ASHA and KOKONA, who appeared in the girl group audition 'No No Girls' produced by BMSG and Chanmina, will debut as the unit TAKARA on August 8, 2026. Their self-produced song 'Time is money' releases the same day. They follow HANA and Fumino as the second artists under NO LABEL ARTISTS.
Akumi Agitogi, author of My Happy Marriage, and Masaki Kazuka, artist of Fiancée of the Wizard, have launched a new manga titled Miko to Yashayome. Kadokawa's B's-LOG COMIC published Chapter 0 on July 24, and serialization began Wednesday. The story follows sorceress Miyabi Mori, who marries into the Koiwai family and tries to save her cursed husband Kuon.
Episode 6 of The World Is Dancing sees Oniyasha lose his lion-dance competition against Zojiro of the Shinza Dengaku troupe, leaving the shogun ready to give up on his protege. Saved by Zojiro's sportsmanship and a few gracious audience members, Oniyasha still considers abandoning dance entirely, until a reunion with the village boy Kogane reframes his calling.
The Federal Reserve Board has appointed Xbox CEO Asha Sharma as co-leader of its new "Productivity and Jobs" task force. The appointment, announced on July 10, 2026, places Sharma alongside Stanford University economist Charles I. Jones and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz. The task force is tasked with analyzing how emerging general-purpose technologies, including artificial intelligence, affect the U.S. economy and employment, with the goal of informing Federal Reserve monetary policy. The appointment comes just days after Sharma outlined plans to cut approximately 3,200 positions in the Xbox division by the end of fiscal year 2027. That restructuring also involves spinning off studios Double Fine and Compulsion Games as independent entities, while Ninja Theory and Undead Labs are to be transferred to new owners. Overseas outlets including PC Gamer and Game Developer have noted the timing of the appointment relative to the layoff announcement.
Gravure idol Sasha Yurikawa, who has a Russian grandfather and is known for her G-cup and translucent skin, will release her first 8K-compatible digital photobook and image video 'Natural Self' on June 26, 2026, under the new label First Gravure. The work aims to capture her natural demeanor across five studio sets, with Yurikawa calling it a 'cool sexy' and 'provocative' turn from her previous work.
Bandai Namco Filmworks announced on June 18 that the boy group 20th Century, composed of former V6 members Masayuki Sakamoto, Hiroshi Nagano, and Yoshihiko Inohara, will perform the opening theme song for the second cour of the television anime adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi's manga MAO. The song is titled "Bokura ga Uwagaki suru Sekai" (The World We Overwrite), with lyrics, composition, and arrangement by MHRJ. The second cour begins with episode 14 on July 4 on NHK General. The first cour opened on April 4 and is set to run for two continuous cours without breaks. To commemorate the announcement, the studio released the creditless opening video for the InuYasha anime, which featured V6's song "CHANGE THE WORLD" from 2000, for a limited time until September 27. This marks the first time Sakamoto, Nagano, and Inohara have been involved with a Takahashi anime adaptation in 26 years, since their work on InuYasha. The MAO anime is produced by Sunrise and streams on Hulu in the U.S. and on Disney+ in Canada, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand.
Serenity Forge will publish Sister, Others, Paranoia, a new visual novel from HazeDenki. The game reunites the Nidiga production team: Nyarla (scenario/director), Ohisashiburi (art), and Aiobahn +81 (music). Nyarla stated the release is not far off and promised updates by end of June, with plans to discuss the game at Anime Expo in Los Angeles from July 2 to July 5, 2026. The game is in development for PC via Steam, targeting a 2026 release.