Jax is an avid gamer since young. Starting from SUper Mario on NES, he discover his passion for the world of video gaming. Currently a PS3 and Xbox 360 gamer, Jax is actively looking for the 'next better game'. Jax is also the chief editor for GameTrader.SG blog.
The long wait is over. Grand Blue Dreaming Season 3 premiered today on Crunchyroll — and for the first time in the series’ history, Iori Kitahara and the Peek-a-Boo diving club are leaving Japan behind, taking their particular brand of chaotic, half-dressed energy all the way to the Republic of Palau.
The Peek-a-Boo Club Takes Their First International Trip
The Palau Arc is a setting change the manga’s long-term readers have been waiting for. Iori, Kohei, Chisa, and the gang arrive in Palau for their first overseas diving adventure — with eccentric new faces, crystal-clear reef diving, and the kind of unhinged situations the show has always excelled at. Palau’s real-world reputation as one of the premier dive destinations on the planet makes it a fitting playground, and Season 3 looks to lean into the open-water, sun-drenched backdrop as a contrast to the university-town chaos of earlier seasons.
TV Anime Grand Blue Dreaming Season 3 Teaser PV — via NBCUniversal Anime/Music on YouTubeImage courtesy of Grand Blue Dreaming Production Committee
New Cast, New Music — Same Grand Blue Energy
Director Shinji Takamatsu returns alongside studios Zero-G and Liber. The core voice cast is back — Yuma Uchida as Iori, Ryohei Kimura as Kohei, and Chika Anzai as Chisa — joined by a strong lineup of newcomers for the Palau arc. Sayaka Ohara, Asami Seto, and Aya Suzaki take on key new roles, while M·A·O voices Carina, who looks set to make an impression as a standout character in the arc.
The opening theme is “Natsuko” by Funky Monkey Babys, while the ending “Hadaka no Mermaid” is performed by Mameshiba no Taigun — both acts that fit the show’s sun-soaked, high-energy mood perfectly.
Image courtesy of Grand Blue Dreaming Production CommitteeImage courtesy of Grand Blue Dreaming Production Committee
How to Watch Grand Blue Dreaming Season 3 in Singapore
Season 3 is on Crunchyroll now, with new episodes every Monday at 8:30 AM Pacific Time — that is 11:30 PM SGT Monday nights, so Singapore fans can catch each episode late that evening. If you have not seen the earlier seasons, both Season 1 and Season 2 are already on Crunchyroll; the series is easy to dive into and rewards every episode. Crunchyroll is available in Singapore via web browser and mobile app.
Grand Blue has always thrived on cast chemistry and its commitment to absolute, loveable chaos — the Palau setting gives Season 3 a fresh sandbox without changing what makes it work. For more on what is streaming this anime season, see our anime coverage.
Good Smile Company surprised Anime Expo 2026 attendees with Hatsune Miku: Starry Party, a brand-new party action game starring the world’s most famous virtual diva. It’s headed to Nintendo Switch 2 and PC via Steam in 2027 — and full English language support is confirmed from launch.
Official teaser PV for Hatsune Miku: Starry Party — via GOOD SMILE CHANNEL on YouTube
What Is Hatsune Miku: Starry Party?
Image courtesy of Good Smile Company
Details are limited to the teaser for now, but the party action game genre label places Hatsune Miku: Starry Party firmly in the same territory as games like Mario Party — short, energetic minigames built for multiplayer chaos. That’s a notable departure from Miku’s usual rhythm-game home turf (Project DIVA, COLORFUL STAGE!), and it opens the franchise up to a much wider audience.
Platforms confirmed so far: Nintendo Switch 2 and PC via Steam. Language support includes English, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese — meaning Singapore players can jump straight in without any localisation worries.
No SGD pricing or specific release date within 2027 has been announced. Given the Steam and Switch 2 global distribution, local availability on Singapore’s eShop and Steam storefront is the safe expectation once the game approaches launch — but nothing official yet.
Miku’s Party Game Moment
Image courtesy of Good Smile Company
Miku has one of the most dedicated fanbases in Singapore’s pop-culture scene — she’s a consistent cosplay staple at local events like STGCC and AFA, and her music rhythm titles have moved serious numbers on handheld platforms here. A party game built around her world has obvious local multiplayer appeal, especially for the Switch 2 crowd looking for co-op titles to round out their library.
