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Happy Dragon Quest 40th Anniversary From Around the Anime World – Interest

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May 27 marks the 40th anniversary of popular role-playing video game series Dragon Quest. Created by Yūji Horii with art from legendary manga creator Akira Toriyama, the franchise has seen 11 mainline games (with the 12th on the way), several spin-off games, numerous manga series, and anime series, among other projects. The franchise is beloved across Japan and influenced several people to join the video game industry or other careers within anime and manga. Fans and creators throughout Japanese entertainment have come together to pay their respects to Dragon Quest on its anniversary day.

Dragon Quest


40 years ago today was the release date of Dragon Quest🎉
It’s also officially recognized as “Dragon Quest Day”👀
In this first installment of the series, a hero descended from Loto sets out on a quest to defeat the Dragonlord and save the world⚔️
With its intuitive command-based system, it helped popularize the RPG genre in Japan 🎮


Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai


Today, May 27, marks the release date of the original Dragon Quest!
And this year marks its 40th anniversary; congratulations!!
Please check out The Adventure of Dai, which is based on the Dragon Quest universe, and the prequel Dragon Quest Dai no Daibōken: Yūsha Avan to Gokuen no Maō, which takes place 15 years prior!


Final Fantasy

Happy 40th anniversary, kupo!🎉

Jin Fujisawa (former Dragon Quest series director)


I was involved in the development of Dragon Quest for 17 of its 40 years.
My respect for Horii-san, who has devoted so much time to developing a single series, continues to grow.
Happy 40th anniversary, Dragon Quest!


Mary Hatsumi

Happy 40th anniversary, Dragon Quest!✨ I wouldn’t be who I am today without Dragon Quest!!!!

Yūji Horii (Dragon Quest creator)

Today marks the 40th birthday of Dragon Quest, and I want to thank everyone so much for all the birthday wishes. Life is truly just like a role-playing game. Sometimes you’ll hit a wall, and other times you might find yourself stepping into a poisonous swamp. But if you keep gaining experience bit by bit and never give up, the path will surely open up before you. Let’s keep on adventuring together!

Masanori Ichikawa (SaGa series producer)

I joined Enix because of my admiration for Dragon Quest. Congratulations!

Yūki Kaji


㊗️Happy 40th Anniversary, Dragon Quest㊗️
I’ve enjoyed it for as long as I’ve been alive!
I’ll keep playing it always and forever!!
I took the DQ Quiz and I’m…
“The Eager Explorer Type”🧭
https://dragonquest.jp/DQ_titleshindan/result8.html
I’m thrilled to have voiced 8’s protagonists☺️


Hikaru Midorikawa

I’ve enjoyed the series in real time for the past 40 years♪ That’s why I’m so happy to have voiced Erdrick (Loto) and Terry in the CD drama and Clift in the game and so many other characters☺️ Congratulations on your 40th anniversary♪

Shōko Nakagawa


Today is Dragon Quest Day!!
Happy 40th Anniversary, Dragon Quest!!
I drew a picture.
Life is a role-playing game.


PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo


🎊㊗️Congratulations on your 40th Anniversary‼️🎊
Today marks the birth of the beloved RPG Dragon Quest🎉
Forty years ago was the same late Showa era that serves as the setting of PARANORMASIGHT❗
Sato-chan seems to have outgrown TV shows lately and is now obsessed with video games🎮
Illustration: The video game Dragon Quest that came out on May 27 is really fun! You ned to play it!


PlayStation


Bararara ba ba ba🎵
The Dragon Quest series has reached Level 40!
Astro and Toro from PlayStation® are here to celebrate with a Slime cake🎉
Happy birthday, Slime!🎂


Mitsuki Saiga


Happy Dragon Quest Day!㊗️
This amazing game has taken me on so many adventures and never loses its magic🎮
Happy 40th Anniversary!🎊
(Getting to walk alongside 11’s and Fostail was such a dazzling memory in my life that I sometimes wonder if it was all just a dream… ☺️)


Yōsuke Saitō (Square Enix Executive Producer)

