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Alice in Borderland is one of the most entertaining thrillers in recent memory, based on Haro Aso's manga of the same name. High-stakes survival games, intricate character development, and plot twists that keep viewers on the edge of their seats are trademarks of this outcome. While there are other TV series with similar execution, such as Squid Game,Money Heist, and Kingdom, few have the same energy, making the Japanese series one of the best in the genre. Having said that, there is a great deal of anticipation for the show's return, and Netflix confirmed that the third season will be released soon.

With the second season premiering in December 2022 and topping the charts in over 90 countries, it didn't take long for Netflix to announce a third season, and in September 2023, the official Netflix website revealed that a third season was in the works. Since the first two seasons successfully adapted the manga,...

The 48th annual Japan Academy Film Prizes, also known as Japan Academy Awards, has revealed its nominees for Excellent Animation Award on Jan 21, 2025, with Look Back, Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle, and 3 other anime films among the contenders.

The nominated anime films are:

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Freedom Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle Case Closed: The Million-dollar Pentagram Look Back Give It All

In addition to the animated categories, Asuka Saito, Anna Yamada, and Rihito Itagaki, known for their roles in the live-action adaptations of Oshi No Ko, Golden Kamuy, and Cells At Work! respectively, are all nominated for the Best New Actor category.

In the Outstanding Supporting Actress category, Mana Ashida has earned a nomination for her role as Niko Urushizaki in the live-action adaptation of Cells at Work!.

Go Ayano has been nominated for Outstanding Actor for his role as Kyouji Narita in the live-action film adaptation of Yama Wayama’s Let’s Go Karaoke!

The biggest celebration of Japanese film, the Japan Academy Prize, is gearing up for its 48th annual ceremony on March 14, 2025. Ahead of then, the Japan Academy Prize Association revealed the nominees for all the top awards today . The Animation category is filled with some of the biggest anime films from 2024, including Look Back , Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle, and more! The full list for Animation of the Year includes: Ganbatte Ikimasshoi Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Freedom Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram Look Back Outside of anime, the latest Kingdom live-action film, Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General , is up for Picture of the Year, with director Shinsuke Sato up for Best Director, lead actor and supporting actor Kento Yamazaki and Takao Osawa up for their respective awards as well as many production awards. The Cells at Work live-action film also picked up a few nominations,...

A lesser-known (at least on this side of the globe) martial arts epic has surged to success on streaming worldwide. The action sequel, 2024’s Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General, has now powered its way into the top 10 on Netflix, with audiences all over the globe tuning in to discover what happens next in this saga of warring factions in ancient China. Here’s a spoiler, what happens is epic in a way that few movies are.

Directed by Shinsuke Sato and led by Alice in Borderland star Kento Yamazaki, the rest of the cast includes Ryo Yoshizawa, Kanna Hashimoto, Nana Seino, Shinnosuke Mitsushima, Amane Okayama, Takahiro Miura, Takayuki Hamatsu, Riku Hagiwara, Koji Kikkawa, Masami Nagasawa, Shun Oguri, Takao Osawa, Koichi Sato, and Hiroshi Tamaki, Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General is the latest installment in the Kingdom franchise, which is based on the manga by Yasuhisa Hara.

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Squid Game is a South Korean survival horror thriller series created by Hwang Dong-hyuk. The Netflix series follows Seong Gi-hun, a single father in a huge amount of debt, who is invited to compete in a series of children’s games to win huge sums of money. The only caveat is that if anyone loses the game, they are killed then and there. Squid Game stars Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon, and Lee Byung-hun. So, if you loved the social commentary, thrilling story, and compelling characters in Squid Game, here are some similar shows you should check out next.

The 8 Show (Netflix) Credit – Netflix

The 8 Show is a South Korean dark comedy torture thriller series created by Han Jae-rim. Based on the Naver webtoons Money Game and Pie Game by Bae Jin-soo, the Netflix series revolves around...

The My Hero Academia stage at Jump Festa 2025 revealed today that the superhero anime series, based on the manga by Kohei Horikoshi, will premiere its eighth and final season in Autumn 2025. This will continue the Final War arc, which sees heroes pitted against villains for the soul of the superpowered community. The staff from Season 7 continues for the final season, with series director Kenji Nagasaki acting as chief director and Naomi Nakayama in the director's chair at studio Bones. Yusuke Kuroda continues to write the series composition and scripts, with Yoshihiko Umakoshi and Hitomi Odashima drawing the character designs and Yuki Hayashi composing the music. Related: My Hero Academia Anime Final Season Officially Announced for 2025 My Hero Academia began in Weekly Shonen Jump on July 7, 2014, and ran for over a decade when it then ended on August 5, 2024. The series has spawned seven complete TV anime seasons, three spin-off manga series,...

Domestic features led the Japan box office in 2024 with no live-action titles from outside the country making the top 10.