The Switch 2’s handheld mode makes Starry Party the kind of game you could easily bring to a gaming session, a cosplay event, or a convention floor — the short-session format is tailor-made for exactly that.
Watch and Wait
Good Smile Company has said more information will follow. Watch the official GOOD SMILE CHANNEL on YouTube for the next update, and check back on GameTrader’s game news section as the 2027 window gets closer.
The Ghost of Tsushima: Legends anime stepped out of the shadows at Anime Expo 2026 this week, with Crunchyroll dropping the first official character posters for the 2027 series. The images — produced in a striking sumi-e ink style by character designer Takashi Okazaki — introduce three of the four warrior classes from the game’s supernatural co-op mode: the Ronin, the Hunter, and the Assassin, alongside a group visual. For Singapore PlayStation fans who spent dozens of hours on Tsushima Island, this is the anime we have been waiting for.
Image courtesy of Crunchyroll / PlayStation Productions
The Dream Team Behind Ghost of Tsushima: Legends
The creative lineup for this anime is legitimately exciting. Director Takanobu Mizuno leads at studio KAMIKAZE DOUGA — Mizuno is best known internationally for directing Star Wars: Visions The Duel, the stunning monochrome sumi-e short on Disney+, which makes him essentially the ideal choice for this exact project. Series composition and script are handled by Gen Urobuchi and Satoshi Maejima of Nitro Plus — and if you have seen Fate/Zero, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, or Psycho-Pass, you know exactly what Urobuchi’s involvement signals: sophisticated, mythology-layered storytelling with genuine stakes.
Character design comes from Takashi Okazaki, creator of Afro Samurai, and one look at the posters released this week confirms he was born for this job. The Ronin is rendered in dense, almost claustrophobic ink — chains, skulls, wrapped bandages forming something that reads as much oni as warrior. The Assassin wears a fox-kitsune mask straight from Japanese folklore, armed with twin blades. The Hunter is a spectral archer, hair flowing like smoke. All three are instantly iconographic.
The series is produced in partnership with Aniplex, Sony Music, and PlayStation Productions.
Image courtesy of Crunchyroll / PlayStation Productions
This Is Legends, Not Jin Sakai’s Story
It is worth clarifying for those who may not have dipped into the Legends mode: this anime adapts Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, the cooperative multiplayer experience added to the original game, not the main campaign following Jin Sakai. Legends drew on Japanese folklore and mythology rather than the historical Mongol invasion — its warriors possess supernatural abilities, face yokai and oni, and operate in a more mythologised, spiritual version of feudal Japan.
That separation is arguably what makes the anime adaptation so interesting. The setting gives Urobuchi and Okazaki room to build something genuinely new rather than just retelling Jin’s story — and with KAMIKAZE DOUGA’s ink-and-shadow visual language, the supernatural material has a canvas it deserves.
Image courtesy of Crunchyroll / PlayStation Productions
When and Where to Watch
Ghost of Tsushima: Legends premieres exclusively on Crunchyroll in 2027 — no precise date has been announced yet. Crunchyroll is widely available in Singapore, so assuming a standard release the series should be accessible locally on day one. A fourth character class — the Samurai — has been confirmed but not yet shown in full poster form.
This is the first meaningful visual update since the anime was announced at CES 2025 by Sony Group, and the quality of Okazaki’s character art strongly suggests the production is progressing well. For more anime news as it drops, head to our Manga Anime section.
D JUN’s Here U Are has been earning quiet devotion for years. The Chinese BL manhua ran from 2017 to 2020 across 134 episodes and has since accumulated 27.5 million views on WEBTOON — and now, at last, it is getting the anime treatment. Crunchyroll dropped the announcement at its panel during Anime Expo 2026, revealing studio Rouseact as the production house and releasing an official teaser that sent the existing fanbase into a very good mood.
