The Anime Effect

Hosts Nicholas Friedman, LeAlec Murray, and Leah President have so much ONE PIECE news to share like the two baseball teams collaborating with the anime and the first ONE PIECE HEROINES episode coming soon, plus they share the anime and anime creatives that took home 2026 Tokyo Anime Awards, another anime concert coming to the US, and the latest from Digimon.

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ONE PIECE Night Returns to T-Mobile Park in March for...

BABYMETAL is in the studio revealing the anime trios they emulate the most, their first reaction to learning they were joining the One-Punch Man universe, why metal music and anime pair together perfectly, and more.

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Hosts Nicholas Friedman, LeAlec Murray, and Leah President are talking about the FIRST announcements for the 2026 Anime Awards, the upcoming JUJUTSU KAISEN in Concert global music tour, the MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM HATHAWAY The Sorcery of Nymph Circe anime film’s shocking ending theme song, and the upcoming THE GHOST IN THE SHELL and Chainsmoker Cat anime adaptations.

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Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2026 Sets May 23 for 10th Anniversary, Yoko Takahashi to Perform

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Music icon Crystal Kay stops by the studio during her first North American tour to share her favorite anime, why she would want to create more music for anime, the anime characters that make her feel seen, and more.

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Hosts Nicholas Friedman, LeAlec Murray, and Leah President are talking about all the exciting updates Dragon Ball fans got at the Dragon Ball 40th anniversary event, The Dangers in My Heart: The Movie coming to US theaters, our first glimpse of Yoshi in The Super Mario Galaxy movie, The Apothecary Diaries Steady Hands collection, and more.

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Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Season 2 Anime Travels on with Creditless Opening, Ending Videos

Trigun and TRIGUN STARGAZE creator Yasuhiro Nightow reveals his favorite and least favorite Trigun characters, what he loves about the new adaptation, and so much more, only on The Anime Effect.

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Hosts LeAlec Murray, Leah President, and Aly Luskey are revealing the winners of the Top 10 Anime Crushes of 2025, KONOSUBA -God's blessing on this wonderful world! Season 4, the Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Beginning of a New Era film coming to theaters, the MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM HATHAWAY The Sorcery of Nymph Circe theme song by SZA, the live-action ONE PIECE NERF collaboration, and the latest from Sonic the Hedgehog. THEN, we’re discussing the best My Hero Academia OPs.

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hemlocke springs takes a break from touring and working on her new album “the apple tree under the sea” to share the anime she would recommend to Chappell Roan and Conan Gray, how anime like Solo Leveling inspires her music, and more!

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Hosts Nicholas Friedman, LeAlec Murray, and Leah President have ZERO chill on this episode as they dissect the live-action ONE PIECE season 2 trailer, discuss everything we know so far about the upcoming Godzilla Minus Zero film, reveal the anime nominated for 2026 Annie Awards, and so much more. THEN, they share their non-anime gateways to anime and YOUR most anticipated anime of 2026.

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JUJUTSU KAISEN Season 3 Episodes 1-2 Recap, “Execution / One More Ti...

We’re welcoming our first ever figure skater, Amber Glenn! She’s a world champion, a 2026 Olympic hopeful, and a major anime fan. She’s sharing her favorite titles and pitching her own figure skating anime plot, only on The Anime Effect.

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Hosts Nicholas Friedman, LeAlec Murray, and Alex Lebl are BACK to discuss all the exciting news out of Jump Festa 2026, the INSANE anime winter season lineup, Gachiakuta season 2, the Kaguya-sama: Love Is War "Final Chapter" film, and more.

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Jump Festa 2026: All the Big News from the Event!

Crunchyroll Winter 2026 Anime Season Lineup Announced!

Sentenced to Be a Hero English Dub Reveals Same-Day Release, Cast & Crew 

The Solo Leveling Animation Producer Atsushi Kaneko and Action Director Yoshihiro Kanno are answering OUR questions today on The Anime Effect. They share how they navigated the adaptation process, what the fan response has meant to them, and their hopes for the future of Solo Leveling.

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The world's most resilient VTuber Matara Kan joins hosts LeAlec Murray, Leah President, and Haley Whisennand to discuss how they define anime fandom and their journeys from being hardcore to casual anime fans and what it means to re-embrace anime today. Have a question for The Anime Effect? Ask it here. To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com.

