2024 Movie & Series Release Dates: What to Watch Now

[3 de enero]

We started the year with the second season of ‘Fate/strange Fake’, whose return was one of the most anticipated. The A-1 Pictures studio has put a lot of effort into the production of the new episodes, which is why it is one of the shonen that is generating the most expectation for the first months of the year. On this occasion, we leave Japan behind to witness a new Holy Grail War in the United States.

[3 de enero]

Can you imagine that your punishment for being a criminal is to force you to be a hero? This is the main idea of ​​this dark fantasy anime that transports us to a world in which the worst criminals are condemned to fight on the front lines against the demon king’s army. Xylo Forbartz is one of those condemned to this endless battle in which death does not exist, since all the heroes are returned to life to continue fighting.

[4 de enero]

This adaptation of Tomoko Yamashita’s manga is another of the new animes that we receive during the first days of the year. Its protagonist is Makio Koudai, a shy and introverted 35-year-old novelist who takes in her niece Asa Takumi after her older sister and brother-in-law lost their lives in an accident. The 15-year-old girl, with a completely different personality from her aunt, complicates the coexistence and connection between the two, but soon their relationship will become something irreplaceable.

[5 de enero]

The end of ‘My Hero Academia’ did not mean farewell to the franchise. The same year in which the eighth and final season of the series ended, its prequel began, ‘Vigilantes’, which returns with a second installment as soon as 2026 begins. We will once again follow the adventures of Koichi Haimawari and his particular team while we enjoy the opportunity to see iconic characters years before the events of the original series.

[6 de enero]

Prime Video brings us one of the most original proposals of the winter season. Its protagonist, Charlie, is a ‘humanzee’: a half-human, half-chimpanzee hybrid. He was created in a laboratory, but raised by adoptive parents. In his first year of high school he meets Lucy, his first friend. However, his life is turned upside down when a group of animal rights extremists, now turned terrorists, decide to kidnap him and use him for their interests.

[8 de enero]

Without a doubt, one of the most important premieres of 2026. After the film that served as a summary of the second season and introduction to the third, ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ finally returns to the serialized format. It will do so shortly after Three Kings’ Day with a special one-hour episode that will include the first two chapters of the new season, probably something similar to what we saw in movie theaters. Based on the previews and the images that have come out, it is not risky to say that MAPPA has put all its efforts and that an incredible adaptation of the ‘Culling Games’ awaits us.

[9 de enero]

More and more studios are dividing the seasons to ensure better production in each of its parts, or to stretch the gum more if you want to see it in a twisted way. We prefer to stay with the first option, and this is precisely what David Production has done with ‘Fire Force’. The first half of the third season of ‘Fire Force’ began in April of last year, and with the arrival of 2026 we finally have the second part, which will also serve as the final touch to the series.

[10 de enero]

‘Trigun’ fans are in luck, as the franchise is experiencing a second youth. After years of inactivity, he returned in 2024 with ‘Trigun Stampede’, and now he returns with its sequel, ‘Trigun Stargaze’. It picks up two and a half years after the previous events, with a planet devastated and Vash, now under the name Eriks, hiding out on a remote planet. Meryl, now a veteran journalist, searches for Vash with her new partner, Milly, and also accompanied by Wolfwood. All this under the threat of the Million Knives organization, which conspires in the shadows.

[11 de enero]

It’s been a long time coming, but the second season of ‘Hell’s Paradise’ is here, almost three years after the first season premiered. The main reason for this delay is because MAPPA, the studio in charge of the series, has a huge number of top-level animes, but we can celebrate that they have finally dedicated time and dedication to Gabimaru and company. From January 11 it will be available internationally on Crunchyroll and, with complete certainty, will once again offer us bloody and exciting battles.

[14 de enero]

The most popular idol anime of the moment returns in 2026 with its third season, a little earlier than we expected. We immerse ourselves in what is known as the Industry Arc, in which siblings Aqua and Ruby Hoshino face a new stage in stardom and will continue to discover the intrigues and shadows within the entertainment industry, a world with a lot of shine but that hides a very dark side.

[15 de enero]

This Netflix original anime, created by Yoko Kamio, arrives in mid-January from WIT Studio. It is a romance that transports us to London at the beginning of the 20th century. Lili Ichijouin, a Japanese exchange student, enrolls at the Saint Thomas Art Academy. Her parents made it a condition that she become the best in her class in six months or else she would have to return home, so she faces the challenge with enthusiasm. Everything intensifies when he meets Kit Church, an aristocrat focused on painting who will learn to look beyond his love for art.

[16 de enero]

Another of the great premieres of the winter season and, probably, of the entire year. ‘Frieren’ returns with very high expectations, since only one season was enough for it to become one of the highest-rated anime in history. This beautiful fantasy story returns after almost two years, but unfortunately its second season will only have ten episodes. Let’s hope that this considerable reduction in the number of chapters – the first had 28 – is because the Madhouse studio has opted for the highest possible quality.

[24 de enero]

It was one of the great surprises of 2025, since this anime about figure skating has managed to amaze a large audience and exceed their expectations. To ensure its continuity, it returns in 2026 with its second season, in which the Chubu Regional Tournament will be adapted. It will be available on Disney+.

