Anime

Iron Wok Jan! Anime Reveals More Cast, July 5 Debut in Main Promo Video – News

Published

1 hour ago

May 15, 2026

The official website for the television anime of Shinji Saijyo‘s cooking manga Iron Wok Jan! (Tetsunabe no Jan!) unveiled the anime’s main promotional video, more cast, July 5 debut, and opening theme song artist on Friday.

The seven-member dance vocal group “Genin wa Jibun ni Aru.” is performing the opening theme song “Hien” (Fire Banquet).

The new cast includes:

The anime will debut on July 5 and will air on Sundays at 5:30 p.m. JST on TV Tokyo and its affiliates.

jan — Image via Iron Wok Jan! anime’s website

The anime will star:

Ei Aoki (Fate/Zero, Aldnoah.Zero, Girls Bravo, Wandering Son) is directing the anime at TROYCA. Makoto Uezu (Akame ga KILL!, Assassination Classroom, Scum’s Wish, KonoSuba – God’s blessing on this wonderful world!!) is in charge of the series scripts. Masako Matsumoto (Aldnoah.Zero, Overtake!) is designing the characters and also serving as the chief animation director. Tomoki Kikuya (Bocchi the Rock!, Oblivion Battery) is composing the music.

Additional staff members include:

The original Iron Wok Jan! manga centers on a brilliant young chef named Jan Akiyama, who works at a top class restaurant where he is constantly challenging Kiriko Gobanchō, the granddaughter of the restaurant’s owner and a great chef in her own right. While Kiriko believes that food should be made with the customer in mind, Jan believes that cooking should be used for competition.

Saijyo ran the original manga in Akita Shoten‘s Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine from 1995 to 2000, and Akita Shoten published 27 volumes for the series. ComicsOne published the first 13 volumes of the series in English from 2002 to 2005, before DrMaster acquired the license and published the remaining volumes from 2005 to 2007.

Saijyo also published the Tetsunabe no Jan! R: Chōjō Sakusen (Iron Wok Jan! R: The Summit Operations) manga in Weekly Shōnen Champion, and Akita Shoten published 10 compiled book volumes for the series. Saijyo launched the Tetsupai no Jan! spinoff manga in Takeshobo‘s Kindai Mahjong magazine in August 2015. Bingo Morihashi is credited for the spinoff manga’s script. Takeshobo published the manga’s seventh and final compiled book volume in March 2018. Saijyo launched the successor manga Tetsunabe no Jan!! 2nd (Iron Wok Jan! 2nd) in 2017, and ended it with its seventh volume in 2020.

The manga franchise has over 10 million copies in circulation.

Sources: Iron Wok Jan! anime’s website, Music Natalie

Anime

Gundam Wing Franchise Gets ‘New Visual Project’ – News

Published

5 minutes ago

May 15, 2026

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Bandai Namco Filmworks board director and producer Naohiro Ogata announced during the “Gundam Conference Spring 2026″ livestream event on Friday that the Mobile Suit Gundam Wing franchise is getting a “new visual project.” When the host Hisanori Yoshida noted a visual project could be anything from a 10-second clip to a two-hour film or a 50-episode series, Ogata stated, “I can’t say what the format is yet, but it is definitely something long.” (The original Japanese term in the announcement, “eizō,” is an umbrella term for screen projects including but not limited to event shorts, home video releases, theatrical films, and television series.)

gw_30thanniversarykv — Image via Mobile Suit Gundam Wing 30th anniversary website

The franchise celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, and screened a promotional video at San Diego Comic-Con International. The Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz anime also returned to theaters in the United States in 4K resolution, and screenings started last fall.

The franchise has a new manga titled Mobile Suit Gundam Wing 0.5 Point Half Preventer-7 that launched in August. Sakura Asagi (Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Blind Target) is drawing the manga, while the original series writer Katsuyuki Sumisawa is writing the story. The manga bridges the gap between Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz and the Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop sequel novels.

