Two major weekly anime polls paint a compelling picture of Spring 2026 at the midseason mark, with Witch Hat Atelier, Iruma-kun, and Dorohedoro dominating one set of rankings while Wistoria S2 and Re:ZERO S4 lead the other.
Spring 2026 is seven weeks deep, and the midseason rankings are in. Two of the most-watched weekly anime polls tell a fascinating split story: Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun, Dorohedoro, and Witch Hat Atelier dominate one tracker's episode and cumulative charts, while Wistoria: Wand and Sword Season 2 and Re:ZERO Season 4 command the popular vote in the other.
In the weekly episode rankings covering May 13 through 19, Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun climbed to the number-one spot, capping off a strong run of episodes that have energised the show's fanbase heading into the back half of the season. Witch Hat Atelier held firm at second place, continuing to impress viewers week after week with its richly animated adaptation. Dorohedoro rounded out the top three, its gritty, chaotic energy clearly resonating with audiences who have waited years for more of Caiman's story.
Beyond the top three, Nippon Sangoku: The Three Nations of the Crimson Sun landed at fourth, an unexpected showing for an original project with no source-material fanbase to lean on. Akane-banashi took fifth, proving that a manga about rakugo storytelling can hold its own against action-heavy heavyweights. Rounding out the top ten were An Observation Log of My Fiancée, Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 3, Reborn as a Vending Machine, Classroom of the Elite 4th Season, and The Ramparts of Ice.
When aggregated across every episode aired through the midseason mark, the cumulative season rankings shift the hierarchy. Witch Hat Atelier sits at the overall number-one spot, a testament to its remarkable consistency rather than any single breakout episode. Dorohedoro follows at second, and Akane-banashi climbs to third on the strength of its early-season dominance. Nippon Sangoku holds fourth, and Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- enters the cumulative top five at fifth place.
The methodology behind these cumulative rankings uses a ranked-pairs system: if sixty percent of voters who rated both Series A and Series B preferred A, then A ranks higher. This approach rewards shows that sustain quality across weeks rather than those that spike on a single standout episode, which explains why a slow-burn drama like Witch Hat Atelier outperforms flashier titles in the long run.
A separate weekly poll drawing over four thousand global votes paints a sequel-dominated landscape. Wistoria: Wand and Sword Season 2 claimed the top position for the second time this spring, pulling 8.46 percent of the vote. Re:ZERO Season 4 followed at 6.68 percent, continuing its steady climb since the season premiere. Witch Hat Atelier, the highest-ranked new property in this poll, sat third with 4.84 percent.
The rest of the top ten included I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class at fourth, Daemons of the Shadow Realm at fifth, Classroom of the Elite IV at sixth, Agents of the Four Seasons at seventh, The Ramparts of Ice at eighth, Marriagetoxin at ninth, and The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten Season 2 returning to the top ten at tenth.
The divergence between the two tracking methods highlights a familiar tension in seasonal anime discourse. Popularity-driven polls tend to favour sequels with established fanbases, which is why Wistoria S2 and Re:ZERO S4 dominate one chart. Ranked-pairs systems that weight viewer satisfaction over raw vote count surface quality-driven picks like Witch Hat Atelier and Akane-banashi.
The one title that bridges both worlds is Witch Hat Atelier. It ranks in the top three across every metric, whether measured by weekly episode impact, cumulative satisfaction, or raw popular vote share. For a first-season adaptation of Kamome Shirahama's manga, that crossover appeal is a strong signal heading into the second half of the cour.
With most Spring 2026 titles approaching their eighth or ninth episodes, the midseason picture is well established but far from locked in. Iruma-kun's recent surge to the top of the weekly chart suggests momentum that could reshape the cumulative standings. Dorohedoro and Re:ZERO both have climactic arcs on the horizon that could push them higher. And Wistoria S2's grip on the popular vote shows no sign of loosening. The back half of Spring 2026 has all the ingredients for a tight finish at the top.
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