Based On Videogame Archives | Otaku No Culture

Never Say Yes to Being Encased In An Iron Lung. You’ll Regret It.

A one-man descent into a planet-wide ocean of human blood turns Iron Lung into a tight, suffocating psychodrama that lets its best mysteries stay sealed. It’s slow in places, but the dread builds, and the third act lands like a vise.

Iron Lung Movie Poster Iron Lung doesn’t require viewers to know the video game it has been adapted from. Everything you need to understand is either clearly explained or made horrifyingly tangible from the outset. The premise is simple: Simon (Mark Fischbach, who also wrote and directed) awakens to find himself sealed inside what is essentially a prison, one disguised as a space-age submarine.

This vessel is deployed into an oceanic world composed entirely of human blood. Sensors can barely penetrate the density of this viscous plasma. When tests confirm it is human in origin, the descent into terror truly begins. The only voices this lone pilot hears are the taunts echoing from this alien world and the transmissions from his prison handler. Ava (Caroline Rose Kaplan) serves as his sole human contact, promising a pardon for his crimes. He was implicated in the destruction of a space station, the lone captured conspirator. The absence of his fellow accomplices lingers as a narrative gap the film never fully addresses.

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Top Ten Animated Films You Must See in 2026

2026 is stacked with animated films from around the world, from high-concept sci-fi to nostalgic franchise returns. Here are ten releases to watch, sorted by date, and why each one might matter.

2026 is shaping up to be a huge year for animated films. If it’s the ill-fated number three (Star Trek fans will get the reference), hopefully the Angry Birds and Minions can weather the storm. But as for other works, there’s plenty to choose from. For some studios, they are finally taking the risk, but we still don’t have a date for one particular film that I’ll address at the end.

And I’m not limiting myself to works coming out of the Los Angeles area. Also, maybe those movies I’ve been reporting on as still not getting a North American release may see movement. I’m not holding my breath for it, but you never know! This year, this list reflects not just what’s coming, but why it matters.

Meikyū no Shiori

Release: January 1, 2026 (Japan)

Directed by Shōji Kawamori from a screenplay by Taichi Hashimoto, this high-concept science fiction drama treats smartphones as literal gateways to alternate realities. After Shiori Maezawa breaks her phone, she finds herself trapped inside an alternate Yokohama, a world where another version of herself already exists, and is making a mess of things. It’s a quietly unsettling premise that bends identity, technology, and isolation into something intimate and strange.

Charlie the Wonderdog

Release: January 16, 2026

When a boy’s best friend, who happens to be a cat, is abducted by aliens and returned profoundly altered, chaos follows. Charlie, the family dog, is suddenly forced into hero mode as the world tilts sideways around him. It’s goofy, loud, and oddly sincere, balancing superhero parody with the simple question of what loyalty actually looks like when everything changes. This is a movie that looks heavily inspired by Pixar, and yes, there are tacos.

Les Légendaires – Le Film

Release: January 28, 2026 (France)

Based on the popular French comic series, this fantasy adventure reunites the heroes of Alysia, once legendary warriors now trapped in the bodies of ten-year-olds after a magical catastrophe. When the sorcerer Darkhell threatens the world again through the mystical Gaméra tree, the group must come together, reputations in tatters, childhood awkwardness and all, to fix what they broke. As a beloved franchise that leans hard into classic European fantasy beats, what’s to lose?

Goat

Release: February 13, 2026

Sony Pictures Animation delivers an all-animal sports comedy set in the brutal world of roarball, a full-contact league dominated by the biggest and fastest creatures around. Will, a small goat with oversized ambition, earns a spot on a pro team and promptly disrupts everything. It’s a familiar underdog story, but the setting and kinetic animation style suggest it could be sharper than expected.

Doraemon: New Nobita and the Castle of the Undersea Devil

Release: February 27, 2026 (Japan)

The 22nd-century robot cat returns for the franchise’s 45th feature, reimagining one of Doraemon’s most beloved underwater adventures. When Nobita and friends set up camp on the ocean floor, they stumble into a hidden civilization and awaken the ominous Devil’s Rock Castle. Nostalgia meets modern animation tech in a story that leans heavily on friendship, curiosity, and the terror of things stirring beneath the waves.

Hoppers

Release: March 6, 2026

Pixar finally swings for something truly offbeat. Scientists develop technology that allows humans to “hop” their minds into robotic animals, and a nature-loving teenager uses it to protect a threatened habitat by becoming a mechanical beaver. It’s strange, playful, and philosophical in that very Pixar way, even if comparisons to horror games will inevitably sneak into the discourse.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Release: April 3, 2026

Inspired by the Galaxy games, Mario, Luigi, and company head into space to face Bowser Jr. among the stars. Bright, energetic, and unapologetically colourful, this sequel expands the Mushroom Kingdom in every direction at once. Whether or not it dodges franchise fatigue, it’s hard not to be curious about how far Nintendo is willing to let this universe stretch.

