[COLUMN] 5 Rad Spring 2026 Anime Premieres to Check Out | by Marty Sliva

One thing I love about anime is how we get four distinct stretches of each year that feel like weeb Christmas spread over the course of a few weeks. I’m of course talking about the start of each new anime season, with spring 2026’s crop finally ready for harvest. And during these stretches, the sicko in me tries to watch as many of the premiere episodes as possible, just to get a taste for what’s currently on the menu.

Sometimes shows immediately stick and I end up watching them religiously every single week, like what happened last summer with the stellar trio of City: The Animation, Takopi’s Original Sin, and The Summer Hikaru Died. Sometimes I wait until a season is over before binging it all over a weekend or two, which happened just recently with the latest seasons of Frieren and Jujutsu Kaisen. And sometimes I lose interest after an episode or two, which is all just part of the process.

So given that I watched the first episodes of a dozen new series that premiered over the past week or two, I figured it’d be nice to share some of my favorites from this exercise. For the sake of this column, I’ll only be discussing the new shows that have premiered this season, and not those that are returning like Dorohedoro or Re:Zero.

So here are the five new anime from spring 2026 that delivered enough in their first episodes to keep me watching.

5) Mao (Crunchyroll)

Mao is the latest adaptation of a manga from Rumiko Takahashi, the creator of totemic works like Urusei Yatsura, Ranma ½, and Inuyasha, which was reason enough for me to check out this first episode. 

Nearly a decade after being the lone survivor of a mysterious car accident outside of a shopping center, high schooler Nanoka returns to the scene of the incident. But entering the now-abandoned mall transports her back to Japan’s Taisho period, complete with menacing monsters, spirits wandering the streets, and a mysterious friend in the titular Mao. Immediately dug Nanoka as our lead, I’m intrigued by the mysteries, and I like interplay between the two time periods.

While the first episode does very little in terms of bringing anything new or original to the table, the familiar ingredients pair nicely for those looking for something that reminds them of Takahashi previous works. The plan is to continue watching this one weekly, though if things get busy and one series from this list has to get cut, chances are it’ll be Mao.

4) Akane-banashi (YouTube)

While Akane-banashi might lack the high-octane combat and fantastical setups of the other anime on this list, what it brings to the table is a coming-of-age com-drom (is that a genre?) with a neat hook that’ll keep me tuning in for the foreseeable future. 

The premiere sets up high schooler Akane Osaki, and her goal to follow in her father’s footsteps by becoming an expert in rakugo, the traditional Japanese form of spartan one-man storytelling. The first episode takes us on a nice ride in order to get this core premise, with some slight mysteries and a nice air of low-key revenge folded into its more mundane slices of life.

This one’s lighter tone and hyperfocus on one specific artform reminded me of recent gems like Bocchi the Rock! and My Dress-Up Darling, which are both big ol’ reccos in my book. If Akane-banashi can even approach the heights of either of those two, then we have a winner on our hands.

3) Daemons of the Shadow Realm (Crunchyroll)

While the name Daemons of the Shadow Realm might be just about the blandest fantasy title in recent memory, the show’s pedigree is anything but – it’s based on a manga by Hiromu Arakawa, best known as the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist.

The pilot has a few neat revelations that I enjoyed experiencing in the moment – especially a few specifically involving familiar sounds – so I won’t give those away here. But they immediately elevated the premise of “chosen heroes protect a village from evil monsters” into something original and more interesting.

The solid art and animation on display here is appreciated, as are the moments of pretty extreme gore, which juxtapose nicely with the quieter, more mundane pace of the village life. The premiere had enough going on to solidly hook me, now we’ll see if the rest of the season can deliver on those promises.

1a) Nippon Sangoku (Amazon)

While it was pretty easy to rank these up until this point, I hit a wall trying to decide which of these last two deserved top billing. So fuck it, let’s award two gold medals for phenomenal premieres, with the first going to Nippon Sangoku. 

Following a global nuclear war, widespread pandemic, and frequent earthquakes, Japan faced a revolution that ultimately split the country into three separate kingdoms. The premiere follows the meak Aoteru Misumi and his much more independent and strong-willed wife Saki, as they attempt to navigate the oppressive regime in control of their kingdom. 

I won’t go into any more detail than that, because the first episode hit me like a ton of bricks when I went in blind. On top of a strong premise and excellent story, Nippon Sangoku is the most stylistically impressive series I’ve seen in 2026 so far. It mashes together silly sight gags with incredible framing, wonderful character designs, and an expert use of color in some really impressive ways. It’s funny, it’s gorgeous, it’s heartbreaking, and if I imagine this one will be nominated for a ton of awards a year from now.

1b) Witch Hat Atelier (Crunchyroll)

And the second seat at the top of the spring 2026 anime mountain is Witch Hat Atelier. People have been recommending this fantasy manga to me for a while now, and after watching the premiere, I can see why. 

Witch Hat Atelier follows a young girl named Coco, who begins her training to become a witch in order to right a devastating magic-based mistake. I’m a sucker for magic systems with intricate rules that are explained over time, and after just two episodes, Witch Hat Atelier’s drawing-based magic feels like an absolute winner. The awe and reverence it shows towards the world of magic reminds me of reading Harry Potter as a kid, without the burden of its piece of shit creator.

On the visual front, the first episode is filled with countless tiny animation flourishes that made me immediately want to hit “play again” as soon as I rolled credits. This feels like it’s going to break containment and hit a level of mainstream success similar to the likes of Delicious in Dungeon, Demon Slayer, Dandadan, and probably some other recent series that also begin with the letter D.

Witch Hat Atelier sits proudly alongside Nippon Sangoku as my favorite spring 2026 premiere episodes, and I can’t wait to see where the two of them take us for years to come.