Netflix’s ‘The Imaginary’ Trailer Reveals Where Forgotten Imaginary Friends Go

What if your imaginary friends that you’ve forgotten never really left? Where do they go after you’ve forgotten them? 

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Toei Animation Launches Official ‘One Piece’ YouTube Channel

This is truly exciting news for all you anime lovers (ESPECIALLY One Piece) out there! Legendary anime studio Toei Animation is planning to soft launch a new global One Piece English language YouTube channel!

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Anime Expo Announces Ryoko Kui as 2024 Guest of Honor

Josephine Chang and I will be covering this year’s Anime Expo and to start it off, we’ll be sharing a ton of press releases for all the exciting events and guests that will be coming! Yesterday, AX announced the attendance of Ryoko Kui, the creator of the hit manga series Delicious in Dungeon as a guest of honor. Check out the press release after the jump!

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Now in Theaters: ‘SPY x FAMILY CODE: White’

Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment bring the first-ever film installment from the fan-favorite SPY x FAMILY franchise to the United States and Canada through an all-new original adventure in theaters now!

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Max and GKIDS Extend Exclusive Deal to Stream Studio Ghibli Films

In a press release this morning, Max announced it was extending its exclusive deal with GKIDS to stream Studio Ghibli films in the U.S., including the rights to Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning The Boy and the Heron.

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Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘The Boy and the Heron’ Challenges the Ghibli Generation on How to Live

In Genzaburō Yoshino’s 1937 novel, How Do You Live?, there is a quote that’s striking in what often comes to mind when thinking of the vastness of the universe, in comparison to our humble existences: “On a night like this, to think about the distant celestial world was to feel that one was disappearing into the atmosphere.”

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‘The Boy and the Heron’ English Dub Given First Look in New Trailer

Say what you will about English dubs, but they are, in fact, a thing. With Hayao Miyazaki’s newest film, The Boy and the Heron, soon to be available internationally and outside the film festival circuit, audiences were teased the performances of the English language cast in a new trailer that came out earlier today.

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An Alluring Story is Glimpsed in ‘The Boy and the Heron’ Teaser Trailer

On July 14, Hayao Miyazaki’s final film, The Boy and the Heron (or, as it’s called in Japan, How Do You Live?), was released to Japanese cinemas with no marketing for it whatsoever, aside from this poster:

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Netflix Celebrates Live Action ‘One Piece’ Release at Texas Fan Event

Netflix’s Live Action adaption of Eiichiro Oda’s bestselling manga of all time One Piece celebrated their release with multiple fan events all over the world.

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CASETiFY & ‘Chainsaw Man’ Collab Celebrates Pochita and Special Division 4 Devil Hunters

Chainsaw Man fans, rejoice!

There’s a collaboration that, not only celebrates Chainsaw Man, but also is practical to use for every day life. CASETiFY, the popular global tech accessory brand, has teamed up with the equally popular anime series Chainsaw Man.

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‘The Boy and the Heron’ is an Unnecessary Title Change for Hayao Miyazaki’s Final Film

Last Friday, the highly anticipated final film from Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki (that is, unless, he decides to come out of retirement again for the umpteenth time), How Do You Live?, was at long last released in Japan. That same day, film distributor GKIDS announced that it had acquired the North American distribution rights for the film, and set it to come out later this year. The big kicker is that it will be released not as How Do You Live?, but under a different title, The Boy and the Heron.

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ATLUS Reveals New ‘Persona 3 Reload’ Gameplay and Character Details

Yesterday at Anime Expo 2023, ATLUS debuted a new gameplay video and character details for Akihiko, Mitsuru, and Fuuka for their highly anticipated RPG remake Persona 3 Reload!

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Netflix Celebrates Japanese Content Slate at Anime Expo 2023

Returning to Anime Expo, North America’s biggest fan event for all things Japanese pop culture, Netflix showcased their diverse slate of upcoming anime and live action adaptations, including fan-favorites like PLUTO or BEASTARS Final Season as well as news and talent appearances for the highly anticipated stop motion series Pokémon Concierge, live action adaptations Zom 100: Bucket list of the Dead and ONE PIECE.

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Anime Expo 2023 Fever is Upon Us

LineCon, I mean, Anime Expo, is now upon us this weekend at the Los Angeles Convention Center and here’s a snippet of the things we are most excited about! From the countless activities, events, panels, and concerts that you can attend and all the endless artists & vendors you can support, there’s something for all the anime lovers guaranteed to swarm the halls:

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Audiences Will Be ‘Spirited Away’ in Stage Adaptation of Miyazaki Classic

Spirited Away is undoubtedly one of — if not the most — well-known film from director Hayao Miyazaki. The Academy Award-winning fantasy-adventure of a young girl having to navigate the spirit world she’s trapped in is a story that has captivated and inspired audiences all over the world.

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Makoto Shinkai Brings His Best in the Rollicking Adventure of ‘Suzume’

Makoto Shinkai has been directing animated films for over two decades now, but it was his 2016 film, Your Name, that garnered critical acclaim both in Japan and abroad. While both Your Name and his 2019 film, Weathering with You, are notable for the creative development of their respective magic systems and intricate plots, they lack in substance of their female leads and development of the romantic tension between the male and female characters.

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Three Romance Comics Make Their Return to Manta

Spring is in the air! So is love — at least, for Manta, a subscription-based digital comics platform.

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NOC Review: When Grogu Met the Soot Sprites

It’s been three years since the first-ever Star Wars live-action series, The Mandalorian — as well as the platform it lives on, Disney+ — debuted. In celebration, viewers received a little treat, by way of a collaboration between two beloved studios.

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Studio Ghibli and Lucasfilm Team on a Grogu Short

Yesterday, Studio Ghibli, the iconic Japanese animation house founded by Hayao Miyazaki, set the internet ablaze when it cryptically tweeted a video of the Lucasfilm logo morphing into its own studio card.

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A Door to a New Adventure Opens in the trailer for Makoto Shinkai’s ‘Suzume’

Toho and Comix Wave have finally released the reveal trailer for Makoto Shinkai’s upcoming film, Suzume. The anticipation of the next film from the acclaimed Your Name and Weathering With You director has been building since the first key visual was released back in April.

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Behind the Scenes Look at Live Action ‘One Piece’

It’s happening!

The anticipated live action series, based on the beloved manga and anime, One Piece is a step closer to premiering on Netflix.

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‘Soul Hackers 2’ Overrides Predecessor’s Past with New Digital Identity

Atlus has released new story and character information about their upcoming RPG, Soul Hackers 2, a sequel to the twenty-five year old game, Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers. Following its cult-celebrated predecessor’s meshing of sci-fi aesthetic with the Shin Megami Tensei, Soul Hackers 2 aims to upgrade the concept by coding a new tale about humanity and its relationship with technology. 

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Putting the ‘Bebop’ in ‘Cowboy Bebop’ with Steve Aoki and John Cho

It’s time to jam Bebop fans! Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop debuts today! And while it isn’t perfect, it’s still pretty fun in a pretty campy way. However, the one thing the show gets right is the music! And heavily inspired by the terrific music of the original anime, the music in the new adaptation pays homage, while managing to carve out its own identity for itself (much like the show as a whole). And someone who knows all about that is iconic DJ Steve Aoki!

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