The fall anime season is the October to December broadcast quarter in Japan, and in 2026 it opens with returning heavyweights rather than one breakout newcomer. Below are 16 shows, each with a premiere date checked on 2 October 2026 against the studio, the broadcaster, the streamer or the production committee, plus the animation studio, where to stream it, and a tap-to-open verdict on whether it is for you. Where two official sources give different dates, I say which and why.
Pick your mood: big sequels, romance and slice of life, action and mystery, or something new.
Two of this season's returning casts already have characters on YourCrush.AI, so the wait between episodes can be a conversation.
What is airing this season, at a glance?
Sixteen shows cover the part of the fall 2026 anime schedule that matters to an English-speaking viewer: six big sequels, three romance and slice-of-life titles, four action or mystery picks and three new or remade series. Dates are the first Japanese broadcast or the first global stream, whichever an English-speaking viewer gets first, and every one is sourced in the sections below.
| Title | Premiere | Studio | Where to stream |
|---|---|---|---|
| JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run (2nd and 3rd stage) | 25 September | David Production | Netflix, weekly Fridays |
| Reincarnated as a Sword season 2 | 30 September (ABEMA), 7 October (TV) | C2C | HIDIVE |
| The Ramparts of Ice season 2 | 1 October | Studio KAI | Netflix |
| The Apothecary Diaries season 3 | 2 October | OLM | Crunchyroll |
| Tokyo Revengers: War of the Three Titans Arc | 2 October | Liden Films | Disney+ |
| Black Clover season 2 | 3 October | Studio Pierrot | Crunchyroll |
| Ranma 1/2 season 3 | 3 October (Netflix), 4 October (Japan, after midnight) | MAPPA | Netflix |
| Blue Box season 2 | 4 October | Electric Circus | Netflix |
| Psyren | 5 October | Satelight | Crunchyroll |
| Magic Knight Rayearth | 7 October | E&H Production | Crunchyroll |
| The Detective Is Already Dead season 2 | 7 October | ENGI | Crunchyroll |
| Firefly Wedding | 9 October | David Production | Crunchyroll |
| Dragon Ball Super: Beerus | 11 October (Japan), 17 October (Netflix US) | Toei Animation | Netflix |
| Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, The Calamity, episodes 49 and 50 | 19 and 26 October | Studio Pierrot | Hulu, Disney+ |
| Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 | 20 October | Studio Trigger | Netflix, all 10 episodes at once |
| My Happy Marriage special episodes | 25 October | Kinema Citrus | Netflix |
Crunchyroll alone carries more than 40 series this season, by its own fall 2026 lineup announcement, which opened on 26 September. The 16 here are the ones with the biggest audiences, the loudest pre-season polls, or a reason a newcomer can start cold.
How YourCrush.AI lets you talk to Rukia and Bulma between episodes
YourCrush.AI hosts live chat pages for canon-adult anime characters, so a week between Bleach episodes can be a conversation with Rukia instead of a wait. YourCrush.AI keeps pinned memories, so what you told a character last week is still there next week, and it splits a scenario into story branches when you want to try a different outcome. YourCrush.AI also lets you build your own character from a name and an image, with the description, backstory, greeting and traits drafted for you. The Anime category in Explore lists the community's characters.
The free plan is $0 with 400K chat tokens a month, 3 active personas, 10 conversations and 10 pinned memories; Pro is $9.99 a month with 5M tokens, and Premium is $19.99 a month with unlimited tokens. The limitation: the free plan's 10 conversations run out fast if you chat alongside several weekly shows. YourCrush.AI is 18+, and this guide links only characters who are adults in canon, which is why the teenage leads of Blue Box, Ramparts of Ice and Ranma get no chat link here.
Which big sequels are back this season?
Six returning series carry the season: The Apothecary Diaries, Black Clover, the Bleach finale, the Dragon Ball Super remake, Steel Ball Run and Ranma 1/2. Three of them are on Netflix and two on Crunchyroll, so the platform you already pay for decides more of your watchlist than the hype does.
