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Manga Anime

Black Clover Second Season Confirmed for October 2026 — World Premiere at Anime Expo on 4 July

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The Black Clover anime is back. Studio Pierrot has confirmed that Black Clover Second Season will premiere in October 2026, continuing the story of Asta and the Magic Knights after a five-year gap since the original 170-episode run ended in 2021. On top of that, a world premiere of the very first episode is set for Anime Expo 2026 on 4 July in Los Angeles — just over a week away — with the voice of Asta himself, Gakuto Kajiwara, and returning director Ayataka Tanemura in attendance.

Five Years in the Making: Black Clover Second Season

The original Black Clover anime ran from 2017 to 2021 across 170 episodes, produced by Studio Pierrot and covering the manga through the intense Spade Kingdom arc. The manga concluded its serialisation in Weekly Shōnen Jump after over eleven years, and the Second Season is set to animate the story’s climactic final chapters — the ones fans who read ahead have been waiting years to see animated.

Director Ayataka Tanemura — who helmed the original run as well as the 2023 film Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King — is back in the chair, with Studio Pierrot returning as the animation house. Confirmed returnees include Gakuto Kajiwara as Asta and Nobunaga Shimazaki as Yuno.

Black Clover Second Season | Official Trailer 2 | Crunchyroll — via Crunchyroll on YouTube

Anime Expo 2026: World Premiere on 4 July

The world premiere of Episode 1 will be held at Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles on 4 July, ahead of the October broadcast. The panel includes Gakuto Kajiwara and director Ayataka Tanemura, making it a genuine event for fans who can attend in person — and a major source of first impressions and clips for everyone watching online. Anime Expo runs from 2 to 5 July, but the Black Clover premiere is on Day 3 at the Peacock Theater, starting at 1:30 PM Pacific Time.

Black Clover Second Season official key visual featuring Asta in Devil Union form
Image courtesy of Studio Pierrot / Shueisha

Singapore Streaming: What We Know

Crunchyroll will stream Black Clover Second Season internationally when it premieres in October — but with one important caveat: the announcement specifies that Crunchyroll’s deal excludes Asia. For Singapore viewers, that means Crunchyroll is not the confirmed option here.

The original Black Clover seasons are available on Netflix Singapore, which suggests a regional streaming deal exists — but there has been no official confirmation yet from Netflix or any other Asia-region service about carrying the Second Season. We’ll update this when streaming partners for Southeast Asia are announced. In the meantime, Asta’s return is worth bookmarking: October 2026 is about three months away, and with an episode 1 premiere at AX on 4 July, more details should surface shortly.

Asta in Devil Union mode in Black Clover Second Season
Image courtesy of Studio Pierrot / Shueisha

We’ll have full coverage of any streaming announcements for Singapore as they come. In the meantime, browse our anime news for everything else airing this season.

Manga Anime

Steel Ball Run 2nd Stage Key Visual — Anime Expo Reveal on 3 July

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The Steel Ball Run race is still running strong. Warner Bros. Japan unveiled a brand-new key visual for Steel Ball Run: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure 2nd Stage on 26 June, and confirmed that further details about the upcoming series will be announced at Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles on 3 July — just one week away. The 2nd Stage arrives on Netflix in Fall 2026 with weekly episodes, and Singapore fans streaming on Netflix are in line for the ride.

Steel Ball Run JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 2nd Stage key visual featuring Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Japan

Steel Ball Run Anime 2nd Stage: A New Key Visual and What It Signals

The new key visual, released by Warner Bros. Japan, is the clearest sign yet that production on the 2nd Stage is moving at pace. The adaptation is produced by David Production — the same studio behind every previous JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure anime season — and continues the story of former jockey Johnny Joestar and mysterious outlaw Gyro Zeppeli competing in the Steel Ball Run, a punishing cross-continental horse race across 1890s America for a US$50 million prize.

The 2nd Stage is set to premiere on Netflix with a weekly release schedule. That delivery format is a direct response to fan frustration over the 1st Stage debut — a standalone 47-minute special that dropped on 19 March 2026 and left the community waiting months for clarification on what came next. In April, Netflix and Warner Bros. Japan confirmed Fall 2026 weekly episodes, and the new key visual now arriving signals that the countdown is on.

