Otaku News

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Season 2 Streaming Release Details

Date: 2026 January 14 19:54 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll have announced the streaming release details for Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Season 2. The popular anime charts the adventures of elf mage Frieren, who has completed her quest with a party of heroes and now has to figure out what to do next. One of our contributors describes this as the sad elf anime, but that's one take on it, to be honest, it's such a great series. There's fun slice of life moments, plenty of action and adventure. It's well animated, well paced, the more we watch the more we want to learn about Frieren's world.

Kyle Cardine the Global Editor-in-Chief for Crunchyroll News revealed the release details. Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Season 2 will be released on 16th January 2026 at 7am PT, which is 15:00 in GMT (UK Time) or 16:00 CET. The series is available to stream in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, CIS, India and Southeast Asia.

Toho Acquires Anime Limited

Date: 2025 December 20 11:49 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime distributors Anime Limited have revealed big news about the company being acquired by Toho.

In the deal Toho have acquired 100% equity share of Anime Limited from Plaion Pictures. The company will be a standalone subsidiary of Toho Global and will be led by Anime Limited Founder Andrew Partridge with the full Anime Limited Staff.

The press release also mentions that Toho Global's Regional Office will be based in London. The press release does not reveal how much Toho paid for Anime Limited, but does mention that they're entering into strategic alliance with Plaion Pictures to extend Toho's distribution capabilities in Germany, Italy, and other European markets.

In the west Toho are best known as the creators of the Godzilla franchise as well as the producers and distributors of Akira Kurosawa's movies. Anime wise they've also go a strong pedigree being the producers and/or distributors of Studio Ghibli and Makoto Shinkai's movies.

The acquisition of Anime Limited marks further consolidation of anime companies in the UK. Anime Limited was acquired by Plaion Pictures in 2022, before it was acquired by Toho this December 2025. While Funimation purchased Manga Entertainment UK in 2019 it eventually got absorbed into Crunchyroll (which is owned by Sony).

Although it was produced by Toho, Makoto Shinkai's most recent movie Suzume was distributed by Crunchyroll, Sony Pictures, and Wild Bunch International. We suspect that by expanding in Europe Toho hope to be able to distribute more titles themselves or through their regional subsidiaries.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

An Interview with Horror Manga Artist Anji Matono

Date: 2025 November 29 09:53 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Interviews

This year in Japan Expo in Paris one of the Japanese guests was horror manga artist Anji Matono. Best known for her work 100 Ghost Stories That Will Lead to My Own Death it collects a series of gruesome horror stories which spans across multiple volumes of unsettling manga.

We were lucky enough to catch up with her while in Paris and find out about what it's like being a horror manga artist.

My Happy Marriage Returns to Netflix in 2026 for 3 Special Episodes

Date: 2025 November 22 11:21 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Fans of the anime version of My Happy Marriage will be pleased to hear that Miyo and Kiyoka will be returning to Netflix in 2026 for a 3 episode special. The same team behind season 1 and 2 of the anime will return for the special episodes. In the official promo image and the director imply that the couple will finally get married! No doubt some special powered hijinks will get in the way too.

The press release doesn't state a streaming date, but it does offer a reminder that you can get the official soundtrack on vinyl from the good folks at Anime Limited.

You can watch My Happy Marriage Season 1 and 2 on Netflix.

Derby Quad Anime Screenings in January 2026

Date: 2025 November 22 10:16 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The good folks from Quad in Derby UK have sent us details of an up coming anime screening day they're holding on Saturday 10th January 2026. The event is titled Anime-A-Go-Go. The films showing will be some great classics Patlabor: The Movie, Macross Plus Movie Edition, Memories and Perfect Blue.

Passes to see all 4 films at Anime-A-Go-Go are £30 (standard) with £25 for concessions and can be booked at https://www.derbyquad.co.uk/anime-a-go-go/. Individual film tickets are also available at Quad's normal ticket prices.

