ANIME is GREAT in 2026!!
I’ve been discussing current anime on the @MZshaidu channel with my brother (Shaidu) and my husband (Bird), on their show called WAMMBS!!
Linked below are the discussions we had of shows mentioned in this video:
Yomi no Tsugai (Daemons of the Shadow Realm): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj30ekeRIlE
Witch Hat Atelier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg77njVV9vw
(the manga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSET0tmPzzQ
Nippon Sangoku: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSTDlxqy77I
Marriage Toxin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zihvQhlJrc
I completely forgot to mention the first episode of Steel Ball Run, which was also awesome, tho it sucks that they released it so far ahead of the next episode batch. We talked about that, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3MNclHxv04&t
Along with Jojolands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtXi-Hkv_bY&t
We haven’t gotten to the Akane-Banashi anime yet, but here’s our discussion of the manga: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez987asupFQ&t
and Someone Hertz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfkJcvXp93E
I didn’t mention a bunch of the great currently-running manga in this video, but here’s a few that really rule:
Tower Dungeon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVmFkWMTy7I
Love Bullet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90yMrBRVCIE
Bug Ego: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsMOvIesC1g
Maison & the Man-Eating Apartment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DeFjQ8hjT8
Kagurabachi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM7jIUNHa0M&t
Bird and I also discussed all of the Winter anime season shows that I mentioned in this video (Jujutsu Kaisen season 3, Jigokuraku (Hell’s Paradise) season 2, Trigun: Stargaze, Frieren ~Beyond Journey’s End~ season 2, Fate/Strange Fake, and Fire Force season 3 part 2), in a 3-part limited podcast series earlier this year:
Bird is also streaming video games on the @birdfriendsplay channel, and on https://twitch.tv/birdfriendsplay
We recently started a series with Shaidu guiding us thru Phantasy Star Online.
My alter, Nova, has also been (slowly) episodically blogging Turn A Gundam over on the channel @novasanimeblog , and she intends on doing the same for The Ghost in the Shell once that show starts airing next month: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0VIb-TOzgY&list=PLGh4vSZTIsiBIbi9Vmt2tXAwN_BC3sbMO
Nova also does music analysis on @NovaLovesMusic
I have also been making rant vlogs about social philosophy on my second channel @TrixieTTS , releasing new episodes on Mondays at 8AM ET.
Season 1 playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_5qwkRoaMw&list=PLKzkObKaDC_dl78sA_WaPqfPTqnnUNUTL&pp=sAgC
Season 2 playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKzkObKaDC_ftGHMCmtueBS3ApVgfiLfr
My friend @kinotatoo and I have a new show releasing every 6 weeks or so in which we detail Touhou characters one-by-one, starting with Cirno in this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEnMbrNpDNk
We will be covering Konpaku Youmu next!
THE TOP TEN TITS IN FICTION is my favorite podcast episode I’ve ever been a part of, over on this show I’m a semi-regular guest on with my friends in the @GoldenButterflies-Podcast : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pw5pJN9FRo&t
Recently I made an analytical deep-dive into the lyrics of Guilty Gear songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52QLpp8ipFM
I’m also pretty deep into a streaming series on Disco Elysium: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifS8U9Vuh3E&list=PLw6UBKuaMyFCWc7Xd9Invl3LBTQWZWngA
My friend @GigaDonk99 and I also just wrapped up a playthru of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on our @SlimeDolls channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR_DezVBPoI&list=PLdkY_RKg7ePtGGthfvKZvoFifCyYgOZp_
My brother Vic and my sister-in-law Hope have been watching a movie every day all year, and reviewing them all at the end of each month while playing Elden Ring over on the channel @VABHermitSociety
More from myself, my family and my friends can be found collected on my linktree, https://linktr.ee/goldenwitch
including channels like @brodycaesar @Nisadraws92 @Zerachielmusic @maydayfromspace @PetraCoreLIVE @flipdownyonder @seralouise. @Tapirclip @zecypher @mintycrafty @shittykickflips
If you haven’t kept up with me in the last few years, watch this video in which I listed my best content over that time period: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17zjuQo4cmw&t=1s&pp=0gcJCQQLAYcqIYzv
If you have a better thumbnail idea, send it to me on bsky, and I'll pin your credit in this comment: https://bsky.app/profile/systerb.bsky.social
Like If You're Watching in 2026!!!❤❤❤
I think the Anime of the year is probably going to be Needy Girl Overdose. And that's as someone late to even starting the Spring season.
