Fire Emblem Heroes ‘New Heroes: Duo, Rearmed Heroes & Entwined Sharena’ Event Begins October 17

By
Soul Kiwami
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Fire Emblem Heroes 'New Heroes: Duo, Rearmed Heroes & Entwined Sharena' Event

Nintendo, Intelligent Systems, and DeNA announced the “New Heroes: Duo, Rearmed Heroes & Entwined Sharena” event for Fire Emblem Heroes begins on October 17 at 12:00 a.m. PDT / 3:00 a.m. EDT. The new Fire Emblem Heroes event introduces Entwined Hero Sharena: Borrowed Divinity, along with three other new Heroes from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, including Duo Hero Elincia: Hearts of Purity and Rearmed Hero Soren: Isolated Strategist. In addition, a new Grand Hero Battle featuring Gromell: Bolt Axe General begins on October 18 at 12:00 a.m. PDT / 3:00 a.m. EDT.

Previously, the version 9.10.0 update for Fire Emblem Heroes was released ahead of the Halloween-themed Special Heroes: Altered Future summoning event, which began on October 7. Fire Emblem Heroes update 9.10.0 introduced new skills for Legendary and Mythic heroes, an updated lineup of Limited-Time Combat Manuals, a new weapon skill and weapons to refine, and much more.

The Emblem Corrin & Mythic Lyn summoning event began on September 30 at 12:00 a.m. PDT / 3:00 a.m. EDT. The summoning event features Emblem Hero Corrin: Of Fates and Mythic Hero Lyn: Plains Wind, who appears as a hero in both Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade and the new Fire Emblem Shadows mobile game.

Lastly, Fire Emblem Heroes is available now for Android via Google Play and iOS via App Store worldwide. Fire Emblem Shadows is a new free-to-play real-time strategy and social deduction game for Android via Google Play and iOS via App Store. 

DOOM: The Dark Ages is Now Steam Deck Verified with Update 2.2

By
Soul Kiwami
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DOOM The Dark Ages Steam Deck

Bethesda and id Software have released DOOM: The Dark Ages update 2.2, which include general bug fixes, combat encounter adjustments, quality of life improvements, and handheld optimizations for Steam Deck. With update 2.2, DOOM: The Dark Ages is now a Steam Deck Verified title.

Read up on patch notes for DOOM: The Dark Ages update 2.2 below, via Bethesda’s official website:

DOOM: The Dark Ages Update 2.2 Patch Notes

New Handheld PC Optimizations  

Handheld Setting Autodetection 
  • On first launch using a handheld PC device, the game will autodetect the optimal settings. Players may further customize the settings based on personal preferences 
  • Settings are stored per device, allowing players to customize their experience per individual device 
Handheld Performance 
  • Optimized general performance, VFX and SFX for handheld PC devices 
  • Added advanced optimization settings and Benchmark Mode specifically for handheld PC users 
  • Added quality-of-life input improvements when the device is docked, including external controller detection 

Handheld Device Specifications 

Note: Gameplay performance on handheld PCs may depend on device-specific settings and/or connection to a dock or other dedicated power source. Values detailed below assume the device is using the highest power setting available to the operating system and is not running from battery: 

  • Steam Deck : 720p @ ~30FPS 
  • Z1 Devices : 720p @ ~30FPS (such as ASUS ROG Ally) 
  • Z1E Devices : 1080p @ ~30FPS (such as ASUS ROG Ally X, Lenovo Legion Go) 
  • Z2A Devices : 720p @ ~30FPS (such as XBOX ROG Ally) 
  • Z2E Devices : 1080p @ ~60FPS (such as XBOX ROG Ally X) 

Note: Results are based on testing with pre-release drivers; results may vary per device, installed driver(s) and/or user-selected power settings 

Bug Fixes & Improvements

Enemy AI:

  • Resolved a rare crash if the player used the Shield Throw on Plasma Shield Soldiers with the “Power Surge” Shield upgrade 

Final Battle:

  • Visuals for area denial from Prince Ahzrak’s Blood Pillars expiring now render correctly. 
  • Fixed a rare crash when using the BFC during the beginning of each phase of the enhanced Prince Ahzrak boss fight 