Coyote vs. Acme

Release: August 28, 2026

Rescued from limbo by Ketchup Entertainment, this long-delayed Looney Tunes project finally sees the light of day. Wile E. Coyote sues Acme Corporation over decades of catastrophic product failures, resulting in a legal comedy built on slapstick logic and deep self-awareness. It’s an oddball entry in a crowded year, and one of the few mainstream animated films willing to get genuinely satirical.

Forgotten Island

Release: September 25, 2026

DreamWorks explores Filipino folklore in a story about memory, friendship, and identity. When two youths are stranded on the mysterious island of Nakali, they discover that returning home may require sacrificing the very memories that bind them together. Early materials suggest something quieter and more emotionally driven than the studio’s usual output, with real potential to surprise.

The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender

Release: October 9, 2026

Set between The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, this long-gestating animated feature finally gives Aang his own post-series story. With a new global threat looming, the now more experienced Team Avatar must step back into action. After multiple delays and shifting release plans, there’s hope this one finally lands, and lands well.

The throughline here isn’t nostalgia or spectacle alone, it’s ambition. As for where Studio Laika’s Wildwood is, that’s because there’s no official distributor yet. Analysts are saying it will have to release soon. And when studios are clearly willing to experiment again, for this fan, all I can say is that it’s about bloody time!

Living in Five Nights At Freddy’s 2’s Strange Space Is….

Haunted animatronics, forgotten trauma, and unresolved revenge drive Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a sequel more interested in changing the game rather than finish it properly.

Zoiks, Matthew Lillard is one of those names that can sell a film, and when he’s back as William Afton, the main villain behind the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise, I hoped for a deeper origin story. In that regard, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 partially delivers, layering a soft reboot over the existing mythology.

This time, the focus shifts to the spirit of Charlotte (Audrey Lynn Marie), awakened years later. In-universe, the sequel takes place a year after the first film. In the flashback opening, she witnesses the franchise owner preparing to murder an innocent child. No one believes her pleas. When she becomes more than another victim, she locks herself into the same vicious cycle.

The animatronics aren’t just threats, they’re remnants in the truest sense. These ghosts are children trapped between worlds, literally inhabiting machines. Their horror comes from who they’re forced to target. They never asked to be controlled, and over time, their innocence erodes. They become killers.

Once the Withereds are introduced, confusion sets in. They are not the same robots from the first film. Here, they’re framed as “prototypes,” a choice many fans argue effectively deletes the emotional connection built with the original ghosts.

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From Past to Future: Revisiting Pac-Man Cartoons and The Uncertain Fate of the Movie

Pac-Man Movie De-Rezzing Back in August 2022, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Wayfarer Studios and Bandai Namco Entertainment were developing a live-action Pac-Man movie. Sonic the Hedgehog producer Chuck Williams originated the idea, with Justin Baldoni (Clouds, Jane the Virgin) joining as producer.

Since then, updates have been scarce. By early 2023, news went silent, and by 2025, the project appears stalled. Industry chatter suggests Wayfarer has put it on “internal hold.” Baldoni’s recent legal controversies have added uncertainty. While no official cancellation exists, this movie risks becoming another Hollywood vapourware unless Wayfarer or Bandai Namco retool it.

With the film’s future in doubt, revisiting Pac-Man’s past media ventures feels timely. Do we really need a live-action feature about a spherical alien in our world? Pixels (2015) tried and fell short, with Adam Sandler’s nostalgia trip earning more groans than cheers.

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With The Upcoming Release of Missile Command Delta, Is It The Final Countdown?

Who’s ready for a change of pace? Instead of a shoot ‘em up, Missile Command Delta is a puzzle solving game.

Release date: July 8, 2025

Not everyone is going to be excited for the release of Missile Command Delta. This re-imaging to the classic arcade game shooter has only one thing to like, a very developed story to explain why players must save themselves (not the Earth) from cataclysmic destruction. That’s the vibe I’m getting in the latest video promoting it, as this product is now available for pre-order.

Some aspects look good, and I guess that in time, developers 13AM Games and Mighty Yell might translate this first-person perspective game into a virtual reality one. I’d be a bit more interested if that happens. Since this port was done with Kill It With Fire (review link), I’m hopeful. Whether that’s by switching from having a character on screen to navigate around or simply let the monitor be my eyes, the concept behind this game is satisfactory.

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The Art of Marvel Snap

The Art of Marvel Snap is not meant to be a comprehensive look at everything featured in the mobile game. Instead it’s a best of.

Dark Horse Comics

More than a few characters are missing in The Art of Marvel Snap, and I think the selection of who’s the sexist is rather good. When this digital collectable card game is regularly adding characters, it’s impossible to be current, and if people think that a print publication is a guide, it really isn’t. It’s the best of which shows a few extra variant art designs to satisfy fans.

If I wanted a complete catalogue of every card, I would prefer a regularly updated digital book to this hardcover. This edition considers which character designs are really cool looking, and I’m glad Deadpool and Rogue has an entry. While not every X-men (Cyclops and Ice-Man) is here, at least the core team from the Avengers are. One character that’s suspiciously missing but is in the game is Kitty Pryde. Either she was phased out or is hiding somewhere. Thankfully, they all exist in the app, but for being featured in a huge compendium like this, there must be a reason!

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