Crunchyroll's Wave 1 and Wave 2 announcements already covered most of Summer 2026's new exclusives, from Mushoku Tensei Season 3 to Iron Wok Jan. But four titles outside that slate carry more weight than the volume of the season's schedule suggests: a two-decade story reaching its actual end, a franchise returning after nine years away, and a cyberpunk classic getting rebuilt by a studio that has never touched it before.

Bleach Reaches Its Actual Final Arc

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity premieres July 25 from studio Pierrot, a 13-episode fourth cour that finally brings Ichigo's fight with Yhwach, and the anime as a whole, to a close. Bleach's story started airing two decades ago. This is the arc that ends it.

Ghost in the Shell Gets Rebuilt By a New Studio

The Ghost in the Shell arrives on Prime Video July 7 as a new TV adaptation of Masamune Shirow's manga, with Science SARU handling animation instead of Production I.G for the first time in three decades. Science SARU is the studio behind Dandadan, and this version follows Motoko Kusanagi and Section 9 with new episodes releasing weekly alongside the Japanese broadcast on Fuji TV.

Youjo Senki Returns After Nine Years

Saga of Tanya the Evil Season 2 premieres July 8 through studio NUT, bringing Tanya Degurechaff back to the alternate-WWI battlefield nine years after the original 2017 season. That gap puts it in similar territory to Dorohedoro's six-year wait earlier this year, except longer, and it's a reminder that a strong cult following can keep a sequel alive well past the point most shows would be considered dead.

The Elusive Samurai Returns to Noitamina

The Elusive Samurai Season 2 premieres July 17 on Fuji TV's Noitamina block, with CloverWorks and director Yuta Yamazaki both back from the first season. The first season re-aired on the same block in April 2026 to set up the return, and Crunchyroll continues the simulcast.

What This Says About the Season

Crunchyroll's own lineup announcements were mostly new exclusives and long-runners continuing through the schedule. The bigger story of Summer 2026 sits just outside that slate, in a franchise closing out entirely, another coming back from a near-decade gap, and a classic getting handed to a studio with no prior history on the property. Sequels dominate anime scheduling by default. This season, the exceptions are what stand out.