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Kei Urana and Hideyoshi Andou, mangaka and graffiti designer of Gachiakuta, are revealing their real-life inspirations for this story, how they teamed up to bring Gachiakuta to life, and so much more.

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Hosts Nicholas Friedman, LeAlec Murray, Alex Lebl, and Haley Whisennand are coming at you with a special holiday episode, breaking down the most memorable anime of 2025 with their 2025 Anime Superlatives! PLUS, everyone reveals their favorite anime of the year.

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The lead voice actors of Solo Camping for Two, Daiki Hamano and Mizuki Niizaki, join us to talk about the real-life camping and cooking that prepared them for these roles. 

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Hosts Nicholas Friedman, LeAlec Murray, and Leah President are sharing highlights from their Crunchyroll Arcs and talking about the upcoming Kaguya-sama: Love Is War anime special, the new Sentenced to Be a Hero anime, and the upcoming PSYREN anime adaptation.

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Crunchyroll Arc Returns for 2025: Discover Your Anime Year in Review

New Kaguya-sama: Love Is War Anime Special Reveals December 31 Broadcast in New Trailer

PSYREN TV Anime...

Mori Calliope, your favorite deadbeat dad and the vocalist behind the Gachiakuta Cour 2 opening theme “LET’S JUST CRASH” is BACK on The Anime Effect to reveal why she loves Rudo, Amo and the world of Gachiakuta and how she would react to a few wild in-world scenarios.

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Hosts Nicholas Friedman, LeAlec Murray, Alex Lebl and Haley Whisennand are of course geeking out over Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’s Golden Globes nomination! They also had to discuss the new series from the Code Geass franchise, the latest about TRIGUN STARGAZE, the Dallas Mavericks’s Solo Leveling anime night, and who their anime crush of 2025 is! PLUS, hosts recommend the must-see anime of the 90’s in Fan Service.

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Demon Slayer...

The members of SPYAIR and yama talk with hosts Nicholas Friedman and LeAlec Murray about their most iconic anime songs. PLUS yama reveals they love Hamtaro?! Don’t miss this double interview and the exclusive Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Complete Blu-ray box set unboxing.

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Hosts Nicholas Friedman, LeAlec Murray, and Leah President are back from their holiday break and in rare form as they discuss the new Godzilla and Reincarnated in a Mafia Dating Sim anime adaptations, the latest on Fire Force season 3 and Saga of Tanya the Evil season 2, plus the surprise awaiting you at Crunchyroll Anime Nights and the exciting Assassin’s Creed Shadows x Attack on Titan collab.

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Orange, Igloo Studio Pr...

Matthew Mercer of Critical Role, The Legend of Vox Machina, Attack on Titan, and so much more is revealing behind-the-scenes moments from his most iconic anime English dub roles, disclosing his best DM (Dungeon Master) tips, and sorting a few of the characters he’s played into DND (Dungeons & Dragons) classes.

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Hosts LeAlec Murray and Leah President are sharing all the anime news before the holidays begin, like the first ever Dragon Ball character poll, the returning BOCCHI THE ROCK! stage play, the upcoming Super Space Sheriff Gavan Infinity Tokusatsu series, and the latest ONE PIECE collab. THEN, they share your comments and recommend travel anime in Fan Service.

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Dragon Ball Launches First Global Character Popularity Poll

BOCCHI THE...

PC Master Builder Ariel Luna from Starforge built a Solo Leveling PC in our studio, and he’s sharing all about the process. Watch this episode to see the time lapse video of the complete build!

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Hosts Nicholas Friedman, LeAlec Murray, and Leah President are talking about what premieres to expect from Crunchyroll at Anime Frontier 2025, the imminent [Oshi no Ko] season 3 release, the latest Death Stranding adaptation from Hideo Kojima, JUJUTSU KAISEN: Execution’s dominance in the Japan box office, and what we know about and what we hope to see in the live-action Legend of Zelda movie.

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Crunchyroll Heads to Anime Frontier 2025 with Special Pr...

Imamura Leo of the band ALI shares how he created music for anime like BEASTARS, JUJUTSU KAISEN, and Dr. STONE SCIENCE FUTURE and the anime he loves to watch.

