2026 Spring Premiere Digest

Spring has sprung and with it, that means loads of new series to love, loathe, or just kind of shrug at. Thankfully, there’s some pretty stellar animation to kick back with while you smell that fresh spring air!

Which shows do you review? 

We don’t review shows that are direct sequels, shorts, or (generally) for very young children. Anything not licensed and/or immediately available is off the table as well; series that are dropped in batches (the binge/Netflix model) won’t receive are a premiere review but are eligible for recommendations at end of season. Shows with late release dates will be reviewed separately from the digest.

While shows may change category as they continue to air, for ease of reference this is the order that will be used when discussing shows on our mid-season and wrap-up podcasts. Please note that any shows released in batches/by cour rather than weekly will not be discussed on the mid-season podcast.

How do you write the reviews?

Lizzie, Alex, Vrai, Cy and Tony split the majority of shows, with Chiaki and Dee stepping in to pinch-hit. The titles were divided by each reviewer’s preferred workload and choice. Caitlin is at ANN for seasonal work, so you can check out her reviews over there.

Once we have more funding, we’d like to change our current model to provide a wider range of perspectives on more episodes. We’re a long way from that goal, but it’s been a personal wish of ours since launch and we hope to make it happen someday.

What do your reviews focus on? 

This varies by writer to some extent (some of us are more focused on visuals, others on narrative, and so forth), but as a feminist site it’s of course essential that we raise any issues of intersectional feminist interest.

When you read an AniFem review, you’re likely to learn about female character designs, queer representation, analogies to real-world marginalization, and so on. If you think we missed something, please comment under the review and let us know!

Why do you categorize them?

The purpose of these reviews is to give you, our readers, information to help you decide if you want to try a show. There’s greater access to anime than ever before, and we want to help you find series you can truly love, without wasting your time on a show that contains an automatic deal-breaker, be that fan service, queerphobia, the sexualization of children, and so on.

Individuals can find value in any series, and we will never lead a boycott of a particular show, but we want to make it easier for you to get the most out of your limited time. In our digest, feminist-relevant themes and ideas take precedence, with overall narrative quality coming second and personal preference a distant(ish) third.

Premieres that seem to contain progressive themes are at the highest end and those featuring regressive ideas (or out-and-out hatefulness) are at the lowest. We expect some disagreement and welcome debate, so if you have any objections to our lists then by all means let us know in the comments!

I found a show I’m interested in! Where can I watch it?

This will vary depending on where you live, but you can browse Yatta-Tachi’s Premiere Chart for the legal streaming sites carrying each series. Check to see if a show is available in your region!

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Winter 2026 Premiere Digest

The following titles are organized by categories, then alphabetically. Note that, because of the way premiere dates are staggered, we’ve had the chance to watch multiple episodes of some series. To give you a fuller picture of how much information we were working with when creating these rankings, we’ve marked how many episodes of each show we’ve seen.

Feminist potential

Premieres that so far seem to be addressing progressive ideas or themes and executing them competently. Please check individual reviews for more detailed content warnings.

• Agents of the Four Seasons: Dance of Spring (Episode 1): A compelling shojo fantasy that foregrounds a tight-knit female friendship.
• Akane-banashi (Episode 1): Off to a very promising start with its themes about gender roles and performance told through rakugo.
• Always a Catch! (Episode 1): A hilarious adventure into elite society through the view of a girl they’re definitely not prepared for.
• Even a Replica Can Fall in Love (Episode 1): Sets out to explore autonomy, personhood, and perhaps trauma through its supernatural premise.
• Go For It, Nakamura-kun!! (Episode 1-2): A throwback rom-com in the vein of Rumiko Takahashi with an awkward, anxious gay lead and incredible direction by Pop Team Epic’s Aoi Umeki.
• A Hundred Scenes of Awajima (Episode 1): This series of vignettes promises a view into the competitive world of opera, showcasing feminine ambition without any hint of shaming in sight.
• Kirio Fan Club (Episode 1): A fantastic josei premiere about pining, weird girls, and pining for weird girls.
• MARRIAGETOXIN (Episode 1): Oddball Poison Master meets Genderplaying Scammer in a premiere that never makes its genderfluid protagonist the butt of a joke—unless that joke is getting caught after a scam gone wrong.
• Witch Hat Atelier (Episode 1-2): Fantastic, feminist, and unabashedly magical, this premiere captures what it means to go on a journey of your own making, heal with others, and discover the wonder of a simple spell, even if that journey started with pain.

It’s… complicated

Similar to the above category, but in addition to all those possible feminist themes, the show may be biting off more than it can chew or in danger of fumbling its chosen themes.

• NEEDY GIRL OVERDOSE (Episode 1): Trigger warnings abound in this pop culture adaptation of a visual novel full of menhera aesthetics that explore the darker side to internet popularity while humanizing its creatives.
• NIPPON SANGOKU (Episode 1): A premiere that’s as complicated as history itself, filled with red flags waving in the distance while being incredibly compelling nonetheless.
• STEEL BALL RUN JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (Episode 1): It’s overall a fun time if you don’t dwell on the potential pitfalls of racial representation and lack of gender parity, but in the big picture they could be very well minor contrivances to the story.

Neutral zone

Very little to warn folks about, but also not a ton of progressive ideas to chew on so far either.

