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2h ago
FastLabel has entered a partnership with ugo to support data production and operations infrastructure for physical AI. FastLabel will provide its Data Factory Operations solution for VTLA model development under GENIAC, a national project run by METI and NEDO, and for ugo Physical AI Fabric, which began rollout on Wednesday, September 16. The GENIAC project aims to autonomize contact-rich manufacturing assembly work using a dual-arm semi-humanoid robot.
1d ago
The 2003 Korean cult sci-fi film Save the Green Planet! will be released in general theaters across Japan in a 4K restored version, more than 20 years after its Korean release. The film is director Jang Joon-hwan's feature debut and follows a young man who kidnaps the president of a chemical company he believes is an alien. Shin Ha-kyun plays the protagonist Byeong-gu, with cinematography by Hong Kyung-pyo.
Sep 8
The TV anime Shugo Chara! online lottery vol.4 is on sale at the DRAW!DRAW! service at 770 yen per draw. The lineup runs from A prize acrylic blocks to E prize acrylic tiles, all using anime illustrations. A purchase bonus offers film-style illustration cards, one random card per ten draws and a full set per twenty. Shipments are expected from late November 2026.
Sep 3
Animate Holdings announced the key visual and official website for the Shugo Chara! 20th Anniversary Original Art Exhibition on September 3. The key visual features a newly drawn illustration by creator PEACH-PIT. The exhibition runs from December 12 to 27 at Tokyo Solamachi 5F Space 634, displaying original artworks from the manga series.
Sep 2
KADOKAWA released "Learn with Amagami Konomi and Suki! Middle School English Words & Phrases 1800" on September 1. It is the first study reference book by Amagami Konomi, a self-produced VTuber with over 840,000 YouTube subscribers, supervised by Kawai Juku English teacher Yuma Moriya. The 224-page volume covers middle school vocabulary, phrases, and conversation expressions, with fill-in-the-blank dialogues and a red sheet to hide answers.
Aug 29
A Shugo Chara! pop up shop opens September 25 through October 1 at Tokyo Station Ichibangai, marking the manga's 20th serialization anniversary. The lineup includes seven goods across five product lines, from a puri-cho style ring notebook to digital camera-shaped acrylic keychains. Three blind-sale items are offered, including 10 types of can badges.
Aug 29
Yuki Yamada will lead the Prime Original film Super Mob Ninja, streaming worldwide on Prime Video on February 19, 2027. Yugo Sakamoto of the Baby Assassins series directs and writes, with Kensuke Sonomura on action direction. Yamada plays Higashino Akira, a fired convenience store worker who joins a government secret organization battling demons.
Aug 28
Amazon Prime Video announced that Yugo Aosaki's Jirai Glico novel is getting a live-action adaptation titled Rock Paper Landmine. The series streams worldwide on the service starting November 13. Nana Mori stars as Mato Imoriya, Aju Makita plays Kazahi Koda, and Kazuaki Seki directs. The Seven produces.
Aug 18
A PEACH-PIT 25th anniversary exhibition will run in Nagoya from September 19 to October 12, 2026, at the F Reed Building. The show features displays tracing the duo's career, three-dimensional exhibits, photo spots, and production videos. Nagoya-exclusive merchandise and admission bonuses are planned, with advance tickets sold only as merchandise-included sets.
Aug 14
ABEMA announced on August 14 that it will hold a "Heisei Girls' Anime Special" as the third week of its August "Anime 200 Titles Free Festival Every Week" project. Starting late on August 16, the streaming service will run marathon broadcasts of Aikatsu!, Tamagotchi!, and Shugo Chara! on its Family Anime 3 channels. Each work will be available for free for one week after broadcast. The Aikatsu! marathon begins at 2:30 a.m. on August 17 and covers all 178 episodes of the first through fourth seasons, plus the first film, Aikatsu! The Movie. The Tamagotchi! marathon starts at 1:00 p.m. on August 17, featuring the first series that aired from 2009 to 2012, including the "Lovely Tamatomo Arc," "Happy Harmony Arc," and "Collect Tama Heart Arc." The Shugo Chara! marathon begins at 11:00 p.m. on August 17, covering the first and second seasons of the anime based on PEACH-PIT's manga from the girls' magazine Nakayoshi. The festival runs four consecutive weeks in August, offering about 200 popular anime titles for free with a different theme each week.
Aug 10
Rablo Games announced the demo for 'Days Spent with a Golden Retriever' will release on August 12 in Japan due to time zones. The PC (Steam) demo covers the first seven days of gameplay, featuring live-action footage of the developer's own dog, Pichu. The full game is slated for early 2027.
Aug 6
Composer Yugo Kanno and producer Noriko Dohi discussed the upcoming Steel Ball Run: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime in an interview with Anime Herald. Kanno said the pressure to surpass his prior JoJo scores pushed him to create his best work yet. He also confirmed Shohei Ohtani used his music for warmups again this year.
