Although a bit late, here’s what’s playing for the Winter Crunchyroll season. It’s a familiar mix of a few new series, a lot of returning ones, and my own picks on what’s worth the time. I never try to catch everything. After sampling trailers and leaning into the genres that usually reward my attention, I narrow things down to a focused shortlist. It’s easier to manage, especially alongside theatre trips and a growing pile of graphic novels.
In addition to my top five choices, two movies deserve mention too. Please see below for what I’m looking forward to:
Sentenced to Be a Hero
Studio Kai, Jan 3
This adaptation of Rocket Shōkai’s light novel flips heroism into a sentence rather than a calling. In a world where being a “hero” is punishment, Xylo Forbartz, a condemned goddess killer, is assigned to Penal Hero Unit 9004, forced into endless combat against monstrous abominations. Death offers no release, only resurrection and more violence. I’m drawn to how openly this interrogates systems of power, turning the usual fantasy reward structure into something oppressive and cyclical. When Xylo encounters a mysterious new goddess, their uneasy alliance threatens to unravel the machinery of eternal punishment itself.
Continue reading “Top 5 Winter Crunchyroll Picks To Warm Up To In 2026”
Not every recent film will hit the mark in what winter frost means when it comes to survival horror. It’s merely decoration with Ghostbuster: Frozen Empire, but with Frankenstein, as revealed in part one, it’s about the heart and how to deal. In part two of our Winter Cinema Survival Guide, just how people deal comes to the fore with the most well known marking the end. No 
The frozen planet in Nolan’s cosmic odyssey is anything but serene. Its calm surface hides betrayal beneath the ice. Dust coats not just the land, but the truth itself. Sometimes the coldest places provide perfect cover for the warmest lies, and in the silence of space, that absence of warmth becomes deafening. Just how anyone can survive depends on matters of the heart, and surviving entering a black hole!
Zoiks, 
With winter in full swing and some cities either buried under snow or still digging out, in cinema, things can often become far worse. No, this isn’t about the usual wave of disaster movies where the weather goes feral. Those dominate lists easily enough. Instead, this Winter Cinema Survival Guide focuses on films where the environment itself becomes a player, a tool, or a symbol wielded by heroes and villains alike. Snow and ice aren’t just scenery here, they’re characters in their own right.
Antarctica as a gladiatorial cage? Absolutely. A hidden pyramid buried beneath centuries of ice becomes the battleground where two apex hunters collide, with humans reduced to witnesses rather than participants. The cold isn’t mute here, it’s a referee. You’re either prepared for it, or you freeze in place.
Post–ice age bunkers, dwindling supplies, fractured outposts: this isn’t just survival, it’s a moral ice age. When rescuers venture into the snow, what’s buried beneath the frost may be worse than the cold itself. There are uncomfortable reminders here of humanity’s darker survival instincts, the Donner Party looming quietly in the background.
Yes, it delivers Roland Emmerich’s trademark “monster storm” spectacle, but look closer. Frozen cities aren’t just CGI set pieces; they’re moments when humanity’s priorities get flash-frozen and exposed. It’s disaster cinema as a reset button. When the world flips overnight, survival becomes less about hero shots and more about who adapts, who helps, and who collapses when systems fail.
Hoth isn’t just an ice planet, it’s a mood. Rebel underdogs cling to hope beneath snow and secrecy, outgunned and outmatched. The freezing winds raise the stakes, every buried comm-link and icy retreat reinforcing how desperate the situation is. And yes, this film gets one crucial detail right: breathing in freezing air hurts. That visceral discomfort peaks when Luke is shoved into a Tauntaun, a moment that’s equal parts survival horror and gallows absurdity.
Mary Shelley knew exactly what she was doing by sending her creature north. Ice isn’t merely a backdrop; it mirrors the emotional isolation of creator and creation alike. The Arctic becomes a purgatory where grief, ambition, and regret freeze solid. Which cinematic version handles this best is debatable, though Guillermo del Toro’s recent adaptation stands out as the most emotionally and atmospherically chilling. That’s because he spends time by returning to the metaphorical frost not only in the start and end, but in the interludes. For a full review, please visit what 
Obscure, ambitious, and wonderfully earnest. Survivors are dumped onto an icy world that’s more than hostile; it’s a blank slate. The snow isn’t just a barrier, it’s a test that reveals who adapts and who vanishes. Low-budget sci-fi, yes, but there’s sincerity in how the environment is treated as an active presence.
Vertical, Umbrella Entertainment
Passion Pictures