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2026
5h ago
RIOT MUSIC and Culture Entertainment have announced the full performer list for ESPERA -AdHoc Live Festival 2026-, a virtual music festival on VRChat running November 20 to 22, 2026. The first two days are free, and the November 22 final day is ticketed. Performers include Kiwa Suu, VESPERBELL, Yomi, Kizuna AI, Harusaruhi, Tsukishiro Rui, Shirakawa Shirase, Shikibu Meguri, and Doo/Sakujaku kaza. Tickets went on sale October 24 on ZAIKO, with S tickets at 15,000 yen, on-site tickets at 4,000 yen, and streaming tickets at 3,000 yen.
11h ago
AMNIBUS will sell new Medalist illustration goods at Animate Girls Festival 2026 on November 7 and 8 at Ikebukuro Sunshine City. The lineup draws Inori Yuitsuka and Tsukasa Amakawa in starry-sky dresses and suits: trading cards at 300 yen each, BIG acrylic stands at 2,000 yen, plus badges, bromides, colored paper, keyholders, card sets and A4 clear files. Buyers spending 2,000 yen get a random bonus postcard from five types.
13h ago
Sanrio is selling commemorative prints for the top seven characters of the 2026 Sanrio Character Ranking at 7-Eleven multifunction copy machines from Saturday, October 24. The lineup has 15 items: one 2L group bromide at 400 yen, and L-size bromides and smartphone cards at 300 yen each, one per character. Pompompurin, Cinnamoroll, Pochacco, Kuromi, Hello Kitty, Pekkle, and My Melody make up the top seven.
1d ago
Black onyX, the pro-gamer group in the anime film Cho Kaguya-hime!, will appear by video at anan AWARD 2026, the magazine's annual award for figures who define the era. The ceremony runs Saturday, November 14 from 13:30 and streams on anan's official YouTube channel. Actor Akari Takashi, soccer player Ayase Ueda, and jockey Ryusei Sakai join the second round of announced performers. The group's specific award will be revealed on the day.
1d ago
The Kobe Calling 2026 organizing committee announced the second lineup for the October 31 and November 1 event at KIITO in Kobe. Kobe Steel joins with a VR exhibition on its manufacturing sites, Kobe University medical researchers present a heartbeat-driven installation, and Mazda's training school shows a Le Mans rotary engine. Registration opened for free student passes, and BizWorld Japan runs a free student hackathon, HackARThon.
1d ago
Boulies held its Japan Market Entry 1st Anniversary Business Strategy Presentation on October 22, introducing the Boulies Master Rex 2026 chair. Sales opened the same day on Makuake, with a planned general retail price of 72,800 yen. The chair reclines up to 165 degrees and carries 6D armrests and lumbar support. Boulies also said Japan-market products and collaboration models with domestic IPs are planned.
2d ago
Kobato Takanashi will hold the online 3D live "Kobato Takanashi Birthday 3D LIVE 2026 ~COLORFUL TOY BOX~" from 21:00 on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. Fifteen guest VTubers will appear, all with 3D models, bringing the total to 16 3D performers. The theme is a toy box, with singing, dancing, and comedy segments, and a major announcement is planned at the end.
2d ago
The Hatsune Miku Yozora Program 2026 ran September 21 to 23 at Niigata Nippo Media Ship, drawing about 7,100 visitors. The main event paired large music fireworks with AR Hatsune Miku through the HoloModel app, and a first-come session ran 200 XREAL AR glasses at once. Two VRChat worlds, including a Bandai Bridge reproduction and a reopened and ST collaboration, drew over 316,000 users by October 7.
2d ago
TONIQ Inc. representative director Yuki Kimura will speak at ad:tech tokyo 2026, held at Tokyo Midtown from October 21 to 23, 2026, with a booth at B5. On October 22, 13:00 to 13:40 at Exhibition Stage2, he joins J.League marketing director Shohei Takebuchi and Sanfrecce Hiroshima's Shun Yamaji and Akira Hamada to discuss using data and CRM to turn stadium attendance into repeat visits.
3d ago
NIGHT HIKE 2026 in Makuhari runs October 31 and November 1 at Makuhari Messe, moving up from its 2023 start at Shibuya WOMB. LAM made the key visual and appears in the live installation SYNK, while Ilya Kuvshinov performs live drawing. In a joint interview, the two illustrators trace how they found each other's work online more than 10 years ago and discuss shared motifs, including short hairstyles.
