New Anime Slate Unveiled: Netflix's Annecy Showcase, SDCC's Gundam Reveal, and Avatar: Seven Havens Premiere Date

Netflix Annecy Showcase spotlights One Piece remake and Blue Eye Samurai

Netflix unveiled a slate of new and returning anime during its Annecy showcase, as reported on July 24, 2026. Headlining the presentation was a first look at season two of the Emmy-winning animated drama Blue Eye Samurai, which follows sword fighter Mizu to London while characters Akemi, Taigen, and Ringo pursue separate paths in Japan under a new shogun. Netflix also debuted new material from its upcoming One Piece remake by WIT Studio, described as a "fresh take" on Eiichiro Oda's manga and separate from Toei Animation's long-running series and Netflix's live-action adaptation. The series is directed by Masashi Koizuka and is set to premiere on Netflix in February, with a teaser trailer scheduled to drop the Wednesday following the showcase.

Additional Netflix titles span film, sci-fi, and steampunk westerns

Beyond the flagship announcements, Netflix confirmed an anime adaptation of Kasumi Yasuda's manga Fool Night, with Atsushi Yukawa directing and studios Sunrise and Shaft producing. Set in a future where dying humans are transformed into plants via "Transfloration" to combat an oxygen shortage, the series is set to debut later in 2026. The Ribbon Hero, an animated film inspired by Osamu Tezuka's Princess Knight and directed by Yuki Igarashi, is scheduled for release on August 8. Kyoto Animation's Sparks of Tomorrow, based on Hiroshi Yuki's novel and set in a steam-powered early-20th-century Kyoto, debuted July 5, while steampunk western Bass X Machina, executive produced by Brian Tyree Henry and LeSean Thomas and produced by Studio Mir, premieres November 3.

SDCC reveals the Gundam RG Project with 2027 anime and game launch

Bandai Namco unveiled the RG Project at San Diego Comic-Con, a multi-media Gundam initiative that will launch in 2027 with the anime Mobile Suit Gundam RG XARX-ZERO. Directed by Kenji Kamiyama, whose credits include Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, with series composition by Kamiyama and science-fiction setting supervision by Toh Enjoe, the anime is set roughly 100 years before the events of the previously announced video game Gundam: Rogue Orbit. Both projects share the same universe but tell their stories from different perspectives, with the anime debuting in 2027 and the game from Bandai Namco Studios also launching the same year. Sola Animations (Sola Digital Arts) will produce the anime.

Avatar: Seven Havens sets October premiere on Paramount+

Paramount+ confirmed that Avatar: Seven Havens will premiere on October 9, 2026, alongside the release of its first teaser trailer. The series will follow a young Earthbender who discovers she is the new Avatar after Korra in a world shattered by a cataclysm, with humanity's last strongholds under threat from both human and spirit enemies. Like previous Avatar entries, the series will be split into two "books" of 13 episodes each. The voice cast includes Saheli Khan as Pavi, Aishu Devan as Nisha, Major Curda as Jae, Sakina Jaffrey as Agam, and Darren Barnet as Daemin. The series is created by franchise architects Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko through Avatar Studios and Nickelodeon.

Industry context: theatrical, streaming, and live-action Gundam

The July 24, 2026, coverage also touched on adjacent anime developments. Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender received a special screening at San Diego Comic-Con ahead of its streaming release on July 25, alongside a one-week awards-qualifying theatrical run in New York and Los Angeles. Netflix previously announced a live-action Gundam film starring Sydney Sweeney and Noah Centineo. Recent theatrical Gundam titles include Mobile Suit Gundam: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe, with a third film to complete the Hathaway trilogy currently in development.