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Io Sakisaka's shojo romance manga Strobe Edge announced today that the series is being adapted into a live-action TV drama that will broadcast in Japan for two seasons on Wowow beginning in the fall season of 2025. Strobe Edge Teaser Trailer Related: Blue Spring Ride Creator Io Sakisaka Gets Art Exhibition in March 2024 Mahito Kimura and Yusuke Matsuda direct the live-action TV series adaptation, while Sayaka Kuwamura provides the screenplays and Masaru Yokoyama provides the music. The series stars Riko Fukumoto and Kyohei Takahashi in the leading roles of Ninako Kinoshita and Ren Ichinose , respectively. Strobe Edge was previously adapted into a live-action in film in 2015 with direction by Ryuichi Hiroki and a script by Sayaka Kuwamura. Shueisha serialized the original Strobe Edge manga from June 2007 – August 2010 in their Bessatsu Margaret shojo magazine, and the series has also been published in 10 collected volumes. Viz Media publishes an English language version of the series,...

The official website for the upcoming live-action movie adaptation of Ammitsu's romance manga series Gazing at the Star Next Door (known as Tonari no Stella or Stella Next to Me in Japan) released a new trailer and poster visual today. The new trailer features the film's theme song "Itsumo Tonari de" ("Always next to you") performed by nine-member Japanese male dance and vocal group Fantasics . The group's 28-year-old member Yusei Yagi is also cast as the film's male protagonist, Subaru Hiiragi. Tonari no Stella Live-Action Movie New Trailer Poster visual "In addition to playing the role of Subaru Hiiragi, I am very honored and happy to be involved in this film with music as well," said Yagi. "It is a ballad-style song, so we tried to finish each phrase carefully as we recorded it. I like the word 'Tonari' (next door) in the lyrics, as it is a part that links to the film.

The official website for the upcoming live-action movie adaptation of Ammitsu's romance manga series Gazing at the Star Next Door (known as Tonari no Stella or Stella Next to Me in Japan) released a trailer and teaser visual today. The site also announced that the movie is set to release in Japan on August 22, 2025 . Tonari no Stella Live-Action Movie Trailer The new teaser visual released is also homage to the manga's fourth volume cover. Teaser visual Manga 4th volume cover Riko Fukumoto is cast as the main heroine Chiaki Amano, while Yusei Yagi (dance and vocal group Fantastics from Exile Tribe member) plays her love interest, Subaru Hiiragi. Hana Matsumoto , who worked on the Oshi no Ko live-action drama series, serves as director on a screenplay by Sawako Kawamitsu . Toho will distribute the film. Ammitsu's original Gazing at the Star Next Door manga is serialized in Kodansha's Bessatsu Friend monthly...

Here’s All About The New Pokemon Movie Dragonite and the Mailman ( Photo Credit – YouTube )

The Pokemon universe is going to present a new heartwarming story soon. Titled Dragonite and the Mailman, this 14-minute short episode features the Pokemon Dragonite in a pivotal role. This short episode will be released on February 27, 2025, marking 29 years since the Pokemon series first began in Japan. Dragonite and the Mailman will be available for free on Pokemon’s official YouTube channel.

What Is The Plot Of Dragonite And The Mailman?

Dragonite and the Mailman follows Hana, who admires Dragonite, a postal worker. One day, she finds a letter with no address. She teams up with the Dragonite postal worker and other wild and domestic Pokemon to find the sender. The journey takes her to the Kanto region.

More About Dragonite And The Mailman

Taku Kimura, who helmed Star Wars: Visions, also directed this short.

Pokémon has revealed its official debut trailer for the upcoming anime special "Dragonite and the Postman" ("Kairyuu to Yuubinya-san") ahead of its impending release on Pokémon Day 2025.

Pokémon's "Dragonite and the Postman" anime received its first trailer ahead of the anime's release on Feb. 27, 2025. Via Cinema Today's YouTube channel, the anime special features the main character Hana, recently revealed to be voiced by Riko Fukumoto, as she goes on a journey to deliver an unmarked letter. The trailer features stunning visuals by CoMix Wave Films, known for Makoto Shinkai's Your Name, Suzume, Weathering With You and more. Readers can check out the anime trailer below.

