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Lee
1h ago
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack and the denim brand Lee are releasing seven apparel items through STRICT-G, Bandai's Gundam-themed clothing shop. The lineup is two denim jackets, two pairs of FLeeasy easy pants, and three T-shirts, priced at 25,300 yen, 18,150 yen, and 7,700 yen respectively. Preorders run on Premium Bandai's STRICT-G online store from 13:00 on October 2 to 23:00 on October 12, with in-store sales from October 10.
15h ago
Xsolla's Asia-Pacific head Lee Ju-young said the company's Japan business grew significantly over the past year, crediting active engagement from Japanese partners and renewed overseas demand for Japanese IP. He pointed to regulatory changes across several countries as the reason partners approached Xsolla for services they previously could not receive. A new head of the Japan office now leads the organization.
20h ago
On September 28, Glee Holdings lifted its full-year consolidated revenue forecast for the fiscal year ending June 2027 to 57 billion yen, up 6 billion yen from its previous 51 billion yen forecast, an 11.8 percent change. Operating profit stays at 3.9 billion yen. The increase comes from making RINDO Entertainment, a male idol talent and event company, a consolidated subsidiary after REALITY Studios acquired additional shares.
2d ago
Kwalee released RetroSpace on October 2, 2026. The Wild Gentlemen developed the game, which Kwalee describes as an immersive disco-punk space horror first-person shooter. Players control a nameless cleaner aboard the space station Aurora 5, which a sentient black hole has swallowed. Creatures that mix human, animal, and plant traits roam the station. The base price is 2600 yen, with the PlayStation 5 version at 2200 yen and the Xbox Series X|S version at 2350 yen, all tax included, and a 10 percent launch sale is running. A launch trailer is out. Players can use stealth, hacking, distractions, traps, and hidden routes to get past obstacles, and the game includes Mutamods, mutation abilities with irreversible side effects. After death the cleaner can resume as a clone.
3d ago
Nex will launch its controller-free console Nex Playground in Japan in 2027, the company said at Tokyo Game Show 2026. The device uses a built-in camera and on-device motion tracking, with no cloud processing, so players control games by moving their bodies. Nex has established a Japanese subsidiary, Nex Japan LLC, and appointed Emiko Yamamoto as its general manager. Yamamoto previously worked at Sega, Walt Disney Japan, and Amazon Games. Ahead of the Japan launch, Sega will release Sonic Forces: Rival Rush and Bandai Namco Entertainment will release Pac-Man in Japan this fall. The console has been on sale in North America since late 2023 and is sold at more than 7,000 retail stores there. In the US, the unit costs $299 with five games included, and the Play Pass subscription is $49 for three months or $89 for a year.
Sep 19
Netmarble's 3D action RPG Monster Guild: STAR DIVE is getting a DMM GAMES version in November, announced at a Tokyo Game Show 2026 stage event where development PD Lee Dong-jo appeared with new footage. The game released on April 15, and a September 2 developer roundtable outlined updates through Ver.1.6, including Ver.1.4 on September 30.
Sep 17
Atlus showed an English dub trailer for Persona 4 Revival, its remake of the 2008 role-playing game, during the Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2026 stream. Amber Lee Connors voices Naoto Shirogane in English, with Romi Park in the Japanese video. The game launches February 18 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox PC with Game Pass, and PC via Steam, and May 20 for Nintendo Switch 2.
Sep 16
A special video for the sleep app Pokemon Sleep has run on the Sphere in Las Vegas. The venue's exterior display, the Exosphere, turned the sphere into a giant Monster Ball, with Mew and Spheal appearing in the footage. The game's event "Secret Research! Chase Mewtwo" runs from September 14 to 28 on Wakakusa Island. A separate Monster Ball-shaped hotel project opened on September 15 in Tomakomai City, Hokkaido.
