Kadokawa released Volume 1 of Sora Urumi's manga Kokoro Make Cosmetica on October 7, 2026, under the Kadocomi Original label. The series runs on Kadocomi and follows Suzu, a high school girl who becomes the magical girl Cosmetica. Nijisanji VTuber Tomoe Shirayuki provided an obi comment reading, "This one volume is an ally of cuteness." Store bonuses are offered at Gamers, Toranoana, and Melonbooks while supplies last.
UraLogic Game Company, the VTuber agency run by Lighthouse Studio, published a report on its booth at Tokyo Game Show 2026, held at Makuhari Messe from September 17 to September 20. The booth recreated the agency's work PCs, showed life-size panels of five talents, and ran talent livestreams. About 9,000 flyers went out and all 500 limited-edition shoppers were claimed.
MAYLA has reopened pre-orders for its Puella Magi Madoka Magica Iconic Story Ring Objet set, priced at 18,700 yen with shipping at 600 yen. The rings come in the colors of Madoka Kaname, Homura Akemi, Mami Tomoe, Sayaka Miki and Kyoko Sakura, with Soul Gem, ribbon and costume motifs, plus a Kyubey symbol ring in the Madoka color. Stacking colors is suggested for combinations.
Nintendo will release the Nintendo Switch 2 (Japanese-language, Japan-only) Choose-Your-Game Set on November 12, the company announced on October 6. The bundle pairs a Nintendo Switch 2 console with one downloadable game chosen from three options: Mario Kart World, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, and Tomodachi Collection: Waku Waku Life. The price is 63,980 yen including tax, and reservations opened on the Nintendo Store the same day. Game retailers nationwide and online shops will start taking reservations once their preparations are complete. The Japan-only console alone costs 4,000 yen less than this set, so picking any one of the three titles comes out roughly 3,000 to 5,000 yen cheaper than buying the hardware and that game separately. Standalone download prices are 8,980 yen for Mario Kart World, 5,980 yen for Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, and 7,100 yen for Tomodachi Collection: Waku Waku Life, all tax included. Mario Kart World and Nintendo Switch Sports Resort are Nintendo Switch 2 titles, while Tomodachi Collection: Waku Waku Life is Nintendo Switch software.
On September 11, the day before the live, Ensemble Stars!! Music streamed a dress rehearsal viewing party for its first Spectacle Sphere Live, HOT BEAT REVOLUTION!!, on the game's official YouTube channel. Voice actors Fumiya Imai (Nozomi Enga of MELLOW DEAR US) and Tomoya Kosaka (Hajime Shino of Ra*bits) walked viewers through the in-app advance download, then filled the wait before curtain with free talk.
Weasel Pit, the developer of the roguelite game Iron Pilgrim, reported that someone recreated the game with AI and threatened to publish a clone on Steam unless Weasel Pit paid $200 worth of Steam items within 24 hours. Weasel Pit said it believes the clone was made from footage posted on social media and indicated it would not pay. InTheIndie, an outlet that covered the matter, noted that Weasel Pit had previously told another developer on Reddit that if that developer released a game on Steam, Weasel Pit would publish a free version, and questioned whether the victim report might be a self-staged publicity stunt. Weasel Pit admitted fault over the Reddit comments and said it intended to apologize, but disputed the stunt claim, saying similar emails had gone to other developers. Psicodart Games, the developer of Circusar, also reported receiving the same demands from Zagir Harif. In Japan, tomo-mana, co-representative of GREENHORN, said the studio will hold back the progress posts it had been making twice a week for its game Project Solaris.
Palabra, the accessibility consulting firm behind the UDCast platform and its UDCast MOVIE app, will take part in the Cabinet Office's Tomotomo Festa 2026 at Tokyo Station's Marunouchi side on October 9 and 10. The company hosts a talk on October 9 with director Koji Fukada, University of Tokyo researcher Naoyuki Okochi, and Palabra president Shoko Yamagami, plus a booth offering subtitle, audio guide, and SABERA smart glasses trials.
