Anime

Man Arrested for Alleged Bomb Threat Against Nintendo Headquarters – News

Published

38 minutes ago

May 13, 2026

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Kyoto police arrest 27-year-old for obstructing a business with force

Image via commons.wikimedia.org

The Kyoto Prefectural Police arrested an unemployed 27-year-old man on Tuesday for allegedly sending a bomb threat to the Nintendo headquarters in Kyoto. According to the authorities, the Hekinan CIty resident admitted to the charge of obstructing a business by force.

The man reportedly claimed to have planted multiple bombs around the headquarters in a letter sent to the company by postal mail on March 16. The police did not find any suspicious objects after searching the grounds of the headquarters.

Sources: Sankei Shimbun via Hachima Kikō, Kyoto Shimbun

Anime

Patlabor the Case Files Game’s 2nd Video Unveils Summer Launch – News

Published

50 minutes ago

May 13, 2026

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Publisher Good Smile Company and developer Chime Corporation announced on Tuesday that Patlabor the Case Files, a new 3D action game based on the Patlabor franchise, will launch this summer for PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam. Good Smile presented the game’s second promotional video:

Image via Steam

The game’s Steam page describes the story:

Labors. The generic term for robots developed for industrial use. Widely adopted in construction and civil engineering, crimes involving Labors rapidly increased. The Metropolitan Police Department established the Special Vehicle Section 2 Patrol Labor Squadron to counter this threat. Thus the “Patlabor” was born.

The game features multiple missions and side missions from hero and adversary perspectives, with scenes based on the anime. There are over 20 Labors.

The developers credits three members of the franchise’s creative unit Headgear for supervising three elements of the game: Yutaka Izubuchi for mechanics, Kazunori Itо̄ for the script, and Akemi Takada for character animation.

The Patlabor franchise’s original concept of police officers piloting robotic mecha (patrol labors or “Patlabors”) was developed by HEADGEAR, a group consisting of director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, Sky Crawlers), script writer Kazunori Itō (.hack, Dirty Pair), mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi (Eureka Seven, Mobile Suit Gundam franchise), character designer Akemi Takada (Kimagure Orange Road, Urusei Yatsura, Fancy Lala), and manga creator Masami Yuuki (Birdy the Mighty). The franchise spawned two original video anime, a television anime series, and three anime films. The last anime film, Patlabor WXIII, opened in theaters in Japan in 2002.

Maiden Japan has licensed the Patlabor OVA series, Patlabor the Mobile Police: The New Files OVA, Patlabor: The Movie, Patlabor 2: The Movie, and Patlabor WXIII.

The franchise’s new Patlabor EZY anime project will consist of eight episodes, and will debut theatrically as three films on May 15, August 14, and March 2027. “File 1” and “File 2,” debuting on May 15 and August 14, will consist of the anime’s first six episodes, and will be in an omnibus format with stand-alone stories. “File 3,” debuting in March 2027, will contain the last two episodes, and will tell a two-part story.

Source: Good Smile’s YouTube channel via Gematsu

Anime

Captain Tsubasa 2: World Fighters Soccer Game Launches on August 28 – News

Published

1 hour ago

May 13, 2026

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Game launches for Switch, PS5, Xbox X|S, PC

Bandai Namco Entertainment announced in a new trailer on Tuesday that Captain Tsubasa 2: World Fighters, a new soccer game based on Yōichi Takahashi‘s Captain Tsubasa manga, will launch on August 28 for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.

Pre-orders for the game will include a bonus 2026 Japan National Team Jersey cosmetic, the World Youth Jersey cosmetic, and the Early Unlock Pack.

The Ultimate Edition will include five uniforms, two exclusive main menu themes, three ball customizations, the season pass, and more.

The game will feature 22 national teams, and over 110 playable characters.

Takahashi’s original 37-volume Captain Tsubasa manga ran in Shueisha‘s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 1981 to 1988, and it inspired four television anime series, four anime films, several original video anime (OVA) projects, and a stage play. The manga is available in about 20 countries.

The Captain Tsubasa: Rising Sun manga revolves around Tsubasa as he aims to participate in the Olympics as a representative from Japan. Takahashi launched the manga in Shueisha‘s Grand Jump magazine in December 2013. The manga then moved to Captain Tsubasa Magazine, Grand Jump‘s spinoff magazine that focuses on the franchise, when it launched in April 2020.

Captain Tsubasa: Rising Sun The Final, the “final saga” of the overall Captain Tsubasa series, launched in Captain Tsubasa Magazine in April 2023. The manga ended in April 2024 alongside an announcement that Takahashi would retire from serializing manga. A new Captain Tsubasa: Rising Sun Finals manga continues the story in storyboard form on the franchise’s website.

Shueisha‘s MANGA Plus service added all chapters of Takahashi’s original Captain Tsubasa manga in English in April 2025. This is the first time the manga got a solo English release. A bilingual edition in Japanese and English was released for the “eOneBook” reader device in September 2020.

Source: Press release

Disclosure: Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings Inc., is a non-controlling, minority shareholder in Anime News Network Inc.

Anime

Former Tekken Game Producer Katsuhiro Harada Launches VS Studio SNK – News

Published

2 hours ago

May 13, 2026

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SNK to collaborate with subsidiary on game software development

The game company SNK announced in a video on Tuesday the launch of a new game studio VS Studio SNK led by the Tekken game franchise’s former producer Katsuhiro Harada. SNK has invested in the studio as its consolidated subsidiary, and both companies will collaborate on game software development.

Harada explains in the video the “VS” in the studio’s name stands not only for “Versus” and “Visual Studio,” but also “Visionary Standard, Volition Shift, and Vanguard Spirit.”

Image courtesy of SNK

Harada is best-known as the former producer and director of the Tekken fighting game series. Harada was previously a general manager at Bandai Namco, as well as the lead for the fighting game esports division of the company, before he left the company at the end of 2025.

The director began his career in Namco (before its merger with Bandai in 2006) as a promoter, surpassing sales records in his first year. After receiving a commendation from the president of the company, he moved into game development. Harada has provided his voice for numerous characters in the franchise including Marshall Law and Yoshimitsu. He first served as director on Tekken 3. He has also contributed to a few titles in the Soulcalibur franchise, and has worked on Summer Lesson and Pokkén Tournament.

SNK announced in May 2025 that Kenji Matsubara would step down as its CEO and “transition to an advisory role.” During the transition, the company’s board appointed its chair to serve as interim CEO. (The announcement did not say who the chair was, but SNK‘s website does list the seven members of its board.) SNK had appointed Matsubara as its CEO in August 2021. Electronic Gaming Development Company, the company wholly owned by Saudi Arabian organization MiSK Foundation (Mohammed bin Salman Foundation), increased its stake in SNK to 96.18% and eventually 100%, and thus made SNK a wholly owned subsidiary in 2022.

The company established the KOF Studio on the 30th anniversary of The King of Fighters franchise in December 2024. The studio’s website states that it will “proudly carry on the storied legacy of our iconic fighting game IPs while driving their evolution well into the future.”

Sources: SNK‘s YouTube channel, press release