Bento PLUS
October 2026
Konnichiwa, AnimeFanatiks!
This October Bento Plus is playing for keeps, our theme is Season Openings / Horror, inspired by Halloween as well as the new anime starting this season. Our challenges are all built around this theme, so get ready to get scared with us!
Along the way, we talk about delicious Japanese food, have great AMVs, and a variety of yummy content for you to sink your teeth in. Use the menu on the right to easily jump between sections.
We are your monthly source of anime and Japanese news.
Just for you. Itadakimasu!
Upcoming events
Events in Nippon
October is a fantastic month for Japan-related content because it sits right in the middle of the autumn festival season. There are traditional matsuri, harvest celebrations, cultural events, Halloween, food-related observances and, in 2026, one national public holiday.
October 7–9
Nagasaki Kunchi
Nagasaki
One of Nagasaki’s major traditional festivals, with a history stretching back around 400 years. Expect elaborate performances, traditional dancing, Chinese-influenced dragon dances, food stalls and processions.
October 9–10
Takayama Autumn Festival
Gifu
One of Japan’s most famous autumn festivals. Eleven beautifully decorated floats are paraded through Takayama, with lanterns creating a spectacular atmosphere after dark.
October 10–11
Otsu Festival
Shiga
Held around Tenson Shrine in Otsu, this colourful festival features elaborate floats, mechanical dolls and traditional performances. It takes place just before Sports Day.
October 12
Sports Day (スポーツの日, Supōtsu no Hi)
Japan’s only national public holiday in October. It falls on the second Monday of October. The holiday encourages enjoyment of sport, respect for others and a healthy, energetic society.
Late October
Kakegawa Hyakki Yako
Shizuoka 👹
This is particularly interesting for AnimeFanatika. Hyakki Yako means the “Night Parade of One Hundred Demons”, and the Kakegawa event combines Japanese yokai with Halloween. People dress as monsters and parade around Kakegawa Castle, while a yokai-themed shopping street appears between the station and castle.
Game of the month
Aniimo: Open-World Creature-Collecting RPG
Introduction
Aniimo is a free-to-play open-world creature-collecting action RPG developed by Pawprint Studio. Set across the colourful continent of Idyll, the game combines exploration, creature catching, real-time combat and multiplayer features. Aniimo launched on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in September 2026, with mobile versions following later that month.
Overview
Players take the role of Pathfinders and explore Idyll while discovering more than 200 unique Aniimo. These magical creatures can be captured using Aniipods and traps, with different Aniimo appearing depending on factors such as location, weather and time of day.
One of Aniimo’s most distinctive features is Twining. Rather than simply commanding a creature, players can merge with their Aniimo and use its abilities themselves. Different creatures provide abilities that can help with exploration, puzzles, traversal and combat, giving creature collection an important role beyond battling.
Pros:
Open-world exploration with changing environments and creature encounters.
Twining provides a distinctive way to experience Aniimo abilities.
More than 200 creatures are available to collect.
Supports solo play, co-op and competitive activities.
Free-to-play, making the game accessible to new players.
Cons:
Online connectivity is required.
The free-to-play model includes optional in-game purchases.
Players who prefer traditional turn-based creature battles may find Aniimo’s real-time combat less familiar.
Conclusion:
Aniimo combines creature collecting with open-world exploration and action RPG gameplay. Its Twining system gives the genre a distinctive twist, while its large world, collection mechanics and multiplayer options provide plenty to explore. For players interested in creature-collecting games with a more active approach to combat and exploration, Aniimo offers an interesting new adventure in Idyll.
Ved: Recure: A Unique Action Roguelite Adventure
Introduction
Ved: Recure is a fast-paced action roguelite from indie developer SummerClip. The game follows an exhausted office worker who has spent 27 consecutive nights working overtime. After purchasing his 1,000th game, he falls asleep and awakens inside a mysterious virtual world. To return to reality, he must complete the strange treatment prepared by Demeowrge, the God of Games. Yup, Isekai vibes.
Overview:
The adventure combines third-person action combat with roguelite progression and anime-inspired characters. Players explore four large stages filled with enemies, robots and powerful bosses. Seven playable characters offer different abilities, combat mechanics and upgrade paths, allowing players to approach battles in different ways.
One of Ved: Recure’s most distinctive features is its customisable Buff Chain system. Players can collect more than 150 buffs and combine them to create different combat strategies. Rather than simply increasing statistics, buffs interact with actions and abilities, encouraging experimentation during each run. Players can block, dodge, strike and use carefully constructed buff combinations to overcome enemies and bosses.