Citadel AI will provide an AI governance solution to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the company said. The bank will use it to standardize risk verification for generative AI, run continuous monitoring, and build a common platform with guardrail functions. The system watches prompts and responses in real time, detecting harmful inputs and unsafe outputs, then triggering blocks and alerts. Citadel AI says it will support the bank's company-wide AI governance.
Hulu announced on September 28 that The Murder in the Water Mill House, the third live-action adaptation in Yukito Ayatsuji's House series, will stream in March 2027. Tomoya Oku plays Komei Konan, a character who does not appear in the original novel, and Takamasa Aoki plays Kiyoshi Shimada. Ayatsuji, director Teru Uchikata, and screenwriter Masashi Toda released comments with the announcement.
Shunji Iwai, Etsushi Toyokawa, and Tomoko Yamaguchi appeared at a stage greeting at TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku on the 26th for the 4K remaster of 'undo,' 32 years after the film's release. Toyokawa said Kaori Momoi introduced him to Iwai. Yamaguchi recalled asking to meet Iwai after seeing 'Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?' Iwai said the three began talking at an izakaya in Sangenjaya.
THQ Nordic Japan will release the PlayStation 5 physical edition of DigixArt's narrative adventure Tides of Tomorrow on December 17 for 4,400 yen, rated CERO C. The download version is already available on PC via Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. On Steam, 86 percent of 534 user reviews are positive as of October 1, 2026.
The teaser for the Glasses With a Chance of Delinquent anime names its first cast and an April 2027 premiere on ABC TV and TV Asahi's Animazing!!! block, with streaming on ABEMA to follow. Hiroto Shimizu plays Dan Ichikura, Suzuko Hara plays Hiro Momose, Yuma Tomochika plays Ohana-chan. Makoto Hoshino directs at Studio Flad and Wao World, with series scripts by Megumi Shimizu and character designs by Ruriko Watanabe.
NHK announced Tuesday that Tomohiro Hata will perform "Fragments," the theme song for the live-action series of Yuki Kodama's Ao no Hana, Utsuwa no Mori. Rena Matsui plays Aoko Baba, a ceramics painter, and Hayate Ichinose plays Tatsuki Manabe. The series debuts on NHK's Yorudora block on October 26. The manga ran in Flowers from March 2018 to March 2022, ending at ten volumes.
Yuki Yaku announced on X on September 30 that the Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki light novel series will end with its 12th volume, due October 16. Shogakukan has published the novels through its Gagaga Bunko imprint since May 2016, with illustrations by Fly. The series entered its "last stage" with the 11th volume in March 2023. Yen Press releases the light novels and the manga adaptation in North America. Eight Chida drew the manga for Square Enix, serialized in Monthly Gangan Joker from December 2017 to February 2021. Project No. 9 produced two anime seasons, directed by Shinsuke Yanagi, with Gen Satou as Fumiya Tomozaki and Hisako Kanemoto as Aoi Hinami. Crunchyroll streams the anime in multiple languages, and Funimation streamed the first season and its English dub. Two short story compilation volumes were released as volumes 6.5 and 8.5.
Bandai released the shokugan line Animal Crossing: New Horizons Tomodachi Doll SELECTION on September 28. Each box costs 550 yen and goes on sale in the candy sections of mass retailers nationwide in Japan. The set has 10 flocked dolls, each with a display stand and one piece of soda-flavored gum. The lineup is Isabelle, Tom Nook, Timmy, Tommy, K.K. Slider, Mabel, and four more: Chai (also listed as Chabashira), Julian, Marshal, Jack, Aurora, Raymond, and Whitney. The sources do not fully agree on the back half of the roster. One listing gives Chai, Julian, Jack, and Aurora; another gives Marshal, Julian, Raymond, and Whitney; a third gives Chabashira, Marshal, Jack, and Aurora. All versions confirm 10 types and the same 550 yen price. The figures are re-releases from the earlier Tomodachi Doll series.