Image courtesy of Here U Are Animation Project
The Story: Two Students, One Slow Burn
Here U Are follows two university students whose paths collide in the way these things tend to: badly at first. Yu Yang is the cheerful, well-liked upperclassman whose easy warmth conceals real emotional pain he has never let anyone close enough to see. Li Huan is the quiet, standoffish new student who would rather everyone just left him alone. They clash, they pull apart, and they keep finding their way back to each other — slowly, genuinely, with the kind of patience in the storytelling that makes the payoffs land.
That unhurried approach, combined with D JUN’s expressive, clean art, is what built the series’ devoted following among readers who found it on WEBTOON. The manhua is available in English digitally on WEBTOON, and Aloha Comics has a print edition for collectors who want it on a shelf. If you want to catch up before the anime lands, the full run is there waiting.
The Anime Team
Rouseact is producing the adaptation under director Tomoe Makino. Aiki Kawamura handles series composition, Asami Hayakawa designs the characters, and Shinya Kiyozuka composes the music. The voice cast announced so far: Yuki Inoue as Yu Yang and Ryota Suzuki as Li Huan — two actors with the range the story needs.
Here U Are | Official Teaser — via Crunchyroll on YouTube
No premiere date has been announced. Crunchyroll has confirmed it will stream the series, which means Singapore fans are covered — Crunchyroll is fully available here, and with a simulcast pickup this large, subtitles will be ready from launch.
Part of a Growing Wave
Image courtesy of Here U Are Animation Project
Here U Are arrives at a moment when BL adaptations are reaching genuinely mainstream streaming audiences rather than being confined to niche platforms. Crunchyroll picking this up globally — rather than it being region-locked or relegated to a smaller service — means Singapore’s anime community, which has a vocal and enthusiastic BL following, gets it on the same terms as every other market. The announcement drew a strong reaction at Anime Expo, a signal of just how much appetite there is for well-made BL anime beyond the genre’s traditional core audience.
More details — premiere window, opening and ending themes, additional cast — are expected as production news comes through. Keep an eye on Crunchyroll’s official channels for updates. For more manga and anime announcements from Anime Expo 2026, see our other coverage from this week.
After nearly a decade of content drops, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is making its final bow. Bandai Namco and developer Dimps have announced that “Future Saga Chapter 4” — the game’s last downloadable content — launches on July 8, 2026 across all platforms.
Image courtesy of Bandai Namco Entertainment
What’s in Future Saga Chapter 4
This final chapter packs in a substantial amount of content:
2 New Playable Characters — Chronoa in a new form, and Goku in a new form; character details to be revealed on July 6 and July 7 respectively
1 Extra Missions Arc
2 Parallel Quests
4 Additional Moves
6 Costumes and Accessories
4 Super Souls
1 New Stage
8 Loading Screen Illustrations
Two additional items still to be revealed
The DLC is available simultaneously on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam, as announced by Bandai Namco.
DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2 — FUTURE SAGA Chapter 4 Teaser Trailer via Bandai Namco Entertainment America on YouTube
Chronoa Returns — With a Dramatic New Form
The star of the teaser is unmistakably Chronoa, the Supreme Kai of Time and a beloved central figure in the Xenoverse storyline. Her new form channels an intense pink-crystal energy — a significant visual departure from her standard look, and a strong hint that the Final Saga’s story is heading somewhere unexpected. Bandai Namco has confirmed her full character reveal on July 6, with Goku’s new form following the day after. If you want to go in fresh on July 8, best skip the Twitter reveals.
Image courtesy of Bandai Namco Entertainment
The End of a 10-Year Run
Released in late 2016, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 has outlasted most of its contemporaries by a wide margin. A consistent stream of paid and free content has kept the community alive across PC, consoles and mobile for close to a decade — a remarkable run for any live-service title, let alone a fighting RPG. Future Saga Chapter 4 is confirmed as the final paid DLC, making this one for the series veterans.
For Singapore fans who followed DBXV2 from its original PlayStation 4 launch or discovered it via Steam’s frequent sales, this is the chapter that closes the book. The game and its DLC remain available at major game retailers and electronics chains locally, and on Steam where SGD pricing typically applies during regional sales.
