Tokyo Anime Dispatch

On July 31, 2026, Bushiroad released new preview cuts and a synopsis for BLACK TORCH episode 5, which is scheduled to air on Saturday, August 1, 2026 at 10:00 p.m. JST. The episode is titled "Young Gunz," and the release also warns that the broadcast time may shift by up to 120 minutes on RKB Mainichi Broadcasting because of scheduling changes. In other words, this is not just a teaser for the next episode; it is a practical schedule note for viewers who want to catch the premiere at the right moment. The release is a compact but revealing snapshot of where the story is headed. Rather than giving away the whole episode, it gives viewers the key pressure points: the underground space, the sealed stone that once contained Rago, and the new confrontation waiting there. For a weekly late-night anime, that balance matters. The material needs to be specific enough to attract attention, but restrained enough to leave the dramatic payoff for the broadcast itself. What Was Announ...

What Was Announced On July 31, 2026, Bushiroad Creative said that PalVerse Jujutsu Kaisen went on sale that day. The announcement was published through PR Times at 1:00 PM JST, and the official PalVerse product page matches the release date listed in the press release. In other words, this is not a teaser or a vague coming-soon notice: the product is positioned as a concrete release on July 31, 2026. The official product page lists six characters in the lineup: Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, Yuta Okkotsu, Choso, Kenjaku, and Sukuna. It also gives the basic commercial details that collectors usually want first: the pack price is 1,100 yen including tax, the box price is 6,600 yen including tax, each figure is about 90 mm tall, and the line is sold as a closed package. The product page further notes that unopened boxes are structured as a complete box purchase, which matters for buyers who want a set rather than a random single pack. The brand itself is PalVerse, Bushiroad Creativ...

On July 31, 2026, Toei Animation said it had reached its 70th anniversary and unveiled the first wave of commemorative activities. The announcement is more than a celebratory note. It frames the studio's long production history, its place in Japanese media culture, and the way it plans to present that legacy to fans through a dedicated anniversary site, a special movie, and public-facing displays. What Was Announced The press release says the company has created a commemorative logo and a catchphrase built around the idea of sharing love for anime and dreams with the world. It also says July 31 has been officially recognized as Toei Animation Day by the Japan Anniversary Association. Toei Animation marked the milestone by publishing a 70th-anniversary special movie and opening a special site that will continue to collect and publish further anniversary projects. The company is also using physical spaces to make the anniversary visible. According to the release, the Toei Anima...

On July 23, 2026, Happinet announced a Blu-ray box release for Otome Kaiju Caramelize , the summer TV anime built around a girl, a crush, and a giant monster transformation. The set is scheduled for November 27, 2026 and is priced at 33,000 yen. What Was Announced The release is straightforward: a Blu-ray box for the TV anime will go on sale on November 27, 2026. According to the press release, the package includes a drawn box illustration, audio commentary, a booklet, and the non-credit ending sequence. No extra retailer-exclusive campaign is listed in the release itself. The same page also frames the show as a "monster x high school girl" romantic comedy and says the series is still being positioned as an active media-mix title. That matters because a Blu-ray box announcement during the broadcast year usually signals that the publisher and home-video partner see the show as a long-tail catalog product, not just a seasonal TV run. The official licensing page from KAD...

On July 31, 2026, World Cosplay Summit 2026 opened in Nagoya with a new official live-map service, PicLive, and a fresh round of public-facing event activity from Aichi Prefecture. That matters because WCS is not a single-stage show. It is a city-wide festival spread across multiple venues and streets, with participants from 41 countries and regions. What Was Announced In a July 31 press release, WCS partner TOMODY said PicLive had been adopted as an official service for World Cosplay Summit 2026. PicLive is described as a map-based social service that lets attendees follow the venue in real time and see where activity is happening on a map. The official festival materials also frame WCS 2026 as a multi-location event across Oasis 21, the Aichi Arts Center, and Osu Shopping Street. Four days earlier, on July 27, Aichi Prefecture said representatives from 10 countries and regions would visit the governor on July 29 to promote the festival. The prefecture also noted that the govern...

