The Sailor Moon Shining Theater returns, Hello Kitty gets spooky with a Junji Ito collab, and Super Mario celebrates his 40th anniversary with a parade balloon! Also, Cutie Honey gets a short-lived action series, FanimeCon announces a dedicated dojinshi event, and LINE WEBTOON and Disney announce an additional wave of reformatted comics! Meanwhile in Japan... Enjoy a Japanese train seat heater at home this winter, the media jumps to exaggerated conclusions in a harassment case, and dinner and a Sumo show give bilingual entertainment!
It's Another Anime Convention (AAC) 2025! It's DJ Ranma S and Ari Rockefeller as they break down the entire convention weekend and understand why they travel to this con every year! Also, if time permits, for Meanwhile in Japan, we have humans getting their own instant washing machine, and a train driver in trouble for reading a book on trains while on a stopped train?!
Music from the Sailor Moon Super Live looks to be getting a worldwide release, Trigun's second season is set for January 2026, and NANA gets a makeover for its 25th anniversary! Also, animation cels and other collectibles are to hit the auction block, PERFECT BLUE gets a 4K collectors box, and Crunchyroll gives an answer to subtitle issues. Meanwhile in Japan... Hotel chain offers plushies their own beds, rail company apologizes for driver spacing out while operating the train, and Asahi Beer Japan is forced to take orders by fax as Japan races to avoid beer shortage!
Hianime is still targeted for piracy, the subtitle quality at Crunchyroll is at an all-time low, and Ae! Group member activity suspended after arrest! Also, AnimeJapan teams with Crunchyroll for a new award, the original Tiger Mask mask, found and verified, and Bushiroad reveals Hunter x Hunter survivor game! Meanwhile in Japan, a man was arrested for a naked trip to escape reality, and banks were irked by stolen envelopes and online reselling?!
Original Kamen Rider reprises role in new anime, Doraemon anime gets new ending theme after 20 years, and Ken Watanabe revealed for Alice in Borderland season 3! Also, a Hair product company teams up with Yu-Gi-Oh! for a new line, Evangelion marks its 30th anniversary with a weekly radio show, and Crunchyroll is bringing back its manga reader! Meanwhile in Japan... A hostess arrested for lying to her client about why she needs money, and a 63 y/o Japanese woman marries a 31 y/o man she met through a 'chance encounter’?!
The Battle Royale film comes to US theaters for its 25th anniversary, the Azumanga Daioh collection is released on Blu-ray, and a fight breaks out at the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba movie after a man pees on a row of seats in front of him! Also, KPop Demon Hunters becomes 1st Netflix title to surpass 300 million views, the CLAMP x GODIVA lineup is revealed, and Creepy Nuts R-指定 & DJ松永 announces an appearance at Coachella! Meanwhile in Japan... An employee was suspended and demoted for verbal abuse, blaming being Osakan, an airport inspector arrested for stealing from luggage, and a man was arrested for stealing 50 fire hose nozzles?!
Love Live! Tribute album confirms collaboration songs with Umamusume, KyoAni's newest project to be announced in October, and a New Texas law is already causing issues for anime fans. Also, Sailor Moon lands an unconventional record in the US, Attack on Titan manga gets an anniversary project, and WEBTOON's comment policy is revised after a backlash. Meanwhile in Japan... a mountain climber throws back out at the summit, bonsai tree flavored gin, and the fact that this is a common occurrence is the real issue with forgotten bathroom guns?!
Japanese companies holding orders until alternative shipping can be found, or final appeals for "illegal" tariff orders, VTuber Ironmouse makes Rolling Stone's top 25 most influential creators list, and KPop Demon Hunters is Netflix's most-watched movie globally, ever! Also, a cosplayer accused of threatening to plant a bomb at San Japan, Nintendo museum opens concept art exhibit, and BanG Dream spin-off in the works! Meanwhile in Japan, arrests made after a Hostess has a date beaten and stabbed, parents seek reimbursement after a 10-year-old spends 4.6 million yen on TikTok and more, and a foreign tourist steals offerings and chugs booze in a Japanese cemetery, sparking a police investigation!
We're talking Otakon! Join DJ Ranma S and co-host BerryMelon as she discusses her Otakon weekend in depth! Also, we bring back the Open Forum Topic, "Should convention raves be age restricted?" We also discuss Hitomi, the ‘legendary’ maid, guardian angel of Akihabara, and Rumiko Takahashi celebrates Doraemon's anniversary with crossover art! Meanwhile in Japan... Kyoto’s pinkest, cutest new restaurant is the start of a new life for retired train cars, and a household cleaner makes a survival horror game for Steam?!
Crunchyroll announces layoffs and a new growth model, a Vice-Minister refuses once more to appear at ComicMarket コミックマーケット, and a plan is in the works for an anime adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera! Also, a senior executive was dismissed from Gungho Online Entertainment for embezzlement. Issues in Indonesia result in the potential for the One Piece flag to be seen as treasonous, and Nike teams up with Yu-Gi-Oh! for an official character-inspired shoe! Meanwhile in Japan, randomize your night with gacha sake, and a reverse maid cafe lets cosplaying customers serve staff instead of the other way around!
