Kenshi Yonezu has officially released the Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc theme song “IRIS OUT” on various streaming services, including Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music. In addition, Kenshi Yonezu released the official “IRIS OUT” music video featuring scenes and visuals from Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc.
“It’s a great privilege to continue my musical involvement from the TV anime series to the film,” said Kenshi Yonezu in a press release. “I kept the Reze scenes from the original manga open around the clock, glaring at the pages as I worked on the song. I hope you enjoy it.”
“IRIS OUT” cover art
Kenshi Yonezu also performs the ending theme song “JANE DOE” featuring Hikaru Utada. Maximum The Heroine performs the insert song “Hawatari Nioku Centi [2-hundred-million-Centimeter-long-blades] (70% Unlocked edit).”
What’s more, the Kenshi Yonezu Spotify Listening Party will be held on September 22 at 9:00 a.m. EDT with live audio commentary from Yonezu himself. The event celebrates the release of “IRIS OUT” and “JANE DOE.” The event will be a limited-time broadcast with no archive after it ends.
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc will open with midnight screenings on September 19 in Japan across 12 theaters in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Hokkaido. There will be MX4D, 4DX, and Dolby Cinema screenings.
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc heads to US theaters on October 24 with English dubs and English subs with Japanese voice-overs. The movie premieres September 24 internationally and October 29 in the U.K.
The cast and staff include:
Cast
Kikunosuke Toya as Denji
Reina Ueda as Reze
Tomori Kusunoki as Makima
Shiori Izawa as Pochita
Shogo Sakata as Aki Hayakawa
Fairouz Ai as Power
Staff
Original Story: Tatsuki Fujimoto
Director: Tatsuya Yoshihara
Screenwriter: Hiroshi Seko
Character Designer: Kazutaka Sugiyama
Assistant Director: Masato Nakazono
Sub Character Designer: Souta Yamazaki, Shun
Main Animator: Shoichi
Action Animation Director: Sota Shigetsugu
Art Director: Yusuke Takeda
Color Designer: Naomi Nakano
Color Script: Riku
Editor: Masato Yoshitake
Music: Kensuke Ushio
Distribution: TOHO
Production: MAPPA
Lastly, here’s a story synopsis for the film, via TOHO:
Denji became “Chainsaw Man,” a boy with a devil’s heart, and is now part of Special Division 4’s devil hunters. After a date with Makima, the woman of his dreams, Denji takes shelter from the rain. There he meets Reze, a girl who works in a café.
Happinet has released the second promotional video for the anime adaptation of Kuzushiro’s A Mangaka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace (Egao no Taenai Shokuba Desu) manga, which premieres on October 6 on AT-X at 9:30 p.m. JST. The A Mangaka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace anime will also air on the Tokyo MX, BS Asahi, and Iwate Menkoi channels, along with the DMM TV, Lemino, U-NEXT, Anime Times, and Anime Hōdai streaming services in Japan.
The cast includes:
Yūko Natsuyoshi as Nana Futami
Sora Amamiya as Kaede Satō
Miku Itō as Mizuki Hazama
Yū Kobayashi as Arisa Nashida
Miharu Hanai as Nekonote
Eriko Matsui as Tōko Kakunodate
Iori Saeki as Shiori Asakura
Mamiko Noto as Ren Takizawa
Kikuko Inoue as Wakako Tatsunami
Sumire Uesaka as Nagomi Hayachine
Saori Hayami as Yuzuki Hazama
Kaoru Suzuki directs the anime at Voil. Mio Inoue is handling series scripts, while Kana Miyai is designing the characters. Kei Haneoka and Hironori Doi are composing the music, while Pony Canyon is responsible for music production. Ryō Tanaka is the sound director.
Sizuk performs the ending theme song “Thankful,” and HoneyWorks and HaKoniwalily perform the opening theme song “Zettai Shōsan (Absolute Praise).”
The manga was first published as a one-shot in Kodansha’s Kiss magazine in February 2019, and then serialized in Kodansha’s Comic Days app and website in May 2019.
Lastly, here’s an overview of the series via MyAnimeList:
New shoujo manga artist Nana Futami works hard every day while being supported by Kaede Satou, her female editor who is older than her, and Mizuki Hazama, her assistant.
According to the girl herself, she sometimes drums up intense daydream delusions of occupational illness! A working girl’s comedy set in the entertainment industry, brought to you by an author who always draws various girls.
Indie developer Armonica LLC announced Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved launches on November 26 for Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. This is a brand new detective adventure game, inspired in the style of classic adventure games from Japan such as Famicom Detective Club, Hotel Dusk, and other adventure titles.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Detective Instinct will be launching on Steam and Nintendo Switch…
November 26th, 2025! 🤩
Uncover the story in this DS-inspired adventure game about a mysterious woman who goes missing on a train 🚃
— Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved (ADV/VN) (@TrainDetective) September 15, 2025
A demo of Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved is currently available via the official Steam page. Lastly, here’s an overview of the game, via Steam:
Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved is a brand new Detective ADV/Visual Novel, in the style of classic adventure games from Japan. Investigate areas and interrogate witnesses on the path towards solving the mystery and uncovering a sinister conspiracy!
Key Features:
A dramatic and moving story, inspired by hard-boiled crime fiction, classic cinema, and other classic adventure (ADV) games
Classic command-select gameplay, designed to maximize player experimentation and deduction while minimizing the need to brute force solutions
A unique mixed-media art style, combining highly expressive 2D pixel art portraits, old-school pre-rendered 3D backgrounds, and traditional illustrations
A colorful cast of characters with which to converse, with many unique interactions and optional dialogue that rewards exploration and curiosity
Lavish original soundtrack in various musical styles, featuring many live instrument performances
Electronic Arts has released the official soundtrack for EA Sports FC 26 on Spotify. The EA Sports FC 26 official soundtrack includes 109 tracks representing over 30 nations, and featured artists include Italian international Moise Kean (KMB), two-time Grammy winner Fred again.., Billboard Women In Music Producer of the Year PinkPantheress, and global superstar and part club owner of Ipswich Town Ed Sheeran, to name a few.
“Having ‘Girl Like Me’ on the FC 26 soundtrack is honestly a bit mad,” said PinkPantheress. “I’ve always thought it’s sweet how football and music can bring people together without even trying. I just like making songs that make you feel something, so hopefully when they queue a tune of mine in the game, they catch a vibe and carry it with them. Maybe even help them bag a goal or two, who knows!”
EA Sports FC 26 launches September 26 for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Amazon Luna. On September 19, a 10-hour early access trial will be available for EA Play members, along with extra rewards like monthly Ultimate Team Draft Tokens, seasonal club rewards, and 10% off EA digital content including pre-orders, game downloads, FC Points, and DLC.
Pre-orders for EA Sports FC 26 are available now for $69.99 ($59.99 for Nintendo Switch). The EA Sports FC 26 Ultimate Edition is available to pre-order for $99.99 ($79.99 for Nintendo Switch) with several bonuses, including Icons, exclusive Player EVO, the Season 1 Premium Pass, an Additional Evo Slot, seven days of early access starting September 19, and much more.
2025 has shaped up to be a massive year for LEGO games. Not only did we recently get the reveal of LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, but September alone is set to bring two new LEGO games to players: LEGO Party! and LEGO Voyagers. The latter, developed by Light Brick Studio, is a new two-player co-op adventure that launches today.
Similar to LEGO games, co-op games have made a huge splash this year. I adored Split Fiction the two times I played it on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2, and games like Peak were enjoyable as well. After spending a handful of hours checking out what LEGO Voyagers has to offer, I’m happy to share that yet another good co-op game worth checking out has arrived. There are a few stumbles here and there, but most players will walk away satisfied with the journey of Red and Blue.
One Brick, Two Brick
LEGO Voyagers puts you and a friend in the shoes of Red and Blue, two 1×1 stud LEGO bricks. Together, you’ll be tasked with navigating different environments, completing puzzles, and building bridges to cross platforms. No puzzle can be solved alone, as everything in Voyagers is built around the idea of working together. As a LEGO brick, you are able to jump, roll, and sing. The latter is more of a humorous element, but I can see it being used for players choosing to play without voice chat as a way of communication. However, the most important ability in your cards is connecting and building with LEGO bricks. You can hop on numerous bricks and use them to build bridges, jump across pits, and more.
Voyagers often feels like a creative LEGO playground, with numerous puzzles that truly embrace what the brand is all about. One of my favorites included a segment where my co-op partner and I were tasked with simultaneously operating a dump truck. One of us had the ability to move forward and backward, while the other had to turn from side to side. This required precise communication and pushed the idea of working together in sync to complete a common goal. You’ll find many instances of this throughout LEGO Voyagers, and I thoroughly enjoyed it all.
