Anime
Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Anime Film Stays at #1, 2026 Doraemon Film Drops to #4 – News
© 2026 青山剛昌／名探偵コナン製作委員会
Detective Conan: Highway no Datenshi (Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway), the Detective Conan franchise‘s 29th film, stayed at #1 in its second weekend. The film sold 1.147 million tickets and earned 1,718,683,200 yen (about US$10.79 million) from Friday to Sunday. The film has sold a total of 4.22 million tickets and has earned a cumulative total of 6,343,397,300 yen (about US$39.83 million)
The film sold 2,318,009 tickets and earned 3,502,137,800 yen (about US$21.9 million) in its first three days, making a new opening-weekend record for the franchise, and debuting at #1 at the Japanese box office.
The new film centers on the character Chihaya Hagiwara, member of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police and the leader of its motorcycle division. Miyuki Sawashiro now voices the character, replacing the late Atsuko Tanaka. The movie also features Kanagawa inspector Jugo Yokomizo, teenage detective Masumi Sera, Chihaya’s late younger brother Kenji Hagiwara, and Kenji’s Police Academy classmate Jinpei Matsuda.
Takahiro Hasui (Detective Conan: The Black Iron Submarine) directed the film, and Takahiro Ōkura (Detective Conan: The Crimson Love Letter) wrote the script. Yūgo Kanno (Detective Conan: One-eyed Flashback) composed the music for the film. Misia performs the theme song “Last Danced Anata to” (Last Dance With You).
© 藤子プロ・小学館・テレビ朝日・シンエイ・ADK 2026
The 2026 Doraemon film, Eiga Doraemon: Shin Nobita no Kaitei Kiganjō (Doraemon the Movie: New Nobita and the Castle of the Undersea Devil), dropped from #2 to #4 in its eighth weekend. The film earned 72,253,500 yen (about US$453,700) from Friday to Sunday. The film has sold a total of 3.18 million tickets and earned a cumulative total of 4,018,802,550 yen (about US$25.23 million).
The film opened on February 27 and ranked at #1 in its first weekend. The film sold 621,000 tickets and earned 779,681,350 yen (about US$4.96 million) in its first three days. The film ranked at #1 for six straight weekends.
The 45th 2D anime film (not counting the 3D CG Stand By Me Doraemon films) remakes the classic 1983 film Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Castle of the Undersea Devil.
Tetsuo Yajima (Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle, Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us, Pokémon XY) returns after directing episodes of the Doraemon television anime and contributing in other capacities to Doraemon the Movie: Nobita’s New Great Adventure into the Underworld, Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Steel Troops: The New Age, and Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Chikyū Symphony. Another veteran of the television anime, Isao Murayama (Witchy Precure!, Star Twinkle Precure, Bakugan), wrote the new film’s screenplay.
© コロリド・ツインエンジンパートナーズ
Shingo Yamashita‘s Cosmic Princess Kaguya! (Chō Kaguya-hime!) anime film stayed at #5 in its ninth weekend after the film’s limited one-week theatrical screening run in Japan was extended. The film earned 114,999,300 yen (about US$722,100) from Friday to Sunday. The film has sold a total of 1.02 million tickets and has earned a cumulative total of 2,038,039,600 yen (about US$12.79 million).
The film’s limited theatrical run started on February 20. Tickets quickly sold out, with some theaters having to increase the number of screenings to more than 10 times a day. The film earned a total of 223,485,400 yen (about US$1.43 million) in Japanese theaters in its first three days after its run was extended.
Netflix began streaming the film on January 22.
Yamashita (Pokémon: Twilight Wings, opening animation for Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, 2022 Urusei Yatsura) made his feature-length directorial debut with the film in a collaboration between his Studio Chromato and Studio Colorido. Hechima (The Idolmaster Gakuen) and Akihiro Nagae (Drifting Home) designed the characters, with the former in charge of the Tsukuyomi designs and the latter handling the real-world character designs.
The film features songs by Vocaloid producers Ryo (supercell), kz (Livetune), 40mP, HoneyWorks, Aqu3ra, and yuigot.
©2026「鬼の花嫁」製作委員会
The live-action film based on Kureha‘s The Ogre’s Bride (Oni no Hanayome) light novel series dropped from #6 to #9 in its fourth weekend. The film earned 33,268,340 yen (about US$208,900) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 620,771,900 yen (about US$3.89 million).
The film opened in Japan on March 27. It sold 146,000 tickets in its first three days and earned 202,395,960 yen (about US$1.27 million).
King & Prince idol group member Ren Nagase (Fureru., live-action Yowamushi Pedal) plays Reiya Kiryūin, while Ai Yoshikawa plays YUZU Shinonome. Chihiro Ikeda (live-action Insomniacs After School, Kowloon Generic Romance) directed the film.