STEEL BALL RUN JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure 2nd STAGE | Official Teaser | Netflix — via Netflix Philippines on YouTube

Into the Devil’s Palm: What the 2nd Stage Covers

The 2nd Stage takes Johnny and Gyro into the harshest stretch of the race yet — a 750-mile desert crossing centred on a supernatural location the locals fear as the Devil’s Palm. As the competitors press deeper into this cursed ground, unsettling incidents begin mounting among the other racers, and a shadowy culprit lurks within the contest itself. The 2nd Stage teaser shown at AnimeJapan 2026 in March framed the arc as both a survival test and a murder mystery, raising the stakes of the race well beyond prize money.

Steel Ball Run JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 2nd Stage announcement visual
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Japan

Anime Expo 2026: What Singapore Fans Should Expect on 3 July

Warner Bros. Japan confirmed that new information will drop at Anime Expo 2026 on 3 July in Los Angeles. The convention’s main event days run 4–7 July, but major studios routinely hold press-only reveals on 3 July ahead of the public opening. For Steel Ball Run, that announcement could mean a firmer Fall 2026 premiere date, a full trailer, or additional character details for the Devil’s Palm arc. There’s no confirmed Singapore or SEA-specific announcement scheduled, though Netflix’s global delivery model means Singapore subscribers on Netflix will receive episodes simultaneously with the rest of the world once the weekly schedule begins.

Stay tuned — we’ll cover whatever drops on 3 July. In the meantime, check out our other anime news for everything else Singapore fans are watching this season.

Steel Ball Run JoJo's Bizarre Adventure on Netflix
Image courtesy of Netflix / Warner Bros. Japan

Manga Anime

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 — First Characters Revealed, Netflix Trailer Drops June 29

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Night City isn’t done with us yet. Studio TRIGGER and CD Projekt Red have been steadily drip-feeding details about Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, introducing the first member of the new crew and confirming that a full first-look trailer lands on 29 June 2026 — two days from now. If the original Edgerunners left a hole in your chest that no amount of Netrunner builds could fill, the wait is almost over.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 | Official Teaser | Netflix — via Netflix on YouTube

Night City Has a New Crew — Meet Weak Kingsley

The official Cyberpunk: Edgerunners X account dropped the first character card: Weak Kingsley, a large, dishevelled man introduced with the tagline “Heavy is a crown. Heavier is the chrome.” The post formatted the reveal as a crew roster update — [CREW UPDATE] // +1 EDGERUNNER // WEAK KINGSLEY — with three additional silhouettes still blacked out alongside him, teasing that more reveals are on the way before the trailer goes live.

Promotional art unveiled at Annecy also gives us a second hint: a young, blonde character holding a camcorder appears in the key visual, and the internet has wasted no time speculating that she is the new lead. Netflix has not confirmed her name or role yet, so consider it a strong rumour until June 29.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 promotional artwork revealed at Annecy 2026
Image courtesy of Netflix / CD Projekt Red

What We Know About Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2

Much of the original creative team is back. Kai Ikarashi — who directed Episode 6, “Girl on Fire”, arguably the most gut-wrenching hour of the first season — steps up as series director. Kanno Ichigo returns as lead character designer, so expect that same hyper-kinetic, chrome-soaked aesthetic. Story is handled by returning Bartosz Sztybor, with screenplay by Masahiko Otsuka.

The new season will be a completely standalone ten-episode story set in Night City — David Martinez, Lucy, and Rebecca will not be returning as central characters. The official description frames it as “a raw chronicle of redemption and revenge,” which, knowing TRIGGER, probably means we are in for another emotional demolition job. No official release window has been confirmed, though industry watchers broadly expect a 2027 Netflix premiere.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 official teaser thumbnail on Netflix YouTube
Image courtesy of Netflix / CD Projekt Red

Singapore Anime Fans: Mark Your Calendars

The original Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is on Netflix, which means Singapore subscribers had day-one access — and if viewing figures and social chatter are anything to go by, it absolutely resonated here. Expect Season 2 to land on Netflix Singapore on the same day as global release once a date is confirmed.