Uniquely, you do not receive any direction whatsoever on where to go or how to continue on your journey—something a lot of games today are afraid to do. I appreciated this creative direction, as it forced me and my co-op partner to really analyze the environment and communicate together to proceed through each challenge. Really, your goal is just to find a way to move forward. However, I found the numerous random interactables in the environment to be somewhat frustrating after a while. Voyagers throws a wide range of interactable bricks and structures at you, and a lot of the time, these do not relate to proceeding forward or act as side content pathways. Half the time, I expected to find something that would pop a trophy, but that only happened once or twice. Again, I do respect Light Brick Studio getting creative and filling the environment with interactables—part of the reason LEGO is so beloved is experimenting and just messing around with the bricks at your disposal. But it can sometimes be hard to appreciate this effort when the interactables do not get you anywhere.
Despite some uneven design with interactables, Voyagers succeeds greatly with its co-op approach. Similar to Hazelight’s games, LEGO Voyagers offers a Friend’s Pass that allows you to play with a friend around the world for free; only one player must own the game for the other to access the full experience. This is such a great initiative that I’m always happy to see, as it makes for an almost-guaranteed co-op adventure. Gone are the days of having to beg a friend to buy the game to play alongside you.
I know for many, co-op games can be an amazing opportunity to experience a game with a family member. LEGO Voyagers does an excellent job of walking the line between being friendly and forgiving. If you fall off a platform, you’re instantly brought back to where you were—no punishment or disadvantage at all. Additionally, I feel confident in saying that the puzzles can be completed by players of all ages, though there is still enough coordination required to keep older players engaged.
Straight Vibes
While the gameplay is a good time, I was most impressed by the atmosphere that LEGO Voyagers managed to create. This is an astoundingly gorgeous game on PlayStation 5, making use of vivid colors, crisp LEGO textures, and realistic lighting. Each environment is stunning, offering an escape into the world of LEGO with ease. I often found myself wanting to explore away from the standard path in hopes of experiencing the beauty of this world. Each and every piece of the environment is made from LEGO, and that goes for even the smallest things you’ll spot.
That attention to detail goes far for the atmosphere, and that is only heightened by the low-fi soundtrack. Henrik Lindstrand did an outstanding job at complementing the moment-to-moment gameplay with a soundtrack that slowly makes its entrance and exit at the perfect times. ‘One Day We Will Become Astronauts,’ for instance, is a track that caught my attention and even felt reflective in a way with its hopeful buildup. It’s not often that you’ll hear music, but each time it plays, it’s felt. Silence speaks loudly through gameplay, and LEGO Voyagers embraces that ideal.
There is a story here, but to be blunt, I really did not take away much from it. You start out as Red and Blue on an island, witnessing a rocket launch, and naturally progress through different environments to reach an end goal, but said goal did not do much for me. I feel that Light Brick Studio could have introduced more cutscenes to build up to the ending that would have made it land better, but maybe some players will take more from the experience than I did. I certainly got the gist of what the team was going for; it just kind of lost me throughout. Some games rely heavily on the narrative to keep players engaged, but this is not one of them. Even with this mixed narrative execution, the gameplay and atmosphere were more than enough to make my playthrough memorable.
For the most part, LEGO Voyagers was a bug-free experience. I only encountered one main bug, which resulted in my co-op partner being unable to attach to any object. This was quickly resolved by restarting the level, but it’s worth noting that this can be encountered, at least in my experience. Frame rate, however, is another story. I frequently witnessed noticeable slowdowns on PlayStation 5 throughout my four hours of playtime. These can be somewhat drastic. I don’t necessarily think that the target audience is going to care too much about dropped frames, but it’s something that continued to pop up throughout my playthrough. The isometric camera lends itself to these drops being more apparent, as the whole camera slows down.
If I had to nitpick one element of the game overall, I do feel that the journey is over relatively quickly. This is a very fun adventure, but I was left wanting a little more by the time the credits rolled. It took me just over four hours to finish up the game, including all sorts of trial and error. I would have liked to see more of this experience, as it almost abruptly ends just as things really start to click. The $24.99 asking price does lessen the burden of this, but it feels like there was more to give here. Each of the stages you progress through is incredibly unique and fun, but the length of the game left me a bit puzzled, especially with the narrative that didn’t leave me feeling much of anything. There are many instances of games without dialogue that are able to tell a meaningful story, but LEGO Voyagers, while charming and fun, missed the mark here for me.
