Ján is a character in the Iron Wok Jan! anime adaptation, which premieres July 5, 2026, on TV Tokyo and its affiliates.
The Iron Wok Jan! anime adaptation, based on Shinji Saijyo's 1990s cooking manga, has set a July 5, 2026, premiere date. The series is directed by Ei Aoki at studio TROYCA, with Makoto Uezu handling series scripts and Masako Matsumoto designing characters. The opening theme song is performed by the seven-member dance vocal group Genin wa Jibun ni Aru.
Five additional cast members were announced in May 2026, joining previously confirmed lead cast including Kikunosuke Toya as Jan Akiyama, Ikumi Hasegawa as Kiriko Gobancho, Kohei Amasaki as Takao Okonogi, and Kenjiro Tsuda as narrator. The new additions are Masuo Amada as Nichido Otani, M.A.O as Celene Yang, Takahiro Sakurai as Kei Sawada, Taishi Murata as Tomohide Jun, and Yusuke Kobayashi as Yuji Kawahara.
The original manga ran in Weekly Shonen Champion from 1995 to 2000 across 27 volumes, with over 10 million copies in circulation. The anime will air Sundays at 5:30 p.m. JST on TV Tokyo and its affiliates.
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Episode 8 of Iron Wok Jan! continues the tournament with a focus on building up new competitors Celene Yang and Omae Kota. The episode sets Kota up as an easy-to-root-for character, then has Akiyama Jan deliberately aim to make him lose, twisting the knife in his agonizing defeat. Kiriko states plainly that she wants a more positive form of cooking to prevail.
Konami revealed the English voice cast for Castlevania: Belmont's Curse in a trailer on Monday. Abby Trott voices protagonist Rose Belmont, with J.B. Blanc as Trevor Belmont, Alejandra Reynoso as Sypha Belnades, and Graham McTavish as Dracula. Reynoso and McTavish reprise their roles from the Castlevania animated series, and Liam O'Brien returns as Isaac from Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. The game launches October 15 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Cloud, Xbox PC, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.
The third American Manga Awards, announced Thursday by Anime NYC and the Japan Society, honored creators and publishers across seven categories. Billy Bat took Best New Manga, The Summer Hikaru Died won Best Continuing Manga Series, and Cocoon won Best One-Shot Manga. The ceremony also inducted two figures into the Manga Publishing Hall of Fame and gave Akiko Higashimura an Award of Distinction. Editorial professionals voted on the winners.
USAPAGAMES LLC's crowdfunding campaign for Memento Online JAN, a fantasy mahjong game that turns yaku into job cards, has reached 400% of its funding goal on Makuake. The project ends Sunday, August 30, 2026, at 22:00. Support purchases remain open on the Makuake project page.
Anime News Network reviews episode 6 of Iron Wok Jan!, which pits Akiyama Jan against Sawada in Round 1 of the cooking competition. The review highlights the episode's simple but well-prepared storytelling, the underdog cloud hanging over Akiyama after his wild prelims strategy, and a character beat with Kiriko before the match concludes.
Jan Zizka, the solo developer of the Earth-scale RTS Machinefall, discussed the game's 32 trillion map tiles, its Stone Age to Nuclear Age campaign, and his heavy use of generative AI for translation, music, and textures. He also noted that Tokyo is a major enemy base and that Japan is the easiest starting location.
Minecraft's latest Java snapshot introduces concrete stairs and slabs in all 16 colors, plus maps in some abandoned camp chests that lead to new camps and structures. Both features are available in the Java snapshot, with Bedrock beta and preview support coming soon.
Anime News Network reviews episode 5 of Iron Wok Jan!, calling it the best entry yet. The episode introduces a tournament arc where Jan and Kiriko face rival chefs. Jan drugs the judges with mushrooms, cackling over their fallen bodies, forcing the production team to break the fourth wall and explain the legal basis for the act.
Anime News Network reviews episode 4 of Iron Wok Jan!, which introduces a new challenger trained under Otani to undermine Akiyama. The episode highlights Akiyama's hidden tricks and character growth for Okonogi and Kiriko, though the reviewer notes the formula feels repetitive.
