Last winter was absolutely stacked when it came to anime, with new seasons of Jujutsu Kaisen and Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End dominating the conversation, but among those titans, Sentenced to Be a Hero proved to be the surprise hit of the season. The dark fantasy series reduces the idea of revolution to its basest form, centering on a band of conscripted “heroes” sentenced to perpetual violence in the name of salvation. There is no uprising, no ideological rapture but an endless system of war, reflecting a twisted world where saving people is indistinguishable from using them. But there’s another anime with a unique take on revolution that everyone is sleeping on.
Based on the popular Chinese webtoon by Er Mu, Release That Witch arrived out of nowhere on Crunchyroll in March — debuting so quietly, in fact, that most viewers missed it entirely. Yet the eight-episode donghua has become one of the highest-rated shows of the season, even outperforming Sentenced to Be a Hero on MyAnimeList. Release That Witch is worth watching, particularly thanks to its thoughtful approach to the concept of revolution as told through the typically cozy isekai genre.
I’ll be the first to admit that isekai anime are not my favorite, but something about Release That Witch pulled me in almost instantly. The narrative follows a modern-day mechanical engineer named Cheng Yan who is suddenly thrust into the body of the despised fourth prince, Roland Wimbledon, after both characters die at the same time. In a medieval world rife with witch-killing and corruption, Cheng, as Roland, decides to lead a revolution using magic and science, guiding his small band in Border Town into an industrial era centuries ahead of its time.
The series gets its name from one of the very first moves Roland makes upon awakening: saving a witch from being executed. Anna, the witch in question, later becomes a key ally of his budding kingdom, aiding Roland in various scientific and industrial experiments. One of the first things he tasks her with is controlled industrial smelting and calcination work, using Anna’s black flame to superheat limestone into quicklime, which Roland later mixes with sand and water to make cement. Anna essentially functions as a human industrial furnace long before the space is fully industrialized.
The entire concept is equally fascinating and hilarious, especially when the series reframes ordinary modern science as something bordering on sorcery to the people around Roland. The show doesn’t create wonder by inventing impossible things, but by treating familiar real-world science as miraculous innovation. There’s something endlessly entertaining about watching concepts we take for granted — metallurgy, steam power, urban planning — being received as divine revelation. That’s part of what makes Release the Witch so memorable: it approaches science with the same sense of awe most fantasy anime reserve for magic.
Before penning the acclaimed webtoon, author Er Mu (a pseudonym for Chen Rui) was an architectural engineer, which helps explain the level of technical detail baked into Release That Witch. The series is full of engineering and architectural concepts, offering a subtle deep dive into urban planning, manufacturing, resource management, military logistics, and technological iteration. It’s almost like watching a game of Civilization VI play out in real time, with touches that occasionally feel pulled from Game of Thrones.
A perfect example is the show’s central conflict of surviving the coming winter. Unlike Game of Thrones, the characters in Release That Witch aren’t dealing with zombies, but rabid beasts living on the fringes of their known world, corrupted by unstable magical forces. The entire season tracks a small kingdom trying to fortify its defenses, secure food supplies, establish trade and military alliances, and rapidly industrialize under mounting external pressure, all building toward a final crescendo as snow begins to fall.
Despite its acclaim, a second season remains uncertain due to reported behind-the-scenes production issues. The first season was originally intended to run for 12 episodes rather than eight, but production constraints and funding challenges reduced its scope. It’s attracted a fairly large fanbase for a Chinese fantasy anime, though nowhere near as large as something like Sentenced to Be a Hero, which may be a reason why the rights holders are dragging their feet with a second season. Several fan petitions supporting the continuation of Release That Witch have since gained traction, with one on Change.org garnering over 11,000 signatures.
In many ways, Sentenced to Be a Hero and Release That Witch are interested in the same question: what does it take to change a broken world? But where Sentenced imagines revolution through endless sacrifice and militarized punishment, Release That Witch remains fascinated by reconstruction — by roads, industry, governance, and the slow process of building something better. That’s what would make the series’ cancellation feel especially unfortunate. There are plenty of fantasy anime series about destroying systems, but very few touch upon the difficult work of rebuilding them.
That’s why Release That Witch is easily one of the most engaging anime series I’ve watched in years. It’s packed with fascinating nuggets of intrigue for budding engineers, and feels like a breath of fresh air in a Winter 2026 season dominated by action-forward, shonen-style anime. It would be a shame to see a series so interested in building worlds and systems left unfinished.
Watch Release That Witch on Crunchyroll
