Anime News Extravaganza: Unveiling the Latest Updates and Releases

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Welcome to another electrifying week of anime updates! From thrilling new releases to tantalizing sneak peeks, we’re here to satiate your anime appetite. So, buckle up as we dive into the latest happenings in the anime realm that are sure to leave you on the edge of your seat.

One Piece Netflix Live-Action Reveals Individual Posters Featuring the Straw Hats

The ONE PIECE Netflix live-action series has revealed new individual posters featuring the 5 Straw Hats – Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Sanji, and Usopp. The series will release 8 episodes in two weeks on August 31 and will stream exclusively on Netflix. Eiichiro Oda was involved in the production process and hyped the series as well. Check out the new posters below:

The ONE PIECE Netflix live-action series recently revealed a cool new trailer, which showed several characters for the first time (Roger, Garp, Shanks, Arlong, and more). It has Matt Owens (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Luke Cage) and Steven Maeda (The X-Files, CSI: Miami, Lost) serving as writers, executive producers, and showrunners. The main cast for the series includes:

• Inaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy
• Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro
• Emily Rudd as Nami
• Taz Skylar as Sanji
• Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 to Reveal First Shibuya Incident Visual and Trailer on August 24

JUJUTSU KAISEN Season 2 will reveal the first visual and trailer for the Shibuya Incident Arc next Thursday, August 24. The anime will have no new episode that week, and it’s set to return the week after on August 31. King Gnu was previously confirmed to perform the theme song for the 2nd part.

The new season of JUJUTSU KAISEN has aired 5 episodes so far, covering the Hidden Inventory/Premature Death arc. It is now on a 3-week break and will return on August 31. The anime is set to enter the Shibuya Incident arc in the second part through 18 episodes. Updated character designs for Geto, Mahito, and Choso were also revealed for the arc.

Blue Lock: Episode Nagi Anime Movie Premieres Spring 2024

A Spring 2024 Japanese release date has been announced for the Blue Lock -Episode Nagi- anime movie. A teaser visual featuring Seishiro Nagi and Reo Mikage and a short trailer were released as well.

Blue Lock -Episode Nagi- was announced in May along with a second season of the 24-episode Blue Lock anime series, which premiered last October. The movie is based on the Kodansha-published soccer-themed manga of the same name, which began serialization in Bessatsu Shonen Magazine in 2022. As the title suggests, Blue Lock -Episode Nagi- features Seishiro Nagi as the main character instead of the main Blue Lock series’ Yoichi Isagi.

Blue Lock co-director Shunsuke Ishikawa (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 2 episode director) is serving as the director for the spin-off. The TV anime series’ composer Taku Kishimoto (Ranking of Kings) is handling the story composition and scripts with the manga’s writer Munemuki Kaneshiro as story supervisor. Jun Murayama is once again the music composer, while Eight Bit remains as the animation production company.

The returning cast includes Nobunaga Shimazaki as Seishiro, Yuuma Uchida as Reo Mikage, Kazuyuki Okitsu as Zantetsu Tsurugi, Kazuki Ura as Yoichi Isagi, Tasuku Kaito as Meguru Bachira, Yuuki Ono as Rensuke Kunigami, and Souma Saitou as Hyoma Chigiri. 

Mangaka Nami Sano Dies After Cancer Battle

Nami Sano, the Japanese mangaka popular for her Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto (Sakamoto Desu Ga?) manga, passed away due to cancer, the official Twitter account of Harta magazine announced. Sano passed away on August 5, according to the statement, with her funeral held from August 7 to 8.

According to the Harta editorial department, Nami Sano was already in talks with the magazine for a new serialized title while also supervising on the anime adaptation of Migi to Dali. They also added that before Sano was hospitalized, she stated that she wants to do another manga series if she overcomes her illness.

The staff expressed their gratitude to Sano, whom they’ve described as someone who was always willing to work hard and inspire other manga artists and those in the magazine’s editorial department.

Nami Sano debuted with her manga Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto (Sakamoto Desu Ga?), which was serialized by Harta from August 2011 to December 2015. It sprang an anime series by Studio DEEN, which aired from April to July 2016 with 12 episodes plus an OVA. Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the manga in English.

