Okay. So, a staple in shojo manga series is to eventually introduce some sort of love triangle conflict. The goal is to add a little drama to possibly add a “will they or won’t they” element to the story. Does it get annoying? Absolutely! Especially when it’s dragged out. Volume 4 of The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince manga continues that type of plot line from the third one, but Hisui doesn’t drag the situation out and instead introduces the mature and realistic approach of Lily and Prince William actually talking to work it out.

Editor’s Note: There will be some spoilers for volume 4 of The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince manga below.

 The conflict in the third volume of The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince manga stemmed from a visit by the princess of the kingdom of Belluno, Marianne. She came to the kingdom of Zavanni for a visit and, throughout much of that installment monopolized Prince William’s time so his fiance Liliana was left to her own devices. When secretly exploring outside of the palace in disguise with guards, Lily ran into the two of them together, with Marianne hanging on Will’s arm. This led to mistaken impressions of the situation, which carried over to the initial issue in this volume. However, instead of dragging it out, things are handled in an actually mature manner.

While the outset of this volume offers are first view of the situation from Marianne’s perspective, confirming she did come to the country to drive a wedge and become Will’s new fiance as some suspected and Lily assumed after seeing them together, it quickly gets into practical advice and proper communication. When Will is lamenting Lily’s behavior and anger, his guard and even Princess Marianne both say he needs to talk to her. Though it is awkward between the engaged couple when they do come together in the next scene, both of them don’t drag out this mistaken situation. Will apologizes and explains, as does Lily. (Though she does freak out a bit momentarily thinking his apology is because he intends to break their own engagement.)

As a result, we get to see how productive conversations between a couple we know love each other works out. The two of them explain themselves. The set a time for another date, which shows their commitment to each other. Then when they go out, which also involves scouting a location for a school Lily wants to build for children in the city, they’re completely focused on the task and each other.

What’s interesting, however, is volume 4 of the The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince manga also shows how communication helps the situation between Lily and Princess Marianne too. After the “crisis” is over, it still seems the foreign royal isn’t entirely giving up on her plan, since she at the time sees it as the only recourse to aid her own country during a salinity crisis. When the two of them get a chance to properly talk upon the opening of the finished school and classroom, it leads to new revelations between them and a possible positive relationship.

Which is great, as it all comes back to The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince being a shojo manga that focuses on positivity. It’s sweet! It’s funny! The leads generally care for and respect each other! Now with this volume, we see they handle issues responsibly and with clear communication. It’s lovely to see.

Volumes 1-4 of The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince are available now, and Yen Press will release volume 5 of the manga on July 28, 2026.

The post The Small-Animallike Lady Is Adored by the Ice Prince Shows Communication Matters appeared first on Siliconera.

McDonald’s Japan will include Spy x Family and My Hero Academia Uno decks in its Happy Meals from February 27, 2026. They will be available for about three weeks.

There are two parts to the anime Uno collaboration. From February 27 to March 5, 2026, you can get the Anya, Loid, and Todoroki decks. Anya’s is Uno Flip, while Loid’s is just normal Uno. Todoroki's is Uno All Wild. Then, from March 6 to March 12, 2026, McDonald’s will launch the second half of the collaboration. During this period, you can get the Yor, Bakugou, and Deku decks. Yor’s deck is Uno All Wild, Bakugou’s is Uno Flip, and Deku’s is normal Uno. From March 13, 2026, you can get any deck from the above six.

These Uno anime decks are actually available on their own, so you don’t have to get a McDonald’s Happy Meal for them if you don’t want to. They’re more expensive that way, though. It should also be noted that Japan isn’t the first or only country to get these Uno decks. Canadian McDonald’s announced this collaboration in January 2026, along with Boruto decks.

The Spy x Family and My Hero Academia Uno decks will be available in McDonald’s Happy Meals in Japan from late February 2026.

The post McDonald’s Japan Will Have Anime-Themed Uno Decks appeared first on Siliconera.

Viz Media announced its new Fall 2026 manga and book acquisitions, and among them are Beastars mangaka Paru Itagaki’s Witching Hour and manga versions of The Apothecary Diaries light novel and anime and The Amazing Digital Circus web series. It also confirmed it will publish the biography Nobuo Uematsu: On the Record. 

In the cases of The Apothecary Diaries and The Amazing Digital Circus manga adaptations, both are taking work from the original authors and productions. They each have new mangakas assisting in telling the tales for these adaptations. In the case of The Apothecary Diaries: Maomao’s Notes on the Inner Palace, Touko Shino’s character designs from the original light novel are still used, but Minoji Kurata is the mangaka. For The Amazing Digital Circus, Sakura is listed as the artist.

