{"id":7222,"date":"2026-08-05T12:21:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T04:21:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/kochikame-50th-anniversary-new-anime-game-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T12:21:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T04:21:38","slug":"kochikame-50th-anniversary-new-anime-game-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/kochikame-50th-anniversary-new-anime-game-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Kochikame at 50: New Anime, New Game and a Fresh One-Shot"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you grew up watching the Kochikame<\/em> anime on television \u2014 that perpetually broke Officer Ryotsu stumbling from one harebrained money-making scheme to the next \u2014 2026 is the year to pay attention. The franchise is turning 50, and Shueisha<\/a> is marking the milestone with a new anime, a new game and a fresh one-shot chapter, all at once.<\/p>\n

A New Anime for a New Generation<\/h2>\n
\"KochiKame
Image courtesy of Shueisha Games \/ Kairosoft<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari K\u014den-mae Hashutsujo<\/em> \u2014 better known as Kochikame<\/em> \u2014 began in 1976 and ran for an extraordinary 40 years in Weekly Shonen Jump<\/em>, ending in September 2016 with 200 volumes and the record for the longest-running manga in the magazine’s history. Its anime ran from 1996 to 2004, racking up 373 episodes, and became a fixture across Asia.<\/p>\n

Now it is coming back. Shin Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari K\u014den-mae Hashutsujo<\/em> (New Kochikame) was announced at Jump Festa 2026, with Studio Gallop<\/a> \u2014 the same studio behind the original anime \u2014 returning for production. The new series features an entirely fresh cast; the new voice actors for the four lead roles \u2014 Ryotsu Kankichi, Nakagawa Keiichi, Akimoto Reiko and Ohara Daijiro \u2014 will be revealed at a special event in Tokyo on 5 September 2026<\/strong>. Applications for 50 lucky pairs of tickets opened on 3 August and close 10 August. Release date for the anime is still to be confirmed.<\/p>\n

The Kairosoft Game: Build Ryo-san’s Shopping Empire<\/h2>\n
\"KochiKame
Image courtesy of Shueisha Games \/ Kairosoft<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The game side of the anniversary is being handled by Kairosoft<\/a>, the studio behind Game Dev Story<\/em>, Grand Prix Story<\/em> and dozens of other beloved management sims \u2014 and the fit is perfect. KochiKame: Ryo-san’s Billion-yen Beat<\/em> (published by Shueisha Games) drops Ryotsu into his natural habitat of wild financial schemes, this time as a pixel-art shopping district simulation. Players scrape together seed money through gambling and part-time jobs, then invest it into storefronts \u2014 a convenience store here, a game shop there, a camera shop, a model kit store \u2014 and watch the customers roll in.<\/p>\n

\"KochiKame
Image courtesy of Shueisha Games \/ Kairosoft<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The game features over 200 characters from the manga \u2014 almost every recurring face from 40 years of the series \u2014 and episodic storylines drawn from classic chapters. Kairosoft’s signature pixel aesthetic suits the material well; Kameari has never looked so charmingly retro.<\/p>\n

For Singapore and Southeast Asia fans, the key detail is that the Steam version will support English and Traditional Chinese<\/strong> at launch, alongside Japanese. The game is planned for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, iOS and Android. A release date has not yet been announced.<\/p>\n

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