The four films will screen on the day on the largest screen - The Sir John Hurt Cinema.

Manga Jiman 2025 Competition Details

Date: 2025 November 15 09:44 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Art

The good folks from the Embassy of Japan in the UK have just revealed the details for the Manga Jiman Competition 2025. Running for the 19th time this highly anticipated annual competition is a chance for UK based artists to demonstrate their manga making skills. Not only that, but there's a great selection of prizes to be won from the competitions sponsors.

Not only do you have a chance to flex your manga making skills, show an active community of UK based artists your talents, but there are also a great selection of prizes to be won by the competitions generous sponsors.

So visit mangajiman.co.uk to find out more details.

Maison Ghibli Launch Studio Ghibli Pop Up Shop In London

Date: 2025 November 10 20:54 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

We've just heard news that Maison Ghibli will be opening an exclusive pop-up shop in London for the next two months. Following on from their hugely successful shop at Hyper Japan this summer, the the official partner of Studio Ghibli in Europe and the United Kingdom will be setting up a pop-up shop in Knightsbridge from Saturday 15th November 2025 until Sunday 11th January 2026.

The shop will have all sorts of official Studio Ghibli merchandise from all the favourite films with Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle all being well represented. They'll have many other bits and bobs for fans of Studio Ghibli to buy too.

You can find the shop at 237 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 2EP.

Final Fantasy VII Remake director Naoki Hamaguchi at MCM Comic Con London October 2025

Date: 2025 October 27 09:09 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Press Releases

The good folks from MCM Comic Con London send us details of Final Fantasy VII Remake director Naoki Hamaguchi's appearance on Friday 24th October 2025. The director confirmed that part three of Final Fantasy VII Remake is going ahead, the team are indeed working at away at it. The release date is still unconfirmed.

MCM London Comic Con October 2025 Details

Date: 2025 October 15 19:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The good folks from MCM London Comic Con have sent us details of their up coming October 2025 event. MCM London will run from Friday 24th until Sunday 26th October 2025. Anime fans have a lot to look forward to at the event including (but not limited to) on Friday Dandadan anime Director Fuga Yamashiro who will tell everyone about what it's like behind scenes of Momo and Okarun's paranormal adventures! On Saturday British Sumo Champions will make an appearance and a demonstration. While on all three days Demon Slayer English dub cast members Zach Aguilar (Tanjiro), Abby Trott (Nezuko) and Griffin Burns (Tokito) will be there for autographs and photo opportunities, along with making a stage appearance on Sunday.

MCM always has lots of other things for anime fans to do, including various stalls selling anime and manga, plus an active cosplay community.

Also don't forget MCM Birmingham is set to run on Friday 28th until Sunday 30th November 2025.

Perfect Blue UK 4K Blu-ray Release Details

Date: 2025 October 04 08:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from Anime Limited have revealed the details of the home video release of Perfect Blue on 4K Blu-ray. Due out on Monday 8th December 2025, the set will include the film on 4K UHD SDR along with the film on regular Blu-ray which includes a series of Satoshi Kon lectures, and interviews. There's also Blu-ray featuring the full-length Satoshi Kon lecture (a full 117 minutes). This deluxe edition additionally includes a 132-page book featuring featuring artwork, design and an introductory talk about the film between director Satoshi Kon and Ms Luna Nagai. They've also bundled in a set of art cards and a quad movie poster.

The set will be available for pre-order from Anime Limited from 17:00 on Thursday 9th October 2025 at special price of £49.99, while it regularly retails at £79.99.

Don't forget the movie is also out in cinemas across the UK from Friday 10th October 2025.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

Hyper Japan Manchester 2025 Details

Date: 2025 September 24 19:55 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The good folks from Hyper Japan have sent us details of their next event. Hyper Japan Manchester is set to run from Friday 14th to Sunday 16th November 2025 at Manchester Central.

