Sep 24
MBS Innovation Drive and Appland unveiled the four members of Tobariku on September 24, 2026, ending a teaser period that began with the project's announcement on September 9. The male VTuber group is built around the supernatural and mysteries, and its residents are Shimawatari Reigen, Niji Guuta, Minari Touga, and Ashiya Noi. Their first streams run in relay format on September 26, starting at 19:00 with Shimawatari Reigen, then Niji Guuta at 19:30, Minari Touga at 20:00, and Ashiya Noi at 20:30, each on the member's own YouTube channel. A project PV is also out. The TOBARIQ OFFICIAL STORE opens for debut merchandise and voice packs at 21:05 that same day, with acrylic stands at 1,900 yen, random cheki-style cards at 400 yen, and debut voices at 500 yen each or 2,000 yen for the complete set.
Sep 10
UpLand Inc. and its parent company MBS Innovation Drive Inc. launched the VTuber project Tobari-ku on September 9, 2026. The companies opened an official teaser site, an official X account, and an official YouTube channel the same day. A separate site, the Kaii Diagnosis Site, also appeared alongside the project, though its contents have not been disclosed. MBS Innovation Drive welcomed UpLand, which operates the VTuber agencies .LIVE and VuiPai, into its group in 2023, and the two companies have since worked to expand their business areas in content and reach new fan bases. Tobari-ku comes out of those efforts. Full details about the project are scheduled for the night of September 24, 2026, and the companies are directing people to follow the X account and YouTube channel ahead of the reveal.
Aug 10
AMC Global Media announced on Monday that it will extend and expand the distribution agreement between its subsidiary Sentai Filmworks and Japan's Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS) in a new multi-year deal. HIDIVE will simulcast MBS's upcoming multi-year series lineup exclusively in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and other markets outside of Asia. The expanded deal launches with the television anime of Umikaze Minamino's Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden light novel series as the first title. The anime will make its North American premiere at Anime NYC on August 26, ahead of its Japanese debut on October 6 on Tokyo MX at 9:25 p.m. JST, followed by BS NTV and MBS channels. Honoka Inoue stars as the titular Nia Liston. Motoki Nakanishi directs at KONAMI animation, with Haruta Segi as assistant director. Gigaemon Ichikawa handles series scripts, and Naoki Endo composes the music. HIDIVE President John Ledford called the agreement the service's largest content programming deal to date. The two companies first established their distribution partnership in March 2023. Additional titles in the new agreement have not yet been announced.