Jun 30
Writer Ichiha Hiiragi and artist mimita will launch a new manga titled Kanade-kun no Shugorei Yarimasu! on Shogakukan's Manga ONE service on July 15. The story follows a high school girl who becomes the guardian spirit of her idol, a pianist. Hiiragi revealed the project was delayed by a rear-end collision accident.
Jun 27
An extra edition of Nikkan Sports featuring ads for five soccer manga, including Yugo Kobayashi's Ao Ashi and its spin-off Ao Ashi Brotherfoot, began distribution on June 26 at three Tokyo locations. The edition commemorates the Japanese national team's advancement from the group stage in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The extra edition will also appear in the June 27 Tokyo edition of Nikkan Sports.
Jun 27
The main visual for the first cour of the TV anime "Ao Ashi Season 2" was released on June 26, 2026. The opening theme will be performed by the band 10-FEET, and the ending theme by singer Higuchi Ai. The visual centers on protagonist Aoi Ashito, surrounded by eight members of the Tokyo City Esperion Youth A team: Nagisa Akutsu, Haruhisa Kuribayashi, Yuma Motoki, Taira Nakamura, Yoichi Kirigi, Eita Takasugi, and Enshin Akiyama. Handwritten comments from three voice actors were also published. Kosuke Ōsuzu, who voices Ashito, wrote "Soccer at a more 'professional' level!!" Shunsuke Takeuchi (Nagisa Akutsu) wrote "Check out the cool buzz cut!!" and Yūichirō Umehara (Haruhisa Kuribayashi) wrote "Anguish." The second season adapts the arc following Ashito's promotion to the A team. The original manga by Yūgo Kobayashi ran in Weekly Big Comic Spirits from 2015 to 2025 and has sold over 25 million copies. The first season aired from April to September 2022. The first cour of season two is scheduled to premiere on NHK E-TV on October 4, 2026, airing Sundays at 17:00. Animation production is handled by TMS Entertainment, with Kazuki Yokoyama directing.
Jun 13
Dengeki Hobby Web reports the top 20 manga volumes on Amazon Kindle's bestseller ranking as of June 12, 2026. Discounted backlist titles Kakugo no Susume and Gokuudou, both priced at 99 yen each, dominate the chart alongside new releases like That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Vol. 32 and Sengoku Komachi Kuroutan Vol. 20. Pre-order volumes for Solo Leveling Vol. 25, Darwin's Incident Vol. 11, and Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu Vol. 17 also rank highly.
Jun 12
PEACH-PIT's "Shugo Chara!" is now available for free reading of all 123 chapters on Palcy, Magazine Pocket (MagaPoke), and Comic DAYS from June 12 to June 14, 2026, at 23:59. The 72-hour campaign celebrates the release of the fourth volume of the sequel "Shugo Chara! Jewel Joker," which also went on sale June 12. The sequel is serialized in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine. The original series, which won the 32nd Kodansha Manga Award in the children's category and has sold over 4 million copies, follows a shy girl named Amu who protects "heart eggs" alongside her friends. After the free period ends, Palcy will offer a "Wait and Read for Free" ticket campaign from June 15 to 30.
Jun 11
A pop-up store for the anime Shugo Chara! will run at Ikebukuro Loft from June 16 to June 29, 2026, then tour to Osaka and Fukuoka. The Ice Cream Party theme features newly drawn art of five characters in café-style outfits, with merchandise including acrylic stands, can badges, T-shirts, and sticker binders.
Jun 10
Netflix's live-action series 'Fight Alone,' starring Oji Suzuka, began streaming worldwide on June 11, 2026. Alongside the release, the platform unveiled a cast group shot, a character relationship chart, and the opening footage of the first episode, which shows lead character Kota Shimura in a humiliating live stream before his unconventional rise.
Jun 3
MegaHouse is releasing new Lukap series figures of Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo from My Hero Academia in casual private clothes, plus a re-release of Himiko Toga. Reservations open June 4, 2026. The figures stand about 110mm tall and feature a looking-up pose. A Premium Bandai exclusive set for Bakugo includes a bonus phone charm.
May 24
The preview for episode 12 of Classroom of the Elite Season 4, titled "Finis Vicissitudines Vindictae," teases a physical confrontation between Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and Tsubasa Nanase. The episode is set to premiere on May 27, 2026. The preview shows the characters on day seven of the deserted island survival exam. Ayanokoji's group takes the shortest route through the mountains, and despite his suggestion to take a detour due to dangerous conditions and impending rain, Nanase insists on crossing. After reaching the summit, Nanase reveals something to Ayanokoji. The season began with a 90-minute special premiere of the first four episodes on April 1, 2026. Noriyuki Nomata directs the season, with scripts overseen by Yasushi Shigenobu and character designs by Maki Kono. Lerche handles animation production. The opening theme is "MONSTER" by Eir Aoi, and the ending theme is "Liar Veil" by ZAQ. Crunchyroll streams the series.