Winter 2026 Check-in – Lost in Anime

The days of winter being the smallest anime season (occasionally eclipsed by summer) appear to be gone for  good. There’s so much bloat in anime production these days that seasonal differences have largely been flattened out, though spring still tends to be the best season on average. So Winter 2026 was always going to have a big pool of shows – the question was how many of them were going to be any good.

The answer? About the usual number, I’d say. Three each in “Outstanding” and “Very Good” is a perfectly fine state of affairs, well within the meaty part of the current seasonal bell curve at a month is. Nothing in the top category is not that big a slight – only series that are absolutely superb right out of the gate tend to make that mark, and many seasons see it empty in the check-in post. Likewise 15 shows that I’m still watching is very much within the normal range these days.

Both my main sleepers look pretty good (Toumei Otoko and Kaya-chan) without flat-out blowing me away. And one series has come from outside the preview altogether (though only through my oversight) to rank pretty highly, which is always a major plus. The sequels have all performed more or less within expectations, and the top picks among the non-sequels are where they should be. So all in all very much a normal service sort of result so far.

As for the Patron Pick vote, I’d say this was another relatively tough season. I had to stretch a bit to find candidates I’m truly on the fence about (including some I haven’t blogged).

Onward, then, to Winter 2026:

The Elite

None

Outstanding

Golden Kamuy: Saishuushou
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: A
Comments: Three shows are roughly tied for the top spot at the first time check, and they could hardly be more different. Saishuushou is pure Golden Kamuy insanity, business as usual for GK with the added element that as we’re approaching the end, characters are being killed off left and right. Who will be the last ones standing, one wonders. It remains as true as ever – there’s nothing in the world like Golden Kamuy.

Seihantai na Kimi to Boku
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: A
Comments: You and I Are Polar Opposites is just a terrific romcom, period. The setting and premise could hardly be more well-trodden but Seihantai makes them fresh and surprising. The series is pure gratification, really, much of it pretty instant. Yet it’s also smart and quite deep in the way it explores the nature of adolescence and first love. I totally get why BokuYaba fans seem to adore it, even if the two series are profoundly different in their approach.

Ikoku Nikki
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: A
Comments: Ikoku Nikki is a prime example of why anime needs more jousei adaptations. I’ll admit one reason I love it is that it’s ideally tailored to my tastes. I find the study of introversion to be an absolutely fascinating theme, and one animanga tends to be quite good at exploring. I also see a ton of myself in Makio, and that always makes it easier to engage with a series. Above and beyond that though Ikoku Nikki is just generally great. It’s so laid-back in its tone that it can be a bit hard to bond with emotionally to the same extent as one does intellectually. But even if that remains the case – and I’m not convinced it will – there’s plenty here to keep me engaged.

Very Good

Sousou no Frieren 2nd Season  
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: B+
Comments: I’m in a funny place with Frieren. I really like it – as witness its lofty placement in this check-in. Yet what I find most striking about it is often how irrationally esteemed it is. It’s good, and when it’s in the mode the second season has started in, extremely so. But why so many people seem to consider it a profound masterpiece will always be kind of a puzzler to me. That is what it is, and it doesn’t change the fact that the Frieren we’ve gotten for two episodes is a refreshingly contemplative anime with a gorgeous Evan Call soundtrack and fantastic production values from Madhouse.

Vigilante: Boku no Hero Academia Illegals 2nd Season 
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: B
Comments: Vigilante is still great and comfortable in its own skin. It’s the more intimate, personal side of the HeroAca mythology – humbler than the parent series in every way (and sometimes for the better). The only reason it’s not even higher here is that we haven’t had that breakout episode yet, and Knuckleduster is missed – he definitely adds something to the chemistry. I think the best is yet to come for this season of Illegals.

Champignon no Majo
Episodes Watched: 5
Grade: B
Comments: This season’s off-the-preview overperformer, though it would have been on there if I’d realized it was the same mangaka as Gakuen Alice. Champignon Witch is a timeless series in every sense, both as a traditional fairy tale and a product of an earlier time in animanga. I don’t quite put it on the same lofty plane as Alice, but it has a lot of the same charms. There’s not a trace of irony here even in the humor, which I think is a crucial element in the show’s success.

Worthwhile

Darwin Jihen
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: B
Comments: There are other Manga Taishou winners I’d rather see get adaptations, but I do like Darwin Jihen. While its portrayal of middle America is slightly askew, it actually comes closer than one might realistically expect. It tackles its core themes with a bit more subtlety than it first appears it might, and over the course of its so-far run develops quite an interesting thriller plot. The adaptation is going to end in the middle, though, which is always a concern.

Kaya-chan wa Kowakunai  
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: B
Comments: I’ve been quite impressed with Kaya-chan so far. It was on my sleeper list because of director Ikehata Hiroshi, and he’s certainly doing his part. But the writing has impressed too – this show isn’t afraid to go dark, nor to engage in a little social commentary when the mood strikes. It’s another adaptation of an ongoing and relatively young manga, but even if it leaves us hanging with the recurring plot the episodic stories have been quite engaging so far.

Toumei Otoko to Ningen Onna: Sonouchi Fuufu ni Naru Futari
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: B-
Comments: That niche? Yeah, Toumei Otoko seems like the logical candidate for this season. It’s definitely low-key and positive, to the point where it’s not exactly what I would call exciting. But there is a core of something a little deeper there – to wit, the way the series treats the protagonist’s invisibility as just another diversity trait, and uses that as a means to celebrate differences rather than rail against them. As a romance I’m more in the “fine” category than really invested at this point, but that could still change.

Still Watching

Jigokuraku Season 2
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: B-
Comments: Hell’s Paradise is off to a pretty solid start this season. A lot of that has to do with Aza Choubei emerging as the de facto deuteragonist of the series, as he offers something quite different from Gabimaru (and a great seiyuu). But it’s been good overall – not weighed down by the guro porn a lot of the first season indulged in to excess. The production seems to have stablized too, though with MAPPA you never take that for granted.

Oshi no Ko Season 3
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: C+
Comments: To be honest I had Oshi no Ko in the next tier up until the appalling third episode aired. But hey, that’s one-third of the season and the arc it concluded so regrettably has taken up more or less the whole thing. That’s par with this series though – at any given moment Akasaka can veer off into his weird fanboy fantasies and lose me completely. I would really rather finish it but I reserve the right to bail at any time.

MF Ghost 3rd Season
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: C+
Comments: Normal service with MF Ghost. Anything involving the “Angels” is some of the most laughably sexist and offensive material in anime, but the racing sequences are top shelf. I have no expectations that either of those things will change but I’m still watching, so that’s not a deal breaker. I threw it into the Patron Pick poll this time just out of curiosity.

Kirei ni Shitemoraemasu ka.
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: C
Comments: Another adaptation from a mangaka of a series I quite liked a long time ago – in this case Hattori Mitsuru and Sankarea. I don’t like Kirei ni Shitemoraemasu ka. anywhere near as much (as either Sankarea or Champignon Witch), though it’s mildly pleasant in an inoffensive way. There have been a couple interesting moments and I’m giving it a bit more time to see if a little of Sankarea’s edginess appears, but overall this one seems to fall into the “healing” pap bucket.

Prism Rondo 
Episodes Watched: 1
Grade: C
Comments: Yeah, I know it’s all streamed but I’ve only found time to watch one episode. Would I have if the premiere had made more of an impression? I think the answer is self-evident. Prism Rondo looks as great as you’d expect, but my vibe off the first ep was comprehensively generic and bland.

Dropped: