Anime
Lupin III Composer, Jazz Pianist Yuji Ohno Dies at 84 – News
Musician and composer Yuji Ohno‘s official website announced on Wednesday that Ohno died of natural causes on May 4. He was 84. Ohno’s production company Office Augusta noted that he died after going to sleep, without any change in his prior condition before going to sleep.
Ohno is best known for his work as a jazz pianist and composer, and his soundtrack for the Lupin III anime series includes the anime’s now iconic opening theme which has persisted in various arrangements by Ohno throughout the anime’s many television series, specials, and films. He first worked on the franchise in Lupin III: Part II, the franchise‘s second television anime, in 1977. He has performed music from the franchise in many concerts throughout the decades as part of the jazz act Yuji Ohno & Lupintic Five (which was later renamed to Yuji Ohno & Lupintic Six).
Ohno began practicing piano in his early childhood, and taught himself jazz in high school. He was part of Keio University’s Light Music Society band and played as part of clarinetist Kōji Fujika‘s jazz quintet in his college years. He later formed a jazz trio with drummer Hideo Shiraki and singer Yūzō Kayama. After the trio dissolved, he focused on composing work, and later scored Kon Ichikawa‘s iconic mystery film The Inugami Family and Junya Satō’s Proof of the Man film, both in 1977. He also composed the music for the 1978 Yasei no Shōmei film, whose theme song “Senshi no Kyūsoku” was covered by Sōichirō Hoshi as one of the ending songs for the Heaven’s Lost Property anime.
Aside from the Lupin III franchise, Ohno has also composed music for Captain Future (including the insert song “Oira wa Sabishii Spaceman” which would later be covered by Minori Chihara for the Cat Planet Cuties anime), Andromeda Stories, Undersea Super Train: Marine Express, A Time Slip of 10000 Years: Prime Rose, a piece for the Daicon films from the staff that would later form the studio Gainax, and the theme for the Space Adventure Cobra anime series.
Source: Yuji Ohno‘s website
>
San-X‘s Sumikko Gurashi franchise announced on Wednesday that it will release a fifth anime film in 2027. The announcement did not reveal the film’s title, but presented a visual drawn by creator Yuri Yokomizo and hinted that the film’s story will center on the character Neko as the protagonist.
©2027 日本すみっコぐらし協会映画部
Sumikko Gurashi debuted in 2012 as slightly negative characters who like to stay in the corner of a room. The characters include “Shirokuma,” a polar bear who is sensitive to cold; “Penguin?” (with a question mark in its name), a penguin who is unsure if it is actually a penguin; “Tonkatsu,” a piece of pork cutlet that was left uneaten; “Neko,” a shy cat; and “Tokage,” who hides his nature as one of the last dinosaurs.
The first anime film, titled Sumikkogurashi – Good to be in the corner, opened in Japan in November 2019. The film eventually sold a total of 1.22 million tickets, and it earned 1.4 billion yen (about US$12.8 million) at the box office in Japan as of February 2020. The film won the award for Best Animation of the Year at the 29th Annual Japan Movie Critics Awards in June 2020.
Eiga Sumikko Gurashi: Aoi Tsukiyo no Mahō no Ko (The Magical Child of the Blue Moonlit Night), the second film, opened in Japan in November 2021, and sold about 200,000 tickets to earn about 250 million yen (about US$2.22 million at the time) in its first three days.
Eiga Sumikko Gurashi: Tsugihagi Kōjō no Fushigi na Ko (The Mysterious Child of the Makeshift Factory), the franchise‘s third anime film, opened in Japan in November 2023, and sold 192,300 tickets for 242,553,320 yen (about US$1.63 million in current conversion) in its first three days.
Eiga Sumikko Gurashi: Sora no Ōkoku to Futari no Ko (The Sky Kingdom and the Two Children), the fourth anime film of the franchise, opened in Japan in October 2025. The film ranked at #4 in its opening weekend. The film sold 150,000 tickets for 183,974,840 yen (about US$1.19 million) in its first three days. Counting November 3 (which was the Culture Day holiday in Japan), the film sold a total of 208,000 tickets for 253 million yen (about US$1.64 million) in its first four days.
The franchise had its first-ever television anime that premiered its first episode in October 2023. A puppet musical ran in Tokyo in August to September 2024. Sumikko Gurashi: Koko ga Ochitsukun Desu (This Is Where I Relax), a new series of anime shorts for the franchise, premiered on the NTV network in the ZIP! morning variety program’s new “ZIP! 1-Minute Anime” segment in April 2025.