Sep 7
INART Action is releasing three Bruce Lee figures. Two 1/12 scale figures cover the yellow jumpsuit and kung fu outfit, each with two head parts and fabric clothing. A 1/6 scale yellow jumpsuit figure uses a movable silicone body. The 1/12 figures are 15.5cm tall and priced at 20,444 yen on Amazon, releasing December 30, 2026. The 1/6 figure stands 27.6cm, costs 82,500 yen, and releases March 30, 2027. Union Creative publishes all three.
Sep 7
Google announced a limited edition Fitbit Air modeled after the Pokémon Sleep app. The band sells for 19,800 yen at the Google Store, launches September 15, and store reservations open August 28. The Sleepy Blue band carries a silk-print label of a sleeping Pikachu. Buyers receive a Pikachu incense item for use inside Pokémon Sleep. The device tracks heart rate, oxygen saturation, and sleep.
Sep 4
Spotify and Pokemon Sleep launched a global collaboration on September 4, 2026, adding the game's music to Spotify as part of the Pokemon 30th anniversary. The playlist centers on in-game tracks released since October 2024, including New Moon Day event BGM featuring Mew and Darkrai and an arrangement of "Mysterious Girl, Again (Labyrinth)" from the Latios and Latias film. Playing tracks shows Canvas loops of sleeping Pokemon. Outdoor ads run in New York and Shibuya from September 7, with a sticker giveaway at Pokemon Centers and a MIYASHITA PARK display.
Sep 4
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey began IMAX advance screenings in Japan on September 4, and demand is running ahead of supply. Grand Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro sold out every showing for September 4 and 5 within hours of tickets going on sale, and other Tokyo theaters reported sold-out screenings piling up. The advance run continues through September 10, ahead of the nationwide release on September 11.
The screenings arrived with a wave of celebrity comments. Director Lee Sang-il called the film "a movie at the extreme point," manga artist Mari Yamazaki said it showed the maturity of film history, and game creator Hideo Kojima praised the all-IMAX presentation as "an Odyssey no one has seen." Astronaut Soichi Noguchi, who returned from space, said the story of a hero carrying guilt after war left him in awe. The film, based on Homer's epic and starring Matt Damon as Odysseus, is the first feature shot entirely with IMAX cameras. Its worldwide box office reached $1.5526 billion (about 251.5 billion yen) as of August 30, the highest for a Nolan film and the highest ever for an R-rated release.
Sep 2
JISOO of the seven-member group HANA will debut as a solo artist under the name LEE JISOO. Her debut single MISMATCH arrives digitally on September 8, her birthday, and includes the track Movie Star, produced by Chanmina, who also produces HANA. JISOO wrote and composed MISMATCH herself. She is the first HANA member to launch a solo career. The songs are written in Korean and English.
Sep 2
The horror film HOLE opens December 4 at Shinjuku Piccadilly and other theaters. Roy Lee, producer of IT and WEAPONS, is executive producer. The story follows Iris, who inherits a Berlin pub after her father's death and finds a woman in the basement who can take the form of the dead and allow two minutes of conversation. Freya Allan stars as Iris. A teaser poster and trailer were released.
Sep 1
Pokémon Sleep and the villa-sharing service NOT A HOTEL announced a collaboration on September 1, 2026 that turns the game's sleep premise into a physical stay. The campaign, called 'Stayable Poké Ball,' will place a Poké Ball-themed hotel named Poké Ball-Themed Hotel somewhere in Hokkaido. Only winners of a lottery campaign can book the stay; the hotel will not be open to the general public during the campaign period. Application methods and full details, including the interior, are scheduled for release on September 15, 2026. The announcement video shows a bed-equipped house shaped like a Poké Ball set in a forest, with a rear door and a large window. The collaboration is one of several 'Pokémon × sleep' initiatives unveiled at the Pokémon 30th anniversary sleep announcement event held in Tokyo the same day. Pokémon Sleep, released in July 2023 for iOS and Android, surpassed 30 million cumulative downloads worldwide as of April 26, 2026. NOT A HOTEL, founded in 2020, sells shared ownership of villas designed by architects and creators.
