The Summer 2026 anime season has barely started, and the first weekly rankings are already tearing the fandom apart. With over 5,000 fans voting in Anime Corner’s Week 1 poll, the results paint a picture of a season that’s more competitive — and more controversial — anyone expected. A nine-year-old isekai just reclaimed its throne, a brand-new historical dark fantasy crashed the top 3 out of nowhere, and the margin separating first place from tenth is razor-thin. Buckle up, because Summer 2026 is going to be a war.
Saga of Tanya the Evil II Takes #1 — After NINE Years of Waiting
Let’s get the big one out of the way: Saga of Tanya the Evil II debuted at number one with 6.79% of the vote. For anyone who’s been in the anime community since 2017, this feels like a long-overdue homecoming. The original series — based on Carlo Zen’s light novel — followed a ruthless Japanese salaryman reincarnated as a blonde magical girl named Tanya Degurechaff in an alternate World War-era Europe. It was violent, philosophical, and utterly unique in the isekai landscape.
After the 2019 film and a handful of crossover appearances in Isekai Quartet, fans resigned themselves to the possibility that Season 2 might never happen. Then Kadokawa dropped the bombshell at AnimeJapan 2026: Tanya was coming back, and she was coming back in July. The premiere aired on July 8, and within a week, it shot straight to the top of the rankings.
What makes Tanya’s return so significant isn’t just nostalgia. The anime landscape in 2026 is brutally stacked with sequels — Mushoku Tensei Season 3, Slime Season 4, Grand Blue Dreaming Season 3 — and yet a show that last aired in 2017 managed to beat all of them. ScreenRant called it “2017’s greatest isekai anime,” and it looks like 2026 might belong to Tanya once again.
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia — The Dark Horse Nobody Predicted
If Tanya’s win was expected, the anime in third place absolutely was not. Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia (天幕のジャードゥーガル) captured 6.26% of the vote, finishing less than one percentage point behind the top spot. For a brand-new anime with no prior fanbase, no nostalgia factor, and no franchise backing, this is nothing short of extraordinary.
Based on Tomato Soup’s manga A Witch’s Life in Mongol, the series is set in 13th-century Mongolia and follows a former slave girl whose intelligence and magical abilities make her both invaluable and dangerous. The anime is being produced by Science Saru — the studio behind Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off — and it’s already generating massive controversy.
ScreenRant has called it “Crunchyroll’s best, and most controversial, anime of 2026.” GameRant declared it could be “the best anime release of the summer season.” Console-Classics labeled it “2026’s darkest anime.” The show isn’t pulling any punches — its depiction of slavery, political manipulation, and survival in a brutally patriarchal historical setting has divided audiences right down the middle. Some call it a masterpiece of historical fiction. Others find it too uncomfortable to watch. Either way, everyone is talking about it, and that’s exactly why it rocketed to third place.
The Top 10 Is Incredibly Tight — And That’s What Makes This Season Special
Here’s the full Week 1 Top 10 from Anime Corner’s Summer 2026 poll:
- 1. Saga of Tanya the Evil II — 6.79%
- 2. Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 3 — 6.37%
- 3. Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia — 6.26%
- 4. Grand Blue Dreaming Season 3 — 5.52%
- 5. The 100 Girlfriends Season 3 — 4.99%
- 6. You and I Are Polar Opposites Season 2 — 4.75%
- 7. Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You — 4.30%
- 8. Sparks of Tomorrow — 3.76%
- 9. I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day — 3.39%
- 10. The World Is Dancing — 3.35%
Look at those numbers. Less than 3.5 percentage points separate the top spot from tenth place. That kind of parity is almost unheard of in anime seasonal rankings, where one dominant show usually runs away with a comfortable lead. This season? Anyone could be on top by Week 3.
What’s especially notable is the diversity of the top 10. You’ve got military isekai (Tanya), isekai drama (Mushoku Tensei), historical dark fantasy (Jaadugar), college comedy (Grand Blue), harem comedy (100 Girlfriends), romance (Polar Opposites, Smoking Behind the Supermarket), and original works (Sparks of Tomorrow, The World Is Dancing). There’s no single genre dominating — the audience is split across every type of story imaginable.
The Sleeper Hits You Shouldn’t Sleep On
Beyond the top 10, a few titles are quietly building momentum. Black Torch debuted at #13 with 1.64%, which is impressive for a manga adaptation that was relatively unknown before Crunchyroll added it to their catalog this month. Clevatess Season 2 entered at #15 as a brand-new entry, suggesting the fantasy series is growing its audience between seasons. And Ghost in the Shell — yes, the iconic franchise — is sitting at #21, which might seem low until you remember it’s competing against 67 other shows in the most packed summer season in recent memory.
For fans of returning favorites, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 4 landed at #11, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Season 4 came in at #28. Both are likely to climb as their story arcs develop.
What This Means for the Rest of Summer 2026
The message from Week 1 is clear: Summer 2026 is the most competitive anime season in years. There is no single frontrunner. There is no “Anime of the Season” coronation waiting to happen. The top 10 is a knife fight, and every single week could reshuffle the entire board.
For Tanya fans, the question is whether the sequel can maintain its momentum or if the nine-year gap will catch up with casual viewers. For Jaadugar fans, the question is whether controversy will fuel growth or cap its ceiling. And for Mushoku Tensei fans — already well-represented on our site — the question is whether Rudeus can reclaim the top spot he held during the Spring 2026 season.
One thing is certain: if you’re not watching at least three or four shows this season, you’re missing out on what might be the most exciting anime summer in a decade. The rankings are only going to get more chaotic from here.
What’s your top anime of Summer 2026 so far? Are you team Tanya, team Jaadugar, or riding with a completely different show? Drop your picks in the comments — we want to hear them.
