It's been quite the week for the world of anime. From the Anime Awards to the confirmation that more One Piece updates are coming from Netflix at Tudum, it's an exciting time to be a fan of the genre.
But that's not the only news that made its presence felt this past week. With that, let's recap the past week of anime updates and keep you up to date with all of the biggest news you need to know.
Live-action One Piece announcement coming to Netflix Tudum
As Netflix's Tudum 2025 live event approaches this weekend, the streaming giant has shared a special clip via YouTube (which we've posted above) to build hype towards a special announcement about season 2 of Netflix's live-action One Piece. There's no indication yet of what exactly the One Piece announcement will be, though odds seem good that it will include the reveal of the second season of the acclaimed live-action anime adaptation.
Based on Eiichiro Oda's beloved manga series, which has become a contender for best-selling comic book series of all time and inspired an anime series that has been consistently popular since 1999, Netflix's live-action One Piece adaptation debuted in 2023 with an eight-episode run that adapted the first major story arc of the manga. The live-action show is one of two One Piece adaptations Netflix is involved with. A new anime series known as The One Piece was announced in December 2023 from Netflix and WIT Studio (Spy x Family, Attack on Titan). A release date for this new animated series is not yet known.
The Netflix Tudum 2025 presentation airs live on Netflix on Saturday May 31, 2025 at 5:00 pm Eastern / 8:00 pm Pacific. Netflix itself has provided an explanation what Tudum is:
"Named after the iconic sound that plays at the start of every Netflix movie, series, or event, this is Netflix’s biggest fan party, packed with your favorite stars, first-look reveals, and can’t-miss live performances. Whether you’re tuning in from home, joining the action in Los Angeles, or following along in real time on Tudum.com, you’ll be part of every unforgettable moment."
The Bam Smack Pow team will be keeping an eye on the presentation and we'll be here to share the biggest news out of Netflix Tudum 2025.
Several anime debuts announced for Summer 2025 and beyond
We're about a month away from the beginning of the Summer 2025 anime season and the announcements of new anime series set to debut in the upcoming season are still coming, along with more announcements of series slated to debut in 2026. This week, we've got several more premiere announcements to share:
• Crunchyroll is reporting a July 4 premiere of romantic comedy April Showers Bring May Flowers. We've shared the trailer above.
• Anime News Network is reporting that season four of Rent-A-Girlfriend will also premiere on July 4 and has shared the promotional visual posted by the anime's production crew.
• In terms of new anime slated to debut beyond this summer, Anime News Network is reporting a January 2026 premiere for the anime adaptation of Champignon Witch.
• Anime News Network is also sharing announcements of updating anime adaptations of 'I'm a Curse Crafter, and I Don't Need an S-Rank Party!'' (specifically an adaptation of the manga that is itself an adaptation of an earlier web novel) and Akuyaku Reijō no Naka no Hito (the article provides the English translation of the title as The One Within the Villainess, but it's unclear at this point what will be used as the official localized title). Specific dates have not been provided for debuts.
Vampire Hunter D comes to streaming
After collaborating earlier in the year to bring cult classic anime Horror movie Vampire Hunter D to North American theaters to mark its 40th anniversary, anime streaming service HIDIVE and Horror streaming service Shudder (both owned by AMC Networks) are now streaming the movie on-demand. This follows the pattern previously seen with iconic 90s anime movie Ninja Scroll, which HIDIVE brought to North American theaters last fall via the Anime Expo Cinema Nights events to commemorate its 30th anniversary, before bringing it to streaming.
HIDIVE describes Vampire Hunter D as follows:
"In the year 12,090 A.D. technology and the supernatural have overtaken the world, leaving the land desolate and despotic. The remnants of humanity are scattered into small communities and live in fear of vampires who compose the ruling Nobility. When Count Magnus Lee tastes the blood of Doris Lang, she is forcibly chosen to be his next wife. In an effort to escape her ill-gotten fate she hires a mysterious vampire hunter known only as D, who comes from a peculiar lineage."
Vampire Hunter D is one of several anime and live-action movies that HIDIVE has announced as debuting on or returning to the streaming service throughout May.
A quick recap of the 2025 Anime Awards
The 2025 Anime Awards aired from Tokyo this past Sunday. If you missed the ceremony itself, we've previously covered the biggest winners of the night, but here's another quick recap this year's Anime Awards:
• The clear winner of the night was Portal Fantasy anime Solo Leveling, which won nine awards, including Anime of the Year and Best New Series.
• Dan Da Dan, the series with the most nominations going into the night, took home Best Anime Song, Best Opening and Best Character Design.
• Frieren: Beyond Journey's End took home four awards, including Best Director and Best Japanese VA Perfomance for Atsumi Tanezaki as the title character.
• Also notable is the iconic series Attack on Titan winning Crunchyroll's first-ever Global Impact Award.
The full list of this year's winners can be read on Crunchyroll's official Anime Awards site.
Instead of our regularly weekly anime recommendation, we're going to acknowledge the big winners of this year's Anime Awards with a series of posts examining these award-winning series. Our look at Solo Leveling has already gone live, and over the next several days, we'll take similar looks at Dan Da Dan, Frieren and Attack on Titan.
As always, keeping checking back with the Bam Smack Pow team for all the biggest anime news each and every week!