3d ago
Puramokoujouiinkai opened Amazon.co.jp preorders on October 20, 2026 for two Racing Miku 2026 Ver. hobby tools: a high-capacity tool pouch at 2,750 yen and a 10cm by 10cm mini cutting mat. Both carry Kuroboshi Kouhaku's Racing Miku 2026 artwork. The pouch uses PU leather with embroidered Miku logos and a clear back pocket; the mat prints grid cutting lines on its reverse. Release is scheduled for November 30, 2026.
3d ago
Anthropic will run Built with Claude: Japan 2026, a fully online hackathon co-hosted with the AI community Cerebral Valley, from 12:00 on November 2 to 14:00 on November 10. Applications for Japan residents close at 23:59 on October 26, and 250 people who pass screening can join, alone or in teams of up to two. Participants build with Claude Code; each screened applicant gets the Max 5x Plan and $500 in Claude API credits, and winners share $50,000 in credits.
3d ago
Frederic will sell paid streaming tickets for the June 2026 fan club tour "Home Party Tour 2026-RAINVENT-" through the FanStream app and StreamPass platform, run by Fanplus and Ticket Plus. The stream includes live footage of 13 songs from the June 12 Tokyo show at Zepp Shinjuku and documentary footage from all three dates in Tokyo, Osaka, and Aichi.
4d ago
The FASHION FRONTIER PROGRAM 2026 holds its final judging and awards ceremony on Saturday, December 12, 2026, at MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives Box1000, running from 13:00 to 19:00 with doors at 12:30. Eight finalists give final presentations, judges decide the winners, and a symposium with founder Yuima Nakazato and special guests is planned. The program was launched by Nakazato in 2021 to discover and support designers.
4d ago
Startup Factory will hold the Shibuya Startup Cultural Festival 2026 on November 3 at Shibuya Hikarie Hall A, with free admission and free experiences. Osamu Suzuki, THE RAMPAGE's Jin and Shogo Iwaya, Chidaruma Shin-tai's Takumi Goto, Takafumi Horie, Kyo, Suki ni Narimashita. members and Yutori's Takanobu Kataishi are set to appear. CyberAgent, Dwango, Naily and HA-LU are confirmed exhibitors.
4d ago
AMNIBUS will sell Tougen Anki merchandise using new suit illustrations early at its Animate Girls Festival 2026 booth, held November 7 and 8 at Ikebukuro Sunshine City. The lineup includes random trading glitter can badges (10 types), cheki prints (10 types) and bromides (13 types), plus BIG acrylic stands and B8 hard card cases. A five-character A4 clear file is limited to the venue. Orders open on the AMNIBUS site from November 9 at 12:00.
4d ago
Chugai Mining will sell the fourth round of Yowamushi Pedal LIMIT BREAK "BIRTHDAY FLOWER" goods early at its Animate Girls Festival 2026 booth on November 7 and 8 at Ikebukuro Sunshine City. The lineup uses new art of six characters in white suits holding bouquets: Sakamichi Onoda, Shokichi Naruko, Junta Teshima, Sangaku Manami, Yasutomo Arakita and Toichiro Todo. Pre-orders are open on Chugaionline, with purchase bonuses at the venue and online.
5d ago
Tokyo Otaku Mode has put hololive Meet 2026 merchandise on sale, with sets devoted to Tsunomaki Watame and Chihaya Rindo, both named ambassadors for the global event series. Each ambassador has seven items available: an Acrylic Name Tag Mascot and a Square Can Magnet at 770 yen each, a Deformed Illustration T-Shirt at 3,850 yen, a Luggage Tag at 1,540 yen, an Oshi-Katsu Pouch at 3,300 yen, a 2way Aurora Acrylic Stand at 1,980 yen, and a Hologram Can Badge at 550 yen, all tax included. The lineup leans on key visual illustration acrylic stands and deformed-style artwork, with wearable pieces such as the pouch, luggage tag, and shirt alongside the badges and magnets. hololive Meet is described as a series that travels to bring the hololive production experience to fans around the world. Prices and stock status are as of the time the articles were published.
5d ago
ANYCOLOR will bring NIJISANJI EN to Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2026, running November 27 to 29 at Suntec City Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Nijisanji booth, number M10, distributes venue-exclusive benefits while supplies last. Sonny Brisko, Shu Yamino, Luca Kaneshiro, and Ren Zotto appear remotely on the AFA NEXT Stage on Saturday, November 28 at 17:15 local time. Entry to the stage needs no stage ticket, but an event admission ticket is required.
5d ago
The CGWORLD 2026 Creative Conference runs December 6 at Ariake Central Tower Hall & Conference in Tokyo, free with advance registration. Animator and character designer Hanabushi drew the key visual under the theme "Creators connect. Beyond that." The first session round includes Framestore on its VFX work for "Project Hail Mary," Riot Games and Agora Community on facial animation, Whatever Co. on the Kao horror game "Shizukana Osouji," and Universal Entertainment on amusement machine video made with Unreal Engine.