Gameplay:

  • Fixed an issue where death and damage stats were not registering properly in cases of multiple damage instances occurring on the same frame as an entity death. (This change also addresses a bug where the Accelerator Mastery Challenge was not incrementing properly) 
  • Cycler Plasma Gun no longer glows white when fired with Berserker Power in Harbor of Souls and Resurrection 
  • Using the Shield now correctly recovers from staggering during a melee strike while attempting to block or parry. This prevents a Shield lockout or cases where the Shield would briefly pop into a blocking state after the input was released 

Levels 

Hebeth 
  • Fixed an issue where reloading checkpoints after the Gold and Sentinel Shrine tutorial could cause objectives to vanish until level restart or transition 
Sentinel Barracks 
  • Mancubus no longer respawns during the Vagary Champion boss fight. 
  • Removed Hell Knight and Stalker Imp reinforcements from Mancubus Leader spawn wave in the burning tree fight 
Siege – Part 1 
  • Hell Knights, Stalker Imps and Imps no longer respawn during the Vagary fights throughout the battlefield 
  • The wolf statue Ruby no longer gets stuck behind a red energy gate if it is not collected after breaking the wolf statues and reloading the south gore portal checkpoint 
Siege – Part 2 
  • Fixed an issue where an errant Titan could appear in the courtyard when reloading the checkpoint 
Ancestral Forge 
  • Arachnotron no longer respawns during Agaddon Hunter fight at the end of heart sandbox section 
  • Fixed a potential crash when loading a checkpoint after dying in the Agaddon Hunter fight in the Ancestral Courtyard 
Spire of Nerathul 
  • Chaingun Arachnotron no longer respawns during final encounter of the cathedral stasis emitter section 
Temple of Lomarith 
  • Arachnotron and Cacodemon no longer respawn during the shipwreck morale fight 
  • The melee pickups now appear correctly on the secret boat “Hell Knight rush” encounter 
Resurrection 
  • The armored Arachnotron that spawns after the Acolyte dies no longer respawns during first morale fight 
Reckoning 
  • Arachnotron no longer respawns during buffed Agaddon Hunter encounter 

The Ripatorium 

All Platforms:

  • Vagaries should now only spawn in open areas where they can move around 

Xbox Only:

  • Fixed a crash to the Xbox home screen when changing profiles while suspended in an active Ripatorium match with full demon bar 

Audio 

  • Fixed an issue where the Shield Saw grinding SFX could stop if the player opens the Dossier while the Shield is in a Power Node and then returns to gameplay 

UI 

  • Fixed an issue with Codex entries not tracking progress properly after revisiting levels via Mission Select 
  • Resolved an issue with the Ripatorium tutorial pop-up intended for first visit of the game mode occurring on subsequent visits 
  • Fixed bug where opening the Dossier the frame after breaking a metal lock or using a switch could cause the trigger to fail and block progression 
  • Addressed a potential crash when Alt-Tabbing away and returning to the game during a load screen 

VFX 

  • Corrected issue where picking up a toy collectible could trigger the Shield or an equipped weapon’s visual effects during the animation 
  • Addressed stray purple lines appearing when overloading a Cacodemon with the Cycler 
  • Addressed bug where first-person gore overlay flickers around screen edge during AI execute actions while resolution scaling is active 

New Active Tunables 

  • Reduced damage of certain attacks from the Agaddon Hunter, Cosmic Baron, Hell Knight and Komodo to reduce the number of attacks that break the Shield in one hit on Nightmare Difficulty 
  • Adjusted the Brink of Death system on all difficulties to be more in line with the game at launch. This system protects the player from certain instances of lethal damage, creating the opportunity to fight back from a near-death state 

The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak Steam Update 1.4.0 Adds New DLSS and XeSS Settings

By
Soul Kiwami
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The Legend of Heroes Trails through Daybreak Steam Update 1.4.0

NIS America and PH3 GmbH have released update 1.4.0 for The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak on PC via Steam with new DLSS, XeSS and TAA settings. The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak update 1.4.0 adds several other new features, including settings for Color Precision, HQ postprocessing, map icon and text size, and much more. 

