From supernatural action to mythic fantasy and sci-fi wildcards, the Spring 2026 animation season is filled with a bit of everything for fans to enjoy, and we got our picks on what to tune into!
This year, the streaming world has no shortage of animated works to dig into, which makes narrowing things down to what must be seen tough. What I chose to check out for the Spring 2026 animation season are based on what I will definitely check out because of the trailers made available. They do not include works which I’ve covered previously as they are standouts. As for the rest, these are somewhat seasonally filled to make the Easter long weekend just right.
A quick note: this list doesn’t include Witch Hat Atelier, which deserves its own spotlight rather than a slot in a seasonal roundup.
Agents of the Four Seasons: Dance of Spring
March 28, Crunchyroll
This one earns the “most literally Spring-themed release” award, and honestly, it wears that title well. Produced by WIT Studio, the series follows the Agents responsible for bringing the natural cycle back to the land, with the central focus on the return of the Agent of Spring after a decade-long disappearance.
WIT has a track record of making visually lush, emotionally grounded work, and a premise built around seasonal renewal feels like a natural fit for them. Whether the story lives up to that pedigree remains to be seen, but the setup alone has enough quiet intrigue to make this one worth checking in on early.
Ghost Concert: Missing Songs
April 5, Crunchyroll
Every season needs at least one wildcard, and without something paranormal in the mix, this list wouldn’t feel right. Ghost Concert: Missing Songs is that pick. A music-driven sci-fi project built around “song battles,” it feels like a spiritual cousin to Symphogear, but with a more experimental edge. It blends performance, narrative, and spectacle in a way that could either become a cult favourite or something far stranger, and that unpredictability is its own selling point.
There’s something genuinely refreshing about anime that doesn’t fit a clean genre box. The risk is that “experimental” can sometimes mean “incoherent,” but if the execution holds, this could be the sleeper pick of the season.
My Brother the Minotaur
Apple TV+, April 24
Cartoon Saloon can do no wrong, and this one is already fascinating on premise alone. The series draws from Greek legend, following a boy with obvious lineage as he tries to rediscover where he comes from.
Whether there’s any direct connection to Persephone and the return of warmer days is pure guesswork on my part, but knowing this studio’s instinct for finding the emotional core of mythology, a fresh retelling of Greek legend wouldn’t surprise me at all. The Minoan undertones feel seasonally appropriate regardless, and the cast alone, Brian Cox, Andy Serkis, and Michael Sheen, should say plenty about the kind of production this is shaping up to be.
Nippon Sangoku
April 5, Amazon Prime Video
This one takes the “Three Kingdoms” framework and transplants it into a fractured future Japan, reimagining the classic era as post-apocalyptic sci-fi. It’s a high-concept swing, one of history’s most retold narratives filtered through worldbuilding that sounds closer to the ragged wastelands of Trigun or Dorohedoro than anything traditionally historical.
The Amazon exclusivity puts it outside the Crunchyroll stack, but it’s worth flagging as a dark horse. Political intrigue and survival storytelling have long shelf lives, and grounding that in a recognizable historical structure gives it a narrative foundation that pure originals sometimes struggle to find.
Daemons of the Shadow Realm
April 4, Crunchyroll
BONES Studio is back with a supernatural action series, and this company’s track record earns immediate attention. The series centres on a pair of twins pulled into a conflict involving powerful supernatural entities, a premise that could go in a dozen different directions depending on execution.
This art house knows how to deliver in this space; Fullmetal Alchemist and Noragami are proof enough, and a twin-centred story opens up room for the kind of dynamic character work that makes the action land beyond just its fight choreography. Given the pedigree, this feels like one of the higher-profile bets of the season, and that seems earned.
Apple TV+’s The Sisters Grimm is a six-part fairy tale that blends danger and wonder. With Titmouse’s animation and Studio Ghibli-like heart, it lets children become the heroes in a world where belief shapes destiny.
Apple TV+ has delivered one of the most enchanting surprises of the season. The Sisters Grimm, adapted from Michael Buckley’s novels and animated by Titmouse, takes the frayed edges of fairy tales and makes them feel dangerous again. Though its formula feels familiar, that’s part of its charm—it carries a touch of Studio Ghibli’s wonder in the character dynamics.
The bond between Sabrina (Ariel Winter) and Daphne (Leah Newman) forms the show’s heart, and its central question—who chooses to believe, and why? They’re almost like Satsuke and Mei in My Neighbour Totoro. This series remembers what the Brothers Grimm once understood: the forest doesn’t merely hold stories—it creates them.
