Tokyo Anime Dispatch

On July 6, 2026, Dwango said that its cross-border Vocaloid project BEYOND BORDERs had premiered its first collaboration EP, EMERGE M♡DE MIKU , together with an official trailer at Anime Expo’s stage event JAPAN MUSIC VOCALOID in Los Angeles. The project announcement came with a collaborator reveal that stretches well beyond Japan: Grimes, slayr, MOLIY, Odetari, George Clanton, Frost Children, and XAMIYA are among the artists involved, alongside Japanese producers such as さたぱんP, picco, jon-YAKITORY, 八王子P, and kz (livetune). What Was Announced The press release frames BEYOND BORDERs as a Japan-U.S. collaboration built to export VOCALOID culture to a broader global audience. Rather than positioning Hatsune Miku as a closed domestic subculture, Dwango is treating the format as a shared production language: Japanese VOCALOID creators working with overseas artists, producers, and songwriters, with Nebula17 handling U.S. market A&R and marketing. That makes the project less...

On July 9, 2026, KADOKAWA said that its first OnSITE Portfolio Review had taken place at Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles. The company’s manga editors met overseas creators in person, reviewed portfolios, and offered direct feedback on story structure, character work, and the path toward publication. The event ran from July 2 to July 5 at booth SH-2720 and is part of KADOKAWA WORLD MANGA ATELIER, a broader effort to build a cross-border support pipeline for manga creators. What Was Announced The press release describes the Anime Expo session as the first on-site step in a wider program. KADOKAWA’s World Manga Editorial Team traveled to the convention and held portfolio reviews for creators from the United States and other countries. The company says the format is meant to do more than hand out quick comments. It is designed to create a direct editorial relationship that can continue if a project shows promise. The official KWMA site frames the program as a three-part system: online...

On July 4, 2026 , Aniplex used Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles to unveil a teaser PV and the main cast for the TV anime adaptation of Dengeki Daisy . The official announcement says the project is headed for a 2027 TV anime launch, turning a long-running shoujo favorite into one of the more closely watched adaptations on the summer convention circuit. The news is built around a clean set of facts rather than hype. The source material is Kyouske Motomi's manga, serialized in Betsucomi from 2007 to 2013 , and the manga has surpassed 5 million copies in circulation. The new teaser and casting reveal are the first public signs of how Aniplex plans to introduce the story to a broader audience. What Was Announced The official Aniplex news post confirms two core details. First, the teaser PV is now public. Second, the leads have been cast: Yoshino Aoyama will voice Teru Kurebayashi , and Taku Yashiro will voice Yu Kurosaki . The teaser was presented at Anime Expo 2026 b...

On July 3, 2026, Akiba Hobby said it will return to Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles, where the show runs from July 2 through July 5, 2026, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The company’s booth will be located at Booth #WH376 under AKIBA-HOBBY / PARTHENON.P, and the release says the stand will stock more than 1,000 items for the event floor. That is a big claim for a booth, but the list behind it is what makes the announcement interesting: Shanghai Alice games and music CDs, Gift’s Touhou plush series, official NEEDY GIRL OVERDOSE character goods, and Akiba Hobby’s own Touhou Project products are all part of the planned lineup. What Was Announced Akiba Hobby’s release is straightforward. It is not promising a one-off stage reveal or a single headline figure; it is presenting a convention booth as a compact version of the shop itself. Visitors are told to expect event pricing, limited stock, and a broad catalog built around Touhou Project, plus selected goods from other fan-favor...

Studio KAI Brings Sentenced to Be a Hero to Anime Expo 2026 Studio KAI is taking Sentenced to Be a Hero to Los Angeles on July 3, 2026, with a creator talk show at Anime Expo 2026. The official press release says the panel will run at 4:15 PM local time in Room 403AB at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and it will pair behind-the-scenes commentary with a live drawing segment and a first-come, first-served giveaway for attendees. The announcement matters because the project already has a clear identity on its official site. The anime landing page frames Sentenced to Be a Hero as a dark fantasy about convicted people who are forced into heroism, and that tone is part of the appeal. The Anime Expo panel is designed to let the people making the series explain how they build that world, rather than just repeating a standard promotional pitch. What Was Announced The release names the panel STUDIO KAI ANIME “SENTENCED TO BE A HERO” CREATOR TALK SHOW . It will feature producer Masash...

What Was Announced On June 26, 2026, Frontier Works said it will appear at Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles from July 2 to July 5 and will center its booth work on Identity V , the asymmetric multiplayer game known in Japan as Identity V: Fifth Personality . The company plans to show the property inside the animate GROUP booth at South Hall, booth SH-2100, where it will run an exhibit, hand out novelties, and sell goods tied to the series. The release also adds two extra layers to the announcement. First, Frontier Works says it will invite guest cosplayers dressed as characters from the game, which gives the booth a live, convention-floor dimension rather than a simple display table. Second, the merch line will include a new 8th-anniversary series called Sweet Tale Tea Time , making the Anaheim-to-Los Angeles style convention circuit feel directly connected to the property’s retail strategy. Beyond the expo itself, the company says Animate Los Angeles will hold an Identity V...

On June 26, 2026, TAITO announced that it will return to Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles with a new booth built around hands-on experiences. The company says the booth will run under the theme TAITO PLAY BASE and gather several of its best-known game and character properties in one place. What Was Announced TAITO's official release says the company will exhibit at Anime Expo 2026 at the Los Angeles Convention Center from July 2 to July 5, 2026 . Instead of a standard display-only setup, the booth is being framed as an interactive space where visitors can try content, meet characters, and look at memorabilia from long-running series. The first highlighted attraction is a playable demo of Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeon Boost . TAITO also says it will show past goods from the 40-year history of the Bubble Bobble series, hold a Bubblun meet-and-greet, offer free play of the arcade title Getta Spin D , and display figures from several TAITO brands. Why It Matters TAITO is not jus...

On June 16, 2026, Anique announced a new hololive English merchandise project called Diner Caravan , tying it to a first-time appearance at Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles. The project is not just a standard logo-and-merch drop. It is built around a fully new illustration concept, a diner-road-trip aesthetic, and a convention rollout designed to meet fans in person before the goods become available online in select regions after the event. The timing matters. Anime Expo runs from July 2 to July 5, 2026, which gives the release a clear convention anchor and makes the launch feel like part of the show rather than a general e-commerce campaign. For overseas fans, especially those who follow hololive English from outside Japan, that is the practical appeal: the first place to experience the concept is at a major North American anime event, with a broader online sale following later. What Was Announced Anique said it is launching Diner Caravan as a new hololive English original-illustra...

On June 19, 2026, NTT Solmare published an English-language press release announcing that it will join JETRO's Geek Street booth at Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles. The company says the booth will center on Obey Me! Sinner's Choice , the next title in its long-running Obey Me! franchise, with early-release merchandise, giveaways, autograph sessions, and a separate anniversary event built around the series. What Was Announced The core announcement is straightforward: NTT Solmare will use Anime Expo as a launch point for a new chapter in the Obey Me! universe. The release says fans who stop by the Geek Street booth will be able to see and buy early merchandise tied to Obey Me! Sinner's Choice , rather than waiting for the title's wider release later in the year. That makes the booth more than a simple brand display; it is a preview of the next phase of the franchise. The company also says the booth will offer a small incentive for fans who have already followed the ...