5d ago
Unite Tokyo 2026 runs November 17 at Bellsalle Shibuya Garden, and Unity Technologies Japan has posted the talk details. Staff from the Unity headquarters team visiting Japan will give the keynote and a Unity Roadmap session. Unity Japan engineers cover CoreCLR migration ahead of Unity 7 in 2027, BIRP to URP, URP lighting, Addressables, AI agent development, XR, and Unity Robotics. Some titles are provisional, and external speaker talks are still to be announced.
5d ago
Newly drawn Blue Lock goods go on early sale at the AMNIBUS booth at Animate Girls Festival 2026, held November 7 and 8 in Ikebukuro. The Dreaming Throne lineup puts protagonist Isagi Yoichi and nine others in black and gray suits, with trading can badges, vertical illustration cards, cheki prints and bromides, plus a 10-type BIG Acrylic Stand. An A4 clear file using the group illustration is limited to the venue.
6d ago
Footage of the final performance of the 2026 Ji Chang Wook Japan Tour ~Just Come With~ will air on Fuji TV TWO Drama & Anime in December, with the date and time not yet announced. The final show was held Sunday, October 18 at Pacifico Yokohama National Grand Hall. The broadcast is a delayed recording, not a live feed, and it will also stream on Fuji TV TWO Smart for SKY PerfecTV! broadcast subscribers.
6d ago
A Craft Survival Directory special edition picks two games from Tokyo Game Show 2026, held from September 17 at Makuhari Messe. Isle Goblin, a 2D top-down survival game from solo developer Matt at Kilowatt Games and published by Fireshine Games and Pocketpair Publishing, casts players as goblins retaking Goblin Island from humans, with up to 8-player online co-op and a Steam open test running since October 9, 2026. Terra Taker, a Dream Craft open-world terraforming survival game shown at the Korea Pavilion booth, tasks a robot with reshaping a harsh fantasy planet.
Oct 17
HIMEHINA ended the world tour "LIFETIME is BUBBLIN" at SGC Hall Ariake in Tokyo on the 4th, with a finale of about three hours 20 minutes and 43 acts before 5,000 people. The tour ran since last November across 7 venues in Japan plus Taipei, Seoul, and San Jose, with an all-song cover event the day before. The duo announced a Nippon Budokan live for July 13, 2027.
Oct 17
The Streamer Awards 2026 announced its nominees on October 16. Hololive's Koseki Bijou and Gigi Murin were named in the Best VTuber category, alongside Ironmouse, TheBurntPeanut, and Crelly. Japanese indie game Meccha Chameleon was nominated for Stream Game of the Year next to Minecraft, Big Walk, and Fortnite. Winners are decided by 70 percent public voting and 30 percent judges' votes, with public voting open until October 31.
Oct 17
GRAPHT will sponsor hololive Koshien 2026, the tournament hosted by VTuber Koyori Hakui, and sell commemorative items on made-to-order from 15:00 on October 17 to 18:00 on November 16, 2026. Six managers (Koyori Hakui, Mio Ookami, Marine Houshou, Noel Shirogane, Polka Omaru, Riona Hizakizaki) each raise a team in Powerful Pro Baseball 2026-2027's Eikan Nine mode and compete October 17 and 18. Merchandise: Monitor Mascots at 3,300 yen, Baseball Caps at 5,500 yen, Embroidery Stickers.
Oct 16
Square Enix will accept entries for SQUARE ENIX GAME CONTEST 2026 from December 15, 2026, through March 15, 2027, the company's executive officer Yosuke Saito said in an interview. The contest carries a total prize pool of 1 billion yen, and the company says it will always choose winning entries from the submitted works. Saito, who supervises the contest's operations office, described the plan as a way to support developers who build games around original ideas, whatever their team size. He pointed to Square Enix's Game Hobby Program Contest in 1982, where Yuji Horii and Koichi Nakamura won awards before Horii created Dragon Quest in 1986. There is no age limit on applications. Saito said the contest wants games that push a single concept hard, naming Astronoka and Voice of Cards as examples.
Oct 16
Sega Fave released the first exhibitor information for its booth at AMUSEMENT EXPO 2026, set for November 6 and 7 at Tokyo Big Sight's South Exhibition Halls 1 through 4. The booth lists three areas: a SMAREVO digital pachinko and pachislot medal machine corner, a Korokoro Kurukuru Piichanz medal pusher corner, and a returning UFO Catcher free-play corner.