The reason Fountain of Youth is not playing at theatres may be because there’s no good weekend to have its debut. The filmmakers spent a lot of money on achieving authenticity, which is a shame given this busy blockbuster season.
On Apple TV Plus Spoiler Alert
The choice in which Skydance Media produced work to view over the weekend was tough. I could’ve gone to the theatres for the latest Mission Impossible or stayed at home for Fountain of Youth. The latter won me over because it has an archaeological idea which I believe, at the time of writing the screenplay, predicted the discovery at the Pyramids of Giza. If the real world claim of tunnels underneath from two years ago and last March is true, I’m wondering how many modern day seekers are going to find a way down those tunnels said to exist underneath! I won’t say how this connects with this story, as it’s a massive spoiler.
Here, Luke Purdue (John Krasinski) is on the quest for the fabled Mesoamerican landmark, which is the title of this movie. Unlike a certain Indiana Jones movie, the story unfolds in the present day and sees him running away from people trying to stop him from stealing artifacts that contain a clue to where the spring may lie. The result has a few entertaining chase sequences like those from the movie, National Treasure, but not quite hitting the high notes like when Indy returned in the fourth film, Dial of Destiny.
I’m glad the wait was not long to bring 10 Lives to North America. I knew about its UK debut and knew this was a movie I had to watch! This movie features a cat needing to learn how not to be selfish. Beckett (voiced by Mo Gilligan) has a lot to learn, and I’m glad he has a forever hope on Apple’s streaming service. I recommend it for all cat lovers and fans of Doctor Who too! He’s a cat who has more lives than he should, so I’m guessing he’s been granted an all new cycle like that Time Lord! And just like that BBC series, this kitty can keep his memories of everything that he experienced from his past “regenerations.”
At first, this street cat didn’t have any care for life, and just wanted to survive. But when, after nearly getting smashed by a car, Rose (Simone Ashley) was driving, her guilt would soon morph into pampering the kitty, and over time, the luxury she offered gets taken for granted. He loves his lifestyle until the ex-boyfriend arrives and upends his world. The result is funny at one level but dark when considering how many times this cat burns through life in a brief span of time.
The educational content that’s offered in this series, puts Curses! above all other past DreamWorks Animated series and in par with Carmen Sandiego.
DreamWorks Animation is still churning out the hits and one series fans may not know of is Curses! That’s because it’s exclusive to Apple TV Plus, and unlike Fright Krewe (review coming soon) which can be found on specialty cartoon networks, I suspect this company wants to keep a firm hold on where it can be seen.
This series is a lot better than the other one because it feels like an animated version of Friday the 13th the TV Series. This piece of 90s television was about cousins searching for cursed objects and if they can’t remove the hex, it gets sealed in a vault. In this cartoon, Pandora (Gabrielle Nevaeh) and Russ (Andre Robinson) have a similar task. However, instead of freeing the objects from their enchantment, if they can find where they were stolen from, the spell can be broken, and hopefully for every item returned, they can free their dad from being a statue!
Although the music in Rise of the Pink Ladies doesn’t hit the same high notes as the cinematic musical, it’s still a fun look at the pressures one can find in high school life set in California.
There are many reasons I believe Rise of the Pink Ladies (RotPL) works as a prequel to the world known as Grease. Although the time takes place about two years before the cinematic musical, it’s easy to see how it ties all together. The two tweens who eventually become the supporting leads in the story that shaped the IP are recognizable, and yay for Rizzo! Although I didn’t catch the series when it was streaming, I’m thankful Paramount sent me the home video release to evaluate this series.
Because of internal shuffling of the company’s assets and perhaps also low ratings, the decision to cancel and remove the series was not out of malice. It’s now on Apple TV and Amazon, but as for whether there’s more story to tell, I’ll answer that at the end.
This year, the streaming world has no shortage of animated works to dig into, which makes narrowing things down to what must be seen tough. What I chose to check out for the Spring 2026 animation season are based on what I will definitely check out because of the trailers made available. They do not include works which I’ve covered previously as they are standouts. As for the rest, these are somewhat seasonally filled to make the Easter long weekend just right.
Apple TV+ has delivered one of the most enchanting surprises of the season. The Sisters Grimm, adapted from 
On Apple TV Plus
Streaming on Apple TV Plus
