Japan Reveals Its Top 10 Anime of Spring 2026 in Official Streaming Ranking

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Spring 2026 promises a fantastic lineup of anime! We’ll see the return of popular shows like That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, alongside exciting new series such as Witch Hat Atelier. According to data from a major Japanese streaming platform, one of the most anticipated shows comes from Hiromu Arakawa, the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist.

Niconico, a popular Japanese streaming platform, has revealed its list of the 10 most popular anime from Spring 2026. This ranking, which covers shows that launched between April 1st and 12th, is based not only on how many times they’ve been viewed, but also on how much interaction they’ve received – things like comments and how often people accessed the videos.

Bones Film’s new anime, Daemons of the Shadow Realm, based on the popular manga, is currently the most popular, with Season 2 of MAPPA’s Dorohedoro coming in second. You can find the complete top 10 list below.

The 10 Most Popular Anime of the Spring 2026 Season Revealed by Niconico

  1. Daemons of the Shadow Realm
  2. Dorohedoro Season 2
  3. Needy Girl Overdose
  4. Ingoku Danchi: Deviant’s Apartment Complex
  5. Witch Hat Atelier
  6. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 4
  7. The Food Diary of Miss Maid
  8. Rooster Fighter
  9. Mistress Kanan is Devilishly Easy
  10. Always a Catch!

Daemons of the Shadow Realm is an action-packed supernatural story about twin siblings, Yuru and Asa, who were separated at birth. They are fated to control powerful creatures called daemons, and as the ‘children who sunder day and night,’ must reunite to do so. Their journey involves finding each other, mastering their powers over the daemons, and ultimately saving their world from ruin.

The anime Daemons of the Shadow Realm has been a big hit with Japanese audiences. Viewers on Niconico are enthusiastically sharing their reactions, with many saying it’s gripping from the start and completely captivating. One fan even wondered if the creator, Arakawa, is only capable of making incredible works.

The original manga has become very popular. Since it began in 2021, Daemons of the Shadow Realm has sold more than 7.5 million copies around the world (as of April 2026).

I recently came across a really interesting series featuring a truly unusual main character. It’s set in a world where humans and magic-users have evolved separately, and the story follows a guy named Caiman. He was attacked by a sorcerer, which left him with amnesia and, strangely, the head of a lizard! He teams up with Nikaido, a chef, and together they travel across Hole – a massive, dangerous city choked with magical pollution – trying to find the sorcerer who did this to him.

Online comments suggest that the start of Dorohedoro‘s second season created a buzz because a key character wasn’t featured in the first episode. The episode’s ending sparked a lot of discussion about this missing character, with viewers asking things like, “Where’s the main character?” and “Did they forget someone?” It had been about six years since the first season of Dorohedoro finished in March 2020, so fans were eagerly anticipating its return.

Several anime popular on Niconico’s top 10 list also perform well elsewhere. For example, ABEMA’s anime rankings from April 6th showed That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 4 at number two, and The Strongest Job Is Apparently Not a Hero or a Sage, but an Appraiser (Provisional)! right behind it. Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World Season 4 was the most popular show on that list. This type of fantasy anime is often more popular in Japan than in other countries.

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2026-04-20 19:17