On July 24, 2026, the team behind BLACK TORCH released the synopsis and preview cuts for episode 4, which is scheduled to air on July 25, 2026 at 10:00 p.m. JST. The update keeps the attention on Jiro and Rago while pushing the series toward a more direct clash with the people watching over mononoke. What Was Announced The episode is titled “たりないふたり.” According to the release, Jiro is drawn into a duel with Kirihara, a new member of Black Torch, while Shiba is really using the confrontation to test how valuable Jiro could become to the secret organization. The setup turns the episode into more than a simple action beat: it becomes a pressure test for Jiro's place in the larger conflict. The same press materials also confirm the broader rollout of the series. BLACK TORCH has been airing since July 4, 2026 on TOKYO MX and other Japanese broadcasters, with same-day streaming on ABEMA, dAnime Store, U-NEXT, and Anime Times. A wider streaming rollout followed on July 9, 2026, and...

On July 30, 2026, KADOKAWA announced a new online lottery for the TV anime MAO , with sales on Kujibikido scheduled to begin on August 6, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. JST. The campaign uses newly drawn artwork and packages the series into a limited-time kuji format rather than a standard merchandise storefront. What Was Announced The official release says the lottery will run from August 6, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. JST until August 27, 2026 at 11:59 a.m. JST. Each play costs 770 yen, with shipping charged separately. The prize structure follows the familiar Japanese online-lottery model: an S prize with an A5 character fine graph, an A prize with chooseable acrylic stands, B prize acrylic coasters, C prize mini acrylic stands, and D prize can badges. Fans who buy a 10-draw set will also receive one random mini bromide from a 10-design bonus pool. The artwork itself is the hook. Both the Sunrise news page and the KADOKAWA press release point to the same campaign, and the Kujibikido land...

On July 30, 2026, the official site for BanG Dream! Ave Mujica prima aurora posted a fresh ticket update. The movie's theatrical advance tickets will go on sale from August 15 at participating theaters, online, and Animate. A separate merchandise ticket version will begin sales at the BanG Dream! booth at Comic Market 108 on August 15 and 16, and at BanG Dream! STORE from August 17. The official site still lists the film for autumn 2026, so this is the latest sign that the rollout is moving from announcement mode into a real sales phase. What Was Announced The news page is straightforward, but it carries several concrete details that matter for anyone tracking the film: Theatrical advance tickets go on sale on August 15, 2026. Sales will be available through theaters, the internet, and Animate. The theater list itself will be published later. A goods-included ticket edition will be sold at Comic Market 108 on August 15 and 16. That goods tick...

Late on July 30, 2026, Bushiroad published a new press release for TV anime BanG Dream! YumeMita . The update does three things at once: it pushes out a new episode 7 live-performance clip, it announces a second non-credit opening video, and it refreshes the official character pages on the series site. For a music-centered anime, that combination matters. It keeps the show visible between broadcasts, gives fans something immediate to watch, and signals that the production team is still actively curating the series as it airs. What Was Announced The press release says the episode 7 insert song “TearJerker” is already available on the BanG Dream! YouTube channel. It also says “Face The Next” will premiere on July 31, 2026 at 20:00 JST. In the same announcement, Bushiroad says a second non-credit opening video will be released as part of the rollout. The official series site was updated too, with profiles for Arare Nakamachi, Nonoka Miyanaga, Toko Fuji, Yuno Sengoku, and Ritsu Minotu...

On July 28, 2026, Sega and Animate announced Sakura Wars 30th Anniversary Exhibition: Yume wa Yomigaeru , a two-city exhibition that will revisit three decades of one of Japan's most recognizable cross-media franchises. The show is scheduled for Tokyo and Kyoto, and it is built around the kind of archival material, illustration work, and commemorative goods that turn a milestone into a live fan event. What Was Announced The announcement says the exhibition will open in Tokyo first, then move to Kyoto. The Tokyo run is scheduled for October 31 through November 15, 2026 at Yurakucho Marui 8F Event Space SPACE1. The Kyoto run is scheduled for December 4, 2026 through January 4, 2027 at Space Galleria KYOTO in Kyoto Avanti. The official information page also says the event will feature historical materials, illustrations, video displays, and commemorative merchandise. This is not just a display of old memorabilia. The official franchise site frames Sakura Wars as a pro...