The series is set in a Japan where humans and demons co-exist peacefully. YUZU is an ordinary high school girl, who lives in the shadow of her older sister who is the bride of a demon. One day, she has a life-changing encounter with a beautiful ogre who claims her as his bride.
The light novels are also inspiring an upcoming television anime that will debut in July.
© 野田サトル／集英社 ©2026映画「ゴールデンカムイ」製作委員会
Golden Kamuy: Abashiri Kangoku Shūgeki-hen (Golden Kamuy: Attack on Abashiri Prison Arc), the second live-action film based on Satoru Noda‘s Golden Kamuy manga, dropped from #8 to #10 in its sixth weekend. The film earned 31,904,900 yen (about US$200,300) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 1,389,626,700 yen (about US$8.72 million).
The film opened on March 13. It sold 246,900 tickets and earned 368,611,300 yen (US$2.30 million) in its first three days. The film is getting IMAX screenings.
Kento Yamazaki reprised his role as Saichi Sugimoto and Anna Yamada as Asirpa. Yū Inaba, Sōkō Wada, and Tetta Sugimoto joined the film’s cast as Tokishige Usami, Toshiyuki Kadokura, and Anji Toni, respectively.
Kenji Katagiri directed the film at CREDEUS based on a script by returning writer Tsutomu Kuroiwa. Yutaka Yamada is also back composing the music, and Hiroshi Nakagawa and Debo Akibe served as Ainu culture and language supervisors.
Rock band 10-FEET perform the theme song “Kowarete Kieru made” (Until It Breaks and Disappears).
The Gekijōban Ansatsu Kyōshitsu Minna no Jikan (Assassination Classroom the Movie: Everybody’s Time) anime film dropped off the top 10 in its fifth weekend.
Entotsu-chō no Poupelle ~Yakusoku no Tokeidai~ (literally, The Promised Clock Tower), the sequel film to Studio 4°C‘s anime film of Akihiro Nishino‘s Poupelle of Chimney Town (Entotsu-chō no Poupelle) picture book, also left the list in its fourth weekend.
Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin (link 2), comScore via KOFIC
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Manga debuts with new setting/era in 2027
Chiaki J. Konaka (series script supervisor of Serial Experiments Lain, Texhnolyze, and Hellsing) announced at the Japan Weekend Madrid event in Spain last weekend that Yoshitoshi ABe‘s (creator and character designer for Serial Experiments Lain and Haibane Renmei) Despera anime project is getting a manga in 2027. He posted a visual on X/Twitter on Monday:
Konaka added that the manga’s setting and era will differ from those of the original project announcement. He clarified that this project is not related to Serial Experiments Lain.
Konaka last provided an update for the project in 2021. According to him, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was suspended for a year and a few months. Konaka added that the production funding scheme was 80% completed at the time, and that the core staff had done a lot of work up until 2020. He confirmed that staff was still working hard on the project, and asked fans to be patient.
The Despera anime project was put on hold after director Ryūtarō Nakamura passed away in 2013. ABe mentioned in October 2014 that the project was continuing with a new director.
ABe unveiled the project at Seattle’s Sakura-Con in 2009. ABe was heading the project and designing the characters and Chiaki J. Konaka, the series script supervisor of Serial Experiments Lain, Texhnolyze, and Hellsing, was writing the script.
The title is derived from a poem from the Dadaist poet Jun Tsuji (1884-1944). It is also derived from the shortened version of the term “desperado.” The story centers around Ain, a 14-year-old girl who builds devices despite the lack of the scientific background required for them. The science-fiction story was originally set in Japan’s Taishō era in 1922 — one year before the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake in the Tokyo area.
Sources: Chiaki J. Konaka‘s Twitter account
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1st season ended with 26th episode on Monday
The official website for the television anime of Shinobu Kaitani‘s Liar Game manga announced on Tuesday that the anime is getting a second season. The website unveiled a commemorative illustration by character designer Kei Tsuchiya:
© Kaitani Shinobu Products/Shueisha, LIAR GAME Committee
The 26th and final episode of the first season aired on Monday (effectively, Tuesday).
© Kaitani Shinobu Products/Shueisha, LIAR GAME Committee
The anime premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo and its affiliates on April 6. The anime ran for six months without breaks. The second part of the anime began on July 7. Crunchyroll is streaming the anime worldwide (excluding Japan and China) and hosted the world premiere screening of the anime’s first two episodes at this year’s Sakura-Con event in Seattle on April 5. PDT. AMEDIATEKA is distributing the anime in the Russian Federation.
REMOW introduces the series’ story:
A Mysterious Invitation. One Hundred Million Yen. The Game Begins.