Image courtesy of Bandai Namco Entertainment
All Platforms Covered — Including Steam
The multi-platform day-one release means Singapore players can pick it up regardless of their setup: PS5 and PS4 owners via the PlayStation Store, Switch players via the Nintendo eShop, and PC gamers via Steam. No separate SEA pricing has been announced; expect each platform’s standard regional rates to apply. With Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 already in the works and showing off new environments, the franchise isn’t going anywhere — but for Xenoverse 2, July 8 is the final level. Check out more game news on GameTrader for the latest releases hitting Singapore.
Singapore just made animation history. The Violinist, a hand-drawn feature more than a decade in the making, has won the Cristal for Best Feature Film — the top honour — at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the most prestigious event on the animation calendar. It is the first Singaporean feature ever to compete at Annecy, and it walked away as the biggest winner of them all.
The Violinist teaser — via CartoonBrew on YouTube
What is The Violinist?
The Violinist is a sweeping, hand-drawn period drama that traces the intertwined history of Singapore and Malaya from 1929 to the present day. At its heart are two childhood friends and gifted violinists, Fei and Kai, whose lives are torn apart by World War II and the Japanese Occupation — one drawn into the Resistance in Malaya, the other left to survive in occupied Singapore. Across the decades that follow, the story follows a musician’s search for a lost friend, and a shared dream of one day performing a two-violin sonata together.
It is a proudly local story told at a scale Singapore animation has never attempted before. The film is produced by home-grown studio Robot Playground Media, in co-production with Spain’s TV ON Producciones and Italy’s Altri Occhi, with France tv distribution handling worldwide sales.
Image courtesy of Robot Playground Media
A decade in the making — from an SG50 short
The Violinist didn’t appear out of nowhere. It grew out of “The Violin” (小提琴), an award-winning animated short Robot Playground Media made in 2015 for the Singapore Memory Project, marking the nation’s 50th birthday. That small, personal film about music and wartime resilience struck a chord, and over the following decade it was reworked and expanded into a full feature — Singapore’s first animated feature in close to 15 years.
Directing duties are shared between two very different talents. Ervin Han, co-founder of Robot Playground Media, is a veteran of Singapore’s animation scene making his feature directorial debut. His co-director is Raúl García, a Spanish animation veteran who spent years in Disney’s animation department on classics including Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King and Hercules — a lecturing stint at Singapore’s LaSalle College of the Arts first brought him to the city and to this project.
Image courtesy of Robot Playground Media
Two trophies at Annecy, including the music prize
The Violinist didn’t just take the Cristal. It also picked up the SACEM Award for Best Original Soundtrack — a fitting double for a film built around music. The score is the work of Golden Horse Award-winning Singaporean composer Ricky Ho, in collaboration with Spanish composer Isabel Latorre, while the lead violin performances heard on the soundtrack were played by acclaimed Singaporean violinist Joy Yong.
Winning two awards on debut, in competition, at Annecy is a genuine landmark for the region. Speaking after the win, director Ervin Han said the recognition was “beyond anything we imagined” when the journey began. In an interview with Variety, Han framed the achievement as bigger than one country, noting the film “isn’t simply representing Singapore, it’s representing Southeast Asia” — a part of the world that, in his words, has “historically had fewer opportunities to tell its own stories” at this scale.
Photo courtesy of Robot Playground Media
Could this be Singapore’s first true Oscar contender?
Here’s the part that has film watchers excited: Singapore has never received an Academy Award nomination in any category, ever. An Annecy Cristal is exactly the kind of pedigree that turns a small national film into an awards-season talking point, and The Violinist is now being openly discussed as the country’s best shot at Best Animated Feature in years.
There’s a catch, though. To qualify for the Oscars, a film generally needs a qualifying theatrical run — and as of its Annecy win, The Violinist did not yet have a US distributor or a US release date locked in. A high-profile Cristal win helps enormously on that front, but the road to the 2027 ceremony runs straight through the crowded field of big-studio animation. Nothing is guaranteed. Still, for a hand-drawn Southeast Asian story with no franchise behind it, simply being in the conversation is remarkable.
When can you watch it in Singapore?
The Violinist had its world premiere at Annecy, which ran from 21 to 27 June 2026, ahead of a planned international theatrical rollout. A Singapore cinema release is reported to be slated for September 2026 — so local audiences shouldn’t have long to wait to see it on the big screen. No confirmed streaming details have been announced yet, so for now this is one to catch in theatres.
