The Spring 2026 anime season is starting so strong
(Preliminary note written two weeks later: Well, do I have bad news. I ended up watching the first three episodes of the series I mention here, and reading bits of the original light novel, and it's been full of a properly revolting amount of queerbaiting, along with a lot of other issues. I think it is essential for you not to get fooled by its first episode the way I did, nor to take the laudatory words I wrote about it at face value. You can read my rage on how the story unfolds here, instead or after reading this post. Note to self: never review a first episode by itself ever again. Aaaaaaaah.)
The Winter 2026 anime season is over, and a new season is starting that seems particularly plentiful and promising. It is, among others, heavy in notable adaptations, ranging from some long-awaited and much-lauded like Witch Hat Atelier, to some I've only vaguely followed but that are well-known in their own niche and that I'm curious to discover in anime form, like the gay romcom Go For It, Nakamura!1 or the rakugo shounen Akane-banashi (... or even Liar Game, that I have few memories of and that probably aged badly). I've also haphazardly jotted down tons of titles I know nothing about and that I'll check out out of pure curiosity - much more than usual, it seems.
Amidst all this, Agents of the Four Seasons feels particularly well-suited to, well, introduce a new season - and all the more because I didn't expect its first episode to blow me away this much.
I usually save my recommendation posts to later in a series' release, because recommending an anime after one single episode is a surefire way of regretting it if it takes a turn I don't like. This is all the more foolish as I've done very little research into this one - somewhat purposefully, to discover where it goes as it does. Overall, this series landed on my watchlist quite late, as it seemed to ultimately be some straight romance; but how good it looked and the vibes of its main girl characters were enough to intrigue me2. And with this one episode, I regret nothing3.
So don't take this as a proper recommendation; instead, please indulge me as this post bursts out of me after one episode that had me absolutely enraptured.
Agents of the Four Seasons is, we're told in tidbits, the story of four people, where each was bestowed the power of one season; and more particularly of Hinagiku, the Agent of Spring, an insecure and shy girl with a peculiar way of speaking and who is back to assuming her role after ten years away - ten years without Spring. This introductory episode is a strikingly efficient setup about the series' world and the mystery of what happened ten years ago; and I've been dying to know more. Its way of disseminating hints and brief flashback without ever speaking of that incident directly felt masterful throughout. Honestly, gosh, this is what a mystery-setup first episode should be like - and this is what such an episode should be like in worldbuilding and character-building, too.
We do not know what happened ten years ago; but the impact on our two main characters, Hinagiku and her swordswoman and protector Sakura, is blatant.
Hinagiku carries with her an obvious brokenness, despite the aura of her character design and bearing. It manifests in her speech, in her attitude, in everything: a deep-seated insecurity in her ability to do her job, or in the fact that she is needed in the first place. She speaks of what happened, and of the ten years that followed, as hibernating like an animal, as surviving a very long winter; enduring, and enduring, and enduring. This feels so, so deeply, like depression - her literal power to bring back Spring and hope contrasting with her lack of belief in herself.
Sakura, on her end, is fierce, kind and loyal, and ready to sacrifice her life for Hinagiku in a heartbeat. If her base archetype is easy to understand, I was very quickly enamored4 with how layered and realistic it felt here: her facial expressions and tone throughout are perfect in conveying how she feels, how she alternates between care and anger and worry and determination around her Lady - her thoughts like steel suddenly trying to carve a smile when Hinagiku talks to her. This realism is amplified by how clearly she carries a profound self-hate born from the guilt of what happened ten years ago; and I wasn't expecting so vivid a depiction of PTSD and panic attack as soon as Hinagiku suggests for them to split up momentarily.
I don't know where her character is going; heck, I don't know where the plot is going; but I feel like I have fallen deeply in love with these two's dynamic so far.
An obvious contribution to that is, predictably, how strongly yuri-coded their interactions are. They hold hands meaningfully like, six times in this single episode. They refer to a longstanding promise. Sakura is literally ready to die for Hinagiku. Heck, there is one sparkly shot of Hinagiku telling her not to tire herself out that has Sakura blushing and overheating. She's gay.