RelatedToday Is the Perfect Day for Pokémon (& Pikachu) Fans

Today, Pokémon unveils the first two episodes of Monpoké, a lighthearted slice-of-life anime perfect for those with young children or relatives.

Pokémon Releases Debut Trailer for New 'Dragonite and the Postman' Anime

"Dragonite...

Pokémon Day is only Squirtle days away (the turtle Pokémon is the seventh in the PokéDex), and the franchise's official accounts revealed a Gimmighoul of updates for the first generation of games' birthday next week. These updates include the announcement of the annual Pokémon Presents live stream, which reveals the latest news, alongside the first trailer for the Kairyu to Yubinya-san ("Dragonite and the Postman") web anime and fun little anticipation videos. The above video of Pikachu walking around reveals that the Pokémon Presents live stream will be held at 6:00 a.m. Pt/11:00 p.m. Jst on February 27. It was not announced what the presentation will include. To celebrate the lead-up to Pokémon Day, a video of Pikachu (and a sneaky Mimikyu!) lined up was released, with one video set to be released each day until the big one. Related: CoMix Wave Films to Deliver New Pokémon Anime...

Ahead of this year's Pokémon Day on February 27, the first trailer for a new anime titled Kairyu to Yubinya-san ("Dragonite and the Postman"), which will be expressly delivered to fans via YouTube on the aforementioned date, was shared by Japanese news channels. Riko Fukumoto (Natsume in Dragon Pilot: Hisone & Masotan ) stars as protagonist Hana. Theme song "Kami Hiroki" ("Paper Plane"), composed by Evan Call and performed by yorushika vocalist suis, is also previewed. Related: CoMix Wave Films to Deliver New Pokémon Anime About Dragonite CoMix Wave Films, best known for producing Makoto Shinkai's Your Name. , Weathering With You and Suzume , is producing the animation. Taku Kimura ( Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction ) is in charge of direction and storyboards and Tasuku Watanabe serves as art director, while Kentaro Nana provides the script, Evan Call ( Frieren: Beyond Journey's End ) provides the music and Maho Aoki ( Astro Note ) adapts Asuka Dokai's character designs for animation.

Pokémon anime fans have a special treat in store on Feb. 27, 2025, with Pokémon Day being the release date for a new special episode titled "Dragonite and the Postman." An official behind-the-scenes look for the upcoming anime has now been released, showcasing its lead voice actor Riko Fukumoto.

As previously reported, the upcoming "Dragonite and the Postman" anime will be released on Feb. 27 at 12 a.m. (Jst) via Pokémon’s official YouTube channel. The special is a collaboration between The Pokémon Company and CoMix Wave Films -- the studio behind Makoto Shinkai's Your Name, Weathering with You and Suzume. The story will follow Hana, a 12-year-old girl living in the Paldea region, as she works to track down the sender of an unmarked letter and eventually deliver it to its proper destination. As the story unfolds, she discovers she is working against a deadline and must cooperate with the Dragonite...

Pokémon Inc. announced today that actor Riko Fukumoto will voice the protagonist, Hana, in the upcoming Pokémon Day 2025 memorial anime episode, Kairyu to Yubinya-san ("Dragonite and the Postman"). The memorial anime was first announced on February 5. Fukumoto won the grand prize at the 8th “Toho Cinderella” audition held in 2016 and began her performing career the following year. She starred in the live-action film adaptation of Io Sakisaka's romance shojo manga Love Me, Love Me Not in 2020. Fukumoto also voiced Towa, a guest character in the 2022 anime feature film That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond . When asked how she felt when she was cast as Hana, Fukumoto replied, “I felt like, 'You've got to be kidding me!' I was very happy. I used to watch the Pokémon anime when I was little, and I also played the video games, so I am very...

The official website for the upcoming live-action film adaptation of Hatsuharu's romantic comedy manga series A Girl & Her Guard Dog today announced that the film is set to open in Japan on March 14, 2025. Keiichi Kobayashi ( About the Pink Sky ) is attached to direct on a screenplay by Yosuke Masaike ( Haken Anime! ).Filming already took place from June to August this year. The site has also posted a super teaser visual inspired by the cover of the original manga's third tankobon volume. The visual features the film's two main cast members — the main heroine Isaku Senagaki played by Riko Fukumoto and Kaya Uto played by Jesse (a member of the male idol group SixTones). Super teaser visual Manga volume 3 cover Related: A Girl & Her Guard Dog TV Anime Premieres in October 2023 The manga's TV anime adaptation aired for 13 episodes from September to December 2023. Crunchyroll, which is streaming the...

