo dives into the latest FF14 announcements, from a new expansion to a campaign at Jollibees! Plus, the pros and cons of the Steam Deck.― Welcome back, folks! I had a spectacular weekend where I was able to enjoy seeing The Labyrinth on the big screen. Having originally seen it on the Disney Channel decades ago, I missed a lot of the visual flourishes. I especially liked a set of stones arra...
Science SARU's productions hit a high with The Heike Story and haven't come down. The studio has curried favor with mainstream and niche hits, but more so than that, they've gained the trust of Ghost in the Shell creator Masamune Shirow.― First announced nearly two years ago, Masamune Shirow's iconic Ghost in the Shell manga series is getting a new television anime adaptation from the team at Scienc...
Anime adapts Toi Ishino's manga based on Mugi Mameta's novel series― Futabasha's Gaugau Monster manga service announced on Thursday that Toi Ishino's manga adaptation of Mugi Mameta's Dinners with My Darling - How the Former Monster King Ate Her Way to Happiness (Aisanai to Iwaremashite mo: Moto Maō no Hakushaku Reijō wa Kimajime Gunjin ni Edzuke o Sarete Shiawase ni Naru) light novel series has an ...
The Endless Eight is still going for Christopher and Sylvia. This Week in Anime looks back at the inescapable orbit of Haruhi Suzumiya.― The Endless Eight is still going for Christopher and Sylvia. This Week in Anime looks back at the inescapable orbit of Haruhi Suzumiya. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler...
Tamori died on April 10, private funeral was held― The official website of the Japan Cartoonists Association announced on April 20 that manga author Yousuke Tamori had died on April 10. He was 74.A private funeral attended by family members was held, in accordance with Tamori's wishes. Tamori's personal website has also posted an announcement regarding his death. The website also posted a previous m...
ufotable revealed Ebisawa died on April 14― Animation studio ufotable revealed on Thursday that art director Kazuo Ebisawa died on April 14. There was a funeral service on April 20. Ebisawa served as a background artist and art director for numerous anime, including Today's Menu for Emiya Family, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, GYO: Tokyo Fish Attac...