Patch notes for the update can be found below:

The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak Steam Update 1.4.0 Patch Notes

Graphics & UI

  • Add DLSS, XeSS and TAA settings
  • Add new “Color Precision” setting to improve rendering performance for a slight reduction in color precision
  • Add a new “HQ postprocessing” setting
  • Add new setting for map icon and text size
  • Render expanded map at 100% scale even if the render scale is below 100%
  • Render 3D UI at 100% scale even if the render scale is below 100%
  • Use slightly improved shadow sampling for “Everything SGSSAA”
  • Improve cloud rendering and fix MSAA/SGSSAA integration with cloud rendering
  • Improve automatic detection of optimization settings on AMD iGPUs and Intel dGPUs

Input

  • Use SDL2 rather than plain XInput for controller input
    • This enables automatic controller button prompts, which is now the default
    • Add support for touchpad as a fully usable button for DualShock/Sense controllers
    • Add support for L4, R4, L5, R5 as fully usable buttons
    • If you encounter new controller input issues in this update, you can revert to the old behaviour by setting use_xinput_instead_of_sdl2 to true in settings.yaml
  • Add a feature to alternate displaying primary and secondary button prompts for actions with more than one binding
  • Ignore gamepad input when not in focus (this can be disabled via the allow_input_while_inactive setting)
  • Greatly improve performance when lots of raw input messages are generated (e.g. when using a mouse with a high polling rate)
  • Implement mouse wheel zoom for expanded minimap

QoL

  • Add Steam timeline markers for BGM changes
  • Add support for source display in BGM info
  • Offer the choice to have Steam verify the game’s integrity when we crash while running with Steam enabled
  • Disable screen savers / turning off the screen while the game is running (this can be disabled via the prevent_screen_off setting)
  • Load save/load dialog thumbnails asynchronously (improves performance with many saves)
  • Load the default graphics preset on game start if no settings file is present

Bug Fixes

  • Fix rendering of some specific crafts at non-100% renderscale (e.g. Elaine’s Sword Ortas)
  • Fix disappearing minimap icons in specific cases
  • Fix some enemy targeting issues in Free Look battle camera mode
  • Minor improvements in EN dialog message when quitting the game from the system menu
  • Make active voice delays depend on text language rather than voice language
  • Various fixes to in-game text
  • Don’t unlock the same achievement multiple times (this did not functionally change the behaviour, but could introduce performance issues)
  • Fix camera control with camp/equip/costume menu open
  • Don’t allow NewGame+ after loading an auto-save without actually having clear saves
  • Fix minor PCSS sampling artifacts
  • Fix depth issues with Transparency AA
  • Fix mesh part draw order (Elaine’s bracer costume)
  • Ignore save folders with the wrong naming scheme
  • Fix title screen idle movie playback
  • Fix potential resource leak when reloading models after changing the water rendering setting
  • No longer display the BGM information for “pinch” battle music every turn when in the pinch state
  • Fix loss of background blur in settings menu upon changing some graphics settings
  • Fix SSR initialization with High/Ultra setting

The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak and Trails through Daybreak II are available now for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG in the west. The next game in the series, The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon, launches on January 15, 2026 for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG.

Hell Maiden Demo and Original Soundtrack Now Available

By
Soul Kiwami
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Hell Maiden

AstralShift has released a free demo of “infernal bullet hell deck-builder” RPG Hell Maiden is now available for PC via Steam, and the game’s official soundtrack is now streaming on YouTube. The Hell Maiden original soundtrack was composed by Skyleo. 

In the Hell Maiden demo, players can explore the very Circle of Hell, Limbo, and clear out enemies with a total of 9 Weapon Cards and 17 Mod Cards to use in builds. What’s more, the demo lets players progress through Limbo to challenge the Judge of Hell in a boss battle. They will also encounter the first Poet of Limbo, and saving the poet unlocks an additional 3 Weapon Cards and 8 Mod Cards. The demo supports seven different languages, including English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese and Japanese.