Oct 16
Pia Live Creative and Pro-Relation installed a wrapped vending machine selling original-label natural water at the Kanagawa performance of Karapichi Paradise ARENA TOUR 2026 ~Symphony Express~, held October 4, 2026 at K Arena Yokohama. The machine doubles as a photo spot with the members on display. The same setup is confirmed for the Hyogo performance on October 18, 2026 at GLION ARENA KOBE.
Oct 16
The VTuber regional revitalization project Machi Superchat Project, run by uyet Inc., will exhibit at FAN2026 in Niimi City, Okayama Prefecture, on Saturday, October 24, 2026. The booth will display panels on its work with the city, and visitors who take part in the day's project receive limited VTuber stickers while supplies last.
Oct 16
MERGE 2026, a conference on AI-driven development and design co-hosted by GustoDevelopment and PROTOCORE, was held on Saturday, August 8, 2026, at Sakura Internet's Tokyo Nishi-Shinjuku office and online. More than 300 engineers, designers, entrepreneurs, and business developers attended. Five sessions featured 24 speakers, and the AI-driven hackathon AI Designathon 2026, themed AI Native UX 2026, held final presentations and awards across three categories. A larger 2027 edition is planned.
Oct 15
CG-ARTS will hold its Animation Practical Skills Test 2026 for students aiming to become CG animators. Institutional registration begins October 1, 2026, and exam entries run from early November until November 30. Capacity is 500 on a first-come, first-served basis. Anima, OLM Digital, Orange, Sanzigen, and Polygon Pictures score the submitted works, with scores, advice comments, and national rankings returned to examinees.
Oct 15
Toei Animation has revealed the key visual and details for "DIGIMON CONCERT ~2026 Anniversary & BEATBREAK~," set for December 28 and 29 at Tokyo International Forum Hall C. The visual gathers 38 characters, protagonists and partner Digimon from Digimon Tamers, Digimon Savers, Digimon Universe: App Monsters, Digimon Ghost Game and Digimon Beatbreak, in formal attire. Act one covers anniversary theme songs, act two features Beatbreak music arranged under Arisa Okehazama.
Oct 15
NexuStella, the V-liver production run by live streaming app 17LIVE, will hold "NexuStella FESTIVAL Hoshitansei -2026- To the connected stars and scenery yet unseen." on Sunday, December 27, 2026 at ENSQUARE in Shin-Okubo, Tokyo. The event marks the production's 3rd anniversary on December 1, 2026. Around 20 affiliated V-livers appear, with Bushilive, NexuStella Colorful, V-iii, and Polaris Palette among the performing units.
Oct 15
Worlds 2026 watch party streamers for Japan have been announced, with eight people selected: Enty, Evi, Raijin, Gingaji Signe, Shallur, Takaya Special, Chisen Yuhi, and Yutapon. The lineup mixes names who have held watch parties at past international tournaments with new additions. Evi, who said in September he will retire from competitive play at the end of this season, joins as a streamer. LoL Esports said more streamers may still be added.
Oct 15
MissionTime's VTuber agency REPLAY LIVE will run a limited-time event, Replay Halloween -2026-, built around 16 affiliated talents. Sales open October 15 on the Replay BOOTH store with ten kinds of Halloween goods sets, connectable garlands, and sixteen can badge designs. A made-to-order all-members mini wall hanging is also offered. On October 31 only, an original voice drama, Who Stole the Candy!?, goes on sale.
Oct 15
KADOKAWA's online kuji service Kujibikido will run the Kino's Journey the Beautiful World Online Kuji 2026 from 12:00 on Thursday, October 22, 2026 to 11:59 on Thursday, November 19, 2026, at 770 yen per draw plus shipping. Prizes use illustrations by original illustrator Kouhaku Kuroboshi and span a jacquard blanket, acrylic plates, A3 clear posters, acrylic mascots, and square can badges. A repost campaign and two bonus gift tiers run alongside.
Oct 15
ASCII STARTUP will hold ASCII STARTUP TechDay 2026, a conference, exhibition, and networking event for deep tech startups, on Monday, November 30 at Shinagawa Intercity Hall in Tokyo. General admission is free and requires advance registration through Peatix. Sessions run from 13:00 to 18:00 with reception from 12:30, and a paid after-party (5,000 yen) follows in the evening.
Oct 14
Square Enix and Mitsubishi Estate Property Management will run the holiday event Yokohama Minato Mirai Winter Holiday 2026, a Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy collaboration, from November 11, 2026 to January 11, 2027. Landmark Plaza and MARK IS Minato Mirai host holiday objects, photo spots, a six-spot stamp rally, the SuraChoco Kitchen cafe, an iron bead workshop, and a two-venue SQUARE ENIX POP UP STORE.
