Anime continues to be a significant driver of manga sales, so here are some new and upcoming anime to watch out for.
Multiple volumes of Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen were on both the BookScan and the ComicHub lists of last year’s best-sellers (see “Top 20 Manga in Comic Stores – Full Year 2025” and also “Full Year 2025 Circana BookScan”), and the third season of the anime launched on Netflix in January (see “‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ Exclusive at Netflix”). VIZ will release the final volume of the manga series, Vol. 30, on May 12. But there’s still more JJK to come: VIZ is publishing the sequel, Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo, digitally on its Shonen Jump service, although they haven’t announced a print volume yet.
Another blockbuster getting a new season, although it isn’t anime, is the live-action version of One Piece,which will launch on March 10 (see trailer below). The first volume of this long-running series was also in both the bookstore and the comic shop top 20s in 2025, and that’s partly due to the wave of popularity that came with the first live-action season. One Piece: Elbaph, the 22nd season of the regular anime, will launch on April 5. VIZ publishes the series as single volumes and three-in-one omnibi; Vol. 111 is due out on March 10 and Vol. 112 on July 7.
The first volume of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run, by Hirohiko Araki, was one of the BookScan top 20, and the premiere of the anime on Netflix on March 19 (see “‘Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run’ to Netflix”) is likely to keep interest high. VIZ has been publishing the multi-arc Jojo series in the current hardcover format since 2015 and will release Vol. 6 on March 24. Steel Ball Run is the seventh arc of the manga and the sixth of the anime.
Dragon Ball Super will return in fall 2026, with a recut, remastered version of the original anime, titled Dragon Ball Super: Beeru (see “New, ‘Enhanced’ ‘Dragon Ball’ Series”). For those who can’t wait, VIZ will publish Vol. 24 of the manga on March 3. Sadly, this may be the last volume for a while, as the series is on hiatus following the death of creator Akira Toriyama (see “RIP Akira Toriyama”). Toei is also working on a new anime, Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol, based on the Galactic Patrol Prisoner arc of the manga (Vols. 9-15).
The breakout anime of 2026 is likely to be Witch Hat Atelier, Kamome Shirihama’s magical-school series about a witch in training. Kodansha has been publishing the series since 2017, and it’s already a popular title. And there’s a deluxe edition on the way: Kodansha will release the first volume of Witch Hat Atelier: Grimoire Edition, an oversized, hardcover 3-in-1 omnibus, on May 5 with an MSRP of $49.99 (see “‘Witch Hat Atelier’ Omnibus”).The anime will stream on Crunchyroll, which has put up an official trailer (see below).
Another series to watch is Daemons of the Shadow Realm, by Fullmetal Alchemist creator Hiromu Arakawa. The story follows twins, a brother and a sister, who have the power to control Daemons, supernatural creatures who work in pairs to wreak havoc on the earth (see “Square Enix Licenses Manga by ‘Fullmetal Alchemist’ Creator”). The series is rated for older teens; Square Enix will publish Vol. 10 on April 7. The anime will stream on Crunchyroll (where the manga is also available to read digitally), and the first episode is scheduled for April 4.
Looking a bit farther down the road, the new Ghost in the Shell anime will launch in July on Amazon Prime . Kodansha has just published a deluxe boxed set (see “Kodansha to Publish Uncensored ‘Ghost in the Shell’ Box Set”) and will release an art book next fall (see “’Ghost in the Shell’ Art Book“), while Dark Horse is readying deluxe editions of three other manga by creator Masamune Shirow, with the first due out in August (see “Three Deluxe Editions of Shirow Masamune Works”).
Click Gallery below for covers!
For more great manga features, see “ICv2 Manga Week 2026.”
Source: ICv2