Remow launched its It's Anime free ad-supported streaming channel on Pluto TV on September 10, Prime Video on September 1, and the PlayStation 5 Live TV lineup on August 31 in the U.S. The company also announced Tomodachi Talks, an original program hosted by voice actors SungWon Cho and A.J. Beckles with other actors as guests. The channel carries Remow-licensed titles including Your Forma, Tougen Anki, and My Deer Friend Nokotan.
A popup shop for Katana Maidens: Toji no Miko - Kizamishi Issen no Tomoshibi ~Naseba Naru!~ opens at Tokyo Station from October 9 to October 22, 2026. The goods line uses 26 new illustrations by art director Mitsuru Sasaki. A board game, Aratama Tsubaku Daiensei, uses new box art by character designer Yoshinori Shizuma. Purchases of 5,000 yen or more come with a choose-your-design goshuin-style postcard.
At the 4Gamer booth at Tokyo Game Show 2026, voice actor Kosaka Tomoya appeared on stage for "Kosaka Tomoya's Oshi Geki TGS Travel Edition," interviewed by fellow amuleto talent Nonoi Sou. The talk centered on KONAMI's Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 4th Heart and the character Kazama Reita, with Kosaka playing his own save data and showing his Reita goods collection.
Total Mayhem Games will release We Were Here Tomorrow on October 20 for PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, the studio announced during the PC Gaming Show Tokyo Direct 2026 stream on September 21. Japanese text support is planned, and cross-play between PC and consoles is also planned. The game is the newest entry in the two-player-only We Were Here puzzle adventure series. Two explorers on an Antarctic expedition fall beneath the ice and wake in a retro-futuristic research complex run by a company called Nolchek Industries, where a research team led by director Kathleen Bow has disappeared. Players move along separate paths and rely on walkie-talkies or in-game voice chat. Total Mayhem Games Executive Producer Leite Dauma said development ran two and a half years; Creative Director Martin Mitna said a full playthrough may take around 12 to 15 hours.
The Dengeki Daisy television anime will debut in January 2027 and air for two consecutive cours, a stage presentation at KyoMAF revealed. The main promotional video also named four new cast members: Tomokazu Sugita as Soichiro Kurebayashi, Yuka Terasaki as Riko Onizuka, Setsuji Sato as Masuda, and Kohei Amasaki as Akira. Crunchyroll will stream the anime, directed by Sota Ueno at Studio DEEN.
PayPal and Paidy are exhibiting together at Tokyo Game Show 2026, marking Paidy's first time at the event. Executive Officer and Vice President Tomochika Hashimoto says games need real-time payment and skew young, while credit cards skew older. Paidy, which Paidy built for digital content in 2018, lets users pay later with an email address and phone number instead of a card.
Kadokawa released a teaser for the television anime of Yasukiyo Kotobuki's The Diary of a Middle-Aged Sage's Carefree Life in Another World. Tomokazu Sugita plays protagonist Zelos Merlin, the first cast member announced. The teaser also gives the premiere date: January 2027. Takayuki Inagaki directs at YANCHESTER, with Hiroko Kanasugi on series scripts and Mariko Fujita designing characters.
Ginger Root's Cameron Lew wrote "Soarin'," the ending theme for Kyoto Animation's Sparks of Tomorrow. Lew said he built the track from concept art, character descriptions, a digital painting, and writing from director Ota-san, and that Ota-san asked for a more electronic ending than the acoustic opening. He named K-On!, Nichijou, City, Violet Evergarden, Sound! Euphonium, Lucky Star, and Tamako Market as Kyoto Animation works he loves.
The Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden anime announced two more cast members on Tuesday. Tomoyo Takayanagi plays Neil Liston, Nia's brother, and Yuki Urushiyama plays Lynette Blanc, Neil's maid and guard. The series premieres October 6 on Tokyo MX, BS NTV, and MBS, runs two consecutive cours, and streams on HIDIVE, ABEMA, d Anime Store, and U-NEXT.