In the year since December 2023, eight of the Japan’s top 10 highest-grossing films were produced domestically, with only two US features – Inside Out 2 and Despicable Me 4 – making the list.

Significantly, no live-action features from outside the country made the top 10, a sign that Hollywood tentpoles are having difficulty penetrating Japan’s cinematic market.

Recent years have seen titles such as Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), Top Gun: Maverick (2022), Fast & Furious 9 (2021) and Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2020) perform strongly in Japan.

After the My Hero Academia World Best Hero global character poll crowned Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight , known as Bakugo in civilian life, as the number one World Best Hero yesterday, the top three of that poll went into a 24-hour super quick survey to find The Mha, aka the character that will be getting a bronze statue erected of them next year. The three characters from Kohei Horikoshi’s series to move onto this final round were, Bakugo, Deku and Todoroki. The official Shonen Jump YouTube channel revealed Bakugo as the winner of The Mha. Check it out below along with the characters who came in second and third place. My Hero Academia Plus Ultra Stage Winner As the video above reveals, Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight once again took the crown of this character poll, with Deku coming in second place and the fire and ice hero Shoto in third place.

Ever since the release of the final chapter of Kohei Horikoshi’s superhero manga My Hero Academia , the series has been holding a worldwide character poll to find out who is the World Best Hero. Those results were announced tonight on the Shonen Jump YouTube channel, revealing that Bakugo, Deku, and Todoroki will be moving into a run-off 24-hour character poll to find The Mha, with the winner receiving their own real-life statue. Though, that’s not to say that Bakugo won’t be getting his own prize for becoming the number one World Best Hero! Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight came in first place, with Deku following in second place and Shoto in third place. The Plus Ultra Stage will run until 8 pm Japan time on December 3 to find The Mha. Fans can vote once per hour up to 12 times. A video was released to highlight the battle of the top three.

Netflix gave a sneak peek at its 2025 line-up of non-English programming yesterday with shows such as The Leopard (Italy), Last Samurai Standing (Japan), The Empress S2 (Germany), El Refugio Atómico (Spain), Senna (Brazil), Alice in Borderland S3 (Japan), and even this year’s One Hundred Years of Solitude (Colombia).

“People like the authenticity of local stories,” Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria said.

“When you try to make something that appeals to everyone, you just end up making something that appeals to no one.” It’s why Bajaria encourages her teams to be ambitious and support the vision of creators with the “goal to make shows and films that resonate in their home country first.”

Netflix shouted out the stat that they dub in 36 languages and subtitle shows in 33 languages. Bajaria also said that 80% of Netflix subs watch Korean content.

Bajaria at Netflix’s International Showcase

Alcaraz (Spain)

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Alcaraz...

Alice in Borderland season 3 is inbound at Netflix, and while there's little known about the next chapter of the story after the season 2 finale, there's already a great deal of anticipation for the show's return. As Arisu and the others imagined, beating all the Face Card games in Alice in Borderland was the key to getting more answers about that world. Alice in Borderland season 2's finale saw the main characters waking up in the real world, a shocking reveal that could have wrapped up the show.

Arisu and Usagi's story on Netflix isn't over yet though, as it's been confirmed that Alice in Borderland season 3 is on the way. Alice in Borderland season 2's finale was quite faithful to the original manga, which also ends with Arisu and the others waking up in the real world after spending precisely one minute with their hearts stopped. Alice in Borderland...

There have been so many engrossing dark TV series that took viewers on mind-bending journeys and truly played with their heads. While modern television has embraced much darker and more sinister stories in recent decades, it takes a truly great show to bury underneath the surface of a series narrative and deliver philosophically rich stories that strike a chord for their deep, probing themes that leave a mark on viewers consciousness well after the credits have rolled. A thought-provoking series that can play with viewers' expectations often marks the difference between a simply good show and a truly great one.

Many of the best TV shows of all time were dark in nature and did not underestimate viewers' intelligence with deeply complex and intricate narratives. Highly influential series like Twin Peaks laid the groundwork for television to embrace more challenging and experimental stories. At the same time, creators worldwide, such...

The second feature film inspired by Kohei Horikoshi's My Hero Academia series — 2019's My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising — is officially available to stream on Crunchyroll. You can now watch as Class 1-a heads to Nabu Island and gets way more than they bargained for during their safety work program. Watch My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising right here ! My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising Territories: United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Nordics and Caribbean Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese Dubs: English, Spanish, Portuguese Synopsis: Class 1-a visits Nabu Island, where they finally get to do some real hero work. The place is so peaceful that it feels like a vacation—until they're attacked by a villain with an unfathomable Quirk! With All Might retired and citizens' lives on the line, there's no time for questions. Deku and his friends are the next generations of heroes, and they're the island's only hope.

