The staff for Shin Tennis no Ōji-sama U-17 World Cup Kesshō Member Ketteisen (The Prince of Tennis II: U-17 World Cup Finals Members Decisive Match), the sequel anime to The Prince of Tennis II: U-17 World Cup Semifinal (Shin Tennis no Ōji-sama U-17 World Cup Semifinal) anime, unveiled a new promotional video, visual, four cast members for Spain’s national team, and September 30 premiere on Friday. The trailer previews the opening theme song “Walls And Bridges” by four-member unit Aozu.

The newly announced cast includes (pictured above from left to right):

The anime will premiere on TV Tokyo on September 30 at 12:00 a.m. JST (effectively, October 1) and will also air on TV Osaka and TV Aichi.

The sequel anime will depict the battle to decide who will represent Japan in the finals match against Spain. Film actor Yū Shirota (Kunimitsu Tezuka in The Prince of Tennis live-action film) voices the character Romeo Fernandez from Spain.

The four-member unit Aozu composed of Ryōma Echizen (voiced by Junko Minagawa), Kunimitsu Tezuka (voiced by Ryōtarō Okiayu), Syusuke Fuji (voiced by Yuki Kaida), and Shuichiro Ōishi (voiced Takayuki Kondō) is performing the opening theme song “Walls And Bridges.” Keigo Atobe (voiced by Junichi Suwabe) and Yūshi Oshitari (voiced by Hidenobu Kiuchi) are performing the ending theme song “Kinkanshoku phenomenal” (Annular Eclipse phenomenal).

The Prince of Tennis II: U-17 World Cup premiered on TV Tokyo in July 2022. Crunchyroll streamed the anime as it aired in Japan, and also streamed an English dub. The anime was the first new television anime in the franchise in about a decade.

Crunchyroll describes the series:

When tennis phenom Ryoma Echizen is kicked out of Japan’s elite U-17 training camp for breaking the rules, he’s despondent. But a stroke of good luck hits when he’s able to try out for the U.S. team. Proving himself against their hardened veterans isn’t going to be easy, and if he is accepted, he’ll have to play against his former friends. Can he help his new brothers smash their way to victory?

The Prince of Tennis II: U-17 World Cup Semifinal debuted in October 2024. The anime centers on the Japan vs. Germany semifinal, and is itself a sequel to The Prince of Tennis II: U-17 World Cup anime series.

Takeshi Konomi serialized the original manga in Shueisha‘s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 1999 to 2008. The manga follows middle school tennis player Ryōma Echizen as he battles rivals to reach the national tournament. The manga inspired a 2001-2005 television anime, two anime feature films and a theatrical short, various video anime projects, a live-action film, a live-action television series in China, and a popular stage musical series.

Konomi launched The New Prince of Tennis sequel manga in Shueisha‘s Jump Square magazine in 2009. Shueisha published the manga’s 47th compiled book volume on June 4. Konomi announced in July 2025 that he plans to end the serialization of The New Prince of Tennis within a year.

Sources: The Prince of Tennis anime’s website, Comic Natalie

Jeong-min Park will star as Yoo-hyun Han; other cast members include Sung-woo Bae, Ji-hyun Kim, Moon-sung Jung, Sang-hoon Moon, Min Kim

Disney+ unveiled the cast lineup on July 28 for A Man’s Man, the live-action series based on the webtoon of the same name.

Jeong-min Park will star as Yoo-hyun Han, with Sung-woo Bae, Ji-hyun Kim, Moon-sung Jung, Sang-hoon Moon, and Min Kim playing members of his product planning team. The cast also includes Jung-eun Lee, Dae-myung Kim, Sang-yi Lee, and special appearances by Seol-hyun Kim and Kwang-soo Lee.

Hee-won Kim, who previously helmed the Disney+ series Light Shop, will direct the series.

Originally created as a web novel by Lucas, A Man’s Man was adapted into a webtoon in 2020 and was serialized on Naver Webtoon. The story follows Yoo-hyun Han, an ordinary office worker who rises to become a powerful CEO — only to lose everything in his relentless pursuit of success. After finding himself transported back to his youth during a job interview, he embarks on a second chance at life, confronting regrets and striving to rewrite his future.

With more than 470 million global views, A Man’s Man has been translated into English, Japanese, Indonesian, Thai, and other languages. It has particularly resonated with Japanese readers on LINE Manga, where it earned the No. 1 spot in the human drama genre.

The English version of illustrator Dogago’s webtoon is available on WEBTOON. There is currently no official English translation of the web novel.

Source: JTBC (Jung-sun Park)

3 sites collectively received more than 130 million visits annually

Naver WEBTOON announced on August 13 that three major English-language websites illegally distributing webtoons and manga have been taken down through cooperation with South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; INTERPOL; and law enforcement authorities in North Africa. The operators of the sites were also arrested. Naver WEBTOON did not reveal the names of the websites.

The three sites, which were operated by the same group in North Africa, targeted audiences in the United States, Europe, and other Western markets. They were found to have illegally scanned and translated more than 300 popular webtoons.

According to Similarweb data, the three sites collectively received more than 130 million visits annually, with more than 20 million visits recorded over the past three months.

Naver WEBTOON‘s Anti-Piracy team had monitored the sites and gathered evidence of copyright infringement after multiple existing sites were consolidated and rebranded under new domains in an apparent attempt to evade enforcement. The company provided information and evidence to authorities, leading to the international investigation and subsequent takedown.

The sites reportedly served as primary sources for unauthorized scans and translations that were later redistributed across other piracy websites. The operators are currently undergoing legal proceedings in the local jurisdiction.

Source: Naver WEBTOON‘s press release