Call for donations to help preserve rare Sailor Moon media, Disney Twisted-Wonderland English anime gets release date, and McDonald's Japan announces Pokémon Happy Meals, and it turns into a complete clusterf! Also, #CLAMP teams up with Godiva Japan （ゴディバ ジャパン）, Disney+ to integrate Hulu into a single streaming app, and Gundam Wing voice actors reunite for a one-night dinner show in Tokyo! Meanwhile in Japan, there are no more domestic live action films in Japan's top 10 highest earning movies, the shape of Pocky is now trademarked, and researchers have bottled newborn baby scent?!
Congratulations are in order for WCS Team USA, winners of the 2025 World Cosplay Summit 世界コスプレサミット! Also tonight, Kadokawa issues guidelines for anime sampling, anime studio Gaina changes name after being acquired, and the Korean government plans to offer tax credits for webtoon production costs. Plus, Hello Kitty gets a licensed tarot card set, and Neon Genesis Evangelion's 30th anniversary gets a new flashback album! Meanwhile in Japan, a Japanese Politician offers an apology for his opinion on the taste of rice, an Evangelion voice actress reveals she’s been waiting 11 years for free condoms she was promised, and let's take a trip back to all things Heisei era at a retro exhibition...
We bring back THE HOT TOPIC! Tonight's topic, Anime Boston's Masquerade Coordinator position, should it be paid? Also on tonight's show, the fallout from VShoujo, and boy, it's a mess! Plus, Gundam Wing gets new releases and sequels, Bushiroad releases a statement about threats against a voice actress, and a Japanese politician is in hot water for unauthorized cosplay?! Meanwhile in Japan, a fraud victim turns to fraud to make money, a schoolteacher loses their job for working, and an event welcomes you to sit and do absolutely nothing!
A convention was abruptly canceled, and then the Company canceled all remaining scheduled events. A company named 'Your Rights' is established to allow fans to invest in anime. VTuber Ironmouse Officially Leaves VShojo, Says She's owed "Significant Funds", and the Ranma 1/2 anime opening is used in the newest cover song project. Also, HarperCollins is to acquire French and German Crunchyroll manga publishing, and an anime to air, just an audio-only screening due to explicit content?! Meanwhile in Japan, a man was arrested for arson on a go-kart tour lot, a battery fire broke out on Tokyo's main commuter line, and a landmark arcade open for over 30 years announces closure...
We say farewell to a friend of the show... Also tonight, the first official Dragon Ball store to open in Tokyo, a new Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba film premieres to a sold-out show, and a copyright suit is settled for an Attack on Titan event. Plus, the MAO manga gets a TV anime adaptation, an upcoming PS5 game gets a mode directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, and Comic-Con International marks Gundam Wing anniversary with English dub cast! Meanwhile in Japan... Japan Airlines is giving free flights to tourists, Uniqlo is adding shoplifting deterrents with a petty but brilliant plan, and finally, a Jenga game filled with whiskey sells for 2 million yen?!
J-Pop group FLOW is doing a European and North American tour in fall 2025, a remake of the Jungle Emperor Leo anime is in the planning stages, and the Ghost In The Shell anime is getting a comprehensive exhibition in 2026! Also, a teaser announces a September debut for Alice in Borderland season 3, the Sailor Moon museum to continue its tour outside of Japan for the first time, and Hong Kong debuts wings of the non-fried kind in a Gundam Wing / KFC collaboration?! Meanwhile in Japan... A naked man arrested at a shrine admits to walking around naked, and a company president arrested for making an employee admit to his hit and run accident?!
The Sanrio 2025 ranking is out, live-action Sailor Moon series returns to television, and the AKIRA film rights revert back to Kodansha! Also, Anime Expo® apologizes for canceled autograph tickets due to vague wording on the rules, Crunchyroll to host music festival during San Diego Comic Con International, and rock band TOKIO announces disbandment... Meanwhile in Japan, the police raid a real casino in Tokyo that caters to online gambling, and get paid to poop, but only if it's really awesome poop?!
Ranma 1/2 season 2 release date announced with new character trailer, Gen Z survey from Japan claims 3 Sanrio characters as top three in the general Favorite Character question, and Tokyo University of Technology collaborates with Pokémon franchise launches a Twitch-streamed game show, TRANSFORMERS gets a garage kit release, and Sanrio is now the 4th largest shareholder for Production I.G and Wit Studio parent company! Meanwhile in Japan... A man arrested for stealing over 40 bicycles in an attempt to build his own perfect bike, and a man arrested after a chase for being suspiciously overdressed?!
A French production company acquires the rights for Space Adventure Cobra, a piracy site removes titles due to a cease-and-desist order, and Samurai Troopers anime gets a sequel! Also, New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt premieres July 9th, voice Actress Megumi Hayashibara goes viral with a blog post, and Wit Studio produces anime shorts for Google Play! Meanwhile in Japan... A man was arrested for using curry spices as a weapon during a robbery, and a theft of a car is not thefty enough for police...
The squad is back! DJ Ranma S discusses his trip to Japan, so get ready! Also, LINE WEBTOON tightens hate speech guidelines, New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt anime theme songs get single release in August, Toonami to air Dragon Ball Daima, and The Tom and Jerry anime shorts get an English release on YouTube! Meanwhile in Japan... Police in Nagasaki get in a high-speed chase with Nagasaki police, a man arrested for forcing a store clerk to shave his own head, and a small study finds VR may actually help eyesight!
