On the Merits of the Weekly Anime Schedule

Welcome to “Siliconera Speaks Up,” our newsletter for the site! This’ll be a summary of the past week’s anime or gaming news, a little reminder of things to come, and our insight on what games you should pick up next. Without further ado, let’s get into it!

Speak Up Sesh

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Siliconera Speaks Up! To start off this week’s news, I’d like to remind everyone for the final time that we have an ongoing survey for you to leave your opinions on the site. We’re curious to know what you’d like us to cover more of, or what suggestions you have to make this site (and this newsletter too) bigger and better than before. We’d really appreciate it if you could spare about five to ten minutes of your day and fill it out. Who knows? Maybe your suggestion will be reflected in the future!

After a year of procrastination, I finally caught up to Wind Breaker just in time for the second season, which started airing at the beginning of April 2025. As per usual, now that I’m no longer in danger of running into story spoilers, I began scouring the Internet for fanart and fanfiction of my favorite delinquent boy. And what do you know? Social media like Twitter and Tumblr are abuzz with discussions about the latest episode. People were gushing about their favorite scenes, or looking forward to what happens next in the story, or just talking about the series as a whole.

Now, this kind of discussion isn’t new, nor is it limited to anime. It’s been this way for literal decades, even before the rise of social media. But the sight of such rampant discussion made me think about anime that comes out on a weekly schedule versus anime that debuts on streaming services as a full season. As an old-school anime fan, I have to say that I really prefer the retro schedule of a weekly release, if only because of the conversations and guesswork that can come out of it.

Shows that are available at once on a streaming platform are great for the marathon watcher. You don’t have to stop at any cliffhangers, and you can make a whole day out of it instead of having to maintain a routine or remember to tune in. Not everyone’s involved in fandom, either. So theorizing with fans isn’t something they have to do. In today’s fast-paced entertainment cycle, though, and with the shorter attention span of viewers, it just feels like shows that get dropped with all episodes available don’t remain in the public consciousness at all. Even if I don’t go out of my way to search it up, I get a lot of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure content thanks to the people I follow. I remember Jojo Fridays and celebrated them with my then-roommate, too. But for Stone Ocean, I barely saw anything after the first few days.

As annoying as fandom can be, it has a huge place in the longevity of a series. No Sleep For Kaname Date wouldn’t have been developed if there wasn’t a huge fandom for AI: The Somnium Files, after all. When a show is ongoing or a game is live service, we also get headcanons or theories that become part of the collective fanon, which is something that’s impossible when everyone can watch the whole thing at once. The insanity (used positively here) that occurs on a weekly or monthly basis as a result of a story drip-fed to fans can foster a community like no other, and in this digital age of isolationism and individualism, sometimes that’s exactly what you need.

Top 10 Stories From the Past Week

1. Sanrio Fragaria Memories English Site Opens - Fragaria Memories was in the last issue of Pash, too! It’s really coming along.

2. Persona 5: The Phantom X to Appear on Steam - Global release, please!!! The variety of characters they’re getting in The Phantom X is so good!

3. NieR Automata 2B Model Kit Comes with Pod 042 - It also comes with the black box and her removable skirt.

4. Review: Battlefield Waltz Is a Switch Otome With Strong Characters - The cast is pretty strong, too. And I’m not not saying that just because my bias, Kensho Ono, is in this game!

5. Monster Hunter Wilds Balance Update Will Buff the Hammer - The update came out in early April 2025, so it’s already live in the game.

6. Re:Zero Witch’s Re:surrection Game Will Close in May 2025 - The game only came out in August 2024. The fast-paced economy of gacha games is pretty crazy, though I don’t think anyone will ever beat the record set by Chaos Saga in 2016. For reference, it was under 24 hours.

7. Square Enix Pets Line Gets FFVII Buster Sword Toys - The Slime pet carriage is pretty darn cute.

8. FFIX Merchandise, Glasses, and Vivi Book Revealed - Tons of plushes, as well as a replica of Garnet’s necklace, too!

9. Strike Freedom Gundam Type 2 Miku Figure Resold via Lottery - It’ll also come with an acrylic stand.

10. New Danganronpa Goods Lineup Drawn By Pop Team Epic Artist - Honestly, they could make a whole Danganronpa game with this art style and it wouldn’t look out of place.

Upcoming Releases

• Indiana Jones Great Circle - PS5 (April 17, 2025)

• Lunar Remastered - PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC (April 18, 2025)

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - PS5, XSX, PC (April 24, 2025)

• Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves - PS4, PS5, XSX, PC (April 24, 2025)

• The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy - Switch, PC (April 24, 2025)