If you want more Edgerunners 2 news sooner, CD Projekt Red has a dedicated panel at Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles on 3 July 2026, where further details about the new story and cast are expected to be shared. The first full trailer, however, is already confirmed for 29 June via Netflix’s social channels — so watch the @edgerunners and Netflix accounts for the drop.

In the meantime, catch up on all the latest anime news on GameTrader — the Summer 2026 season is about to kick off and it is stacked.

Manga Anime

Kagurabachi Anime Coming to Crunchyroll April 2027 — Singapore Confirmed

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Crunchyroll has officially confirmed it will stream the Kagurabachi anime adaptation starting April 2027 — and Singapore is in the streaming territory. The series will be available on Crunchyroll worldwide, excluding Japan, Mainland China, North Korea, and South Korea, putting it within reach of fans here from the first episode.

Kagurabachi | Official Teaser | Crunchyroll — via Crunchyroll on YouTube

Why Kagurabachi Has Shonen Fans Excited

Based on the manga by Takeru Hokazono, serialised in Weekly Shonen Jump since 2023, Kagurabachi follows Chihiro Rokuhira — a young swordsman driven by revenge, wielding the enchanted blade Enten. The series built a devoted readership unusually quickly for a new Jump title, drawing fans in with its striking visual style and a lean, unrelenting revenge narrative that wastes no time on filler.

Chihiro Rokuhira character visual for the Kagurabachi anime
Image courtesy of Crunchyroll

The Studio and Creative Team

The adaptation is directed by Tetsuya Takeuchi, with character design by Keigo Sasaki. Animation production is handled by Crunchyroll-announced studio Cypic, whose previous credits include Umamusume: Pretty Derby — Cinderella Gray and The Summer Hikaru Died. The studio is relatively young, but those projects signal it can handle both high-energy action sequences and the quieter, more atmospheric moments Kagurabachi demands.

Kunishige Rokuhira character visual for the Kagurabachi anime
Image courtesy of Crunchyroll

Japanese Voice Cast — What Has Been Confirmed

Three members of the Japanese voice cast have been announced so far:

  • Chihiro Rokuhira — voiced by Taihi Kimura
  • Kunishige Rokuhira (Chihiro’s father, a master swordsmith) — voiced by Tomokazu Seki
  • Togo Shiba — voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi

The most recent addition is Katsuyuki Konishi as Togo Shiba, announced alongside a new character visual and dedicated character trailer. Further casting is expected to be revealed closer to the April 2027 premiere.

KAGURABACHI | Official Character Trailer: Chihiro Rokuhira — via CyberAgent ANIME Global on YouTube
Togo Shiba character visual for the Kagurabachi anime, voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi
Image courtesy of Crunchyroll

World Tour Screenings Before the Premiere

Ahead of the April 2027 broadcast debut, a global Kagurabachi Anime World Tour of early episode screenings has been confirmed. Part 1 of the tour takes in:

  • Anime Expo (Los Angeles, July 2026)
  • Japan Expo (Paris)
  • AnimagiC (Germany)
  • Otakon (Washington D.C.)
  • Anime NYC (New York)

No stops in Singapore or Southeast Asia are confirmed for Part 1. Full tour details are at the official Kagurabachi World Tour site.

When Can Singapore Fans Watch Kagurabachi?

Kagurabachi is confirmed for Crunchyroll in Singapore when it premieres in April 2027. A precise episode schedule and simulcast details have not been announced yet. For more upcoming anime heading to the platform, check our Manga Anime coverage.

Manga Anime

Youjo Senki II Premieres 8 July — Saga of Tanya the Evil Returns After Nine Years

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Nine years is a long time to wait. Youjo Senki II — the second television series adaptation of Carlo Zen’s alternate-history military fantasy light novel — has an official premiere date: 8 July 2026. Studio NUT confirmed the date via the official Youjo Senki anime website (Japanese) and Kadokawa’s anime channel, and the first main PV is already live. After the 2017 Season 1 and the 2019 theatrical film, the TV story is finally continuing.