Here’s the full list of new Viz Media manga and book reveals. All of them have Fall 2026 release windows, but there are no exact dates for any of the releases.

• Albus Changes the World manga volume 1
• The Amazing Digital Circus manga volume 1
• And Then There Were None manga volume 1
• The Apothecary Diaries: Maomao’s Notes on the Inner Palace manga volume 1
• Black Torch Complete Box Set
• Call of the Night: Paradise Arc manga
• Dorohedoro Illustrations: Mud and Sludge art book
• Heroes, with Interiors manga
• Horror Picture Book: A Bad Book by Miyuki Miyabe with Hisanori Yoshida art
• Horror Picture Book: Is It There or Not by Natsuhiko Kyogoku with Naoko Machida art
• Horror Picture Book: Looking at Me book by Soshichi Tonari with Junji Ito art
• Jujutsu Kaisen Complete Box Set with double-sided poster
• Kiki's Delivery Service: The Official Cookbook
• My Hero Academia Box Set 2 with double-sided poster and booklet
• My Hero Academia: Ultra Artworks art book
• Nobuo Uematsu: On the Record biography
• One Piece manga volume 91-111 box set with One Piece Card Game play mat
• Sakamoto Days: Assassin’s Blues manga
• The Seaside Where Dragon Boys Dwell manga volume 1
• Shiba Inu Rooms manga volume 1
• Sound of a Blink manga volume 1
• The Studio Ghibli Chronicles book
• Takumi: A Little Japanese Bakery cookbook
• Witching Hour manga volume 1
• Yakuza vs. Cat manga volume 1
• Yona of the Dawn 3-in-1 Edition manga volume 1

The post Viz Manga Pick-ups Include Apothecary Diaries, Witching Hour, and Amazing Digital Circus appeared first on Siliconera.

Parade announced that, at the end of February 2026, Chiikawa Sanrio plush of characters from the anime and manga dressed as mascots like Hello Kitty will appear. There will be three varieties. They will appear in actual arcades as prizes in Japan and in many online crane games. There’s no word on if we’ll see them eventually everywhere. 

While three characters appear in this Chiikawa Sanrio lineup, they only feature two of the main characters from the series. Chiikawa is present, wearing a hood that looks like My Melody’s. Hachiware is there too with a Hello Kitty ribbon on the left ear. However, the third is the side character Kuri-Manju in a full Hangyodon costume. All of them are just under a foot tall at 11 inches (30cm).

Here’s how all three of these plush will look. One of the photos Parade shared shows the Chiikawa My Melody one being held, to offer a sense of scale.

We’ve seen this kind of crossover happen before. Gray Parka Service featured a similar plush collection that included six characters from the series dressed as Sanrio mascots. Those launched in Japan in December 2025. Chiikawa was My Melody, Hachiware was Hello Kitty, and Kuri-Manju was Hangyodon for that line too.

The Chiikawa Sanrio plush will appear in Japanese arcades at the end of February 2026, Kodansha handles the manga, and the anime isn’t streaming on any platforms in North America at the moment. Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island will air in Japan in 2026. 

The post Chiikawa Sanrio Crossover Plush Reference Hello Kitty, Hachiware appeared first on Siliconera.

Good Smile Company opened orders for the new Sunrise Pop Jujutsu Kaisen blind box plush pendants that are about the same size as Pop Mart’s Labubu and feature characters from the Culling Game arc. It will be ￥2,156 (~$14) for a single blind box with a random accessory inside or ￥8,624 (~$55.70) for a set of all four. These will ship in June 2026, and Good Smile Company will ship worldwide.

Actual photo examples of the plush pendants aren’t available yet. Only concept art of the four designs appeared. Yuji Itadori, Yuta Okkotsu, Choso, and Naoya Zenin are all options. As this is inspired by the later parts of the series, Yuji will feature two scars on his face. The Yuta one will also include a sword. All of them will feature a keyring at the top, for displaying them on bags, which features the logo for the series on the fabric portion.

Here’s the concept art for the four options.

These aren’t the only plush pendants based on the series. The other one features characters from the flashback Gojo’s Past Arc in cat costumes, with Satoru Gojo, Suguru Geto, Shoko Ieiri, Kento Nanami, Yu Haibara, and Toji Fushigoro as options. There is a secret character in that batch, which is Gojo with no sunglasses. 