Tokyo Theatres will screen a 4K remaster of Roujin Z for one week at Theatre Shinjuku and Theatre Umeda from December 18, with a nationwide release in spring 2027. The film was written, scripted, and mechanical-designed by Katsuhiro Otomo, with character designs by Hisashi Eguchi and direction by Hiroyuki Kitakubo, and opened in theaters on September 14, 1991.
Kadokawa's main trailer for the #I'm Looking For Zombie television anime confirms an October 3 premiere on TV Asahi's IMAnimation block and 23 affiliated channels, Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. JST. Surii performs the opening theme "Raki Raki," cadode the ending "Soft Apocalypse." New cast includes Yoko Hikasa, Makoto Koichi, Tomoyo Takayanagi, Aino Shimada and Kosuke Toriumi; Studio Comet animates, with Shinya Une directing.
The Aniplex One Focus livestream on Saturday announced the main cast, a January 2027 premiere, and a teaser visual for the television anime of Yukino Sonoyama's manga Bless. Tomohiro Ono voices Aia Udagawa and Chiyuki Miura voices Jun Sumisaki, with short character videos for both. The series airs on Fuji TV's Noitamina block, directed by Shotaro Kitamura at A-1 Pictures.
The second cast reveal PV for the original TV anime Kaze wo Tsugu Mono has been released, debuting character voices for five newly announced cast members: Ryohei Kimura as Shinshichi Nagakura, Ayumu Murase as Heisuke Todo, Shinba Tsuchiya as Sanosuke Harada, Takeo Otsuka as Keisuke Yamanami, and Yasuyuki Kase as Kamo Serizawa. The series, directed by Tomohiro Kawamura with scripts by Yutaka Nari and music by Shigeru Kishida, is produced by Aniplex, Live2D, and Drive.
Real Sound Anime published the WEB preview and advance cuts for Episode 12 of the TV anime Reiwa no Dara-san, titled How to Spend the Year-End and New Year Holidays. In the episode, Chiyo and Kaoru go out, a bored Hinata heads to the Dara-san House, and Kaoru helps at Miwa's doujin event before Hinata and Kaoru drag Dara-san into year-end and New Year events. The series airs Thursdays at 22:30 on TOKYO MX and other stations.
A stage greeting with Tomoko Yamaguchi, Etsushi Toyokawa, and director Shunji Iwai will follow the September 26 screening of the Undo 4K remaster at TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku. The event marks the double feature of Undo and PiCNiC. Trailers for both films and a comment video from Iwai were also released.
Renta!'s original BL vertical comic 'Seishun no Yarinaoshi wa Isekai de' will air on TOKYO MX from January 2027 as an Anicomi, Papyless's motion comic format that adds motion and audio to manga. Tomohito Takatsuka plays Fuwa Makoto and Ryuichi Kijima plays Thanatos. The adaptation adds generative AI to some cuts. A key visual and teaser PV were released with the announcement.
Anime News Network's review of Sparks of Tomorrow episode 10 gives the episode a community score of 3.1. The reviewer criticizes it for hammering its communication theme twice, for confirming a romance between Noriko and Seiroku that was never developed, and for spending the rest of its runtime reuniting Kengo and Noriko instead of letting the characters talk. The review argues the show keeps robbing itself of tension.
Lighthouse Studio, the CARTA HOLDINGS group company behind the game media site Kamigame Koryaku, will bring its game-specialized VTuber agency UraLogi Game Company to Tokyo Game Show 2026 with a first-time booth at Hall 01-C12. The five talents, who stream entirely in 3D, will hold live real-time chat sessions on the public days and hand out booth-limited goods. TGS 2026 runs September 17-21 at Makuhari Messe, marking the event's 30th anniversary and first five-day run.
