J.C.STAFF’s adaptation of the beloved Korean webtoon Overgeared — officially titled Tempal: Item no Chikara — just dropped its first full trailer, and the premiere date is now locked: 2 October 2026 on Crunchyroll. Singapore fans, mark your calendars.
Image courtesy of J.C.STAFF / EGG FIRM
Watch the Full Overgeared Anime Trailer
Overgeared | Official Trailer | Crunchyroll — via Crunchyroll on YouTube
The trailer gives the first proper look at the animation style from J.C.STAFF — the studio behind Sword Art Online: Progressive and Food Wars! — directed by Ayako Kōno. The tone leans into the MMORPG power-fantasy core of the source material: Grid grinding through Satisfy, forging legendary gear, and slowly ascending from deadbeat to the most dangerous player in the game.
Two New Cast Members Join the Party
Image courtesy of J.C.STAFF / EGG FIRM
Two characters have been cast alongside the previously announced leads:
Euphemina — voiced by Saya Fukuzumi (Raphtalia in Shield Hero). A legendary copy mage and one of the game’s most powerful players, Euphemina is pivotal to Grid’s early rise.
Huroi — voiced by Shuntaro Takayama. Grid’s first true ally and the guild leader Huroi brings a loyal, enthusiastic energy that counters Grid’s grumpy intensity.
The confirmed cast now stands at: Tatsumaru Tachibana as Grid, Asami Seto as Yura, Saya Fukuzumi as Euphemina, and Shuntaro Takayama as Huroi.
When and How to Watch in Singapore
Image courtesy of J.C.STAFF / EGG FIRM
Crunchyroll will simulcast Overgeared in Singapore from 2 October. The series composition is handled by Kenta Ihara (Sentenced to Be a Hero), with Yoshiaki Fujisawa scoring the soundtrack — a combination that should do justice to the webtoon’s mix of brutal dungeon dives and unexpectedly wholesome guild moments.
For readers who missed the initial announcement, we covered the Anime Expo reveal back in July when the first promo video and staff lineup were confirmed. The full trailer is a step up from that tease — more action, more character, more reason to be hyped. October cannot come soon enough. Follow anime news on GameTrader.SG for updates as the premiere approaches.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie — the Nintendo and Illumination co-production that became one of the biggest films of 2026 — is now available to own digitally in Japan from today, August 19. The full home video release (4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD) follows on October 16, with a premium Steelbook edition also confirmed for collectors. For Singapore fans who caught it in theatres and want a copy to keep, here is what you need to know.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | Final Trailer — via Illumination on YouTube
A Billion-Dollar Blockbuster Returns
When The Super Mario Galaxy Movie hit theatres in April 2026, it quickly established itself as a phenomenon. Domestically in Japan alone, it grossed ¥7.9 billion — a remarkable figure for an animated co-production — while the worldwide total surpassed US$1 billion. The film follows Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Toad, and Rosalina as they travel beyond the Mushroom Kingdom into the cosmos to confront a galactic threat from Bowser, voiced with scene-stealing menace by Jack Black.
Digital download sale: August 19, 2026 (today) via Japanese storefronts
Digital rental: September 16, 2026
4K UHD + Blu-ray standard edition: October 16, 2026 — ¥7,590
Blu-ray + DVD standard edition: October 16, 2026 — ¥5,390
4K UHD + Blu-ray Steelbook edition: October 16, 2026 — ¥8,690
Blu-ray + DVD Steelbook edition: October 16, 2026 — ¥6,490
All physical formats pack over 60 minutes of behind-the-scenes bonus content, including character creation stories and cast and crew commentary on key sequences.
Image courtesy of Nintendo/Illumination
The Steelbook — Designed for Display
The Steelbook edition is the standout pick for collectors. Rather than the main cast key art used on the standard cover, the Steelbook wears a deep brown leather-look finish embossed with a Power Star motif — very much in the spirit of a Grandmaster Galaxy prize. Open it up and the inside panel reveals a twilight-hued galactic vista with a castle perched on a floating rock, a genuinely striking piece of shelf art. Two discs (the 4K UHD and a Blu-ray copy) sit neatly inside.
Image courtesy of Nintendo/Illumination
Rosalina, Bowser, and What Made This Film Land
Beyond the nostalgia factor, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie earned its box office through character work that surprised many viewers. Rosalina — silent and regal in the games — gets a full arc here, while Bowser’s redesign as a galaxy-conquering sorcerer with glowing lightning bolt armour turned the character into a genuine screen villain rather than a comedy punchline. The film rewards both casual audiences and players who have spent hours chasing Power Stars across galaxies.