The Apothecary Diaries season 3
Premiered 2 October at 11pm on Nippon TV's Friday Anime Night block, animated by OLM, streaming on Crunchyroll. A palace apothecary who cares more about poisons than about the people trying to use them keeps solving the court's murders, and season 3 brings in a new mystery figure, Bai Niangniang, voiced by Reina Ueda. Anime News Network reports a first cour now and a second cour in April 2027, so this is a half-season. Our Apothecary Diaries season 3 guide covers the schedule and where the light novels go next.
Should you watch The Apothecary Diaries season 3?
Watch if you liked the first two seasons for the case-of-the-week deduction and the court politics around it, or if you want one show this season with no fights at all.
Skip if you have not seen seasons 1 and 2. The new season does not recap, and the second half lands in April 2027, so a newcomer is better off starting from episode 1 of season 1 now.
Black Clover season 2
Premieres 3 October at 11pm on TV Tokyo, animated by Studio Pierrot, streaming on Crunchyroll as it airs, per Anime News Network. It is the first new TV run since the original 170-episode series ended in 2021, picking up a magic-knights story about a boy born with no magic in a world where everyone has it. Ayataka Tanemura, who directed the Sword of the Wizard King film, takes over; our Black Clover season 2 guide covers where it picks up.
Should you watch Black Clover season 2?
Watch if you finished the first 170 episodes and have been waiting five years, or if you like long shonen with a squad of loud, likeable captains.
Skip if you have not seen the first series. There is no shortcut through 170 episodes, and the new season will assume you know every captain by name.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, The Calamity (the finale)
The last two episodes, 49 and 50, air on TV Tokyo on Monday 19 and Monday 26 October at 24:00, after the production committee pushed them back "to improve the quality," per Anime News Network. Studio Pierrot animates; Hulu streams it in the US and Disney+ elsewhere. This is the end of the anime's adaptation of Tite Kubo's final arc, 22 years after the first Bleach episode aired in 2004.
Should you watch the Bleach finale?
Watch if you have followed Thousand-Year Blood War since 2022. Two episodes, two Mondays, and the series is finished.
Skip if you stopped Bleach when the original anime ended in 2012. Thousand-Year Blood War picks up the story years later, and the finale means nothing without its three earlier parts.
If Rukia Kuchiki is the reason you kept watching, you can chat with Rukia on YourCrush.AI; she is a centuries-old Soul Reaper in canon.
Dragon Ball Super: Beerus
Premieres 11 October at 11:15pm on Fuji TV, made by Toei Animation for its 70th anniversary, per Anime News Network. It is an upgraded remake of 2015's Dragon Ball Super, with new cuts, revised scenes and every frame re-rendered, starting from the God of Destruction Beerus saga. Netflix says it reaches US subscribers on 17 October.
Should you watch Dragon Ball Super: Beerus?
Watch if you skipped Dragon Ball Super in 2015 because the early episodes looked rough. This is the version that fixes exactly that.
Skip if you watched the original Super and the Battle of Gods film. The story beats are the same; you are paying for the art.
Bulma runs the Capsule Corporation side of the story here, and you can chat with Bulma between episodes.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run, 2nd and 3rd stage
Weekly on Netflix every Friday since 25 September, 11 episodes running to 4 December, per What's on Netflix's October schedule, animated by David Production. Part 7 of JoJo is a horse race across 1890s America with a $50 million prize, and it is the part many manga readers call the best.
Should you watch Steel Ball Run?
Watch if you have heard for a decade that Part 7 is the best JoJo. It is set in a new continuity, so Parts 1 to 6 help but are not required.
Skip if JoJo's posing and narration have never worked for you. Steel Ball Run is the most grounded part, but it is still JoJo.
Ranma 1/2 season 3
MAPPA's remake of Rumiko Takahashi's martial-arts comedy returns on Netflix with 12 weekly episodes. A teenage martial artist who turns into a girl when splashed with cold water is still the whole joke, and the remake plays it straight to the 1989 original.
Should you watch Ranma 1/2 season 3?
Watch if you liked seasons 1 and 2 and want a half-hour of slapstick a week with no cliffhangers.