She went on to release two more manga titles: U12 Kodomo Fellows (2016) and Migi to Dali (2017). An anime adaptation of Migi to Dali is set to premiere this October, with studios Geek Toys and CompTown animating it. Sano was born on April 17, 1987. She was 36 at the time of her death.

7th Time Loop Light Novels Land Anime Series

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!, a series of light novels by Toko Amekawa (illustrated by Wan Hachipisu) are getting the anime treatment. The series is set to hit screens next year in 2024.

We got our peepers on a teaser video and learned some of the core cast and staff members behind the series. It’ll star Ikumi Hasegawa as Rishe Imgard Wertsner, and Nobunaga Shimazaki as Arnold Hein.

Meanwhile, the brains behind the operation are director Kazuya Iwata (Love After World Dominion, Cute Executive Officer) and screenwriter Tōko Machida (Harukana Receive). We’ve also got Kenichi Okuni (Golden Kamuy) designing characters and Satoshi Hono and Ryunosuke Kasai on music. Animation production is taking place over at Studio KAI and HORNETS.

Here’s how Seven Seas describes the light novels:

Being reborn once may sound impressive, but Rishe is already on her seventh time around! She has had all kinds of excitement in her previous lives, from peddling goods as a merchant to locking blades as a knight, so now she’s determined to kick back and enjoy. But to savor the high life, she first has to marry the handsome prince…the same one who happens to be her murderer! It will take six-plus lifetimes of experience and skills for Rishe to break the time loop and make her extravagant dreams come true!

My Hero Academia: Two Heroes Film Coming to Crunchyroll

The original My Hero Academia movie, My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, is joining the lineup at Crunchyroll. Both subbed and dubbed versions will become available on August 17 at 8:00 PM EDT. It is being streamed for people in America, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Caribbean, Ireland, the Nordic countries, Australia, and New Zealand.

The movie hit the big screen in Japan five years ago and ultimately brought in more than 1.64 billion yen (approximately $14.47 million) during its theatrical run there. It also played in North American theaters in the following months, bringing in $5,768,366 between viewers in America and Canada. As part of the release, a red carpet-event was held in Los Angeles.

Funimation gave this description for the movie:

The climactic finals are over, and U.A. is getting ready for the summer training camp. Deku and All Might receive an invitation from a certain person to go overseas to a giant artificial moving city called I-Island. This island, a kind of “science Hollywood” that gathers the knowledge of scientists from around the world, is holding an exhibition called I-Expo showcasing the results of Quirk and hero item research. In the midst of all this, Deku meets a Quirkless girl named Melissa and remembers his own Quirkless past. Out of the blue, the impregnable security system the island boasts is hacked by villains, and all the people on the island are taken as hostages! Now, a plan that could shake hero society has been put into motion! The man who holds the key to it all is the number one hero and Symbol of Peace, All Might.

It was made at BONES with Kenji Nagasaki taking the helm of the project as director. My Hero Academia mangaka Kohei Horikoshi was involved, working on character designs and taking on the job of being the chief supervisor.

Mushoku Tensei Season 2 Anime Adds Sumire Morohoshi to Cast

Episode 6 of the Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation season 2 anime marked the first appearance of an enslaved girl named Julie, who Rudeus and Zanoba run into at the slave market. With it comes the reveal of the voice behind the character, with Sumire Morohoshi (Hinami Fueguchi in Tokyo Ghoul) officially joining the cast. 

Here’s another look at Julie’s anime design:

The season is being made at Studio Bind, with Hiroki Hirano helming the project as the director. The first part is currently airing and the second half of the season will start in April 2024.

The original novels, the manga adaptation, and the spinoff Mushoku Tensei: Roxy Gets Serious (a.k.a. Mushoku Tensei: Roxy Datte Honki desu in Japanese) are published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. Seven Seas Entertainment gave this description for the novel:

“Kicked out by his family and wandering the streets, an unemployed 34-year-old shut-in thinks he’s hit rock-bottom—just as he’s hit and killed by a speeding truck! Awakening to find himself reborn as an infant in a world of swords and sorcery, but with the memories of his first life intact, Rudeus Greyrat is determined not to repeat his past mistakes. He’s going to make the most of this reincarnation as he sets off on the adventure of a second lifetime!”

