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As we mentioned at the start of the year, there were almost too many anime releases in January. The same can be said about the upcoming summer anime season. To help everyone sift through the noise, we’re taking a page from our sister site Kotaku’s playbook (penned by yours truly) by bringing back the quintessential seasonal anime guides.
But first, some ground rules. Instead of listing every show coming out each season in a slideshow format (which takes way too long and isn’t fun for you, the reader, to click through piecemeal, or for me, the person formatting the damn thing, to make), we’re assembling a shortlist of shows we’ve got on our radar that fit the io9 ethos of sci-fi and fantasy, including the studio behind each show and a one-sentence summary of their premise, while throwing in a couple of extra shows outside those genres I’ve got my eyes on this season. My guide, my rules, as it were.
Without further ado, here’s your Summer 2026 anime guide.
Note: For some shows, we estimated the North American release date based on the confirmed Japan release date. We will update this article if any dates change.
The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You Season 3
Studio: Bibury Animation Studios
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Premiere Date: July 5
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What it’s about in one sentence: A lovelorn paragon among men falls into a romantic comedy of errors that sees him assemble the world’s biggest polycule with a diverse assortment of unhinged young ladies.
BAKI-DOU: The Invincible Samurai
Studio: TMS Entertainment
Genre: Action
Premiere Date: June 18
Where to Watch: Netflix
What it’s about in one sentence: The JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure of fighting anime returns with its second sequel season, pitting its fighters against the legendary samurai Musashi Miyamoto.
Black Torch
Studio: 100studio
Genre: Action, Supernatural
Premiere Date: July 4
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What it’s about in one sentence: A teenage shinobi becomes the victim of the cat distribution system in the most supernatural way possible and gets powers.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity
Studio: Pierrot Films
Genre: Action, Supernatural
Premiere Date: June 25 (theatrical premiere), Streaming TBD July 2026
Where to Watch: Hulu/Disney+
What it’s about in one sentence: The finale of Thousand-Year Blood War‘s final season (with additional scenes and action befitting one of the “big three“) comes to an end.
Chainsmoker Cat
Studio: Bibury Animation Studios
Genre: Comedy
Premiere Date: July 3
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What it’s about in one sentence: One of two anime from big tobacco about the joys of smoking, this time with thee distinction of taking a drag while being a cat girl.
Clevatess Season 2
Studio: Lay-duce
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Premiere Date: July TBD
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What it’s about in one sentence: An undead warrior and her petulant demon lord enroll in a school out of the latter’s morbid curiosity to see how the world will play out from his rearing of the future king.
The Elusive Samurai Season 2
Studio: CloverWorks
Genre: Adventure, Comedy
Premiere Date: July TBD
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What it’s about in one sentence: A rambunctious prince with a propensity to run away from danger must take back the throne from those who assassinated his family with the help of his trusty group of friends.
From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman Season 2
Studio: Passione, Hayabusa Film
Genre: Action, Fantasy,
Premiere Date: July 8 in Japan, International TBD
Where to Watch: Prime Video
What it’s about in one sentence: A zaddy sword fighter reluctantly takes on the position as the instructor to a squadron of fighters charged with protecting their kingdom from all manner of monsters, be they human or fantastical.
The Ghost in the Shell
Studio: Science SARU
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
Premiere Date: July 7
Where to Watch: Prime Video
What it’s about in one sentence: Science SARU adapts Masamune Shirow’s formative cyberpunk manga in the most visually and tonally faithful rendition the series has ever seen.
Goodbye, Lara
Studio: Kinema Citrus
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Premiere Date: July 5
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What it’s about in one sentence: An anime reimagining of The Little Mermaid if its titular girlie died and was reincarnated two centuries later in the modern day.
Grand Blue Dreaming Season 3
Studio: Saber Works, Zero-G
Genre: Comedy
Premiere Date: July TBD
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What it’s about in one sentence: Local dumbass and his group of fellow college hooligans live it up while catching a wave.
Hana-Kimi Season 2
Studio: Signal.MD
Genre: Romance
Premiere Date: July 2
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What it’s about in one sentence: A girl transfers to an all-boys school (and cross-dresses, naturally) to get closer to her high school crush.
I Want To Love You Till Your Dying Day
Studio: ROLL2
Genre: Fantasy, Yuri
Premiere Date: July TBD
Where to Watch: TBD
What it’s about in one sentence: A pair of orphans raised as child soldiers in a brutal war strike up a romance after a rumor about one of them being a secret weapon in the war effort who cannot die surfaces.