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We sit down with Baldur's Gate 3 actors Neil Newbon and Devora Wilde to discuss the fan response to their amazing characters, the depth of the game's storytelling, and the inclusive world the game has built.
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Voice Actor Kaito Ishikawa, the voice of Naofumi Iwatani in The Rising of the Shield Hero, is sharing his favorite Shield Hero moment, the character he would most want to go on an adventure with, and his hopes for the future of this anime.

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Hosts LeAlec Murray and Alex Lebl are reporting from Los Angeles about the first ever Dragon Ball store opening in Tokyo Station, Bungo Stray Dogs returning for season 2, the OVERLORD 10th anniversary theatrical celebration, the Animal Crossing: New Horizons update, and more! Then, LeAlec and Alex discuss the anime characters they believe are the most clever and strategic.

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Anime Industry Reaches Record Highs in 2024 as International Revenue Far Outpaces Japan<...

YuYu Hakusho’s Justin Cook joins us to open some Union Arena packs and talk about what it was like to work on the iconic anime. Plus, the hosts share the Fall 2025 shows they’re the most excited about.

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It’s a creepy, scary week Crunchyroll HQ! But Nick, Leah, and LeAlec are ready to unpack this week’s biggest headlines like The Apothecary Diaries’ massive announcement: not just a third season, but an original movie straight from the author! Plus, spooky-cute merch lovers, get ready for a Hello Kitty x Junji Ito collab that’s equal parts adorable and horrifying. The hosts also break down new Crunchyroll collaborations with HoyoVerse and Delta Airlines (anime at 30,000 feet?!), and answer listener questions about which anime characters they’d invite to co-host The Anime Effect.

Have a que...

Olympic and World champion track and field star Noah Lyles joined us in New York City to reveal why he loves repping his love for anime, his potential future cosplay plans, and to show off his clothing collab with Crunchyroll and Adidas. PLUS, Noah plays “Anime This Or That.”

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Hosts Nicholas Friedman, LeAlec Murray, and Victoria Johnson are discussing Goku voice actor Masako Nozawa becoming the first voice actor to receive the prestigious Person of Cultural Merit Recognition in Japan, The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You returning for a season 3, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc taking over global box offices, and Yuki Chiba and Big Sean’s Debut Collab Track "Ski Ga Ski."

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Goku VA M...

Khleo Thomas who played Hector “Zero” Zeroni in Holes is showing off his INCREDIBLE anime and video game collection (get ready to be jealous), sharing his favorite anime moments and so much more.

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Hosts Nicholas Friedman, Leah President, and Alex Lebl are discussing all the news out of New York Comic Con like That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime coming to theaters, Witch Hat Atelier winning the Harvey Award for best manga, and the latest on the TRIGUN STARGAZE anime. PLUS, hosts discuss the new Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc trailer, the latest on the ONE PIECE English dub, and more. 

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C...

Evan Call, the composer of soundtracks for iconic anime series including Violet Evergarden, APPARE-RANMAN!, and Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, is on The Anime Effect sharing how he creates his emotional and award-winning music for some of our favorite anime.

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Hosts Nicholas Friedman, LeAlec Murray, and Leah President are talking about all the new anime adaptation announcements like Apprentice Nail Artist in a Foreign Land, MARRIAGETOXIN, and Kindergarten Wars, as well as the Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: A lonely dragon wants to be loved movie coming to theaters, the return of Hell’s Paradise, and more. Then, we’re sharing the anime that makes YOU cry in Fan Service.

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Le...

K-Pop star KANGDANIEL is HERE dreaming up magical abilities for his cats, revealing why he loves performing for Western audiences, and choosing the anime worlds he would most want to be a part of.

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Hosts Nicholas Friedman, LeAlec Murray, Leah President and Aly Luskey are talking all about Crunchyroll Manga and what’s going on their reading lists, the Minecraft Dragon Ball Z DLC, the upcoming Frieren: Beyond Journey's End season 2 and Star Wars: Visions Volume 3, and more. Then, hosts reveal the anime moments that brought them to tears and share your “edu-tainment” anime recommendations. 

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Vote for The Anime Effect in the Signal Awards

C...

The global pop star and Brazilian drag artist Pabllo Vittar is joining us from their studio to talk all about their new song “MEXE” featuring K-Pop group NMIXX! Pabllo also reveals the magical girls and other anime characters who have inspired their music and fashion throughout the years, and they tease what very special album they’re releasing next!

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