The official website for the upcoming Trillion Game live-action feature film released a new teaser trailer today announcing the movie will release in Japan on February 14, 2025 . A teaser visual featuring the two protagonists — Haru Tennouji played by Ren Meguro and Manabu "Gaku" Taira played by Hayato Sano — was also released. The two reprise their roles from the 2023 TV drama series. The tagline reads: "Fight Until You Win." Teaser Visual In addition to Meguro and Sano, three more cast members returning from the TV drama were also announced: Mio Imada as Kirika Kokuryu Riko Fukumoto as Rinrin Takahashi (a super serious and reassuring supporter of Haru and Gaku) Koji Kikkawa as Kazuki Kedouin (a shrewd investor who sees through Haru and Gaku's abilities and invests in them) (from left) Koji Kikkawa, Mio Imada, Riko Fukumoto Related: High-Rolling Live-Action Film Trillion Game Releases New Photo and Super Teaser The Trillion Game feature film,...

A Girl and Her Guard Dog Live-Action Film Announces Spring 2025 Release - All You Need to Know - Main Image

A Girl and Her Guard Dog is confirmed to get a live-action adaptation and is slated for release in 2025. Here’s everything you need to know about the A Girl and Her Guard Dog live-action film’s release, including its staff, cast, and more.

A Girl and Her Guard Dog Centers around a Girl Struggling with Her Yakuza Past

A Girl and Her Guard Dog follows Isaku Senagaki who lost her parents in a tragic car accident.

Orphaned at five, Isaku found herself taken in by her gangster grandfather, raised within the folds of the clan.

Despite her longing for a normal life, her family ties cast a shadow over her and she is forced to alienate from her friends.

But now, as she gets ready to step into high school,...

The Japan Academy Film Prize Association held the 46th edition of its awards ceremony on March 10, 2023. The nominees are selected by industry professionals from the pool of film releases between January 1 and December 31, 2022 which must have screened in Tokyo cinemas. Award categories are modelled after Hollywood's Academy Awards®.

Following its success at the recent Blue Ribbon Awards, and leading with 13 nominations in 12 categories, Kei Ishikawa's “A Man” walks away with 8 Japan Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. The full list of winners is described below.

Picture of the Year

A Man

Shin Ultraman

Phases of the Moon

Anime Supremacy!

Wandering

Team from A Man Animation of the Year

Inu-Oh

Lonely Castle in the Mirror

Suzume

One Piece Film Red

The First Slam Dunk

Director of the Year

Kei Ishikawa – A Man

Takashi Koizumi – The Pass: Last...

There’s more plot and less whimsy than you might expect from a movie called “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond,” an underwhelming spinoff of the popular anime series adaptation of Fuse and Mitz Vah’s illustrated young-adult “light novel” series. This movie still resembles its source material, given its pile-on of high-fantasy characters and backstories.

Your mileage may vary depending on how much you like watching various ogres, orcs, and other magical creatures cast spells and breathlessly explain their supernatural powers’ range and limits.

Then again, “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Scarlet Bond” lacks the light touch and anything-goes humor that usually make the series’s plot seem so fleet and dynamic. This movie doesn’t even focus that much on series lead Rimuru Tempest (voiced by Miho Okasaki), a sentient water-molecule-shaped slime who, in a former life, was a human named Satoru Mikami,...

This playful tale about an ogre samurai, a poisoned queen and a demonic pool of talking slime has a lot of confusing lore for the uninitiated to catch up on

This high-spirited anime feels like having the contents of a Dungeons & Dragons manual screamed at you by your 12-year-old nephew after a Haribo binge – but it’s kind of fun trying to keep up. It hits the ground running with a top-knotted ogre mercenary (voiced by Yuma Uchida) being cut to ribbons in the woods, rescued by Queen Towa (Riko Fukumoto), healed using her life force and given a ritualistic name: he is now known under her service as Hiiro.

Hiiro soon learns that Towa’s waterfall-bordered kingdom Raja is in a tight spot: it’s dependent on gold mining that releases toxins into its lakes, which the queen must neutralise using a magic tiara that in turn poisons her.