Mojang Studios updated the system requirements for Minecraft Java Edition on July 21, 2026, for the first time in roughly 17 years. The minimum memory requirement jumps from 2GB to 8GB (12GB for integrated GPUs), and the recommended memory rises to 16GB. The new minimum specs target 1080p at 30fps on the Performance preset, while recommended specs target 1080p at 60fps on the Fancy preset. The update also requires a Vulkan 1.3-compatible GPU, replacing the aging OpenGL graphics API. Mojang cited the game's growth over 17 years, expanded world sizes, new features, and the need to modernize internal technology as reasons for the change. The studio warned that systems below the new minimum may still launch the game for now, but performance is not guaranteed, and future Vulkan transitions could make the game unplayable on older hardware. The company also noted that the requirements remain relatively low compared to modern AAA titles and do not demand a high-end gaming PC.
Anime News Network reviewed the first three episodes of the revived cooking anime Iron Wok Jan!, praising its fast start, strong character dynamics among leads Jan, Kiriko, and Okonogi, and a clever twist on the food critic trope with the corrupt Otani Nichido. The reviewer noted the series benefits from audience familiarity with the genre while retaining its own jagged edges.
The new trailer and poster for 'DIGGER', Tom Cruise and Alejandro G. Iñárritu's film, reveal Cruise plays a greedy oil CEO named Digger Rockwell whose actions cause Earth's destruction. The Japanese release date is October 9. Cruise's appearance is drastically different: white-haired, pot-bellied, making vulgar jokes. He also opened a TikTok account.
Anime Feminist reviews the first episode of the Iron Wok Jan anime, arguing the series cannot be separated from the context of 1995 Japan. The review describes the year as a low point marked by the Kobe earthquake, the Tokyo subway sarin attack, and the end of Dragon Ball, and positions the cooking manga as a source of hope during that period.
The official website for the Iron Wok Jan television anime released a main trailer and key visual on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, confirming a July 5 premiere date. The trailer, presented as an "alternate" version, features food critic Nichido Otani commenting on the cooking battles. The announcement also revealed that Tomokazu Sugita will voice Ryuji Bito, a wandering Chinese cuisine chef known as "XO Sauce Ryu." Sugita, a veteran voice actor, expressed excitement about joining the adaptation of a manga he read in real time. The ending theme song "Naita Akuma" by EMUNIMINI was also previewed. The anime will air on TV Tokyo and its affiliates on Sundays at 5:30 p.m. JST, and will stream on Anime Times, ABEMA, U-NEXT, and Anime Hōdai in Japan. Ei Aoki directs the series at studio TROYCA, with Makoto Uezu handling series composition and Masako Matsumoto designing characters. The main cast includes Kikunosuke Toya as Jan Akiyama, Ikumi Hasegawa as Kiriko Gobancho, and Kohei Amasaki as Takao Okonogi. The original manga by Shinji Saijyo ran in Weekly Shonen Champion from 1995 to 2000 and has over 10 million copies in circulation.
Tomokazu Sugita will voice Ryuji Bito, an assassin chef who uses XO sauce, in the TV anime Iron Wok Jan! A new key visual and a PV featuring food critic Otani's commentary were also released. The ending theme is "Nakita Akuma" by emunimini. A special program and a collaboration menu are scheduled for July.
Tom Cruise and director Alejandro G. Iñárritu released a trailer for the film 'DIGGER' on June 24, 2026. The trailer, titled 'Tom Cruise's 45-Year Journey,' is a montage of clips from Cruise's past films including 'Top Gun,' 'Jerry Maguire,' 'A Few Good Men,' the 'Mission: Impossible' series, and 'The Last Samurai,' leading into footage from 'DIGGER.' The film is described as an 'extraordinary disaster comedy' about a man named Digger Rockwell who holds the fate of the world after causing a disaster. Cruise said at CinemaCon that it took him 40 years to be able to play this role. Three teaser posters were also released, showing Digger with a gun from various angles. The film is scheduled for a 2026 release in Japan and an October 2, 2026 release in the United States. A new trailer is set for July 14.