Short & Mostly Sweet
LEGO Voyagers is a charming co-op adventure that is fun for all ages. The visuals and atmosphere are absolutely stellar, the co-op platforming is delightful, and the soundtrack is excellent. I do wish that there was just more to this game, perhaps in the form of more stages or even a speedrun mode. The short playthrough left me feeling somewhat unfulfilled, as the core experience was so good but ended abruptly.
Light Brick Studio understands how to create a game with co-op at the forefront, and LEGO Voyagers is a better game because of it. Regardless of my qualms with the narrative and length, the core gameplay, music, and atmosphere are impressive, making this experience enjoyable. LEGO Voyagers may not be the best co-op game I’ve played this year, but it’s a good one that is worth your time.
Disclaimer: Annapurna Interactive provided a PlayStation 5 copy of LEGO Voyagers for review purposes.
Toei Animation announced the new Girls Band Cry 2D platforming game Momoka (o) Wasshoi (Momoka Heave-Ho) launches on September 28 for PC via Steam. The new Girls Band Cry game may be purchased in any region when it launches, but the game does not support English.
Here’s an overview of the game, via the Steam page:
Momowasho, a mysterious mini-game born from the “Girls Band Cry” anime, has unexpectedly been released!
Control Nina and Subaru and send Momoka back to her sofa at home!
Two Types of Stages
2D Action – This is a 2D action game where you aim for the goal while avoiding obstacles by jumping. Deliver the drunk Momoka to her home!
Timing Game – This is a game where you deliver Momoka to the sofa after arriving at her home. Press the button at the right timing to launch Momoka! If you do it right, you can lay Momoka down on the sofa!
Fans in Japan can also look forward to two Girls Band Cry compilation films. Girls Band Cry: Rhapsody of Youth premieres October 3, followed by Girls Band Cry: Hey, Future. on November 14.
Returning cast members include:
RINA as Nina Iseri
Yuri as Momoka Kawaragi
Mirei as Subaru Awa
Natsu as Tomo Ebizuka
Syuri as Rupa
Kazuo Sakai directs the compilation movies at Toei Animation, with Jukki Hanada handling series compositions. What’s more, Nari Teshima is the character designer, and Daiki Nakazawa and Jae Hoon Jung are the CGI directors. Kenji Tamai was the composer, and Yūsuke Tanaka was credited for the background music.
The first Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Infinity Castle film has earned an estimated $33 million on opening day across 3,315 locations in the U.S. as of September 12. As the #1 box office film in the U.S., Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Infinity Castle – Akaza Returns achieved the biggest opening weekend for an anime film in the country, surpassing the record held by Pokémon: The First Movie in 1999 ($31 million).
In addition, Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Infinity Castle – Akaza Returns closed out opening weekend with a projected $70 million gross. Roughly $37 million was generated from September 13 to 14.
What’s more, Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Infinity Castle – Akaza Returns is the fastest film in Japan to reach 30 billion yen at the box office, outpacing Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train and Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away.
Haruo Sotozaki directed the film at studio ufotable. In addition, Akira Matsushima is the character designer and chief animation director. Further, Aimer performs the theme song “Taiyō ga Noboranai Sekai (A World Where the Sun Never Rises),” while LiSA performs the song “Zankoku no Yoru ni Kagayake (Shine in the Cruel Night).”
Shueisha announced that Yū Hashimoto’s 2.5 Dimensional Seduction manga series has entered its final arc with the release of chapter 194. The final arc of the 2.5 Dimensional Seduction manga is titled “Tenshi no Manimani,” or “At the Mercy of an Angel.”
Hashimoto first launched the manga series on the Shonen Jump+ website in 2019. Shueisha will release the 24th volume of the manga on October 3. The anime adaptation by studio J.C. STAFF premiered on July 5, 2024, and it’s streaming on HIDIVE with an English dub. Season 2 of 2.5 Dimensional Seduction is currently in the works.
The opening theme song of the 2.5 Dimensional Seduction second cour is “Tsugihagi no Tsubasa” (A Wing’s Patchwork) by Soraru. Moreover, anime characters Ririsa Amano (VA: Kaori Maeda), Mikari Tachibana (VA: Akari Kitō), Nonoa (VA: Sayumi Suzushiro), and Aria (VA: Sayumi Watabe) perform the ending theme song “Release Sigh.”
