Summer 2026

9 July, 2026

As the Summer 2026 season begins, there are some troubling clouds on the horizon for isekai anime. Kadokawa, a massive Japanese publisher whose role in both publishing isekai light novels and adapting them into anime and manga is frankly unparalleled (note, for instance, that Isekai Quartet is entirely a Kadokawa production featuring exclusively Kadokawa titles), faced a shareholder vote from an activist investor calling for a new CEO and less investment into isekai. We live in a miserable world dominated by considerations of profit, where anything good can be ripped away at a moment’s notice because it’s not making enough money – is it any wonder that so many of us wish for a different one?

Fortunately, the vote was defeated, Natsuno Takeshi is still running Kadokawa for the time being, and this season in particular still has 15 isekai titles by my count (5 continuations, 5 new seasons, 5 new titles), a number even diehard fans may struggle to keep up with. If we do reach the end of this era, I hope people will come back to look at some of the series they may have missed during this current isekai explosion.

Melody Wave of Heroine Seijo iie, All Works Maid esu (Hokori!) (real name: Celesty McMarden) was reborn to be a maid.

A child prodigy, Mizunami Ritsuko, in her past life, she developed a deep fascination with the concept of maids (having found everything else too easy, but being struck by a maid's beauty) only to die in a plane crash on her flight to the United Kingdom for maid training.

It is entirely normal for someone transported or reincarnated into an otome game to try to avoid the game’s normal scenario; indeed, this is arguably the whole point of the villainess genre. I can only think of one exception, but we’ll get to him and his season 2 later this post, and he changes things anyway (by accident.) That said, I can’t think of anyone who simply ignores it to the degree of Melody Wave of All-Works Maid, who even magically makes her hair black to disguise herself and her origins.

Extreme magic power does not sway her from her quest to become the world’s best possible maid, nor does her status as the illegitimate son of a powerful noble. There’s something really admirable about her single-minded determination… and also, while working as an all-works maid (the lowest maid status, that does everything; they're typically employed by families of the lower nobility that can’t afford a whole staff), singlehandedly turning a mansion from looking haunted to spotless in only two weeks!

She has an awkward bath encounter with the lord, shows off her bunshin skills, hunts the family groceries in the forest, and a close bond forms between Melody and Luciana of House Ruttleburg, the beautiful daughter of her employer. By the 3rd episode, other characters with otherworldly knowledge of their own are asking questions about what's going on Cecilia (new first name, from her father) Leginbarth, the game’s supposed heroine.

Melody does indeed get dragged to the ball in a blond haired disguise, and the episode ends with her about to dance with Luciana, yet I still feel like the game’s plot is not going to progress easily – at least, not if Melody has anything to say about it!

What first stands out about Sekai Saikyou no Kouei: Meikyuukoku no Shinjin Tansakusha, is the sheer bureaucratization of the setting. Even the meetings with the goddess are not solitary; the title character, Atobe Arihito, after his death in a bus accident, is in a long line of reincarnators waiting for her to shunt them off to the next world. Megami "Isekai Tensei Nani ni Naritai desu ka" Ore "Yuusha no Rokkotsu de", last season, did some really interesting things with the concept of a lot of people reincarnating (and a lot of interesting things in general, I strongly recommend it, it’s great), but here it’s just a bit of waiting in line to be processed. And then come a bunch more forms at the guild.

Arihito overhears people talking about the importance of rearguards, as in the RPG party role – the person at the back watching for ambushes. So he puts down ‘rearguard’ (or ‘Kouei’ in Japanese, hence the title) as a character class, and naturally, in this setting, the form can not be amended to “fighter” or anything but is just accepted as is. Even dungeon rewards have a system of contribution points, instead of the usual mix of EXP and loot, which determines one’s position in the society of Labyrinth Country.

It really feels like Kouei took the normal adventurer’s guild concept to a whole extra level and built a world based around it and nothing else.