Serving as an original sequel to the classic Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, Hell Maiden will launch first in Steam Early Access, which will last “approximately an additional year, or more.” At launch of the Steam Early Access version, only two Circles of Hell will be available, but the subsequent seven will be added over time.

AstralShift describes Hell Maiden as follows:

Fusing the horde survival genre with deck-building mechanics, Hell Maiden breathes new life into Dante’s Divine Comedy with an RPG where players collect, stack and merge a myriad of cards to build unique hands and decimate Hell’s toughest fiends. To conquer all 9 Circles of Hell, players will count with the help of the Poets of Limbo whose Blessings and Signature Weapons provide unique abilities, perks and ultimate attacks to mix and match and create unstoppable builds.

Digimon Story Time Stranger Releases New Post-Launch Survey

By
Soul Kiwami
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Digimon Story Time Stranger survey

Bandai Namco has opened a new post-launch survey for Digimon Story Time Stranger as the company seeks feedback in providing an even better experience for players. The Digimon Story Time Stranger post-launch survey has 27 questions and takes roughly 10 minutes to complete, and users who complete the survey earn a free smartphone wallpaper.

Bandai Namco previously released the Digimon Story Time Stranger Anime Short Prelude with new details on the short’s staff. The short focuses on Inori and her younger brother in a short story set before the events of the main game. Taku Kimura directed the story and handled the storyboards. Teruhiro Shimogawa was the screenwriter, and Shinobu Isoko was the character designer and chief animation director for the short.

Digimon Story Time Stranger is available now worldwide for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam with Japanese and English voice overs. A free demo of Digimon Story Time Stranger is available now on all platforms featuring the opening sequence and save data transfers to the full game. The game also features collaboration in-game T-shirts featuring various Bandai Namco IPs, including Tekken 8, Tales of Arise, and Taiko no Tatsujin. The “Anime Song Pack” DLC is also available.

Final Weapon reviewed Digimon Story Time Stranger and gave it a 4.5/5 score, noting that the game is “the boldest entry in the franchise to date, delivering a thrilling narrative, stunning environments, and over 450 Digimon to collect. Its deep combat system, expansive quality-of-life improvements, and superb English voice acting elevate it alongside the best RPGs of the year. Minor issues aside, this is the definitive Digimon experience fans have been waiting for.”

Crunchyroll to Release Assassination Classroom, Blue Lock and More on Blu-ray in January 2026

By
Soul Kiwami
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Crunchyroll has announced multiple new Blu-ray home video releases for January 2026, including Assassination Classroom, BLUE LOCK Season 2, Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four!, and One Piece.

Blu-ray sets for Assassination Classroom, BLUE LOCK Season 2, Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four! will release on January 13, 2026 in the Crunchyroll Store in North America. One Piece Season 14 Voyage 8 will be available in North America.

Crunchyroll January 2026 Home Video Blu-ray Releases

 

Assassination Classroom Complete Series (Blu-ray) Limited Edition – Crunchyroll Store Exclusive

Assassination Classroom Complete Series (Blu-ray) Limited Edition

When the deviants of Class 3-E get a tentacled creature as a teacher, they finally get an assignment that sparks motivation – kill the teacher.

Special Features:

  • Seasons 1 & 2:
    • Interview With the Dub Cast
    • Episode Commentaries
    • Top 10 Moments
    • The Many Faces of Koro Sensei
    • Episode 0 “Meeting Time”
    • Textless Opening and Ending Songs
    • Episode Previews
    • Trailers
  • Movie:
    • Video Commentary
    • Promo Videos
    • Trailers

Limited Edition Features:

  • 3 Art Cards

BLUE LOCK Season 2 (Blu-ray)

Blue Lock prepares to face Japan’s U-20s team – with the fate of the program on the line. As the second-selection survivors fight for a starting position on their biggest stage yet, Isagi learns he’ll have to rely on instinct if he wants to keep up.

Special Features

  • Promo Videos
  • “BLUELOCK Additional Time!” Mini Anime
  • Textless Opening & Ending Songs
  • 1 Art Card
 

Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four! – The Complete Season (Blu-ray)

Uchimura has always been underappreciated, so when he’s offered a job by a demon overlord who believes in him, he seizes the chance. With no magic power, he must rely on business acumen to tackle an otherworldly economy, politics, and even battle plans!

