Category: News

Maaya Sakamoto, Fate/Grand Order Top Hits and 30 Years in the Business….

Celebrations continue for Jpop fans who adore Maaya Sakamoto’s music. Not only is there a new release for Fate/Grand Order fans but also they can hear her unplugged.

Maaya Sakamoto Fate_Grand OrderCurrently in the midst of her 30th anniversary as an artist, Maaya Sakamoto continues to shine. The concert held April 18 and 19 at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena ended to great acclaim. And for those who missed the show or want a greatest hits, this artist is releasing a greatest hits album of sorts, titled Yoin. This album collects all six theme songs she performed for the smartphone JRPG and there’s a lot more to be included!

From The Press Release

Disc one features all six theme songs from the smartphone role-playing game Fate/Grand Order, from “Shikisai,” which was released alongside the official game launch in 2015, to “Tokei,” the theme song for the final chapter released in 2025.

“Tokei” was released digitally last year and will be recorded on CD for the first time.

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Lost and not Found? Can Hunting Matthew Nichols Be A Hail Mary to the Found Footage Format?

Set on Vancouver Island, Hunting Matthew Nichols blends true crime, found footage, and supernatural dread into a regional horror story with real local flavour. For Island viewers especially, that familiar forested backdrop adds an extra chill.

Hunting Matthew NicholsFound footage and true crime are two genres that don’t exactly send me scrambling to the theatre. The format has been done to death, and though not necessarily together, some unique idea has to be pitched before I’ll pay attention, be it paranormal or something else. Hunting Matthew Nichols is one of those films, and it deserves a fair look since it may involve something lurking in them thar woods, to pardon the phrase. In this case, it’s about finding the recording itself and examining it, rather than displacing the narrative from who is watching whom.

And if the buzz around this film is any indication, this regionally made independent production getting a ton of Hollywood attention might be the one to make people say, let’s check this out. Now playing at theatres nationwide, this work from director Markian Tarasiuk, who also acts in the film because apparently sleeping is overrated, and screenwriter Sean Harris Oliver blends true crime drama with the supernatural.

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Rock and Rule Behind the Scenes, The KickStarter. An Interview with Verne Andrusiek (Part One)

Rock and Rule Behind the Scenes dives into the legacy of the cult Canadian animated film through Verne Andrusiek’s firsthand insights, exploring its production struggles, analog artistry, and why a true restoration may never happen.

Fan Expo Vancouver Rock and RuleView the Kickstarter here

Verne Andrusiek is just one of the amazing talents who helped breathe visual life into a seminal Canadian animated classic, Rock and Rule. For the later part of his entertainment career, he went by the shorter version of his last name, and not everyone made the connection. With this Nelvana Entertainment film recognized as a cult work in the Canadiana hall of fame, anyone asking for a release will be in for a disappointment. A remaster is not likely to happen. What Verne preserved at home, though, will become part of the backbone of Rock and Rule Behind the Scenes, a video documentary that includes interviews with the directors and writers of this project. He announced this project to folks visiting his booth during Fan Expo Vancouver 2026!

With a crowdfunding campaign launching April 6, 2026, he also hopes to put some long-running fan debates to rest. He put it this way: “I became a bit of a jack-of-all-trades over my career going from music to electronics, art, film and computers in large part due to times, the 1950s through to 1980 were a period of dramatic change when not much of anything we take for granted today existed. Basically, if you wanted something you had to figure out how to do it yourself because there were no off-the-shelf solutions.”

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Introducing Witch Hat Atelier And What You Need To Know Before Its Simulcast Debut

Witch Hat Atelier is finally making the leap from page to screen, bringing Kamome Shirahama’s lush fantasy world to life in what looks like a visually rich and ethically charged anime adaptation.

©Kamome Shirahama/KODANSHA/ Witch Hat Atelier Committee
©Kamome Shirahama/KODANSHA/ Witch Hat Atelier Committee

Coming to Crunchyroll on April 6, 2026 7:00PT

Fans of the high-fantasy manga series Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama will be glad to hear the anime series will be simulcast in Japanese and English in April, and it’ll be the first two episodes back-to-back! It’ll be interesting to see how the manga translates to animation, and if the trailer is any indication, it’s energetic and wastes no time diving into what helps form the illusions and alters reality to those able to witness it. This series might look like another magical school story on the surface, but there’s much more going on beneath it.

