Spring 2026 Anime Overview: Witch Hat Atelier, Botan Kamiina, Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Akane-Banashi and Go For It, Nakamura (Patreon)

I truly do not have the energy for my usual reviews right now so we're getting some actual quick, short thoughts reviews of everything I watched last season.

Witch Hat Atelier

Coco loves magic, but only a select few have the ability to become witches. But then Coco discovers that’s not quite true, and when she accidentally does forbidden magic, it has dire consequences. Determined to fix her mistake, Coco is introduced to the secretive world of witches, and finds herself in the middle of a dangerous and complicated conflict….

What can I say about Witch Hat Atelier that hasn’t already been said? It’s one of those anime and manga stories that’s so perfect that it’s hard to express just how good it is. Do you talk about the breathtakingly beautiful animation? Do you mention the well-rounded and complex characters? The nuanced, thought-provoking, morally gray magical world? The unique, carefully crafted magic system that's an incredible allegory for the struggles and triumphs of an artist? Then there’s how the story explores the issues of accessibility, education, and gatekeeping in unique ways that give it a lot of relevancy to real life. Or you can talk about its wonderful female characters and emphasis on the diversity of people (that gets more of a spotlight as the story goes on).

All of it adds up to a fantasy world that you truly want to immerse yourself in, with a feeling of real weight to the magic and the conflicts that surround it, and amazing artistry at every turn that will leave you just as awed and in love with witchcraft as Coco herself. This story is a sensation for a reason, and I’m so happy this series got the high production values, attention and animation pizzazz that the manga (and it's equally beautiful art) deserves, allowing it to be it’s own worthwhile take on the story.

Botan Kamiina Fully Blossoms When Drunk

20-year-old Botan Kamiina runs across her friend Ibuki, who is afraid to drink with other people due to her hiccups. They bond, and Ibuki introduces her to alcohol. But there’s growing feelings between them, and the other girls in their college dorm have their own romantic longings...

It actually took me a little time to get into Botan (the show) despite me being such a yuri-head. It’s a very laidback show with tons of low-key conversations while yearning and sexual tension simmers in the background. I could not be less interested in alcohol, so that was quite a barrier too, because pretty much everything ties back to alcohol and trying different drinks in this show. But the more I watched, the more I slowly realized this was really good. Suddenly, I was suddenly binging it. The show is excellent at depicting romantic yearning, building it up in subtle ways, really focusing on the small character interactions and depiciting how their sexual tension even bleeds into their chill hang-out time. It makes the characters and romance feel naturalistic in a way you don’t see a lot in anime (or even romance media period).

The animation is also lovely to watch. The animators underscoring the relationship with very atmospheric, artsy animation. It's clear they're really letting their creativity loose, and it really elevates the anime.

And make no mistake, this isn’t a subtexual yuri- the characters kiss and date and talk about dating. The combo of the animation and the way the characters poetically express their love and longing make it feel like one of the most romantic anime I’ve ever watched.

And then sometimes someone will say something absolutely wild.

And of course, it’s very nice to see a yuri anime about adults, even if they are college students (one of them is postgrad, though!) While it’s not as hard to find in manga, it’s almost impossible to find in anime.

(One thing that does bother me is how they made sure to give Botan and Ibuki the cutesiest, teeniest burps and hiccups ever, clearly because depicting actually disruptive bodily functions would compromise their ~moe femininity~). It made it very hard to believe anyone would object to or make fun of them for hicupping or burping, or even really hear it, it was so barely audible. LET. BOTAN. BELCH.)

Give this one a chance, because I’m really glad I stuck with it. Even if you don’t like alcohol (like me), you might find the romance and character work makes that irrelevant.

Daemons of the Shadow Realm

Yuru lives in a small village in the mountains. He and his sister Asa were abandoned by their parents and Asa is being kept imprisoned because of her dangerous powers. But then Yuru discovers nothing about his life is as it seems, and the revelations turn his world upside down. And on top of all that, Daemons are real?

The latest Hiromu Arakawa joint didn’t quite turn my life upside down the way Fullmetal Alchemist did, but it has her trademark fantastic worldbuilding, gut-busting humor, lovable characters, dynamic storytelling, and badass, well-developed women. I gotta especially give a shoutout to Left for being an actual muscular woman in an anime. I want her to crush me like a bug. 

This one has a lot of twists, so I can’t exactly tell you the full plot without spoiling, but it’s a fun roller coaster of a story, and I am firmly along for the ride. It’s just nice to relax into an Arakawa story, and know you're always in for a good time free of the gross stuff other battle shonen hits you with. She’s still got the sauce.

Akane Banashi

Akane learned to love Rakugo from her father, and when her father is suddenly disgraced and their world is torn apart, Akane decides to become a Rakugoa to learn just what happened to him, and to show up the one who looked down on her father wrong.

This anime is an enjoyable one. It's cool if you’re interested in/want to learn more about Rakugo and Akane is an endearing protagonist. The manga runs in Shonen Jump, so the show has some of the standard tropes (like a tournament arc, though not a super long one), but I don’t mind them too much when it’s an unusual (and educational!) setting and a fun lady protagonist is at the wheel. It didn’t blow my mind or anything (and it’s not quite the revenge story you’d expect from the first episode) but I had fun watching, and I enjoyed learning the ins-and-outs of the art form.

Go For It, Nakamura-kun!

Nakamura is a shy gay teenager in love with his classmate Hirose. He wants to be Hirose’s friend, and he gets into all kinds of shenanigans as he tries to get closer to his beloved.

Nakamura’s biggest appeal is being an BL with 80’s anime style art (very Rumiko Takahashi coded) and classic anime rom-com hijinks. It can get a little stale and feel like its spinning its wheels sometimes (and Nakamura’s obsession sometimes edging into comedic stalker territory might be too much for some, but it’s tame compared to a lot of rom-com anime), but it’s mostly delivered in a charming package that makes it a relaxing, kind of nostalgic watch. Gay people deserve kitschy rom-com anime too!

The anime takes a left-turn into drama land for the last two episodes (I’ve read the manga, and I believe this was anime original content) and I was kind of expecting it to have a more concrete romantic resolution with how the last episode was developing things…then it very much just leaves you hanging. So yeah, it’s a fun show with some really cute moments, but it's definitely the anime that impressed me the least this season.