Some of the most effective and engaging TV shows in recent years were also so gore-filled that audiences often had to look away in pure terror and disgust. From thrilling sci-fi dystopias to intense psychological horrors, just because a series was packed with gore, murder, and violence did not stop it from being truly great. In many cases, the excessively gruesome nature of these shows added to their appeal as they pushed the limits of what could be depicted and accepted in mainstream television.

Plenty of the most gruesomely violent TV shows were filled with gory sequences and sinister characters who committed heinous acts. From intense games that saw characters' lives on the line to sinister antiheroes who killed for the sheer thrill of it, in recent years, television has caught up with horror movies to make series that were equal to or even exceeded the most gore-filled cinematic spectacles.

Following the end of the My Hero Academia manga in August , the anime adaptation of Kohei Horikoshi’s manga must also ring the graduation bell. After the Japanese broadcast of the last episode of My Hero Academia Season 7 , the series announced on its official accounts that My Hero Academia ’s Final Season will be airing in 2025 . Alongside the announcement, a teaser trailer and visual were released, hinting at how the story wraps up for Deku and the rest of Class 1-a. My Hero Academia Final Season Teaser Trailer and Visual For the final season, the staff from season 7 continues with series director Kenji Nagasaki acting as chief director and Naomi Nakayama in the director's chair at studio Bones. Yusuke Kuroda continues to write the series composition/scripts, with Yoshihiko Umakoshi (who drew the above teaser visual) and Hitomi Odashima drawing the character designs, and Yuki Hayashi composing the music. Related: Interview with Yasuharu Takanashi,...

When Netflix released the long-awaited Bleach live-action adaptation in 2018, the anime and manga world went crazy. The adaptation by Shinsuke Sato, starring Sota Fukushi as Ichigo Kurosaki, brought a new energy into Tite Kubo’s influential tale. The film, of course, was not without flaws, as a danger always accompanies when adapting an anime or manga to a live action movie. But it principally succeeded in capturing the heart of its original anime counterpart.

It was all Aizen’s plan | Credits: Studio Pierrot

However, people might now be surprised by rumors of its newer upcoming adaptation by Netflix. Yes. Also, fans have already voted for the new reimagined Hollywood cast which might leave you wondering whether the original was actually better!

Fan Chooses Timothee Chalamet as Ichigo’s Live-Action Counterpart! Rangiku Matsumoto from the Bleach series | Credits: Studio Pierrot

As the beloved Bleach series nears its 20th anniversary, rumors have...

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Netflix’s Japanese survival thriller series Alice in Borderland is one of the best thriller shows on the streamer right now. Alice in Borderland is similar to The Hunger Games, but it is more brutal and gory. Directed by Shinsuke Sato, the Netflix series is based on a Japanese manga series of the same name by Haro Aso, and it is set in a dystopian Tokyo and it follows a group of friends who get caught up in a nightmarish game where you have to complete some tasks given by the controllers of the game and if they are not completed the players are executed on-site. So, if you loved the thrilling story, deadly stakes, and compelling characters in Alice in Borderland here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Panic (Prime Video) Credit – Prime Video...

After Netflix's live-action One Piece and the announcement of the live-action Naruto movie, Hollywood's next anime adaptation should already be obvious. Live-action anime adaptations have gotten a bad reputation over the years, mostly thanks to projects like Dragonball Evolution and Death Note. To be fair, it's difficult to capture the complex narratives and stunning visuals of an anime in a live-action format. Netflix's One Piece proved it could be done, though, and several other impressive adaptations have followed.

The success of the live-action One Piece showed that such adaptations could be popular, and it's little surprise that a Naruto film from Lionsgate was announced shortly after. There will be challenges to adapting Naruto in live-action, but if it's successful, Hollywood will likely pursue similar projects in the future. And with One Piece and Naruto both accounted for, there's an obvious anime to tackle next: Bleach.

Live-Action Bleach Would Complete...

The fourth installment in the My Hero Academia franchise is coming to US theaters this fall.

My Hero Academia: You’re Next will premiere October 11, 2024 in North American theaters with English subtitles and dub releases through Toho International (Godzilla Minus One), Deadline can exclusively reveal.

Set “in a devastated society where villains are rampant,” the anime sequel follows protagonist “Izuku Midoriya, a U.A. High School student who aspires to be the best hero he can be, confronts the villain who imitates the hero he once admired,” according to an official synopsis.

“With the North American release of Godzilla Minus One, Toho International took its initial steps forward as a film distributor, beginning down the path Toho Company Limited has already successfully traveled for many decades within Japan,” says Koji Ueda, President of Toho International, in a statement. “Through the success of Godzilla Minus One, it became clear US moviegoers...

The annual New York Asian Film Festival is about to kick off this summer.

