NEWS

New Footage and Art for Upcoming The Remarried Empress, Teenage Mercenary and The Boxer Also Revealed

NEW YORK, October 8, 2026 - HAYATE, LINE Digital Frontier Corporation, a subsidiary of WEBTOON Entertainment, and Crunchyroll today announced an anime co-production partnership focused on adapting a slate of WEBTOON series titles into anime. Under this framework, the three companies will join forces from the development stage on potential anime adaptations of around 15 select titles. HAYATE will lead the development and production in collaboration with Crunchyroll and LINE Digital Frontier, and Crunchyroll will exclusively stream the resulting anime in select territories. Each announced anime is based on a webcomic available through LINE Digital Frontier's mobile application. The partnership was unveiled during the Crunchyroll Showcase at New York Comic Con, alongside new announcements and materials for the following three HAYATE productions based on WEBTOON series.

In addition, the companies shared news and reveals surrounding the following titles: The Remarried Empress (a newly announced anime adaptation, with character art, special promo trailer that revealed the main production staff and main cast); Teenage Mercenary (a new teaser visual and special promo trailer revealed); and The Boxer (a newly announced anime adaptation, with a special promo trailer revealed). 

"We see a tremendous opportunity to transform globally loved digital-native stories into world-class anime franchises," said Leo Watanabe, President and CEO of HAYATE. "Through close collaboration with LINE Digital Frontier and Crunchyroll, HAYATE is committed to creating adaptations that faithfully capture the spirit of the original works while leveraging the unique creative strengths of anime. Our ambition is to help these stories evolve into global franchises that resonate with fans around the world."

"Japanese anime has become a cultural force loved by audiences around the world. We are delighted that this partnership will allow us to bring our WEBTOON series to fans in Japan and across the globe in an exciting new form: anime. We will continue our tireless efforts to "create the future of manga." said Hiroshi Mori, Representative Director of LINE Digital Frontier.

"Bringing great stories to anime fans around the world is at the heart of what we do at Crunchyroll. Working alongside HAYATE and LINE Digital Frontier, this collaboration creates an exciting opportunity to introduce these titles and their unique worlds to new audiences through the power of anime, while staying true to the spirit of the original works," said Asa Suehira, Chief Content Officer of Crunchyroll.  "We look forward to creating meaningful new connections between these stories and fans globally."

Japanese anime continues to strengthen its presence on the global stage. According to the latest survey by The Association of Japanese Animations (AJA), the anime industry reached a record-high market size of $25.36 billion in 2024, up 14.8% year over year. Markets outside of Japan were the primary driver of this growth, expanding 26.0% year over year to $14.33 billion and significantly surpassing Japan market, which stood at $11.03 billion (*1). The rise of viewership of anime is also becoming increasingly evident. At the same time, the anime fan base continues to expand worldwide. In a survey of approximately 29,000 entertainment consumers across seven countries and regions, 44% of respondents aged 13 to 54 identified themselves as anime fans. Among Generation Z, that figure rises to 54%, placing anime fandom on par with the fan bases of some of the world’s biggest music artists and professional athletes (*2). 

*1: Source: Anime Industry Report 2025 by The Association of Japanese Animations.  USD figures are conversions from Japanese Yen figures cited in the original report, based on the Federal Reserve’s 2024 annual average exchange rate of ¥151.46 per $1 USD.
*2: How Anime Became a Worldwide Cultural Force Survey (May 2025) by National Research Group, commissioned by Crunchyroll     

About HAYATE
HAYATE is a Tokyo-based anime production company established in 2025 through a joint investment by Aniplex, which has an extensive track record in anime planning and production as well as a broad network of creators, and Crunchyroll, which has built strong connections with fan communities around the world through its global marketing capabilities and streaming platform. Fusing diverse creativity and perspectives from Japan and the World, HAYATE is dedicated to delivering high-quality anime works that transcend borders and cultures, connecting people through the power of storytelling and bringing exceptional entertainment to audiences worldwide. https://hayate-inc.co.jp/en/

About LINE Digital Frontier
As part of WEBTOON Entertainment Inc, one of the world's largest storytelling platforms with approximately 155 million active users across more than 150 countries and regions and a creator community of 27 million (*3), LINE Digital Frontier Corporation operates "LINE MANGA," the No. 1 ranked digital comic service in Japan by cumulative downloads (*4) — allowing users to easily enjoy manga on smartphones and tablets—as well as "ebookjapan," one of Japan's largest digital book sales services, and "bookfan," an online sales service for print books. Committed to "creating the future of manga," the company strives to deliver exceptional value to users, creators, and partner companies alike.

*3: As of year-end, December 31, 2025
*4: Cumulative downloads for domestic manga apps (App IQ: Books & Comics) (January 2014 – July 2026) / Combined total for iOS & Google Play / Source: Sensor Tower

About Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is the global anime brand that fuels fans’ love of anime. With the ambition to make anime an even bigger part of pop culture, Crunchyroll offers fans the ultimate anime experience and destination centered around a premium streaming service. Crunchyroll has the largest dedicated anime library, an immersive world of events, exciting theatrical releases, unique games, must-have merchandise, timely news, and more. Anime is for everyone and is accessible to stream across territories through Crunchyroll—whether on the go on mobile, through gaming consoles and big-screen devices at home, or on desktops anywhere.