Welcome to the big top, take your seat, and keep your eyes on the center ring this week.
Chiikawa: The Secret of Mermaid Island was released in Japan to a successful box office, to no one’s surprise. What is surprising has been the reports coming out of Japan stating that this Chiikawa film has been too scary for younger audiences. Spoilers for Chiikawa: The Secret of Mermaid Island. In this story, the cute island inhabitants are just as evil as the mermaid monster. The mermaid’s baby is killed to gain eternal life by eating it. When the mother mermaid kills in an act of revenge, the question becomes: was it justified? It’s a big topic for Chiikawa to mediate.
Kohei Horikoshi -the author of My Hero Academia – is trying his hand at horror in a new one-shot story, Don’t Laugh, Shijima-san. This one-shot will be featured in next month’s (August 2026) Weekly Shonen Jump. This is the first story Horikoshi has worked on since completing My Hero Academia. Fans aren’t surprised by Horikoshi’s interest in horror, sharing brutal panels from the My Hero manga. Horror might be a natural shift for him. I’m hoping he leans into a story with body horror.
Streamer Ludwig asked for a role in the DLC for Road To Empress 2 via X, and it worked! Donning a blonde wig in the role of visiting Envoy, Ludwig debuted in the latest Road to Empress 2 DLC. When I first saw the photos, I expected Ludwig to speak English, but in one of the circulating clips, he’s speaking Chinese. Netizens have been sharing the photos with light-hearted jabs towards the streamer. The first Road to Empress was praised by streamers, which in my opinion boosted its popularity. It’s fun to see the second game add a streamer as a character. I just wish the second game didn’t use AI.
Are you hoping the Chiikawa film will come to your theater?
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