Anime
True Love Fades Away When the Contract Ends Volume 1-2 Novel Review – Review
If you didn’t know True Love Fades Away When the Contract Ends was a light novel, I doubt you’d recognize that fact by reading it. Kosuzu Kobato‘s fourth English-language release, following I’d Rather Have a Cat than a Harem!, Making Jam in the Woods (both from Cross Infinite World), and The Apothecary Witch Turned Divorce Agent from J-Novel Club Heart, is a pitch-perfect historical romance. In part this is almost certainly due to a very nice translation and adaptation by Julie Goniwich and Max Machiavelli; it only has a few anachronisms that jar you out of the reading, mostly the use of “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” in a Victorian setting. The plot sets this one apart from its light novel romance fellows – it follows the trajectory laid out by any number of historical romance novels since the days of Georgette Heyer and does it with aplomb.
The plot centers on Fiona, the elder daughter of a baron. Fiona’s younger sister Cecilia has always been a bit sickly, and since their mother died of an undisclosed illness complicated by childbirth, their father has always kept a close eye on the girls. Taking more after her father, Fiona is bold and likes to keep busy. When she was a child, that meant climbing trees and repeatedly coming home with broken bones from her adventures, and now as an adult (more or less, she’s eighteen), Fiona dreams of traveling with her artist uncle. In the meantime, she’s working at the gallery owned by her uncle’s art dealer, and she’s become an expert in the field, able to determine whether or not a painting is counterfeit by studying it and comparing it to her mental library of artistic techniques and styles. She knows that her childhood friend, Norman, is likely to be named her father’s heir; he’s the third son in his family and only males can inherit, but she always figured that they’d find a way or that he’d marry her sister. So when she overhears her father and Norman’s planning their engagement, she’s aghast. Fiona has no desire to marry, and the thought of marrying Norman feels like marrying her brother.
To add insult to injury, when she confronts Norman with what she’s learned, he already knows about it and is fine with it. In Fiona’s mind, this shows that her father doesn’t trust her and is plotting behind her back to keep her at home, somewhat literally, since married noblewomen can’t work. Fiona is quietly furious, but knows better than to get angry in her father’s face – this is a smart woman who will figure out exactly what she needs to do to get out of the arrangement without too much drama. So when she accidentally ends up with Lord Giles’ cufflink after he helps her at a party, it doesn’t take long for her to see the good sense in his friend Richard’s proposal. Giles has no interest in marrying or interacting with women eager to marry him, so when Richard hears Fiona’s story, he realizes that if Giles and Fiona pretend to be courting, both of them will be safe. After all, Giles outranks Norman and Fiona’s father, so they can hardly go against him. They’ll pretend to be dating until Cecilia comes of age, at which point she can marry Norman, and Fiona will be free.
If you think that it will be that simple, this is probably your first romance novel. Once again following the established trajectory of the genre, it doesn’t take long for Giles to begin catching feelings. He’s not entirely aware of it, of course – he’s fascinated by Fiona’s knowledge, the fact that she’s not interested in his rank or fortune, and that she just marches to her own beat. As of the end of the first novel, he still hasn’t figured out that he’s falling for her, which means that both he and Fiona are confused by his actions. He says (and possibly believes) that he’s touching her because he’s copying ladykiller Richard’s moves, but we readers can see that there’s something else going on. His insistence that Fiona wears the “contract” ring he buys her instead of signing an actual contract suggests that he’s too eager to keep up the supposed façade.
Part of what sets this apart, aside from Fiona’s profession and the fact that she is in clear possession of a brain and uses it regularly (although volume two does challenge this idea somewhat; she needs to keep Giles apprised of what’s going on), is that this isn’t a fantasy. There’s no magic, the ring doesn’t bind Fiona to Giles via an alchemical contract, and at one point there’s even a reference to a painting of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. The illustrations are consistent in their depiction of what looks like the late Victorian era, and there’s no out-of-place technology. Even though the country is never named, it’s pure historical fiction, and that feels very unique among light novels that are more likely to opt for a version of eighteenth-century (ish) Europe with mages. The story flow can be a little awkward with a few jumps forward and back in time, especially in the side stories that end the book, but overall this is a book with genuine crossover appeal for romance readers.
So if you’re looking for an accomplished heroine, a hero with more feelings than he’s aware of, and a comfortably realized world, check this out, especially if you don’t typically read light novels but enjoy genre fiction. If you’re already a fan of Kobato’s work, this is different enough from her other series while still being just as readable and satisfying. It’s a treat to have another of her series in English.
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Viz Media announced on Monday that the Naruto franchise will have a new television anime “limited” series. The “NARUTO: What’s Next?” panel at New York Comic Con will announce details about the new anime on October 10 at 5:00 p.m. EDT (2:00 p.m. PDT or October 11 at 6:00 a.m. JST) . The panel will have a live stream worldwide at the below YouTube link:
Junko Takeuchi and Noriaki Sugiyama, the voice of Naruto and Sasuke in the anime, will appear at the panel, along with Pierrot Films executive producer Yoshihiro Tominaga.
Kishimoto launched the Naruto ninja manga in Shueisha‘s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1999, and ended the series in November 2014. The manga has spawned the Naruto and Naruto Shippūden television anime series, original video anime (OVA) projects, several anime films, spinoff manga, the Boruto sequel manga and anime series, a series of novels, stage plays, and video games.
