Here’s What I’m Watching From Crunchyroll’s Spring 2026 Season

Thirty-plus new shows hit Crunchyroll in Spring 2026, and the hard part isn’t finding anime, it’s choosing what’s actually worth your time. I’m Sean, and I’m walking you through the lineup with a watcher’s mindset: what looks genuinely exciting, what feels overhyped, and what belongs on a realistic weekly watch list you can keep up with.

We start with the big season patterns I’m seeing across the Crunchyroll spring anime season, including a strong mix of isekai, school-life stories, and a growing streak of suspense that feels closer to psychological thriller and “game” tension than standard action. From there, I get specific about the sequels I’m most excited to watch: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 4, ReZero Starting Life in Another World Season 4, and Classroom of the Elite Season 4 (Second Year, First Semester). Each one delivers a different flavor of stakes, from Rimuru’s diplomacy and nation-building, to Subaru’s brutal reset-driven survival, to Ayanokoji’s cold strategy and classroom politics.

I also call out a couple hidden gems that might fly under the radar at first, especially Witch Hat Atelier and Wistoria Wand And Sword Season 2. If you love finding the sleeper hit before it’s everywhere, these are the shows to put on your radar now.

Want to watch along with me? Check the episode description for my free public anime watch list, then subscribe, leave a review, and share the show with a friend.

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Transcript

 Hype Intro And Guest 

📍 Hey hey heyyy! Welcome to Second Emulation! Okay, stop everything—you have officially hit the jackpot today, because I am handing you over to my ridiculously awesome friend, Shawn. Seriously. This guy? Movies, anime, gaming—he’s like a walking, talking encyclopedia of awesome, and his opinions? Chef’s kiss. Talking to him is basically a VIP pass to the fun zone. So grab your coziest blanket, pour yourself something fancy (kombucha? latte? spicy water? no judgment), because Shawn is about to take you on a WILD journey. Ooooh, love that for you. Here he issss! 

Hey, everyone. Spring Lineup Overview Welcome back to Second Animation, the show where we dive deep into the latest anime news, reviews. I'm Shawn, your host, and today we're gonna be talking about Crunchyroll's lineup for spring anime season. Plus, I'll be sharing my anime list, watch list, so you can follow along with me and watch these shows. Stick around as I break down the most exciting new shows, hidden gems, and what you should be adding to your watch list. This season, Crunchyroll's bringing us 30-plus new anime, including some anticipated sequels, exciting new originals, and hidden gems you won't want to miss. So let's dive into it. Season Trends And Genres Trends this season, we're seeing a lot of a mixture of isekais and school life, a little bit of thriller, you know, shows that we're seeing coming back, so slice of life and suspense. And of- a little bit of, um, battle royale or, It's hard to say what the games are, but kind of like a mixture of, like, Hunger Games that thriller mindset. We're seeing this, like, new trend of those type of games. An anime that comes to mind is, I think, is the Od- Todachi Game which is an anime that was debut a couple seasons back where not too many animes that I've, over the seasons, have followed that blueprint. But there has been an anime like that, like Death Parade, which was something of a similar caliber. And then there's a new recent anime that's come along, which we've been noticing the trend of. So there has been a pivotal shift. You know, we're still getting some isekais. There are some romance, slice of life, school girl- school-type animes, and we're starting to slowly see some, sports animes pull up as we get into the spring and summer with the most recent end of My Hero Academia. Most Anticipated Sequels The most anticipated shows, I think what I, what's for me I'm more excited for is season four of, uh, the That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, and then Re:Zero starting Life in Another World, Season 4. Classroom of Elite, Season four, second year, first semester. These, I feel, are what I'm more anticipated for because these were shows that I were watching throughout the season that I got really hooked on. So those who don't know uh, R-Zero or Re-Zero was a, a very unique isekai where I wanna say it's a reincarnation themed one, but you-- it's a do-over. The main character is-- gets killed. He gets a reset button every time he dies, and so it's-- it plays on that a little bit. I don't wanna get too much into it, but that's one I really like. And of course Classroom of the Elite, I really got into on the first season and slowly started going through the manga. And I really like this one too because it's not really s- so much of like, the action, but more so of like the psychological mind games and politics of just what goes into the classroom. The stuff that you don't normally see that you would find interesting in an anime. And of course, I Got Reincarnated Into a Slime. This one is a-- I like, um, even though it is an isekai and in re-reincarnation. This one, a lot of people kinda shit on isekais because of just what they are and some of like the, the themes and the fan service. But I feel like this specific one does have certain story elements that kind of set it apart, which we'll get into. Slime Season 4 Breakdown So first up, let's talk about That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Season 4. The story follows Demon Lord Rimuru dreaming-- dreams of creating an alliance between humans and monsters takes a step closer to being realized. As the Tempest continues to proper- prosper and Granville Roso and his granddaughter, Maribel Roso, clash with Demon Lord Rimuru over their plan to protect mankind by ruling over them. Meanwhile, in the El Dorado, Demon Lord Leon works towards towards a goal of his own awakening of a new hero draws near what makes this one stands out is it just continues from the tension and seeds from the previous season because i feel like there was a lot of questions and unanswered questions is the direction i want to go that was like laid out Because what we don't know in the series so far is that we know that there are individuals who can be reincarnated into this world that retain their memory from a regular world who can do magic. 