Image courtesy of IlluminationImage courtesy of Illumination
Singapore Fans: What Are Your Options?
The movie screened at Golden Village cinemas in Singapore when it released in April 2026. If you want to own it digitally, English-language editions have been available on global storefronts — Apple TV, Google Play Movies, and similar services — since May 2026. The Japan-market digital release that begins today is tailored to Japanese storefronts and will carry Japanese-language pricing.
For physical media, the Japan Blu-ray releasing October 16 is importable. Co-productions like this almost always carry the original English audio track alongside the Japanese dub on Japanese releases, so import copies should be fully watchable. The Power Star Steelbook in particular is a strong shelf piece — and at ¥8,690 (roughly S$80–85 at current rates), it is priced competitively against domestic premium editions. Browse our Game News section for more Nintendo and gaming coverage.
Hong Kong health regulators have dealt anime fans a curveball this week. Chainsmoker Cat, the Summer 2026 dark comedy about chain-smoking anthropomorphic cat-girls, has been pulled from Animation Crazy (HK) and removed from Ani-One Asia’s YouTube presence in the region — not by the show’s producers, but on orders from the Hong Kong Department of Health.
What Actually Happened
On 19 August, Animation Crazy (HK) — the Hong Kong branch of Taiwanese streaming platform Bahamut — announced on Facebook that it had received an official letter from the Hong Kong Department of Health. The letter cited the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance, Sections 13B and 14, classifying the anime’s continued streaming as the “online dissemination of advertisements for smoking products.”
The platform promptly suspended the series and advised affected subscribers to apply for refunds. Under the Ordinance, violations carry a maximum fine of 50,000 HKD (approximately SGD 8,500) plus an additional 1,500 HKD per day for any continuing offence.
Ani-One Asia’s Hong Kong YouTube channel has also stopped streaming the series, despite Hong Kong being listed among its licensed territories when the show launched in July.
Image courtesy of Animation Crazy / Bahamut (Taiwan)Image courtesy of Animation Crazy / Bahamut (Hong Kong)
Singapore and SEA Fans Are Unaffected — For Now
The suspension is specific to Hong Kong and does not extend to other Ani-One Asia territories. Singapore fans can still access Chainsmoker Cat through Ani-One Asia and on Netflix, where the series remains available.
It is worth noting that Singapore has its own Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act, which prohibits tobacco product advertising. There has been no regulatory action taken here against the series, and given that the show is widely understood as an unglamorous, cautionary portrayal of nicotine addiction rather than a promotional one, such action seems unlikely — but the Hong Kong case is a first of its kind for streaming anime in the region and a reminder of how differently regulators across Asia can interpret the same content.
Image courtesy of Yani Neko Production Committee
About Chainsmoker Cat
Based on the manga of the same name by NyanNyanFactory — serialised in Kodansha’s Weekly Young Magazine since February 2023 — Chainsmoker Cat follows anthropomorphic cat-girls living in a run-down apartment complex, several of them dependent on nicotine and other substances. The series blends dark humour with an unglamorous look at addiction.
The anime adaptation premiered on 2 July 2026, produced by Bibury Animation Studios under director Taku Kimura. Script duties fall to Takashi Aoshima, with character designs by Riki Matsuura and a score by Keiichi Suzuki. Yuko Natsuyoshi leads the voice cast as protagonist Yani. Seven Seas Entertainment holds the English manga licence for global print readers.
Image courtesy of Yani Neko Production Committee
The Irony: Manga Sales Are Soaring
Despite the controversy — or arguably because of it — Chainsmoker Cat is doing very well commercially. Following the anime’s run, every volume of the source manga has been confirmed for a reprint to meet rising demand, as reported by Denfaminico Gamer. In Japan, the series was reportedly the subject of a recent BPO (Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization) session, with the committee ultimately finding its content within the bounds of permissible freedom of expression.
The Hong Kong ban is the most significant regulatory response the series has faced so far. With manga sales climbing and the anime still streaming on Netflix across the region, it seems unlikely to slow the franchise down. Singapore fans wanting to catch up can head to Netflix now.
Twenty-five years of gunfire, cigar smoke, and morally flexible pirates have earned Roanapur its own exhibition. Shogakukan and the BLACK LAGOON 25th Anniversary Executive Committee confirmed today that a BLACK LAGOON 25th Anniversary Original Art Exhibition (原画展) will run at Sunshine 60 Observatory’s Tenbo Park event space in Ikebukuro, Tokyo from 13 November to 6 December 2026.
