Hirokazu Kore-eda’s live-action adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Look Back has been selected for the main competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. The Japanese film, starring Natsuki Deguchi and Aju Makita, marks the manga’s first live-action adaptation following its 2024 animated film version.

The festival selection gives the new adaptation an international showcase shortly before it opens in Japanese theaters on September 11, 2026. GKIDS has acquired theatrical distribution rights for the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, with a release planned for later in 2026.

Doraemon and his friends will travel to 19th-century London in Doraemon the Movie: Nobita’s Steam-Powered Time Machine, which is scheduled to open in Japanese theaters in spring 2027. The original story begins in modern-day Japan before sending the group across time and space for an adventure involving steam technology and the nature of time.

The Victorian-era setting offers a notable change of scenery for the long-running film series, placing its familiar characters in a historical Western city shaped by steam engines and industrial development. Rushio Moriyama will make his Doraemon film debut as director, while Makoto Ueda, known for science-fiction stories involving time, is writing the screenplay.

Bandai Namco Filmworks has announced Mobile Suit Gundam RG XARX-ZERO, a new television anime scheduled for 2027 and a central part of its multimedia RG Project. Kenji Kamiyama, best known for directing Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, will direct and oversee series composition at Sola Animation, while Ghost in the Shell novelist Toh Enjoe will supervise the science-fiction setting. Sunrise is handling planning alongside Bandai Namco Filmworks as producer.

The new continuity follows humanity after technological revelations from an extraterrestrial object enable expansion across the solar system, only for the object to produce a self-proliferating ecosystem known as the Apocalypse. By A.A. 45, humanity has abandoned Earth, and war orphan Ray Azumi—voiced by Takeo Otsuka—awakens on the Moon as the designated pilot of Gundam ZERO.

RG XARX-ZERO will share its universe with the upcoming action game Gundam Rogue Orbit, which explores a later generation. The project gives Kamiyama an opportunity to build a Gundam setting outside established timelines while extending its story across both anime and video games.

Watch the announcement video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTbaU6amI68

Manga Mavericks Books and Mahjong Pros announced the Independent Manga Alliance during San Diego Comic-Con on July 23. Led by Manga Mavericks CEO Varun Gupta and Mahjong Pros partnerships and licensing head Harrison Doan, the venture is intended to provide distribution, marketing, and sales support for independent manga creators and smaller publishers.

Its founding members include Manga Mavericks Books, Mahjong Pros, Strict Algorithm LLC, Red String Manga, and Curation Entertainment Partners Inc. Manga Mavericks also announced that it licensed Rin Kawano’s Our Insignificant Justice, which is scheduled for print and digital release in March 2027 at $14.99 and $6.99, respectively.

The new live-action GTO television series is now streaming on Netflix following its July 20 premiere on Kansai TV, Fuji TV, and affiliated stations in Japan. Netflix lists the Japanese-language series with English and several other subtitle options, giving viewers outside Japan another way to follow the latest adaptation of Tohru Fujisawa’s Great Teacher Onizuka manga.

Takashi Sorimachi once again stars as unconventional teacher Eikichi Onizuka, returning to the role he originated in the 1998 television drama. The new series follows Onizuka as he begins teaching at Seishin Academy and attempts to connect with students whose lives are increasingly shaped by smartphones and social media.