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Over the weekend, one of the most highly anticipated and celebrated anime conventions of the year took place, which is the Anime Expo 2023. Given that it is one of the biggest and longest anime conventions in the world, fans were swamped with a plethora of announcements, activities, premieres, and more, both at the convention and at home.
Yet, keeping up with the major Anime Expo 2023 announcements can be difficult for some, as the four days of constant information bombing can overwhelm even the most enthusiastic fan extremely quickly. This is especially true for series as popular as One Piece and Attack on Titan, whose significant announcements can often be quickly forgotten, owing to the stream of news for other, smaller series that kept coming.
Thankfully, there is a clear category of information from Anime Expo 2023, grouped by series and/or streaming service, which is more relevant to the audience and otakus than the news of most other developments at the convention.
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Anime Expo 2023’s biggest announcements include One Piece adaptations, Attack on Titan finale, and more
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead
Easily the most significant announcement for Zom 100 from Anime Expo 2023 is Crunchyroll's decision to stream the series’ anime on their platform. The series was originally set to debut solely on Hulu and Netflix in the United States, much to the dismay of Crunchyroll subscribers everywhere.
Meanwhile, the streaming service Netflix also shared a new teaser video for their live-action film adaptation of the series’ original manga. The film will debut worldwide on Netflix on August 3, 2023. Based on the description for the film, it seems set to follow the series’ source material faithfully, and will offer an interesting alternative to the anime adaptation.
Delicious in Dungeon
While Studio Trigger’s Delicious in Dungeon anime did premiere at Anime Expo 2023, the more significant announcement on the series is its upcoming debut on Netflix worldwide in January 2024.
Unfortunately, fans don’t have a more definite release window or date for the highly anticipated series. However, Netflix did begin streaming a subtitled version of the series’ previously released trailer.
Pokémon Concierge
The Pokémon Concierge stop-motion animated series was also spotlighted by Netflix at their convention panel, and the streaming service announced the series' debut in December.
However, in place of a trailer, the streaming service shared a behind-the-scenes stop-motion studio set visit, hosted by voice actress Non, who is also voicing the series' protagonist Haru.
Pluto
Easily one of the most exciting announcements from Netflix, and Anime Expo 2023 overall, concerns the Pluto anime’s release date.
Per the streaming service, the series is set to debut on Thursday, October 26, 2023. Netflix also revealed the full cast and staff for the series, as well as shared a new official teaser following these panel announcements.
One Piece
Arguably the biggest announcement for One Piece from the convention concerned Netflix’s upcoming live-action adaptation of the series, which focused on the Japanese dub of the series. Netflix confirmed that the Japanese voice actors for Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji from the series’ television anime adaptation will reprise their roles for the live-action’s Japanese dub.
A video showcasing Iñaki Godoy, who plays Luffy in the live-action series, meeting with Luffy’s anime voice actress Mayumi Tanaka, was shared to announce the news. It was also revealed that Godoy and Taz Skylar, who plays Sanji in the live-action, will dub their respective roles in Spanish.
Crunchyroll later announced during its own Anime Expo 2023 panel that it had acquired the streaming rights for the One Piece English dub in select countries. The first 976 episodes of the English dub began streaming today, Wednesday, July 5, in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. New dub episodes will stream on Crunchyroll as they are produced.
Finally, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Shueisha, and Toei Animation announced that they’ll stream the annual “One Piece Day” event with live English interpretation for the first time. This audio will be dubbed over Japanese speakers. The first day stream will be available on July 21 from 4 am to 4:55 am EDT, and the second on the same day from 8:40 pm EDT to July 22 at 4:30 am EDT.
HIDIVE
The biggest announcements for the HIDIVE streaming service at Anime Expo 2023 naturally focused on Oshi no Ko season 2 and The Dreaming Boy is a Realist. Alongside Oshi no Ko season 2, the streaming service also announced that it will be home to the second seasons of Spy Classroom and The Dangers in My Heart.
