Anime Jam Session

Madhouse's Supernatural anime celebrates 15 years, Next Pokémon game series announced for 2027, and Kyoto Animation co-founder dies... Also, MediaDo acquires Seven Seas Entertainment, Shogakukan apologizes for releasing manga from a convicted sex offender, and a Pokémon voice actress marks 30th anniversary with first-ever game stream! Meanwhile in Japan... Play Tetris on a massive Kyoto station staircase, and a Puyo Puyo Game is in development for use in nursing homes!

New Evangelion series in production, get official manga panels printed on shirts, legally, and Sanrio characters get a new game with 50+ stages! Also, Death Game rewards you with a T-shirt if you're lucky, or a sticker to help others survive. Funimation founder joins adult anime studio advisory board, and a license company issues a statement after social media backlash due to collaborative art by Detective Conan artist?! Meanwhile in Japan... Linguistics sends six to the hospital, a man was arrested for watching a baseball game, and a bathhouse-themed bar?!

Crunchyroll blunders with anime leak, a game criticized by Miyazaki comes to Steam, and Ranma 1/2 gets anime exhibition in Tokyo! Also, Gundam Wing Official gets an anniversary album, Yoko Kanno 菅野よう子 to hold 2 NYC shows, and Yakuza/Like a Dragon crossover live action series debuts today! Meanwhile in Japan... A manager was arrested for punching himself in the face, a man was arrested for leaving a car parked in a lot for 6 years, and a cherry blossom festival is canceled due to overtourism?!

Check out what we're discussing this week! Hello Kitty teams with Neon Genesis Evangelion for new apparel, Sailor Moon theater show brings a new story and character, and Gundam Hathaway gets nostalgic with an ending song by Guns N' Roses! Also, Crunchyroll increases pricing, BAND-MAID world tour followed by a hiatus, and the Court upholds prison sentence for piracy site operator! Meanwhile in Japan, Kyoto is putting in efforts to crack down on overtourism, movie theater popcorn earns high-quality certification, and a drunkard was robbed after falling asleep on the street!

The rankings of the popularity of Dragon Ball characters, Puella Magi Madoka Magica is delayed... Again... And manga creator Go Nagai is to be inducted into the Eisner Hall of Fame! Also, Netflix and MAPPA strengthen their partnership, ユニバーサル・スタジオ・ジャパン / Universal Studios Japan (USJ) launches Pokémon experience before global rollout, and Rumiko Takahashi visits San Francisco's manga exhibition! Meanwhile in Japan, all 롯데리아 (LOTTERIA) restaurants in Japan will close by the end of March, a man was arrested for leaving obscene DVDs in stores as gifts, and a Tokyo pub sets a soft ban for patrons over 39?!

A popular scanlation site has shut down, Comic-Con International updates its policy on AI materials, and Gundam Hathaway is to be snowed in at the Sapporo Snow Festival?! Also, the Japan Fair Trade Commission releases a report on issues in the anime industry, Netflix in a new streaming deal with Sony, and Uma Musume anime cosplayers make the local news for their pro football fandom! Meanwhile in Japan, a man was arrested for violating Japan’s anti-dueling law in downtown Tokyo, and Kitkat pizza... Yep. That's all you need to know.

We're back for 2026! And check out what we're talking about on tonight's show! China’s largest comic convention, COMICUP, bans anime & manga, an idol was replaced in a stage play due to a manager, and KPop Demon Hunters wins 2 Golden Globes! Manga artist apologizes for an AI-edited photo, Scooby-Doo is getting a short anime series, and an Uma Musume anime girl plushie recalled for having parts she absolutely should not have?! Meanwhile in Japan, researchers give a mouse glowing sperm, a train station gets a new stationmaster cat, and a ramen restaurant prices differently based on the menu language?!

We're keeping it casual with a few stories tonight, like how Santa Claus delivered Christmas presents to penguins, Gainax is now fully dissolved, turning a train platform into a sake bar, and the deal with KFC and Christmas in Japan! We also have fun Christmas questions for the hosts!

The first permanent Gundam store in the US opens in Illinois, Crunchyroll ends ad-supported streams, and Go Nagai gets to pilot a new Mazinger Z figure! Also, Silent Mobius gets a Marvel crossover series, counselors in costumes testing anime therapy for depression, and restored versions of Studio Ghibli films coming to theaters in 2026! Meanwhile in Japan... A civil servant is arrested for misusing access to run a detective agency, a Japanese town sues a local resident for being a jerk, and KFC opens a pop-up restaurant specifically for non-fried chicken Christmas meals in Tokyo?!

Political tensions cause cancellations of Japanese media in China, Shonen Jump pop-up shop opens in NJ, backlash over Prime Video's Banana Fish AI dub has voice actors speaking out, and Amazon.com has quietly removed the dub tracks?! Also, J-Hip Hop group m-flo to stop public activities after their February concert, Toei Animation head producer explains Super Sentai ending, and the newest Dragon Ball Z and KFC collaboration hits! Meanwhile in Japan... A Wakayama senior uses AI to identify wild mushrooms and gets poisoned, and a train company lets you buy ticket gates!