• Botan Kamiina Fully Blossoms When Drunk (Episode 1): A simple and satisfyingly overtly sapphic series focused on sampling all sorts of alcoholic beverages.
• Daemons of the Shadow Realm (Episode 1): Spring has sprung on a new Hiromu Arakawa series that offers twists, thrills, and that classic exploration fans have come to crave from her series.
• The Drops of God (Episode 1): A premiere that digs deep into the cellar for a vintage from the 00s all about wine that’s got a nice bouquet but is a bit heavy on its not-so-well-aged tannins.
• Eren the Southpaw (Episode 1): A character-driven teen drama about graffiti artists that touches on some compelling ideas but struggles to find a consistent tone or style. 
• Fist of the North Star: HOKUTO NO KEN (Episode 1): A blast from the past adaptation of a famous manga that feels less blast and more past with how it’s aged in the modern era.
• The Food Diary of Miss Maid (Episode 1): Food and tourism combine in a chill-out show about a maid eating her way through a Japan holiday.
• Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku?! (Episode 1): A quiet outcast finds friendship with two popular and stylish girls, proving that in fact, kogals can be kind—and even start a new friendship—with otaku.
• GHOST CONCERT: missing songs (Episode 1): In a world where music is manufactured, the ghosts of the past find their way forty minutes into the future to seize control of human-crafted harmonies.
• I Want to End This Love Game (Episode 1): A perfectly okay premiere where you know the characters are end game, but you don’t know the journey there.
• Kill Blue (Episode 1): A serial assassin with ethics gets stung by a wasp that has him reeling and reliving his teens in a premiere that has some questionable aspects to its de-aging process but is ultimately pretty okay.
• Kujima: Why Sing, When You Can Warble? (Episode 1): If you’re a fan of oddball comedies and birds, this might be the premiere for you.
• Kusunoki’s Garden of Gods (Episode 1): It’s not a terrible show, but when you are competing with a beautiful story like Natsume’s Book of Friends it just feels narratively empty. 
• LIAR GAME (Episode 1): A less than fantastic protagonist plays the most dangerous game of them all—gambling. Only she’s not that great of a liar when it comes to this game…
• MAO (Episodes 1-2): The latest Rumiko Takahashi adaptation is a fun, slightly spooky 1920s time-travel series where a plucky teen girl helps a broody mystic battle the supernatural.
• The Ramparts of Ice (Episode 1): Melt your heart with an excellent premiere that sets the foundation for one girl’s healing through the genuine power of friendship.
• My Ribdiculous Reincarnation (Episode 1): A self-aware premiere that pokes fun at the entire concept of going to another world and wanting a harem.

Yellow flags

Premieres that weren’t actively hateful at the premise level, but still raised some noteworthy caveats or concerns.

• Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ (Episode 1): A time travel series running on the trope of guys getting the girl as a band-aid for solving their personality issues.
• I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class (Episode 1): A fairly standard rom-com burdened with a sometimes leering camera.
• Ichijyoma Mankitsu Gurashi! (Episode 1): Clunky fan service jokes abound in this comedy. 
• Killed Again, Mr. Detective? (Episode 1): A criminally uninteresting mystery show where the female characters largely exist to set the male lead on his path.
• An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess (Episode 1): A potentially interesting take hampered by a condescending male lead and mean-spirited fatphobic character designs.
• Snowball Earth (Episode 1): It’s watchable sci-fi, but the apocalyptic stakes aren’t well balanced against the wacky social anxiety shenanigans.
• The Strongest Job is Apparently Not a Hero or a Sage, but an Appraiser (Provisional)! (Episode 1): Shows its hand a couple of minutes in, when the female lead’s shirt ripped unnecessarily to reveal her chest.
• The Warrior Princess and the Barbaric King (Episode 1): A tonally baffling alleged comedy about a lady knight battling sexism who finds herself captured by a “barbarian” foe trying to woo her as his bride.

Red Flags

The issues listed are intrinsic to the premise; or, even if the issue is isolated it potentially poisons the whole show.

• The Klutzy Class Monitor and the Girl with the Short Skirt (Episode 1): Wants to be a comedy about looking past first impressions, but also opens with a rancid sexual harassment joke. 
• Pardon the Intrusion, I’m Home! (Episode 1): This love triangle rom-com reads more like a horror story about entitled men invading a woman’s private space.
• Petals of Reincarnation (Episode 1): Edgy vibes and genuinely interesting animation can’t make up for a story that pits history’s finest and worst against each other in a time where facism is ever present.
• Rooster Fighter (Episode 1): Deeply misogynist from the start, this shonen power fantasy telegraphed through a rooster lacks all the finesse of its seniors, landing on a dud of a horrifically transphobic note in its premiere.
• The Diary of a Black Cat and a Witch (Episode 1): Upskirting, strange sexual harassment jokes, and a pairing of cat teacher and hapless student that feels dead on arrival.

Pit of Shame

These shows need to go to their room and think about what they’ve done.

• Mistress Kanan is Devilishly Easy (Episode 1): You’ll be reaching for your bottle of holy water when you watch one of Spring’s horniest entries that just kind of feels overall icky to witness.

Anime was a Mistake

We had to make a whole category for pedophilia and slavery apologia, and this is it.

• Yowayowa Sensei (Episode 1): Spring delivers its worst with a romantic comedy where clumsy teacher meets pupil supporter and the world’s most uncomfortable hijinks ensue.