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Show Notes
0:00: In a packed episode of TheOASG Podcast, Justin and Helen first kick things off with the news of Crunchyroll announcing that their store can only be accessed by Mega and Ultimate subscribers starting in August, and both hosts explain the ramifications of this decision moving forward.
17:41: Anime International Company (AIC) has won their civil suit against AIC Rights and producer Yoshikazu Maeda, which may be worth monitoring considering the series they’re involved with; Helen and Justin discuss the former CEO of Crunchyroll launching a new B2B marketplace for anime licensing and if it can actually make an impact in the industry.
26:00: Sumi Eno announced that the After God manga will take a break following its latest chapter releases; Negi Haruba needs to recuperate until sometime in August due to his health, so Go! Go! Loser Ranger! will be on hiatus until then.
26:51: The voice of Fujiko Mine in the first Lupin the 3rd TV anime series, Yukiko Nikaido, passed away at 87 due to old age; Book author and illustrator (Kiki’s Delivery Service) Akiko Hayashi died of pneumonia on July 1 in a hospital in Nagano prefecture at 81; The official X/Twitter account for Kadokawa’s Aokishi magazine revealed that manga creator Ryoichiro Kezuka died in late May.
Licenses
29:12: While Helen has a grand time calming down her dogs due to World Cup shenanigans, Justin talks about a few licenses that did happen in the last few weeks, starting with Seven Seas surprising everyone by announcing they’ve licensed Kazuo Umezz’s Ultraman on a Friday; Neguse Okita’s Soon, You’ll Paint Your Heart Out and Tabireco’s Baby Road Trippers have been added to MANGA Plus; Ichiro Sakaki, Ryohei Yamauchi & Hiyori Asahikawa’s Trained to be the Ultimate Anti-magic Spellblade, Ryō Hiromatsu & Osamu Kozuki’s Uglymug, Epicfighter SSS, & Kanade Ezaki’s AGERECO! Getting Into the Voice Acting Spirit! is now on Manga UP!.
30:57: And while not technically licenses, this occurred during the very busy Anime Expo weekend so this did not get covered: Akimi Yoshida’s Banana Fish and Hisaya Nakajo’s Hana-Kimi have been added to VIZ Manga’s library — with VIZ finally having a Hakusensha title on their service, does this mean Yona of the Dawn has a chance? (Maybe not this year though)
Streaming News
32:48: Crusher Joe, Crusher Joe: A Trap of the Frozen Jail, Crusher Joe: The Final Weapon ASH, Haré+Guu Deluxe, Haré+Guu FINAL, and Simoun are now on the latest service now streaming anime, Darkroom; Hyakushō Kizoku – The Farmer’s Days and 500000000 years button is now on RetroCrush; and apparently this was announced at Anime Expo, but Strange: Junji Ito’s Tales for Sleepless Nights will stream on the HBO Max service internationally this fall.
Main Topic: Summer Anime 2026 First Impressions
36:18: Let’s just say Justin (and especially Helen) are overwhelmed with choices for the summer anime season, which is packed with some seemingly quality looking works. In fact it’s so packed that Justin even had to lament the works he was interested in but just can’t watch due to time (37:28). Helen has checked out a few anime (Sparks of Tomorrow and BANG DREAM Yume∞Mita among the new shows), but Justin has a lot of anime to discuss — from what he surprisingly did not enjoy to those he’s having a good time with to the three shows that stand alone for him this season (1:36:17: Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia, Iron Wok Jan!, Though I Am an Inept Villainess)
Weird News
1:58:25: Let’s just say you certainly want your fans to buy the magazine that holds the final chapter of the series you like — but for Blue Box fans, there was some trouble getting that WSJ issue due to One Piece and that series celebrating its 29th anniversary!
2:00:09: There is apparently a need for more Tenchi, if the Kickstarter that has succeeded means anything; Yes Live-action Hollywood Naruto is a go, and naturally the hosts wonder if it’ll be any good.
2:02:51: Normally Banana Fish streaming on Netflix next month after the rights expired on Prime Video would belong in the streaming news section…but this getting a dub just a year after the AI dub hilarity last year on Prime makes this turnaround pretty wild!