News Anime Central Friday Coverage

The World Ends with You Director Tatsuya Kando Leaves Square Enix

Jun 1, 19:39

games

Kando worked for 29 years on Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, more ― Game developer Tatsuya Kando announced on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday that he parted ways with Square Enix the day before, after working at the company for 29 years. He vowed to keep making interesting content that brings a smile to everyone's face in the future. Kando was known for his work as director on the original The World E...

review

Lost in Starlight Movie Review

Jun 1, 12:00

korean

This is a movie drenched in color, from the verdant greenery of Seoul’s parkland to the warm reds and browns of its older buildings, not to mention the vibrant, sparkling starscapes and sunsets, many of which would make Makoto Shinkai proud. ― While Korean animation director Han Ji-won's fame has steadily grown in her homeland, Netflix's worldwide release of her latest, most substantial movie, is the...

news

28 comments

Live-Action One Piece Season 2 Introduces Chopper, 2026 Debut in Video

May 31, 20:58

28 comments

live-action

Mikaela Hoover voices Chopper, provides facial capture ― Netflix unveiled a new video for the second live-action season based on Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga during its Tudum event on Saturday to reveal the look and voice of Tony Tony Chopper. The video also reveals the new season's 2026 debut. Mikaela Hoover voices Chopper in the English version, and also provides the facial capture for the charac...

review

New Saga Volume 1 Manga Review

May 31, 12:00

manga

If you had the ability to go back in time and relive one of the most difficult journeys of your life, what would you do differently? ― If you had the ability to go back in time and relive one of the most difficult journeys of your life, what would you do differently? If you sacrificed everything for the sake of taking down an ultimate evil, do you think it's possible to accomplish the same goal witho...

news

Chibi Godzilla Raids Again Anime Gets New TV Series in July

May 31, 06:09

anime

Katsuyuki Konishi voices Chibi JJ with theme song by Wednesday Campanella ― The first fan meeting for Chibi Godzilla Raids Again (Chibi Godzilla no Gyakushū), the anime about the Chibi Godzilla character, announced on Saturday that a new series will premiere on television on July 2. Katsuyuki Konishi is joining the cast as Chibi JJ (seen below), and the group Wednesday Campanella created the song "Ka...

your score

Your Anime Rankings - Best of Spring 2025, May 20-26

May 30, 14:00

anime

The top 5 cumulative is nigh undefeatable, with those same series forming this week's top 5 as well. See how all your favorites fared in our weekly user rankings. ― Let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season, based on the polls you can find in our Daily Streaming Reviews and on the Your Score page with the latest simulcasts. Keep in mind that these rankings are...

review

Dear Hongrang K-Comic Review

May 30, 12:00

korean

Dark, bitter, and intermittently hopeful, Dokjin and Hottu's adaptation of Jang Dahye's original novel pulls you in, even if none of those flavors are your preferred reading, making it nearly impossible to put down. ― Complete at sixty episodes (chapters), Dear Hongrang is a journey. Apart from flashbacks, the prologue, and the epilogue, the entire story takes place over one brief summer during the J...

column

12 comments

This Week in Games - Theatrical Rings, Dragon Kin, and An Excuse To Talk About Banana Hair

May 30, 10:00

12 comments

games

Jean-Karlo discusses the give-and-take of video game IP movies, the latest news on the Dragon Quest remakes, and Capcom's latest contest! ― Welcome back, folks! People who've kept up with my column know about the Mage: The Ascension campaign I've been running for some Discord friends. Because my players need a breather (and I think it's a good enough spot for a minor recap), I'm going ahead with a "s...

feature

An Easy, Step-by-Step Guide to “Getting Gud” at Elden Ring Nightreign

May 30, 10:00

games

Elden Ring Nightreign is not an easy game—not even for experienced “Sloulsborne” players. So here’s a simple guide to make your runs through the land of Limveld much more fruitful. ― The key to playing Elden Ring Nightreign is not memorizing boss patterns and learning attack windows (though let's not pretend those aren't still important). Rather, it's a game about getting as strong as possible as fas...

interview

2 comments

Edo Era's Brave Firefighters: Interview with Oedo Fire Slayer Novelist Shogo Imamura & Mangaka Shinobu Seguchi