Congratulations❕ & Thank you❣❣❣🎉🎂🎉

Ami Shibata (Nangoku Shōnen Papuwa-kun)


Happy 40th Anniversary, Dragon Quest!
It’s the greatest game that’s had the deepest impact on my life. Ami Shibata


Kazutoshi Soyama (Dangerous Jii-san Ja)


Happy 40th Anniversary, Dragon Quest!
It’s a game I’ve always loved.
A comic about my memories of Dragon Quest III (Part 1/3)


Taito


“>┏━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
　
　Happy 40th Anniversary
　　Dragon Quest Series👾🎉

┗━━━━━━━━━━━━┛


Takashi Tokita (Square Enix producer)


Happy 40th Anniversary, Dragon Quest!
Dragon Quest II made me an RPG fan by showing me the possibilities of the genre. Dragon Quest IV was the Dragon Quest that inspired me to pursue a career as a game designer through its unique narrative structure and presentation, which are hallmarks of the RPG genre. It was truly an honor to contribute to the HD-2D remake. Please continue to push the boundaries of what RPGs can be!


Kazuhiko Torishima (Dragon Ball editor, former Weekly Shonen Jump Editor-in-Chief)


The day you and I became heroes.
Heroes’ Day.


Daiki Yamashita


Here’s a image from 14 years ago…
I wonder if all these Poppets are still doing well?
What does everyone name their main character in Dragon Quest? I use my real name because I want to play as myself!!


Did we miss any Dragon Quest 40th anniversary greetings? Feel free to let us know in our forums or by email!

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Comic Publisher Dark Horse’s Workers Form Union – News

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48 minutes ago

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May 28, 2026

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dark-horse

© Dark Horse Comics LLC

Employees at Dark Horse Comics and its retail store Things From Another World have formed a union on Wednesday named Dark Horse Workers United, affiliated with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The union is seeking “equitable pay, workplace democracy, and a continued commitment to creator-owned comics.”

The union is seeking voluntary recognition from Dark Horse Comics and its interim CEO Jay Komas by June 3. If the company does not recognize the union by then, the union will petition the National Labor Relations Board for an election. 

The union cites “looming uncertainty from recent layoffs, wage/hiring freeze, change in leadership power, emergence of artificial intelligence, and return-to-office policies (despite their economic impact on employees)” as the reasons for its collective organization.

Publishing company Seven Seas Entertainment voluntarily recognized the United Workers of Seven Seas (UW7S), a union for its employees, in 2022. Like Dark Horse Workers United, UW7S is affiliated with the CWA.

Should Dark Horse Workers United be voluntarily recognized or win an election, it will be the third U.S. comic publisher to form a union affiliated with the CWA (with the first being Workers at Image Comics, and the second being UW7S). Employees at Abrams Books and its manga- and comic book-focused division Abrams ComicArts also recently formed a union in 2025, but part of UAW Local 2110.

Dark Horse Media’s parent company Embracer Group announced on May 20 that it plans to split the group into two publicly listed companies, through the spinoff of Fellowship Entertainment. The board plans to list Fellowship Entertainment, which will include Dark Horse Media, on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange in 2027. Fellowship Entertainment aims to become an IP (intellectual property)-led entertainment company built around game development, publishing, and licensing. The company will include Dark Horse Media and several other companies. Its IPs include The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and Tomb Raider. Dark Horse Comics announced on May 21 that it would shutter all three of its Things From Another World retail locations from June to September later this year.

Embracer Group began acquiring Dark Horse Comics in December 2021, and completed the acquisition in March 2022. The acquisition was part of the company’s spree of acquisitions of media and game companies beginning in 2019. After a planned US$2 billion investment from Savvy Games Group (a company owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund) did not go through as planned in May 2023, the company found itself in debt, with the company soon planning restructuring, leading to mass layoffs, the sale of properties and subsidiary companies, and the three-company split from April 2024. Dark Horse Comics founder and CEO Mike Richardson departed the company earlier this year in March, after 40 years with the company. Jay Komas — General Manager of Dark Horse‘s owners within Embracer Group, Middle-earth Enterprises — is serving as Interim CEO.

