‘Chainsaw Man’, ‘Pokémon Advanced’ and More of This Week’s Anime News

Attention, anime fans! It’s been a busy week, ranging from One Piece finding its live-action Bon Clay to the continued success of Chainsaw Man’s new movie.
Ash Ketchum’s classic adventures in Hoenn are now easily accessible, while Jujutsu Kaisen fans are getting a sneak peek at a series-altering showdown that will shake things up.
Read on to learn about some of the buzziest anime news moments you may have missed.
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Chainsaw Man Dominates the Box Office
Anime continues to reign at both the U.S. and worldwide box offices. The Oct. 24 release of Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc has earned more than $140 million internationally. That’s helped largely by its massive opening in Japan, where Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga-to-Crunchyroll-to-cinema adaptation broke into the country’s top 100 highest-grossing movies of all time.
Stateside, this tale of a devil-hunting devil with chainsaws for limbs was the number one movie of the week of Oct. 26, dethroning Black Phone 2 for a week. Not quite as big an anime smash as Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, still the highest-grossing international movie in domestic box office history, but impressive nonetheless.
Cole Escola is the New Bon Clay
Cole Escola is taking their talents to One Piece.
The Tony winner, 38, has now joined the season 3 cast of Netflix’s live-action iteration of the beloved anime, set to film later this year in Cape Town, South Africa. Escola will portray “theatrical assassin” Bon Clay, whom Netflix refers to as a “master of performance and precision.”
The streamer announced the casting move on Tuesday, Nov. 4, just four months before season 2, One Piece: Into the Grand Line, arrives on March 10, 2026. Netflix has not yet announced a release date for Season 3 or the names of new cast members slated for the season.
A Beloved Pokémon Series Reaches a New Audience
It feels like the Ruby and Sapphire days all over again.
Pokémon announced on Sunday, Nov. 2, that Pokémon Advanced — which follows Ash and crew’s adventures in Hoenn — will now be available to stream on the franchise’s