Demon slayers, vending machines and celestial slime: SFcrowsnest’s autumn anime & manga digest

If you thought anime had peaked when Tanjiro beheaded a demon on a speeding train, think again. Japan’s cinema-goers proved their love of demon-slicing boys with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle, which has become Japan’s second-highest grossing film of all time after hauling in 33 billion yen in just 60 days (Straits Times). Yes, this 155-minute epic has overtaken Spirited Away, leaving only Mugen Train ahead in the record books. Here at SFcrowsnest magazine, we tip our hats to anyone who can sit through nearly three hours of demon decapitations without needing a loo break.

On the small screen, horror fans can’t get enough of The Summer Hikaru Died, which dropped a new story visual ahead of its seventh episode and launched a Making of video series. The first instalment, aptly titled “Horror,” features interviews with the creators about how they conjure genuine fear (Crunchyroll). We assume it involves unholy chanting and a large jar of Marmite. Meanwhile, Kaiju No. 8 has released a trailer for its Cataclysms Arc, promising bigger monsters and more collateral damage when Episode 22 airs on 20 September (Crunchyroll). Time to re-strengthen those Tokyo tower foundations again.

Sci-fi fans should keep an eye on P.A.Works’ forthcoming series Dusk Beyond the End of the World. Episode 0 airs 25 September and new cast members Miyuki Sawashiro, Tomori Kusunoki, Toshiyuki Morikawa and Yohei Azakami have joined the ensemble (Crunchyroll). We expect lots of angst and maybe a few space-whales. Over in isekai land, the unthinkable has happened: Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon was renewed for a third season (Anime Corner). Boxxo the sentient dispenser and his muscle-bound protector Lammis will continue doling out cold drinks and hot justice in 2026. You know an industry is healthy when you can pitch “Sentient snack machine wanders cave” and get greenlit.

Fantasy adventure Clevatess has also slithered back into the spotlight, announcing that a second season is in production and releasing a celebratory visual by character designer Soichiro Sako (Crunchyroll). There’s no date yet, but the promise of more dragon-slaying action has fans sharpening their swords and their haircuts.

On the publishing front, Titan Manga’s September slate is a corker. SANDA Vol. 1 dropped on 9 September with a plot about climate change eradicating seasons, plummeting birth rates and Santa-like superpowers (Otaku USA). Saint Seiya: Dark Wing Vol. 1 followed on 16 September, retelling the classic shonen saga from the perspective of Hades’ spectres (Otaku USA). And Gran Familia Vol. 1 arrived on 30 September, serving up a world where vampire mafia families run the show and a restaurant worker secretly tries to unite demi-humans and humans (Otaku USA). If that doesn’t sound high concept enough, perhaps there’s room for a crossover where Santa Claus joins the mafia.

Not all is rosy on the library shelves, though. Up in Edmonton, Canada, a ministerial order requiring the removal of books with visual depictions of sexual acts means that school libraries are set to pull several manga volumes. The Edmonton Public Schools board’s draft list includes Berserk Vol. 3, Black Bird Volumes 1–11, 13–14 & 18, and Trigun Maximum Vol. 12 (Anime Corner). It’s a reminder that not every monster to worry about is a kaiju – sometimes it’s a bureaucrat with a pen.

Anime also continues its march into live-action territory. Netflix released a sneak peek at One Piece Season 2, showing off swordplay and fisticuffs as the Straw Hat crew prepares to enter the Grand Line (Crunchyroll). Season 2 isn’t due until 2026, but the trailer has fans dusting off their straw hats and practising their gum-gum pistol punches. Elsewhere, the vending machines aren’t the only reincarnated objects getting a sequel. Crunchyroll used New York Comic Con 2025 to unveil a smorgasbord of new simulcasts and premieres. Attendees were treated to a panel for Dan Da Dan, dubbed “Ghosts, Aliens and Supernatural Shenanigans,” with the English voice cast swapping paranormal banter (That Hashtag Show). There were early screenings for Fire Force Season 3 Episode 13 and Hana-Kimi Episode 1, plus an absurd cooking isekai double bill as Campfire Cooking in Another World returned with its second season (That Hashtag Show). Fans also witnessed the two-episode premiere of Trigun Stargaze alongside creator Yasuhiro Nightow (That Hashtag Show). As if that wasn’t enough, they previewed My Hero Academia’s final season, showing the first two episodes (That Hashtag Show), and offered sneak peeks of light-novel adaptations with titles so long they double as plot summaries: Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife and You Can’t Be In a Rom-Com With Your Childhood Friends! (That Hashtag Show).

NYCC wasn’t finished there. Crunchyroll also announced that it had acquired worldwide theatrical rights (outside most Asian territories) to That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea (Future of the Force). The stand-alone feature, animated by studio 8-Bit, follows Rimuru and his companions to a private resort island where, naturally, chaos ensues (Future of the Force). Fans at the convention also got the world-premiere trailer for Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Hiromu Arakawa’s post-Fullmetal Alchemist fantasy epic; it will debut on Crunchyroll in April 2026 (Future of the Force). Another big reveal was [OSHI NO KO] Season 3, set to stream this winter (Future of the Force). If idle aristocrats are your thing, keep an eye out for A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation, where the hero treats an isekai adventure like a holiday (Future of the Force), and Isekai Office Worker: The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter, in which accounting becomes a life-or-death skill (Future of the Force). For the magical, there’s Kunon the Sorcerer Can See, featuring a blind prodigy in pursuit of ultimate magic (Future of the Force). On the comedic side, The Daily Life of a Single 29-Year-Old Adventurer promises a cosy adventure after a rescue mission goes sideways (Future of the Force). Returning series were also celebrated: A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special Season 2 continues Desir’s time-bending journey (Future of the Force), and web-novel adaptation The Beginning After the End Season 2 teased bigger battles and an original story to stream in Spring 2026 (Future of the Force).

With Demon Slayer breaking box-office records (Straits Times), vending machines earning third seasons (Anime Corner) and accountants becoming isekai heroes (Future of the Force), the sci-fi, fantasy and horror scene is as delightfully bonkers as ever. Whether you’re into Lovecraftian seaside vacations, demonic castles or blind sorcerers, there’s something to tickle your tentacles this autumn. Just remember to read your manga while you still can, before a Canadian school board decides the content is too spicy.