Mojang released a new snapshot and preview for Minecraft on June 24, adding the Dappled Forest biome inspired by Michigan autumn colors. The update includes poplar trees with red, orange, and yellow leaves, wool stairs and slabs, and a new structure called the Abandoned Camp. All additions were previously shown at Minecraft Live in May 2026.
FREEing has opened pre-orders for a 1/4 scale bunny-girl figure of Mirajane Strauss from the TV anime Fairy Tail. The figure stands approximately 465mm tall and is priced at 38,500 yen including tax. It depicts Mirajane in a black bunny suit with a zipper design and fishnet tights, with a gentle smile. The prototype was produced by FREEing, with coloring by Matsuda Model. Pre-orders are available through Amazon.co.jp and the Good Smile Company official shop. The figure is scheduled for release on December 31, 2026.
At NDC26, Nexon Games engine programmer Kang Jang-hoon presented M1 APT, an automated test tool for The First Descendant. Designed to run continuously on console hardware without external automation tools, it uses a four-pipeline system for pathfinding, combat, mission detection, and crash recovery, prioritizing uninterrupted data collection over perfect reproducibility.
Mojang Studios broadcast MINECRAFT LIVE from TwitchCon on May 31, 2026, revealing the new Dappled Forest biome with autumn-colored Poplar Trees and an Abandoned Camp structure. The show also detailed Minecraft Dungeons II, including the Twisted Warden boss, a new Lego set, and confirmed the second film's title as A MINECRAFT MOVIE SQUARED with Kirsten Dunst cast as Alex.
Studio Ghibli has been awarded the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities, becoming the first anime studio to win Spain's top cultural prize. The jury praised the studio's hand-drawn craft, environmental themes, and complex female protagonists. The award will be presented in October.
The Iron Wok Jan! anime adaptation has revealed a July 5 premiere date and a full official trailer featuring the opening theme song "Kaen" by boy-band Genin wa Jibun ni Aru. Ei Aoki, director of Fate/Zero, directs at studio TROYCA.
The television anime adaptation of Shinji Saijyo's cooking manga "Iron Wok Jan!" has revealed five new cast members, a July 5 premiere date, and a main promotional video. The seven-member dance vocal group Genin wa Jibun ni Aru. performs the opening theme song "Hien" (Fire Banquet). New cast additions include Masuo Amada as Nichido Otani, M.A.O as Celene Yang, Takahiro Sakurai as Kei Sawada, Taishi Murata as Tomohide Jun, and Yusuke Kobayashi as Yuji Kawahara. Previously announced lead cast members are Kikunosuke Toya as Jan Akiyama, Ikumi Hasegawa as Kiriko Gobancho, Kohei Amasaki as Takao Okonogi, and Kenjiro Tsuda as narrator. Ei Aoki (Fate/Zero, Aldnoah.Zero) directs the series at studio TROYCA, with Makoto Uezu handling series scripts and Masako Matsumoto designing characters. The anime will air Sundays at 5:30 p.m. JST on TV Tokyo and its affiliates. The original manga ran in Weekly Shonen Champion from 1995 to 2000 across 27 volumes, and the franchise has over 10 million copies in circulation.
The Princess of Asturias Foundation named Studio Ghibli the 2026 recipient of its Communication and Humanities prize on Wednesday. The award, often described as Spain's equivalent of a Nobel, carries a Joan Miro sculpture, a diploma, and 50,000 euros. A jury statement said the Tokyo studio transformed creativity into knowledge and communication, citing its hand-drawn craft, environmental themes, and complex female protagonists as a cultural bridge across generations. The ceremony is set for October in Oviedo, with King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia presiding. Ghibli is the first anime studio and the first pure animation recipient in the category's history. The honor follows the studio's 2024 honorary Palme d'Or at Cannes. Past winners include Margaret Atwood, Martin Scorsese, and Meryl Streep. Cartoonists Marjane Satrapi and Quino won earlier editions. The foundation's announcement did not specify which films the jury discussed, though the citation mentioned values of empathy, respect, friendship, and love of nature.