Image courtesy of Shogakukan
What the BLACK LAGOON Art Exhibition Will Showcase
The exhibition is set to be the most substantial look behind the curtain of creator Rei Hiroe’s craft since the series launched. Confirmed exhibits include original manga manuscripts, full-colour illustration reproductions, and — most intriguingly — real gun props that appeared on the series’ iconic comic covers. Photo spots styled around the streets of Roanapur are also planned, giving fans a chance to step (at least visually) into the series’ fictional Southeast Asian port city.
Details on ticketing and admission prices have not yet been announced. The organisers have indicated that further information will be released through the official SundayGX channels and blacklagoon.jp, so it’s worth bookmarking both now if a Japan trip late this year is on the cards.
Twenty-Five Years in the Port City — and 10 Million Copies Sold
Image courtesy of Shogakukan
BLACK LAGOON began as a one-shot in 2001 before Rei Hiroe kicked off the full serialisation in Shogakukan’s Monthly Sunday GX in 2002. The series follows Dutch, Revy, Rock, and Benny — the crew of the torpedo boat Black Lagoon — running jobs out of the fictional port city of Roanapur, a place that feels pulled from the grimy, sun-bleached harbours of Southeast Asia.
That setting has never been incidental. Roanapur’s unmistakably Southeast Asian atmosphere, the multilingual criminal underworld, the sense of a city that exists just outside the reach of any government’s law — it’s a world that has always resonated particularly hard with readers in Singapore and the broader region. We’re part of the geography that inspired it, even if the city itself is fiction.
After a quarter century, the series has shipped 10 million copies worldwide. A fourteenth volume of the main manga is currently available, and two official spin-off series remain in active publication: BLACK LAGOON Eda: Initial Stage and BLACK LAGOON Sawyer the Cleaner: Dismantling! The Gore-Gore Sisters.
Image courtesy of Shogakukan
Dates, Venue, and How to Visit
The BLACK LAGOON 25th Anniversary Original Art Exhibition runs from Friday, 13 November to Sunday, 6 December 2026 at Sunshine 60 Observatory Tenbo Park in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. The event is organised by the BLACK LAGOON 25th Anniversary Original Art Exhibition Executive Committee, with support from TOKYO MX.
For Singapore fans already planning a Japan trip around the winter school holidays, the exhibition window slots in neatly. Ikebukuro is a straightforward stop on the Yamanote Line, and Sunshine City is well-signposted from the station’s eastern exits. Admission pricing, advance ticketing, and the full programme will be announced closer to the opening date via the official SundayGX BLACK LAGOON page (Japanese).
The announcement was first reported by Famitsu.com (Japanese) earlier today, and no English-language coverage has followed yet — making this one of those cases where checking Japanese sources first genuinely pays off for readers outside Japan.
If you’ve been holding off on upgrading your PlayStation setup while waiting for the PS6, Sony’s CEO has some sobering news: even the people building the console don’t know when it’s coming. Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Hiroki Totoki told the Wall Street Journal that the company has still not fixed a launch date for its next-generation PlayStation — and the reasons behind the delay have everything to do with the global chip crunch fuelled by AI demand.
Image courtesy of Sony Interactive Entertainment
What the Sony CEO Actually Said About PS6
Totoki’s comments build on a statement he made in May 2026, when he told investors: “We have not yet decided on at what timing we will launch the new console, or at what prices.” The latest Wall Street Journal interview, reported by Push Square and Video Games Chronicle, confirms the picture hasn’t changed: there is no internal target date.
Totoki pointed to component costs as the core obstacle. Memory prices — driven sky-high by demand from AI data centres competing with consumer electronics manufacturers for the same chips — are expected to remain elevated through Sony’s FY2027. That makes it genuinely difficult to lock in a console price, let alone a launch timeline. “Considering that importance, we need to take some action. Otherwise, we cannot survive in this landscape,” Totoki was quoted as saying in the Wall Street Journal piece.
Sony’s PS6 Situation Just Got A Lot More Complicated — via Spawn Wave on YouTube
Why Memory Costs Are Delaying the PS6
The global RAM shortage is the elephant in the room for every next-gen console. AI training and inference workloads have created extraordinary demand for high-bandwidth memory, pushing prices to levels that would make a reasonably priced PS6 difficult to deliver. Sony has reportedly been weighing whether to absorb the losses (as it famously did at PS3 launch) or wait until costs normalise — and right now, neither option looks clean.
