TOUGEN ANKI's Next Arc Gets Its First Look at Anime NYC 2026

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TOUGEN ANKI's next arc has made its first public appearance — not in Japan, but at Anime NYC 2026, ahead of an October premiere.

What Was Announced

A dedicated panel, "'It's Anime' Official Panel & TOUGEN ANKI S2 Premiere feat. Mother's Basement," was held August 21 at Anime NYC 2026's Javits Convention Center venue, giving fans a first look at TOUGEN ANKI's next arc, "Nikko Kegon Falls," ahead of its October 2026 premiere.

Who Was Involved

The panel was hosted by Geoff Thewe of the YouTube anime review channel Mother's Basement, with co-host Miles Atherton, and included messages from English voice cast members. It was organized by REMOW, the company behind "It's Anime" — a free, ad-supported 24/7 anime streaming channel for North America, available on Samsung TV Plus and VIZIO's WatchFree+.

About TOUGEN ANKI

TOUGEN ANKI is based on Yura Urushibara's manga, animated by Studio Hibari, and reimagines the Japanese folktale Momotaro from the perspective of the Oni — traditionally the story's villains. Its first season covered the Kyoto Arc and Nerima Arc across 2025.

What To Know

TOUGEN ANKI's first season (Kyoto Arc and Nerima Arc, 2025) built a real audience around its inverted take on Momotaro — casting the traditional "demons" as the story's heroes — so a first look at its next arc, especially unveiled at a major North American convention rather than only in Japan, is a genuine signal of how the studio is treating its overseas fanbase ahead of the October premiere.

Momotaro ("Peach Boy") is one of Japan's most widely known folktales, taught to virtually every Japanese child — a hero born from a peach who defeats a band of Oni (demon-like creatures). TOUGEN ANKI's premise of retelling the story from the Oni's side is the kind of folktale subversion that lands very differently for Japanese audiences who grew up with the original than for international fans encountering Momotaro for the first time through this anime.

What Fans Are Saying

• "Didn't expect the reveal to happen at a US con before Japan."
• "The Momotaro-from-the-Oni's-side angle is what got me into season one."
• "Mother's Basement hosting makes sense given how much he's covered this show."

Original Japanese

• 「日本より先にアメリカのイベントで発表されるとは思わなかった」
• 「鬼側から見た桃太郎という切り口にシーズン1でハマった」
• 「この作品をよく取り上げているMother's Basementが司会なのは納得」

Easy Japanese

アニメ「頭弦暗鬼」の新しいお話が、アニメNYCというイベントで初めて紹介されます。