As we mentioned at the start of the year, there were almost too many anime releases in January . The same can be said about the upcoming summer anime season. To help everyone sift through the noise, we’re taking a page from our sister site  Kotaku’s playbook (penned by yours truly) by bringing back the quintessential seasonal anime guides. But first, some ground rules. Instead of listing every show coming out each season in a slideshow format (which takes way too long and isn’t fun for you, the reader, to click through piecemeal, or for me, the person formatting the damn thing, to make), we’re assembling a shortlist of shows we’ve got on our radar that fit the io9 ethos of sci-fi and fantasy, including the studio behind each show and a one-sentence summary of their premise, while throwing in a couple of extra shows outside those genres I’ve got my eyes on this season. My guide, my rules, as it were. Without further ado, here’s your Summer 2026 anime guide.…