Visual novel launches for Switch, Steam in winter 2026

Toei Animation revealed on Friday the title, platforms, and English release for it and developer Studio51 Inc.’s game in the Expelled from Paradise franchise.

The game is a visual novel titled Expelled from Paradise -The Stellar Angel- (Rakuen Tsuihō -The Stellar Angel-) and it will launch in winter 2026 for Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. The game will have support in English and Japanese.

Toei Animation is the publisher and it describes the game’s story:

A brand-new sequel depicting the aftermath of the theatrical anime Expelled from Paradise. The story of Angela and Dingo begins to move once more. This is a full-scale visual novel that weaves a grand sci-fi vision through evocative text and immersive direction.

Rakuen Tsuihō -Expelled from Paradise- Kokoro no Resonance (Heart’s Resonance), the all-new feature-length anime film sequel to the Expelled from Paradise film, will open in Japan on November 13.

The film reunites the main staff of Expelled from Paradise, including director Seiji Mizushima, scriptwriter Gen Urobuchi of Nitroplus, character designer Masatsugu Saitō, and composer NARASAKI. Toei Animation is producing the animation.

While the original announcement of the film had featured the title Rakuen Tsuihō: Liberated from Paradise, a later announcement listed the title as Rakuen Tsuihō -Expelled from Paradise- Kokoro no Resonance as well as Rakuen Tsuihō: Kokoro no Resonance instead.

Expelled from Paradise debuted in 13 theaters in Japan in November 2014, and sold 110,000 tickets. The film’s Blu-ray Disc and DVD release in Japan sold more than 70,000 copies. The film won the Best Animation of the Year Award at the 24th Japan Movie Critics Awards in May 2015.

Aniplex of America released Expelled from Paradise in 15 theaters across the United States in December 2014. The company then released the film on Blu-ray Disc in North, Central, and South America in June 2015.

The film returned to theaters in Japan in November 2024 in 4K resolution as Expelled from Paradise -Impelled by 10th Anniversary- to commemorate the film’s 10-year anniversary.

Sources: Expelled from Paradise -The Stellar Angel- game’s website, 4Gamer (Chihiro)

Anime platform Oshi unveiled a new key visual for GATE 2: Tides of Conflict, the sequel to the television anime of Takumi Yanai‘s Gate: Jiei-tai Ka no Chi ni te, Kaku Tatakaeri (GATE: The Self-Defense Forces Fight Like This in Another Land) light novel series, on Thursday.

The staff also revealed that the anime will have a collaboration with the VOCALOID Collection Summer 2026 event, with the anime’s ending theme song being selected from the winning submission to the event, which is open to participants worldwide. While the VOCALOID Collection Summer 2026 event submissions will use Vocaloid synthesized vocalists for the submissions, the winning submission song will have a new version made with a new vocalist chosen through a separate collaboration with the Utaite Collection event in fall 2026.

The staff also revealed that the anime will feature at the Oshi booth at Anime Expo. The booth will show production materials.

The anime will premiere on television in 2027.

Fans will be able to use Oshi to “actively contribute” to the anime’s production by using the Oshi platform, which claims to connect creators, licensees, and fans in “a single ecosystem.” The platform touts exclusive behind-the-scenes content and engagement for fans, as well as “clear and equitable” collaboration between IP owners and licensees, as well as worldwide accessibility to anime fans. The platform is currently in soft launch.

Tōru Takahashi (Orphen: The Revenge, Inari Kon Kon) is directing the anime at Studio M2. Tatsuhiko Urahata returns from the first GATE anime as the writer. Shigeru Fujita (Monster, Pluto) is designing the characters. Kasagi Labo, Oshi, and GENCO are producing. Yoshiaki Fujisawa will return from the first anime to compose the anime’s music.

Takumi Yanai‘s GATE SEASON2 Jieitai Kano Umi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri light novel series is a sequel to his original Gate: Jiei-tai Ka no Chi ni te, Kaku Tatakaeri light novel series. The sequel novels had five volumes published between 2017 and 2020 (a new bunkoban version with five volumes was also released between 2020 and 2022 with illustrations by Kurojishi, the bunkoban version illustrator of the first series of novels). 

