7 Major Anime Sequels Returning in 2026, Ranked

Now that a new year is underway with a ton of new anime hitting our screens, it’s time to get ready for some of the high profile sequels that we’ll be seeing in action. Last year was a great year for anime thanks to all of the new anime returning shows that had hit our screens, and this year is already shaping up to continue the hot streak. With the Winter 2026 anime slate now in gear and debuting some of these blockbuster returns, there are still many more coming our way.

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But while there are going to be a ton of brand new anime that are going to be dominating conversation through the rest of the year, 2026 has a ton of franchises that are coming back for new seasons. We’re getting a lot of notable new episodes for series that fans have been eager to see in action, and below you’ll find seven new seasons in particular that fans will want to see make their comeback through the rest of the year.

7). That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 4

Making its debut later this April, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is one of the biggest Isekai anime franchises of the modern day. It recently got picked up for a massive new season as the series revealed that this fourth season will be the first of five brand new cours of episodes. This fourth season will be airing two cours of episodes this year before taking a break, and it’s clear that the anime’s return is going to take the Isekai in a whole new direction when it hits this Spring. Definitely keep it on your radar as the Slime at the center of it all expands his society even further.

6). Wistoria: Wand and Sword Season 2

Also slated to make its comeback this April, Wistoria: Wand and Sword is hoping to be another explosive season of the anime. The anime adapts the light novels from Fujino Omori, the same mind behind Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, is coming back after two years to continue a wild slate of fights. The first season introduced fans to Will, someone born without the ability to use magic in a magical world.

But using his physical prowess, he’s trying to make it to the top of society in order to join up with his prodigy of a childhood friend. Now things are only going to get more intense from this point on as he needs to reach even higher heights, and the second season is going to ramp up the action.

5). Dr. Stone Science Future Part 3

Also returning this April, Dr. Stone Science Future is set to come back for its third and final wave of episodes. Dr. Stone has been working through its final arc for the anime so far, but fans have yet to see everything within the wide scope of the finale. Senku Ishigami and the Kingdom of Science have been squaring off an impressive final foe with ties to Senku’s past, but there’s still a much greater purpose that Senku is striving for within his stone world. And as the anime prepares for its finale, fans will get to see just how high Senku and the others want to go as they develop their technologies even more in the future.

4). Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 3

Coming later this July, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation is finally returning for its third season. It’s been two seasons since the second season hit our screens, and it saw Rudeus overcoming his shortcomings in order to have a more positive outlook on the future. He’s now going to be taking a much more proactive stance on the future as his adventures to find everyone else following the teleporting incident kicks into high gear, but this new season is going to feature some big returns like Eris’ comeback after her mysterious disappearance following the end of the first season. It’s going to be an emotional rollercoaster.

3). The Apothecary Diaries Season 3

Coming back to screens later this October, The Apothecary Diaries has some huge plans for the anime’s return. The anime adaptation for Natsu Hyuga and Touko Shino’s original light novels has been one of the biggest successes of the last few years, and the first two seasons continued pretty quickly after one another. It’s the same case for the third season as it already plans to return this Fall.

What’s different this time around, however, is that The Apothecary Diaries is also going to be hitting theaters across Japan in October as well. This new film will feature a story not seen in the light novels or anime from writer Natsu Hyuga, so there’s just many reasons to be excited for Maomao and Jinshi as their back and forth reaches new levels.

2). Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Final Part – The Calamity

Coming this July, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is officially making its return for its final wave of episodes. Ichigo Kurosaki and the others will finally be getting into the final fights against Yhwach’s deadly forces, and it means fans are going to see brand new fights, new forms, and new moments that fans have been waiting to see from Tite Kubo’s original manga for well near two decades at this point.

There’s also the promise that like the previous seasons, this final part of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War will also be featuring some brand new materials that weren’t around for Kubo’s manga. And when it comes to this being the final entry for the anime, it could be mean something big is on the way for that ending.

1). Black Clover Season 2

But Black Clover is going to be the biggest return of the year by far. A release window or date has yet to be confirmed for the new season, but the anime is going to be returning for a brand new wave of episodes after five long years. Right as Yuki Tabata is in the mix of ending Black Clover’s manga for good, the anime is set to return for its second season picking up from where it all left off many years ago.

The series has quite a lot of ground to cover even before it gets into its adaptation of the final battles, so fans have a lot to look forward to. There are going to be some huge moments and battles that are going to come to life in an explosive way, so Black Clover is going to really hit the ground running.

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