Now, what we don't know is that within this world, when you get reincarnated, you normally retain your body. But apparently for the slime, he did not. He was reincarnated as another creature, a monster. So but what we're noticing is that everything that has happened from the first season, like the path that Rimuru has gone on, you know, all the things that has led up to this point. We thought that it was the church. You know, they were the antagonist from the beginning, though they were just one part of a bigger machine and there and that there was someone else actually pulling the strings in the shadow. And so we kind of got this big reveal as the audience of who that major player is. And it's this Maribel who also has a skill. And so with that, it's like we were led to assume that the demon lords were like the most powerful threat. And I guess, you know, there's like this shadow government that no one knows about that even Rimuru doesn't know about. So I'm interesting to see how things play out where his group, his nation is growing. They're introducing things from his world, you know, from Japan, like modern technology, a rail system, irrigation, all these things and modernizing their world with technology and how that's going to clash with, this other group that wants to profit, you know, wants to control the money and things of that nature. So. I do like that, it's slowly starting to pick up and build steam and he's getting more allies, as he's progressing forward. And yes, there's still some fan service, but I do like that it's not, the character is written in a way that he, he understands that he is, powerful, that, you know, he has power and that he could intimidate people with strength. But at the same time, he feels that it's necessary to take a different approach, a diplomatic approach because it will work better for them in the long run, even though everyone else w- assumes that because of his title as Demon Lord, that he would just, do intimidation and power and just show destruction regardless. So he, he chooses the, the lesser path knowing, a different path, knowing it will be much more difficult for them. But because it's difficult, it allows him, in his mind, to show people that, you know, the, the monsters that they are, that, you know, they are accepting, that they're trying to be better, they're trying to evolve and adapt and, you know, coexist with people. So I like it. And, you know, the fact that it's all common knowledge now that we all know up in, prior to the season that he has died, he's from another world, so that knowledge is now common, and he's told everyone that. And his, his close, only those who are in his inner circle know that, and they've accepted that. They know that he was once human, and they've accepted that. So I thought that was pretty cool. And so I'm just eager to see how this new type of drama, works going forward, like more of like the governmental politics and policies. We might see some action 'cause the, the last season was more like Creating a dungeon the dungeons that we saw in last season were almost like the 3D 3D rooms that we see now where you can put on the headgear, uh, and kinda like, guns, things like that. Or escape rooms, almost like 3D art, 3D escape rooms, action escape rooms. So almost like that. So I'm excited to see how the story's gonna progress going forward. ReZero Season 4 Breakdown Next we have ReZero, Starting a Life in Another World, Season 4. The story follows 10, the deadly battle at the Watergate City of Pristella. Subaru and his allies barely emerge victorious, but their triumphant came at a great cost. Through the authority of the Glanny, Rem was put into suspended animation, while Quirt's memories and even Julius's name were devoured. As he searches for a way to save them, Subaru learns of the wise man, Shala, an all-seeing being said to possess every form of knowledge. His next destination is the Palat's Watchtower, home to the wise man, the farthest tower standing in the vast uncharted desert known as the Argria Dunes, a place so perilous that even the mightiest sword saint, Renard, failed to conquer it. The fury of nature, unknown magical beasts, and the unimaginable dangers lie ahead. This series has just been, like, it's been fucking crazy. Like, when you think you know what's going to happen, this show has kept me on my, on the edge of my seat because I've been going into this, into this series viewing it with prior knowledge of just, prior knowledge of just, of just anime genres I've watched, expecting like, "Oh, I know what's gonna happen," just based on prior knowledge of series I've watched. And it just throws me for a loop because what they do is they, they just take everything and they flip it on its head. And I think the way that they're able to do that is that the main character can die.