Bloomberg previously reported that Sony was considering pushing the PS6 back to 2028 or even 2029, well beyond the 2027 window that analysts had initially projected. With Totoki’s fresh comments confirming no date is set even internally, the 2028 window increasingly looks like the more realistic scenario — though nothing is official.
Image courtesy of Sony Interactive Entertainment
What This Means for Singapore PlayStation Gamers
For Singapore’s PlayStation community — and we are a heavily PlayStation-leaning market — this news has a very practical implication: the PS5 Pro is looking more and more like the smart play for serious players in 2026 and likely 2027. If the PS6 slips past 2027, you’re looking at at least another 18 months of peak PS5 Pro gaming before the next generation arrives.
The other question Singapore gamers are asking is pricing. The PS5 Pro launched at S$989 here — already a significant ask. Analysts tracking component costs have suggested PS6 could be priced higher still when it does arrive, especially if memory and silicon costs don’t fall as fast as Sony needs. With no official specs, name, or price, anything in that space is speculation for now — but it’s speculation worth factoring in when you’re planning your gaming budget.
For those on a standard PS5 (disc or digital edition), the extended wait for PS6 is arguably good news: your console will be supported with major first-party releases for longer than originally expected. Sony has no incentive to wind down PS5 development if the PS6 is still years away.
The Bigger Picture: Sony’s Shift Toward Content Over Hardware
Under Totoki, Sony has been quietly pivoting its PlayStation business toward games, film, and music IP rather than hardware as the core revenue driver. That strategic shift reduces the urgency of a rushed PS6 launch — a console released at a loss to beat a competitor to market is less attractive when your profit centre is game subscriptions, live-service games, and licensing deals. It also means Sony is more willing to wait until the hardware economics make sense, even if that frustrates fans eager for a generational leap.
There’s also a competitive dimension. Rumours suggest Microsoft’s next Xbox console is targeting a similar 2027 window — but with Sony seemingly prepared to wait, a 2027 rush-launch starts to look less likely for both sides. For other PlayStation and Xbox news, keep it here.
The first part of the WataNare manga has wrapped — and the girls’ love comedy that won over Crunchyroll fans across Southeast Asia is getting a second act. Shueisha confirmed on 17 August that There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless… (わたなれ) will continue in 2027 with a brand-new artist and a fresh manga chapter starting on Young Jump+.
Manga Part 1 Completes on Young Jump+
Image courtesy of REMOW / WataNare Production Committee
The manga adaptation drawn by Musshu published its final chapter on Young Jump+ on 31 July 2026, closing out the story that had run on Shueisha’s digital platform. The collected run reached eight volumes under the Young Jump Comics label. For fans following in English, Seven Seas Entertainment handles the translated manga release.
Part 2 Brings a New Pencil — Eru Kudō Steps In
Image courtesy of REMOW / WataNare Production Committee
Shueisha announced that illustrator Eru Kudō will take over art duties for the manga’s second part, officially titled Watashi ga Koibito ni Nareru Wake Naijan, Muri Muri! Muri Janakatta!? ~Second Season. The new series launches on Young Jump+ in January or February 2027. Eru Kudō brings a fresh visual approach to Renako and Mai’s story as it moves deeper into Teren Mikami’s original light novel source material.
The change in artist isn’t out of the ordinary for the franchise — original creator Teren Mikami writes the light novels with illustrations by Eku Takeshima, while Musshu drew the first manga arc. Eru Kudō becomes the third artist to contribute visuals to the WataNare world. For more manga and anime updates, head to the Manga Anime section.
Where the Franchise Stands
WataNare started as a Shueisha Dash X Bunko light novel before expanding into manga and anime. Studio Mother’s anime adaptation aired from July to September 2025 and streamed on Crunchyroll — Singapore included — making it one of the more accessible yuri titles for Southeast Asian viewers. The show follows awkward high schooler Renako Amaori as she gets tangled in a fake-dating arrangement with school superstar Mai Ouzuka, with predictably chaotic and heartfelt results.
The theatrical sequel WataNare ~Next Shine~ (covering episodes 13–17) opened in Japan cinemas from 21 November 2025. A proper anime Season 2 has also been confirmed for production, though no air date has been set. The franchise held a special fan event — Sweet Summer Memory — at Nissho Hall in Tokyo on 16 August 2026, just two days before this Part 2 announcement.
