Anime Expo 2026 is officially in the history books, and between the crowds so large the fire marshals had to briefly stop allowing people inside the Los Angeles Convention Center, the massive lines, the chicken protests, and the police descending on a midnight mahjong gathering, there were some pretty big announcements. New series like The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All got attendees hyped, the premiere of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 filled the Crypto.com arena—that’s the Los Angeles Lakers’ home venue, if you need a reference for how big it is—and delusional Persona 4 fans (hi, hello, that’s me) got their hopes up for an announcement of Yosuke being romanceable in the new Revival remake, which obviously didn’t happen (it’s never going to happen, we need to accept it and move on), but we did learn that animation studio Mappa will be producing all the in-game cutscenes, which is a decent consolation prize. Here are all the biggest announcements from Anime Expo 2026.
Thursday, July 2
A quiet-ish day to ease fans into the convention. Manga Mavericks, Square Enix Manga and Books, Kodansha, BluPetal, and Ink Pop all debuted new manga translations, and a few early trailer debuts get out ahead of the peak Friday crush
The Apothecary Diaries Movie Debuts First Trailer
No, we still don’t know the official English translation for the subtitle of the first Apothecary Diaries movie, but we did get to see a very intriguing trailer. We also learned that the film will be released on December 11, 2026, in Japan. No word yet on an international release date
Witch Hat Atelier: Special Stories Gets English Physical Release from Kodansha
The three prose side stories in this collection written by Jun Esaka and created supervised by original author Kamome Shirahama are a good way to tide you over if you just finished Witch Hat Atelier season one and don’t know how to fill the cozy, witchy hole in your life. According to Kodansha’s description, “Between Olruggio stumbling upon a mysterious magical creature, the apprentices tending to a silver dragon, and the Knights Moralis going undercover, adventure abounds on every page!”
Star Wars: Visions Presents — The Ninth Jedi Drops First Trailer
The most refreshingly original piece of Star Wars media since Andor comes out swinging with a badass first trailer
Friday, July 3
All hell breaks loose. This is the day fire marshals showed up and briefly prevented people from entering the convention because the venue was at capacity. The lucky (?) people inside and the folks watching the chaos unfold from the comfort of their couches learn that Crunchyroll brings some big announcements to its flagship panel, Witch Hat Atelier season two debuts a new trailer even though season one just ended a mere two weeks ago, and Netflix swears things are going to be different this time with the release of parts two and three of Steel Ball Run: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. io9’s intrepid reporter Isaiah Colbert braves the crowds and scores a floor seat for the premiere of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2.
The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All Anime Announced
The fact thatThe Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All managed to license Nirvana’s “Breed” for its opening theme song should give you a good idea of just how much animation studio CloverWorks and Crunchyroll are investing in this new anime. They’re betting big on this series about a girl who starts flirting with the guy who works at her local record store, not realizing the guy is actually her female classmate. More queer anime series are always welcome, and this one looks particularly good.
Witch Hat Atelier Wastes No Time in Releasing a Season Two Trailer
The internet’s favorite young witch might be in trouble in Witch Hat Atelier season two
Solo Leveling Levels Up from the Small Screen to the Big Screen
Crunchyroll didn’t say much about Solo Leveling: Beyond the System—no release date, trailer, or plot details—but even still, it might have been the biggest news of the day. In a press release, the company said “Solo Leveling: Beyond the System will be a direct continuation of the series, picking up following the events of Season 2 (Arise From the Shadows).” Insightful! We’ll be seated on opening day
Netflix Would Like to Assure You That It Learned Its Lesson with Steel Ball Run: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Stage One
No more dropping one episode and then ghosting for weeks: Netflix is bringing back JoJo Fridays with Steel Ball Run. Stages two and three will air all 11 episodes consecutively with episodes dropping weekly beginning on September 25
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle Finally Comes to Streaming
If you didn’t catch Infinity Castle in theaters last September, you’ve been out of luck for the past 10 months. It’ll finally be available to stream on Crunchyroll on July 28. They even provided a release time because they know how impatiently we’ve all been waiting: you can cue it up starting at 8:00 a.m. PT/11 a.m. ET
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 First Episode Premieres
The acclaimed anime’s surprise return is well-received by pretty much everyone, including io9’s Isaiah Colbert
Saturday, July 4
No one wants to compete with America’s birthday for headline space. The convention starts to wind down and everyone flips out about the new Delicious in Dungeon season two release window
Black Clover Season Two Gets Another Trailer
This is the third trailer for Black Clover season two, but it’s still making waves because it’s been five years since season one. We’ll take any new content we can get at this point. Black Clover season two is set to debut in October 2026
The Ghost in the Shell Reveals Opening Theme in New Trailer
“Go Ghost” by King Gnu will open the new anime adaptation of The Ghost in the Shell, which premieres July 7 on Prime Video
We’re Going Hungry Waiting for Delicious in Dungeon Season Two
Disappointing news for Delicious in Dungeon fans: the dungeon-crawling-slash-culinary anime won’t be back for season two until October 2027
Gurren Lagann Director and Screenwriter Re-Team for New Project
Director Hiroyuki Imaishi and screenwriter Kazuki Nakashima have a new project in the works from Studio Trigger. That’s it, that’s the whole news. No title, no description, no visuals. But the duo’s resume—Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill, and Promare—is enough to get us hyped anyway
Ninjas Fight Dinosaurs in the Upcoming Anime Jurassic Shadows
The only thing we need to know beyond “ninjas vs. dinosaurs” is: when will the immaculate vibes of Jurassic Shadows grace our television screens? Unfortunately, there’s no release date yet, but that trailer still looks cool as hell
Persona 4 Revival In-Game Cutscenes Will Be Animated by Studio Mappa
Lights, camera, MAPPA! 🎞️
All animation cutscenes in Persona 4 Revival will be produced by the renowned Japanese animation studio, @MAPPA_Info
Pre-order now: https://t.co/Zlk5fizBWXpic.twitter.com/bJKwD7oiIY
— Official ATLUS West (@Atlus_West) July 4, 2026
Mappa, the studio behind Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen, is lending a hand to the Persona 4 Golden remake and leveling up all the in-game cutscenes with their incredible animation skills
BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Final Part – The Calamity Gets a Final Trailer
Let’s be real: you’re probably already planning on watching the conclusion of BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War, but more teasers are always welcome. The new trailer complements the pre-convention news that the anime will stream on July 25 on Hulu
Sunday, July 5
Everyone goes home and HBO swoops in to get the final word of the convention
Strange: Junji Ito’s Tales for Sleepless Nights to Stream on HBO Max
Horror master Junji Ito gets a live-action adaptation of 13 of his stories. Strange: Junji Ito’s Tales for Sleepless Nights will hit HBO Max this fall
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who