Lionsgate is producing a Hollywood live-action film adaptation of the manga. The official website for the Naruto franchise announced on July 10 that the live-action film project had begun a global casting search for the main characters Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, with casting for other characters to come at a later date. Charles Melton (Riverdale, Beef) is “in final negotiations” to play the mentoring ninja Kakashi Hatake in the film. Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Spider-Man: Brand New Day) is directing the film, and is also producing the film through his company Hisako alongside Jeyun Munford. Arad Productions‘ Avi Arad, Ari Arad, and Emmy Yu as well as Jeremy Latcham are listed as producers.
Source: Press release
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© Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation
The last episode of the anime for this year aired on Fuji TV on Sunday, with the anime continuing next year. The Dragon Ball Super: Beerus anime will take over One Piece‘s Sunday 11:15 p.m. timeslot on Fuji TV, starting on October 11.
The Elbaph arc of the One Piece anime debuted in Japan on April 5. Crunchyroll is streaming the arc.
Toei Animation and One Piece anime producer Ryūta Koike announced in October 2025 that the anime was reducing its annual episode output to a maximum of 26 episodes moving forward starting in 2026. Following the conclusion of the Egghead arc last year, the anime took a three-month production hiatus from January-March 2026. The anime returned in April 2026 for the first of two cours (quarters of a year) with the start of the new Elbaph arc.
According to Toei Animation, the new schedule allows episodes to “incorporate more content, tempo, and pacing of the manga while continuing to leverage the unique storytelling that is only possible with animation.” Historically, with only few exceptions, the anime has aired most weeks since its premiere in 1999. However, the pace has slowed considerably over the years.
© BIRD STUDIO/SHUEISHA, TOEI ANIMATION
Dragon Ball franchise executive producer Akio Iyoku stated that work on the Dragon Ball Super: Beerus television anime series started a few years ago and is an “enhanced” edition of the Dragon Ball Super anime that features a reconstruction of the story, and includes new and redrawn cuts.
The official announcement of the anime stated:
The project features extensive new cuts, revisions to existing scenes, a complete re-rendering of all footage, newly recorded dubbing with added score and sound effects, and a full reconstruction of the story. Living up to the name ENHANCED, this edition employs the latest visual expression to deliver greater power and immersion across all scenes, especially the battle sequences. The result is an ENHANCED edition that expresses Akira Toriyama‘s original idea and worldbuilding more accurately, that will be broadcasted with highly satisfying quality.
The staff describes the story:
Several years have passed since the fierce battle against Majin Buu, and Earth has finally regained a brief moment of peace. At the same time, Beerus, the God of Destruction, awakens from his long, deep sleep. Even Kai and Supreme Kai, aware of Beerus’s overwhelming power to destroy entire planets, watch his awakening with great fear… Meanwhile, Beerus hears rumors of a Saiyan who defeated Frieza—and suddenly appears before Goku.Targeted by Beerus, the strongest being in the universe, Earth is in grave danger. Thus begins an Earth-shattering cosmic battle between the God of Destruction and Goku and his allies—a conflict that will shake the entire universe.
Dragon Ball Super premiered in July 2015 and aired for 131 episodes until March 2018. Funimation and Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired, and Funimation released the series on home video. Funimation debuted the English dub to its streaming service in December 2016. The English dub premiered on Adult Swim‘s Toonami block in January 2017.
Sources: One Piece anime’s X/Twitter account, Oricon News
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Will the horse girls achieve Most Speaking Characters in a Short-form Animation Series Based on a Video Game?
The Uma Musume Pretty Derby franchise boldly announced on Sunday that it is going for the Guinness World Record for the “Most Speaking Characters in a Short-form Animation Series Based on a Video Game” with the new short anime series Umayuru Full Gate! The staff said that Guinness World Records will reveal if Umayuru Full Gate! has broken the record in March 2027.
© Cygames, Inc.
Umayuru Full Gate! is the sequel to 2022’s Uma Yuru. The anime premiered on the franchise‘s YouTube channel on Friday. Episodes follow broadcasts of PakaLive TV.
The Uma Yuru anime series premiered in October 2022.
The Uma Musume Pretty Derby mobile game inspired both Uma Yuru and Uma Yuru: Full Gate! The Uma Musume Pretty Derby game launched in February 2021 for iOS and Android. The game was originally slated for a release in winter 2018, and was delayed in order to raise the game’s quality. The game launched on PC via DMM Games in March 2021.
Uma Musume Pretty Derby‘s English version launched for iOS and Android devices in June 2025. The game won Best Mobile Game at The Game Awards 2025.
The game’s concept begins with Uma Musume (Horse Girls), girls endowed with excellent running capability, and who aim to become top idols and compete in the national sports entertainment show “Twinkle Series.” Players take the role of both teacher and trainer for the girls in the Nihon Uma Musume Training Center Gakuen (Japan Horse Girls Training Center Academy) and help them make their debut.
Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray, the latest anime of the franchise, aired for two cours (quarters of a year) with a break in between from April to December 2025.
Sources: Uma Musume: Pretty Derby’s X/Twitter account
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