ANIMAX MUSIX 2026 adds nine artists and opens ticket pre-sales On July 30, 2026, NTT Docomo and Animax announced a second wave of performers for ANIMAX MUSIX 2026 supported by Lemino , the anime music festival scheduled for November 20 and 21 at Yokohama Arena. The update does more than fill out a lineup. It shows how the event is being positioned: as a two-day showcase that can move between full-throttle festival energy and a more curated special-live format. The new announcement adds one act to Day 1 and eight more to Day 2. Day 1 now includes Kishida Kyodan & THE Akeboshi Rockets , a band known for driving anime songs with aggressive live-band force. Day 2 adds Uma Musume Pretty Derby , Aguri Onishi , Masami Okui and Yuki Tanaka , sajou no hana , Minori Chihara , HoneyWorks feat. HakoNiwa Lily , fripSide , and MADKID . In total, the release frames the festival as a broad cross-section of anime music, voice-artist culture, and franchise performance acts. ...

On July 30, 2026, Arma Bianca announced a new TV anime Rent-A-Girlfriend Animate online fair on AMNIBUS, the company’s merchandise event platform. The campaign opens in Animate’s online shop on July 30 and runs through August 16, while a later in-store pre-sale at selected Animate locations is scheduled to begin on October 17, 2026. The event uses newly drawn “sister” artwork, and the promotion includes a postcard bonus for shoppers who meet the spending threshold during the fair. What Was Announced The release is a fairly typical Japanese anime merchandise campaign, but the timing and structure are clear. Arma Bianca says the fair begins immediately online, with the main purchase destination listed as Animate’s online shop and a linked AMNIBUS event page carrying the campaign details. The campaign window lasts just under three weeks, which gives the fair a sense of urgency even before the physical pre-sale begins later in the year. The headline draw is the new “sister”...

How STRANGE EDEN turns a mystery world into an Ikebukuro cafe On July 27, 2026 at 12:00 JST, Animate announced the first cafe collaboration for STRANGE EDEN , opening at Animate Cafe Stand Ikebukuro 4 from August 15 to September 15, 2026. The project is not a conventional TV anime tie-in. Its official site describes it as a distorted eden, a mystery drama built through voice drama, original music, and moving visuals. Turning that kind of world into a cafe is therefore more than a merchandising move. It is a way of making the project's color-coded geography physically walkable. What Was Announced The press release says the cafe will use the setting's seven districts as inspiration for a menu of limited items. Examples include the Miitsu City apple parfait, the purple grape drink for the Purple District, the citrus blueberry drink for the Blue Cloud District, sunset mango soda for the Orange Bone District, strawberry lemonade for the Red District, sea breeze ramune...

Gamers turned 30 on July 7, 2026, and the company chose to mark the milestone with a campaign that will keep unfolding for an entire year, through July 6, 2027. Rather than treating the anniversary as a single event, the chain is using it as a long-running platform for merchandise, music, store promotion, and franchise-led fan service. What Was Announced The launch announcement lays out seven initial initiatives. The headline items include a new Di Gi Charat illustration for limited goods, a 30th anniversary support team made up of eight voice actors, memorial song CDs, a new edition of Welcome! Complete Collection (New) , a tentative Galaxy Angel POPUP SHOP , Honoka Kosaka serving as ambassador girl for Love Live! , and the 30th Honmatsuri project. Gamers also set up anniversary landing pages that gather the campaign in one place. The broader feature page frames the whole program, while the support-team page gives the anniversary a more character-driven face. That str...