Anyway, out of pity, the receptionist gives him a mercenary ticket, which he uses to hire a demihuman mercenary. This part feels a lot like Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari, although at least Arihito doesn’t have to deal with a rape charge; it’s just that no one thinks his class is remotely useful and wants deadweight in their party. The female lizardman, Theresia, who he hires is indeed a slave, but she is not Arihito’s slave, but one hired out as a mercenary to earn money for her master; she is probably owned by the state bureaucracy. Demihumans in this setting are not only fair game for slavery; they can’t talk, and are what happens to someone who already died in this world – is that a death flag for our protagonist? Either way, he still has his salaryman manners, and apologizes for being slow to figure out his class abilities… and as the episode ends, he spots another party, along with his former boss, in danger! I do wonder what will happen next, it’s building up some intriguing relationships and quirks, and I hope it’s foreshadowing a death/demihuman reincarnation arc.

Speaking of double reincarnation…

Rakudai Kenja no Gakuin Musou’s Eftal reincarnated not once, but twice.

The first time around, Eftal comes from another world (summaries say our own, but the anime hasn't actually specified yet) as the Lightning Emperor, one of the four world-saving heroes, if the weakest of the group, who gives rise to his own dynasty.

The next time, he’s the distant descendant of his first reincarnation and namesake, a child prodigy from a poor family with a great deal of knowledge, but who (like his ancestor) lacks a natural aptitude for magic – all this in a world of considerably lower magic than in the Lightning Emperor’s time. He has immense talent with his past life knowledge, much of which he hides, a sympathetic half-brother (from the father’s side) who supports him and his mother, and a biological father who views him mostly as a burden. Still does well enough to get into the military academy. There’s a compelling story here somewhere about Eftal II living up to Eftal I’s legacy, but I fear that the first reincarnation will be nothing more than a background detail.

Still, it's typical to be reincarnated countless times until we can reach nirvana/nibbana, right? So remembering two past lives and not just one is better than the isekai tensei average, let alone the real world one.

Suterare Seijo no Isekai Gohan Tabi’s protagonist was an accidental summon, dragged along with the saint – a plot device used earlier this year in Isekai no Sata wa Shachiku Shidai.. Though perhaps Hazurewaku no "Joutai Ijou Skill" de Saikyou ni Natta Ore ga Subete wo Juurin suru made is a better comparison, given that the prince in this setting, instead of apologizing, took one look at our protagonist, Takanashi Rin’s, skill (which of course is incredibly useful and underrated; it’s a genre trope by now and there are more examples this season) and decided to banish her immediately.

Or maybe the real inspiration for this title is Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi, because Rin is totally chill about this situation and just wants to go camping and eat delicious food.

Personally, if I were summoned to another world, I’d like to think I’d be incredibly excited about the experience and eager to test out my new skills or explore the unknown. But I can not ignore the possibility that I would find it stressful, miss my loved ones, and want to find my way home.

The one thing I can confidently say I would not be is unfazed. I think if anything stands out about this show so far, it’s how wholly unaffected Rin seems by the whole experience. Yes, she’s excited to fish up an ikemen, yes, she wants to meet his party and help them out with her RV (complete with refrigeration!), but being summoned itself just feels like another day camping by the lake.

I guess when you have the right tools, it really doesn’t matter which world you’re in, huh.

EDIT: Having watched the 2nd episode, I think she was saving all her reactions; Rin is indeed very excited to be in a fantasy world, just not for the camping by a lakeside part.

Finally, of our new titles, Tsuihou sareta Tensei Juukishi wa Game Chishiki de Musou suru combines two major narou trends; not only do we have someone reincarnated into a MMO they played, but we also have someone (a noble heir, at this point, after fifteen years raised in the other world) exiled because someone thinks their class sucks! Which isn’t even the only case this season of a character class being vastly underrated – and just like Hell Mode’s summoners and almost certainly Kouei’s rearguards, Heavy Knights (Japanese: Juukishi) are perfectly viable; after a slow initial progression, they’re the strongest class of all.

