Crunchyroll used its New York Comic Con (NYCC) panel to celebrate anime, manga, and fandom with a mix of big announcements and surprise guests.
Moderated by Lauren Moore and Tim Lyu, the panel introduced Crunchyroll Manga, a new app that gives fans in the U.S. and Canada access to more than 200 manga titles from a variety of publishers. The app is included with a Crunchyroll membership. Offering titles from publishers including VIZ Media, Square Enix, AlphaPolis, Compass, and Yen Press, with more to come, Moore calls access to manga “more accessible than ever before.” Fans can see the full list of titles online.
The panel also packed in anime reveals. Season three of Oshi no Ko was officially announced, drawing cheers from the audience, while a trailer for Witch Hat Atelier offered a look at a silver-haired mentor character. Previews included A Gentle Noble’s Recommendation — a fantasy series with an accounting twist set to debut in January 2026 — as well as Kunon the Sorcerer Can See, The Daily Life of a 29-Year-Old Adventurer, and the second season of A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special. Fans also learned that Season Two of The Beginning After the End will arrive in April 2026, while Daemons of the Shadow Realm will return next April with the same production team behind Full Metal Alchemist.
Fans were treated to a preview of Daemons of the Shadow Realm from Producer Sota Furuhashi, who asked the audience, “How do you like it?” Furuhashi assured the crowd that the new season shares a production team with Full Metal Alchemist.
Track star Noah Lyles made his NYCC debut at the panel. “I got the call two days ago. I was just excited to be invited,” Lyles says. The fastest runner in the world, as he was introduced, shared his love of anime with the crowd while handing out signed hats from his Crunchyroll collaboration. He expressed excitement for the second season of Frieren and spoke about his long-standing dream of drawing manga, a project he postponed due to previous sponsorship commitments.
From the launch of Crunchyroll Manga to a lineup of highly anticipated anime, the panel underscored how Crunchyroll continues to expand access to fan-favorite stories across screens and now, across pages.
Visit Crunchyroll this weekend at Booth Nos. 1643 and 1653.
