Beneath A Thousand Skies

Hello!

With the Winter 2026 Anime season looming it’s time to look at what’s coming out, and the ones I’m planning on either definitely watching and those that I’m planning on trying out before deciding either way. This is by no means a complete list, and I will probably find more to add as the season gets underway.

Tomorrow I’ll be back with a look at what reading challenges I’m trying this year, and the series reads I have planned.

Series to Watch:

Arne no Jikenbo (12 episodes)

Studio: Silver Link

Genre: Fantasy, Mystery

Arne Neuntöte is a vampire detective who manipulates supernatural powers. Lynn Reinweiß is a nobleman’s daughter who loves vampires. Their worlds should never have crossed, but they join hands to solve a bloody mystery. In the darkest of nights, Lynn finds herself in desperate need of help. Then she wanders into the mysterious city of “Lügenberg,” where non-humans live.

Lynn’s world changes drastically when she encounters “Arne,” a vampire who is called “the worst” in the city. And tonight, a new “murder case” has occurred. What is the truth behind the bizarre incidents that take place in a world where humanity and the bizarre intersect?

“Come on, human. You may dance merrily under the crimson moon.”

Hikuidori: Ushuu Boro Tobi-gumi

Studio: SynergySP

Genre: Historical

The fire extinguishing samurai who stopped the great fire was called “The fire-eating bird”. Matsunaga Gengo, once known as the “Fire-eating Bird”, was the best fire-fighting samurai in Edo. He had resigned from the fire brigade for a reason but suddenly received an invitation to serve in the Shinjo clan. The Shinjo clan’s fire-fighting team had no money and no personnel and was looked down upon by those around them. With the encouragement of his wife, Miyuki, Gengo decides to rebuild the collapsed fire-fighting clan as its chairman. Gengo and his friends, all of whom have their own peculiarities, struggle to “save any life”, despite being ridiculed as “ragged steeplejacks”(= the ‘Boro-Tobi-Gumi’.), In Edo, a mysterious series of suspicious fires called “foxfires” continue.

Ikoku Nikki

Studio: Shuka

Genre: Drama

Thirty-five-year-old novelist Makio Koudai never had a good relationship with her older sister Minori, who always berated her for being different. Due to this, Makio is not stricken with grief upon hearing the news that Minori and her husband die in a car crash. But when Makio is asked to identify their bodies, she runs into her 15-year-old niece, Asa Takumi, whom she has not seen in years.

Struggling to process her parents’ death, Makio reassures Asa that her complicated feelings are valid and suggests that the teenager start writing in a diary as a way to cope with the loss. Upon learning that no other relatives wanted to take in Asa, Makio decides to become her guardian despite her lack of experience. In a world full of uncertainty, the novelist and teenager must learn to live with each other while figuring themselves out.

Isekai no Sata wa Sachiku Shidai

Studio: Studio Dean

Genre: BL, Fantasy

Already at his wit’s end, 29-year-old corporate slave Seiichirou Kondou suddenly witnesses the ground opening up and swallowing a woman. Amid his efforts to save her, the two are transported to another world. He soon learns that the people in this world summoned a saint to save their kingdom from a plague. As compensation for dragging Kondou into the mess, the kingdom assures him that they will provide him with a comfortable life and fulfill any of his desires. To everyone’s surprise, Kondou asks for a job.

After successfully becoming an accountant at the Royal Palace, Kondou devotes himself to his new post. His accurate and thorough work catches the attention of various high-ranking officials and knights, especially Aresh Indolark, the cold-hearted Knight Captain. As Kondou adjusts to his new exhausting and dangerous environment, he begins to find solace in the company of Aresh, whose icy demeanor may be just a facade.

Kaya-chan wa Kowakunai (12 Episodes)

Studio: East Fish Studio

Genre: Supernatural, School

Kaya-chan is infamous at kindergarten for being a troublemaker. But Ms. Chie, who’s been assigned to look after her, soon discovers Kaya’s hidden abilities. Get ready for the ultimate horror-action adventure set in kindergarten!

Kirei ni Sitemoraemasu ka

Studio: Okuruto Noburo

Genre: Slice of Life

With an endearing protagonist and luscious art, this seaside slice-of-life story offers tranquility in the chaos of the modern world. For two years, Wakana Kinme has run a laundry service in the seaside resort town of Atami, where she’s built a fulfilling life making friends with the locals and visiting hot springs. Although Wakana has no knowledge of her own past, her cleaning services safeguard memories imbued in customers’ precious items.

Trigun Stargaze

Studio: Orange

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Two and a half years have passed since the Lost July incident, a catastrophe that reduced an entire city to ruins and sent shockwaves across the world.

On the desert planet of No Man’s Land, Vash the Stampede, a gunslinger who swore never to take a life, faces his final confrontation with his brother, Millions Knives, who seeks the complete destruction of humanity. As their fates collide, the battle that will determine the future of both mankind and the planet begins.

Yuusha no Kuzu (24 episodes)

Studio: OLM

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi

By the mid-21st century, Tokyo’s criminal underworld is ruled by Demon Lords—crime bosses who have undergone ether enhancement surgery, granting them terrifying superpowers. The only ones who can take them down are Heroes, bounty hunters who boost their own ether powers using the drug E3 (E-Three). With legalized killing as part of the job, being a Hero is less about justice and more about survival.

