Tag Archives: KONAMI

Suikoden: The Anime Brings Suikoden II to Life — October Premiere, amazarashi Opening, August Theatrical Run

One of the most beloved JRPGs ever made is finally becoming an anime. Suikoden: The Anime, Konami Animation’s full-series adaptation of Suikoden II, has confirmed an October 2026 TV premiere — and a second promotional video released on 5 July added even more fuel to the hype, unveiling a new opening theme from Japanese rock band amazarashi and a wave of additional voice cast names including Miyuki Sawashiro.

Suikoden The Anime first promotional video
Image courtesy of Konami

What Is Suikoden: The Anime?

The series is a new production by Konami Animation adapting the story of the 1998 PS1 classic Suikoden II — widely considered one of the greatest RPGs ever made and a formative game for a generation of Singapore and Southeast Asian fans who discovered it on PlayStation. The anime follows Riou and Jowy, two young soldiers from the Highland Kingdom whose bond is tested by war, betrayal, and the weight of the 27 True Runes.

Direction is by Yūzō Satō, known for Hunter × Hunter: The Last Mission, with series composition by Michihiro Tsuchiya. The character design trio — Fumi Ishikawa (original game designs), Arata Suzuki (anime concept art), and Ryō Yamauchi (TV animation adaptation) — has been working to translate the distinctive look of Suikoden II into a full animated series.

Riou, the protagonist of Suikoden: The Anime
Image courtesy of Konami

New Trailer and amazarashi’s Opening Theme

The second promotional video, released 5 July, is the most substantial look at the series yet — and it opens with the first bars of the new theme song. “Kanashimi Sae Otonabite” (Even Sorrow Resounds) by amazarashi is the series’ opening theme, a band whose work on Dororo and Fumetsu no Anata e made them a favourite among fans of emotionally heavy anime — a fitting match for a story about friendship, war, and political betrayal.

Suikoden: The Anime — 2nd Promotional Video (opening theme: amazarashi) — via NBCUniversal Anime/Music on YouTube

Voice Cast Highlights

The main duo is played by Toshiki Kumagai (Riou) and Shimba Tsuchiya (Jowy). Jowy’s arc — starting as Riou’s closest friend and evolving into the story’s most tragic antagonist — gives Tsuchiya one of the more demanding roles in the season.

Jowy Atreides from Suikoden: The Anime
Image courtesy of Konami

Among the supporting cast, Miyuki Sawashiro (best known internationally as Celty in Durarara!! and Jolyne in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Stone Ocean) will voice Anabelle, the Mayor of Muse City — a key political figure in the Highland-City-State conflict. Hiroki Sakai joins as Jess, and King Agares Blight, the ailing Highland ruler, will be voiced by Yamanoi Hitoshi. The cast also includes Katsuyuki Konishi and Yuichi Nakamura, two veterans whose combined credits span Fate/stay night, My Hero Academia, Gintama, and dozens of other flagship titles — signalling that Konami Animation has gone all-in on the production.

Japan Theatrical Premiere and TV Broadcast

Before the series airs on TV, the first three episodes will receive a theatrical premiere in Japan on 21 August 2026 — giving audiences an early, big-screen look at the adaptation before the broadcast run begins.

The TV broadcast launches on 3 October 2026 with a 60-minute extended first episode, rolling out across TOKYO MX, Kansai TV, BS Asahi, and 32 stations nationwide.

Suikoden: The Anime promotional visual
Image courtesy of Konami

What Singapore Fans Should Know

International streaming for Suikoden: The Anime has not been confirmed yet, and there is no confirmed SG or SEA release date for the theatrical cut. Crunchyroll handled the Suikoden I & II HD Remaster marketing in the region, and NBC Universal Entertainment Japan (the distributor behind the 2nd PV) handles many titles that end up on streaming platforms globally — so a Crunchyroll or similar simulcast pick-up is plausible, but officially still to be confirmed.

For now, Suikoden: The Anime goes down as one of the most anticipated Fall 2026 series for JRPG fans and veteran anime watchers. Follow the Konami Animation official site and other anime news here for streaming announcements as they come.

Tokyo Game Show 2026 Reveals 759 Exhibitors for Historic 5-Day Run

Tokyo Game Show 2026 is already shaping up to be the most ambitious in the event’s 30-year history. The Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association (CESA) revealed today that 759 companies have committed to exhibiting at TGS 2026 — spanning 484 domestic and 275 international participants from 51 countries and regions — across 3,946 booths at Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Japan. Dates: 17–21 September 2026.

Tokyo Game Show 2026 official key visual by illustrator Warashi
Image courtesy of CESA / Tokyo Game Show

Five Days for the First Time

The headline change this year is format: TGS 2026 runs five days rather than the usual four, making it the longest Tokyo Game Show ever held. Under the anniversary theme “The Longest Five Days of Non-Stop Play” (史上最長、遊びづくしの5DAYS), the schedule is split into two business days (17–18 September, for industry and press) followed by three public days (19–21 September). Organisers expect approximately 300,000 visitors across all five days.

The expanded format is a fitting way to mark the show’s 30th anniversary, and for Singapore gamers planning a Japan trip this September, three consecutive open days gives more flexibility for travel logistics than previous years’ two-day public windows.

TOKYO GAME SHOW 2026 【ティザー動画】大公開! — via TOKYO GAME SHOW/東京ゲームショウ on YouTube

Who’s Exhibiting: The Big Names

The confirmed roster reads like a who’s-who of the global games industry. Major exhibitors already locked in include:

  • Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation)
  • Nintendo
  • Square Enix
  • Capcom
  • SEGA / ATLUS
  • Bandai Namco Entertainment
  • Konami Digital Entertainment
  • Koei Tecmo
  • LEVEL-5
  • HoYoverse
  • Nexon
  • Netmarble
  • PlatinumGames

This year’s international tally surpasses TGS 2025’s count of 46 participating countries, underlining the show’s continued growth as a global platform — and giving the event’s live streams an even broader range of titles to showcase for fans who can’t make it to Chiba in person.