 I think, and it's clearly displayed throughout the first three seasons, is that because he's able to come back or reverse back, like redo his time up to, you know, X amount, like period, like a restart It allows them for a lot of wiggle room. And it's fucking crazy is that it puts you on edge multiple times because the fact that it allows you to do, allows them to do that multiple times, he's able to reset, you know, and provide knowledge to his, his friends, in, in, in different animes, the main character, besides Goku, and now the, the main MC, you know, doesn't get killed off. There, there's always a way to bring them back. But you don't kill them off. They're like, they're the MC. So the fact that we have an anime like this where you can kill off an MC like this in multiple ways, but not just kill them off, but like you... It was seen as detrimental, but now it's seen as a benefit because him dying, all that knowledge he gains up until that death, he now can provide and utilize, which makes it much more, I think, better. Which is crazy. So like, I think that in itself makes this anime, I think, up there with, you know, JJK. Even though some people might disregard that because they're not gonna put this up there with JJK or Demon Slayer. I think this in itself, in a weird way, needs to be slide up there because just how this anime just finds way... I mean, it's still pretty graphic and hordes. Just like how they're able to utilize just that in itself as storytelling and progressive, progressing the story, chef's kiss. Ev- even people that I've talked to who watch it, like they don't know what's going on. Like they'll watch it and, just when you think it's safe, it happens and you're like, "Oh shit what the fuck?" Like Subaru hasn't died yet. And then, and once you think it's safe, boom, they get you. And you, you kind of like run out of ideas of like how many times, like intricate ways for him to get murked. And so it's just, it's interesting to see because, I mean, it's, again, it's, I didn't think I was gonna like this series. I was like, "Oh man, this guy is Like the first season, I just thought like, man, this guy has the worst luck. They're just abusing him left and right. And then as I watched more of it, I was like, "Oh, shit, this guy, this character he's seeing it as a flaw or as a curse, or like someone has something against him." But he has a way to obtain infor- like he has a gift. Like he's able to obtain, retain knowledge. He's able to reset every time and do it ev- do it better. And there was another anime I know that kinda had something similar, but they didn't do it in the way like this. And so I, I don't think it, it lasted very long. But I do like the character deve- the character development for Subaru because he wasn't a likable character in the beginning. He was, in the beginning, someone who was brash and annoying, someone who was seen as weak and just a nuisance. And now, Season 4, he really worked as someone t- to be an ally, someone who's a confidant and reliable. The core of his group now trust him. He wasn't like that in the beginning. He was someone that was treated like dog shit in the beginning. Like they, they treated him less than. And now watching and seeing how he's valuable, they take his, you know, advice and guidance as to be respected. He's come a long way and I, I like how they're now treating him in the series. You, you know, and even when a death, like his death does happen, that even though you know, like, if he does die he's gonna be able to restart. But when it happens, you can generally see the reaction and compassion and the loss and grief that the characters feel for him when it happens. Like they generally care. That's not something that the, they do for anyone. Like he's, like he's a part of them, like part of their, he's built a genuine connection. So I'm excited for this series because he was taking lumps- First three season. They he was put through the meat grinder for like I think the first two seasons, and I think the third season was just, he was just, you know, they put him through hell. But I'm, I'm excited for the fourth. Haven't watched the season yet, but I'm excited because I, I want him to do great things. And, you know, just seeing that it was back got me excited. And so I'm really, really excited for the season 'cause, I heard that, just that battle prior to seeing it was fucking crazy. And then just seeing that, they, the bar was raised higher for this season, I, I'm all for it. So hopefully