Japan Has Officially Decided On Fall 2026’s Top 10 Anime

Fall 2026 anime is officially in full swing, and it has brought back fan-favourite shows alongside a host of new anime IPs that, according to Japanese fans, are the best things to happen to the Fall season. Based on data from Japanese website Niconico’s “2026 Anime First-Show Ranking”, the most popular titles of October 2026 are already out.

Based on a combination of views, comments, and access numbers, Niconico has determined the most enjoyable anime choices of the Fall season so far. From a survival game of magical girls to an underappreciated handyman/enchanter with an overpowered skill, below are Japan’s most enjoyed titles officially.

11 Magical Girl Raising Project: Restart

At the bottom of the ranking, Studio SynerSP’s Magical Girl Raising Project sequel holds down the fort. The deadly game of becoming a magical girl in N-City is back underway in this new season and remains as deadly as ever.

With the advent of the viral virtual game “The Magical Girl Raising Project”, the city’s number of Magical Girls has risen too high. The result is a declaration to cull exactly half. Pechka, the story’s lead, is among these sixteen young maidens and one of the game’s participants.

With magic only to make delicious food and the assumption that it’s a training exercise, she finds herself at the centre of a meticulously crafted nightmare. Four episodes in, and that nightmare has only just begun.

10 Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden

Konami Animation’s fine work on Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden is bearing fruit because of its placement. The story is set on the premise of a great hero receiving a second chance at life by possessing the body of another—a frail, constitutionally weak child named Nia Liston.

Plagued by her previous life’s desire to meet a worthy opponent and fight to the death, Nia is determined to repair her weak constitution and live a life of the strong. However, wherever that determination goes, chaos follows, and that is Nia Liston’s story.

9 Super Psychic Policeman Chojo

Surprisingly, the comedy genre delivers more than a good showing this Fall season, thanks in part to Super Psychic Policeman Chojo, at least according to Japanese fans. Super Psychic Policeman Chojo was serialised in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump as a manga before Arvo Animation and Crunchyroll picked it up.

The story follows an eccentric police duo: Nao Ippongi, a rookie police officer, and senior officer Meguru Chojo, an unusually powerful psychic whose powers can help him do everything but his job. Between the pair, what follows is a series of whirly adventures in crime-solving, catching criminals, and keeping the peace.

8 Girls Und Panzer: Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu!

Produced by P.A Works and Actas, Girls Und Panzer: Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu! Is an animated film series of the same titular manga written by Maruko Nii. Finely making a good case for the comedy genre like others on this list, the story takes a deep dive into the untold daily lives and inter-school interactions of the Oorai Girls’ team.

With no specific character focus, viewers are properly immersed in the lives and activities of these high schoolers who are wholeheartedly dedicated to the way of the tank. Beyond them, the series explores their friendships, rivalries and heated moments of battle, all with a touch of heart and plenty of humor.

7 Psyren

Director Katsumi Ono’s Psyren blends sci-fi, good action and supernatural elements, bringing Ageha Yoshina’s story to life. Everything begins when Ageha finds a mysterious phone card in a telephone booth after school. Soon after, he learns that his friend and classmate, Sakurako Amamiya, who has the same card, has gone missing.

However, before disappearing, Sakurako asks Ageha to save her, and that plea signals the beginning of his life’s troubles. In an attempt to investigate Sakurako’s disappearance, the young man calls the number on the calling card. What follows is a life-and-death game of survival with both Ageha and Sakurako at the centre.

6 Magic Knight Rayearth (2026)

A new instalment of the titular manga series by the group CLAMP, Magic Knight Rayearth rounds out the top spots. Directed by Yui Miura, the story begins with a school trip to Tokyo Tower, following three teenagers from different schools: Hikaru Shidou, Umi Ryuuzaki, and Fuu Hououji.

By some twist of fate, the trio is suddenly transmigrated to a place called Cephiro and entrusted with the responsibility of saving the magical land they’ve just been transported to. Of the three, Hikaru sees the situation as a new adventure, while Umi and Fuu want nothing more than to return home. Unfortunately, returning home always comes with defeating a demon lord.

5 The Apothecary Diaries Season 3

Maomao and Jinshi find themselves busy with responsibility in The Apothecary Diaries’ third season, premiering in early October. The events follow the aftermath of the Shi Clan’s rebellion with an easy atmosphere. Maomao is back in the pleasure district, resuming her life as a pharmacist. Her curiosity is piqued by an anomaly, which she investigates.

Meanwhile, Jinshi faces his responsibilities, topped by Loulan’s deeply unsettling warning of disaster. As Jinshi’s worries grow, so does the world around it. A mysterious shrine maiden of deception raises the story’s stakes, which have never been higher.

4 FX Fighter Kurumi-chan

The anime adaptation of the titular manga FX Fighter Kurumi-chan, written by Demunya, has given a strong showing for the slice-of-life genre with its realistic take on financial pressure. The lead character, Kurumi Fukuga, builds a life centred on the foreign exchange market.

Not out of genuine interest, but because she needs to avenge the actions of her dark past. One involving her mother, who committed suicide after using their family money for margin trading. A decision that wiped out the family savings.

Burning with revenge and now a university student, Kurumi finally makes her debut in FX trading. What she does not know is that heaven can quickly become hell in the FX marketplace. Together with fellow FX enthusiasts Mochiko, Mebuki, and Yasuko, she learns just how brutally true that is.

3 Even the Student Council Has Its Holes!

A double entry for Studio Passione, Even the Student Council Has Its Holes! Takes place at the prestigious Fujinasu Academy and follows the life of Ume Mizunoe closely. Ume is an excelling literature enthusiast whose need for an academic boost leads him to join the student council.

Determined not to repeat the year, Ume quickly realises his new colleagues are anything but normal. With that realization, his school days are thrown into a whirlwind of chaos, and after five episodes, ‘chaos’ starts to feel like an understatement.

2 The Laid-Off Cheat-Granting Mage Enjoys a Second Lease on Life

Clinching the top spot is Shū Honma’s fantasy series, The Laid-Off Cheat-Granting Mage Enjoys a Second Lease on Life. While extra funny for a fantasy anime series, the story revolves around the central character, Rein Garland, an enchanter for the Beast’s Fang adventure guild who gets laid off after his services to the guild are deemed as surplus to requirements.

For Rein, being fired leaves a bitter aftertaste and a feeling of betrayal, and this sees him recollect all the enchantments on repaired gear and the accumulated bonus points that come with. Doing this, he reapplies all the bonus points to his low-grade equipment, transforming it completely and helping him kick off a successful solo adventure career.

The success of that career is quickly all for naught after Rein becomes a Hero candidate expected to face off against an ancient calamity, the Radiant Dragon. The subjugation falls to ruin when the dragon awakens prematurely, and everything escalates into a continental war of magic, arms and enchanted gear.