Tokyo Game Show 2026 30th anniversary teaser visual featuring an animated character in front of Makuhari Messe
Image courtesy of CESA / Tokyo Game Show

Exhibition Areas and Special Events

The show floor is divided into dedicated zones: General Exhibition, Smartphone Games, Gaming Hardware, Gaming Lifestyle, AR/VR, eSports, Game Academy, Indie Games, Merchandise and Sales, Family Game Park, Business Solutions, and an AI Technology Pavilion. Red Bull returns as a sponsor with a Street Fighter 6 showmatch on the event floor, and Suzuki will display a custom Hayabusa motorcycle — proof that TGS increasingly blurs the line between gaming expo and broader pop-culture festival.

Country pavilions this year include representatives from Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Poland, Brazil, and India. Malaysia’s presence is a positive sign for Southeast Asian developers who see TGS as a springboard for reaching Japanese and wider Asian audiences.

Tokyo Game Show 2026 logo displayed in front of Makuhari Messe venue
Image courtesy of CESA / Tokyo Game Show

How to Follow TGS 2026 from Singapore

The official TGS website at events.nikkeibp.co.jp/tgs/2026/en/ carries the full exhibitor directory and will host ticket and live-stream information as the September dates approach. CESA has also confirmed a giveaway campaign for tickets, details of which will be announced through the official TGS social accounts.

For those unable to fly to Chiba, the TGS live streams on YouTube have historically been among the most-watched gaming events in Asia — expect publisher stage shows, world premieres, and hands-on coverage from the floor across all five days. We will be covering the key announcements as they drop, so follow our Game News and Game Industry News sections for the build-up to September.

Suikoden’s First Mobile RPG Opens Pre-Registration — Star Leap Announced by KONAMI

Suikoden — KONAMI’s beloved RPG series built on assembling an enormous cast of recruitable characters — is making its first-ever leap onto smartphones. 幻想水滸伝 STAR LEAP (Genso Suikoden: Star Leap) opened pre-registration today, 1 July 2026, on the iOS App Store and Google Play, with a Steam PC version also listed as planned. The news broke via 4Gamer (Japanese) and Famitsu (Japanese) ahead of any English-language coverage.

Suikoden Star Leap — the 108 Stars of Destiny gather under cherry blossom trees in classic pixel-art RPG style
Image courtesy of KONAMI

What Is Suikoden Star Leap?

Set in the same universe as the mainline Suikoden entries, in year 453 of the solar calendar, Star Leap is a free-to-play RPG described by KONAMI as a journey of bonds and encounters (絆と出会う旅). Players guide a new protagonist through a story woven around the franchise’s signature themes of loyalty, sacrifice, and political intrigue. The visual style blends high-resolution 2D character art — illustrated in the moe-realism style that has become familiar in contemporary mobile JRPGs — with the series’ classic pixel-art RPG engine for the gameplay itself. The result looks like a love letter to the original SNES and PlayStation-era entries rather than a full 3D reimagining.

The 108 Stars of Destiny — and Alliance Combat

Suikoden Star Leap — a silver-haired ally character joins the party in a pixel-art encounter scene at night
Image courtesy of KONAMI

The franchise’s defining mechanic — assembling 108 recruitable characters, each aligned with one of the 108 Stars of Destiny from Chinese mythology — returns in Star Leap. KONAMI’s official livestream Suikoden Live vol.6, which aired on 1 July at 8 p.m. JST on the KONAMI official YouTube channel, introduced three characters from the game’s Ran-Rin-Ten (乱凛天) martial arts faction, with voice actresses Miki Sasaki, Aimi and Ayasa Ito appearing as guests to discuss their roles.

The combat system retains the turn-based RPG structure of the originals while adding mobile-friendly convenience options including speed controls (×1.5, ×2.0) and an Auto mode for grinding. Characters can unleash 奥義 (Ougi) — signature ultimate skills tied to each Star’s archetype, shown in the trailers as dramatic full-screen anime-style cutaway attacks.

Watch the Official Battle Trailer

幻想水滸伝 STAR LEAP — Battle Trailer (Japanese) — via KONAMI official YouTube
Suikoden Star Leap — a blue-haired character unleashes a water-element Ougi ultimate skill in battle
Image courtesy of KONAMI

The Battle Trailer shows the combat flow: pixel-art party members face off against enemies on a detailed 2D stage while the portrait of the active attacker dominates the left side of the screen. Ougi animations burst into full-bleed kanji-overlaid splash art — exactly the dramatic manga-panel-esque combat flair long-time Suikoden fans will recognise from the console entries.

Pre-Registration and What SG Fans Should Know

Pre-registration is live now on the Japanese App Store and Google Play, with a Steam version also confirmed to be in development. The game is free-to-play with in-app purchases. No release date has been announced as of today.

For Singapore and Southeast Asian players: no English localisation or non-Japanese regional release has been confirmed yet. Whether KONAMI plans a wider Asian rollout — with English, Traditional Chinese, or Simplified Chinese support — is unknown. Some KONAMI mobile titles launch globally from day one; others are Japan-exclusive for extended periods. Until KONAMI announces otherwise, treat this as a Japan-only pre-registration for now. Japanese-reading fans can search for 幻想水滸伝 STAR LEAP on their local App Store or Google Play to pre-register directly. We will update as an English release is confirmed. Follow our Japanese-source game news for updates as they come in.