The best of Winter was probably Shiboyugi, but Roll Over and Die and Fate/Strange Fake were pretty strong too.
Looking forward I'm excited for The Ribbon Hero and the Hathaway sequel coming to Netflix this Summer.
I miss Anime Original Filler and am kind of sad that Detective Conan is the only franchise still making it.
Kinda surprised you liked Nippon Sangoku so much. The art and animation is great, but the characters and dialogue really turned me off from it. Comically evil bad guys and cringe logic man main character were not enjoyable for me to watch. To be fair I only saw the first episode though.
I'm still not over how great the invisible man anime was this year and witch hat looks super charming i should really be watching more ^^
It really has been, and it's only June!
Annie-Maye
IM SO HYPED FOR SUMMER SEASON.
ITS EVEN BETTER WHEN FUTURE PRESIDENT TRIXIE IS TALKING ABOUT ANIME.
Dunno if you caught the Sekiro anime trailer but it looks absolutely nuts, it's due for October I think
Oh heck yeah, Ikoku Nikki is my AOTY so far, glad it made it onto your radar. Looking forward to hearing your detailed thoughts on that one.
WAMMBS!! I was just thinking today how 2026 is probably the best year of anime in the last decade. My theory is a convergence of animation technologies constantly getting better and more easily available, kids who grew up with digital animation being now old enough to lead their own projects, and producers finally figuring out that if you want your show to be a hit it needs to look great.
I went down the anime->manga->light novel->classic lit pipeline, so I spend most of my free time reading one of the 100,000 or so go books out there.
For someone like me, there is TOO MUCH good anime trying to steal my attention away
I've found it telling that even my most doomer-y anime-watching friends have been talking about how great this year has been for the medium. Hell, there are a whole bunch of series or continuations you didn't even mention which are near the top of my personal list of "I need to see this" priorities, and I really can't take umbrage with you missing them because there is literally just so much fantastic stuff coming out or coming up. (Just off the top of my head: Sayonara Lara, Shiboyugi, I Want to Love You 'Til Your Dying Day, The Elusive Samurai S2, Kamiina Botan Fully Blossoms When Drunk, Made in Abyss: Awakening Mystery, You and I are Polar Opposites, World is Dancing.)
11:05 so Jojo's
I appreciate your sobering perspective on general life-balance with anime.
I remember having more time than I knew what to do with as a teenager and being able to crush through hundred-episode anime. I discovered you can download the entire watch history of a Netflix account since inception with timestamps, and being saddened that I spent 8+ hours a day as a 12 year old watching TV during my summer vacations. As I grew up I further prioritized friendships, exercise, the outdoors, and work, and had a several year stretch without watching almost any anime (for the best). While I'm far more well-rounded these days, I definitely feel a little less color in my life and have been dipping my toe back in to the anime game. Importantly, there's a newfound confidence in taste and value for time that essentially guarantees I have an endless well of great shows probably forever.
My kneejerk reaction is to be a little disheartened that I'll never get to the bottom of the well, but then I take a step back and realize these are the thoughts of a junkie lmao.
How privileged is it to have a full enough life where you only have room for great shows? It's a good affirmation to keep around, even if other aspect of life feel like they're in flux.
The new way studios go about adapting has even gotten to one piece, they stopped doing weekly release and finally shifted to seasons. Which has resulted in the animation being way better.
Be on the lookout for Goodbye Lara coming out this summer. Its an anime original created by a lot of the staff at Kinema Citrus who did a lot of work on Made in Abyss. I got to see the first episode at Anime Central and it was incredible. Its both tightly written and visually stunning. Watch the trailer and you'll see how!
Love the positivity, 2026 has already been an amazing year for Anime.
Hop on Needy Girl
I love Tower Dungeon, especially the art stile. Something about the intentionality of the use of black in it makes me more immersed in the world
Maybe I should go back into anime, been sucked into vtubers for past 3 years instead…