Disney+ has slowly been making itself a hub for streaming anime. While some criticisms have been thrown at the service, it hasn’t stopped them from licensing and releasing some of the best seasonal anime in the last few years. That momentum seems to be continuing into 2025, with Disney+ announcing that they’ve acquired the streaming rights to a handful of highly anticipated series and a few surprises for old-school anime fans that nobody was expecting.
Disney’s anime catalogue has grown increasingly impressive as the streaming service familiarizes itself with the medium. Some of the best shows they’ve released so far include Summer Time Rendering, a supernatural suspense series that many anime fans believe to be one of the best shows released during 2022, Go! Go! Loser Ranger!, a series based on the popular manga of the same name that follows a group of tokusatsu henchmen forced to reenact the same battle year after year when one of them breaks away to cause actual havoc. Disney+ has announced a handful of their 2025 anime lineup already, and it seems like the streaming giant will have another year of hits on their hands.
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Disney+ Is Bringing Some of the Biggest Anime Adaptations Of 2025 To the West
According to the official X (formerly Twitter) account for the anime adaptation of Wandance by Coffee, the anime will be debuting exclusively on Disney+. Madhouse and Cyclone Graphics are producing the anime adaptation for the series. The story follows Kaboku Kotani, a high schooler who plans to keep to himself and his normal group of friends – especially considering he struggles with a stutter. In true manga fashion, Kaboku ends up meeting a mysterious young girl at his school named Hikari Wanda, a dancer who makes him begin to question everything he’s ever thought about self-expression and freedom.
In an effort to see her again, Kabouku decides to take his chances with joining his school’s dance club. In doing this, he opens up his world to Wanda and the other members of the dance club, taking on the performance art as a way to finally express himself in every way he couldn’t before. While an official release date for the anime has yet to be announced, it’s confirmed the show will be dropping at some point in 2025.
Disney+ Picks up Figure Skating Series Medalist From Kodansha
Officially set to begin streaming on January 4, 2025, it’s also been announced that Disney+ will be streaming Medalist. Based on a seinen manga by Tsurumaikada, The Medalist is a sports manga that focuses on ice skating. The story primarily centers on an 11-year-old girl named Inori Yuitsuka who dreams of becoming a world-renowned figure skater. Despite her big dreams, Inori practices in secret due to her mother’s anxieties following her sister’s failures in the same sport.
Nevertheless, Inori ends up meeting a competitive skater named Tsukasa Akeuraji who agrees to become her mentor and coach so that she can achieve her dreams and win an Olympic gold medal. The anime will be produced by ENGI, which previously worked on Uzaki-Chan Wants To Hang Out! and The Detective Is Already Dead. For those who love sports anime, especially when they tackle a more niche angle, Medalist is the perfect coming-of-age story to keep them entertained.
H/T Anime News by AIR, @wandance_info
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