On Monday 3/16, Crunchyroll offered a special Sneak Peek for four titles debuting and one returning for the Spring 2026 season. Here’s an overview of all five entries:
Daemons of the Shadow Realm
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)
Yuru and his twin sister Asa were born under auspicious (or perhaps ominous?) signs and raised in an isolated mountain village, one shielded from outside detection by a magical barrier. Turns out there was good reason for that when someone breaks the barrier and both modern-day soldiers and those with supernatural powers come streaming in to attack and kill off the village, though they seem to want to take Yuru alive. In the midst of this, Yuru learns that his sister isn’t who he thought she was and he apparently has two daemons at his call powerful enough to even knock combat helicopters from the sky.
This one is based on a manga from the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist, and indeed, a somewhat similar visual style is evident throughout. This feels very much like the set-up for a fairly standard shonen supernatural actioner (albeit one that leans on the very graphic side) and is packed with all manner of “what the hell is going on” kind of content, including some good-sized twists. The action isn’t spectacular but it’s good enough, and the mystery elements give the title some degree of intrigue. I don’t expect this one to wow audiences on the same level as a Sentenced to be a Hero or Fate/Strange Fake, but it should suffice.
Go For It, Nakamura!
Rating: 2
Okuto Nakamura is a shy boy who is love-struck at first sight upon entering high school and constantly works our scenarios in his head to approach and befriend his love interest, ones that he can either never execute at all or flub magnificently. It doesn’t help that his live interest is oblivious to him. Oh, and the love interest is a guy, and Nakamura openly acknowledges in his internal monologue that he’s gay.
This adaptation of a 2010s manga was the surprise entry in this exercise (it wasn’t, to my knowledge, advertised as being part of this), and I’m not really sure why. The execution was utterly bog-standard “nervous guy tries to get noticed by oblivious love interest” fare, just with a male rather than female love interest; indeed, had they changed Hiroshi’s gender to female, I don’t think more than one or two lines of dialogue in the entire episode would have had to be changed. Perhaps that’s the point. So yeah, don’t expect any in-depth analysis of gay relationships here. It isn’t without effective humor – I did legitimately chuckle at least two or three times during the episode – and I suppose if you’re looking for BL that’s more cute than sexy it might fly, but this feels like a very niche title.
Re:Zero s4
Note: This is advertising art rather than a screen shot, as virtually nothing in the trailers available so far was in episode 1.
Rating: 3.5
Season 4 resumes in the immediate aftermath of the battles in Watergate City of Priestella, with citizens literally picking up the pieces as Subaru and crew plot their next moves. With no one able to remember Julius but Subaru and Julius and the captured Sins unlikely to be cooperative, Subaru sets of with Emilia, Beatrice, Anastasia, and Julius to seek out a legendary Sage, one whom even Reinhard has previously failed to reach. Along the way they stop by Roswaal’s mansion to pick up the comatose Rem to take along and learn a startling, previously unhinted-at secret about one of their members.
This is a fairly ordinary arc set-up episode by franchise standards, one which allows a lot of cameos and ties up at least one loose end (i.e., concerning Garfiel’s mother). On the plus side, Beatrice is back in action and there’s a fairly major fresh twist involving one long-established character, though I don’t see this particular twist having a big impact on the overall story. Nothing is particularly standing out yet about the upcoming campaign, but the franchise’s arcs have always tended to be slow starters, so there’s no real concern yet.
The Drops of God
Rating: 1.5 (of 5)
Melodrama has come to the world of wine! In this adaptation of a 2000s/2010s manga, Shizuku Kanzaki is the son of a legendary wine expert, but he hardly followed in his father’s footsteps; indeed, he’s never drunk wine. He does have a very keen nose, though, and that’s going to be important when his father dies, he learns that he has an adopted brother, and there’s going to be a wine-related contest between them for his father’s very rich legacy, per his father’s will. At least he’s found a cute female apprentice sommelier to hook up with.
Frankly, I lost track of how many times I rolled my eyes over how ridiculously corny this debut was. It’s got an almost comically odious opponent for Shizuku in the recently-adopted brother, a dying request that seems pointlessly overcomplicated, and an almost supernatural ability which will help Shizuku overcome a challenge that he should be at a gross disadvantage for, to the point that I have to wonder about the father’s motives. At least the token young woman is pretty enough to be a worthy future love interest. Don’t see much of a Western audience for this one.
Witch Hat Atelier
Rating: 4.5 (of 5)
Village girl Coco has dreamed of being a witch ever since one sold her a supposedly-magical coloring book and wand as a little girl, but in her world, only those born to be witches can become one – or so she’s told, anyway. She still pines for magic even as she gets older and can’t resist a chance to observe a male witch who happens to be visiting her village when some magical repairs are need. From that she learns an unexpected truth about magic in her world, and that does eventually lead to her becoming an trainee under the witch Qifrey, where she will live and learn magic among a few peers. It just doesn’t happen in the way she expected or wanted.
This adaptation of a highly-regarded manga is one of the most-anticipated titles of the new season, and its two-episode preview here shows that every bit of the hype is warranted. This is by far the best-looking and best-animated debut of the five titles previewed this night, including a wonderful degree of setting detail in its novel internal and external architectural designs, and that’s far from the only thing this series has going for it. Plucky Coco may not quite be in the league of a Momo or Frieren, but she’s still a young heroine worth rooting for, and the magical system used in this setting is fascinating. The story also finds a couple of opportunities to be flashy and even establishes a solid emotional core to push Coco forward even in the face of adversity. The second episode isn’t quite as strong as the first, but together they should draw in and secure hordes of viewers. I fully expect this to be the most popular new title of the season, and it will be deserving.
That’s it for now. Watch for much more in the Spring ’26 Preview Guide, due to start in a couple of weeks.
USA Anime 