Richardson founded Dark Horse Comics in 1986 as an offshoot of his comic book store chain Things From Another World. The company published its first manga, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, in 1987.

Dark Horse confirmed in February 2025 it had begun laying off staff positions. Dark Horse stated at the time it was responding to “increasing overhead, changing market conditions, and external economic factors.”

Sources: Dark Horse Workers United’s website, ICv2 (Milton Griepp)

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Astra Awards Nominate Witch Hat Atelier, Dandelion, Sakamoto Days, JoJo Part 7, MAO, Rooster Fighter for Best Anime – News

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1 hour ago

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May 28, 2026

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witch-hat-kv
Image via Witch Hat Atelier anime’s website

© 白浜鴎／講談社／「とんがり帽子のアトリエ」製作委員会

The film critics in the Hollywood Creative Alliance (formerly the Hollywood Critics Association) announced their nominees for the 2026 Astra TV Awards on Wednesday. The nominees for Best Anime Series include:

Anjali Kunapaneni and Patrick Seitz are both nominated for Best Lead Voice Over Performance in a Series for their English dub work, with Kunapaneni nominated for her role as Coco in Witch Hat Atelier, and Seitz nominated for his role as Keiji in Rooster Fighter.

Joshua Waters is also nominated for Best Supporting Voice Over Performance in a Series for his role as Qifrey in Witch Hat Atelier.

The awards ceremony will take place on August 15 in Los Angeles.

The HCA hosts four sets of awards: the Astra Creative Arts Awards, the Astra Film Awards, the Astra Podcast Awards, and the Astra TV Awards. The organization is composed of critics, journalists, actors, producers, podcasters, publicists, writers, and “other creatives across the entertainment landscape.”

The first Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle anime film won the “Animation is Cinema” honorary award at the 9th Annual Astra Film Awards in January.

The Dragon Ball Daima anime won Best Anime Series, and Aleks Le won Best Lead Voice-Over Performance for his role as Sung Jinwoo in the Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow- anime at the 2025 Astra TV Awards.

Sources: The Astra Awards X/Twitter account (link 2, link 3) and website

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Sou Hamayumiba’s Dropout Idol Fruit Tart Manga Ends in 3 Chapters – News

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1 hour ago

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May 28, 2026

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Series launched in 2015, inspired anime adaptation in 2020

tart
Image via Amazon

©Sou Hamayumiba, Houbunsha

The official X (formerly Twitter) account of Houbunsha‘s Manga Time Kirara magazine announced on Thursday that Sou Hamayumiba‘s Dropout Idol Fruit Tart (Ochikobore Fruit Tart) manga will end in three chapters. Houbunsha will publish the manga’s final chapter in Manga Time Kirara Carat‘s September issue, which it will release in July. To commemorate the manga’s final chapter, the magazine plans to include a special feature of pages filled with messages sent in by the readers. 

The manga’s story begins when first-year high school student Ino Sakura heads to Tokyo to pursue becoming an idol. She teams up with fellow Nezumi Dorm residents — unpopular former child actor Roko, musician HAYU, and model Nina — to form the new idol unit Fruit Tart. These dropout idols get back on their feet and enter the world of show business to prevent their dorm from being demolished.

The story debuted as a one-shot manga in Manga Time Kirara Carat in 2014. The manga then launched as a series in 2015. Houbunsha published the manga’s eighth compiled book volume in December 2024. 

The manga inspired an anime adaptation in 2020. Funimation streamed the series, and also produced an English dub in 2021.

Hamayumiba launched the earlier Hanayamata manga in Houbunsha‘s Manga Time Kirara Forward magazine in 2011 and ended it in 2018. The 10th and final compiled book volume shipped in April 2018. That manga inspired a television anime by Madhouse in 2014, and Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired in Japan. Sentai Filmworks licensed the anime, and released it with an English dub on home video in 2016. The manga also inspired several smartphone apps, as well as a PlayStation Vita game in 2014.

Sources: Manga Time Kirara magazine’s X/Twitter account, Oricon via Otakomu

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