This Week in Anime & Manga: July 7, 2026

The back half of the year is off to a genuinely stacked start. Between Netflix's July slate, the ongoing fallout from Anime Expo 2026, and One Piece grinding through the Elbaph war on its new seasonal schedule, there's a lot to unpack this week. Here's the roundup.

One Piece: Elbaph's First Cour Is Wrapping Up

The Elbaph Arc's first cour is closing out, with episode 1169 landing July 12 on Crunchyroll (July 18 on Netflix) — and it's arriving right after a new One Piece Heroines spin-off episode airs on July 5. That's a reminder of just how different 2026 looks for the franchise: after 26 straight years of uninterrupted weekly episodes, Toei shifted to a 26-episodes-a-year, two-cour schedule starting with Elbaph, trading raw output for more consistent animation quality. Given the arc's lore-heavy stakes — Imu, the Void Century, the Holy Knights closing in on the Giants — the slower pace seems to be buying the show real breathing room, and fan reception to the animation has been strong.

Worth flagging for a fan-theory angle: Oda has already teased that whatever comes after Elbaph won't be another island arc — early word points to something closer in scale to Marineford, with multiple factions (pirate crews, the Revolutionary Army, and various kingdoms) forced into the open against the World Government. That's a good hook for a follow-up theory post once the God Valley threads currently running in the manga tie back into the anime's pacing.

Netflix's July Lineup Is Loaded

Three big ones are landing on Netflix this week and next:

• Daemons of the Shadow Realm (based on Hiromu Arakawa's manga, the Fullmetal Alchemist creator) hits Netflix July 4, having already been a Crunchyroll hit since its spring premiere.

• The Ghost in the Shell reboot, produced by Science SARU, premieres July 8 — early reactions are praising its hand-drawn visuals and its faithfulness to Shirow's original tone, something several prior reboots struggled with.

• Thunder 3, adapting Yuki Ikeda's manga via Fuji TV, starts its Sunday run July 5 — plot details are being kept deliberately vague ahead of a twist the marketing is clearly protecting.

Bleach fans also get Thousand-Year Blood War Part 4: "The Calamity" this arc, closing out the Soul Reaper saga, and a re-edited Dragon Ball Super: Beerus film is coming with reworked cuts and a restructured narrative.

Anime Expo 2026 Announcements Are Still Rolling In

AX 2026 wrapped its panel season with a handful of new adaptations worth tracking:

• Studio Trigger confirmed a new original project from a director with Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill, and Promare on their resume.

• Crunchyroll picked up an anime adaptation of the webtoon Here U Are.

• HIDIVE announced a 2027 adaptation of Kana Yoshimura's Murciélago.

• A new original called Jurassic Shadows (dinosaurs, ninjas, and "kesho" makeup — yes, really) was unveiled by director Norihiro Naganuma.

Manga Shelf Check

On the print side, July's VIZ slate includes new volumes of Hunter x Hunter (Vol. 38), Sakamoto Days (Vol. 20), and The Elusive Samurai (Vol. 18), plus a series debut for Super Psychic Policeman Chojo. Square Enix Manga & Books also used Anime Expo to announce eight new manga licenses alongside two Final Fantasy book releases.

The Takeaway

The story of the week is really about pacing — One Piece deliberately slowing down for quality, Ghost in the Shell trying to out-live a decade of shaky reboots by going back to basics, and a genuinely deep bench of manga-to-anime adaptations still queuing up behind the marquee names. Expect the Elbaph theory pieces to pick up again once episode 1169 lands and we get a clearer read on how close the anime is catching up to the God Valley material in the manga.

Got a take on the Elbaph pacing change, or which July premiere you're most excited about? Drop it in the comments.