people are excited for this as I am. And, this spring anime fans are eating good. I know with the, you know, with My Hero Academia has ended, people are like, you know, "What's gonna fill the void for anime?" You know, we're, you know, we're gonna have to like, you know, pick up the pieces, tr- try to find that good kinda anime that's gonna take up our time until we get into the summer. But I feel like, you know, what I'm seeing now is that we're getting some good anime that, that's gonna pick up the pieces from, fill out that void of My Hero Academia, ending. There are just some good ones. You just gotta find your niche or that genre that you're, you know, you're looking for. But, you know, there, there are good anime out there. Classroom Of Elite Season 4 Finally, let's talk about Classroom Of The Elite season four, second year, first semester. This is a psychological slice of life high school. It follows An Higo Koji and his classmates begin their second year at the Advanced Nurturing High School. They're greeted by freshmen, by a fresh gauntlet of exam and a fresh batch of rather unique first-year students. They'll have to get to know each other quickly because this first special exam of pair first years with the second year on written test. With only the second years facing expulsions if their team performs poorly. Worse yet, it seems one of the first year is also from the white room. Can Aji Koji avoid expulsion while sussing out the identity of the hidden foe? Now, this was one that I was waiting for after season three. I know that season three they announced that they, you know, they were doing season four. And I've been really looking forward to it. Now, after that, like really looking forward to this anime because I kinda like, I kinda like the politics of the classroom. I kinda like how this whole system comes up. I do like Anekoji, Anekoji just like being the mastermind and then everything he did for the prior season, and just being this cold, heartless person that just d- wants to be left alone. And so him being excelled in like class D, classroom D, now C. But I do like that they're, raising the bar, giving him more challenges, actually just challenging everyone, and just seeing how far he can take it. I'll be honest, after watching like the first, what is it, three seasons, I feel like the only peop- the only one that's really not struggling, who's just, having a walk in the park is Anekoji, to be honest. I think from what I've seen the first, season one, two, and three, I think from what we saw, he is even faking, you know, the act of struggling. That is itself is an act. And the reason why I say that is that it's allowing him to fit in. If he were to, you know, excel and allow it not to be unfazed by anything, then it would put a target on him, immediately. I think allowing himself to, you know, pretend to fake it or pretend to struggle and fake struggling allows him to blend in. And I think someone said earlier I think it was a YouTube r- reviewer, said that he purposely got all the hard questions on a test right and got all the easy questions wrong Purposely to make sure that he, you know, the curve. So take that as you will, is that he struggles purposely. He, He does it on purpose to, make it seem that he's struggling, like for cover, and makes it feel like he's having a hard time purposely. So I do like that. From season one to two, he was helping out. I think three, he, you know, I think once they, he made it be known that he was whooping everyone's ass there's a target on him. I feel like now they gotta up the ante on trying to get him out. But the show, the anime itself is pretty good. I mean, I, I do like all the characters. There's some characters in there that, they could do without. Some are kind of annoying, but I think they're, you know, they're just sheep for the slaughter. And you can tell by Anekoji that, he just... They're all just pawns. I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop for like, for them to just be, once they outlive their purpose, he's gonna just like cast them aside. And that's kind of what you start to notice, is that by season, the end of season two into like season three-ish, is when you start to notice the, the minds. I mean, not to notice the minds, but you start to notice that he's putting things in place or he's already have things in place that, they're already, everyone's already a pawn. And that once they out use their usefulness is when he casts them aside. But they don't know that yet.