Special Features:

  • Textless Opening & Ending Songs
 

ONE PIECE Season 14 Voyage 8 (Blu-ray + DVD)

Monkey D. Luffy refuses to let anyone or anything stand in the way of his quest to become King of the Pirates. With his rubber-like stretching powers granted by the supernatural Devil Fruit, the spirited young pirate seeks the legendary treasure known as the One Piece. He’ll chart a course for the treacherous waters of the Grand Line and recruit a motley crew to build his Straw Hat Pirates one bond at a time. This is one captain who’ll never drop anchor until he and his friends all reach their dreams!

Special Features:

  • Textless Opening Song

Whoever Steals This Book Anime Film Reveals Cast, Staff, Visual and Theme Song

By
Soul Kiwami
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Whoever Steals This Book anime film

Kadokawa has revealed new details about the anime film adaptation of Nowaki Fukamidori’s Whoever Steals This Book novel, including the cast, staff, a new visual and trailer, and the film’s theme song. The Whoever Steals This Book film opens in theaters on December 26 in Japan.

Whoever Steals This Book key visual
© 2025 深緑野分／KADOKAWA／「この本を盗む者は」製作委員会

Vocalist YUKI performs the Whoever Steals This Book theme song “Share.”

The cast includes:

  • Rin Kataoka as Mifuyu Mikura
  • Sora Tamaki as Mashiro
  • Nao Tōyama as Hirune Mikura
  • Junichi Suwabe as Ayumu Mikura
  • Shizuka Itō as Keiko Yosano
  • Shimba Tsuchiya as Takafumi Haruta
  • Romi Park as Tamaki Mikura

Daisei Fukuoka directs the anime at Kagome Company (Kagokan). Yasuhiro Nakanishi writes the script, and Michiru Ōshima composes the music. Keiko Kurosawa is the film’s animation director and the character designer. Further, Kagokan founder Yūji Higa is the animation producer, and Kadokawa Animation distributes the film.

Additional staff members include:

  • Color Key Artist: Eriko Murata, Tarō Kaguchi
  • CG Director: Kōji Ichikawa
  • 2D Design: Aya Kubota
  • Compositing Director of Photography: Yuichiro Tozawa
  • Editing: Kengo Shigemura
  • Sound Director: Fumiyuki Go
  • Animation Producer: Yūji Higa

Kadokawa first published the novel in 2020. Moreover, a manga adaptation by Kakeru Sora was serialized in Kadokawa’s Young Ace magazine from 2021 to 2023. Yen Press distributes both the novel and the manga in English.

Lastly, here’s an overview, via Yen Press:

Descended from a long line of book collectors, high school student Mifuyu is surrounded by books in every aspect of her life. Her great-grandfather established the famous Mikura Hall, a library in the heart of town, and even the townspeople are all avid readers. There’s just one problem—Mifuyu hates books!

But when a thief in Mikura Hall triggers an ancient curse, she’s left with no choice but to reclaim the stolen books herself…by entering the very stories she despises! With the help of the mysterious Mashiro, will she be able to restore her great-grandfather’s collection and save her town from a magical doom?

Let’s Play English Dub is Now Streaming on Crunchyroll

By
Soul Kiwami
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Let's Play

Crunchyroll has begun to stream the English dub for the Let’s Play anime series, and the dub’s cast and crew were revealed. Crunchyroll is streaming the Let’s Play anime with an English dub and sub in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, CIS, India, and Southeast Asia.

English Dub Episode 1 Cast

  • Lacey Deline as Sam
  • Brandon Acosta as Marshall
  • Nick Huber as Charles
  • Monty Thompson as Link
  • Monica Rial as Angela
  • Tristan Bonner as Dallas
  • Amber May as Dee
  • Larry Brantley as Edgar
  • Jordan Colea as Lucy
  • John Burgmeier as Samuel
  • Dani Chambers as Vikki

English Dub Episode 1 Crew

  • Voice Director: Jason Lord
  • Producer: Susie Nixon
  • Adaptation: Macy Anne Johnson
  • Mixer: James Baker
  • Engineer: Jose Sandoval

In Japan, the anime will air on Fuji TV’s +Ultra programming block.