The new Jujutsu Kaisen Sunrise Pop character plush pendants from Good Smile Company will ship in June 2026, and pre-orders close on March 18, 2026. Viz Media handles the manga, while the anime is streaming on Crunchyroll. 

The post New Jujutsu Kaisen Plush Pendants Include Yuji and Choso appeared first on Siliconera.

The latest big content update has been revealed for HoYoverse's breakout game, Genshin Impact. Version Luna 5, which has the unusually long and needlessly layered title — Song of the Welkin Moon: Variation - Homeward, He Who Caught the Wind — is set to arrive February 25.

Read more

HoYoverse just wrapped up a big Honkai: Star Rail Special Program. We’ve been waiting for this one for a couple of weeks now thanks to a delay, but the developer has finally delivered all the news on Version 4.0, which will arrive February 13.

Read more

Though it may seem like we just had a big life sim release in Heartopia, 2026 actually has more than one highly-anticipated release in that particular subgenre of cozy game. The next big one on the horizon is Starsand Island, the life and farming sim from Seed Sparkle Lab.

Read more

Arknights: Endfield developer Gryphline has a good reason to celebrate, as the upcoming free-to-play action RPG has achieved yet another milestone. The developer announced today that Endfield already has over 35 million pre-registrations.

Read more

“Thank you for calling GameStop. This is Chris speaking. How can I help you?”

Genshin Impact’s latest Special Program has spilled all the beans on the game’s next major update, Luna 4. The update, which arrives on January 14, kicks off 2026 with several bits of new content, including some previously-teased characters.

Read more

The Game Awards 2025 ceremony brought us yet more gacha game news, this time a big announcement for Arknights: Endfield. The free-to-play game set in the the universe of Arknights has been in various forms of closed tests for a while, but it finally has a release date.

Read more

HoYoverse just hosted a sizeable Honkai: Star Rail Special Program, revealing more than just the game’s next major update. Version 3.8 was the big highlight, of course, with the new release arriving soon, on December 16-17 depending on your server region.

Read more

Even a Replica can Fall in Love is a essentially a manga about a doppleganger or tulpa situation, pairing existential questioning with romantic connotations. While happy, perhaps even joyful and loving, moments can appear, they’re always tinged with trauma and the specter of what could happen if an individual disappears. As a result, it can feel like the situations involving Sunao Aikawa, her replica Second (that eventually goes by Nao), and their classmate Shuuya Sanada are always a moment away from tearing at your heartstrings in the first volume of this series.

Editor’s Note: There will be some minor spoilers for the first volume of the Even a Replica can Fall in Love manga below.

The story begins with a brief explanation and refresher. Sunao has been able to summon up a replica of herself since she was a child, ever since she first did so this tulpa could make up with her friend Ritsuko for her after a fight. When she does, that entity has all of her memories up to that moment. Sunao only calls her “Second” and does nothing for her quality of life or benefit despite the double needing to eat and sleep. She even doesn’t believe Second has feelings. And so her replica doesn’t get to sleep in a bed, have breakfast, keep any money, or basically own anything. 

This replica eventually refers to herself as Nao, and she considers her whole life to be in service to the person who spawned her. While Sunao’s actions suggest she’s nothing and Nao seems to have internalized that, she clearly is her own individual with her own personality. But even though she may want to do things, like create her own novels or enjoy certain activities, she feels she isn’t able to. Especially since Sunao could decide to be rid of her and make her not exist with no notice. So right away, it’s really sad to see this vivacious young woman who does enjoy life and have her own sense of self consider herself to be… nothing. 

Things start to change when a classmate named Shuuya Sanada returns after an injury kept him out of school for a while recovering. He shows an interest in Nao on the days when she’s filling in for Sunao. He even joins the literature club she’s in, becoming its third member. She’s clearly fascinated with him and even feels bad that she never visited him in the hospital. So much so that we see she’s starting to want to see him and get excited about the prospect.

That, of course, is in jeopardy after Sunao returns to school. She criticizes Nao for her actions toward Shuuya and tells her to watch out. To the point where Nao tries to pass it off to him as her being temperamental some days and saying he should only talk to her when she has her hair up. And after a critical couple events in the volume, we see Sunao isn’t above “punishing” her replica by sending her away. So just when we see Nao getting to live and enjoy things a bit, she’s reminded of her nature. 

But there are hints of another side to it all too. The fact that Sunao is so readily and often relying on a replica is a serious sign of depression. She’s avoiding life and staying in her room, in bed, instead of getting out and facing things. During one of her altercations with her second, we get hints that this sort of life is damaging to her and not making her mental health situation any better. 