Presented by the New York Asian Film Foundation and Film at Lincoln Center, the 23rd edition of the festival will take place from July 12 through 22 at Film at Lincoln Center, with additional screenings from July 22 through 28 at the Sva Theatre and July 13–15, 18–21, and 23–25 at Look Cinemas W57, plus a special collaborative presentation of films at the Korean Cultural Center New York.

This year’s lineup marks the largest list of premieres, with 20 films debuting including the North American premiere of “Fly Me to the Moon” and “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,” which debuted at Cannes.

The opening night selection is the world premiere of Park Beom-su’s “Victory,” a cheerleading epic that’s billed as “Bring It On” meets “Parasite.” Lee Hye-ri (of 3rd-gen K-pop band Girl’s Day) will be in attendance with co-star Park Se-wan and director Park.

The official website for the live-action Kingdom film series, based on Yasuhisa Hara's historical adventure manga, released new trailers for its upcoming fourth installment: Kingdom: Daishougun no Kikan ( The Return of The Great General ). The clips feature the theme song "Delusion:All" performed by Japanese rock band One Ok Rock . The band previously provided the theme song "Wasted Nights" for the first film in the live-action series released in 2019, 90-second trailer 30-second trailer "It has been a long time since 'Wasted Nights,' which was written for the first in the series, but we are very honored to be making a comeback in this way," said One Ok Rock's vocalist Taka. "We have created a song that is appropriate for 'Kingdom' by taking into account 'various conflicts in the world and the current background of the times.' Please enjoy the theme song 'Delusion:All' along with the movie.

Godzilla Minus One became the first Japanese film to be nominated for an Oscar. Director Takashi Yamazaki and his VFX team won the Best Visual Effects Oscar, a deserving recognition for the film. As the film becomes available to the wider public on streaming platforms, more details emerge about the film. One scene in the climax sets up a potential sequel for the film.

Kamiki Ryunosuke as Shikishima in Godzilla Minus One | Toho Co. Ltd.

Yamazaki confirmed that the final moments of the film featured Godzilla Cells or G-Cells. The G-Cells in the Japanese kaiju lore were used to create two prominent villains, Biollante and SpaceGodzilla, thus hinting at their appearance in the sequel.

Godzilla Minus One‘s G-Cells Sets Up For An Interesting Sequel A still from Godzilla Minus One | Toho Co. Ltd.

Godzilla Minus One climax was interestingly horrific for many viewers and it left many open ends...

The 8 Show is a South Korean dark comedy thriller series created by Han Jae-rim. Based on a Naver webtoon titled Money Game and Pie Game by Bae Jin-soo, the Netflix series follows the story of eight cash-strapped people as they participate in a mysterious game that gives them money just to be present but as time progresses things start to go a bit crazy. The 8 Show stars Ryu Jun-yeol, Chun Woo-hee, Park Jeong-min, Lee Yul-em, Park Hae-joon, Lee Zoo-young, Moon Jeong-hee, and Bae Seong-woo. So, if you love psychological drama and dark comedy with brilliant performances in The 8 Show here are some similar shows you could watch next.

Alice in Borderland (Netflix) Credit – Netflix

Alice in Borderland is a Japanese sci-fi survival thriller series created by Yoshiki Watabe, Yasuko Kuramitsu, and Shinsuke Sato. Based on a graphic novel of the same name by Haro Aso, the Netflix...

Toho’s 34th Godzilla film is reportedly eyeing a new director after Takashi Yamazaki-directed film Godzilla Minus One won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. According to sources, the director of the Bleach live-action movie, Shinsuke Sato, will be Toho’s new choice of director.

It is also reported that the film will not be a sequel to the earlier film and will be a standalone work. Fans are not exactly thrilled to hear this news, as they believe that Toho is wasting a great opportunity.

A still from Godzilla Minus One | Toho

After the success of 2016’s live-action Godzilla film Shin Godzilla, Toho developed three animated kaiju films in a series before developing another standalone live-action Godzilla Minus One. Fans are a little disappointed that Toho is going for separate works when it comes to live-action kaiju films.

Takashi Yamazaki Might Not Helm The Next Live-Action Godzilla Film...

The recent wave of live-action adaptations of popular series has caught up with many prominent anime and manga series like One Piece, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Naruto, Yu Yu Hakusho, etc. Fans are always hoping for their favorite anime and manga to get a live-action adaptation to experience their world more realistically.

Bleach Anime

However, Bleach fans might never be able to get this satisfaction. Bleach’s creator, Tite Kubo, once revealed that he doesn’t want Bleach to be adapted into a live-action series or movie because he drew the series specifically to be featured as a manga. He even went on to say that if Bleach’s live-action was possible, he wouldn’t have drawn the manga.

Despite this, Kubo’s magnum opus did receive a live-action adaptation movie in 2018, and it might not have been as successful as the One Piece live-action series, but it still got decent reception and reviews.