Aug 31
AtHeart's '3!4!', a remake of Roo'Ra's 1996 hit and the second single in the group's TIME TRAVEL PROJECT, has gone viral in Korea. The challenge has drawn participants across generations, from Apink's Jeong Eun-ji and NCT's TEN to the original artists Lee Sang-min and Chae Ri-na, along with Kim Hyun-jung, BADA, Kim Tae-woo, Kim Jong-min, and Chae-yeon. The song reached No. 2 on VIBE's rising chart, and the music video has passed 8 million views.
Aug 28
Mabinogi Mobile pre-registration began on August 24. In an interview, DevCAT studio head Kim Dong-gon and development director Lee Ji-hoon discussed the game's relationship to the PC Mabinogi. They described it as a different bard's interpretation of the same world, not a remake or a separate work, incorporating ideas Kim could not realize originally.
Aug 28
Google has announced a limited edition collaboration model of its Fitbit Air wearable, themed around the smartphone sleep app Pokemon Sleep. The Google Fitbit Air Limited Edition Pokemon Sleep will be released on September 15, with pre-orders opening August 28 at the Google Store and official online store in Japan. The price is 19,800 yen including tax. The device, which has no display and weighs 12 grams with the band, features a blue band named Sleepy Blue and a silk print label of a sleeping Pikachu on the strap. The hardware is essentially the same as the regular Fitbit Air, but the design is customized for the collaboration. The Fitbit Air records sleep data, including naps, and syncs with the Pokemon Sleep app. In the app, sleep activity leads to rewards, and Pokemon with traits similar to the user's sleep type gather. The Sleep Score from Google Health is used to calculate Drowsy Power, which increases the chance of encountering rare sleeping faces. The device also tracks heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, steps, distance, and calories. It has a battery life of up to 7 days, a full charge time of about 90 minutes, and is water-resistant to 50 meters.
Aug 18
Actor Simu Liu said on August 16 that the live-action film adaptation of the open-world action game Sleeping Dogs is progressing well, with a director and a production company now attached and a realistic path toward production in place. Liu, who played Shang-Chi in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, is set to star as undercover cop Wei Shen and to produce the film. He told fans that the project is currently in contract negotiations with Square Enix, the game's publisher. The adaptation has had a difficult history: a version starring Donnie Yen was in development from 2017 before collapsing in January 2025. Liu then took up the project, and in October 2025 he reported that a draft of the script was complete. In December 2025, Timo Tjahjanto, director of The Big 4 and Mr. Nobody 2, was announced as the film's director. Liu also thanked fans for their support, saying it strengthens everyone involved in the project.
Aug 14
Pokémon announced on August 12 that Pokémon Sleep will host an Anipoke Collab Week from August 17 at 4:00 to August 24 at 3:59 across all fields. The event adds Tinkatink, Tinkatuff, and Tinkaton, plus a captain-hat-wearing Pikachu (Captain). During the event, one Pokémon is guaranteed to enter a chance state during snack time.
Aug 14
The September issue of LEED Publishing's Comic Ran Twins magazine announced that Hideki Mori's Queen of Bijah manga will end in three chapters. The series, set in 1258 A.D. during a Mongol siege, launched in 2021. The 10th compiled volume ships October 13.
Aug 11
Game Spark interviewed Taiki, the solo Hungarian developer behind the onboard survival horror game Don't Sleep With The Fishes, released for PC on June 26. The game draws inspiration from the 60 Seconds! series, with a 45-second supply-gathering phase. Taiki discussed user feedback, future updates, and the lack of Japanese language support.
Aug 10
NVIDIA canceled original Rubin Ultra development after CoWoS-L interposer warping made prototypes non-functional. The 180-layer CoWoS-L warped in multiple directions, causing dies and wiring to peel. NVIDIA shifted to calling a different configuration Rubin Ultra and introduced a stopgap NVL576 rack solution using eight NVL72 (V2) units.