Skip if you want the story to go anywhere. Ranma is a comedy of recurring rivals and the status quo is the point.
Which romance and slice-of-life shows are airing?
Three: Blue Box season 2, The Ramparts of Ice season 2 and three My Happy Marriage special episodes, all on Netflix. Blue Box and Ramparts are high-school stories with teenage leads; My Happy Marriage is the only one about adults.
Blue Box season 2
Premieres 4 October with weekly episodes on Netflix, confirmed by Netflix Anime. Electric Circus takes over from Telecom Animation Film, which made season 1. A high-school badminton player and a basketball player train for nationals, and the sports half carries as much weight as the feelings.
Should you watch Blue Box season 2?
Watch if season 1's slow build and real match footage worked for you. What's on Netflix lists 25 episodes, still to be confirmed, so it is a long run.
Skip if a studio change worries you, until a few episodes are out and the reviews say how close Electric Circus keeps the look.
The Ramparts of Ice season 2
Premiered 1 October on TBS at 11:56pm and on Netflix worldwide on 1 October Pacific time, animated by Studio KAI, per Anime News Network. A high-school girl who keeps everyone at arm's length lets a few classmates in, slowly.
Should you watch The Ramparts of Ice season 2?
Watch if you want a quiet show about social anxiety and friendship that takes its time.
Skip if you need plot. Nothing explodes, and that is deliberate.
My Happy Marriage special episodes
All three episodes air 25 October at 7pm on TV Tokyo, then stream on Netflix worldwide from 8:30pm JST, with Kinema Citrus animating, per What's on Netflix and Netflix Anime. Miyo and Kiyoka, both adults, head toward their wedding after the season 2 conflict.
Should you watch the My Happy Marriage specials?
Watch if you finished season 2 and want the wedding. Three episodes, one evening.
Skip if you have not seen the two seasons. The specials are an epilogue, not an entry point.
What should action fans watch this season?
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 is the action pick, and it is the one show this season that drops all at once. Tokyo Revengers, Reincarnated as a Sword and The Detective Is Already Dead fill the weekly slots.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2
All 10 episodes arrive on Netflix on 20 October, made by Studio Trigger with CD Projekt Red, per the official Edgerunners 2 page. It is a standalone story in Night City with a new director, Kai Ikarashi, and an all-new crew.
Should you watch Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2?
Watch if season 1 wrecked you and you want Trigger's neon and speed again. It is standalone, so a newcomer can start here.
Skip if you only want more of the first season's crew. They are not the leads this time.
Tokyo Revengers: War of the Three Titans Arc
Streams on Disney+ worldwide (except mainland China) from 2 October, Fridays at 2am JST, animated by Liden Films. A man who can jump back to his teenage years tries, again, to stop his old gang leader from becoming a crime boss.
Should you watch Tokyo Revengers: War of the Three Titans?
Watch if you are already three seasons in and want to see the gang war the earlier arcs set up.
Skip if gang delinquent shows are not your thing. The time travel is the hook, but most of the runtime is fistfights.
Reincarnated as a Sword season 2
ABEMA streamed episode 1 a week early on 30 September; TV broadcast starts 7 October on Tokyo MX and ABC TV, and HIDIVE carries it in English. C2C animates again. A man reborn as a talking sword teams up with a young cat-beastkin girl, and the comedy is in the sword's inner monologue.
Should you watch Reincarnated as a Sword season 2?
Watch if you like isekai where the leveling-up is the fun, and season 1's sword-narrator voice made you laugh.
Skip if you are tired of isekai. This one does not reinvent the format.
The Detective Is Already Dead season 2
Premieres 7 October on Crunchyroll, animated by ENGI, per Crunchyroll's lineup. A high-school sidekick keeps solving cases after his detective partner died, and season 2 follows what her death set in motion.
Should you watch The Detective Is Already Dead season 2?
Watch if you liked the light-novel twists of season 1 and can forgive uneven animation.
Skip if you want a fair-play mystery. The cases here bend toward spy-thriller and the clues are not laid out for you.
Which new anime are worth starting from episode 1?