The 2.5 Dimensional Seduction manga is currently available to read now on Shonen Jump+ in Japan. In the west, Seven Seas Entertainment publishes English volumes of the manga. Lastly, here’s an overview of the manga series, via Seven Seas Entertainment:
“I have no interest in real girls!” So claims Okumura, the president of the school’s manga club. He’s your typical otaku, obsessed with a sexy (fictional) 2D manga character known as Liliel. Then the new school year starts, and a (real!) 3D girl named Lilysa whose passion is cosplay joins the club. Lilysa convinces Okumura to become her photographer–and guess who her favorite manga character is? Not only that, but Lilysa is into modeling the fetishy stuff! The boundaries between 2D and 3D start to blur as this hot-blooded romantic comedy unfolds.
A new trailer for the anime adaptation of Naru Narumi’s Watari-kun’s ***** is About to Collapse manga series confirms the second cour will premiere on October 3. The trailer also confirms shallm performs the new opening theme song “Futari-bun (For Two),” and Yurina Hirate performs the new ending theme song “Shippai Shinai Menhera no Sodate-kata (How to Successfully Raise a Mentally Unstable Person).”
Yuika performed the first cour’s opening theme song “Yuurei ni Naritai (I Want to be a Ghost).” Pedro performs the first cour’s ending theme song “Ai Ai Ai Ai Ai (Love Love Love Love Love).”
The Japanese cast includes:
Shūichirō Umeda as Naoto Watari
Yumika Yano as Satsuki Tachibana
Yurie Igoma as Yukari Ishihara
Megu Umezawa as Makina Umezawa
Yoshiki Nakajima as Shigenobu Tokui
Hinaki Yano as Suzushiro Watari
The English dub cast includes:
Abi Kumar as Naoto
Kelly Greenshield as Ishihara
Sarah Roach as Satsuki
Jad Saxton as Suzu
Robin Clayton as Sukekiyo
Ariel Graham as Tamayo
Daryl Mayfield as Tokui
Nia Celeste as Naoto (Young)
Takashi Naoya directs the anime at Staple Entertainment, and Matsuo Asami is the assistant director. Tatsuya Takahashi is in charge of the series scripts alongside scriptwriter Tetsuya Yamada. Shōko Yasuda is the character designer, and she’s a co-chief animation director alongside Yukiyo Komito and Taeko Ōgi. Nonoka Suzuki designs the costumes, and Chie Yamazaki designs the props.
Narumi’s Watari-kun’s ***** is About to Collapse manga launched in August 2014 in Kadokawa’s Young Ace magazine, before moving serialization to Monthly Young Magazine in November 2015. The manga ended with the 16th and final volume in November 2023.
Crunchyroll announced the Shabake anime series will be streaming on the service when it premieres on October 3. Shabake will stream on Crunchyroll in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, CIS and Indian subcontinent.
Shabake premieres October 3 during Fuji TV’s Noitamina programming block at 11:30 a.m. JST (10:30 a.m. EDT), followed by Prime Video on October 4 at 12:00 a.m. JST and AT-X on October 7 at 8:00 p.m. JST.
The anime’s cast members include:
Daiki Yamashita as Ichitarō
Kōji Okino as Nikichi
Taku Yashiro as Sasuke
Daisuke Namikawa as Nozoki Byōbu
Seiichirō Yamashita as Matsunosuke
Shimba Tsuchiya as Eikichi
Shion Wakayama as Oharu
Akira Sekine as Suzuhiko-hime
Shinya Takahashi as Noderabō
Misako Tomioka as Kawauso
Akane Matsunaga as Yanari
Aika Wakuno as Yanari
Takako Tanaka as Yanari
Kujira performs the opening theme song “Inochi no Parade (Parade of Life).” KAFUNÉ performs “Myaku-Myaku (Continuous).”
Takahiro Ōkawa directs the new anime series at BN Pictures. Tōko Machida oversees the series scripts. Akari Minagawa is the character designer and the chief animation director alongside Yuka Shiga. Rei Ishizuka is the music composer for the anime.
Megumi Hatakenaka’s first novel for the Shabake series released in 2001, and various sequel novels released in the many years that followed. The series would inspire two live-action TV series, manga, radio plays, stage plays, stage musicals, picture books, and a net anime adaptation. The upcoming anime series will not have the same cast and staff as the net anime series, however.