The first episode of Bless, based on the manga by Yukino Sonoyama and premiering in January 2027, had an early screening at the Kodansha House pop-up in NYC as part of an anime watch party on October 12 with three other anime titles. I must acknowledge this pop-up wasn’t the ideal venue for such a screening, as it was in the middle of a warehouse, surrounded by music from different activations and cars and motorcycles passing right outside the open doors. For full disclosure, all watch party attendees also received the first volumes of the four screened shows’ manga source material as gifts.

Bless centers around a pair of students at a fashion-focused high school: Aia, a model whose real passion is makeup artistry but has been discouraged from pursuing his dream, and Jun, a girl who’d make a perfect model if only she wasn’t so shy about being teased due to her freckles. Paired up for a transformation-themed runway show, the two classmates decide to help each other, with Aia doing one of his bold makeup designs for Jun’s modeling debut.

Aia initially assumes his job will be to cover up Jun’s freckles, but realizing it’s better to highlight her unique beauty rather than conform to traditional beauty standards, he instead showcases her as a “sunflower.” Jun’s confidence blossoms over the course of this first episode — a confidence which extends to her romantic pursuit of Aia, going from denying any feelings to already giving him an “accidental” kiss after their successful runway show. It’s so much character development in one episode that I’m curious how these arcs will play out over the full series.

Visually, the anime is distinctive. A gorgeous prologue sequence uses painted animation à la the Frieren Season 2 ending sequence. The main art style uses very angular character designs, with color highlights around shadows. Facial details like Jun’s freckles or bags under characters’ eyes are heavily pronounced, except for the details of characters’ pupils, which are more blurred out. The level of detail varies from shot to shot, and at times it feels like a little too much is going on visually, but it’s a well-animated show, and the detail fits a story about makeup. The use of color gives it a clear advantage over the manga in presenting its subject matter effectively.

Bless joins the list of shonen that people are almost certainly going to be shocked to realize is, in fact, shonen. It’s a Noitamina show that feels like what a “Noitamina show” used to mean before the block spent at least half the year on Jump adaptations and retro revivals. We’ll see where it goes, and if it can keep up the momentum from this eventful first episode, but it’s off to a promising start.

The November issue of Kadokawa‘s Monthly Dragon Age magazine published the final chapter of Yasu Hiromoto and Sayaka Itsuki‘s Tsūkaku Tantei Tsūtenji Natsume (The pain sensation detective: Natsume [splendid case files by the five senses]) manga on Friday. The magazine also revealed that Yōichi Nishio‘s manga adaptation of Ayano‘s Isekai Yurutto Survival Seikatsu light novel will end in its next issue on November 9.

The Tsūkaku Tantei Tsūtenji Natsume manga centers on Arata, a boy with a keen intuition, and his encounter with “super-sensates,” those who have a mastery of all their five senses.

The manga launched in Monthly Dragon Age in September 2025. Hiromoto writes the story and Itsuki draws the art. Kadokawa published the manga’s first compiled book volume on April 9, and will publish the second volume on November 9. 

Hiromoto and Kubaru Sakanoichi launched their Tengen Hero Wars (Tengen Eiyū Taisen) manga in Coamix‘s Comic Zenon magazine in 2021. The manga ended in its 10th and final volume, which shipped in Japan on March 19. Titan Comics is releasing the manga in English, and will release the fourth volume on December 22. Coamix is also officially releasing the manga digitally in English.

Itsuki drew the Marronni ☆ Yell manga based on Tochigi TV‘s real-life idol group of the same name, and is credited for the original work on Sakura no Chikai, the 2018 short anime based on the idol group. Itsuki also drew Mental Model Research, a spinoff manga of Ark Performance‘s Arpeggio of Blue Steel manga. The manga launched in Shōnengahōsha‘s Monthly Youngking Ours GH magazine in January 2019, and ended in January 2020.

Nishio launched the Isekai Yurutto Survival Seikatsu manga in Monthly Dragon Age in September 2020. Kadokawa published the manga’s 10th volume on June 9. 

Ayano launched the original novel in March 2020, with illustrations by Waon Inu (artumph).

The novel centers on Hokage Shinomiya, a high schooler who dreams of living on a desert island. He and some other classmates are inexplicably transported to a mysterious island in another world. Without electricity, gas, or water systems, it is Hokage’s survival skills that put him in a leadership position.