For Singapore Fans: What’s Available Now
Image courtesy of REMOW / WataNare Production Committee
The WataNare anime Season 1 (12 episodes) is streaming now on Crunchyroll Singapore. English manga volumes are available through online retailers that carry Seven Seas Entertainment titles. When Part 2 begins serialisation in early 2027, chapters will land on Young Jump+, accessible globally. No Singapore theatrical window for Next Shine has been confirmed, so streaming via Crunchyroll remains the most reliable way to keep up with the series.
The Arius Branch School has arrived in your wardrobe. SuperGroupies has opened pre-orders for its third Blue Archive fashion collaboration, and this time the spotlight falls on five of the game’s most beloved antagonists-turned-fan-favourites: Saori, Atsuko, Hiyori, Misaki, and Subaru. Pre-orders run until 14 September 2026, with items shipping to international buyers — Singapore included.
Image courtesy of SuperGroupies
The Full Arius Branch Collection
The collaboration covers all five members of the Cleaning & Clearing squad — the covert unit at the heart of Blue Archive’s Arius arc — with two items per character: a body bag (¥18,700) and a long wallet (¥15,400), totalling ten pieces across the collection.
Each design leans into the Arius aesthetic: armband-inspired motifs, embossed school crests, and the Latin phrase vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas (vanity of vanities, all is vanity) rendered in each character’s signature accent colour. Interiors feature individual halo designs — a small but satisfying nod to Blue Archive’s halo system that fans will clock instantly.
Image courtesy of SuperGroupies
Five Characters, Five Distinct Designs
Saori — the squad’s composed de facto leader — gets a bag accented in deep crimson tones, matching her commanding presence in-game. Atsuko’s design incorporates the subtle industrial details that fit her gas-mask aesthetic, while Hiyori‘s item plays with cooler blues that echo her quiet, restrained personality. Misaki and Subaru round out the set with their own character-specific palettes and callsign details stamped on the front panel.
All items are built around a coordinated interior design, with each character’s halo and squad markings worked into the lining — the kind of detail that SuperGroupies consistently delivers across its collab lines.
Image courtesy of SuperGroupies
How to Pre-Order from Singapore
Orders can be placed directly through the SuperGroupies official website or Animate Online Shop. SuperGroupies ships internationally, so Singapore-based fans can order straight from the source. The pre-order window closes 14 September 2026 at 12:00 JST, with delivery estimated for early January 2027. As is standard for SuperGroupies releases, early closure is possible if stock hits capacity — so don’t sleep on this one.
Body bags are priced at ¥18,700 each (approximately SGD 170 at current exchange rates) and long wallets at ¥15,400 (approximately SGD 140). Note that international shipping fees apply on top of the item price.
Image courtesy of SuperGroupies
Blue Archive’s Third SuperGroupies Run
This marks SuperGroupies’ third Blue Archive collaboration. The first featured Abydos and Millennium characters, and the second spotlighted the Cleaning & Clearing members from the standard Millennium pool. The Arius arc — which is Blue Archive’s most narratively intense storyline — has generated some of the game’s most dedicated fans, making this collab a long time coming for players who cleared the Arius story chapters.
Blue Archive remains one of the most actively merchandised mobile games in Japan, and Singapore’s player community is among the most engaged in Southeast Asia. If Arius hits your top tier, this is the collab to move on before the September deadline.
Just 24 days after its Japan premiere, Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island has crossed ¥9.28 billion at the Japanese box office — and Singapore fans have barely any time to catch their breath: the film opens in local cinemas this Thursday, 20 August.
『映画ちいかわ 人魚の島のひみつ』 60秒 official teaser — via 東宝MOVIEチャンネル on YouTube
¥10 Billion Now in Sight
On 17 August, Toho’s official X account (@toho_movie) confirmed the film had cleared 92.8億円 (¥9.28 billion) in revenue with 6.45 million total admissions, covering its first 24 days (24 July to 16 August). That places it at #2 on Japan’s 2026 box office chart, behind only Toy Story 5 at ¥11.67 billion — and with weekend after weekend of strong holds, the ¥10 billion milestone now looks very much within reach.
Image courtesy of Toho / Nagano
The jump comes just two days after the ¥8 billion figure we covered last week. The film adapts the Siren arc from Nagano’s beloved manga, directed by Kei Oikawa (Uma Musume: Pretty Derby the Movie) and animated by CygamesPictures. It follows Chiikawa, Hachiware, and Usagi as they voyage to a mysterious island, only to find something far darker lurking beneath the surface.