Youjo Senki II — official Season 2 key visual
Image courtesy of KADOKAWA / Studio NUT
TVアニメ『幼女戦記Ⅱ』 — Official Main PV #1 — via KADOKAWAanime on YouTube

Nine Years in the Making — Why This Is Such a Big Deal

Youjo Senki (The Saga of Tanya the Evil) premiered in January 2017, ran for twelve episodes, and quickly built an audience well beyond the usual isekai crowd. Its pitch — a ruthless Japanese salaryman reincarnated as a small girl with extraordinary magical ability in a WWI-analogue fantasy world, then conscripted into an imperial air corps — was strange enough to be memorable and executed with enough tactical and moral seriousness to keep people watching. The 2019 film extended the story but left the main arc unresolved on television. Season 2 picks up that thread.

For Singapore anime fans, the franchise has stayed in the conversation: both the series and the film are on Crunchyroll in the region. Season 2 is the continuation those viewers have been waiting for since 2017.

New Setting, Higher Stakes

Season 2 moves the war east. It is Autumn 1926 in the show’s Unified Calendar — Tanya von Degurechaff has been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and now commands the newly formed Kampfgruppe Salamander, a mobile strike unit built for harsh-weather operations against the Federation on the eastern front. The shift in theatre matters: the eastern campaign in Season 2’s source material is darker, more attritional, and involves opponents with a different strategic logic than the western-front enemies of Season 1. The PV suggests the production is leaning into that tonal shift.

Youjo Senki II — Season 2 announcement event visual
Image courtesy of KADOKAWA / Studio NUT

New Characters Join the Fight

Two significant additions to the cast have been confirmed. Mikhel, a Federal aerial mage on the opposing side, is voiced by Tomokazu Sugita — one of the most recognisable voices in Japanese animation (Joseph Joestar, Persona 5’s Ryuji, Genshin Impact’s Zhongli). Lilia, a political commissar attached to Mikhel’s unit, is played by Yoko Hikasa, known for Mio Akiyama in K-On! and Rias Gremory in High School DxD. Neither character is a simple antagonist; both carry the moral complexity the show has always used to keep its ideological debate alive.

Youjo Senki II — new character Mikhel, voiced by Tomokazu Sugita
Image courtesy of KADOKAWA
Youjo Senki II — new character Lilia, voiced by Yoko Hikasa
Image courtesy of KADOKAWA

Behind the Camera

Studio NUT returns for Season 2, preserving visual continuity with the original run. The director’s chair changes, however: Yutaka Uemura, who led Season 1, is replaced by Yamamoto Takayuki. Series composition is by Inohara Kenta, with character designs by Hosokoshi Yuji. The PV’s animation quality holds up well against the benchmark the 2017 series set, and the orchestral score carries the same propulsive military energy the franchise is known for.

When and How to Watch From Singapore

Youjo Senki II premieres on 8 July 2026, airing at 9:30 PM JST on AT-X, TOKYO MX, Sun TV, KBS Kyoto, BS11, and TV Aichi in Japan. Streaming details for Singapore and Southeast Asia have not been officially announced as of this writing — the regional licensing for anime in this tier typically lands in the weeks before broadcast. Given that Season 1 and the film are on Crunchyroll in the region, that platform is the most likely home for Season 2; Muse Asia is the other strong candidate. Keep an eye on both for a confirmation before 8 July.

The first main PV is already up on the official KADOKAWAanime YouTube channel (embedded above) — worth watching even if you do not read Japanese. For more anime news and seasonal coverage, check our Manga Anime section.

Manga Anime, News

Fool Night Anime Revealed — Sunrise × SHAFT’s First Collab Streams on Netflix in 2026

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The wait is over. At the Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2026, the Sunrise × SHAFT anime project that has had the fandom buzzing for a week finally has a name: Fool Night. The dark sci-fi thriller will stream exclusively worldwide on Netflix later this year — yes, including Singapore.

「Fool Night」 Teaser PV — via Bandai Namco Film Works on YouTube

What Is Fool Night?

Based on the award-winning manga by Kasumi Yasuda, Fool Night is set in a bleak future where thick clouds permanently block the sun, plunging Earth into endless darkness. With plant life wiped out and oxygen depleting, humanity devised a drastic solution: transfloration, a process that converts dying humans into plant-like organisms to restore the oxygen supply.

At the centre of the story is Toshiro Kamiya, a young man who undergoes transfloration and discovers an unexpected side effect — he can hear plants. That ability sets him on a path to bridge the silence between humans and those who have transformed, a drama of identity, grief, and survival sitting somewhere between hard science fiction and quiet horror.