English dubs for these series and others will also come to the platform by this year’s end. The Dreaming Boy is a Realist rom-com series premiered in Japan on Monday, July 3, 2023, and is being produced by Pony Canyon Studios. The series’ first episode is currently available to stream on HIDIVE.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride
The production staff for The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 unveiled a new key visual at Anime Expo 2023, following the conclusion of the season’s first cour earlier this month.
Set to premiere on Thursday, October 5, 2023, the season will continue the adaptation of the College arc of author and illustrator Kore Yamazaki’s manga series of the same name.
Attack on Titan
The staff for Attack on Titan revealed the official trailer for the final season’s 4th part at Anime Expo 2023’s MAPPA x Crunchyroll panel.
The full title was also revealed to be Attack on Titan The Final Season THE FINAL CHAPTERS Special 2. While a trailer was released, the release window wasn’t disclosed, leaving fans with a general Fall 2023 timeframe.
Fate/Strange Fake
The Fate/Strange Fake novels were announced at Anime Expo 2023 as being set to receive a television anime series adaptation via the release of a key visual for the series.
The announcement also came with a short teaser video, seemingly focusing on characters whom fans can likely expect as part of the upcoming series.
Record of Ragnarok
Record of Ragnarok season 2 unveiled a new trailer for the season’s second and final part, which will consist of five episodes focusing on the battle between Buddha and Zerofuku.
The trailer also features the anime’s opening theme song Rude, Loose Dance by Minami. The season’s second part is set to premiere on Netflix on Wednesday, July 12, 2023.
Undead Unluck
Anime Expo 2023 was exciting for many otakus, especially fans of Undead Unluck, who received further information for the upcoming Undead Unluck television anime adaptation, in the form of a second teaser trailer for the series.
The video highlighted the gory, blood-soaked action fans can expect from the series, which is set to premiere in October 2023 on Hulu in the United States. While unconfirmed, this would suggest that the series will stream on Disney+ internationally.
Suicide Sqaud ISEKAI
In one of the more unexpected announcements from Anime Expo 2023, Warner Bros. Japan and Wit Studio announced their original anime series, titled Suicide Squad ISEKAI.
The series is set to focus on famous DC Comics characters such as Harley Quinn and Joker, and promises that the "most maddening worlds" will "collide in an epic and violent fantasy." It was also clarified by Wit Studio’s George Wada that if successful, other DC projects will come in the future.
Solo Leveling and other Crunchyroll news
At Crunchyroll’s panel for the convention, a full trailer was released for the anime adaptation of author Chugong and illustrator DUBU’s Solo Leveling manhwa. The anime also announced a Winter 2023 premiere window, with a formal release date likely to come in the next batch of news for the series, given the timing.
The anime streaming service also announced that is has licensed several anime series for streaming over the next several months, which includes the following:
- The Apothecary Diaries ("coming soon 2023" worldwide excluding Asia)
- The Faraway Paladin: The Lord of Rust Mountain (October 2023 worldwide excluding Asia, Indian subcontinent for non-exclusive streaming rights only)
- Goblin Slayer season 2 ("coming soon 2023" in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Latin America, and Russian-speaking territories)
- The Kingdoms of Ruin (October 2023 worldwide excluding Asia)
- I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince So I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability (April 2024 worldwide excluding Asia)
- To Be Hero X (TBA worldwide excluding Asia)
- Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki 2nd Stage (January 2024 worldwide excluding Asia (exclusive), Bhutan and India (non-exclusive), and Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan (exclusive for Russian, non-exclusive for other languages)
- Black Butler (2024 worldwide excluding Japan)
Black Butler
Last but certainly not least, Crunchyroll announced at its Anime Expo 2023 panel that it will produce a new television anime adaptation of author and illustrator Yana Tobos’ Black Butler manga series. This season will be produced by CloverWorks and directed by Kenjirou Okada.
Crunchyroll also specified that the anime isn’t a remake, but a new season of the previous anime adaptation, and will premiere in 2024. Crunchyroll has already licensed the series for streaming worldwide except Japan.
Be sure to keep up with all anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