This the Japanese Cultural event's first time in Manchester. It's been hugely popular in London and is the UK's biggest celebration of Japanese culture.

There will be over 180 independent artists and small businesses selling things of interest to fans of Japan. Performance wise they'll have Aya Hirano best known for roles in Death Note, Lucky Star, Fairy Tail and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya plus J-pop singer-songwriter Miyuna, along with various other traditional Japanese performing arts.

They'll also have some nice hands on workshops lined up including Kintsugi where you repair broken objects to make them more beautiful, plus other classics such as Origami and Calligraphy.

You can visit https://hyperjapan.co.uk/manchester/ for more details.

Japan House London Announces Hyakkō: 100+ Makers from Japan

Date: 2025 September 20 08:51 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The good folks from Japan House London have sent us details of their upcoming exhibition. Hyakkō: 100+ Makers from Japan, which is set to run from Wednesday 3rd December 2025 until Spring 2026. It will showcase and celebrate Japan's contemporary craft. It be a great chance for fans of craft and design to see ever evolving Japanese crafts and how they tie into the everyday.

For those who also want a souvenir over 30 of the featured makers will have items in the Japan House London Shop.

Perfect Blue 4K UK Cinema Release Details

Date: 2025 September 13 11:00 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks from Anime Limited have sent us details of the up coming cinema release of Perfect Blue. The classic anime thriller will return to cinemas with a new 4K restoration from Friday 10th October 2025. A Deluxe Edition 4K UHD Blu-ray release will also follow later this year.

The press release for this describes it as one of the most influential films in anime history and it's well earned. The late Satoshi Kon's mind-bending psychological thriller will have you on the edge of your seat.

Satoshi Kon is well known for messing with his audience's minds in his movie. Perfect Blue is no exception It'll be well worth catching on a cinema screen if you can, it'll also make you concerned about pet fish.

If you want more Satoshi Kon goodness it should be noted that Anime Limited have another one of his great films Millennium Actress on sale for £9.99 on blu-ray.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

An Interview with Hidemi Shiraki Editor in Chief of Young Magazine

Date: 2025 September 10 19:50 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Interviews

Following on from the announcement that Kodansha were going to release a special US edition of Young Magazine, we were keen to know more We got in touch with Hidemi Shiraki Editor in Chief of Young Magazine and interviewed him via e-mail. We talk about what seinen means to him and why Young Magazine is getting a US release now.

Detective Conan: One-eyed Flashback UK Cinema Release Details

Date: 2025 September 06 13:27 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks from Trinity CineAsia have sent us details of an up coming cinema release.Detective Conan: One-eyed Flashback is due to hit cinemas around the UK Friday 26th September 2025.

This marks Detective Conan (aka Case Closed) 28th annual feature film and the second UK national cinema release. The hugely popular detective series follows the adventures of a genius teenage detective who now has the body of child. He still solves mysteries despite this and gets into all sorts of adventures.

This movie features all the murder, action and investigation you'd expect from a Detective Conan adventure. Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback is currently the second-highest-grossing release of the year at the Japanese box office. It also celebrates the return of three beloved characters from the manga-the Nagano Prefectural Police's childhood friends Inspector Kansuke Yamato, Taka'aki Morofushi, and Yui Uehara.

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! UK Blu-ray Release Details

Date: 2025 August 06 17:52 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

The good folks from Anime Limited have announced the UK Blu-ray release details for Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!. The much loved fan favourite tells the story of a group of girls ganging together to produce anime at a school club. The tale features lots of references to other anime and takes you on a voyage pre-production of imagination along the way.

From director Masaaki Yuasa (The Night is short, Walk on Girl, Lu Over The Wall, and so much more) this Science SARU production (the studio that brought you Dan Da Dan), is a love letter to anime and explains how anime is produced along with tricks of the trade. It's also noted for it's extremely catchy opening theme Easy Breezy.

