The exciting Summer 2026 anime season is almost here, which means fans need another list of exciting series and films to watch. As the Spring 2026 anime season draws to a close, the majority of the new series are ending their latest seasons. This includes major sequels and some of the most anticipated debuts, including Witch Hat Atelier and Wistoria: Wand and Sword Season 2. Since the new anime lineup will be releasing new weekly episodes, the wait can be quite overwhelming for viewers.
Luckily, Netflix‘s library is expanding by the day, and there are several exciting series and films fans can explore each month. July is the first month of the Summer 2026 anime season, but that doesn’t mean a lot of new series are coming to the platform. Regardless, the streaming giant has more than enough shows and films to keep you occupied for the whole month.
10) Blue Period
Released in 2021, this anime is praised for its thought-provoking themes and for exploring creative burnout. Despite garnering countless good reviews, the series hasn’t confirmed a sequel season yet. Regardless, the striking visuals and the complex themes make it worth your time. The anime stands out for portraying art as a demanding and vulnerable journey, often leading those pursuing it to doubt themselves. The story follows Yatora Yaguchi, an unmotivated, second-year high school delinquent.
Despite his excellent grades, he is uninterested in everything around him until he finds his true calling in life when he stares at the vibrant landscape painting of Shibuya. Inspired by the breathtaking art, Yatora picks up a paintbrush, hoping to convey his thoughts on a blank canvas. Before long, he begins his artistic journey, all the while facing the challenges that come with it. He strives toward his goal despite the roadblocks and soon decides to enter Tokyo University of the Arts, a highly competitive school that only accepts one in every two hundred applicants.
9) Blue Giant
Based on the award-winning manga written and illustrated by Shinichi Ishizuka, a film adaptation was released in 2023. It won the Best Music Award at the 47th Japan Academy Film Prizes the next year, eventually becoming one of the greatest anime films in recent years. This bittersweet anime follows Dai Miyamoto, who dreams of becoming the world’s best jazz saxophonist and moves to Tokyo in order to fulfill his dream. There, he meets Yukinori Sawabe at a small music club, who has been trained in classical music but accepts Dai’s offer after seeing his talent.
The duo then meets Shunji Tamada and forms a group named JASS, striking a chord in the hearts of everyone who hears their music. As the story continues, Dai keeps rushing full speed towards his goal of becoming the greatest jazz player in the world. The film might never return with a sequel since it has already adapted the manga up until the ending, with fast pacing and cutting off several scenes.
8) Kotaro Lives Alone
Despite having a melancholic undertone, Kotaro Lives Alone blends warmth and humor in the story. The story centers around a four-year-old boy, Kotaro Sato, who is completely independent and lives alone in a small apartment. He acts more mature than his age and handles all daily tasks, such as cooking and cleaning, all by himself. However, his overly independent behavior worries his neighbors, including Shin, a struggling manga artist who somehow ends up taking care of the boy.
As the story continues, Shin and the neighbors learn about his past and discover he has emotional trauma and suffered through child neglect. Although Kotaro puts on a brave face, he still longs for the warmth of family and gradually opens up to the people around him who show him kindness. It’s a thought-provoking yet emotional story of love and kindness that instills hope through its realism. Despite being one of the best anime on the platform, it has never returned with a second season even four years after its debut.
7) The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
Anime with pure nonsensical humor, like The Disastrous Life of Saiki K, with an engaging story, will always be fun to watch, no matter the season. The story revolves around Saiki Kusuo, a high school student with many powerful psychic abilities. He can use telepathy, psychometry (reading objects’ histories), telekinesis, X-ray vision, time travel, clairvoyance, and the list goes on. However, despite his extraordinary powers, Saiki just wants to live a peaceful and ordinary life, as he hates being the center of attention.
His abilities are a double-edged sword since he uses them to get out of dire situations. However, he also stays at risk of getting discovered. Even if Saiki tries to avoid people, he is surrounded by a colorful group of classmates who make his life chaotic. The series is episodic in nature as it navigates Saiki Kusuo’s disastrous life.
6) The Way of the Househusband
This wholesome comedy anime series is also episodic in nature, with each episode bringing a new set of hilarious events that challenge the protagonist’s ability to manage his house. The story follows Tatsu, a former yakuza who once went by the nickname “The Immortal Dragon,” before suddenly disappearing from the underworld. No one could have imagined that he would become a devoted stay-at-home husband to support his wife, Miku, a hardworking career woman.