[Enero]

New series of this iconic franchise so popular since its beginnings in the 90s. It returns with a new adaptation that will be completely faithful to the original manga and that has been animated by the Science SARU studio, recognized in recent years for successful series such as ‘Dandandan’. The exact release date is not known, but everything indicates that it will arrive in January.

[19 de marzo]

To end the winter season we will have the seventh season of ‘Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure’. It is another of the most anticipated releases of 2026 because it will adapt the most acclaimed story of the franchise. In fact, it is considered on MyAnimeList as the second best manga in history behind ‘Berserk’. However, there are many doubts about this adaptation, first because of the complexity of animating a horse race throughout the United States, and second because of the times that Netflix will manage. At the moment, we only know that a special 47-minute episode will premiere on March 19, but the release dates for the rest of the chapters are unknown. It’s probably in blocks, just like what happened with ‘Stone Ocean’ the previous season.

[5 de abril]

After more than two decades with weekly broadcasts, TOEI Animation decided to find another way to operate with ‘One Piece’. After a historic six-month hiatus, the studio fully animated the Egghead arc, and now it will once again take another three-month break before returning with the Elbaf arc. From this moment, the series will change to a format of a maximum of 26 episodes per year, being structured in formal seasons like most series.

[Abril]

In November 2025, Crunchyroll and the White Fox studio announced through a trailer the premiere of the fourth season of ‘Re: Zero’ in April 2026, although the exact date has not yet been announced. This new part is expected to adapt the fifth and sixth arcs of the light novels.

[Abril]

Another series returning in April is ‘Dr. Stone’, also without a specific exact date. The third part of this fourth season of the series arrives, titled ‘Science Future’, and it is expected to be the grand finale of the anime, including the mission to the Moon and the resolution of the mystery of petrification that affected humanity.

[Abril]

With the beginning of the spring season we will also have another of the most anticipated premieres of the year. The original ‘Witch Hat Atelier’ manga is one of the most acclaimed currently, so its anime adaptation generates a lot of expectation. It was going to be released in 2024, then it was delayed to 2025, and finally we will have it in 2026. This wonderful work of fantasy introduces us to Coco, a girl who has always dreamed of becoming a magician. He is prohibited from doing so as he was born without abilities, but one day he spies on the magician Qifrey and decides to replicate one of his spells. However, he causes tragedy by turning his mother to stone, so he becomes Qifrey’s apprentice to learn how to control magic and undo what he has done.

[Primavera 2026]

Another anime that returns in 2026 is ‘Dorohedoro’. The second season could have arrived last year, but its release was delayed. Now, everything indicates that it will premiere in the spring season, although the exact date on which its return will occur has not yet been confirmed.

[Julio]

It was one of the big announcements of the Jump Festa 2026, held at the end of last year. In this quote it was confirmed that ‘Bleach’ would reach its conclusion with ‘The Calamity’, the final part of ‘Thousand-Year Blood War’. The conclusion of this arc will be the farewell to one of the most popular shonen of all time.

[Octubre]

Another of the great titles of the moment will be present this year, and aims to be the most talked about at its conclusion. In the absence of an exact date, it has already been confirmed that ‘The Apothecary Diaries’ will return in October with the first part of the third season, leaving the other half for April 2027. In between, a film will be released in theaters in the month of December.

[1 de enero en japón]

After a very good 2025 for anime in movie theaters, a new year is coming for the industry that will begin with the premiere – for now only in Japan – of ‘Labyrinth’, directed by Shoji Kawamori. It tells the story of Shiori Maezawa, a high school girl who, after her cell phone breaks, ends up in a parallel, deserted world of Yokohama. Checking his phone, he discovers posts that he doesn’t remember making, so he will try to escape from that strange world while trying to keep the situation from getting completely out of control.

[22 de enero]

This Netflix original film reimagines the Japanese classic ‘The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter’ with a modern twist by integrating music, fantasy and virtual reality. Student Iroha encounters Kaguya, a celestial baby who quickly grows into a star as dark forces threaten to take her back to the Moon.

[27 de febrero]

This animated film by Mamoru Hosoda follows a medieval princess who is an expert in fencing and wants to avenge her father’s death, but fails in her mission and ends up in the Otherworld. There, he will explore hatred, revenge and destiny, facing various dilemmas with the help of a young man who helps him heal and shows him the possibility of a future without bitterness and rage. The work is very inspired by the classic ‘Hamlet’.

[6 de marzo en japón]

At the moment, its premiere is only confirmed in Japan, but it is expected that its launch in more countries, including Spain, will be announced soon. This film directed by Yoshitoshi Shinomiya (‘Your Name’) is a youth story that follows Keitaro, a young man who lives in an abandoned factory surrounded by solar panels. Before the building is demolished, he decides to launch his late father’s fireworks with his brother and a friend to close a chapter of their lives.

[Diciembre en japón]

As we detailed previously, the ‘The Apothecary Diaries’ series will feature an unpublished film written by its author Natsu Hyūga. It will premiere in Japan in December, right between the first and second parts of the third season. It will maintain the same tone of mystery and romance while expanding the universe with material that has not yet been seen in the manga or anime.