Hinagiku... well, quite probably not so much. All of the elements in the worldbuilding and the promotional pictures I have seen seem to hint at her being in love with the Agent of Winter, though apparently currently in a complicated dynamic with him due to the untold incident. Which, well, I'm bracing myself for that. If I can have more of the current dynamic between our two girl leads anyway, I think I will still be delighted.
(ah, to long for the protagonist stuck in a straight romance plot that you vowed to protect with your life)
But this first episode is so many other things, too.
It's gorgeous, first. Its character designs are great, its winter and spring landscapes are splendid, and I just can't wait to see more of this. It also has great music, from what I can hear - a soundtrack that adds just the right amount of subtle tension whenever the mystery of ten years ago is broached; just the precisely-needed flourish to Hinagiku's manifestation of Spring. The world it hints at is also fascinating: it blends traditional Japanese outfits for rites and magic, and yet an overall more modern Japan in everything not directly tied to the Agents. Something in this - in having things exceptional akin to fantasy juxtaposed with buildings and cars and TVs for the mundane - works surprisingly well.
The episode also hits exactly the right notes with the humor. I don't know; once again, the dynamic between Hinagiku and Sakura, while often heavy from the shared burden of their past and their duty, also has some really cute and funny moments of levity that feel so well-balanced in terms of comedic timing, and that contribute to strengthening their bond just as much.
And with all that, the episode also talks not just about the guilt and self-loathing inherent to our two main characters, but about grief and mourning through its self-contained plot, too. And once again, I was struck by how well it does on that front in its limited runtime; how clear it is that its writer knows how to write these themes.
And to cap off all this, it thematically ends with Spring - Spring like breaking out of depression and grief, Spring like watching a new story unfold, Spring like surviving hibernation, Spring like slowly learning to forgive oneself. And sure, I am letting my love for the season color my judgment; but still. Wow.
I watched this one episode yesterday evening, and I couldn't help but rewatch it immediately, and rewatch it again this evening. I couldn't contain my excitement and emotions each time. Nor could I contain myself writing this post in record time, against my better judgement.
I just-- I couldn't stop thinking about how so many little things of the plot and the characters were conveyed in these twenty-something minutes through subtle expressions and voice cracks. I couldn't stop thinking about how multifaceted Sakura and Hinagiku felt; about how the episode overall was effortlessly intriguing, funny, heavy, heartfelt and beautiful all at once; and how it seemed to be treading a story I knew nothing of where it could go, and how strangely exhilarating that was, despite my fears.
So, sure, maybe I'll regret this3. You may hear me grumbling in the background in a few episodes, notably depending on how much space the romance with Winter boy takes - and depending on that character's writing, too, of course, because so far we really only know the Agent of Spring.
Though the yuri will very probably crumble, hopefully Sakura will keep pining, and the themes of the series will keep being this rightfully addressed. I keep my hopes up on that front: so far, I have been absolutely obsessed with the clear dynamic of self-sacrifice of Sakura toward Hinagiku, and of Hinagiku toward her duty as an Agent, and how raw their trauma is - and all that seems like a core part of this tale.
No matter what - or at least, unless our two main characters become unexpectedly shallow in later episodes in ways that retroactively damage this one3 - I believe this episode will have been worth the watch even as a standalone snippet.
All in all, I still know absolutely nothing of Agents of the Four Seasons. All that I know is that this was an incredibly memorable series intro, and that I need more episodes of this caliber in my life. Hopefully others will follow - if not in this series, at least in this promising Spring season.
I can't wait to see more of it.
of which I mainly knew the manga cover, much-parodied among queer manga and anime fandoms.↩
I also learned at the last minute that it originated from a light novel written by the author of Violet Evergarden, which I haven't watched or read, and of which I've heard feedback ranging from very moving to somewhat overwrought. But I remember fondly playing a LARP based on its universe once, so that was enough for this pedigree to at least make me curious about Agents of the Four Seasons. This particularly striking episode makes me want to give Violet Evergarden a try, now.↩
parts where you can hear Voyage from two weeks later laugh and sob from her amount of rage and regret.↩
I feel like I should've known sooner, what with characters like Pearl from Steven Universe, and more generally girl-coded characters skillful and protective yet entirely erasing their self and putting their life on the line for other girl-coded characters... but somehow it didn't click earlier, how incredibly dear this archetype was to me. It is hitting me like lightning, now. This realization is at least one tangible thing I can thank this anime for.↩