Live-action anime adaptations, like Bleach (2018), face challenges condensing expansive source material into feature-length films. Bleach (2018) successfully abridged its source material, keeping key themes while streamlining the story for cinematic appeal, but could have gone even further. While Bleach (2018) was solid, it missed key opportunities to delve deeper into the manga's intricate world and character development.

Whether they're made in Japan or internationally, live-action anime adaptations usually don't have the most stellar reputation with audiences. As far as most anime and manga fans are concerned, live-action adaptations should never even be attempted, and are an insult to their favorite artistic medium. Even in light of recent successes like Alita: Battle Angel, Netflix's One Piece and the Ruroni Kenshin movies, it's hard to deny that this particular cinematic niche still has a lot of learning and improving to do. These titles tend to be exceptions to the norm. One notable adaptation...

The official website for the live-action Kingdom film, based on Yasuhisa Hara's historical adventure manga, released a main trailer and visual for its upcoming fourth film: Kingdom: Daishougun no Kikan ( The Return of The Great General ). The new tagline reads: "An unforgettable battle begins." The site also confirms that Masao Kusakari, a 71-year-old actor, will play King Qin, who was once called the "God of War" and served by Wang Qi (played by Takao Osawa). Kingdom: Daishougun no Kikan 90-second trailer Kingdom: Daishougun no Kikan 30-second trailer Main visual Additionally, Yuko Araki is cast as a mysterious general named Kyou. She is one of the six great generals of Qin and is deeply involved in the "past relationship" between Wang Qi (Takao Oasawa ) and Hou Ken (Koji Kikkawa). Her character trailer is now streaming. Related: Fourth Live-Action Kingdom Film Releases New Teaser Trailer, Visual The first live-action film, Kingdom,...

The official website for the live-action Kingdom film, based on Yasuhisa Hara's historical adventure manga, released a new teaser trailer and visual for its forthcoming fourth film: Kingdom: Daishougun no Kikan ( The Return of The Great General ). The latest installment depicts the climax of the Battle of Bayou, the all-out war between Qin and Zhao that has continues from the previous third installment, Kingdom: Unmei no Honoo ( The Flame of Destiny ) released in July 2023. Kingdom: Daishougun no Kikan is set to release in Japan on July 12, 2024, and will also be screened in the IMAX, MX4D, 4Dx and Dolby Cinema theaters from the first day of its release. The first live-action film, Kingdom, released in Japan in April 2019, followed by Kingdom 2: Harukanaru Daichi he ( Far and Away ) in July 2022 and Kingdom: Unmei no Honoo ( The Flame of Destiny ) in July 2023. The total box-office gross of the past three films...

The official Twitter account of My Hero Academia issued a statement on Feb 10, 2024, announcing that the release of the upcoming chapter of the manga has been delayed due to author Kohei Horikoshi’s coming down with a sudden illness.

My Hero Academia chapter 414, which was set to be published in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #11 releasing on Feb 13, 2024, has been rescheduled to be published on Feb 19, 2024.

“Notice: The serialization of ‘My Hero Academia,’ scheduled to be published in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 11 (on sale February 13th), will be suspended due to the sudden illness of the author. The continuation will be published in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 12 (on sale February 19th). Thank you for your understanding,” the tweet read.

No further information regarding the author’s illness has been disclosed as of yet.

My Hero Academia is a Japanese superhero manga series written and illustrated by Kohei Horikoshi. It has been...

One of the closest to the original live-action adaptations reached its third part in 2023, retaining the quality and entertainment of the first two, even if the story is, necessarily, a bit more condensed on occasion.

Click the image below to follow our Tribute to Netflix

The film is split into two parts, with the first one focusing more on the characters and the second on the battle itself. While Shin is training under Ohki, the Best General in the World, the powerful neighboring country of Zhao suddenly attacks Qin. Within the palace, Eisei has to deal with inner politics, as Ryofui, who obviously commands much authority within the council, is promoting his own man, general Mobu, as the one to be in charge of the defense of the country. In the meantime, though, Shoheikun, who is the one with the last word on the matter, has invited Ohki back to the court,...

"Alice in Borderland" has been officially renewed for a highly anticipated third season, following the success of its first two seasons. The sci-fi thriller, based on a manga, has garnered rave reviews and high viewership on Netflix. Season three is expected to increase the difficulty and intensify the threat, as the characters continue to navigate the dangerous games of the warped world.

The hit Japanese science fiction thriller Netflix series, Alice in Borderland, has officially been renewed for a third season. Taking to social media, Netflix has confirmed that “You may draw another card,” as Alice in Borderland “will return for Season 3!” The series has been a massive success for the streaming platform with both critics and audiences alike, with many no doubt eager to re-enter the warped sci-fi world. Check out the announcement from Netflix below:

You may draw another card. ðŸƒ. Alice in Borderland will return for Season 3! pic.

