The Apothecary Diaries is getting a live-action drama starring Mana Ashida, on Prime Video from 2028. Japanese social media flipped from dread to approval within an hour, but one uncast role still has fans nervous.
ONE PIECE FILM BAAD opens in 2029, and so far it is four handwritten letters and nothing else. Japanese fans have landed on 5 readings; overseas forums reached for Arabic and Urdu dictionaries instead.
Chiikawa the Movie took 8.07 billion yen in 20 days. A random figurine, then a Bonbon Drop sticker: how Japan's moviegoer-gift system built the repeat viewing behind that number, and where the film opens next.
Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island opened in Japan on July 24, 2026. One Tokyo multiplex gave it all ten screens and 41 showings, with 32 near sold out by 7 a.m. Why this cute-but-brutal series travels, and what fans abroad can actually get.
Kingdom: Decisive Battle of the Soul opened to 2.06 billion yen in four days, the biggest live-action debut in Japan this year. Why the series keeps beating the manga-adaptation curse, and how to watch it abroad.
The studio behind Evangelion is joining a four-country team to turn India's biggest live-action epic, Baahubali, into an animated film. We look at the careers behind The Eternal War, from indie director Ishan Shukla to Khara veteran Mahiro Maeda.
Studio Ghibli is opening a Zen exhibition in Kyoto, running October 3 to December 6, 2026, at the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art. Built around The Boy and the Heron, it traces back to a book of dialogues between producer Toshio Suzuki and three Zen monks. Here is what Zen actually is, and the surprising things it shares with Ghibli's films.
The first theatrical trailer for Sekiro: No Defeat is here. We break down the hand-drawn 2D look, the story of Wolf and Kuro, the no-AI pledge, Ryuichi Sakamoto's theme song, and how (and where) the rest of the world can watch it on Crunchyroll.
Sony Pictures is investing $100M in Cosm, the Sphere-like immersive dome where Dodgers fans watched the World Series as if standing on the field. Here's the deal, the tech, and why Japanese baseball fans already know the place.
Studio Ghibli specialty chain Donguri Republic opens its first U.S. store as a pop-up near Los Angeles. Dates, hours, perks, and why the chain isn't actually new to overseas markets.
Japan's all-time anime box office ranking, in one table: Demon Slayer holds the top two spots, followed by Ghibli, Makoto Shinkai, and Conan. The latest Detective Conan film has hit 13 billion yen to become the 16th-biggest anime ever, while The Super Mario Galaxy Movie crosses $1 billion worldwide. Plus an admissions comparison that accounts for rising ticket prices.