Anime Expo 2026 was the kind of convention where you could spend three days on the floor and still feel like you missed half of it. The Los Angeles Convention Center was packed wall-to-wall with major reveals: the first two episodes of Ghost in the Shell, a proper look at Yoshitaka Amano's ZAN, new Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 material, and early footage from Kagurabachi. Those announcements dominated every timeline and Discord server for days.
Here's the thing, though. Anime Expo has always been two conventions running simultaneously. There's the headline show, and then there's everything else happening in the neighboring panel rooms, the quieter Crunchyroll screenings, and the studio presentations that don't come with a press release machine behind them. That second convention is where some of the most interesting work tends to surface.
These 10 announcements didn't get the oxygen they deserved. Some are passion projects from directors taking genuine creative risks. Others are long-overdue adaptations of manga that have quietly built massive readerships. A few are already streaming right now. All of them are worth your attention.
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The sleeper hits hiding in plain sight
Hanaori-san Still Wants to Fight in the Next Life took the top spot as the convention's most underrated reveal. The premise sounds familiar on paper: a reincarnation story set in modern Japan. But the twist earns it. The protagonist is a former Demon King reborn as a regular person who would genuinely rather spend his days gaming than reclaim any kind of power. It plays the fantasy setup for comedy without apologizing for it, and Crunchyroll quietly hosted an early screening during the convention. It starts streaming on Crunchyroll July 11.
Right behind it, Sparks of Tomorrow arrived with serious momentum already built. Kyoto Animation's new Netflix original had already earned a competition slot at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival before landing at Anime Expo for its U.S. premiere. KyoAni projects tend to land differently from other studios because they rarely rely on spectacle to carry the emotional weight. Sparks of Tomorrow started streaming on Netflix on July 5, so you can already judge for yourself.
Though I Am an Inept Villainess also made its U.S. debut at the convention with almost no fanfare. Adapted from Satsuki Nakamura's light novels, it distinguishes itself from the crowded villainess subgenre by setting the story in an imperial Chinese-inspired world instead of the standard European fantasy backdrop. The body-swap setup feeds directly into palace intrigue rather than isekai adventure, and it lands on Crunchyroll July 12.
The creative swings that deserve more attention
Grotesqqque is the kind of announcement that only happens when a studio trusts an experienced director to do something genuinely strange. The theatrical anthology film marks the feature debut of Atsushi Nishigori, whose credits include The Idolmaster and Darling in the Franxx. What debuted at the CloverWorks panel was a trilogy of short films with exaggerated character expressions, flat-shaded color palettes, and a visual language that pulls from avant-garde graphic styles. Original anime films at this scale are rare. Grotesqqque releases in Japan on November 6, with no U.S. date confirmed yet.
The World Is Dancing went even further under the radar. Directed by Toshimasa Kuroyanagi and produced by CygamesPictures, it traces the origins of Noh theater through the story of Oniyasha, the boy who would become the legendary playwright Zeami. The production brought in professional Noh performers and choreographers rather than approximating the art form. It's already streaming on HIDIVE if you want to check it out now.
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia is the project that probably surprised the most people who caught it. Director Naoko Yamada, best known for A Silent Voice and The Heike Story, is adapting Tomato Soup's 2021 manga set during the height of the Mongol Empire. The story follows Sitara, orphaned and sold into slavery, as she works her way through the Khan's harem seeking revenge. Yamada reunites with animation director Abel Góngora, whose visual work on Dandadan and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off has made him one of the most exciting people working in the medium right now. The first two episodes already premiered at the convention and are available on Crunchyroll.
Long-overdue adaptations finally getting their moment
Magic Knight Rayearth getting a remake was the announcement that probably should have been bigger news. CLAMP's early-1990s fantasy series, which originally aired in 1994, blended magical girls, giant robots, isekai, and shoujo romance in a way that influenced a generation of creators. The remake arrives October 7, 2026.
The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All is Sumiko Arai's yuri romance manga finally making the jump to anime, and it's landing at CloverWorks, the studio behind Spy x Family, Bocchi the Rock!, and My Dress-Up Darling. The series wraps a genuine love of classic rock (Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, David Bowie) into its central romance, and Aniplex even brought Dave Grohl to the convention as part of the promotional push. It debuts in January 2027.
Two more worth bookmarking
Jurassic Shadows is the project that sounds like a joke until you hear who's behind it. Director Norihiro Naganuma, the person responsible for The Apothecary Diaries, is working on a story about secret ninja clans and dinosaurs waging war using an ancient pigment that unlocks prehistoric powers. There's no release window beyond "within the next few years," but Naganuma's track record makes it worth watching.
Then there's the Studio Trigger untitled project, which technically had almost nothing to reveal at Anime Expo. No screens, no trailer, no artwork. What it did have was the confirmation that director Hiroyuki Imaishi and writer Kazuki Nakashima are collaborating for the fourth time, following Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill, and Promare. For fans of those three, that's enough.
The key here is that Anime Expo's biggest headlines aren't always its best stories. If you're tracking the anime calendar for the rest of 2026 and into 2027, these are the projects to watch alongside the obvious ones. For more on anime-adjacent gaming, check out the Anime Last Stand tier list to see how the community is ranking units right now, and grab any Anime Last Stand codes before they expire.
