The biggest Anime news you missed this week, February 24

As we close out another week, the Bam Smack Pow team is here to once again bring you the biggest anime news of the past week. This week, we've got upcoming manga and novel releases, milestone celebrations, and some good news for one of the most unique Netflix Original anime series to stream yet.

We start with the announcement of a Godzilla tie-in novel stomping to English bookstores later this year.

Seven Sea's Entertainment latest licenses include Godzilla Minus One novelization

As reported by Crunchyroll, publisher Seven Seas Entertainment, which licenses and distributes manga series and Asian novels internationally in English, has revealed its latest slate of licenses to be released in 2025. Among Seven Seas's 2025 releases is the English translation of Godzilla Minus One, the 2023 movie that became both an international hit and a box office success, ending up as the highest-grossing Japanese Godzilla movie in the franchise's history. Most notably, Minus One also earned the franchise its first Academy Award, winning for Best Visual Effects.

Other announced upcoming releases for this year from Seven Seas Entertainment include:

• Isekai novel I Like Villains, so I Reincarnated as One

• Boys' Love manga Lovers on the Last Train

• Supernatural mystery manga Tales of the Hundred Monsters Next Door

Pokémon Concierge new episodes slated for this fall

One of several announcements coming from February 27's Pokémon Day livestream was the reveal of the scheduled release date for the next batch of episodes of stop-motion Netflix original Pokémon Concierge. The production of initial episodes was confirmed shortly after the streaming series's original run at the end of 2023, but there was little concrete news announced since then. The Pokémon Company and Netflix have now confirmed that the second batch of Pokémon Concierge episodes will stream in September 2025, though a specific date has not yet been announced.

Pokémon Concierge is not the only stop-motion Pokémon project in development. A teaser announcement for a collaboration with British studio Aardman Animations — the award-winning studio behind Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Chicken Run — was made in December 2024, though specific details have not yet been shared by either Aardman or The Pokémon Company. An initial release date has been scheduled for 2027.

The Pokémon Day announcement of the release of new Pokémon Concierge episodes also came with the announcement that the four original episodes are streaming on YouTube for a little time until March 9. Fans can watch those episodes via YouTube here.

Netflix Tudum describes Pokémon Concierge as follow:

"At the Pokémon Resort, Pokémon get to live on a southern paradise island, roam freely, and reside in harmony with the resort staff. Hoping for a fresh start, Haru comes to the resort to work as a concierge. As she learns how to make her guests happy, Haru also embarks on a journey of adventure, friendship, and self-discovery."

'80s Anime City Hunter celebrates 40 years

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the stylish detective manga series City Hunter, the franchise's official social media platforms have shared special commemorative art to mark the long-running franchise's 40th anniversary:

Additionally, Crunchyroll reports that a special art exhibit will take place at the end of the year to commemorate City Hunter's milestone anniversary at the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo, which specializes in contemporary art.

The various animated entries in the series are available to stream on Crunchyroll and RetroCrush. The 2024 live-action adaptation of the series is a Netflix Original film.

Crunchyroll describes the series like this:

"Ryo Saeba, the legendary City Hunter, is a first-class sweeper for hire, taking on jobs from protecting beautiful women to taking out bad guys permanently. He can be a private detective or hitman, whatever the case calls for, and it often requires the use of his superhuman marksmanship. But even so, Ryo can’t do it alone. His partner is Kaori Makimura, the younger sister of his murdered best friend. Kaori serves as his assistant, while also protecting their attractive clients from Ryo’s “mokkori” advances with her trusty supply of 100 ton hammers."

Come back next week as the Bam Smack Pow team once again brings you the biggest anime news, in addition to all our coverage of the Marvel and DC universes!