It’s adapted by GoHands, the studio which gave us Hand Shakers, and… one definitely notices their distinctive style. I probably stuck with the manga for this series for longer than I should have, and when it comes to plot, this title really is nothing special; I don’t like to be this harsh, and maybe I forgot something important while reading weekly, but I genuinely wasn’t impressed. Still, I made it over a hundred chapters in, and this may speak for its strong point.

Juukishi isn’t a title one reads or watches for plot so much as for action. If you want to see a heavy knight hack, slash, and block their way to victory, GoHands style, by all means enjoy; this anime is exactly what it advertises, and at least it delivers on that part.

After taking the spring off, Hell Mode: Yarikomizuki no Gamer wa Hai Settei no Isekai de Musou suru returns for the summer season, complete with an alternately adorable or fearsome menagerie of summons.

Unfortunately, Tama doesn’t actually show up (outside the eyecatch) in the first episode of the new season.

After Allen spent his a first season slowly mastering summoning magic and buff spells, working for his feudal lord as a hunter, and finally buying his serf family’s freedom from taxation, he stops by home for a reunion with them, including a sister who was too young to remember him when he left. They’re grateful for his financial support, and then it’s off to the academy!

Unfortunately, he still has E rank stats across the board, so at first he’s rejected. Fortunately, there are heroes there, so he’s admitted after an appeal. And then he makes friends, forms a party, and it’s off to do dungeon crawls. They’re set up as instanced dungeons ala real MMOs, complete with rubix cube managers. They have an easy time of it, although some of Allen’s genre savvy comments might have people suspicious of his real origins… or just confused.

I don’t think it’s a secret by this point that I am not in the least bit fond of academy arcs. And while instance dungeons make for an interesting ‘aha’ moment, and the rubix cubes are unique, if nothing else, regular dungeons probably come with more options for storytelling, as you can have unexpected encounters in there with other parties and such. I fear that this part of Hell Mode will not be nearly as fun without the feudal grounding of the first season… but at least the monsters are cute.

I must admit that, even in a cour where new seasons of isekai anime outnumber new titles, Gaikotsu Kishi-sama, Tadaima Isekai e Odekakechuu was not one that I expected to see continued in anime over four years later. Although by no means a personal favorite of mine, I know too well how long the wait can be sometimes, and am happy for its fans.

Over the course of the first season, Arc befriends an elf named Ariane and a catgirl ninja, Chiyome, and a kitsune/mascot character, Ponta, who he rescued. They’re still traveling together, so we get a bit of a reintroduction before the main story… and a feast, to reintroduce us to the fact that our title character, underneath the helmet, is a skeleton, can’t really eat, and is hiding this fact from the public. The one thing I most strongly remember from Gaikotsu Kishi’s first season, even more than the non-Arc characters, is the frequent bath scenes, with the skeleton protagonist chilling without his armor. We still get an excuse to put one in the first episode. And the fight against slavers never ends, either. Arc’s party have to deal with impersonation and wanted posters, after the son of the last slaver they beat up has an idea for getting revenge. But they get themselves captured intentionally and then bring the place down with ease – then it’s off to the next quest and trying to lift Arc’s skeleton curse, with plenty of detours for good deeds along the way!

Otome Game Sekai wa Mob ni Kibishii Sekai desu fans have also been waiting since 2022 for a second season, although with the enduring popularity of the manga adaptation, it never quite dropped out of my mind. This title does a few things I don’t typically see in villainess stories, and some I rarely see in any type of isekai; the main character, Leon, is male, playing the game because his sister made him, and is placed in the role not of the villainess *or* the heroine, but an NPC (Japanese, or maybe I should say wasei-eigo: Mob character), and actually wants to live a quiet life as one, in line with the game’s basic story!