Executive producer Justin Deimen called the film “a proud global co-production” — and that’s exactly what makes this such a milestone. A story rooted in Singapore’s own wartime memory, made by a Singapore studio, has just been crowned the best animated feature in the world. Whatever happens at the Oscars, that’s already history.
For more animation and anime coverage, check out our Manga & Anime section, and keep an eye on Annecy’s official page for the film as its release rolls out.
It’s happening, Dungeon Meshi fans — the gang is heading back underground. Studio TRIGGER officially announced Delicious in Dungeon Season 2 at Anime Expo 2026 on July 4 (July 5, 5am SGT), confirming an October 2027 premiere exclusively on Netflix. After Season 1 swept through the anime community like Laios discovering a new monster to cook, the follow-up has been one of the most anticipated continuations in recent memory.
Season 1 set the bar impossibly high for both world-building and food photography.
The official teaser trailer dropped alongside the announcement, giving us our first look at what’s to come as the story continues from Chapter 53 — the Falin chimera arc, where the dungeon’s darkest chapter truly begins. If you haven’t watched Season 1 yet, no spoilers here, but let’s just say the stakes get very real.
Same Core Team, Epic New Chapter
The core production team returns, ensuring the show’s stunning visual identity is intact. Yoshihiro Miyajima returns as series director, Kimiko Ueno continues as series composer, and Naoki Takeda reprises the character design role. The music baton passes to legendary composer Yasunori Mitsuda — yes, the man behind Chrono Trigger and Xenogears — which is an absolutely massive get for the soundtrack department.
Season 2 promo art teasing the darker tone ahead. Falin’s chimera transformation looms large.
The opening and ending themes have also been revealed via the official Japanese site, though English confirmation is still pending. sumika — the beloved J-pop group known for Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso’s soundtrack contributions — performs the opening theme 運命 (Fate). Legal Lily handles the ending with キラキラの灰 (Glittering Ash). Both picks feel tonally spot-on for what Season 2’s narrative demands.
Why This Season Matters
Ryoko Kui’s manga ran 14 volumes and sold over 14 million copies worldwide. Season 1 adapted the first half beautifully — the world-building, the food, the surprisingly deep lore about the dungeon’s ecosystem. Season 2 dives into the payoff of everything that was carefully set up. The chimera storyline is where the series shows its emotional teeth, and with Mitsuda scoring it, expect to feel things.
For Singapore fans, Netflix carries Delicious in Dungeon regionally, so Season 2 will be right there in your queue when October 2027 rolls around. No hunting for streams or waiting on regional delays.
KADOKAWA Anime’s radio show tied to the series also resumes on July 5 at 21:00 JST on the KADOKAWA Anime YouTube channel, so there’s more content incoming almost immediately.
Two thousand-plus years of dungeon lore, one incredibly good anime adaptation, and now a confirmed second season with a legendary composer on board. October 2027 can’t come soon enough.
Fifteen years after its final chapter, Dengeki Daisy is finally getting its anime adaptation — and Anime Expo 2026 just gave us the first look at the full cast, a teaser PV, and confirmation that Crunchyroll will stream it worldwide. If you grew up reading Kyousuke Motomi’s hacker-romance shojo series in Betsucomi, this one’s for you.
A Fan Favourite That Waited Long Enough
Dengeki Daisy ran in Shogakukan’s Betsucomi from 2007 to 2013, spanning 16 volumes. The story follows Teru Kurebayashi, an orphaned high school student who carries a phone given to her by her late brother. It receives messages from a mysterious contact called DAISY — warm, supportive, and always watching over her. The catch: the gruff, frequently-aggravating school janitor Tasuku Kurosaki is keeping a very big secret about who DAISY really is. The manga was a hit for its mix of sweet romance, cyber-thriller tension, and a lead couple who actually talked to each other rather than misunderstanding their way to a resolution.
Cast Revealed — Yoshino Aoyama and Taku Yashiro Lead
The teaser PV unveiled at AX confirms the two main voice actors. Yoshino Aoyama — known to Singapore fans from roles in Kaguya-sama: Love is War — plays Teru Kurebayashi. Opposite her is Taku Yashiro as Tasuku Kurosaki. The teaser focuses on close-up character animation that emphasises the emotional expressiveness the source material is known for.
