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0:00: Justin talks about diving into the Kingdom experience while Helen’s just ready to talk about the news that happened over the past two weeks. A good amount of news happened!
News
5:17: The two hosts discuss two pieces of AI dubbing news, one involving voice actors in Japan, and the other one intending to use AI in anime production and needless to say, it’s not looking great!
10:12: Both Helen and Justin wonder about TOHO and how big a player they’ll become in the anime industry following their acquisition of Anime Limited from PLAION PICTURES.
14:03: So yes, unless an actual acquisition happens, it’s safe to say TheOASG Podcast will not talk about Warner Bros. Discovery unless a deal actually goes through or is stopped after Paramount’s hostile bid was, in the end, rejected; If you’ve been watching certain anime for free with ads on Crunchyroll, you won’t be doing so anymore in 2026, as they’re going to end their free ad-supported service.
18:53: Ammitsu’s Gazing at the Star Next Door’s on hiatus until Spring as the creator preps the new arc; Rumi Ichinohe’s I See Your Face, Turned Away recently seemed to come back after a long hiatus, and it’s gonna end in the next chapter; and Boichi’s The Marshal King will go on hiatus for an undisclosed reason.
22:17: Also sort of weird — after a long time, Yona of the Dawn, which just saw its manga end, announced there will be a sequel to the anime. Sure took its time!
26:05: And in final news of the episode, the two hosts send their condolences to the friends and family of long-time voice actor voice actor Tomomichi Nishimura, who died on November 29 at 79.
Licenses
28:08: US companies had to end the year with some licenses, and we got a decent amount, starting with Yen Press:
- Chika Tōjō’s Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury—Vanadis Heart
- Ema Okadachi, otori, & Kou Kusaka’s A Timid Lady was Turned into an Ugly Cat, but on the Verge of Fainting Is Picked Up by the Most Fearsome Military Duke
- Chitose Kaido’s Thank You for Taking Care of Our Boy Banri
- Yūya Sakamoto’s The Daughter of the Demon Lord is Too Kind!
- Rocket Shokai, Natsumi Inoue, Gakuto Coda, &, MEPHISTO’s Sentenced to Be a Hero manga
- Toshiya Miyata’s Melody of the Boundary
- Honda’s Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san released as a Complete Omnibus
- Konosuba – God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! TRPG Advanced Rule Book tabletop companion book
- New Yen Audio titles: Asato Asato’s 86–EIGHTY-SIX Alter.1: The Reaper’s Occasional Adolescence and Akumi Agitogi’s The Bubble Love of the Mermaid
31:37: And then TOKYOPOP:
- cojomo’s Kyo Aizawa Doesn’t Laugh
- Akiko Kawano’s The Villainess’ Bride
- Tōko Amekawa, Sora Gōto, & Meiji Anno’s Reincarnated in a Mafia Dating Sim LN
- Nanae Chrono’s Vassalord (2-in-1 omnibus paperback and hardcover edition)
- Will release Misaki & Momochi’s A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation in 3-in-1 omnibus volumes
33:36: And then Seven Seas, who concluded their Wonderful Wednesdays this year with the following announcements:
- Akari Tsuchihashi’s Flirting with my Bear-like Boyfriend (Steamship)
- Aira Yao & Umashi’s Slime Saint
- Sasami Nitori’s Wonder Cats
- Natsue Shiomi & Daichi Matsuse’s I Wish I Could Meet You Again on the Hill Where That Flower Blooms manga
- Ei Tozaki’s Follow that Kiss
- Tsukamu Yoriwake’s Nemu the Corpse Bearer
35:37: Meanwhile, a couple exclusive announcements of the following Titan Manga series were on ANN:
- Yokusaru Shibata’s Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider
- Yūnagi’s School for Wizards Old Enough to Learn Magic
- Paneguma’s The Assassin Laughs at Twilight
- Sakyuu Tottori’s Have Fun! It’s the End of the World!
- rarutori, Ciavis, & Kō Narita’s High Elf with a Long Life manga
- Mizunomoto’s When I Was Reincarnated in Another World, I Was a Heroine and He Was a Hero
The two then get into discussing which title they prefer that was translated into English: Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash or It’s a Little Hard to be a Villainess of an Otome Game in Modern Society.
39:23: We have One Peace Books announcing exclusively on Behind the Manga the following new titles: Senya Mihagi, jaguchi, & Sato Pote’s Lockdown Life with the Class Beauty, Teika, Waka Sanada, & Hamu’s The Delinquent Girl Beside Me Suddenly Dyed Her Hair Black?!, and tera, Hayate Asakura, & Tetta’s The Villainess Who Came to Marry Into the Frontier Noble’s Household Is an Exceptionally Capable Wife, Isn’t She?; Hanashi Media announced a brand new license for their LN line; and Inoue’s #Gal x Gal Yuri manga is now on VIZ Manga.
Streaming News
41:16: Part 2 of Rivals of the Great Detective Collection will drop on New Year’s Day, which means Justin has to be hyped about more Detective Conan. He also gets into the final Conan Cinema Saturdays movies, which will end January 3 with the first movie in the long-running franchise.
45:29: Helen then goes out of her way to talk about the Hatsune Miku anime film being the final bit of streaming news this week, only for Justin to remind her that she didn’t talk about Magic Kaito 1412 getting a dub on an obscure service (45:45). Cue much discussion that leads to somehow bringing up Conan, Yaiba, and Kaito Kid in a Cinematic Universe!
Weird News
47:27: Helen goes over the strange situation involving physical copies of Higurashi: When They Cry Hou – Hou + having malware, which had MangaGamer having to recall it from stores.
49:50: Now it’s officially official: GAINAX is dead; the Naruto franchise is getting a Konoha land theme park in France; meanwhile a burger chain in Texas now has a Spy x Family burger for people to eat.
56:31: And final weird news for 2025, manga getting an anime years after it ends is unusual but over the past couple years it hasn’t reached the levels of what Psyren and then Iron Wok Jan! have inspired now! Both hosts discuss this unusual trend and also go back in time as to how they each got into these manga respectively!