Aug 8
ABEMA will broadcast 10 Disney classic films for free starting August 8, 2026. The lineup includes 'Snow White,' 'Cinderella,' 'Sleeping Beauty,' 'Mulan,' 'Lady and the Tramp,' '101 Dalmatians,' 'Alice in Wonderland,' 'Peter Pan,' 'Winnie the Pooh: Special Edition,' and 'High School Musical: The Movie.' During the summer vacation period from August 8 to 18, one work airs twice daily at 3 PM and 8 PM. A second run follows September 19 to 27.
Aug 6
Pokemon Sleep will hold an in-game event in September 2026 where players can meet the Legendary Pokemon Mewtwo on Greengrass Isle and Greengrass Isle EX. Psychic-type Pokemon will be especially active. A separate event to meet Mew is also planned, with details to be announced later.
Aug 6
505 Games and Leenzee announced that the soulslike action RPG Mingmo: Wings of Despair has surpassed 5 million cumulative sales worldwide. The announcement came as the game marked its first anniversary since its official release on July 24, 2025. A 30 percent discount sale is currently running on Steam and other storefronts.
Aug 5
Manga UP! Global released five manga in English over the past few weeks, including I'm Now the Princess of Spring in Another World, Fantasy Gourmet, Sunbeams in the Sky, Since I Was Confessed To, Milady Has Been Acting Strange, and School Submarine Fleet: Mermaid Girls. The titles span isekai, romance comedy, and sci-fi action genres.
Jul 27
Kodansha USA announced eight new manga licenses at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, including Gamon Sakurai's The Pool, Shuuichi Shigeno's Subaru and Subaru, and IZU and Hagane's Kraken Mare. The company also plans a spring 2027 box set for The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity.
Jul 27
Yen Press announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 that it has licensed the yuri light novel 'Watching the Angel Sleep, Drowning in Bed Together' and nine manga titles, including '#ImLookingForZombies', 'Mane Mane Nichi Nichi', 'Champignon Witch', and others. The light novel, by Tetsuto Uesu and Minori Chigusa, follows two high school girls who become roommates. The manga slate includes romance, fantasy, and comedy series.
Jul 17
Publisher Kwalee and developer Flash Cat Games, a Polish indie studio, will release 'Talespinner' on August 6 for PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch. The deck-building roguelike is themed around Japanese folktales, featuring three heroes, over 200 cards, 50 enemy types, 16 bosses, and a scenario system. A demo is available on Steam with a 90% positive user rating.
Jul 16
Pokémon Sleep will add a new feature, Snorlax's Nap Island, on July 20 at 11:00. Players can leave one helper Pokémon on the island with Snorlax, where it gains 150 EXP per day, growing upon retrieval. A full 7-day stay is required for maximum EXP; early retrieval halves the gain. A Nap Relaxation Ticket increases daily EXP by 450. Snorlax also collects items like Dream Shards and Pokémon Candy.
Jul 16
Pokémon Sleep's 3rd anniversary real event, 'Find Them in Yokohama! Pokémon Sleep Research,' runs July 17 to August 23 at MARK IS Minatomirai. The venue features a sleeping Eevee on the first floor, a Snorlax near the station gate, and various Grass and Bug type Pokémon elsewhere. A collaboration with Toyota's TOTONE napping tool offers free trials of a 'Nap Recovery Device' on the fifth floor.
Jul 14
The 1987 Dragon Ball theatrical film Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle will air on TOKYO MX on July 19, 2026 at 20:00. It is the second broadcast in a series following last year's airing of the first Dragon Ball film. The film features Goku and Krillin rescuing a sleeping princess from demons.
Jul 13
San Diego Comic-Con 2026, running July 23-26, will feature a large slate of webtoon and manhwa programming. WEBTOON Entertainment will host four creator panels, including a 'What's Next' panel on July 25. Independent panels will discuss the format's industry growth and censorship challenges. Several guests have works with anime adaptations.
