Early July marks the start of the summer anime slate, and Anime Expo 2026 has kicked the excitement into high gear. Held from 2 to 5 July, the annual celebration of Japanese pop culture in Los Angeles had plenty to show, including trailer debuts, release date announcements, and special screenings of upcoming titles, offering a look at what’s to come for the rest of the year and beyond.
Where some of these reveals were expected, others came as a surprise treat. Several non-anime works, such as South Korean web series Alien Stage, yuri manga The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All, and Ghost of Tsushima, are getting anime adaptations, while JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Star Wars: Visions, Witch Hat Atelier, Bleach, Delicious in Dungeon, and more have sequels lined up. Elsewhere, The Ghost in the Shell, a Magic Knight Rayearth reboot, and a new Neon Genesis Evangelion series will breathe new life into beloved classics.
Here are the biggest highlights and updates of Anime Expo 2026, listed in alphabetical order.
Black Clover Season 2 Main Trailer
Marking an end to a five-year hiatus, the second season of Black Clover is set to deliver an action-packed time. Following the premiere of its pilot episode at Anime Expo 2026, a fresh trailer previewed the opening song, “Kienai Riyuu (The Reason That Won’t Disappear)” by rock band WANIMA, while a special illustration from creator Yuki Tabata serves to celebrate its return this October.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Arc Final Trailer
Ahead of its premiere on 25 July, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Final Part – The Calamity has dropped a final trailer featuring iconic scenes from the source material and climactic battle moments, set against the backdrop of singer-songwriter jo0ji’s opening theme “I-BULL” and “Rasen (Spiral)”, the ending song performed by 9Lana. Separately, the upcoming BLEACH Mirrors High mobile game, depicting the events after the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc, is accepting closed beta test applications, with series creator Tite Kubo showing off two new character designs.
Delicious in Dungeon Season 2 Sets Release Date
It’ll be some time before fans can feast their eyes on monster dishes. In place of a trailer, Studio Trigger released an “ultra teaser visual” confirming an October 2027 debut, three years after the first season aired. No synopsis was shared either, but the main party of Senshi, Laios, Marcille, Chilchuck, and Izutsumi will all return to the small screen, alongside the chimera form of Falin and a…familiar face for manga readers.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 3 New Visual
Macht of Golden Land continues to be the poster boy (demon?) for the Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 3. In addition to a new key visual, the anime’s panel also confirmed the main staff working on the forthcoming season, led by director Tomoya Kitagawa at Madhouse: Daiki Harashina (assistant director), Keiichiro Saito (director cooperation), Tomohiro Suzuki (series composition), Takase Maru and Keisuke Kojima (character design), and Evan Call (music). An October 2027 date has been set, as previously reported.
The Ghost in the Shell Reveals Opening Theme Song
Japanese quartet King Gnu is no stranger to performing anime opening songs, and they are back with a snippet of their latest music for The Ghost in the Shell. Titled “Go Ghost,” it joins Millennium Parade’s ending theme “Blue,” featuring Canadian-Japanese artist Saya Gray and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Daniel Caesar, in delivering the scoring touch. Science Saru’s reboot of the sci-fi classic boots up on 7 July.
Ghost of Tsushima: Legends Character Poster Set
Before Ghost of Tsushima: Legends slashes its way to a 2027 debut, the anime adaptation based on Sucker Punch Productions’ action-adventure game has unveiled a new set of character visuals, confirming Takashi Okazaki (Batman Ninja) as its character designer. Takanobu Mizuno (Star Wars: Visions) is directing at studio Kamikaze Douga, with Gen Urobuchi writing the story composition and co-writing the script with Renji Oki.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run Locks In September Return
More horsing action — in more ways than one — will soon be unleashed, as JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run gears up for the 2nd stage on 25 September. Alongside scenes from both stages of the race, fans can also look forward to new characters in the highly anticipated outing, including Mountain Tim (voiced by Tomoaki Maeno in the Japanese dub), Funny Valentine (Tomokazu Sugita), and Hot Pants (Yoko Hikasa).
Jurassic Shadows
Riddle us this — who would emerge victorious in a showdown between ninjas and dinosaurs? That’s the premise of Jurassic Shadows, the upcoming original anime from The Apothecary Diaries director Norihiro Naganuma, which also touts the “unexpected modern element of kesho (make-up)”. Naganuma’s first foray into a full action series has no release date yet, but it will reunite him with many key staff from The Apothecary Diaries. A manga serialisation is currently in production.
On the note of the mystery drama series, its first anime film is now slated for theatrical release on 11 December and will introduce a new character voiced by Mariya Ise (Hunter x Hunter, Chainsaw Man). Set between the second and third anime seasons, the original storyline follows Jinshi and Maomao as they unravel the mysterious death of a mid-ranking concubine five years ago.
Yoko Taro’s New Evangelion Series Gets First English Trailer
It’s been decades since Neon Genesis Evangelion first came into existence, but that isn’t stopping Shinji from getting into the robot over and over again. A new instalment was previously announced to be in the works at CloverWorks and Studio Khara, with NieR creator Yoko Taro joining director Kazyua Tsurumaki as scriptwriter and series composer, and the official English translation for its Japanese trailer has dropped. Additional details, including a release date and story specifics, remain under lock and key, however.
Persona 4 Revival Gets Animated Scenes By MAPPA
With credits on anime juggernauts such as Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, and Attack on Titan Final Season, MAPPA has established itself as a creative powerhouse, and Persona 4 Revival is next to receive the magic touch. In an X/Twitter post teasing the protagonist’s awakening, Atlus announced that all animated cutscenes in its upcoming remake will be produced by the renowned studio, while a separate character sizzle trailer confirms Abby Trott — best known as Nezuko Kamado in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — as the English voice of Rise Kujikawa.
Solo Leveling: Beyond the System Anime Movie
Let the levelling up begin! After a wildly popular two-season run on the small screen, Solo Leveling: Beyond the System is bringing the next chapter of Sung Jinwoo’s S-Rank adventures to theatres. While a synopsis was not disclosed, fans were treated to a concept video and a teaser key visual of the project, which will pick up after the events of Season 2. A1-Pictures is returning to helm the animation, and Crunchyroll will co-produce alongside Aniplex, Netmarble, D&C Media and Kakao Piccoma.
New Studio Trigger Project
A three-time collaboration isn’t enough for Hiroyuki Imaishi and Kazuki Nakashima. Following their previous stints on Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill and Promare, the pair surprised the Anime Expo 2026 crowd with an upcoming project in the works at Studio Trigger, although additional details, including format, story specifics, and a release date, were not shared.
The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All Anime Scores Nirvana For Opening Song
Love is in the air! The teaser for The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All, shortened to “Green Yuri” by its fandom, has set the stage for sparks to fly between main couple Mitsuki Koga and Aya Osawa, voiced by Mariya Ise and Akari Kito, respectively. In a fitting reveal, Nirvana’s “Breed” will serve as the opening song, and Masashi Ishihama is tapped to direct the series at CloverWorks. Rounding out the initial staff roster are series composer Rino Yamasaki and character designer Kanna Hirayama, and further announcements are expected leading up to the anime’s January 2027 premiere.
Witch Hat Atelier Season 2 Trailer
The first season of Witch Hat Atelier ate in more ways than one, and Season 2 looks to raise the stakes. Less than a week after confirmation of a new season, the fantasy anime hit has unveiled an “ultra teaser trailer” hinting at a darker tone (as manga readers would know). There’s no update on a release date, but Japanese voice actors Rena Motomura and Natsuki Hanae will likely reprise their roles as Coco and Qifrey when it eventually arrives.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