Nishio launched a spinoff manga for Kenji Saitō and Akinari Nao‘s Trinity Seven manga titled Trinity Seven -Revision- in Kadokawa‘s Bessatsu Dragon Age magazine in June 2019. The three-volume manga ended in September 2022. Nishio also launched the Ninja Tensei Shinobikill (Ninja Reincarnation Shinobikill) manga in Monthly Dragon Age in March 2018.

Source: Monthly Dragon Age November issue

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.

When the Japan Society announced it would be screening “a preview version” of the first episode of Hirayasumi “still undergoing finishing touches,” my mind leapt to the legendary work-in-progress screening of Beauty and the Beast at the 1991 New York Film Festival, where the audience got to witness the workings of the animation process (some scenes finished, some as pencil drawings, some as storyboards) while seeing the film for the first time. Turns out this preview screening wasn’t actually something like that. Maybe a few “finishing touches” will be made over the next few months — and as with just about every months-in-advance preview screening I’ve been to for a new anime, there’s no opening or ending yet — but this looks and sounds finished enough to air tomorrow.

And not just finished, but great! The team at Production +h. still has to finish the rest of the season before the show’s January 2027 premiere, but barring any serious production difficulties, Hirayasumi seems like a safe bet for one of Winter 2027’s better-looking shows. Keigo Shinzō‘s award-winning manga’s soft line work and rounded designs, along with the watercolor backgrounds of its cover art, translate perfectly to animation. It’s gentle, cute, and instantly appealing, and it suits this laid-back slice-of-life story perfectly.

Also appealing: an ordinary adult protagonist! 29-year-old Hiroko Ikuta is still technically on the list of anime adults I’m older than (the first time I felt “old” was when I realized I was older than Spike Spiegel), but he’s very relatable as a freelance worker dealing with finances, anxiety, and disappointment — and very likable in how he chooses to approach his life with utmost positivity. He’s not good at talking to girls his own age, but old ladies love him, and one in particular invites him over twice a week for tonkatsu dinners. When “Granny” dies, Hiroko inherits her house, and his 18-year-old art student cousin Natsumi Kobayashi moves in with him.

In terms of plot, not much happens in this first episode, and from the sound of things, there might not be much plot in the series as a whole. There’s light humor throughout, but it’s not exactly a comedy. Granny’s death might be the big inciting incident (and there are some well-observed notes on how grief hits Hiroko later than he thinks it will), but it’s not going for big weepy drama either. It’s a pure iyashikei series, content to just be nice and pleasing — and when the world feels so mean, that niceness might just be enough to hook people. I knew I needed something like this after watching a depressing movie and reading some horrifying news earlier. Someone brought a baby to the screening, and it didn’t feel too distracting; it’s the sort of show where the occasional baby noise in the background kind of fits the vibe.

After the screening, composer Kaori Sawada, anime producer Junichi Katsutani, and Junya Okamoto from manga publisher Shogakukan did a Q&A. Seeing the episode for the first time was most surprising for Sawada. While she communicated more with the rest of the creative team than she had on most live-action dramas, she wrote the music without seeing the animation, submitting a bunch of pieces without knowing exactly where they’d be used in the show. The show’s use of her score fulfills her intention to “complement the story rather than override it,” keeping the mood relaxed and subtle. She was impressed that some of her more comical music in the tonkatsu scene led into the more serious funeral scene, blending heaviness with lightheartedness. Sawada praised the show’s diverse cast of characters (presumably there are more to be introduced in future episodes), and how there are “no true villains.”

While Sawada’s presence meant the most detailed behind-the-scenes discussion centered on the music, Katsutani made sure to also call attention to the show’s animation. He described Shinzo’s manga as “having a gentle touch that’s also very fresh,” and made sure the crew “protected and respected that.” He singled out the contributions of character designer Naoyuki Asano and character designer Mika Nishimura, who “took their time and paid a lot of attention to the small details.”

Okamoto thanked the audience for taking a chance on something that’s “a slightly different kind of anime than you’re used to seeing.” Promising he wasn’t “talking smack” about other series, he said, “there’s no ogres, there’s no monsters, it’s an everyday story about a hyper-local residential area.” He thinks this may be “the first time” such a low-key manga has been animated. I’m sure iyashikei fans have evidence to dispute this claim, but at the very least, this is the first time Shinzo’s had a manga adapted into animation after several live-action adaptations (while the Hirayasumi anime was announced before the live-action drama, the live-action one ended up airing first). He realizes Hirayasumi might be “hard to describe,” but thinks it’s a “must-see anime” that can connect with a wide audience.