Fool Night anime key visual — Sunrise × SHAFT
Image courtesy of Fool Night Anime Production Committee / Bandai Namco Film Works

Two Studios. One Historic First.

This announcement caps a genuine historic milestone: Sunrise and SHAFT have never collaborated on an anime before. Sunrise’s legacy spans Cowboy Bebop, Code Geass, and the entire Gundam franchise; SHAFT built its reputation on the kinetic, visually daring style of Puella Magi Madoka Magica and the Monogatari series. Pairing them on a single dark, atmospheric sci-fi property is a bold creative bet — and the kind that tends to pay off.

Meet the Team Behind It

The production staff is full of names anime fans will recognise:

  • Director: Atsuyuki Yukawa — previously an episode director on Suzume no Tojimari; Fool Night marks his debut as a chief series director
  • Series Composition: Jin Tanaka — the writer behind Oshi no Ko
  • Character Design: Robert Sato
  • Sound Director: Yota Tsuruoka — credits include A Silent Voice (Koe no Katachi)
  • Music: Tatsuya Kato — the composer behind the acclaimed Dr. STONE score
Fool Night anime — Toshiro Kamiya and Yomiko Horai character visual
Image courtesy of Fool Night Anime Production Committee / Bandai Namco Film Works

The lead voice cast is equally well-matched. Koki Uchiyama — known to many as Tomura Shigaraki in My Hero Academia — voices protagonist Toshiro Kamiya. Minako Kotobuki (Tsumugi in K-On!) plays Yomiko Horai, Toshiro’s childhood friend.

An Award-Winning Manga with a Global Following

Yasuda’s manga is no newcomer to acclaim. Serialised in Shogakukan’s Big Comic Superior since November 2020, it currently runs to 12 volumes. It ranked in Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2023 — Japan’s reader-voted best manga guide — and took home the Japan Expo DARUMA Award 2023 for Best Suspense in France, signalling international appetite long before any anime was confirmed. Singapore and SEA readers can pick up the English-language volumes through Shogakukan Asia.

Netflix Streams Worldwide — Singapore Included

Netflix confirmed a worldwide exclusive for Fool Night in 2026. No specific episode count or premiere date beyond “2026” was given at Annecy, so keep an eye on the Netflix Singapore page for updates. Given how quickly Netflix rolls out its anime titles globally, expect close-to-simultaneous access for Singapore fans when the series premieres.

Last Words

Midnight in Singapore, and the anime news cycle just woke up. Fool Night checks every box for a prestige Netflix anime: an acclaimed manga source, a career-defining staff roster, and two studios whose visual signatures are so distinct that their collision alone is worth watching. Singapore fans who want to get ahead of the curve can dive into the English manga through Shogakukan Asia now. We will be covering this one closely as a premiere date firms up. For more anime news, check out our Manga Anime coverage.

Manga Anime, News

Akane-banashi Season 2 Confirmed — Rakugo Returns in January 2027

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Rakugo fans, the wait is officially short. Akane-banashi — the Weekly Shonen Jump series following a teenage girl’s journey into traditional Japanese storytelling — is getting a second anime season in January 2027, and the production has already dropped a teaser trailer, revealed the arc it will cover, and announced six new cast members.

TV Anime “Akane-banashi” | Season 2 Confirmed! Premieres January 2027 — via Akane-banashi Global on YouTube

The Apprentice Training Arc Takes the Stage

Season 2 will adapt the Apprentice Training Arc, the portion of Yuki Suenaga and Takamasa Moue’s manga where Akane Sakurazaka graduates from high school and commits fully to rakugo as a disciple. Under Shiguma Arakawa’s tutelage, she takes on the professional stage name Akane Arakawa — a formal debut in a world that still leaves little room for women at the top of the craft.

Studio ZEXCS returns to animate, with Ayumu Watanabe directing and Kii Tanaka continuing as character designer and chief animation director. The core returning cast, led by Anna Nagase as Akane, is intact. The announcement, which Anime Corner reported on 20 June 2026, was made on the official Akane-banashi website alongside a commemorative illustration and the Season 2 PV above.