College student Nao Kanzaki suddenly receives a strange letter and a suitcase containing 100 million yen. She’s been chosen to participate in the LIAR GAME—a high-stakes psychological battle where lies, deception, and betrayal reign supreme. Naïve and painfully honest, Nao quickly finds herself cornered. To survive, she turns to Shinichi Akiyama, a brilliant former con artist with unmatched intellect. As they dive deeper into the twisted game, the two must outwit opponents in a world where trusting others could be fatal. In a game built on lies, can honesty prevail?
Yūzō Satō (Kaiji -Ultimate Survivor-, Akagi, Trillion Game, The Gene of AI) was the chief director of the anime at Madhouse, and Asami Kawano (assistant director for The Vampire Dies in No Time both seasons, episode director for Orb: On the Movements of the Earth) directed the anime. Tatsuhiko Urahata (Baki, Baki Hanma, Monster, Muv-Luv Alternative) wrote and oversaw the series scripts, Kei Tsuchiya (Laidbackers, Trillion Game, The Gene of AI) was the character designer, and Kisuke Koizumi (The Gene of AI, My Happy Marriage, Ghost in the Shell Arise) was the sound director.
The manga ran from 2005 to January 2015 in Shueisha‘s Weekly Young Jump magazine. Shueisha published the manga’s 19th and final compiled book volume in May 2015. Kaitani launched a new short serialization for the manga titled Liar Game: The Last Game in Shueisha‘s Grand Jump Mucha magazine on February 25.
The manga previously inspired two live-action films, two live-action television series, and two live-action online series. The manga also inspired a stage play in 2023.
Kaitani’s ONE OUTS manga inspired a television anime in 2008.
Sources: Liar Game anime’s website, Comic Natalie
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© Hiro Yuki, Kyoto Animation/Sparks of Tomorrow Production Committee
It’s done; my time with one of the most frustrating, anachronistic, ill-conceived pieces of media I’ve ever experienced in its entirety is over. Earning the number four spot in ANN’s Worst of the Summer 2026 season list, this finale further reaffirms that Sparks of Tomorrow deserves this albatross. It brings me no joy to say this is likely going down as the worst anime ever produced by Kyoto Animation, and I hope this otherwise illustrious studio never sinks this low again.
This episode begins with Yosuke trying to sacrifice Kihachi (who’s drugged and in a wedding gown because Yosuke can’t be framed as a predacious gay more than a single goddamn second) to improve his Robo-Seiroku. When Inako arrives on the scene, she manages to stop Yosuke and his plan by…just kind of stopping Yosuke and his plan. She pulls on some wires and drags Kihachi out of what would have been his glass coffin before the walking plot device that is Kengo shows up and effortlessly drags them out of that situation. In this scene, it really feels like Yosuke never had a plan for what to do if anyone ever tried to stop him from doing crimes in order to revive Seiroku, and that makes him feel even weaker as a villain.
The failing of the electric nishiki creates a massive sinkhole in the middle of the city, though, and Kihachi and Inako use the electric plane invented a few episodes before to save Yosuke. Why they do this is anyone’s guess, as he literally tried to kill Kihachi twenty minutes ago, but whatever. The animation during this flight scene is pretty impressive, as is a sequence where a massive updraft essentially creates a zero-gravity sequence. The episode ends with much of the main cast having a meal together and Saki pointing out that Inako’s first brew is amazing, as Yosuke (who should be in jail) travels, and Kihachi and Inako tentatively express their romantic feelings to each other. In this finale there is not follow up on Kate and Suzu’s babyqueer romance, if Inako’s family’s business is saved from insolvency, or an indication that electrical technology is being more broadly adopted.
While I could profess endlessly about the sophomoric writing in Sparks of Tomorrow and how it misunderstands the era and innovative spirit at the heart of this work, this episode actually contains a perfect crystallization of these problems! While on their way to Inako’s home, in both the sub and the dub, Kihachi remarks that he found it odd that the lush Saki told him about the first batch of Inako’s brew being made into an offering for Inako’s late mother, as he is “not able to drink yet.” The problem with this statement, though, is that there was no legally enforced drinking age in Japan until 1922, and that this story explicitly takes place after the Russo-Japanese War and before the end of the Meiji era, so between 1905 and 1912. This is to say that Kihachi CAN drink and that Sparks of Tomorrow would so casually elevate an anachronism that I could disprove with five minutes of research demonstrates how little it cares about the culture and history at the center of its premise.
Sparks of Tomorrow routinely failed to spark any kind of joy or inspiration within me, and I am so glad to be done with this lazy, ahistorical piece of animation.
Rating:
Lucas DeRuyter finds sparks of inspiration in all parts of his life, which would explain why his portfolio features such a broad array of interests and writing formats! To read what he’s ruminating on more regularly, you can keep up with his regular contributions to ANN’s This Week in Anime column.
Sparks of Tomorrow is currently streaming on
Netflix.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of Anime News Network, its employees, owners, or sponsors.
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