2025 was an amazing year for anime, with many incredible series reaching high levels of popularity, but it might fail in comparison to what's coming in 2026. With the beginning of a new year, a new season of anime is upon the fans, and it seems that Winter 2026 is one of the most stacked phases for anime series in quite a long time. Quite clearly, big anime series are making a return. Fans know very well that My Hero Academia Vigilantes Season 2 has just started, and so is Fire Force's final stretch. While these are exciting series, they're far from being Winter 2026’s biggest releases that's headed to Crunchyroll.
Frieren Season 2 Release Date Officially Confirmed
Frieren Season 2 release date has just been revealed.
Among the bigger anime headed to the platform, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 2 is one of the most anticipated ones. Fans have been waiting for Frieren's return for a long time now, having finished its first season all the way back in 2024. Frieren Season 2 is surely going to be big, but it still doesn't come close to the true biggest series of Winter 2026, and that is Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3. Jujutsu Kaisen is going to be an incredible ride for the fans, with the Culling Game starting. Fans can't wait for both Frieren and Jujutsu Kaisen to start and to finally decide once and for all which series is the true king of Crunchyroll's 2026 Winter anime.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Is A Sensational Series
- Frieren Season 1 Premiered In 2023
- Frieren Returns With Its Second Season In January
It's no secret that Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is one of the biggest and most popular new anime series. The series first kickstarted in 2023 with its first anime season, and it went on air for 28 episodes, which fans thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish. In fact, Frieren was so incredibly popular that it went on to become the highest-rated anime series of all time on MAL, a title it still holds on to now, two years later.
Now after two years of Frieren Season 1 having ended, the series is finally coming back with a second season and fans can't wait to continue the journey with Frieren.
Sadly, Frieren Season 2, while exciting, will only have 10 episodes. This is unfortunate, as fans expected more after such a long wait. It will, nevertheless, be one of the biggest series of Winter 2026 that fans are eagerly waiting for. Only one series could go on to surpass it in hype, and that is Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3.
Frieren Is Great, But The True Best Anime Of Winter 2026 Is Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3
- JJK Season 3 Kickstarts the Culling Game With Incredible Animation and Direction
Frieren is definitely one of the greatest anime series of recent times. However, in the grand scheme of things, it might be beaten by another huge series coming around the same time. Despite Winter 2026 being so stacked, the biggest series of the bunch is definitely Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3.
Jujutsu Kaisen is a monumental shonen with a level of success only achieved by a few other anime. With its return in 2026, it might be coming back bigger than ever with a new art direction and animation that is about to blow fans away.
Some fans have already seen the first two episodes of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 through the Jujutsu Kaisen Executioner movie, and the reviews are exceedingly good, and it is, undoubtedly, the best that JJK has ever looked.
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 is most definitely going to be even bigger than Frieren. The Culling Game will feature some of the most intense battles fans have seen in modern anime, even bigger than the likes of Solo Leveling or My Hero Academia, and the touch of darkness that Gege adds to things makes it all the more special.
Jujutsu Kaisen Has Become One Of The Greatest Series of All Time
- Jujutsu Kaisen’s Manga Is Just As Successful as Its Anime
The Jujutsu Kaisen anime is a phenomenon, but of course, one absolutely cannot forget its incredible manga series. Jujutsu Kaisen was first propelled to popularity thanks to its amazing anime adaptation but it has since found huge success in the manga department, far beyond what series like Frieren have experienced.
It's unforgivable to steal the youth away from kids... I still haven't forgiven them for taking a young person's youth away. – Gojo Satoru
Jujutsu Kaisen's manga has become so big that it is one of the best-selling manga of all time, surpassing the likes of Bleach and Attack on Titan in sales. It recently surpassed the 150 million mark, and this figure is only going to get higher with the release of its third season. With a lot of backlog sales expected, surpassing the 200 million mark is a strong possibility.
Jujutsu Kaisen was even the second-best-selling manga in 2025, and that is despite it having ended in 2024. Its success can't be underestimated, or even compared to the likes of Frieren when it comes to the manga.
What’s Next For Frieren And Jujutsu Kaisen?
- Frieren Could Get One More Anime Season
- Jujutsu Kaisen Could Get a Movie and Fourth Season
2026 is going to be a phenomenal year for both Jujutsu Kaisen and Frieren fans. However many wonder what's coming after that. While none of these series have future projects confirmed, fans already have an idea of what's coming next.
For Frieren, things are definitely a bit more complicated. The Frieren anime is almost fully caught up to the manga due to constant hiatuses from the mangakas, who struggle with various health problems. This is a huge issue, but with Season 2 only being 10 episodes long, there is room for one more anime season before the anime has to go on hiatus.
This means that in the next few years, fans can expect Frieren Season 3, and hopefully by then, the manga will have continued strongly and resumed serialization as usual.
“I’ll tell you the secret to fighting strong enemies. It’s easy, keep getting up and attack them with your moves continuously.” –Eisen
Meanwhile, for Jujutsu Kaisen, things are a lot clearer. As fans know, the Jujutsu Kaisen manga already concluded in 2024, and that gives the studio room to fully adapt the series. Many fans theorize that after Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3, a huge movie will be set up, featuring the exciting Gojo Vs Sukuna battle. This movie will most certainly be huge, and it will be followed by either another movie, or a final season to conclude the franchise.