It's the weekend once again, which means it's time for the Bam Smack Pow team to bring you the biggest anime news from the week that was. This week, we've got some announcements of upcoming series from streaming services, along with a merch collaboration that's sure to appeal of fans of pro wrestling.
Speaking of which...
Crunchyroll and Mercedes Moné announce anime merch collaboration
Crunchyroll has announced a special line of merchandise for the summer convention circuit in collaboration with professional wrestler and well-documented anime fan Mercedes Moné (formerly known as Sasha Banks during her run with WWE). The line of Crunchyroll-exclusive clothing features anime-themed Mercedes Moné branding and will be sold in person this summer at San Diego Comic Con and at pro wrestling convention Starrcast.
The Mercedes Moné line of merch from Crunchyroll is also available online via the Crunchyroll Store. As of this writing, Crunchyroll has noted that it is currently available in the US and Canada and will become available in Europe later in July. The full line can be seen and purchased here.
Netflix live-action Solo Leveling announces lead
Initially announced in January, the live-action Solo Leveling in the works from Netflix has announced its lead. Via social media, Netflix has shared that Byeon Woo-seok will play the series's lead Sung Jin-woo:
Solo Leveling, the global phenomenon, is coming to Netflix as a live-action series starring Byeon Woo-seok as lead character Sung Jin-woo. pic.twitter.com/tw7TaUONKp
— Netflix (@netflix) July 9, 2025
Based on the South Korean web novel originally published from 2016-2021, Solo Leveling has gone on to become a hugely popular franchise — Netflix's announcement of Byeon's casting notes that the original Solo Leveling web novel has generated a lot of engagement on social media. Earlier this year, the Solo Leveling anime adaptation was the big winner of this year's Anime Awards, with 13 nominations and 9 wins.
Netflix has not yet announced a release date for the live-action Solo Leveling. In the meantime, fans can watch both seasons of the Solo Leveling anime on Crunchyroll.
HIDIVE announces Reincarnated as a Sword season 2 for 2026
As part of its recent announcements of new series coming to the service in the rest of 2025 and beyond, HIDIVE has announced at Anime Expo that the second season of Reincarnated as a Sword will stream on HIDIVE in Fall 2026.
The first season of the isekai series is currently streaming on HIDIVE in both Japanese and English. The premise of the series is not hard to explain, ultimately begin exactly what it sounds like. As HIDIVE's announcement of season 2 explains:
"Some isekai protagonists are reincarnated as powerful warriors or skilled wizards, but our protagonist was reborn in another life as a sentient sword! He’s taken up by Fran, a desperate girl fleeing evil-doers intent on selling her into slavery. With her new weapon’s help and guidance, she’s able to strike down her captors and secure her freedom. Together, this unconventional master-student duo embarks on an epic journey to liberate those in need and exact justice on the cruel of
heart.
Reincarnated as a Sword is adapted from Yuu Tanaka’s original novels and manga series, including Micro Magazine's GC Novels light novel series illustrated by Ruroo and the manga series illustrated by Tomowo Maruyama and published in Gentosha's Comic Boost, both of which are available in English from Seven Seas Entertainment. The anime series is directed by Shinji Ishihira along with writing by Takahiro Nagano and production by C2C."
Weekly anime recommendation: Record of Lodoss War
The inspiration behind the unapologetically High Fantasy-styled Record of Lodoss War has a pretty interesting backstory. The adventure that eventually became Lodoss War originated as a serialized write-up of the session of author Ryo Mizuno's Dungeons & Dragons campaign with his friends — making it a bit like the late 80s equivalent of Critical Role. Fittingly, the very first episode of the anime features our heroes' party dealing with both literal dungeons and dragons.
Those sessions were eventually written by Mizuno into a proper, coherent novel series, which has adapted into an an anime series in 1990. The Lodoss War anime is actually two related series: the original 13-episode series simply titled Record of Lodoss War and the 27-episode second series that's equal parts sequel, remake and concurrent side-story subtitled Chronicles of the Heroic Knight. One isn't necessarily better than the other, but Chronicles of the Heroic Knight probably has fewer issues with pacing thanks to having twice as many episodes to tell its story. Honestly, you really should watch both.
Overalll, Lodoss War is a fairly generic Fantasy story, thanks at least in part to being more than 30 years old at this point. On the other hand, it can also come across as refreshingly straightforward and sincere. In the ensuing decades, a lot of Fantasy anime have presented themselves as either incredibly dark or else as comedies primarily intended to parody and satirize the Fantasy genre. Lodoss War, as a fairly unironic story about a party of heroes trying to save the world is paradoxically a welcome change of pace in the genre despite the anime being 30 years old.
Although the story is nothing Fantasy fans haven't seen before, that story is undeniably well-executed. The animation and character designs still hold up, the action and battle scenes are intense, and the soundtrack is fantastic. Both the original Lodoss War and Chronicles of the Heroic Knight, for example, have absolutely stunning opening themes.
Both Record of Lodoss War are streaming on Crunchyroll.
As always, come back each and every weekend for the Bam Smack Pow team to catch you up on the biggest anime news of the week, along with another essential anime recommendation. In the meantime, keep following us for the latest news from Marvel, DC and the world of comic books.
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