Chiikawa Movie Singapore: In Cinemas 20 August
Image courtesy of Golden Village Pictures
Distributed locally by Medialink Entertainment, Chiikawa the Movie opens across Singapore cinemas on Thursday, 20 August. Showtimes are available at Golden Village locations — check the GV app or your preferred cinema’s website now if you want a seat before the weekend crowds descend. Given how the film has performed in Japan, expect strong demand from families and the sizeable local Chiikawa fanbase alike.
GV Suntec Fans Screening — 22 August
Still from Toho’s official trailer
For the full fan experience, Golden Village Suntec City is hosting a dedicated fans screening on Saturday, 22 August, with sessions at 12:00 PM, 12:15 PM, and 12:30 PM. Tickets are priced at $30 (public) and $28 (GVMC members), and each includes an exclusive A3 key visual poster (Japanese edition), a mini character charm blind pack, and a collectible ticket. Full details and booking info are in our earlier coverage.
Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island (2026) — via Far East Films on YouTube (official SEA release)
Chiikawa the Movie can also be found listed on Manga Anime news at GameTrader.SG.
The developer behind Link! Like! Love Live! has collapsed. ODD No Inc., the Tokyo-based studio responsible for the school idol rhythm game, received a bankruptcy commencement order from the Tokyo District Court on August 5, 2026, alongside two affiliate companies — just over two months after the game itself closed its doors. The scale of the financial damage is staggering: liabilities of ¥10.32 billion (around SGD 87 million).
A Game That Tried to Live in Real Time
Image courtesy of ODD No / Sunrise
Link! Like! Love Live! launched in May 2023 as the smartphone home of the Hasunosora Girls’ High School Idol Club — a new group within the beloved Love Live! franchise. What made the game unusual was its real-time calendar system: in-game events ran on a literal calendar, with the idols living out their school year day by day in sync with real life, complete with live-streaming sessions that fans across Asia tuned into regularly.
For Singapore fans who had followed the Love Live! franchise through concerts, physical merchandise, and earlier series entries, Hasunosora felt like a new chapter worth following closely. The real-time idol life format proved enormously engaging — but it also placed an extraordinary operational burden on the developer.
When ODD No announced the game’s shutdown in April 2026, the company cited skyrocketing operational costs and insufficient human resources to sustain the system. As relayed by Automaton West, ODD No described the real-time calendar’s operational demands as "unimaginable" and "far greater than for any typical live-service game." The game ended service on June 30, 2026.
「Dream Believers」— the game’s opening theme, via 蓮ノ空女学院スクールアイドルクラブ公式チャンネル on YouTube
The Financial Picture — A Mountain of Debt
Image courtesy of ODD No / Sunrise
Credit investigation firm Tokyo Shoko Research published a breakdown on August 13 (Japanese), reported by Automaton West: ODD No’s liabilities had reached ¥10.32 billion ($64.7 million USD / approximately SGD 87 million) as of the fiscal year ended December 2024. The game’s net loss for FY2023 alone was ¥5.6 billion, leaving the company with a liability excess of ¥6.8 billion at the end of that year.
The final months were marked by dramatic signs of distress. In December 2025 and again in March 2026, ODD No’s own headquarters — which doubled as the CEO’s home — was subjected to provisional attachment orders filed by alleged business partners. This legal measure freezes assets to protect creditors’ ability to recover what they’re owed once formal bankruptcy proceeds.
The bankruptcy proceedings, as reported via ITMedia (Japanese) and covered in Automaton West, cover ODD No alongside two affiliated companies — all three received commencement orders from the Tokyo District Court on August 5.
A Bruising Year for Mobile Game Developers
ODD No’s collapse is part of a wider reckoning in Japan’s mobile gaming industry. Automaton West reports, citing Tokyo Shoko Research data, that 10 mobile game developers went bankrupt between January and July 2026 alone — versus just 3 for all of 2025. With ODD No added to the tally, the sector is on pace for a new annual record.
The Love Live! franchise itself is unaffected. The Hasunosora idols continue to have music, merchandise, and an active YouTube presence — their story simply moved back to other media after the app closed. For Singapore Love Live! fans who want to keep up, the broader franchise continues through other anime and music releases still in active production.
But the closure of Link! Like! Love Live! — and now its developer’s bankruptcy — is a sharp reminder of how costly ambition can be in the live-service space. Running a real-time idol school life, in perfect sync with the calendar, seven days a week, turned out to be a different matter entirely from building a great concept on paper.