Psyren, Firefly Wedding and the Magic Knight Rayearth remake are the three you can start with no homework. All three are on Crunchyroll.
Psyren
Premieres 5 October at 11pm on Tokyo MX and BS11, animated by Satelight, with Crunchyroll streaming it worldwide outside Japan and China, per Anime News Network. A high-school student picks up a red telephone card and is dragged into a survival game in a ruined future. Toshiaki Iwashiro's Shonen Jump manga ended in 2010, and this is its first TV anime.
Should you watch Psyren?
Watch if you want a shonen with a mystery engine, where every power fight also answers a question about what happened to the world.
Skip if you need a complete story in one season. The manga is long and nothing confirmed yet says how far this run goes.
Firefly Wedding
Premieres 9 October at 11:30pm on Fuji TV's Noitamina block, animated by David Production, streaming on Crunchyroll as it airs, per Anime News Network. A gravely ill nobleman's daughter in Meiji-era Japan becomes the target of an assassin and, to save her life, proposes marriage to him.
Should you watch Firefly Wedding?
Watch if you want the season's darkest premise: a period thriller where every kind word might be a threat.
Skip if you want comfort viewing. The story runs on menace from the first scene.
Magic Knight Rayearth
Premieres 7 October on Crunchyroll, a remake of CLAMP's 1990s series by E&H Production. Three middle-school girls are pulled into the world of Cephiro to rescue a princess.
Should you watch the Magic Knight Rayearth remake?
Watch if you grew up on the 1994 original or want to see where a generation of magical-girl fantasy came from.
Skip if you remember the original's ending and dislike remakes that keep the same plot twist.
Which premiere dates do sources disagree on?
Five shows have two "official" dates, and in every case the gap comes from Japan's late-night slots or a regional release. Here is each one, so you can tell a wrong date from a timezone.
- Ranma 1/2 airs on Nippon TV at 24:55 on 3 October, which is 12:55am on 4 October. Netflix and What's on Netflix list 3 October, and MyAnimeList and Wikipedia list 4 October. Both are right.
- Tokyo Revengers is on Disney+ from 2 October at 2am JST, but MyAnimeList and Wikipedia list 3 October, likely from the AT-X broadcast on 3 October. Disney+ is the source to trust for a stream.
- Reincarnated as a Sword season 2 has three dates in circulation: 30 September on ABEMA, 7 October on Tokyo MX, and 1 October in some pre-season round-ups. I found no primary source for 1 October.
- The Bleach finale is "19 and 26 October" on TV Tokyo at 24:00, which is why other sites print 20 and 27 October. BS TV Tokyo also airs it on the 20th and 27th.
- Dragon Ball Super: Beerus is 11 October in Japan and 17 October on Netflix US, and episode 1 screens early at New York Comic Con on 8 October.
Frequently asked questions
What new anime is airing this season?
The biggest new and returning shows this season are The Apothecary Diaries season 3, Black Clover season 2, Dragon Ball Super: Beerus, Steel Ball Run, Blue Box season 2 and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2. The table above lists all 16 with dates, studios and platforms.
When does Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 come out?
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 comes out on Netflix on 20 October 2026, with all 10 episodes at once. Studio Trigger made it with CD Projekt Red.
When is the last episode of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War?
The last episode, episode 50, airs on TV Tokyo on 26 October 2026 at 24:00, after a delay announced in September. Episode 49 airs on 19 October.
Is Dragon Ball Super: Beerus on Netflix?
Yes, Netflix streams Dragon Ball Super: Beerus in the US from 17 October 2026, six days after its 11 October Japanese premiere on Fuji TV.
Which fall anime can I start without watching earlier seasons?
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2, Psyren, Firefly Wedding and the Magic Knight Rayearth remake all start from scratch. Steel Ball Run also works for a newcomer because Part 7 resets the JoJo continuity.
What is the best anime of 2026 so far?
No single chart settles it, but in the final weekly Anime Corner fan poll of summer 2026, Mushoku Tensei season 3 took 16.97% of votes and Re:Zero season 4 took 16.80%. For this quarter, the Bleach finale is the one I would not miss.