Image courtesy of Aniplex / Studio DEENDengeki Daisy | Official Teaser — via Crunchyroll on YouTube
Studio DEEN, and Masaru Yokoyama on Music
The production is helmed by director Sōta Ueno at Studio DEEN, the veteran studio behind adaptations of Rurouni Kenshin and Fruits Basket (the original 2001 run). Series composition is handled by Sawako Hirabayashi, with Ayaka Murakami as character designer. The most exciting staff credit for music fans: Masaru Yokoyama is composing the score. Yokoyama is the name behind Violet Evergarden, Your Lie in April, and Classroom of the Elite — soundtracks that hit hard emotionally. That pedigree is a very good fit for this story.
Image courtesy of Aniplex / Studio DEEN
2027 Premiere on Crunchyroll
The anime will premiere in 2027 — no specific season or date confirmed yet — and will stream on Crunchyroll worldwide. Crunchyroll is available in Singapore, so local fans will be able to watch it without jumping through import hoops. No MUSE Asia partnership has been announced so far, meaning the primary streaming home for Southeast Asia is currently Crunchyroll. A full broadcast schedule is expected closer to the premiere.
Worth mentioning for newer fans: the manga’s 16 volumes are available in English and are worth reading ahead of the series. Catch up on more upcoming anime and manga news while you wait.
Nirvana’s 1991 grunge anthem “Breed” is officially the opening theme for the anime adaptation of Sumiko Arai’s manga The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All — and Dave Grohl himself helped break the news. Announced at Crunchyroll’s Anime Expo 2026 showcase in Los Angeles, the series premieres in January 2027 on Crunchyroll worldwide, including Singapore.
Meet Green Yuri: The Manga That Sold 1.6 Million Copies
Nicknamed “Green Yuri” by fans for its unmistakeable lime-green colour palette, the series follows Aya Osawa — a fashionable high schooler with a deep love for Western rock — who develops a crush on the cool, enigmatic clerk at her local CD shop. The twist: that clerk is Mitsuki Koga, a girl who attends Aya’s school and has been hiding in plain sight all along. As the two circle each other through shared playlists and stolen glances, a case of mistaken identity slowly deepens into something real.
Originally a Twitter short story (2021), the manga graduated to Pixiv Comics serialisation before landing a print run through KADOKAWA’s Kitora label. It took first place in the web manga category at the Next Manga Award 2023 and has since sold over 1.6 million copies worldwide — numbers that made an anime feel not just possible but necessary.
The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy At All | Official Teaser — via Crunchyroll on YouTube
CloverWorks Takes the Helm
Image courtesy of Crunchyroll / CloverWorks
Studio CloverWorks — whose recent track record includes Oshi no Ko and The Dangers in My Heart — is handling animation. Anime News Network confirms Masashi Ishihama in the director’s chair, with Rino Yamazaki on series composition and Kanna Hirayama designing the characters. Voicing the leads are Mariya Ise as Mitsuki Koga and Akari Kito as Aya Osawa — both seasoned performers with strong track records in character-driven drama.
That Nirvana Moment
Image courtesy of Crunchyroll / Sumiko Arai (KADOKAWA)
“Breed”, from Nirvana’s landmark 1991 album Nevermind, has been officially licensed as the opening theme — the first time a Nirvana track has been officially used in a Japanese animated production. The announcement drew an audible reaction from the Anime Expo crowd, made all the more striking when a pre-recorded video message from Dave Grohl played on the AX screens.
“[This series is] the same message and aesthetic… the vibe, you know? It’s cool,” Grohl said in the message, as reported by Red Bean Anime. That Nirvana’s surviving members would pick this series — a story about two girls finding each other through music — to carry the band’s legacy into anime says something about how far the medium has reached.
Singapore Fans: Mark Your January 2027 Calendar
Crunchyroll is streaming the series globally, which means Singapore fans will be able to watch from the January 2027 premiere date. Four volumes of the manga are already available in English from Yen Press, giving you plenty of time to catch up before episode one drops. For yuri and romance anime fans in Singapore, this is shaping up to be the stand-out pick of that winter season.