Even a Replica can Fall in Love feels like a manga and series designed to constantly make you feel sorry for its characters and hope for the best for them. Nao is a second and replica, and it seems her self esteem is so low that she can’t even dare to imagine actually living her own life. Sunao seems incredibly depressed, and she’s using her double and even abusing her to avoid life. Shuuya seems perplexed and interested in Nao, but perhaps like he’s treated poorly by Sunao on days when she actually shows up. It’s the start of a potentially tragic love story. 

Volume 1 of Even a Replica can Fall in Love is available via Yen Press, and volume 2 of the manga will appear on June 23, 2026. The company also handles the original light novel adaptation. An anime version is in development and expected to debut in 2026. 

The post Even a Replica Can Fall in Love Manga Is Heartbreaking  appeared first on Siliconera.

The Love Love Series 15th Anniversary Tribute Album CD filled with songs from the anime by other artists debuts on January 14, 2026 in Japan, and the Hatsune Miku and Umamusume covers are already online. Four tracks showed up on Spotify ahead of the launch, with Cygames even promoting one of them. That will cost 4,000円 (~$26), with CD Japan selling it for $25.49. While these first four are on Amazon Music Japan already, it isn't on the worldwide branches yet.

The full track list for the album isn’t available yet. As such, the only confirmed songs we know are the ones that showed up already online. The cover does show Ado, Haruka Amami from The Idolmaster 765Pro All Stars, Konata Izumi from Lucky Star, Vtuber Ui Shigure, and You and Idol Pretty Cure Cure Idol Uta Sakura, who are also going to appear. So the known tracks are the Aikatsu,  BanG Dream Poppin'Party, Hatsune Miku, and Umamusume ones.

Here’s the full list of tracks with links to listen to them:

• Aikatsu cover of “Dream Believers.”
• BanG Dream Poppin’Party cover of “Start!! True Dreams.”
• Hatsune Miku cover of “Fly with You.”
• Umamusume cover of “Bokura wa Ima no Naka de.” 

It is unknown if “Snow Halation” will be part of this. That has been covered many times before, including by Hololive Vtubers.

Here's the full cover art for the album:

The Love Live Series 15th Anniversary Tribute Album of song covers will launch in Japan on January 14, 2026. The anime can be found on Crunchyroll.

The post Hear Love Live Series 15th Anniversary Tribute Album Umamusume, Hatsune Miku Songs appeared first on Siliconera.

The Japanese version of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailer appeared a few weeks after the English one, and it revealed Maaya Sakamoto will be the Rosalina voice actor and Daiki Yamashita will play Bowser Jr. They join returning cast members like Mamoru Miyano (Mario) and Arisu Shida (Princess Peach). The film debuts in Japan on April 24, 2026.

Both Maaya Sakamoto and Daiki Yamashita are well known as voice actors ahead of their appearances as Rosalina and Bowser Jr in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. She’s a voice actress and singer, with some of her most notable parts being Aerith in FFVII, Aigis in Persona 3 (including Reload), Lightning in FFXIII, Mari in Evangelion, Rem in Trigun, Echidna in Re:Zero, and Akito in Fruits Basket. Meanwhile, we can hear him as Deku in My Hero Academia, Sakamichi in Yowamushi Pedal, and Mafuyu in Sakamoto Days.

Here’s the version of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailer with Japanese voice acting and, while we get to hear Daiki Yamashita as Bowser Jr, we don’t get to hear Maaya Sakamoto as Rosalina yet. 

As a reminder, we already knew the cast for the English version of the movie. All actors from the original installment will return for the film, with Brie Larson joining as Rosalina and Benny Safdie showing up as Bowser Jr. 

The original Super Mario Movie is available now physically and digitally, and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will appear in theaters in the US on April 3, 2026 and in Japan on April 24, 2026. 

The post Maaya Sakamoto Is Rosalina in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie appeared first on Siliconera.

Journal Standard announced the Baycrew’s site will begin selling the Dragon Ball Daima Champion shirts and hoodies on December 6, 2025. These will ship worldwide via Buyee. There are 12 designs available, all featuring characters and logos from the newest anime based on the series. 

All 12 of the Dragon Ball Daima Champion shirts and hoodies are gender neutral items for adults that are available in medium, large, and extra large sizes. The three hoodies are the most expensive items at ¥ 18,700 (~$120). The nine sweatshirts are ¥17,600 (~$113). In addition to expected and returning characters like the mini versions of Goku and Vegeta, folks original to this storyline like Glorio, Gomah, and Panzy appear. 