Yashiro, known as the Reaper, is one such Hero—an independent enforcer who works alone. That is, until Jougamine, a high school girl and self-proclaimed “apprentice,” forces her way into his life. Reluctantly taking her under his wing, Yashiro soon finds himself caught in a whirlwind of deadly conflicts.

Series to Try:

Dark Moon: Tsuki no Saidan

Studio: Troyca

Genre: Fantasy, School

Ever since she was a young girl, Sooha was told to hide her superhuman abilities to avoid getting mistaken for a vampire. Having been accused of being one and blamed for her childhood friend’s death, Sooha enrolls in Decelis Academy—a night school where supernatural beings, such as vampires and werewolves, allegedly cannot enter.

At the academy, Sooha soon encounters Heli, a student who offers friendship despite discovering her secret. Heli introduces Sooha to his close friends—Jaan, Jino, Shion, Jakah, Noa, and Solon—who all have different powers as well. But their connection seems to run deeper than just that; they are curiously drawn to her, feeling as if they would do anything she wishes.

In light of a recent murder that is said to be the work of a vampire, Heli and his friends’ unsettling history slowly unravels. While the seven boys try to shield Sooha from the world of the supernatural, she inevitably gets entangled in the centuries-old rivalry between vampires and werewolves. As tensions intensify, Sooha realizes that she may be closer than ever to the creatures she hates the most.

Dead Account

Studio: SynergySP

Genre: Action, Supernatural

Always ready for a fight! Destruction for destruction’s sake! The online streamer Aoringo is a troll, making the worst of the worst of boundary-pushing flamebait content and raking in the revenue from the hate-watchers. You may think he’s nothing more than a bottom feeder and a drain on society, but in reality, he’s high school dropout Soji Enishiro, a caring older brother with a sweet tooth who loves nothing more than his little sister. His viral videos? Just a way to pay his sister’s medical bills. And even if all of humanity hates him, he doesn’t care, so long as his little sister gets better. But then, something very strange begins to happen…


Eris no Seihai

Studio: Ashi Productions

Genre: Mystery, Supernatural

It is common knowledge that nobles will do anything for power; lying, manipulation, and extortion are the usual tactics. However, one family is exempt from this generalization: House Grail, whose main tenets are truth and integrity. The youngest daughter, Constance Grail, is just as moral as the rest of her family, believing in always doing the right thing and helping those in need.

However, these ideals do not help her when her fiancé cheats on her with another woman. Framed by his lover in the hope of her downfall, Constance’s pleas for justice are ignored. Everyone turns a blind eye, save for one—the spirit of the infamous Scarlet Castiel—who possesses Constance and turns the tables on her accuser. However, this aid doesn’t come without a price.

Ten years ago, Scarlet was executed for the attempted murder of Princess Cecilia. But this was actually a setup; as blunt and harsh as Scarlet could be, she would never stoop so low as to use poison. She has no idea who orchestrated her incrimination, but Scarlet demands that Constance—as the only one who can see her—help her exact revenge on all those who wronged her!

Toumei Otoko to Ningen Onna: Sonouchi Fuufu ni Naru Futari

Studio: Project No.9

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Yakou, a gentle human woman, works at a detective agency. Tounome is a smart and gentle invisible man. The invisible man’s ability is perfect for detective work. However, the blind Yakou can still figure out where Tounome is, even if he disappears. Before they know it, the two become attracted to each other…?

Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki

Studio: East Fish Studio

Genre: Romance, School

Every time Yoi Takiguchi so much as lets out a sigh, her female classmates squeal in admiration and awe. She has been dubbed the school’s “prince” by virtue of her boyishly attractive appearance and casual disposition. However, she chooses to be indifferent toward the attention she receives and spends her days normally—that is, until the school’s other prince, Kohaku Ichimura, waltzes into her life and calls her beautiful.

Kohaku is nothing like a prince—he acts thoughtlessly and does as he pleases. But when he compliments her, Yoi feels flustered, and the way he looks at her gets her all nervous. He is the first boy to acknowledge her as a girl, and her attempts to distance herself prove futile as he seems to have set his sights on her. While Yoi keeps telling herself that it is nothing serious, even she cannot completely ignore the stir Kohaku causes in her heart.

Yuusha Jei ni Shosu: Choubatsu Yuusha 9004-tai Keimu Kiroku

Studio: Studio Kai

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

“Hero” is the worst punishment in the world. Those convicted of heinous crimes are sentenced to become “Heroes” and forced to enter the mandatory military service in the war against the Demon Lords. These convicts are not even allowed to die—if killed, they will be resurrected to fight another day.

Hero Xylo Forbartz, former head of the Order of the Holy Knights, leads a penal unit of deplorables fighting on the front lines. It is in these direst of circumstances that he meets Teoritta, one of the world’s strongest weapons. “When every last enemy has been defeated, you are to shower me with praise and pat my head.” In order to survive and to take revenge on those who wronged him, he makes a pact with the goddess and launches headfirst into a maelstrom of war and intrigue.