Short answer: The best original anime of 2026 so far are Cosmic Princess Kaguya! and Love Through a Prism, both Netflix releases tied at 84 out of 100 on AniList. Goodbye, Lara leads this summer’s originals at 76. “Original” means the story wasn’t adapted from a manga, light novel or game, so these are the 2026 shows you can’t read ahead on.
Updated October 25, 2026 · Scores, dates and studios from AniList, checked October 25, 2026 · US streaming services listed
Keep Reading: Best Anime of 2026 So Far: Every Great Show, Ranked · Fall 2026 Anime: What to Watch Right Now, Start or Skip · Best Anime Movies of 2026 (So Far): The Biggest Releases, Ranked
The best original anime of 2026, ranked
| # | Anime | Where to watch (US) | AniList |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cosmic Princess Kaguya! (film) | Netflix | 84 |
| 2 | Love Through a Prism | Netflix | 84 |
| 3 | Goodbye, Lara | Crunchyroll | 76 |
| 4 | Star Detective Precure! | Crunchyroll | 76 |
| 5 | Grow Up Show | Crunchyroll | 73 |
| 6 | Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi | Disney+ | 69 |
| 7 | Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha EXCEEDS Gun Blaze Vengeance | Crunchyroll | 64 |
Ties are broken by how many AniList users have the show on their lists. Only shows with at least about 4,000 users made the ranking.
1. Cosmic Princess Kaguya!
Netflix’s 140-minute film, released January 22, retells The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Japan’s oldest folktale, inside a virtual world called Tsukuyomi, with music at the center of the story. Shingo Yamashita directed it at Studio Colorido and Studio Chromato. It’s the most-watched original of the year on AniList by a wide margin, with more than 64,000 users.
2. Love Through a Prism
A new romance from Boys Over Flowers creator Yoko Kamio, animated by WIT Studio and released all at once on Netflix on January 15. Across 20 episodes, painter Lili Ichijoin chases her dream at a London art academy in the early 1900s. Kazuto Nakazawa directs. It ties Kaguya for the year’s best score.
3. Goodbye, Lara
The best original of the summer season. Kinema Citrus’s 12-episode series (July 6 to September 21) starts from The Little Mermaid: a mermaid princess named Lara falls for a human prince, a love her world forbids. Takushi Koide directs.
4. Star Detective Precure!
Toei’s 2026 entry in the long-running magical-girl franchise has been airing weekly since February 1. This year’s twist is a time-travel mystery: Anna Akechi is sent from 2027 back to 1999, where she teams up with a girl her own age.
5. Grow Up Show
A-1 Pictures and Psyde Kick Studio’s 13-episode summer series (July 5 to September 27) follows a traveling circus troupe in late-1950s Japan as troupes compete for a place at a famous festival called the Circus Collection. Kanta Kamei directs, with original character designs by Kurehito Misaki.
6. Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi
Production I.G turned its Star Wars: Visions short into an eight-episode Disney+ series, released August 5. Lah Kara continues her Jedi training under Margrave Juro. It’s the first longer story under the new Visions Presents banner.
7. Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha EXCEEDS Gun Blaze Vengeance
A new Nanoha story from Seven Arcs, with series creator Masaki Tsuzuki credited (12 episodes, July 5 to September 20). It’s set 30 years after mysterious “invasive alien species” nearly destroyed the world, a darker setup than the classic series.
Which original anime are airing this fall?
Fall 2026 originals are still airing, so it’s too early to rank them. The ones to watch are VERTEX FORCE, a new mecha series; Welsh & Shedar, a fantasy adventure from Studio Massket; Magical Sisters LuluttoLilly Part 2 from Studio Pierrot; and Cardfight!! Vanguard Divinez: Parallactic Fate. For the whole season, including adaptations, see our Fall 2026 anime guide.
How we ranked them
We used AniList’s average user scores, checked on October 25, 2026, for 2026 TV and streaming series and films that AniList lists as original stories. Retellings of fairy tales and folktales count, since they aren’t adapted from a specific manga, novel or game. Scores can shift as more people finish a show, so we’ll update this page at the end of the year.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best original anime of 2026?
Cosmic Princess Kaguya! and Love Through a Prism, both on Netflix, are tied at 84 out of 100 on AniList. Kaguya is a film; Love Through a Prism is a 20-episode series.
Is Love Through a Prism based on a manga?
No. Yoko Kamio is best known for the manga Boys Over Flowers, but Love Through a Prism is a new story written for anime and released on Netflix.
Where can I watch Cosmic Princess Kaguya!?
On Netflix, where it premiered on January 22, 2026.
What does “original anime” mean?
An anime whose story wasn’t adapted from an existing manga, light novel or video game. Most anime are adaptations, so originals are the shows nobody can spoil by reading ahead.
Next step: Start with Cosmic Princess Kaguya! if you want one movie night, or Love Through a Prism if you want a full series. For the rest of the year’s best shows, see our best anime of 2026 ranking and best streaming services for anime.
Sources: scores, release dates, episode counts, studios, staff and streaming services from AniList, checked October 25, 2026. Images: Netflix, Kinema Citrus, A-1 Pictures, Lucasfilm and Production I.G, via AniList.
Add NerdSnack as a preferred source on Google
The Weekly Pull
The biggest card price moves, every Friday.
The week’s biggest card and collectible price moves, plus the movie, anime and game releases worth knowing about. Sign up and get our free Black Friday 2026 price-to-beat cheat sheet. Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Related Posts:
Talk to us
Got a question, a tip or a request? Email us.
A real person reads every message at hello@nerdsnack.com, and we usually reply within 1–2 business days.
Prefer a form? Use our contact page.
Crunchyroll has every simulcast, classic series, and anime film you could want — in HD, with new episodes every week.