 And by the time they realize, you know, that's what they are, it's too late. And so I kinda like this whole mind games that even the ones who feel like they're in charge have been m- so manipulated to the point that they don't realize that every action that they've taken has been behest of his own doing, and they thought that they, it was, uh, their own free will So I do like this type of anime. And the reason I like it is because, it's not like, you know, the prior ones I've mentioned so far where it's action, fantasy. This is more like politics, in-school politics, you know, government, more like psychological thrillers. It does deal with like themes of high school, so things, we kinda had to dealt with back in high school days. Now, some of those stuff are, you know, is a little bit more harsher than, things that I probably encountered in high school. Which doesn't mean, like, none of that stuff's, still exists. It still does, but it's on like a different level because the school that they go to, I wanna say it's like maybe a prestige private school which does allow for something like this to happen. So I'm pretty excited. Last season what they had a whole fight happen where Ajakoji, fought a whole group of people, a whole group of students, whooped their asses, and none of them got expelled. But you were in a system where you could use points, so-- and no one-- there no one was reprimanded. Those individuals were still in school. It was things like that were to happen here, it just everyone-- there'd be consequences. Those are like-- There's a different set of rules in those-- that type of anime that don't play out here. So I, I kinda like the anime for itself 'cause it, it's, it's interesting to see like the dark twists in mind, the psychological of like what would people do, how far they would go to like protect themselves when push comes to shove. And then how for someone like Ajakoji, how far is he going to go? 'Cause he's already detached. He has no attachment to anyone, and people like the school, his classmates, you know, think he, he's attached to, you know. They try to have an emotional c-connection to him, and he's faking it, and to them it feels genuine. So it's a whole thing. But it's just interesting to see, which I like it, so I'm very excited to start this new season 'cause I'm, you know, interesting, interesting to see what direction the anime is going to go. Hidden Gems To Watch So I have a few hidden gems here. The first one is going to be one show that might fly under the radar this season, which You know, is a manga, is going to be Witch Hat Altier. Now, this one is, you know, an adaptation from a manga. I don't know too much about it, but the story follows Coco dreams of casting magic may become a reality after she uncovers a secret and becomes an apprentice. Now, that is a description of, from what Crunchyroll has for it. I'm excited to kind of like dive into this because there's not too many, witch magic type animes on Crunchyroll. They did have one earlier, Magic Muscle. Another one prior to that was kind of like a revenge anime about, you know, a guy killing off, you know, people for killing off witches. So they're looking for a good fantasy magic and witch type anime. So this one looks like just based on like the story and just the cover art, I feel like it might be worth checking out. And it also has a good manga run. So and then people online have been saying that it is a, you know, it's really good. So it has a good following. So I feel like that is going to be a really good jumping point. And if anything, you know, we might, you know, hopefully we're going to get like, you know, some, not just a one shot. We'll get multiple seasons of the anime, you know, going forward. So I'm excited for that. So put that on your watch list for I feel like this is going to blow up. I did see this at Sakura Con as a banner for that. And I saw, some merch for it. I do think that I didn't see any people who cosplayed these characters yet. But once this anime drops and, it has its run, I do think in the coming conventions going forward that we will be seeing a lot of cosplays for this since My Hero Academia ended. Solo Leveling has ended. I think JJK is about to end pretty soon. This is going to be This is going to be the new kind of like, um-- And then "Frieren" just ended too, season two. So this is gonna be the n- the anime that's gonna f- fill that, you know, that slot, and we're gonna see a lot of cosplays come out of this as well. So put this under your radar. I think this is gonna blow up It's gonna fill that niche, uh, that's gonna be left by "Frieren." My second hidden gem is going to be "Wisteria Wan and Sword" season two. The story's gonna be Will and his friends face new challenges and higher stakes in "Wisteria Wan" season two. This is actually a sequel. I think it's also gonna be a hidden gem. I seen season one, and that was really good, and I did like the animation for it. And season two is, uh, picking up right after season one, and I feel like not too many people are talking about this, just because it falls in that realm of, like, fantasy, where kinda the hero doesn't have, like, magic. He's a sword user and, I feel like it, this anime in itself, I thought was