A Mountain of Anime Updates Landed Over the Festive Season

The Yuletide season present a plethora of pastimes far superior than scanning the headlines: unwrapping gifts, indulging in delicious food, and harnessing meditation skills to avoid yelling at relatives. Hopefully you managed to do all these things and more. However, the showbiz industry doesn't take a break, and this is particularly true for the realm of anime. Many noteworthy news items came out during the holidays, and just in case you overlooked any, here is a roundup of the biggest bits.

One-Punch Man Season 3 Is Set to Continue (In 2027)

Perhaps the biggest announcement, the widely-criticized controversial season that was the third season of One-Punch Man failed to deter further production. The show will return with a follow-up batch of episodes in 2027—such a distant date they easily could have called it season 4. Even more shocking, the studio J.C. Staff will continue to be leading the project. At least this time, helmer Shinpei Nagai is set to direct from the start, which could be taken as a good sign. But, the key visual for the continuation is a mirror of the one used for season 3, just with protagonists Saitama and Garou oriented differently. This makes me think that, nowadays, they are probably trolling the fans.

The Ruri Dragon Series Will Be the Premiere Shonen Jump Anime By Kyoto Animation

Kyoto Animation has forged a reputation for being an top-tier animation studio, making its mark not just for the high caliber of its productions but for the fair treatment of its employees—a uncommon practice in the industry. Curiously, until now, it had not produced an anime based on a manga from Shonen Jump, arguably the most famous magazine in the field. Ruri Dragon will break that tradition, and what a great choice it is. The manga by Masaoki Shindo achieved a huge following when it launched in 2022 after just a few chapters, but then went into a lengthy break due to the mangaka's health issues. When it came back with a lighter schedule, the series showed it maintained the fans' appreciation and goodwill, and now fans are thrilled about the forthcoming KyoAni adaptation.

Kingdom Its Sixth Season Will Get a Sequel In Production

Kingdom is the top-selling, long-running Shueisha manga that is aside from One Piece. If you've never heard of it before, it's because it only fairly recently obtained an English localization, but the anime has been running for a while, and its sixth season was a further stellar entry. As it happens that was just the first cour, because a "sequel" has been revealed as currently being made, and it will very likely debut in 2026.

Science Saru Is Adapting A Witch in Mongolia To Anime

Another studio famous for the excellent quality of its work, Science Saru has brought us masterpieces of the ilk of Space Dandy, Devilman Crybaby, and, most recently, Dandadan. This time, the studio will be producing the adaptation of Tomato Soup's manga A Witch's Life in Mongol, inspired by the true story of Fatima, an prominent woman and thinker in the Mongol Empire in the 13th century. Judging from the trailer, the anime named Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia will have a truly original and captivating visual style, which evokes Ranking of Kings. Debuting in July 2026, this one will absolutely be on my must-watch list.

Tougen Anki Will Return With a Second Season

Shortly after the conclusion of the final episode of the first season, it was confirmed that Tougen Anki will be getting a second season. Inspired by the Japanese legend of Momotaro, Tougen Anki is based on the manga by Yura Urushibara. The upcoming season of the anime will delve into the Nikko Kegon Falls Arc, but a concrete air date has yet to be revealed.