Oshi describes the Season 2 novels’ plot:

Following the reopening of the mysterious ‘GATE,’ the Japanese Self-Defense Forces continue diplomatic and exploratory missions in the Special Region, a realm parallel to our world. When an American journalist is kidnapped in this region’s troubled seas, an elite Japanese Maritime unit embarks on a high-stakes rescue mission. This new chapter of the acclaimed fantasy saga explores fresh adventures, diplomatic tensions, and thrilling action in a world beyond imagination.

Yanai serialized the original story on the Arcadia website between 2006 and 2009. AlphaPolis published the story in print in five volumes and five side story volumes from 2010 to 2015. The novels inspired the first television anime adaptation, which premiered in 2015, with a second season premiering in 2016. Crunchyroll streamed both seasons. Sentai Filmworks released both seasons on home video.

Satoru Sao launched a manga adaptation on AlphaPolis‘ website in 2011, and ended it in September 2025. Sekai Project once published the manga, but canceled its releases in 2021. AlphaPolis currently releases the manga in English. Sao launched a manga adaptation of GATE 2 after finishing the first manga.

Yanai wrote a two-volume prequel novel series titled GATE 0. The two volumes released in December 2021 and August 2022. Ryohichi Saitaniya launched a manga adaptation of GATE 0 on AlphaPolis‘ website in March 2024, where it is still ongoing.

Source: Press release

Sony Music announced on Thursday that SPYAIR will perform the opening theme song “Awake” for the first cours (quarter of a year) of the television anime of Brocco Lee‘s manga adaptation of Nekoko‘s The Exiled Heavy Knight Knows How to Game the System (Tsuihō Sareta Tensei Jū Kishi wa Game Chishiki de Musō Suru) light novel series.

The anime will air for two consecutive cours on TBS and MBS‘s Super Animeism TURBO programming block at 12:26 a.m. JST (effectively, July 3).

The anime stars:

Shingo Suzuki is the general director, and Katsumasa Yokomine (The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today, Momentary Lily) is directing the anime at GoHands. Takayuki Uchida (The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses, The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today, W’z) is designing the characters, and also serving as one of the chief animation directors along with Keiji Tani (Momentary Lily) and Makoto Furuta (Momentary Lily). Tetsuichi Yamagishi (Cowboy Bebop: The Movie key animation) is the chief director, Hiroshi Ōkubo (K, The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses) is the main animator, Glovision is in charge of sound production, Enji Nakajima and Tetsuya Gunji are the sound directors, and Ludvig Forssell (BELLE film) is composing the music.

Kodansha is releasing the manga in English through its K MANGA service, and it describes the story:

“You good-for-nothing bastard. You are the son of a Sword Saint, yet you dare pull such a defective Class!?”

During the Divine Blessing Ceremony of the 15-year-old Elma who came from a lineage of Sword Saints, he had manifested a commonly deemed defective class known as the Heavy Knight. He had been deprived of his position as the next head of the Edvan Household and was then exiled. The Heavy Knight class had an unbalanced status and useless skills, to top it off, it was even said to be a class cowardly and indolent people have.

But, Elma knew better—that this world was the world of the game he had used to play before—and that the Heavy Knight class was the strongest class to exist. Elma made full use of the knowledge he had in his previous life and began his efficient walkthrough of the world he was reincarnated into.

Nekoko began serializing the story on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō (Let’s Become Novelists) website in April 2021. Kodansha published the first print volume with illustrations by Jaian in June 2022, and the fourth volume shipped on December 26. Brocco Lee launched the manga adaptation in Kodansha‘s Yanmaga website in February 2022. The manga moved from Kodansha‘s Yanmaga website to Kodansha‘s Young Magazine in September 2024. The manga’s 17th volume shipped on April 6.

Seven Seas Entertainment also publishes Nekoko‘s Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling and Disciple of the Lich light novel series in English, and also publishes RIO‘s manga adaptation of the Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling novels.

Source: Press release