Alice in Borderland has been renewed for season 3, ensuring the continuation of the thrilling series after an intense cliffhanger ending. Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya will reprise their respective roles as Arisu and Usagi, with co-writer and director Shinsuke Sato returning to direct episodes. The appearance of a joker card in the final scene suggests that the characters may still be trapped in a game, adding to the uncertainty and setting up potential revelations in season 3.

Alice in Borderland season 3 has been renewed at Netflix, confirming the future of the series after a massive cliffhanger ending. A live-action adaptation of Haro Aso's manga series of the same name, the fantastical survival thriller debuted in 2020. The story follows characters who find themselves in an eerily abandoned Tokyo and are forced to compete in kill-or-be-killed competitions. As season 1 progressed, the show's universe expanded to reveal more secrets and a strange conspiracy...

It’s official: Netflix has renewed its hit Japanese sci-fi thriller drama Alice in Borderland for a third season. Fans of the show noticed late Wednesday that Netflix had unceremoniously dropped a teaser for a third season, leading to online speculation that more episodes of the live-action show were officially in the works. At the Apos entertainment and media industry conference in Bali, Indonesia, Netflix’s vice president of content in Asia Pacific, Minyoung Kim, made the news official by announcing the renewal during a keynote talk from the stage.

Following its second season debut in December 2022, Alice in Borderland became Netflix Japan’s most-watched title ever, even including anime titles. It shot up to the Top 10 in over 90 countries, claiming the No. 1 spot in 17 of them, and clocked 200 million viewing hours worldwide.

With Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya reprising their roles as Arisu and Usagi in Season 3, Netflix says...

A number of people in Amp, including this author, have a soft spot for Kiyohiko Shibukawa, an actor who has proven a true chameleon in the way he jumps from one part to another, with equal success. Shibukawa, born July 2, 1974, actually started his career as a fashion model under the name Kee. He started acting in TV with “Twinkle”, in 1998, and he got his first role in cinema in Toshiaki Toyoda's “Pornostar”, with him actually accompanying the director in most of his later works, something that actually happened with the rest of the filmmakers he was casted by over the years. These include, among others, Takashi Miike, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, and Eiji Uchida. Currently, his credits number 160, with the majority of them being non-protagonist roles, which, still, though do not prevent him from shining quite brightly, particularly to the more “trained” eye.

Without further ado, here are 10 of his most iconic performances,...

Along with Keishi Otomo and Takashi Miike, Shinsuke Sato completed the trio of Japanese directors who truly excel in action anime/manga adaptations, with his works in “Gantz”, “Library Wars”, “I am a Hero” etc speaking for themselves. “Kingdom 2: Far and Away”, which continues the adaptation of the homonymous manga by Yasuhisa Hara, highlights the fact in the most eloquent fashion as it currently streams on Netflix, just before the third part's release later this year.

Click the image below to follow our Tribute to Netflix

In a style that points more towards Chinese than Japanese epics (the original is actually based on the Warring States period), the sequel see the State of Qin, who is now governed by Eisei, after the events of the first movie, facing a new threat from a neighboring nation, the State of Wei. Headed by general Go Kei, a genius in military warfare,...

The Bleach live-action movie, a critically acclaimed adaptation of Tite Kubo's iconic series, is leaving Netflix’s vast library this August.

In the rapidly shifting landscape of streaming content, Netflix has been the trailblazer for many breakthroughs and challenges. The recent development is set to cause a stir within the dedicated anime community as per ComicBook.

The 2018 Bleach movie highlights the art of translating anime to live-action, with Shinsuke Sato's expert direction and Sota Fukushi capturing the essence of Ichigo Kurosaki. The film beautifully encapsulates the spirit of Karakura Town's adventures. The narrative encompassed the beginning arcs of the series, leading up to the point where Rukia gets apprehended by the Soul Society, leaving the audience with an enticing cliffhanger.

Anime's transition to live-action has often been rife with controversy, with many adaptations failing to capture the essence of their animated counterparts. However, Bleach was a pleasant anomaly.

My Hero Academia characters will take a break from saving the world and shoot some hoops in this new collaboration.

According to Shonen Jump News, a new issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump has unveiled My Hero Academia will have a special collaboration with the NBA. The news has not revealed any other information other than the collaboration being fashion related. Some fans expressed surprise at the partnership but nonetheless conveyed excitement at seeing more My Hero Academia out in the real world.

Related: Two of Mha's Most Popular Female Students Were Originally Meant to Be Boys

My Hero Academia will be holding a Special Apparel Collaboration with the NBA. More information will be revealed in the future. — Shonen Jump News (@WSJ_manga) June 22, 2023 My Hero Academia's Previous Collaborations

My Hero Academia recently embarked on a Fortnite collaboration where four character skins were made available for players to purchase, including Izuku Midoriya,...

