Animation studio DLE announced on Wednesday that it is launching a new brand called “AI Kaeru Otoko Shōkai” (“AI Frogman Company”), focused on making anime using generative AI based on the studio’s older properties. The brand is a parallel to the studio’s already existing “Kaeru Otoko Shōkai” (“Frogman Company”) anime brand.

DLE plans to use generative AI to make anime of its older 2000s properties, including “Kofun Gal no Coffy” and “Dokan-kun.” These characters first appeared in the studio’s earlier productions, and were featured in The Frogman Show and Keihin Kazoku anthology series.

DLE will unveil a new AI-generated short every Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. JST (7:00 a.m. EDT), beginning today. The shorts will be available on the “AI Kaeru Otoko Shōkai” YouTube channel, TikTok account, and X (formerly Twitter) account.

DLE and Shimane and Tottori prefectures’ TSK San-in Central Television channel debuted a short anime/AI program titled “The World of Lafcadio Hearn’s Kwaidan” (“Koizumi Yakumo no KWAIDAN (Kaidan) no Sekai“) in October 2025.

Ryō Ono, also known under his production pseuudonym of FROGMAN, was officially appointed as DLE‘s new representative board director and president in June 2025, replacing Hideo Hoshi, who resigned from the position. Under the FROGMAN pseudonym, Ono created the Eagle Talon anime shorts. DLE launched the first Himitsu Kessha Taka no Tsume (Secret Society Eagle Talon) television series in 2006, and the series spawned nine films. FROGMAN serves as the “director/writer/character designer/sound recording engineer/Flash animator/editor/voice actor.” The franchise spawned a new anime titled Himitsu Kessha Taka no Tsume XX (Eagle Talon XX, pronounced “double X”) that debuted on the franchise‘s YouTube channel on January 6. 

Ono became a board director at DLE in 2007, and has been serving as CCO since 2021. 

Source: Press release

The official website for the television anime season based on Ennki Hakari‘s Skeleton Knight in Another World (Gaikotsu Kishi-sama, Tadaima Isekai e Odekakechū or Skeleton Knight, going out to the parallel universe) light novel series announced on Wednesday that the anime’s second season will premiere on the AT-X channel on July 4 at 8:30 p.m. (7:30 a.m.), and will also debut streaming on d Anime Store and ABEMA at the same time. The first episode of the second season will then have a repeat broadcast on AT-X on July 6, before running on Tokyo MX and BS11 on July 9. The anime will also air on Sun TV, but it does not yet have a premiere date on the channel.

Katsumi Ono returns to direct the second season at Aura Studio. Character designer Tōru Imanishi, monster designer Yoshihiro Nagamori, and sound director Satoshi Motoyama all return for the second season.

Toshizo Nemoto (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime fourth season, Inu X Boku Secret Service) is now in charge of series scripts, replacing Takeshi Kikuchi. First season sub-character designer Hideki Inoue is replaced by Chisa Shibata (7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life, Mistress Kanan is Devilishly Easy), and Jia Fang Lu (My Clueless First Friend) replaces art director Kenta Tsuboi. Other new staff includes color key artist Harue Ono (MAD BOX, replacing Chiho Nakamura), CGI director Tomotaka Aoki (Uma Musume Pretty Derby Season 3), and animation producer Yasuhiro Uema.

The anime’s first season premiered in Japan in April 2022. Crunchyroll streamed the anime as it aired, and also streams an English dub.

Sources: Skeleton Knight in Another World anime’s website, Comic Natalie

Japanese chocolate and snack maker Lotte Chocolate announced on Monday it has partnered with animation studio Shin-Ei for a new Pie no Mi web anime series, Pie no Mi: Oshi no Mori he Yōkoso (Pie no Mi: Welcome to Oshi Forest). The series will debut on the Lotte Chocolate YouTube channel on June 4 at 12:00 a.m. Japan Time (June 3 at 11:00 a.m. EDT).

The Pie no Mi web anime series stars Yumiko Kobayashi and Rie Hikisaka. Kobayashi is best known as Shinosuke “Shin-chan” Nohara from Crayon Shin-chan. Hikisaka provided the voice for Hana Nono/Cure Yell in 2018s Hugtto! Precure. The series will also star Akihiro Tajima, Shun Kimeda, Hana Tamegai, Marie Ōi, Shōta Hayama, Rina Honnizumi, Kōsuke Echigoya, Satsumi Matsuda, and Hinata Tadokoro.

Kazunori Minagawa and Miki Minagawa is directing the web series with key animation by Kazunori Minagawa and Miki Minagawa, and scripts by Yūko Kakihara and Azusa Serikawa.

The Pie no Mi: Oshi no Mori he Yōkoso web series adapts the four-panel manga series of the same name. Yuri Fujimaru writes the manga, and Aya Matsui illustrates it for release every Friday on the series’ website.

Sources: Lotte Koala no Mi’s X/Twitter account, Cinema Today, Anime Hack, Pie no Mi: Oshi no Mori he Yōkoso’s website via Hachima Kikō