Jul 13
Publisher Kwalee and developer Bun Muen will release the co-op detective horror game Shift At Midnight on July 22 (July 23 in Japan) on PC and Xbox Series X|S, with PC Game Pass support. Players manage a gas station and identify doppelgangers among customers. The demo has an overwhelmingly positive Steam rating. The release was delayed twice.
Jul 8
Pokemon Sleep will hold a two-week 3rd Anniversary Festival from July 13 to July 27, 2026. The event introduces Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup from the Sinnoh region as newly encounterable Pokemon. New regularly usable features are planned, and daily Dream Gifts and other bonuses will be available during the event period.
Jul 7
Fiok Lee's fantasy romantic comedy manga Seven Sleeping Beauties (Shichinin no Nemuri-hime) is receiving a television anime adaptation scheduled for a 2027 debut. The announcement was made on July 7, 2026, via a new website that also released an ultra teaser visual and a commemorative illustration by Lee. The anime will be produced by Studio Gokumi and AXsiZ SMASH, with Mankyu directing. Keiichiro Ochi is handling series composition and scripts, and Masaru Koseki is designing the characters. The main cast features seven voice actresses portraying the sleeping princesses: Aya Yamane as Flora, Yoshino Aoyama as Kiara, Miku Itō as Claire, Ayasa Itō as Mia, Kana Ichinose as Charlotte, Fūka Izumi as Yūka, and Rina Kawaguchi as Eliza. The story follows Alec, the third prince of the Kingdom of Rudbeckia, who travels to the small kingdom of Amaryllis after a witch's curse puts its people to sleep. He must awaken the seven princesses with a kiss, but when they all wake up, the rest of the kingdom remains asleep, forcing the prince and princesses to live together while searching for a way to break the curse. The manga began serialization in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon magazine in March 2023, and its 12th compiled volume is set for release on July 16, 2026.
Jul 6
Scarlet Moon Records announced Prescription for Sleep: The Best of Studio Ghibli, the 17th album in the jazz tribute series. Performed by duo GENTLE LOVE-Norihiko Hibino and AYAKI-the album features 12 tracks from Ghibli films plus an original. It releases July 20 digitally on multiple platforms.
Jul 6
HBO Max will stream the live-action omnibus series Strange: Junji Ito's Tales for Sleepless Nights internationally this fall. The series, based on 13 manga stories by Junji Ito, premiered in Japan on July 3. Anime Expo screened the first two episodes on Friday. The cast includes Nijirō Murakami, Kanata Hosoda, and others. IVE performs the opening theme.
Jul 1
Pokémon Sleep will add Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup starting July 13, 2026, as part of its third anniversary. A real-world event, Yokohama Discovery! Pokémon Sleepy Face Research, runs July 17 to August 23 at two venues, featuring a stamp rally, giant Snorlax, gacha, goods shop, and drink stand.
Jul 1
Independent developer Zakym announced 'Forsaken Fleet,' a first-person pirate horror adventure for PC via Steam. Players take the role of a fisherman searching for his lost son, guided by a mysterious compass through foggy seas, remote coasts, and shipwrecks. Eerie encounters with the undead 'Forsaken Fleet' await, with notes and legends narrowing the distance between the player and the fleet. A release window was not specified.
Jun 28
The staff for the live-action omnibus series Strange: Junji Ito's Tales for Sleepless Nights announced on Sunday that they are rearranging the episode order. The episode "Lovesickness" (Part 1) will now premiere as the first episode, while the previously planned first episode, "The Mansion of Phantom Pain," has been postponed with no new airdate announced. The series premieres on TV Tokyo on July 3.