Six New Voices Join the Stage

The production revealed the cast for new characters who appeared in Season 1’s finale:

  • Hōchū Ōtsuka as Miroku Kashiwaya
  • Ryōtarō Ōkiayu as Shomei Tsubakiya
  • Hiroshi Naka as Enso Sanmeitei
  • Mutsumi Tamura as Urara Ransaika
  • Shin’ichirō Miki as Ryu’un Kenputei
  • Tomokazu Seki as Chocho Konjakutei
Akane-banashi Season 2 commemorative illustration by character designer Kii Tanaka
Image courtesy of Akane-banashi production committee

That is a stacked line-up of veteran seiyū. Tomokazu Seki alone has been on a serious run lately — and his casting here, alongside Ryōtarō Ōkiayu and Shin’ichirō Miki, suggests Season 2 is not treating the new characters as background dressing. Expect them to have real dramatic weight in the arc.

A Quick Primer for New Viewers

Akane-banashi is not your typical Shonen Jump action series. There are no power systems or tournament brackets in the conventional sense — all the drama plays out through rakugo performances. Rakugo is a traditional Japanese sit-down storytelling art form where a single performer uses only a fan and a small cloth to voice dozens of characters and narrate entire comedic or dramatic stories. It is one of Japan’s oldest performing arts and has found a passionate new global audience partly through anime adaptations like Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju.

Akane-banashi Season 2 announcement PV screenshot
Image courtesy of Akane-banashi production committee

What makes Akane-banashi stand out is its granular writing about craft — how a performance is built, where a joke lands, why pacing matters — and the fact that its protagonist is a teenage girl fighting for legitimacy in a tradition that historically excludes women. Season 1, which aired from April 2026 on Crunchyroll, covered the groundwork. Season 2 is where that fight really begins.

A Live Rakugo Event in Tokyo This August

Alongside the Season 2 announcement, a live rakugo performance event was confirmed for 9 August 2026 at Suehirotei in Shinjuku, Tokyo — one of Japan’s most historically significant rakugo theatres. Voice actress Anna Nagase (Akane) will perform alongside the show’s rakugo supervisor Kikuhiko Hayashiya. For anyone planning a Japan trip this summer, this is the kind of pop-culture-meets-tradition event worth building a day around.

Last Words

Season 1 of Akane-banashi streamed on Crunchyroll for Singapore viewers and Season 2 will almost certainly follow the same path when it launches in January 2027. If you have not started it yet, you have around seven months to catch up — and the whole thing is worth your time. Rakugo has never looked this good on screen.

More anime news on GameTrader.SG

Manga Anime, News

Sunrise x SHAFT Team Up for the First Time — Anime Reveal Tonight at 11:30pm SGT

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Two of anime’s most storied studios are teaming up for the very first time, and the big reveal lands tonight. Sunrise — the studio behind Mobile Suit Gundam, Code Geass, and Love Live! — and SHAFT — the house that built Puella Magi Madoka Magica and the Monogatari series — have launched a joint account (@sunrise_shaft) on X, and their first-ever joint anime project reveals tonight at 11:30 p.m. SGT (24 June, 12:30 a.m. JST).

Sunrise x SHAFT joint anime teaser art showing neon urban imagery
Image courtesy of Sunrise x SHAFT

Why This Collab Is Unlike Anything Before

Sunrise and SHAFT have each defined a distinct corner of anime for decades. Sunrise sits inside Bandai Namco Filmworks and is the powerhouse behind mecha royalty: Gundam has been running since 1979, and Code Geass remains one of the genre’s most beloved strategy thrillers. SHAFT, founded in 1975, took a very different path — its signature visual fingerprint, long associated with director Shinbo Akiyuki, gave the world Madoka Magica‘s heart-breaking mahou shoujo deconstruction and Monogatari‘s text-art layering and head-tilts.

These studios occupy genuinely different creative worlds. That is exactly what makes the announcement of a first-ever joint project so striking: nobody saw this coming, and the question of what happens when you blend Sunrise’s action-driven storytelling with SHAFT’s avant-garde visual language has no precedent to draw from.

What the Teaser Shows — and What It Doesn’t

The teaser posted on @sunrise_shaft uses color script artwork — the atmospheric painting technique animators use before full production begins — to suggest the story’s mood rather than show its world outright. The clip hints at neon-drenched urban settings. Two images stand out: a figure holding a knife, and another figure scribbled out and walking through a crowd in neon light. The account’s profile picture is a red spider lily, which in Japanese symbolism is associated with death, farewell, and the boundary between worlds.