Oct 14
ThinkingAI will hold the ThinkingAI Summit 2026 Tokyo on November 10, 2026, at City Hall & Gallery Gotanda in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, with attendance limited to 300. Speakers include Takara Tomy, Bushiroad, Mirrativ, Imagineer, Betimo, South Korea's Underdog Games, and China's Duoniu Technology, plus Yoichiro Miyake of Tokyo University of the Arts, who gives the keynote. Ten lectures are planned for the day.
Oct 14
The GTMF Organizing Committee announced a second batch of five exhibitors for Game Tools & Middleware Forum 2026, bringing the total to 20 companies. ThinkingData and Yamaha Corporation join as Gold sponsors, while DynaComware, Diarkis, and Havok enter at Silver. The organizer is listed as Idea Co., Ltd. alongside CRI Middleware Co., Ltd. Seven outlets and events also join as media partners: Famitsu, 4Gamer.net, AUTOMATON, GAME Watch, Game Makers, GAME FUTURE SUMMIT, and GameBusiness.jp. GTMF 2026 runs Wednesday, December 2 at Knowledge Capital Congres Convention Center in Osaka and Tuesday, December 8 at Akihabara UDX in Tokyo, both from 9:30 to 18:30 with entry and exit permitted midway. Admission is free but advance registration is required, and an After Party at both venues will be detailed later.
Oct 14
PROTOCORE and GustoDevelopment held MERGE 2026, a conference on AI-driven development and design, on Saturday, August 8, 2026, at Sakura Internet's Nishi-Shinjuku office in Tokyo and online. More than 300 engineers, designers, entrepreneurs, and business developers attended. The program ran five sessions on design, agent-driven development, 0 to 1 business building, UI/UX in 2050, and AI new-business launch, plus finals and awards for the AI Designathon 2026 hackathon.
Oct 14
Asahara Giken's AI VTuber Izumi Asahara is at CEATEC 2026 through October 16 at Makuhari Messe, in the QD Laser booth in Hall 8. Visitors speak to her on a monitor and the nearby stage and blue laser move without an operator, scanning a coin-sized disc to build 3D point cloud data on screen. QD Laser, Taiwan's Ultimems, and Asahara Giken hold the exhibit jointly.
Oct 13
The first episode of Bless, based on Yukino Sonoyama's manga and premiering in January 2027, screened early at the Kodansha House pop-up in New York as part of an October 12 watch party with three other anime titles. Attendees received first volumes of the four screened shows' source manga as gifts. Bless follows two students at a fashion-focused high school who pair up for a transformation-themed runway show.
Oct 13
At New York Comic Con, editors from three manga apps answered questions about global readership. Yuta Momiyama of MANGA Plus, Nobuhiko Muranaka of Manga UP!, and Yuta Hiraoka of K manga spoke about same-day chapter releases, app comment sections that let publishers and creators see overseas feedback, and Manga Academy programs that seek creators outside Japan.
Oct 13
At New York Comic Con 2026, Crunchyroll premiered the first two episodes of Shangri-La Frontier's third season. The new arc follows Oikatzo asking Sunraku and Arthur to help him win an eight-player tournament, with each round fought against a timer while Oikatzo races to arrive for his anchor turn. Episode two gives Arthur a villain role in the fighting simulation game, and audience reactions in the theater matched what the characters themselves were watching.
Oct 13
The Dengeki Daisy anime premiered at New York Comic Con 2026, and the episode centers on Teru, a girl whose late brother left her a phone connected to someone called Daisy, who texts her daily. She also deals with bullies and a janitor named Tasuku. The episode opens with a vague cinematic flash-forward, and its voiceover and visual style stay deliberately unclear about where the series is headed.
Oct 13
The first episode of Red Riding Hood: A Detective Story had its world premiere at New York Comic Con. The premiere frames Red Riding Hood as the main suspect in a murder, with evidence drawn from fairy tale lore, including Pinocchio's testimony that his nose did not grow. The episode ends before the crime is explained, leaving the culprit and several character identities unresolved.
Oct 13
Meta Osaka will hold the business forum JAPAN SPATIAL FORUM IN OSAKA 2026 on Friday, November 20, 2026, at the Namba SkyO Convention Hall in Chuo-ku, Osaka. Metaverse Japan co-hosts, with NANKAI and e-Stadium as special partners. The event pairs XR, AI, and 3D city data companies with government bodies working in urban development, transportation, commercial facilities, education, and entertainment. Exhibitor applications close October 31.