Here’s a look at all the Dragon Ball Daima hoodies and sweatshirts in this collection: 

In other news related to the series, the Dragon Ball the One worldwide character popularity poll is running. Stage 2 just ended, and the Stage 3 vote to get it down to 21 characters begins later this week.

Journal Standard and Baycrew’s Dragon Ball Daima Champion shirts and hoodies will be available in Japan on December 6, 2025, and the online store is shipping them worldwide. Dragon Ball Daima is streaming on services like Crunchyroll.

The post Dragon Ball Daima Champion Shirts Launch This Week appeared first on Siliconera.

Taito announced even more Cardcaptor Sakura x Sanrio Characters are on the way, with the latest four being a batch of plush keychains that include Cinnamoroll and Pompompurin. These designs will head to Japanese arcades in the middle of December 2025. There’s no word on whether we’ll see them worldwide eventually or not, but items like acrylic standees based on the crossover did show up everywhere.

The four options in this collection involve two versions of heroine Sakura Kinomoto, Cinnamoroll, and Pompompurin. One version of Sakura features her with Cinnamoroll’s ears in her school uniform. The matching Cinnamoroll one has him in the same outfit. In the case of the Sakura and Pompompurin pair, both of them are wearing the costume from the second season anime opening “Open the Door.” Each one has a ball-chain keychain at the top and is almost five inches tall (12cm).

Here’s how those look:

It has been a few weeks since we’d seen any new plush from this Cardcaptor Sakura and Sanrio crossover. Ones of Sakura Kinomoto and Hello Kitty in Clear Card second anime opening outfits appeared in Japan in October 2025. However, there were some keychain pouches with the heroine alongside Cinnamoroll and Pompompurin that showed up in November 2025. 

The Cardcaptor Sakura x Sanrio Characters plush featuring Sakura Kinomoto, Cinnamoroll, and Pompompurin will launch in mid-December 2025 in Japan. The anime can be found on Crunchyroll, and Kodansha handles the manga.

The post New Cardcaptor Sakura Sanrio Plush Include Cinnamoroll, Pompompurin appeared first on Siliconera.

The Stage 2 Dragon Ball the One worldwide character popularity poll results are in, and the top 40 still includes characters like Bulma’s Family Cat and Farmer with a Power Level of 5. The revival battle to pick the single character who will be “saved” and also move on to the top 41 in Stage 3 of the poll was held on social media until 11:59pm JST on December 3, 2025. Stage 3 runs on the official site between December 4-8, 2025, and that will narrow things down to the top 20.

The known top 40 Dragon Ball the One worldwide character popularity poll currently includes expected characters, unexpected ones, and a handful of wildcards like Bulma’s Family Cat, Farmer with a Power Level of 5, and Dolphin. (All three of those have risen higher up the rankings since the original Stage 1 poll.)

Here are the top 20 characters as of the end of Stage 2. I placed their previous range as of Stage 1 in parentheses after their name.)

1. Son Goku (1)
2. Son Gohan (3)
3. Vegeta (2)
4. Piccolo (5)
5. Vegito (4)
6. Trunks (Teen) (6)
7. Cell (8)
8. Bardock (7)
9. Android 18 (9)
10. Bulma (15)
11. Frieza (10)
12. Yamcha (16)
13. Chichi (26)
14. Krillin (11)
15. Tenshinhan (12)
16. Son Goten (21)
17. Android 17 (14)
18. Lunch (19)
19. Bulma’s Family Cat (22)
20. Videl (20)

Here are the official infographics for the top 40 

Dragon Ball the One is live now, and we’ll see the results of the worldwide character popularity poll on January 24, 2026. Stage 3 will take place between December 4-8, 2025, and Final Stage runs December 17-20, 2025.

The post Dragon Ball Popularity Poll Still Includes Bulma’s Family Cat appeared first on Siliconera.

If you yearn for the days when anime dubs were hilariously stilted or nearly incomprehensible, don’t fret. Amazon Prime Video is leading the charge in bringing back the bad old days by using “AI beta” dubs for the English and Latin American Spanish versions ofBanana Fish and No Game, No Life Zero, much to the chagrin of fans. It’s not just an ethical concern; the AI voices genuinely sound bad, as viewers have pointed out on social media. The "AI beta" tag also appeared in English and Latin American Spanish dubs of Pet, Journal of the Mysterious Creatures, and Vinland Saga. Following the backlash, Amazon has removed the dubs for Banana Fish and No Game, No Life Zero, though Journal of the Mysterious Creatures and Vinland Saga still remain.