Hit anime series turned into a feature film. That formula worked to such spectacular fashion for Crunchyroll in 2025 with the one-two punch of the record-setting, award-winning Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: Infinity Castle and Chainsaw Man: The Movie: Reze Arc that the streaming giant is going back to the playbook.
During a showcase panel Friday at Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles, the streamer unveiled Solo Leveling: Beyond the System, a direct sequel to the recently concluded Season 2. Although few details and no release date were announced, the anime is in production and we have a teaser “concept” video.
The Solo Leveling bombshell capped a slew of buzzy reveals beginning with the news that Akira, the landmark 1988 cyberpunk feature about battling biker gangs in post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo, has been digitally remastered and will be released in 4K and Imax in September.
In between the two major movie announcements, Crunchyroll rolled out trailers and concept art for a dozen upcoming titles. Here are five standouts that had fans buzzing — and could have a shot at becoming the rare anime to be Emmy-competitve.
Ghost of Tsushima Legends
Crunchyroll debuted stunning first-look images of the key characters of this anticipated anime adaptation of the hugely popular PlayStation game about a lone samurai defending his homeland against impossible odds. The series is in production but undated.
The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All
This anime comes with the Nirvana seal of approval. “Kurt definitely would have loved this,” Dave Grohl said in a video introduction to the series, which uses the band’s “Breed” as its theme song. Based on the manga of the same name, the story follows a high schooler who falls for a mysterious music store employee… who, like the title says, turns out be her female classmate.
Here U Are
Is the Heated Rivalry effect extending to anime? Not quite. While the series adaptation of the popular Webtoon comic features a gay romance between two seemingly mismatched young men, the source material is never explicit, focusing instead on their emotional journey. The announcement drew massive applause from attendees. Date is TBD.
Fate Rewinder
This visually arresting sci-fi thriller series focuses on a team of “Rewinders,” who are able to go back in time to right wrongs and save people from tragic fates. It’s set for an April 2027 debut on the streamer.
Overgeared
The earliest arriving of the new series, Overgeared drops in October. It focuses on a low-level player in a VR game who, in a rare bit of good fortune, becomes a master blacksmith who forges the games most powerful gear.
