Keigo Shinzō's award-winning manga's soft line work and rounded designs, along with the watercolor backgrounds of its cover art, translate perfectly to animation. ― When the Japan Society announced it would be screening “a preview version” of the first episode of Hirayasumi “still undergoing finishing touches,” my mind leapt to the legendary work-in-progress screening of Beauty and the Beast at the 1...

review

1 comment

Akane-banashi Volumes 4-6 Manga Review

Oct 13, 12:00

1 comment

manga

How does Akane fare in her debut as a true working woman in the rakugo world? Spoiler: Badly. ― Volume four is where I truly fell in love with Akane-banashi, for one specific reason: Issho Arakawa. As much as I love Akane as a protagonist and have grown to love her growth and journey over the run of the series, Issho is equally important and valuable to the strength of the series for how unique a “vi...

feature

214 comments

The Fall 2026 Anime Preview Guide

Oct 13, 10:28

214 comments

anime

The episode 2s are rolling in! Check out our reviewers' takes on over 50 series as the Preview Guide, sponsored by Crunchyroll, continues! ― Welcome to Anime News Network's Fall 2026 Anime Preview Guide! Here's how it works: our team of critics writes up their impressions instantly, and we post them here as they go. Each critic will cover as many shows as they can handle, giving you alternate takes ...

game review

2 comments

Dramatic Road: the origin of wind Game Review

Oct 12, 12:00

2 comments

games

Dramatic Road isn't just a modern-day Fire Emblem. It's specifically a high school delinquent saga inspired by classics like Bari Bari Densetsu. ― Dramatic Road: the origin of wind has a brilliant high concept: it's a Fire Emblem-style strategy RPG set in modern-day Kanagawa rather than medieval times. Every archetype you remember from those games is therefore remixed. Archers are tennis players; arm...

feature

3 comments

Part of Her World: Anime and Manga Visions of The Little Mermaid

Oct 12, 09:00

3 comments

anime manga

Rebecca swims through anime and manga history to reach the depths of its mermaid fascination. ― Hans Christian Andersen's 1837 literary fairy tale wasn't necessarily a natural fit for Japan. Japanese mermaids, as readers of Rumiko Takahashi know, are more likely to grant immortality if you consume their flesh than to fall in love with a human. But the strange metamorphosis of storytelling can always ...

review

7 comments

Pokémon Horizons: Season 3 - Rising Hope Part 4 Anime Series Review

Oct 11, 12:00

7 comments

anime

What makes this final batch of episodes so strong is that almost everybody gets a moment to shine or a moment of introspection. ― It's wild how far Pokémon Horizons has come. This final batch of episodes feels like the climax of this time skip and the entire Pokémon Horizons series. While some things are glossed over or could've received more focus, I genuinely believe this might be one of the strong...

news

29 comments

Masashi Kishimoto to Launch New Naruto Manga

Oct 10, 18:25

29 comments

manga

More details to be revealed at Jump Festa '27 event on December 19-20 ― The "NARUTO: What's Next?" panel at New York Comic Con announced on Saturday that Masashi Kishimoto will launch a new manga in his Naruto franchise. The below video teases the title as Naruto Shadow Rising. More details will be revealed at the Jump Festa '27 event, which will take place on December 19-20.Kishimoto launched the Na...

news

16 comments

Naruto Gets Crossover Anime With Ninku Franchise

Oct 10, 18:15

16 comments

anime

Boruto, Ninku director Noriyuki Abe directs crossover series ― The "NA RUTO: What's Next?" panel at New York Comic Con announced on Saturday more information about the new television anime "limited" series teased last month. The new anime is a crossover anime with Koji Kiriyama's Ninku ninja manga titled NARUTO×NINKŪ.The panel explained that Ninku inspired Masashi Kishimoto to create Naruto, and as t...

review

6 comments

The Ogre's Bride Anime Series Review

Oct 10, 12:00

6 comments

anime

Yuzu seems passive, but she's really a survivor stumbling her way into the light. ― The Cinderella fairy tale often draws knee-jerk reactions about passive heroines. Even some of her arguably more passive fairy tale sisters, like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty, are afforded more grace than the woman who rises from the ashes to become a princess. She's painted as the ultimate in passivity, a girl who w...

news

6 comments

Dr. Stone TV Anime Gets Terraforming Sequel

Oct 10, 08:57

6 comments

anime

Based on story in 27th manga volume ― The "Stone Fes. 2026" event announced on Saturday that production has been green-lit on Dr. Stone Terraforming, a sequel to the television anime of Riichirou Inagaki and Boichi's Dr. Stone manga. The new anime will adapt the "Terraforming" sequel story, set after the main story, from the 27th manga volume. The first television anime premiered in July 2019. Crunch...

review

1 comment

GROTESQQQUE Anime Film Review

Oct 9, 18:00

1 comment

anime

Atsushi Nishigori’s three-part anthology film crams all his otaku obsessions into a feast of wild eye candy. ― At the U.S. premiere of GROTESQQQUE at New York's Japan Society, director Atsushi Nishigori warned the audience it might be hard to connect the different segments of this anthology feature. The one overriding theme, he explained, is “things I like” — whether that's cute girls, monsters, mech...

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