Could YOU Survive These Deadly Isekai Worlds? Plus Gundam & Hello Kitty News
5/23/202644 min
This week on The Anime Effect, Crunchyroll’s anime experts break down Disney’s anime dreams, big Gundam updates, Studio Ghibli’s live-action future, Hello Kitty’s Hollywood debut, and more. Plus, we ask a burning question: could you survive the deadliest worlds of isekai anime? Join us for the chaos.NEWS LINKS:https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2026/5/15/new-gundam-wing-video-original-series-remaster-gundam-50th-anniversaryhttps://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2026/5/14/princess-mononoke-kabuki-stage-play-cast-visuals-in-costumehttps://variety.com/2026/film/news/hello-kitty-movie-directors-1236752660/https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2026/5/12/king-of-prism-your-endless-call-anime-dual-cheer-screening-last-sharknadoWelcome to The Anime Effect, the weekly podcast hosted by Crunchyroll's own in-house, resident anime experts – Nicholas Friedman, LeAlec Murray, and Leah Pr...
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsLeAlec Murray· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Can you, can you make a candle out of Midwest basement smell?
Alex Lulu· Guest0:05
[laughs] Yeah.
Leah President· Host0:06
[laughs] Yeah. Give me that I've been flooded once basement smell.
Alex Lulu· Guest0:09
Yeah. [laughs] [laughs] Axe body spray, if you're listening.
LeAlec Murray· Host0:11
[laughs] No, no.
Leah President· Host0:13
Don't- No ... don't let Axe have this idea.
LeAlec Murray· Host0:15
No, no.
Leah President· Host0:18
[upbeat music] Coming to you from Crunchyroll HQ, this is the Anime Effect, where each week we bring you the latest news and views from the shows you love. It's pop culture with an anime lens.
LeAlec Murray· Host0:32
Dad's not home, so we all do the lens thing.
Leah President· Host0:34
Yes.
Alex Lulu· Guest0:34
Actually- Papa's in Japan. [laughs] [laughs] [laughs] Is he, or is he on assignment?
LeAlec Murray· Host0:39
He's on, he's on, yeah.
Leah President· Host0:40
Oh, yeah.
Alex Lulu· Guest0:40
Yeah, yeah. He's on assignment He's on assignment.
LeAlec Murray· Host0:41
He's on assignment.
Leah President· Host0:41
In Japan. [laughs] [laughs] [laughs] At night. [laughs] At night.
Alex Lulu· Guest0:49
Actually- It, it's nighttime there I think though, right?
LeAlec Murray· Host0:51
Yeah.
Leah President· Host0:51
Yeah?
Alex Lulu· Guest0:51
Yeah.
LeAlec Murray· Host0:51
Oh, no, no, it's morning. They're- Morning, morning ... it's like creeping up on me.
Alex Lulu· Guest0:53
It's like early morning.
LeAlec Murray· Host0:54
Yeah, it's like early morning. He just s-text me actually. It's weird.
Leah President· Host0:57
Hmm.
LeAlec Murray· Host0:57
Anyway.
Leah President· Host0:57
Go to bed.
Alex Lulu· Guest0:58
[laughs] As always, we're here to bring you the best anime has to offer. If you're new to the show, we break down anime's biggest impact of the week before we unpack all the top-notch series we're watching.
LeAlec Murray· Host1:09
We will then bring you the biggest anime news of the week, after the Anime Effect will take you on a journey with our main segment. Y'all are gonna like this one. This is gonna be great. Before hitting you with our favorite segment, fan service.
Leah President· Host1:24
Fan service.
Alex Lulu· Guest1:26
Fan service. I'm the winner of the Nick Friedman lookalike contest at AX Level.