The third instalment for the live-action Kingdom historical epic is currently set to premiere in Japan on July 28, 2023. Based on Yasuhisa Hara's hit manga set during the Warring States period in China, director Shinsuke Sato returns to continue the story focusing on the “Battle of Bayou” and “Escape from Zhao” arcs.

The first two Kingdom movies were blockbuster hits in Japan with a combined box office gross last reported to be over 10 billion yen. Returning cast members for this third movie includes Kento Yamazaki (Li Xin), Ryo Yoshizawa (Ying Zheng), Kanna Hashimoto (He Liao Diao), Nana Seino (Qiang Lei) and Takao Osawa (Wang Qi).

A possible cast list for Netflix's live-action My Hero Academia film has surfaced online.

As detailed on Anime Senpai, Netflix confirmed last year that it would release a live-action film adaptation of My Hero Academia. The initial announcement revealed Joby Harold) as the writer and Shinsuke Sato (Death Note: Light Up the New World) as both Director and Executive Producer. The company has since gone several months and has yet to confirm further details on the project. Recently, a cast list for the film appeared on IMDb, but most of it has now been removed, leaving only Leon Masuda as Ochaco and Taylour Paige as Rumi Usagiyama. An anime-centric Twitter account called Tokanim (or Tokanim_FR) showcased the removed cast picks to its followers. Another Twitter account called MyTimeToShineHello also reported that the My Hero Academia film had been changed into a series for Netflix.

Related: My Hero Academia...

Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) subsidiary Aniplex Inc has acquired Origamix Partners Inc, the management company of Alice In Borderland director Shinsuke Sato, and will relaunch the company under the name Myriagon Studio as of June 1.

Sato, whose credits also include Sony and Toho’s Kingdom film franchise, will use the new studio for his future series works.

Myriagon Studio will build on the existing business activities of Origamix Partners, including talent management and Webtoon business, plus expand into live-action television and film production. Live-action production will focus on developing and producing contents for worldwide audiences, with creators including Sato as the core.

Nobuhiko Ito, CEO of Origamix Partners, will continue to oversee the new studio, with Chieko Murata from Aniplex Inc, and former SVP of Sony Pictures International Productions, heading the Television & Film business and Yushi Ueda heading the Webtoon business.

The new studio also entered...

Slowly but surely, the global TV market is shifting.

Whether it’s mainly due to the rise of streaming platforms, the rush for international imports brought on by a worldwide production shortage, or an audience finally taking advantage of a wealth of options, series in languages other than English are in the middle of a boom.

While some shows have certainly helped spur that influx of new fans (including ones that can be found below), the nature of the modern TV world is that there are precious few shows anymore that become can’t-miss phenomena. Netflix recently amended its weekly Top 10 report to include viewing totals in English and non-English categories, where (to the extent that those numbers are accurate and transparent) the top slots in the latter frequently outpace the former.

Many of these shows are unofficial litmus tests for the TV world at large. Premises that seemed inherently...

Cinema admissions in Japan grew by 32 in 2022, reaching 152 million, according to data published Tuesday by the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (Eiren).

In revenue terms, Eiren shows cinema box office growing by almost the same proportion to 1.24 million. That cements Japan’s position as the world’s third largest box office territory behind only North America and China.

The Eiren data for 2022, however, diverges significantly from figures from other sources as it runs from December 2021 to November 2022. That means it omits December when “Avatar: The Way of Water” was released and when box office worldwide received a significant lift.

Given that Eiren’s data for 2018-2019 showed earnings of 2.00 billion from admissions of 195 million, the 2021-2022 figures appear still substantially below-pre-covid levels.

(Global box office tracking service and analysis firm Gower Street Analytics reported Japan box office in the calendar year 2022 as 1.5 billion and calculated that last year end...

This article contains spoilers for Alice in Borderland season 2.

When the credits rolled on Alice in Borderland’s season 2 finale, fans of the J-horror survivor series were left with a melancholy taste. Did our favorite horde of badass women and wistfully sad men survive? Yes, but likely not in the way that viewers expected – unless they previously read Haro Aso’s manga series.

Sure, Arisu (Kento Yamazaki) and Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya) reunite in Tokyo, but one that’s been decimated by a meteorite crash. We learn that the life-or-death battles we’ve witnessed throughout the show were a purgatory-like test for players. Anyone parkouring off of buildings, dodging arrows, or attempting to outwit rigged explosives was competing with their will to survive in the real world. If they persisted, they’d have a chance to escape this realm and live again.

Given that explanation, the death-by-sky-lasers take on a somber...

