Sequels Dominate U-NEXT's First Half 2026 Anime Viewership Ranking
The ranking confirms the continued dominance of established franchises in streaming viewership, with sequels occupying seven of the top 10 spots.
Reporting from 1 source: Magmix.
U-NEXT released its viewership ranking for the first half of 2026, covering January 1 to June 8. The top 10 is heavy on sequels, with Jujutsu Kaisen: Culling Game Arc (Part 1) taking first place, followed by Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Season 2 and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 4. Spring premieres Yomi no Tsugai and Nihon Sangoku also made the list.
U-NEXT, a major Japanese streaming service, published its anime viewership ranking for the first half of 2026. The aggregation period ran from January 1 to June 8. Sequels dominate the top 10, with Jujutsu Kaisen: Culling Game Arc (Part 1) at number one, followed by Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Season 2 and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 4. Two spring 2026 premieres, Yomi no Tsugai and Nihon Sangoku, also cracked the list.
- Yomi no Tsugai: 10th place
- Hell Mode: The Gamer Who Likes to Grind Becomes Unrivaled in a Broken World: 9th place
- The Easygoing Lord's Fun Territory Defense: Using Production Magic to Turn a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortress City: 8th place
- Nihon Sangoku: 7th place
- Oshi no Ko Season 3: 6th place
- Noble Reincarnation: From a Blessed Birth to Obtain the Strongest Power: 5th place
- The Jack-of-All-Trades Who Was Kicked Out of the Hero's Party: 4th place
- That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 4: 3rd place
- Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Season 2: 2nd place
- Jujutsu Kaisen: Culling Game Arc (Part 1): 1st place
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.