Rokuhan is releasing two Z gauge sets that reproduce the 500 Series Shinkansen's retirement commemorative logo, ahead of the train's full retirement in July 2027. The 8-car set (T013-8) forms the full V8 formation and includes stickers for the logo on cars 1 and 7. A 5-car add-on set (T013-9) holds only middle cars and combines with separately sold sets. Both ship October 31, 2026, and are available for preorder on Amazon.
final Inc. opened pre-orders on August 10 for ZE500 for ASMR CyberPatra, the fifth collaboration model with VTuber Suo Patra, made over five consecutive years. Patra supervised the project and designed the product and costume images, yielding two colors, Midnight and Pearlshine. The earphones feature two ASMR-dedicated sound modes and a new Touch de Patra function.
KaeruPanda Inc. announced on August 12 that it will release 'Digital Display Collection 500 Series Shinkansen Memorial' for Nintendo Switch in early 2027. The game reproduces the side and in-car LED displays of the 500 Series Shinkansen, which is scheduled for retirement in 2027. It is the first entry in the 'Digital Display Collection' (DecoColle) series, following the 'Makucolle' direction display simulators. The game will be exhibited at Konami's booth at Tokyo Game Show 2026.
Retailers list the 13th volume of Honobonoru500's Flung into a New World? Time to Lift the 200-Year Curse! light novels as the final volume. The novel ships on October 15. J-Novel Club publishes the series in English. The web novel began on Shōsetsuka ni Narō in May 2018, and TO Books published the first novel in January 2020.
Developer DEADBODY Games released a demo for the roguelite horror game '500 FINGER FILLET' on August 5, available on PC via Steam. The game is based on the knife game, where a player stabs a knife between fingers on a table. In this title, the protagonist is captured and must stab their own restrained hand 500 times within a 20-minute time limit to escape. Exceeding the time limit or losing all blood results in a game over. The knife is mounted on a shaking mechanical arm, and mistimed button presses cause finger stabs, reducing blood. Each stab earns money, which can be spent at a shop after 25 stabs on rings that provide effects like increased earnings or added time. Clearing a round of 50 stabs grants upgrades with trade-offs, such as faster knife descent but more shaking, or items that pause the timer or restore blood. Before each round, players choose from three knives, including butter knives, butterfly knives, letter openers, and forks, each with unique traits and a chance to sever a finger. The demo includes 20 knife types, 20 rings, and 5 of the 10 difficulty levels, plus multiple endings. The full version is scheduled for release on Steam within 2026.
RetroCrush announced the addition of the Hyakusho Kizoku anime (as Hyakusho Kizoku - The Farmer's Days) and the 500000000 Years Button anime to its streaming library, along with several other titles including Urusei Yatsura (1981), Tamala 2010, Angel Cop, Lone Wolf and Cub, and Bubblegum Crisis, rolling out through July and August.
Takara Tomy has opened pre-orders for the Shinkalion 500 Kodama from the Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion anime as part of its Plarail SGX series. The toy transforms from a four-car train into a robot and can combine with other separately sold SGX products into a five-car formation. It is priced at 8,800 yen and ships August 8, 2026.