Get ready for a thrilling ride with the 35th installment in the beloved Anpanman franchise! The latest film, Soreike! Anpanman: Baikinman to Ehon no Lulun, has taken the Japanese box office by storm, ranking #1 in ticket sales and earning a whopping 170 million yen (approximately US$1.05 million) in its opening weekend. This marks the highest opening weekend for an Anpanman film in the franchise’s history!

The film follows Anpanman’s arch-nemesis, Baikinman, as he attempts to become a warrior of love and courage after being sucked into a picture book. Inside the book, Baikinman meets the fairy Lulun, who asks him to defeat a rampaging elephant. Although Baikinman is initially reluctant, he tries his best to defeat the elephant, but ultimately calls upon Anpanman to help protect the picture book world.

Meanwhile, the anime film adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s popular one-shot manga, Look Back, has also made a splash at the Japanese box office. The film, which opened last Friday, ranked #2 in terms of ticket sales and earned 227 million yen (approximately US$1.40 million) in its opening weekend. The film stars Yūmi Kawai and Mizuki Yoshida, and is directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama, who also handled the screenplay and character designs.

The film’s story follows Fujino, a fourth-grader who draws four-panel comics in the school newspaper, and her classmate Kyomoto, who has been skipping school. As they bond over their shared love of drawing, they embark on a poignant journey of self-discovery and growth.

But that’s not all! The Detective Conan: Hyakuman Doru no Michishirube film has dropped from #4 to #7 in its 12th weekend at the Japanese box office, but has still earned a cumulative total of 15,197,964,360 yen (approximately US$94 billion). This marks a new milestone for the franchise, as it becomes the 15th highest-earning film of all time in Japan and the ninth highest-earning anime film of all time in Japan.

In other news, the Bocchi the Rock! anime compilation film, titled Bocchi the Rock! Re:, has dropped off the top 10 in its fourth weekend, while the new anime film Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Shinjidai no Tobira has also dropped off the top 10 in its sixth weekend.

Stay tuned for more updates from the world of anime and manga!