Baki Hanma Season 2 Toughens Up with Creditless Ending Video

Baki Hanma is one of Netflix’s top non-English titles, and now the second half of the second season is getting ready to strike Netflix. The series returns on August 24, so with less than a week to go it’s time to take a look at how each episode will close out.

To help us do so, Netflix shared a creditless version of the season 2 part 2 ending video, featuring BE:FIRST ending theme “Salvia.” Check it out below.

The first half of Baki Hanma season 2 went live with The Tale of Pickle & The Pickle War Saga on July 26, and August 24 will mark the launch of The Father VS Son Saga. 

Netflix describes the Baki Hanma anime’s first season like so:

The story finally unfolds into a full-blooded clash between Baki Hanma and his father, Yujiro Hanma, who is known as the “strongest creature on earth.” The climax of the Baki universe, which depicted the “strongest parent-child brawl in history of the world” in the original manga, has been adapted into the long-awaited anime!

See More of the GAMERA -Rebirth- Anime Being Made

Around this time last week, we got to check out a behind-the-scenes video for the GAMERA -Rebirth- anime, which is bringing its CG-animated kaiju battles to Netflix around the world on September 7. Now a new video has made its way online, this time focusing on one of the most iconic rival kaiju in the storied history of Gamera, Gyaos. 

See how director Hiroyuki Seshita and the rest of the staff at anime studio ENGI brought it to life in the showcase below. 

The series stars Hisako Kanemoto as Boko, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Joe, Aki Toyosaki as Junichi, Subaru Kimura as Brody, Mamoru Miyano as Tazaki and Saori Hayami as Emiko.

Gamera -Rebirth- is directed by Hiroyuki Seshita (Godzilla anime trilogy) at the studio ENGI.

Here’s how Netflix describes it:

In the summer of 1989, four kids in Tokyo witness the emergence of the turtle kaiju Gamera, who bravely stands up against giant human-eating monsters.

The Dangers in My Heart Dub Arriving This Month

If you’ve been waiting for the English dub of The Dangers in My Heart (known as Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu in Japanese) you’re 10 days away! HIDIVE will launch the dub on August 26 at 11:00 AM EDT.

The English dubbed version is directed by John Swasey. The cast has also been announced: Clint Bickham plays Ichikawa, Katelyn Barr plays Yamada, Scott Gibbs plays Adachi, Natalie Rial plays Hara, Shelley Calene-Black plays Ichikawa’s mom, Jade Kelly plays Igarashi, Savanna Menzel plays Ishimuro, Genevieve Simmons plays Kana, Hilary Haag plays Kanaoya, Greg Ayres plays Kanzaki, Kara Greenberg plays Kobayashi, Cat Thomas as Mamiya, Joe Daniels plays Mr. Maeda, Ben McLaughlin plays Nanjo, Chris Patton plays Nigorikawa, Joe Daniels plays Ogawa, Courtland Johnson plays Ota, Emi Lo plays Sekine, Sophie Marcelle plays Tazawa, and Olivia Swasey plays Yoshida.

Cat Thomas, Chris Patton, Christina Kelly, Christine Auten, Dominique Meyer, Jade Kelly, Joanne Bonasso, Joe Daniels, John Swasey, Kyle Colby Jones, Patrick Marrero, Savanna Menzel, Scott Gibbs, Shelley Calene-Black, and Sophie Marcelle are also all listed as providing other voices as well.

The anime was made at Shinei Animation with Hiroaki Akagi of Those Snow White Notes helming the project as director. Its music was composed by popular composer Kensuke Ushio, who has also worked on Chainsaw Man, Liz, and the Blue Bird, and A Silent Voice.

Seven Seas Entertainment publishes the original manga by Norio Sakurai and gave this description for its plot:

Ichikawa Kyotaro, a boy barely clinging to the bottom rung of his school’s social ladder, secretly believes he’s the tortured lead in some psychological thriller. He spends his days dreaming up ways to disrupt his classmates’ peaceful lives and pining after Anna Yamada, the class idol. But Kyotaro’s not nearly the troubled teen he pretends to be…and it turns out Anna’s a bit odd herself!