Each episode follows his daily shenanigans as his intense yakuza mannerisms and attitude make even the simplest tasks feel like high-stakes operations. Despite his eccentricity, he is surprisingly good at household chores, cooking gourmet meals, keeping the house spotlessly clean, finding the best supermarket deals, and budgeting. Donning his adorable apron, Tatsu masterfully uses all his skills to manage his home.
5) Witch Watch
This heartwarming and hilarious anime is based on Kenta Shinohara’s Weekly Shonen Jump hit manga. The story centers around Morihito Otogi, who is secretly an ogre, an ancient race of beings produced after witches married their familiars. Since Morihito appears to be an ordinary high school boy, hiding his supernatural strength often lands him in trouble, even though he never has any intention to pick a fight with anyone. He reunites with his childhood friend, Nico Wakatsuki, a young witch who left the town and stayed in the Witches’ Holy Land to train for years.
Nico plans to do anything she can to claim Morihito as her familiar, unaware that her mother has secretly requested the Otogi family to keep her safe. Although reluctant to share a roof with the overenthusiastic Nico, Morihito accepts the suggestion after learning that her life is in grave danger. The story continues as Nico fits into human society again, while Morihito does everything in his power to keep her safe as they meet new allies along the way.
4) Vampire in the Garden
Series centering around vampires have endless possibilities, making each of them stand out in the crown. Vampire in the Garden is one of WIT Studio’s most underrated works, set in a world where the remaining humanity that survived the brutal war against the vampires lives in constant fear. Released in 2022, the series follows an original story with breathtaking animation. Humanity resides in a city surrounded by a wall of light to keep away their enemies and has even banned singing and music because of the vampires’ sensitive hearing.
The story follows Momo, a young soldier, who gets entangled with Fiine, the vampire queen, who has a different outlook on the brutal war than her subjects. The duo forms a special bond over their ideals and shared love for music as they desperately hope for both sides to coexist, even in a world ravaged by war.
3) Spy x Family
Based on Tatsuya Endo’s beloved Shonen Jump+ manga, Spy x Family returned with its Season 3 last year, so now is the perfect time to catch up on the series. The story centers around Twilight, the best spy in Westalis, who has been working day and night from the shadows to maintain the fragile peace with Ostania after a devastating war. His new mission, Operation Strix, requires him to get close to his target, Donovan Desmond, chairman of the National Unity Party of Ostania and a suspected warmonger.
However, Donovan is known for being a recluse, and he only attends social gatherings at the prestigious Eden Academy for his eldest son. Only parents of the Imperial Scholars are allowed access to the event, so Loid must create a fake family and achieve his goal, but relying on civilians is a lot harder than he thought. He adopts Anya and enters a fake marriage with Yor Briar, both hiding their own secrets.
2) Wind Breaker
Wind Breaker is one of the most acclaimed school action series on Crunchyroll, which also released a second season in 2025. However, although the first two seasons were released in two consecutive years, Season 3 hasn’t been confirmed yet. The anime was recently added to Netflix, following its massive success on Crunchyroll. The story centers around Haruka Sakura, a headstrong high school student who recently transferred to Furin High School.
Judged and ostracized for his unique hair and eye colors, Sakura was never able to find a place where he belonged. It didn’t take long for him to become a shut-in who is now unable to express his feelings. In middle school, he took small comfort in fighting others and moved to another town in hopes of making a fresh start and climbing to the top. However, he didn’t expect that the group of delinquents at Furin High School he looked up to was actually protecting the town by using their fists.
1) Gintama
The hit Weekly Shonen Jump manga by Hideaki Sorachi debuted in 2003 before releasing an anime adaptation by Sunrise in 2026. Gintama blends a complex story with nonsensical comedy and lovable main characters. As a parody series, it’s also famous for being a love letter to Shonen, as it includes several series’ appreciations, which is why it’s incredibly rewarding for veteran fans. The anime was added to Netflix in July this year, and the platform keeps adding the episodes in batches every few months.
This chaotic story is set in an alternate Edo-period Japan, where the country has been conquered by aliens, the Amanto, marking the end of the era of samurai. In these trying times, Gintoki Sakata, a former samurai, carries a wooden sword with him and does odd jobs to make ends meet. Along with Shinpachi Shimura, the son of a samurai, Kagura, a member of the legendary Yato tribe from space, and her pet Sadaharu, Gintoki always lands himself in all kinds of trouble, no matter what jobs he takes.
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