Anime Limited will be releasing two editions of the series a collectors edition with all the goodies you've come to expect, along with a regular edition if you just want the anime. The Collectors Edition, has episodes 1-12 on two Blu-ray discs, with both the sub and dub versions available. It'll be housed in a shoebox style box, just like original Japanese Blu-ray box set release. It'll also include a 132-page storyboard book, a 60-page production book filled with character and episodic artwork design, plus an interview with director Masaaki Yuasa, two double sided A3 posters, and a series of four art cards. Along with, a replica of the milk bottle from the series, milk is not included, so lactose intolerant can enjoy the set. This big collectors edition will retail for £119.99, but if you pre-order it you can save £30 and get it for £89.99 instead.

The regular edition which includes episodes in a blu-ray case will retail for £39.99 and you can buy it for £29.99 if you pre-order it.

Pre-orders will open on Thursday 7th August 2025 with the sets due to ship on Monday 17th November 2025.

This show has been one of our favourites from the last few years, it's fun, it's silly and it really does capture the passion of enjoying anime.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

Hitsujibungaku European Tour 2025 Details

Date: 2025 July 25 19:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Popular alternative rock band Hitsujibungaku have announced that they will be running a European Tour this October 2025. The tour will start in Paris on Wednesday, October 15 and end in London on Friday, October 24th with performances in other major European cities booked too.

Anime fans may have heard Hitsujibungaku song More Than Words, which features as the ending theme of
Jujutsu Kaisen season 2.

London based readers will want to head over to the O2 Academy Islington on Friday, October 24th 2025.

Japan Expo Paris 2025 Report

Date: 2025 July 20 15:43 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Features

France is the largest manga market in Europe, accounting for around 50% of all manga sales in Europe. As a result the French anime and manga scene is massive. Many people enjoy France's thriving Bande dessinée culture of comics, but Japanese manga and culture is also very popular in France.

With this in mind, we decided to visit Japan Expo in Paris. It's an event purely focused on Japanese culture, featuring anime and manga, video games, Japanese food and traditional Japanese culture. The July 2025 event attracted 230,000 visitors making it the third largest event in France for visitors per day! Having experienced the London event scene many a time we were keen to explore what the colossal French event looked like.

AnimEigo Release Latest Episode of The Anime Business Documentary Featuring Manga Entertainment

Date: 2025 June 28 14:33 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from AnimEigo have sent us the details for the latest episode of their ongoing documentary series The Anime Business. Episode 5 features an interview with Andy Frain, the founder of Manga Video/Manga Entertainment. They popularised anime in the UK and beyond. They were responsible for releasing Akira in the UK creating a boom in the market, and then later co-producing hugely successful and influential Ghost in the Shell animated movie. They've had a massive impact on the English speaking anime world and it's great to see the history of the company documented in this video.

Episode 5 is available now on the official AnimEigo YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@AnimEigo/videos.

Mamoru Hosoda Movie Season Across the UK and Ireland this Summer 2025

Date: 2025 June 28 08:59 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime distributors Anime Limited have sent us details for the up coming Mamoru Hosoda Movie Season. In selected cinemas around the UK and Ireland this summer 2025, we've got some much loved movies hitting the big screen. The season starts with The Girl Who Leapt Through Time on Sunday 6th and Tuesday 8th of July 2025, then Summer Wars arrives on Sunday 3rd and Tuesday 5th August 2025. While Wolf Children will be screened on Sunday 17th and Tuesday 19th August 2025.

Every Hosoda movie is a joy to watch and all a bit different, they're fan favourites and rightly so. If you're new to anime, we recommend these films as a good way of getting into anime or if you're looking to extend your range of films beyond Studio Ghibli titles Mamoru Hosoda's movies are a good next step.

All three films will be released later this year on Collector's Edition Blu-ray + 4K UHD Blu-ray.

To find a screening near you visit worldofhosoda.com.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

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