May 30, 09:00

2 comments

novels manga

Discover the history behind Oedo Fire Slayer in our interview with author Shōgo Imamura and manga creator Shinobu Seguchi. ― Japan's history is teeming with everyday heroes, and there may not be a stronger example than the Edo period's firefighters. Known as hikeshigumi, community firefighters rose to meet a 17th-century challenge: protecting the fragile wooden and paper homes in what would become th...

news

Akuyaku Reijō no Naka no Hito Isekai Villainess Novels & Manga Get Anime

May 29, 23:38

anime

Manga about villainess taking revenge on behalf of her otome game fan ended on Friday ― The final epilogue chapter of Nazuna Shiraume's manga adaptation of Makiburo's Akuyaku Reijō no Naka no Hito (The One Within the Villainess) novel series announced on Friday that the story is inspiring an anime adaptation. The announcement did not reveal the format of the anime, and it describes the anime as adapt...

news

Deadline: Kit Connor Is in Talks to Star in Elden Ring Film

May 29, 22:16

live-action

Connor starred in Alex Garland's Warfare film, Heartstopper, The Wild Robot ― Entertainment news website Deadline reported on Thursday that Alex Garland is in talks with actor Kit Connor (Heartstopper, The Wild Robot, Warfare) to star in the planned live-action Hollywood film adaptation of Bandai Namco Entertainment and FromSoftware's Elden Ring game. According to Deadline, both Garland and Connor "w...

feature

DAN DA DAN Evil Eye World Premiere Packs the House

May 29, 15:00

anime

The compilation's recap will get you up to speed, but you'll have to wait until the television premiere for any sort of conclusion. ― GKIDS premiered the highly anticipated continuation of Science SARU's adaptation of DAN DA DAN on Thursday. Ahead of its debut in Japan, fans in North America were the first in the world to watch DAN DA DAN: Evil Eye, a compilation movie featuring the first three episo...

column

19 comments

This Week in Anime - Who the GQuuuuuuX is That?

May 29, 13:00

19 comments

anime

How hard is it for newbies to get into GQuuuuuuX? Chris and Coop investigate. ― How hard is it for newbies to get into GQuuuuuuX? Chris and Coop investigate. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead. Amazon streams Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX. Hulu streams 08th MS Team....

news

9 comments

'I'm a Curse Crafter, and I Don't Need an S-Rank Party!' Manga Gets TV Anime

May 29, 12:00

9 comments

anime

LAgun, Nishiki Ogawa's manga of fantasy web novel ― Kodansha's YanMaga Web site announced on Friday that a television anime adaptation of LAgun and Nishiki Ogawa's I'm a Curse Crafter, and I Don't Need an S-Rank Party! (S-Rank Party kara Kaiko Sareta "Jugushi": "Noroi no Item" Shika Tsukuremasenga, Sono Seinō wa Artifact-kyū Nari......!) manga has been green-lit. (Although the manga is itself based ...

review

Observation Records of My Fiancée Light Novel Series Review

May 29, 12:00

novels

Although it isn’t as deep as I’m perhaps making it sound, the story is a look at both the metafictional qualities of game-based isekai and an exploration of how an inability to distinguish between reality and fiction can be harmful. ― When a genre, or subgenre in this case, becomes as entrenched as villainess isekai is, you need a twist to make your story stand out. Shiki has hit on a good one for th...

feature

14 comments

Persona 5: The Phantom X Makes Smart Changes to the Traditional Persona Formula

May 29, 11:00

14 comments

games

The free-to-play spin-off brings smaller-scaled crimes to your mobile device. ― Persona 5 was released almost a decade ago in Japan. Since then, we've had many spin-offs: Persona 5 Strikers, Persona 5 Tactica, Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, and Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth. I'm surprised we haven't had a Persona 5 spin-off fighting game. While the whole world is waiting for even the slightest ...

feature

4 comments

Best New K-Comics to Read in May

May 29, 09:00

4 comments

korean

Before May ends, come find your new K-Comic reads in our rundown of the most interesting new titles of the month. From classic Regency romance to lady gangsters selling smuggled cigarettes, there's a little bit of everything to be found. ― Welcome back to our rundown of the best, or at least most interesting, K-Comics released in a given month! April didn't happen because of the Spring K-Comics Guide...

news

Gacha Girls Corps Isekai Light Novels Have Anime in the Works

May 29, 07:41