Unfortunately for him (if fortunately for the audience), as the title points out, that’s no easy feat. All that Leon wanted to do was stay alive and protect his loved ones; instead, he gets an undesired promotion to viscount.

Also, this isn’t your usual fantasy setting. We have matriarchy (although that’s not unheard of, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari has one too, it is relatively unusual) Leon’s main advisor is a small, round, floating robot, and there are airships and airship battles galore. Or just, in this episode, the threat of one.

Leon is forced to return treasure seized from the sky pirates, which is his by the laws of the setting, to the temple which originally owned it, and the many ships floating outside his mansion certainly play a role in his decision. All of which causes new problems – it’s now a ‘lost item’ and the kingdom is suspicious of its new viscount. So now Leon’s made captain of the saint’s guard to get him out of the way and test his loyalty, and it’s off to a new quest!

Also, since this is a villainess game, there are harem elements. And this one, despite its otoge origins, has some very cute girls and yuri (within the harem) to boot.

Youjo Senki is a popular title, popular enough to get a movie and be featured in Isekai Quartet. Unlike every single one of its counterparts therein, from its fellow original members to late season additions, some of which have reached a fourth season by this point, Youjo Senki has not seen a single TV anime since 2017, and nothing at all since 2019.

So nearly a decade later, at least in real time, Tanya von Degurechaff returns to her fantasy counterpart of Imperial Germany in the midst of an isekai World War I… or II, we’re up to 1926 now, their opponent in the east is a USSR counterpart, and they’re also fighting in Scandinavia and Algeria, though Tanya herself is on the eastern front. With magic. Along with aircraft and artillery and trenches.

Most of the episode is spent reintroducing us to the setting and characters, but the war is still going; superior artillery foils an attempted encirclement, but Tanya remains incredibly frustrated with her subordinates, who she continues to view as incompetent.

The first two episodes of Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu, and probably much of the arc to come, focus on Eris Greyrat, a love interest of Rudeus… who unfortunately (outside flashbacks) was absent for the entire second season, as Rudeus, convinced she had lost interest while she was training on her own, disappeared to another continent without telling her. So it’s been quite a while since we saw her, after that painful misunderstanding.

It’s interesting to see Rudeus’ celebrity through other’s eyes; it can get lost, while focusing in the prior two seasons on his day to day adventures, that he’s become a genuine celebrity, to the point where Eris considers having slept with him something to brag about. Being able to even land a blow on Orsted really is an impressive feat, and there are lines of beastman (and Badigadi, a many-armed god) lining up for a chance to take Rudeus down and failing, when a rival of Eris goes to gather info. That said, with the knowledge of one who’s seen Rudeus' side of the story (i.e. season 2) it’s hard not to feel bad for Eris; she’s training like hell so she can feel worthy of Rudeus, while he’s already married Sylphiette and Roxy.

As always, Mushoku Tensei’s animation is truly striking; I don’t have the space on this website to do it justice, but I strongly recommend you watch some of the fights for yourself. They’re absolutely beautiful, this anime has a high budget and uses it, and it really does help give this story its larger than life feel. And these episodes, being part of Eris’s training arc, involve an awful lot of violence, along with a fair amount of regular, honest duels; she’s living up to her mad dog nickname, and can both give and receive, in her quest to master every sword style and someday even slay Orsted, the Dragon God. And through it all, she really does love Rudeus. Eris may not be my favorite, but this part at least makes her feel more likable, that there’s more to her than the violent tsundere first impression, and it’s always good to get another character’s perspective. In a lot of harem anime, fun as it can be to pull for a winner, you don’t really want to see anyone lose… I guess this is where isekai polygamy has its upside.

I divide posts in this blog by the general anime season, and most seasons, this is a completely legitimate thing to do, with only one or two titles running continuously through the break.

This time, by my count, we have five!

Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen - Ryoushu no Youjo remains a fascinating, down to earth story about bringing books to the medieval world, even as (Rose)Myne continues to rise up the church hierarchy on talent alone (and also learns to summon a cat...pandabus) while in Re:Zero kara Hajimaru Isekai Seikatsu, Subaru, missing many of his memories, continues to suffer, as a murder mystery unfolds in the Pleiades Watchtower. Both titles, however, took last week off, which I’ll use as my excuse not to cover them in more depth, as this post is already getting quite long.

Mairimashita! Iruma-kun has been on something of a victory celebration as of late, pretty much since everyone ranked up to Dalet after the challenge of the music festival. Iruma’s birthday/exorcibation ceremony was last week, and this week we get to see the teacher’s lounge (because of a tour) and a feast. And a girls party, complete with magic, largely to try to get Naphula to open up a bit. Though that part doesn’t really work. Sometimes changing your hair color is just a neat party trick and not a full All Works Maid style disguise. XD

Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken has a cast large enough that even light novel readers can sometimes lose track, but this did not deter Veldora from befriending Ifrit, who had long since been absorbed by Rimuru, much to the latter’s surprise, and giving her back a body in the form of a bone golem. I didn’t expect the (temporary, doesn’t even last the episode) sex change, although she’s not at all bad looking in this form. The rebirth of the chaos dragon Gaia, on the other hand, was quite expected; Milim was talking about it as soon as they stopped its rampage. And now she’s going off to teach it hunting.

Rimuru and the Jura Tempest Federation have been getting increasingly involved in high politics over the course of the season – the Council of the Western Nations on the one side, the (Rimuru-named!) Octagram group of demon lords on the other – this week, Guy Crimson is foisting the troublesome retainer/fellow Octagram member Deeno off on Rimuru. Living the dream...

Even now, it sounds too optimistic to say they’ll be safe and everything will be fine, but they’ve really come a long way from the isolated monster village of season one. Well done, Rimuru!

Finally, Digimon Beatbreak finally spent the majority of an episode in the Mirror World! Mostly because it’s a big, climactic battle episode; as much as I want to know more about where digimon come from in this setting, the Mirror World will probably not go beyond a pocket dimension to fight in, for the remainder of this anime.

As reality and the internet become increasingly intertwined, it makes more sense to handle things differently, as much as I resent this change and miss the days when the internet really felt like a separate realm and not an extension of reality.

Still, although its relevance here might be doubtful, and it’s possible I’m stretching things to cover it here at all because I’m a digimon diehard, there is some high drama in the end of the GIFT arc, complete with an attempted terrorist attack where the motive feels wholly justified, but the willingness to harm civilians does not. Especially when it comes to the children living there – one gets the sense that a sizable proportion of the adults in Shangri-La Egg had done awful things to get in, children do not choose their parents, as we’ve seen all too clearly in Makoto’s case.

The current rulers of the setting, the World Union, are genuinely awful, forcing characters into bounty hunting to preserve the secrecy of digimon, and drove the 13 year old terrorist in question’s older sister to suicide… and she had Chairman Wong in her hands, assassination would be a way better strategy!

But all hope is not lost. There’s still twelve episodes left to rewrite this world, and I’m pulling for them!

It is also worth noting that, twenty-four years after the manga concluded, Sora wa Akaikawa no Hotori finally got an anime this season. It’s not technically an isekai (this is a time travel story, to what is, despite some magic, a well-researched depiction of the Hittite Empire which was closely in line with the historiography of the time) but it’s still a Japanese character thrust into an unfamiliar setting, and the manga is absolutely a masterpiece of shoujo; I strongly recommend it.

EDIT 07/16: Airing later on July 9th, and completely slipping my mind, was the first episode of Thunder 3. It's a parallel world/multiverse title with a child cast, a violent sci-fi world, otherworld transportation through a TV, and a unique artstyle (albeit one I don't particularly care for), where the cast appear to the otherworlders as manga characters.

Summer in this world is no joke; remember to stay safe, cool, and hydrated, ideally while watching isekai anime from the comfort of an air-conditioned room!