Musical artist Toshinobu Kubota performs the opening theme song “1, 2, Play” and ending theme song “Left & Right.” Daiki Tomiyasu directs the Let’s Play anime series at studio OLM. Aya Matsui is handling the series composition, and Ebimo handles the character design concept. Saki Ebisawa is the character designer, and Cornish is the music composer.

The cast of the anime includes:

  • Kana Hanazawa as Sam Young
  • Shimba Tsuchiya as Marshall Law
  • Yuichi Nakamura as Charles Jones
  • Tomokazu Sugita as Link Hudson
© Let’s Play Production Committee

The web comic by Leeanne M. Krecic (Mongie) began in 2016 with three seasons released on WEBTOON. Lastly, here’s a synopsis of the series, courtesy of Crunchyroll:

Samara “Sam” Young is a developer in Los Angeles who’s about to achieve her dreams with her first video game, Ruminate. That is, until a popular streamer gives the game a scathing review. Even worse, Sam finds out the troublesome critic is now her new neighbor! Get lost in a comedic, romantic, and all-too-real story about gaming, memes, and social anxiety. Come for the plot, stay for the doggo.

Xbox Confirms ID@Xbox Showcase for October 28

By
Soul Kiwami
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ID@Xbox

Microsoft announced an ID@Xbox Showcase will be held on October 28 at 10:00 a.m. PDT / 1:00 p.m. EDT in collaboration with IGN. Xbox fans can tune in on YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok, and IGN.com. 

The ID@Xbox Showcase will be 50 minutes long with new trailers and gameplay footage on several independent games from publishers and developers like Raw Fury, Serenity Forge, Skybound Games, Thunder Lotus Games, and more. Exact titles were not confirmed, but players can expect the games to be running on Xbox Series X|S and PC.

Microsoft previously announced three upgraded Xbox Game Pass plans, along with a price increase for multiple tiers. Xbox gamers have access to Xbox Game Pass Essential, Premium, and Ultimate plans, with Essential replacing Core and Premium replacing Standard. 

Xbox Game Pass Essential and Premium plans will remain at $9.99 and $14.99 per month with the same benefits, along with new ones. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate pricing increased by 50% to $29.99 per month, and PC Game Pass increased by 40% to $16.49 without any additional benefits. 

Xbox and ASUS will release the ROG Xbox Ally (512GB) and ROG Xbox Ally X (1TB) PC handhelds on October 16 at $599.99 and $999.99, respectively. Pre-orders are available now at participating retailers, including Best Buy, and the Microsoft Store.

Kami Kill Manga is Now Available in English on MANGA Plus

By
Soul Kiwami
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Kami Kill

Shueisha’s MANGA Plus service has begun to publish Kazuya Konomoto and Ryō Yamasaki’s Kami Kill manga in English. Specifically, the first eight chapters of Kami Kill are available to read now in English on MANGA Plus, and the next chapter of the manga will release on October 22 at 11:00 a.m. EDT.

Konomoto and Yamasaki launched the series in Shueisha’s Young Jump magazine on August 21, 2025. The first compiled book volume will be released by Shueisha on October 17. 

Here’s an overview of the manga, via MANGA Plus:

In a run-down shopping street, brothers Fuji and Kiri run a small barbershop as they wait for their father’s return. In their effort to make ends meet, every day brings something new to their door. From the creator behind hits such as “Setoutsumi,” “Odd Taxi,” and “Housenka” teams up with a superstar artist to bring you a quirky, heartfelt, and mysterious tale of brothers, barbers, and the oddities that find them.

Previously, Konomoto collaborated with director Baku Kinoshita on the ODDTAXI original anime series and The Last Blossom original anime film. Konomoto wrote and Kinoshita directed both anime. ODDTAXI premiered in Japan in April 2021 and aired for 13 episodes, and The Last Blossom premiered on October 10, 2025 in Japan. Crunchyroll is streaming ODDTAXI with English subs and English dub.

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