Sources: Sumikko Gurashi film’s website, Comic Natalie
>
The Universal Studios Japan theme park announced on Wednesday that it is collaborating with the Sailor Moon franchise for its Universal Cool Japan campaign next year. Universal Cool Japan is the park’s annual series of limited-time attractions and other promotions themed around anime, manga, games, and similar pop culture icons. The Sailor Moon collaboration is the first one announced for the 2027 incarnation.
© Naoko Takeuchi TM & © 2026 Universal Studios.
The collaboration will introduce a new “Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon x Story Ride” attraction with more details to be announced at a later date. The collaboration will also bring back the “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon the Miracle: Moon Place Chapter Deluxe” original manga/CG anime short, which debuted during Universal Cool Japan 2019. An updated “Deluxe” edition of the short played at the park in 2022, and the short then played at Universal Studios Hollywood in California during the Fan Fest Night event from April 25 to May 16 earlier this year.
The Universal Cool Japan 2027’s Sailor Moon collaboration will also include themed food and merchandise.
The Sailor Moon franchise has previously collaborated with Universal Studios Japan in 2018, 2019, and 2022.
Sources: Universal Studios Japan, Comic Natalie
>
Japanese pop and R&B singer Mai Kuraki and the long-running Detective Conan anime series announced on Sunday that Kuraki has broken her own Guinness World Record for Most Theme Songs in a Single Anime Series. She achieved the milestone with her latest song “Ai de Zenbu Dakishimete Aishite” (Hold and Love Me with Your Love), the 76th Detective Conan ending song which debuted in the latest episode on Saturday. The singer added that she has completed her career’s “30 YEARS × 30 SONGS” with the theme song.
©青山剛昌／小学館・読売テレビ・TMS1996
The franchise is streaming the clean ending sequence featuring “Ai de Zenbu Dakishimete Aishite”:
Kuraki also announced that the song will launch digitally as a single on October 10. Kuraki will then release the Kuraki Mai x Meitantei Conan Collaboration Best 30 -Kimi ga Itekratakara, Uta ga Aru- (Mai Kuraki x Detective Conan Collaboration Best 30 -Because You Were There, There Are Songs-) album on November 11 in limited and regular editions. The limited and regular editions will sell for 5,940 yen and 4,290 yen, respectively (about US$38 and US$27).
Kuraki joined the Detective Conan family for the series’ ninth ending theme song, “Secret of my heart,” in 2009. The singer has continued to offer her voice to the series ever since, and Kuraki first received the Guinness World Record for Most Theme Songs in a Single Anime Series in 2017 with 21 songs.
The series centers on Conan Edogawa, the alias of detective Shinichi Kudo, whose body shrunk after being poisoned at the beginning of the story. Together with detective Kogoro Mori and his daughter Ran, Conan helps the police solve difficult mysteries.
The Detective Conan television anime premiered on January 8, 1996, and celebrated its 30th anniversary on January 8, 2026. Crunchyroll has been streaming the anime as it airs since the 754th episode in 2014. Netflix and Crunchyroll are also streaming specially curated selections of episodes, including some that were never released in the United States.
Gōshō Aoyama launched the original manga in Shogakukan‘s Weekly Shounen Sunday magazine in 1994. Viz Media publishes the manga under the name Case Closed, Funimation‘s original localized title. The English manga release uses the same English names from the original Funimation dub when applicable, and it uses the original Japanese names otherwise.
Sources: Mai Kuraki‘s X/Twitter account (link 2 and website, link 3), Detective Conan series’ X/Twitter account and YouTube channel, Guiness World Records via Comic Natalie, Mainichi Shimbun’s Mantan Web
>
Why Mikel Merino would be a better fit than Viktor Gyokeres if Arsenal need to fill a Kai Havertz-shaped hole
Uefa Nations League: How do smaller countries deal with extended international window?
Manchester City have become 'Sham FC'. They deserve the heaviest punishment
-
movies4 months agoSearch For Canadian TV Actor Stewart McLean Now Homicide Investigation
-
Fashion9 years agoThese ’90s fashion trends are making a comeback in 2017
-
Fashion9 years ago
According to Dior Couture, this taboo fashion accessory is back
-
Fashion9 years ago
Model Jocelyn Chew’s Instagram is the best vacation you’ve ever had
-
Fashion9 years ago
Emily Ratajkowski channels back-to-school style
-
Fashion9 years ago
9 Celebrities who have spoken out about being photoshopped
-
Anime4 months agoRurouni Kenshin: Hokkaido Arc Manga Takes 1-Issue Break – News
-
Anime3 months agoHIDIVE to Stream English Dubs for The World Is Dancing, The Forsaken Saintess and Her Foodie Roadtrip in Another World, The Dangers in My Heart: The Movie Anime – News