Popular anime Fruits Basket has released a new series of character visuals featuring members of the Student Council set to appear in the upcoming second season! The newly released character visuals feature student council vice president Manabe Kakeru and treasurer Kuragi Machi, played by Eguchi Takuya and Kakuma Ai respectively. Originally a manga by Takaya

Virtual YouTubers, or VTubers as they are better known in Japan, are taking the Otaku industry by storm. Among the 10,000+ VTubers in January 2020, NIJISANJI stands as one of the most famous and popular VTuber collectives. Here’s an introduction to NIJISANJI, by NIJISANJI! At the intersection of cutting edge technology and modern pop culture,

With almost 60 successful prize exhibitions under its belt, the Prize Fair made its winter appearance in Tokyo on Feb. 7 with tons of upcoming releases from industry leaders. Inside it all was a treasure trove of figures from BANPRESTO, inspired by popular franchises like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, My Hero Academia, Dragon Ball,

Nioh 2 is one of the most anticipated games of 2020, and after years of waiting, it’s finally here! Tokyo Otaku Mode first went hands-on with Nioh 2 as part of our TGS coverage last year! It was a brutal challenge then, and players should expect no less when the game releases worldwide on March

BNA: Brand New Animal, the latest TV anime from Trigger, will be hitting the airwaves from Apr. 8, while the first six episodes will also be streamed exclusively on Netflix from Mar. 21! As well as the airdate, it has also been announced that Takashima Gara will be joining the cast as Barbaray Rose, the

Season 2 of popular anime IDOLiSH7 is set to air from Apr. 5, with its first broadcast to include two episodes! A commercial narrated by young idol Nanase Riku has been released, previewing the boys’ new journey. A key visual was also revealed along with character posters featuring the seven members of the titular idol

Originally slated for April, further details regarding the air date have not yet been confirmed but are expected to be announced via the show’s official website and Twitter account. The producers have released an apology for the inconvenience and disappointment caused to fans who had been looking forward to the show. Inspired by the series

Fruits Basket has revealed an uplifting key visual for its upcoming second season! Inspired by Takaya Natsuki’s manga, the series follows high school girl Honda Tohru, who finds herself moving in with classmate Sohma Yuki after her mother dies – only to discover that he is the victim of a curse in which 12 members

The first installment of Princess Principal: Crown Handler, a series of theatrical movie sequels to the Princess Principal TV anime, has released a trailer featuring its opening theme plus plot details ahead of its Apr. 10 release! The trailer gives fans a peek at the girls’ new mission, as well as opening theme “Lies &

The live action movie adaptation of popular manga The Promised Neverland has announced that actress Kitagawa Keiko and comedian Watanabe Naomi have joined the cast! Kitagawa is set to play Grace Field House caretaker Isabella, also known as “Mom” to the orphans. Meanwhile, Watanabe will be taking on the role of Krone, another caretaker who

“Key 20th Anniversary Shop Final”—a pop-up shop that looks back at the history of content maker Key, which welcomed its 20th anniversary in 2019—opened at THE AKIHABARA CONTAiNER in Akihabara, Tokyo on Feb. 19. The event was previously held in Tokyo in November 2019 and will be held this year in Osaka, the final stop

The first teaser trailer for the long awaited “final chapter” of the live action Rurouni Kenshin movies has been relesed! Featuring intense action scenes, it also includes appearances from beloved characters like Kamiya Kaoru, Sagara Sanosuke, Takani Megumi, and Myojin Mahiko, plus Kenshin himself. Based on Watsuki Nobuhiro’s popular manga, the Rurouni Kenshin live action

Anime movie Psycho-Pass 3: First Inspector, the latest installment in the Psycho-Pass franchise, is slated to screen in Japanese cinemas for two weeks only from Mar. 27! It will also stream exclusively via Amazon Prime in Japan and overseas. First broadcast as an original TV anime by Production I.G. in 2012, Season 2 followed in

Upcoming smartphone game KonoSuba: Fantastic Days is set for launch on Feb. 27! Produced by Sumzap for iOS and Android, the RPG will feature fan favorites like Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness in an original story. In addition to confirming the launch date, the game has also released footage of the opening sequence, which features

Popular anime Violet Evergarden’s upcoming movie has released its second teaser trailer ahead of its Apr. 24 release date! Inspired by the series of light novels by Akatsuki Kana, the Kyoto Animation series follows the titular Violet Evergarden, a former soldier turned “Auto Memories Doll”, who is tasked with the duties of a scribe for

Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs launched Anime Tamago in 2010 to support aspiring animators, and it’s still going strong. This year’s event will be held on Mar. 14 at Ikebukuro Humax Cinema as a part of Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2020. Now, story details for all three shorts on the 2020 programme have been revealed!