just going to be a one-shot and that was it. And it was surprising to see that it got a season two, so I'm pretty excited about this. So I feel like this is another one that should be everyone, on everyone's radar. It's a good story. Um, not cheesy at all. Good action. I think how they explain the magic the main care of the MCs progression, why he can't use magic, all the way up to where he's at now, very good. It's not like, many different story elements where the character's just strong 'cause he's strong. You know? They-- There is a backstory to that, so I do like that they kinda dive into that a bit over the sto- over the progress of, like, the first season. So this is another one I feel like, hasn't gotten much love, but I feel like the season two, you know, give it a chance. Season one did very well. I'm excited for season two. This one was, I feel like, is a sleeper. Season one was a sleeper. I saw a lot of reviewers watch it and, you know, this is one of those which I think also "Witch Hat Alter" are, are both are gonna be sleeper animes where no one, is gonna give it the time, and then once word of mouth, it starts to pick up, people are gonna be just talking about it everywhere. So I think this one's another one you're gonna have to pick up and put on your watch list. My Anime Watchlist Plug Now the introduction to my, My Anime Watchlist. So on, in my socials, on our website, you're gonna be able to click My Anime Watchlist where you'll be able to see the animes that I watch, which are gonna be from the seasonal lineup. So you'll be able to see the ones that I currently, you know, mentioned in this spring lineup from winter, from fall, and so forth. And you'll be able to watch along with me and see what episode I am on. We'll be able to post it in the, the episode description or if you, our social website will be in the description. If you click on that, it'll bring you to our website and you'll be able to see our My Anime Watchlist which will show you which episode, which animes we're watching, and you can follow along. It's free. If you-- You don't have to sign up for our web- You don't have to sign up for an account. You can just see what we're watching. And if you do happen, to sign up for an account, awesome. Uh, you can, you know, communicate with us on, you know, My Anime Watchlist. Um, it'd be nice, you know, to kinda share, you know, communicate with you guys. You know, you can give us, you know, some recommendations on the website if you like, or, you know, shoot us on our social, on our Instagram and Twitter accounts. So again, our watchlist is going to be on, uh, in the anime or in the podcast episode, which you'll be able to view in the description. And as I mentioned earlier, uh, the shows that we'll be watching this season are gonna be, uh, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime season four, Wisteria Wan and Sor season two Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- season four. I've also added, um, Witch Hat Atelier, uh, which I'm gonna be, um, watching. And then I also just last minute added Demons of the Shadow Realm, which I've just, just added to my watchlist as well. Season Wrap Up And Farewell I think overall spring season 2026 anime looks pretty promising. There are some returning animes and a handful of new ones. There's, uh, a lot to look forward to, whether you're into, slice of life, romance fantasy, action, isekai, sports. There's pretty much, you know, a little bit of everything for everyone. And so you don't have to be like, you know, hunkered down in, just like- deterred if something that you don't want's not there. There's pretty much anything for anyone. So I feel like, every new seasonal drop gets better every year, and it clearly shows this time. And then summer, when all the TV shows and streaming apps, don't have anything to show, we'll get another good, summer lineup. And then I'm assuming it's gonna be packed, and we'll do another episode, and I'm excited because anime fans, we've been eating good, for a very long time. So I'm very excited. And I wanna thank you for tuning into this episode of Second Emulation. If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends. You can also follow me on the website, which will have our social links for more anime recommendations, updates. Don't forget to check out my anime watch list, which will be in the episode description. And, you know, we can watch these shows together. And I'll catch you in the next one. Thank you, and have a great day Host Outro And Links 📍 Okay, wow, that was, like, so much fun! A total vibe. If you want to see any of the games we chatted about—like, the full visual experience—you can find all that on our YouTube. But honestly, the easiest way to find, like, everything we do—all of our links, this podcast, and a super simple way to just send us a message—is at our hub: ArcadeVeritas.com It's, like, our little home base for everything. So handy. Do us a favor? Just tap subscribe so you don't miss our next chat. And if you're feeling extra amazing, leaving a little review is, like, the sweetest thing ever. It just makes our whole community better. Thanks for hanging out with us! Remember: just take things one day at a time and find your joy. Okay, bye!