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Alice in Borderland season 2Alice in Borderland star Riisa Naka explains how the season 2 finale changed one big aspect of the source material. Returning to Netflix at the end of the year for its second installment, the sci-fi thriller continued to follow Arisu (Kento Yamazaki), Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya), and their uneasy allies as they try to find their way out of deadly survivalist games and return home. Even though Alice in Borderland season 2 concludes on something of an optimistic note, with a tease of more to come, the closing episode provides plenty of twists and turns before arriving at that its endgame.

In the finale, Arisu and Usagi make their way to Mira (Naka), known as the Queen of Hearts. The heroes of Alice in Borderland only have to play three rounds of croquet without quitting in order to ostensibly return home, but,...

A lot of time in “Alice in Borderland” is spent talking about different worlds. There’s the one that its characters find themselves in and the one that they want to return to. The first is a largely-abandoned Tokyo, with only a fraction of its citizens left to roam the streets after being mysteriously transported there. One afternoon, Arisu (Kento Yamazaki) and some friends duck into a bathroom to hide and emerge to find their city almost entirely empty.

In this Netflix show based on Haro Aso’s manga, Arisu is just one of a roughly undefined group of people looking to stay alive in their new alternate reality, where each person staves off death by playing wickedly manipulative games designed to pit players against each other and themselves. Each game corresponds to specific playing card in a deck. The higher the stakes, the longer the reward for making it through to the end.

In Season 1 of Netflix Japanese battle royale series Alice in Borderland, two elements stood out: one was that director Shinsuke Sato made sure that a huge number of the frames and blocking made the series look and feel like a live-action anime. The second was that the games were intriguing and invited the viewer to speculate about their outcome and wonder what we’d do if put in the same position as the protagonists. Both distinct qualities set a high bar for Season 2, and if this is what you expect from the new episodes, you’ll be happy to know that the bar is raised even higher this time around. The bad news is, the uncertain future of the series may have caused some aspects of the story to fall flat.

2022 has been another big year for anime and manga in the United States. This fall's "Chainsaw Man" anime is earning rave reviews. "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" earned 32 million worldwide in its first week. Netflix's "Cyberpunk Edgerunners" convinced folks to give the messy "Cyberpunk 2077" another shot, rocketing the game up the Steam rankings. On the manga front, the blockbuster success of Junji Ito has led publishers to take chances on other horror artists like Kazuo Umezu and Kanako Inuki. There's even a fledgling indie manga movement in the United States, with small publishers like Glacier Bay Books and Star Fruit Books distributing titles that might never otherwise see the light of day. We're long past the time of executives chopping up anime series in the editing docket to be marketable to American children. Anime and manga are now respected in their own right, if only because it sells.

Hollywood,...

Netflix joins forces with Legendary Entertainment to bring My Hero Academia into live-action, with the feature film adaptation of Kōhei Horikoshi's hit manga finding its director and writer. The Weekly Shōnen Jump manga series has been adapted into an anime series by animation studio Bones, with season 6 currently airing. My Hero Academia follows the journey of Izuku Midoriya, a boy born without superpowers in a world where the majority of the population is born with abilities known as "Quirks". A chance encounter with his personal hero All-Might sees Izuku become next in line to inherit an incredible power, allowing him to attend a school for prospective future heroes and follow his dreams.

As reported by THR, Netflix has joined Legendary Entertainment's live-action My Hero Academia film adaptation and will co-produce the feature film. Director Shinsuke Sato, best known for his live-action adaptations of Alice in Borderland and Bleach,...

Adapting anime into live-action has always been a hard venture to undergo. Not only are some stories just better suited for the medium of animation, but many well-known mangas and animes are stories whose inspirations cannot be fully appreciated outside of a Japanese context. When given an American or otherwise Western makeover, the impact of these stories is often drastically reduced, resulting in less-than-faithful adaptations. We've seen this with various different Western live-action adaptations, from the hollowness of "Death Note" to the insensitivity of "Ghost in the Shell."

When it was announced back in 2018 that Legendary Entertainment had acquired the rights to the popular "My Hero Academia" franchise for a new live-action film, many fans were understandably worried. Would Izuku Midoriya, the franchise's main character, turn into Ian Michaels or something similar for this new film? Would U.A. High School be relocated to California and be populated by mostly white people?...

"My Hero Academia" is one of the most popular manga and anime around often thought of as a successor to the "Big Three" of manga. The manga is consistently on top sales lists, and the anime remains as popular as ever even after six seasons.

It is easy to see why. The story, originally created by Kōhei Horikoshi, brings the best tropes of a shonen action manga into the world of comic book superheroes, taking inspiration from classic Marvel comics, especially "Spider-Man" ones. "My Hero Academia" takes place in a world where 80 population has some kind of superpower, or "quirk." We focus on Midoriya Izuku, a kid born without powers, but who yearns more than anything to follow in the footsteps of Japan's greatest hero, All Might (essentially the show's answer to Superman and Captain America). When he is accepted into a prestigious academy for superheroes, he decides to become the number one hero,...