Fall 2026 hasn't started yet, but the season's shape is already clear from what's been confirmed so far. Between a shonen comeback five years in the making, a Netflix anime returning with an entirely new cast, and Toei remastering one of Dragon Ball Super's biggest arcs from scratch, October through December is stacked before a single episode airs.
The Apothecary Diaries Season 3 Splits Its Cour
The Apothecary Diaries Season 3 premieres October 2, running its first cour before pausing and returning for a second cour in April 2027. Splitting a season in half to protect animation quality has become common practice for high-profile sequels, and Apothecary Diaries joins a growing list of shows choosing a longer wait over a rushed back half.
Black Clover Comes Back After Five Years
Black Clover Season 2 is confirmed for October 2026, though an exact premiere day hasn't been locked in yet. Studio Pierrot returns with original director Ayataka Tanemura, series compositor Keiichiro Ochi and composer Minako Seki all back, picking the story up at the Spade Kingdom conflict where the original series left off at episode 170 in March 2021. That's roughly five and a half years between seasons for one of the more consistently popular shonen franchises still airing.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 Drops a Whole New Story at Once
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 arrives on Netflix October 20 with all 10 episodes released together, matching the format of the first season. Studio Trigger returns for the CD Projekt Red collaboration, but this is a standalone story with an entirely new cast unconnected to David Martinez's arc from the original.
Steel Ball Run Keeps Moving, Dragon Ball Gets Rebuilt
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run, which premiered its first stage back in March 2026 through David Production, returns with a weekly run starting September 25 covering the second and third stages across 11 episodes, bridging into the fall season. Separately, Dragon Ball Super: Beerus, a remastered and recut version of the God of Destruction Beerus Saga and Golden Frieza Saga with new and redrawn cuts, was confirmed for a fall 2026 window at the franchise's 40th anniversary event in January, though Toei hasn't locked an exact date yet.
What to Watch For
None of this has aired yet, which makes Fall 2026 the season to watch rather than one to recap. The pattern already forming looks familiar: long-dormant franchises picking their moment to return, and studios increasingly willing to split cours or delay start dates rather than compromise on production quality. Expect a full season wrap once these actually premiere.