The official website for the Romelia War Chronicle TV anime revealed 14 additional cast members on Friday, September 5. The new additions include Hiromichi Tezuka as Hans and Tomohiro Yamaguchi as Glein, among others. The anime is set to debut in October on Tokyo MX, BS11, Sun TV, and KBS Kyoto.
The official website for Sunrise and Production I.G's Sōkō Kihei Votoms Haiiro no Hexe revealed the cast, character designs, and a 30-second trailer for the two new Armored Trooper Votoms films. Shinichirō Miki, Yūki Kaji, Yūichi Nakamura, and others join the cast. Miyuki Sawashiro plays the feared AT pilot Ash Vamps, known as the Grey Witch.
The four voice actors behind QUARTET NIGHT, Shouta Aoi, Shoutarou Morikubo, Tatsuya Suzuki, and Tomoaki Maeno, posted a photo together on X on September 4. The shot shows them in costumes from the June 2026 live event QUARTET NIGHT LIVE ENDLESS JEWELS, with a bracelet from the event merchandise visible. The reason for the gathering is unconfirmed, and fans are speculating about a new project or bonus footage.
The web preview and advance cuts for episode 11 of the TV anime Reiwa no Dara-san, titled "Forbidden Test of Courage," are out. Fudeki's cat Arare worries about her single owner and asks Dara-san for help, so Dara-san and Kaoru search for a lover candidate. Meanwhile, Orochi tempts Shū, planning a test of courage he can intervene in to gather life force. The show adapts Haruomi Tomotsuka's manga.
Sunrise's 50th anniversary Armored Trooper Votoms film The Grey Witch, directed by Mamoru Oshii, revealed its full main cast. Shinichiro Miki, Yuki Kaji, Yuichi Nakamura, Tomokazu Sugita, Takahiro Sakurai, and Sumire Uesaka join previously announced Miyuki Sawashiro and Mafumi Ando. Set at the end of the Hundred Years War, the film opens nationwide November 20, 2026, and a 30-second trailer was shown.
Jujutsu Fest 2026, the finale event closing the Jujutsu Kaisen anime's fifth anniversary, ran August 29-30 at K Arena Yokohama. Day 2 brought the full cast on stage, ALI opening with 'LOST IN PARADISE,' a Takada-chan live set, the Demmy Awards, and a music relay through the Culling Game. In closing remarks, Yuji Itadori voice actor Junya Enoki said he wants to deliver the animation's continuation soon.
The ANN review of episode 9 of Sparks of Tomorrow criticizes the episode for confirming that Yosuke, a schoolmate of the late inventor Seiroku, was romantically in love with him, while also casting Yosuke as a man trying to marry a child. The reviewer calls the combination homophobic, and argues the episode's conflict could be resolved by a single conversation. The review also notes the episode lacks prior animation flair.
At Anime NYC, musician Ginger Root and producer Mao Takayama showed a preview of episode eight of Sparks of Tomorrow and explained the series' artistic choices. Episode six uses gekiga-style animation for a training montage, Kyoto backgrounds are muted and brown while Shiga introduces blue, furniture placement tracks the seasons through machiya customs, and the oil-painting backgrounds were built digitally for consistency.
The school gourmet comedy drama Oishii Kyushoku season 4 announced six new cast members on August 27. Issei Hashimoto plays Ren Toma, the transfer student who becomes Amita's rival in the Okinawa-set season. Hiroki Kawata, Shogen, Tomohito Yashima, and Ryosei Tayama join the cast, while Maiko Ito reprises her role as lunch lady Fumie Makino. Hayato Ichihara stars as Yukio Amita.
Episode 8 of Sparks of Tomorrow reveals why Kengo Kuga supports Kihachi despite his alignment with Yosuke Mizoe: he carries survivor's guilt over Seiroku's death in the Russo-Japanese War. Seiroku died in a bayonet charge while Kengo survived because a catalogue half in his pocket stopped a bullet. The episode also shows Kihachi and Inako restoring power to the electric door guarding the rest of the catalogue, though it includes a palm scanner that did not exist in the early 20th century setting. Jonathon Ha's English dub performance as Kengo is singled out as effective.
