©やなせスタジオ ©やなせたかし／フレーベル館・TMS・NTV ©やなせたかし／アンパンマン製作委員会2025
Soreike! Anpanman: Chapon no Hero!, the 36th film in the franchise, opened at #8 in Japan for the weekend of June 27-29. The film earned 132,757,670 yen (about US$924,000) in its first three days.
Yū Aoi (live-action Rurouni Kenshin films’ Megumi, Children of the Sea‘s Kanako Azumi) plays the central character Chapon in the film. Members of the comedy trio Panther, consisting of Satoshi Mukai, Takahiro Ogata, and Ryōtarō Kan, play guest roles in the film’s cast. Mukai voices the character Robot No. 2.
The film centers on Chapon, a mysterious boy who falls from the sky without any knowledge of where he came from. Staying with Anpanman, he one day helps someone out and gets to know the joy of making someone smile, and dreams of becoming a hero like Anpanman. But when Baikinman arrives, and reveals the secret of Chapon’s origins, Chapon must figure out if his origins or his dreams define who he is.
©クール教信者・双葉社/ドラゴン生活向上委員会
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to be Loved (Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon: Samishigariya no Ryū) anime film opened at #9. The film earned 154,841,820 yen (about US$1.07 million) in its first three days.
Crunchyroll has acquired the worldwide (excluding Asia) theatrical rights to the film, and will screen the film in North America in Japanese with English subtitles.
The new cast members include Fumihiko Tachiki as Kimun Kamui and Nobunaga Shimazaki as Azad. Shiori Sugiura voices Ilulu in the film, replacing Tomomi Mineuchi who quit voice acting in 2022.
fhána performs the opening theme song “Namida no Parade” (Parade of Tears). Sachiko Kobayashi performs the ending theme song “Bokutachi no Hibi” (“Days of Us”), and kotringo performs the insert song “Negaigoto” (Wish).
Tatsuya Ishihara (Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S; Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions!) directed the anime. The film features returning cast members Mutsumi Tamura as Kobayashi, Yūki Kuwahara as Tohru, and Maria Naganawa as Kanna.
© TMS
Lupin the IIIrd The Movie: Fujimi no Ketsuzoku (Immortal Bloodline), the new feature-length film in the Lupin III franchise, opened at #10. The film earned 130,569,700 yen (about US$909,500) in its first three days.
The film’s story follows Lupin and his team as they seek a treasure on a mysterious unmarked island.
New cast members include Ainosuke Kataoka as Muomu and Aoi Morikawa as Sarifa.
Takeshi Koike (Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, Lupin the IIIrd: Jigen’s Gravestone, Lupin the IIIrd: Goemon’s Blood Spray, Lupin the IIIrd: Fujiko Mine’s Lie) returned to the franchise to direct the film at Telecom Animation Film. Yūya Takahashi (Lupin the IIIrd: Jigen’s Gravestone, Lupin the IIIrd: Goemon’s Blood Spray, Lupin the IIIrd: Fujiko Mine’s Lie, Lupin the 3rd Part 6) also returned to write the screenplay. James Shimoji returned from the three films to compose the music, and Katsuhito Ishii is also returned from the three films as creative adviser. TMS Entertainment is credited with production and writing. TOHO NEXT is distributing the film. Rock band B’z performs the film’s theme song “The IIIRD Eye.”
According to the staff, the film is the first new 2D feature-length anime film in the franchise in nearly 30 years, since Lupin III: Dead or Alive in 1996. Since then other anime have screened in theaters such as Lupin the IIIrd: Jigen’s Gravestone, Lupin the IIIrd: Goemon’s Blood Spray, and Lupin the IIIrd: Fujiko Mine’s Lie, but those were not feature-length films. The 2019 film Lupin III THE FIRST was CG, and the 2013 film Lupin III vs. Detective Conan The Movie and the 2023 film Lupin III vs. Cat’s Eye were both crossover films.
The live-action film of Momoko Kōda‘s My Special One (Kimi ga Tokubetsu) manga left the list in its second weekend.
Gekijōban Utano☆Princesama♪ TABOO NIGHT XXXX (read as: TABOO NIGHT KISSES), the new Utano☆Princesama Maji LOVE film, dropped off the top 10 in its eighth weekend.
Detective Conan: One-eyed Flashback (Meitantei Conan: Sekigan no Flashback), the 28th film in the Detective Conan (Case Closed) franchise, dropped off the list in its 11th weekend.
The Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- anime film is no longer in the top 10 after being back on the list last week for a rerun screening.
The first story in Virgin Punk, an original anime series by director Yasuomi Umetsu and animation studio SHAFT, titled “Clockwork Girl,” opened at #1 in the mini-theater rankings.
The compilation film for the live-action series adaptation of Saburō Nagai‘s Smells Like Green Spirit manga opened at #3 on the mini-theater rankings.
Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin (link 2, link 3), comScore via KOFIC