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia
Studio: Science SARU
Genre: Drama
Premiere Date: July 4 in Japan
Where to Watch: TBD
What it’s about in one sentence: An indentured Persian woman, whose shrewdness and intellect are on par with Mao Mao from The Apothecary Diaries, plots to destroy the Mongolian empire from the inside using her cunning inside the harem of Genghis Khan’s progeny as they fight over the throne.
Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. Season 2
Studio: J.C.Staff
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Premiere Date: July 4 in Japan, International TBD
Where to Watch: TBD
What it’s about in one sentence: A college graduate struggling to find employment lucks out as an assistant at a magical girl start-up company.
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 3
Studio: Studio Bind
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Premiere Date: July 6
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What it’s about in one sentence: A NEET gets a second chance at life after dying and reincarnating in a fantasy land as a powerful mage, carrying his past-life baggage and building a new life for himself with his wives (plural).
My Hero Academia: I Am a Hero Too
Studio: Bones Film
Genre: Action
Premiere Date: August 3, early premiere at Anime Expo
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What it’s about in one sentence: A My Hero Academia special animated short following everyone’s favorite adopted daughter, Eri.
One Piece: Heroines
Studio: Toei Animation
Genre: Action
Premiere Date: July 5
Where to Watch: TBD
What it’s about in one sentence: A One Piece spin-off tale about following heroines Nico Robin and Nami on an excursion to a fashion show that takes a turn for the worse.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie – Walpurgisnacht: Rising
Studio: Shaft
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Yuri
Premiere Date: August 28
Where to Watch: In theaters
What it’s about in one sentence: Join Homura Akemi back in the psychological horror-ful magical girl world as she picks up the pieces of her life in an alternate universe.
Red River
Studio: Tatsunoko Production
Genre: Adventure, Romance
Premiere Date: July 7
Where to Watch: TBD
What it’s about in one sentence: After getting her first kiss from her new boyfriend, a schoolgirl is sent back to the ancient Middle East and must escape the clutches of an evil queen with the help of a beautiful prince.
The Ribbon Hero
Studio: Outline
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance
Premiere Date: August 8
Where to Watch: Netflix
What it’s about in one sentence: An anime reimagining inspired by Osamu “the Godfather of Manga” Tezuka’s classic series Princess Knight about a princess arming herself with a sword and a magical ribbon to protect the kind people around her.
Sekiro: No Defeat
Studio: Qzil.la
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Premiere Date: September 4 in Japan, International TBD
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What it’s about in one sentence: An anime adaptation of PlayStation’s blockbuster Soulslike about a shinobi fighting an onslaught of powerful foes while protecting a young boy.
Smoking Behind the Supermarket With You
Studio: Asahi Production
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life
Premiere Date: July TBD
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What it’s about in one sentence: A tired office worker strikes up a romance with a goth store clerk at his local convenience store during their smoke break, unaware that she’s the same woman he’s been crushing on for a minute, out of uniform.
Sparks of Tomorrow
Studio: Kyoto Animation
Genre: Drama
Premiere Date: July 5
Where to Watch: Netflix
What it’s about in one sentence: A boy and a girl with tons of baggage between them rekindle their hopes for a technological, steam-powered future while uncovering their world’s secrets.
Tomb Raider King
Studio: Studio Eek
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Premiere Date: July 8
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What it’s about in one sentence: In what’s sure to be the first of many anime to be confused with Solo Leveling, an adventurer is sent back in time after nearly dying and treks to acquire relics granting their owners supernatural powers as revenge against his employer before they betray him.
The World Is Dancing
Studio: Cypic
Genre: Drama
Premiere Date: July 2
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What it’s about in one sentence: The progeny of a theater troupe finds a new lease on life after coming across a form of dance that not only brings joy to those around him but also helps him confront his own shortcomings.
You and I Are Polar Opposites Season 2
Studio: Lapin Track
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Premiere Date: July 5
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What it’s about in one sentence: A gyaru and her boyfriend continue their whirlwind love story, and their circle of friends is struck by Cupid’s arrow in ways that often eclipse their own romance.
Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games
Studio: Diomedéa
Genre: Comedy, Yuri
Premiere Date: July 7
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What it’s about in one sentence: A group of prim and proper high school ladies start up a fighting game club where they call each other scrublords and pop off on each other.
Didn’t see a show you were looking forward to? Be sure to put your fellow anime connoisseur on it in the comments below. And good luck getting through this season and whittling down your growing backlog of anime before fall approaches!
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
