The Fall 2026 Anime Preview Guide

Aoashi Season 2

Aoi Ashito's game has now earned him a spot on the A team, but he is quickly overwhelmed by his harsh new reality. Surrounded by elite players like Kuribayashi and Akutsu, practices are just as merciless as the matches. In this U-18 Premier League of powerhouse talent, Ashito must evolve or be crushed if he's ever to be acknowledged.

Aoashi Season 2 is based on the manga series by Yūgo Kobayashi. The anime series is streaming on Crunchyroll on Sundays.

It's been four years since we last saw Ashito and his teammates onscreen. In that time, the manga has started to come out in English, and thank goodness for that, because otherwise I would have been lost with all of the many, many named characters in this episode. That's a risk with any show about a team sport, though, so it's more a note than a complaint, and I truly appreciate that this new season just picks back up where season one left off in 2022: with Ashito joining the A team.

For Ashito, this is the true start of his dream. He's always believed that he could do this, and it was that steadfast belief and a healthy dose of determination that got him to Tokyo in the first place – even if the coach who encouraged him turned out to be somewhat less supportive than anticipated. (I am pleased to report that this episode is largely devoid of terrible adults.) Every frame of Ashito here shows how utterly focused he is. The tension in his body, the dart of his eyes, and, of course, his excited grin at the end of the episode scream how excited and determined he is. It contrasts nicely with his fellow first years, with Kuroda (the other guy with a color in his name, which is interesting) playing the part of his foil. Kuroda, still sporting a bandage from his last game, is frustrated to the point of tears. He feels invisible and helpless. But Ashito is thrilled just to be there. He doesn't care that the older boys complain about him. He barely cares that he has a harder time when he practices with the starters. All that matters is that he's there, taking the next steps. The confidence that brought him to Tokyo helps him power through a less-than-stellar practice because he knows he can do this.

Perhaps the most important piece of this episode is the return of Kuribayashi. He played pro for a bit before Fukuda knocked him back down to juniors, apparently on a whim. His reasoning was that exciting things were happening with the junior players, and I'd bet money he's really angling for Kuribayashi to play with/train Ashito. The younger boy has certainly caught Kuribayashi's eye – and the psychotic Akutsu has noticed. That spells drama, and possibly physical pain, because Akutsu just radiates repressed violence, and he clearly has no warm and fuzzies for Kuribayashi or Ashito.

While we don't see tons of soccer action – mostly stills of the guys passing the ball – this is still a thoroughly engrossing episode. Ashito is moving up, and even though hardships are definitely ahead, he's ready to face them. I'm excited to watch him do it.