Total Mayhem Games announced during the Future Games Show at gamescom 2026 that the next entry in the We Were Here series, titled We Were Here Tomorrow, will launch in October 2026. The asymmetric co-op adventure is set in the mysterious facility Norcek, where two players awaken and must cooperate to escape. Communication via the series staple walkie-talkie remains central, with each player holding information the other needs to solve puzzles. The new trailer shows scenes of walkie-talkie exchanges and machine puzzles in a high-tech facility, as well as sections where players stand in fields with different gravity. The game also introduces new items, such as generating square cubes and a slime-like attachment that can be pulled, which players must describe to their partner. As players advance deeper, the story reveals why the facility was built, what experiments took place there, and what happened to the people inside. We Were Here Tomorrow is scheduled for release in October 2026 on PC via Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Previous titles in the series have gathered tens of thousands of Steam reviews, many rated Very Positive, earning praise from players worldwide.
The More! Ojamajo Doremi Blu-ray Box, a digitally remastered collection of the series that aired 25 years ago, is set for release on December 2, 2026. The project was confirmed after pre-orders surpassed 500 units. The main cast, including Chiemi Chiba, Tomoko Akiya, Yuki Matsuoka, Rumi Shishido, and Nami Miyahara, shared memories from recording and discussed the appeal of the series in a recent interview.
The television anime adaptation of A Pen, Handcuffs, and a Common-Law Marriage is set to premiere in January 2027, as announced on Friday. King Amusement Creative revealed a teaser promotional video, a teaser visual, and the main cast and staff. Tomoaki Maeno will voice Eiji Kirisame, a forty-year-old detective, and Inori Minase will voice Tsugumi Kuchinashi, a silent high school girl who communicates through doodles on a drawing pad, one of which proposes marriage. Takaaki Ishiyama directs the series at EMT Squared, with Shigeru Murakoshi overseeing series scripts, Miyuki Nakamura designing characters, Hiroto Morishita as sound director, and Kana Hashiguchi composing the music. The source manga, written by Shinichi Sawaragi and illustrated by Tank Gasuyama, began serialization in Hakusensha's Young Animal magazine in December 2022 and has 400,000 copies in circulation. Yen Press licensed the manga in English and released the first volume on March 24.
Tomohito Takatsuka and Yōko Hikasa have joined the cast of the new Fairy Princess Minky Momo OVA, playing the young man Rubato and the boy Peter. The OVA, titled Mahō no Princess Minky Momo Akogare no Yume e Magokoro no Duo, opens in Japan on November 13. It is the franchise's first new OVA since 1994's Minky Momo in The Station of Your Memories.
The web preview, advance cuts, and synopsis for episode 8 of the TV anime 'Reiwa no Dara-san' have been released. Titled 'Orochi's Struggle', the episode follows Shu and friends visiting the Sanjūkigaya house for a summer homework sleepover. Dara-san senses something strange, and late at night, Orochi, possessing Shu, tries to sneak into Kaoru's room to steal his spiritual power.
Anime News Network rates Sparks of Tomorrow episode 7 at 3.5. The review finds the escape plot, where Inako's sister substitutes for her at a betrothal ceremony despite being much taller, hard to believe. Kengo Kuga's sudden decision to help Sasaki and Inako feels unmotivated, since his character was poorly defined until now.
Icon parts for Tomodachi Collection: Wakuwaku Seikatsu, exchangeable for Platinum Points through Nintendo Switch Online's Missions & Gifts, are trending on X. The parts include realistic animals, foods, and rainbow speed-line backgrounds and frames. Users can combine them to create gaming-style icons with an internet feel, even without owning the game, and set them via the Nintendo Switch Online app.