On July 10, 2026, ABEMA announced that ABEMA Anime Festival 2026 supported by コミックシーモア will return to Shibuya on September 19 and 20, 2026. The two-day festival is centered on MIYASHITA PARK and nearby venues, and ABEMA says this year’s edition will again combine rooftop stages, fan-facing exhibits, merchandise, and character greetings under the theme “Dive deeper into what you love in anime.” What Was Announced The core announcement is simple but substantial: ABEMA is bringing back its anime festival for a third consecutive year. The official release says the event will take place in Shibuya, with MIYASHITA PARK as the main hub, and that visitors can expect multiple ways to interact with anime beyond just watching a stream. That includes a rooftop stage for live talk events, dedicated photo spots, goods sales, and appearances tied to popular series. The first lineup makes the scope of the festival clear. On the anime side, ABEMA listed Akane-banashi , Kusuriya no Hitorigoto , Su...

Hey! Say! JUMP and QQ Goma-chan release a special collaboration video On July 13, 2026, DLE announced that a special collaboration video tying Hey! Say! JUMP's digital single CUE CUE CUTE to the TV anime QQ Goma-chan had been published on the group's official YouTube channel at 9:00 p.m. JST on July 12. That timing matters because it turns the release into more than a standard music-promo upload: it becomes a clearly timed anime-culture moment, built around a theme song, custom animation, and a recognizable cast of characters. What Was Announced The release page says the collaboration video brings the Hey! Say! JUMP members into Ashibe's world, where they become friends with Ashibe and Gomachan. The video is presented as a one-off special collaboration rather than a recycled music clip, and the visuals were newly drawn by DLE's animation staff. In other words, this is not just a song announcement with a static graphic on top. It is a purpose-built anima...

USJ's One Piece Premier Summer 2026 Opens Today Universal Studios Japan's One Piece Premier Summer 2026 opens on July 30, 2026 , bringing a seasonal programme built around the TV anime to the Osaka park through November 19, 2026 . The event is part of USJ's 25th-anniversary year and combines a live stage production, a themed dining experience, and a story-based roller-coaster attraction. For visitors planning a summer or autumn trip to Japan, the important point is that these are park experiences with their own schedules and, in some cases, separately sold or allocated tickets—not a new anime release. What Was Announced USJ's official announcement identifies three core experiences. One Piece Premier Show 2026 , staged at WaterWorld, is an original live story featuring the Straw Hat crew and the Kuja Pirates led by Boa Hancock. The park lists 84 performances from July 30 to November 19, generally one per day with non-performance days, and gives the listed running t...

English Version On July 29, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. JST, Movic announced a made-to-order body pillow cover for Haibara-kun no Tsuyokute Seishun New Game . The product focuses on Hikari Hoshimiya, one of the series’ central heroines, and it is being sold through Movic’s official store and related retail channels as a preorder item. The ordering window runs from July 29 through August 19, 2026, and the release is scheduled for around October 30, 2026. What Was Announced This is not a broad franchise campaign or a vague teaser. It is a very specific merch announcement with the sort of detail that makes it easy to verify and easy for fans to act on. The body pillow cover is listed at 13,200 yen, measures about 160 by 50 centimeters, and is described as a preorder-only product. That means the item is produced after orders close rather than sitting as regular stock, which is important for collectors who need to decide within a fixed window. The official anime site helps explain w...

As of July 29, 2026, the Chainsaw Man stage adaptation is no longer just a concept on a poster. “CHAINSAW MAN” THE STAGE: Reze Arc is already in its live run, and the Japan 2.5-Dimensional Musical Association says there is an English ticketing website for overseas fans while the official show page lays out the current performance window. What Was Announced The official news page says the English ticketing website opened on June 27, 2026 at 10:00am JST. It is available to buyers outside Japan, accepts credit cards, and uses Will Call at the theatre for ticket pickup. That is a practical detail, but an important one: it turns the production into something overseas fans can actually plan around instead of only following from afar. The show details page adds the broader schedule. Tokyo performances run from July 25 through August 2, 2026 at TOKYO THE GALAXY THEATRE, and Kyoto performances run from August 7 through August 12, 2026 at KYOTO Theater. The same page also notes...