Jun 27
SS Pharmaceutical's sleep awareness e-sports event 'SLEEP FIGHTER II' won Gold in the Best Brand Fandom category at the YouTube Works Awards Japan 2026. The tournament, held in July 2025, scored sleep data and incorporated it into competitive rules for 'STREET FIGHTER 6,' with ClaN Entertainment handling casting and operations.
Jun 27
Gong Yoo, Lee Dong-wook, Kim Go-eun, and Yoo In-na reunite for a travel program marking the 10th anniversary of the Korean drama 'Goblin.' The special streams on U-NEXT starting July 4, with episodes airing over four days. The cast visits Gangneung, a key filming location, and shares moments of banter and emotion.
Jun 23
TENTIAL will release a line of collaboration pajamas and sleepwear between its recovery wear brand BAKUNE and the smartphone app Pokémon Sleep on July 1, 2026. The collection includes three product types across nine items: BAKUNE Dry (short-sleeve shirt and half pants), BAKUNE Pajamas Dry (long-sleeve shirt and long pants), and a BAKUNE Eye Mask with a drawstring bag. The designs feature sleeping Pokémon faces in calm colors, with five Pokémon represented: Snorlax, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Ditto, and Eevee. BAKUNE Dry comes in five colorways (Sax Blue for Snorlax, Black for Pikachu, Pink for Jigglypuff, Purple for Ditto, Brown for Eevee) at 26,400 yen. BAKUNE Pajamas Dry comes in two colors (Sax Blue for Snorlax, Black for Pikachu) at 28,820 yen. The eye mask comes in Blue (Snorlax) and Yellow (Pikachu) at 4,950 yen. All apparel sizes range from XS to 2XL unisex. Purchasing a pajama set includes a Pokémon-design box. Sales run until stock runs out at TENTIAL's online store, physical stores, and select airport duty-free shops starting July 2.
Jun 18
Starting June 19, the Epic Games Store is offering free downloads of the TRPG-inspired sci-fi adventure Citizen Sleeper and the rhythm FPS roguelite ROBOBEAT. Both titles are available at no cost until June 25, 2026. Citizen Sleeper includes all three post-release DLCs. ROBOBEAT features a custom music function.
Jun 17
Kwalee Labs, the developer of the well-received sci-fi FPS 'Luna Abyss', has laid off all staff and closed its doors just one month after the game's launch. CEO Hollie Emery announced the closure on LinkedIn, stating the decision was 'completely outside of our control.' The game had earned a 'Very Positive' rating on Steam.
Jun 16
The anime adaptation of Nekoko's light novel series The Exiled Heavy Knight Knows How to Game the System has revealed its ending theme song performer. ReoNa will sing "Lv. 1 Shokugyō: Ningen" (Level 1 Occupation: Human) as the ending theme. The anime premieres on July 2 on TBS and MBS's Super Animeism TURBO block and will run for two consecutive cours.
Jun 10
Lee Sang-hyeok, known as Faker, the T1 'League of Legends' player, has been selected for TIME100 Sports 2026 in the Icons category, alongside Lionel Messi, Shohei Ohtani, and LeBron James. Time introduced him as 'widely regarded as the best esports player of all time,' citing his six world championship titles and his role as a symbol of esports industry growth.
Jun 7
Publisher Fellow Traveller announced the new RPG 'Signet City' during the PC Gaming Show 2026 broadcast on June 8. The game is being developed by Jump Over the Age, the solo studio of Gareth Damian Martin, creator of the acclaimed 'Citizen Sleeper' series. 'Signet City' is a first-person 'fungalpunk' RPG set in a monochrome world inspired by 1980s Britain and industrial cities in northern England. Players take on the role of a fungal parasite that infects humans, navigating a city on the brink of collapse due to rising water levels, strange technology, and radical ideas. The game uses a tabletop RPG-inspired system where dice rolls determine action outcomes, and the host's emotions affect success rates. Players can acquire skills and abilities, guide their hosts, and interact with their friends and rivals while managing resources. The Steam store page is live, and the game is scheduled for release on PC via Steam and GOG.com.