Here, anyone can alter creation in little subtle ways. We don’t need the God Thoth to assist. Well, that’s just one school of thought which might get explored. Hermeticism focuses on the divine arts, the nature of reality, and the soul’s liberation flow of the universe. But in this tale, all it takes is knowing what to pen with the right ink, and letting the ideas flow. But when a mistake is made, what can our heroine Coco do? She’ll have to learn the craft, and hope to undo the stone curse….

This revelation transforms the series from a whimsical fairy tale into a high-stakes ethical drama about the morality of gatekeeping knowledge, all while being presented through some of the most stunning, storybook-inspired art in modern manga.

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Run, Kitty, Run! The Legend of Hei 2 on Blu-Ray! Coming Soon

The beloved Chinese animated fantasy returns with The Legend of Hei 2, continuing the story of spirits and humans struggling to coexist. With new dangers emerging from the spirit world, this sequel expands the mythology with a fresh adventure and stunning hand-drawn animation.

The Legend of Hei 2 Blu-rayGKIDS and Shout! Studios
Release Date: May 12, 2026

The story continues in The Legend of Hei, the acclaimed Chinese animated film that won audiences over with its beautiful hand-drawn animation and heartfelt storytelling. For anyone who missed the original, the movie is available online, with the home video still easy to find. Now the sequel, The Legend of Hei 2, arrives with a brand-new adventure filled with fresh dangers and a looming threat from the spirit world.

While the premise of maintaining balance between worlds may sound familiar, this story takes its own path. The conflict between spirits and humans is a universal theme, but this sequel expands the mythology in new directions rather than echoing other animated series. Readers can check out my review of the first film here.

The upcoming Blu-ray release of The Legend of Hei 2 arrives May 12, 2026 from GKIDS and Shout! Studios, bringing the acclaimed animated sequel home with several behind-the-scenes extras.

From the Press Release:

Revered for its luminous hand-drawn animation and emotionally rich storytelling, The Legend of Hei 2 reunites audiences with a world where spirits and humans coexist in uneasy harmony, raising the stakes with a sweeping new chapter that balances heart, humor, and kinetic action.

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Shell-A-Bration 2026 Updatess and TMNT! Upcoming Dates And Why This Reunion Shouldn’t Be Missed

A TMNT “Shell-A-Bration” reunion tour has been rolling through cons, bringing suit performers and voice actors together for fans who grew up on the 1990 live-action classic. With rotating lineups, raffle moments, and plenty of nostalgia, this circuit is a proper love letter to the people behind the shells.

TMNT Shell-A-BrationThe Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are having a “Shell-A-Bration” because when the tour began in 2025, the original film that started it all was celebrating a 35-year milestone. The reunion kicked off at Awesome Con in Washington, D.C. (March 4–6, 2025), and the main cast has been enthusiastic nonstop ever since. It’s not just about everyone getting older and wanting a retirement fund. Whether that’s part of the reality or not, seeing the voice talents and the people behind the first two live-actions film is a thrill all on its own. At each stop, they talk about the camaraderie, the laughs, and the stories from set, and I’m sure plenty of respect gets paid to the performers in the suits who handled the stunts.

Kenn Scott (suit/voice) is Raphael; Michaelan Sisti (suit) and Robbie Rist (voice) make up Michelangelo; Leif Tilden (suit) and Corey Feldman (voice) teamed up as Donatello (with Ernie Reyes Jr. providing the martial arts stunts); and David Forman (suit) and Brian Tochi (voice) bring Leonardo to life. The lineup changed between films, but I doubt anyone who wasn’t at the table this time was forgotten on the broader circuit.

Feldman was at least “there in spirit,” since he was also representing The Goonies. He arrived late in getting to Vancouver due to a flight kerfuffle, then sped down I-5 to make it to the border and into town. If he’d had the energy to celebrate both, the lineup with him included would have been truly Shell-tacular. Still, mixing performers and voice talent gives fans the best of both worlds. You’re seeing the people behind the costumes, and the ones playing the characters we all see in those films.

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