Pokémon HOME, a new cloud-based service where Pokémon can gather, is now available on Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android! The service allows players to swap Pokémon they’ve collected throughout the series with friends from around the world and between related titles, as well as accessing field guides and other information though the features differ slightly

Vampire-themed dramatic stage reading title Mars Red is set to make the jump to TV anime in 2021! Written and directed by legendary theatre practitioner Fujisawa Bun’o, the stage production also boasted promotional artwork by mangaka Karakara Kemuri. Like the stage show, the TV anime will be set in the Taisho era (1912 – 1926)

In 2019, Fate/stay night, the origin of the currently airing anime Fate/Grand Order – Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia, celebrated 15 years since its release as a video game. Commemorating the occasion, an event titled “TYPE-MOON Exhibit: Tracing 15 Years of Fate/stay night,” which looks back at the history of the Fate series and TYPE-MOON, opened

The upcoming anime adaptation of the much loved visual novel Higurashi When They Cry has announced its key cast members: Hoshi Souichirou as Maebara Keiichi, and Nakahara Mai as Ryugu Rena, with both reprising their roles from the previous anime adaptation. Inspired by the classic horror/mystery game, Higurashi was first adapted as a TV anime

3DCG anime Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045, the latest installment in the Ghost in the Shell franchise, will be available to stream exclusively via Netflix this April! In addition to releasing a new trailer and teaser poster, the show has also confirmed key casting: Tanaka Atsuko (Kusanagi Motoko), Otsuka Akio (Batou), and Yamadera Koichi (Togusa),

A new project has been announced for popular manga Bleach as part of its 20th anniversary celebrations! More information is expected from a live stage event at AnimeJapan 2020 on March 21. Members of the cast and crew will be in attendance, including Morita Masakazu who plays Kurosaki Ichigo, Okiayu Ryoutarou who plays Kuchiki Byakuya,

Adapted from the light novel series written by Fuse and illustrated by Mitz Vah, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime follows a salaryman is stabbed to death and wakes up as a slime in another world. Taking on the name of Rimuru, he tries to build his own society where all kinds of

Popular manga Death Note is getting its first original material in 12 years with a one shot manga in the March edition of Jump Square! The 87-page one shot will follow middle school boy Tanaka Minoru, who has won the title of the cleverest in Japan three years running. Two years after the Shinigami Ryuk

Trigger has released the first trailer for its upcoming TV anime BNA, which airs this April! Its key creative team has also been revealed. Yoshinari You will direct with a script by Nakashima Kazuki and character design by Yoshigaki Yusuke. Concept art is by Canadian artist Genice Chan. BNA follows a young woman, Michiru, who

My Hero Academia has released a new key visual by character designer Umakoshi Yoshihiko, plus a trailer for its upcoming School Festival arc! The trailer features some of the School Festival’s action set to the new opening theme song by KANA-BOON, “Star Marker”. Originally created by Horikoshi Kouhei and currently running in Weekly Shonen Jump,

20 years on from the original anime’s debut, Digimon Adventure will be getting a reboot anime in Apr. 2020! A modern adaptation set in 2020, the new world of Digimon Adventure is a place where networks are essential in everyday life. As cyberterrorism threatens the peace, humans are still unaware of the existence of those

Known worldwide for its Studio Ghibli-produced movie in 1995, shoujo manga Whisper of the Heart is heading back to the big screen with a brand new live action adaptation. Hirakawa Yuichirou is to direct the movie. Protagonist Tsukishima Shizuku, who loves to read, will be played by Seino Nana, while aspiring violin-maker Amasawa Seiji will

Key is currently crowdfunding for an OVA adaptation of planetarian side story Snow Globe. Having already achieved its original target, it has also reached its first stretch goal of 50 million yen! planetarian was first released as a visual novel in 2004 with an animated movie following in 2016. The crowdfunding campaign to animate Snow

Braving the freezing temperatures, a whopping 750,000 comic lovers gathered at Tokyo Big Sight from Dec. 28 to 31 for Comiket 97! These fans were greeted by over 8000 doujinshi circles and 144 companies, and of course, heaps of amazing cosplayers! Like the last event, it was held over four days due to Olympics preparations