Based On Literature Archives | Otaku No Culture

What’s Next for Light Chaser Animation in 2026?

While international audiences wait, Light Chaser Animation is quietly building a Lord of the Rings-scale adaptation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms alongside a new Water Margin film.

For those living outside of China, no, Light Chaser Animation Studio isn’t resting. Instead, they have two films slated for release this year. While international audiences are still waiting for wider access to Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (2025), local coverage suggests they are planning even more ambitious storytelling. The executives aren’t especially concerned about global reach, knowing that domestic success remains the priority.

When their next project is a large-scale animated adaptation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms in three parts, it’s safe to say they have Lord of the Rings-scale ambitions. The first entry, often referred to in domestic coverage as Three Kingdoms Part One: Struggle for Luoyang, is currently in production and targeting a summer 2026 theatrical release in China. The film is positioned as the opening chapter in a longer narrative arc, centred on the collapse of the Eastern Han dynasty and the power struggles that followed. Visually, the style echoes Chang’an.

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Kaiju, Dissentience’s Tribute to TOHO is Cosmic!

Dissentience’s new concept EP Kaiju turns classic Japanese monster mayhem and Lovecraftian dread into a four-part metal narrative, charting a nameless beast’s attack from first impact to ash-filled aftermath with riffs as heavy as the fallout.

Kaiju album cover From Bethlehem, PA, death metal / trash band, Dissentience, aims to please music lovers of this genre with an ambitious album, simply titled Kaiju. In keeping true to the story telling format, what this concept album offers are four tracks to which follows through the narrative beats of intro, rising action, climax and denouement that will no doubt track the birth to destruction. Shame there’s no comic book or short video announced at the same time, but when the theatre of the mind is involved, that’s all we need.

Scheduled for release on February 20, 2026, this concept album fuses dark horror, manic riffs, and existential lyrical dread into work that my gig for a local music magazine has given me an opportunity to listen to.
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Romeo’s Blue Skies Blu-ray Review: Why This Inspirational Anime Still Shines

Fans of World Masterpiece Theatre will delight in Romeo’s Blue Skies, now available on Blu-ray from MedicOCD/Animeigo’s Ruined Childhoods label.

Romeo's Blue Skies Bluray Case Fans of World Masterpiece Theatre’s series will find much to laugh, cry, and reflect on in Romeo’s Blue Skies. This second release from MedicOCD and Animeigo’s Ruined Childhoods label is a must-have for fans of Japanese adaptations of Western literary classics. After decades of hunting down VHS tapes or low-resolution downloads, I’m thrilled to finally have a clean, high-quality release. Early fan-subbed versions were incomplete or low fidelity, making this Blu-ray a long-awaited treasure.

Based on the 1941 novel Die Schwarzen Brüder (“The Black Brothers,” Amazon link) by Lisa Tetzner and Kurt Held, the story follows a kind-hearted boy growing up in 19th-century Switzerland. When his family falls into poverty, he is forced to sell himself to a man known as Luini, the “God of Death.” Instead of despair, his optimism and courage give the series a uniquely inspirational tone. Experiencing the story visually in full made it far more impactful than reading alone.

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With Nobody’s Boy Remi, He’s Not the Only One With Issues in MediaOCD/AnimEigo’s latest project

In addition to a review of Nobody’s Boy Remi, we got an interview with CEO Justin Sevakis.

Nobody's Boy Remi Bluray Available to order on Amazon USA

A lot of longtime fans are thankful for what Justin Sevakis is leading. In addition to re-releasing a bunch of old AnimEigo titles considered long out of print in new packaging, his video post-production company, MediaOCD, is offering works which haven’t seen North American home video release, like Nobody’s Boy Remi. This operation produces all the Blu-rays for Discotek Media, NIS America, and many more.

This title came out last week. Back in the day, as part of World Masterpiece Theatre on CBC’s French television channel, I viewed a curated selection in what English literature offered. Although I didn’t read the original by Hector Malot, the desire wasn’t there. But with other titles like Sherlock Hound to which I read, to know the differences was essential. In the cartoon, that added sense of whimsy drew me in.

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