Bandai Namco Filmworks describes the Mobile Suit Gundam Wing anime and its story:

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing is the second title in the Gundam Alternative series. The story kicks off with an explosive opening, as five Gundam mobile suits launch a surprise attack on a powerful organization—setting the tone for a nonstop, high-stakes narrative that continues all the way through the finale. It is also notable for being the first Gundam series to be broadcast in the United States.

A.C. 195. The space colonies launch Operation Meteor, dropping Gundam mobile suits onto Earth to strike back against the United Earth Sphere Alliance which rules over them with armed force. After catching sight of Heero Yuy, one of the Gundam pilots, Relena Darlian is caught up in the vortex of fate. Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner, and Chang Wufei–four other Gundam pilots with the same mission as Heero–begin encountering one another as if drawn together. Through the schemes of Treize Khushrenada, leader of the secret society known as OZ, they end up wiping out the peaceful faction of the Alliance leadership. With this incident, OZ steps onto the center stage of history.

The series premiered in 1995 and ran for 49 episodes. In 2000, it became the first Gundam series to premiere on television in the United States.

The series spawned the Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz sequel OVA. The three-episode OAV series debuted in 1997 as a sequel to the Mobile Suit Gundam Wing anime. Cartoon Network aired the anime in November 2000. The three episodes were compiled into a single film with additional footage in 1998.

Source: Gundam Conference Spring 2026 livestream

Disclosure: Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc. (Sunrise) is a non-controlling, minority shareholder in Anime News Network Inc.

Anime

Gundam Seed Freedom Zero Prequel Anime Confirmed for Theatrical Release – News

Published

15 minutes ago

May 15, 2026

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Anime was announced during Gundam Seed FREEDOM special screening in November 2024

Bandai Namco Filmworks board director and producer Naohiro Ogata announced during the “Gundam Conference Spring 2026″ livestream event on Friday that Mobile Suit Gundam Seed FREEDOM ZERO, the prequel to the Mobile Suit Gundam Seed FREEDOM anime film, will be released in theaters.

gundam-seed-freedom-zero — Image courtesy of Sunrise

A teaser video had announced the prequel when it debuted during the second round of special edition screenings for Gundam Seed FREEDOM in Japanese theaters in November 2024.

Director Mitsuo Fukuda, producer Hisakazu Naka, and Sōichirō Hoshi, voice of Kira Yamato, appeared at a stage greeting during the first screening announcing the prequel. They revealed that screenwriter Chiaki Morosawa and Shigeru Morita wrote the prequel’s scenario while planning for Gundam Seed Freedom itself. In addition, Fukuda stated that the script for Gundam Seed FREEDOM ZERO was completed 20 years ago.

Gundam Seed FREEDOM ZERO’s storyboards were nearly half finished, and the oldest storyboards actually predate those of Gundam Seed Freedom itself. The dialogue recording has also already been completed. Fukuda added that 20 years ago, Gundam Seed FREEDOM ZERO was originally planned as an original video anime (OVA), but the staff has not yet decided how it will be presented now.

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed FREEDOM opened in Japan in January 2024. The film debuted at #1 in the Japanese box office. It sold 634,182 tickets for 1,065,983,130 yen (about US$7.20 million) in its first three days, marking the Gundam franchise’s highest three-day opening in box office earnings. The film is the highest-earning Gundam film in Japan ever.

Bandai Namco Filmworks and Fathom Events screened the film in the United States and Canada in May 2024. Netflix is streaming the film.

Special editions of the film screened in theaters in Japan in fall 2024. One version played with footage added to the end. Another special edition had different footage added (specifically, the above-mentioned teaser video).

Fukuda directed the film at Bandai Namco Filmworks. Fukuda also co-wrote the script along with his late wife Chiaki Morosawa and Liu Goto. Hisashi Hirai (Mobile Suit Gundam Seed) designed the characters.

Source: Gundam Conference Spring 2026 livestream

Disclosure: Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc. (Sunrise) is a non-controlling, minority shareholder in Anime News Network Inc.

Anime

Expelled from Paradise Visual Novel Reveals Title, English Release – News

Published

3 hours ago

May 15, 2026

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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)