None of this confirms a title, source material, genre, or cast. All of that is for tonight.

What Fans Are Speculating

The visual language in the teaser has led some fans to point toward Fool Night, a manga by Kasumi Yasuda about a street artist who takes a risky gamble on someone else’s identity. The knife, the crossed-out figure, and the urban neon palette are consistent with that premise. But the production has confirmed nothing about source material. This is fan pattern-matching — worth noting, but not confirmed fact.

How to Watch the Reveal Tonight

The official announcement drops tonight at 11:30 p.m. SGT. The easiest way to follow along is to head to X and watch @sunrise_shaft directly. There is no confirmed streaming platform for the eventual series yet — that information will likely come as part of or after tonight’s reveal.

Last Words

Singapore fans know both studios well. Gundam has had a consistent presence here — from the model kit aisles at Bugis+ to the crowds that turned up to dedicated mecha exhibitions. SHAFT’s catalogue is practically required reading for any serious anime fan, and Madoka Magica in particular has had a lasting grip on the local community. Whatever this joint project turns out to be, tonight’s reveal is one of the more genuinely anticipated anime moments of 2026. Set your alarm for 11:30 p.m.

More anime news on GameTrader.SG

Manga Anime, News

Pokémon Horizons Season 3 Part 3 Lands on Netflix 26 June

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The wait is almost over — Pokémon Horizons: Season 3 — Rising Hope Part 3 lands on Netflix this Friday, 26 June 2026, picking up where one of the most story-driven Pokémon anime seasons in recent memory left off.

Pokémon Horizons Season 3 Part 3 — official clip still featuring Dot's Gimmighoul and Sinistcha
Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company

What’s Happening in Part 3

Part 3 takes Liko, Roy, and the rest of the Rising Volt Tacklers to Blueberry Academy, where the intensity dial gets turned all the way up. Training is the focus — and not just any training: the young trainers are preparing to challenge Elite Four members and sharpen their edge against the Explorers, the organisation threatening to spread Laquium across the world.

Mysteries around Terapagos deepen as the crew works to understand its connection to Laquium, while the Brave Olivine receives a surprise message that sends everyone scrambling. Dot’s newest partner, Gimmighoul, steps into the spotlight — as does the match-green tea Pokémon Sinistcha, featured in the official Part 3 clip below. New rival Ult, who declared himself Roy’s challenger last season, continues to push the group forward.

An Astonishing Battle! | Pokémon Horizons: Season 3—Rising Hope Part 3 — via The Official Pokémon YouTube channel

Catch Up Before Friday

If you’re joining late, Rising Hope is the 28th season of the Pokémon anime and the third arc following Liko and Roy — the freshest protagonists since Ash hung up his Poké Balls. The season opened with a year time-skip, placing the Rising Volt Tacklers in a new chapter after the events in Laqua left the group without a leader.

Parts 1 and 2 — 22 episodes between them — are already on Netflix. Season 3 runs to 47 episodes in total, so Part 3 adds a substantial new stretch to the story. The official episode count for Part 3 has not been confirmed at time of writing, but previous releases suggest around 10–12 new episodes.

Pokémon Horizons Season 3 Rising Hope — official Netflix trailer key art
Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company

Where Singapore Fans Can Watch

Netflix Singapore carries Pokémon Horizons, so Part 3 should be available on your account from 26 June — no VPN needed. For fans who want to watch without a Netflix subscription, the Pokémon Asia ENG YouTube channel has been streaming Season 3 episodes for free since March 2026, making this one of the most accessible Pokémon anime releases for fans in the region.

Check the official Pokémon announcement for the latest details, and see all our anime coverage here.

Last words

Singapore Pokémon fans have been eating well lately — between Pokémon GO events, the TCG, and Pokémon Champions Mobile hitting #1 on iOS locally, this is a genuinely great time to be a Trainer here. Part 3 of Rising Hope arrives just as the Summer 2026 anime season heats up, making this Friday’s drop a tidy warm-up for what’s ahead. Save your Netflix queue for 26 June.