Conclusion:
Ved: Recure blends action RPG combat, roguelite mechanics and a quirky story about gaming burnout. Its unusual premise and flexible Buff Chain system give the adventure a distinctive identity. With seven characters, multiple stages and numerous build possibilities, the game offers plenty of room for experimentation as players fight to escape their virtual prison.
Itadakimasu Eats
Japanese Grated Sweet Potato Dishes: Two Delicious Ideas
Japanese cuisine is known for turning simple ingredients into surprisingly versatile dishes. Sweet potatoes, or satsumaimo, are especially popular in Japan, where their natural sweetness makes them useful in both savoury and sweet cooking. Grating sweet potato creates a soft texture that works particularly well in several Japanese dishes.
1. Sweet Potato Okonomiyaki
Grated sweet potato can be added to okonomiyaki, Japan’s famous savoury pancake. It helps create a soft, moist texture while adding natural sweetness. The result is a delicious variation on the classic Osaka-style dish.
2. Sweet Potato Chijimi
Inspired by Korean-style savoury pancakes, chijimi can also be prepared using grated sweet potato. Combined with other vegetables and cooked until crisp, the sweet potato provides a pleasant contrast between the crunchy exterior and softer centre.
These ideas show how grated sweet potato can add sweetness, texture and character to Japanese cooking. It is also an excellent ingredient for experimenting with traditional flavours.
New AMV's & Wotagei
Every month, the AnimeFanatika team dives headfirst into the YouTube universe, hunting for the hottest, most rocking AMVs to blow your mind, as well as Wotagei videos.
Takeshi's Tunes
First choice is SABATON – The Last Battle with scenes from High School Fleet. His second choice is Royal Tracks — Throne of Iron with scenes from various anime and his third choice is ABOKAI – Do Or Do Not with scenes from Koukaku Kidoutai.
Ookami's Tunes
First choice is Feuerschwanz – Schubsetanz with scenes from AzurLane. His second choice is ABOKAI – Call Me War with scenes from Bleach thousand-year blood war and his third choice is Pasivity – Walking Through the Ruins with scenes from Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken.
Daisuke Tunes
First AMV choice is Tokyo AMV – The Sound of Blades with scenes from The Exiled Heavy Knight Knows How to Game the System. His second choice is Evanescence – Bring me to Life with scenes from Bleach thousand-year blood war. His last choice is ABOKAI – The Boy In The Iceberg with scenes from Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender
Retara's Tunes
Our correspondence from Japan shares with us these impressive Wotagei videos.
Please support the original music artists by looking them up on YouTube, Spotify and other media and give them your appreciation and support!
Birthday of the Month
Yūko Ichihara: The Mysterious Witch of xxxHOLiC
Yūko Ichihara is the enigmatic witch at the heart of CLAMP’s xxxHOLiC. Known as the Witch of Dimensions, she runs a mysterious shop that grants wishes, but every wish comes with a price. Her true nature and history remain deliberately shrouded in mystery, making her one of anime’s most fascinating supernatural characters.
Yūko encounters Kimihiro Watanuki, a teenager plagued by spirits that only he can see. When Watanuki enters her shop, she offers him a way to escape his unwanted ability. In return, he must work at the shop until his debt is paid. This arrangement introduces Watanuki to Yūko’s strange world of spirits, magic and consequences.
Despite her playful personality, Yūko possesses extraordinary knowledge and supernatural power. She understands the connections between people, spirits and different dimensions, often knowing far more than she reveals. Her advice can sound cryptic, yet it frequently carries deeper meaning.
Yūko is also closely connected to characters and events across CLAMP’s wider universe, particularly Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. Her relationship with Watanuki gradually becomes more complex, moving beyond their original employer-and-assistant arrangement.
Elegant, mischievous and occasionally terrifying, Yūko embodies the mysterious side of xxxHOLiC. Her belief that everything has a price remains one of the series’ defining themes. She celebrates her birthday October 20th
She shares her birth month with:
Kirito (Sword Art Online)
Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto)
October Anime Challenge
Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica: A Magical Girl Story with a Dark Twist
Madoka Kaname is an ordinary middle-school girl whose life changes when she encounters a mysterious white creature named Kyubey. He offers Madoka and her friend Sayaka Miki the chance to become magical girls, granting them any wish they desire. In exchange, they must fight terrifying supernatural creatures called Witches.
At first, becoming a magical girl seems like an exciting opportunity. However, Madoka soon discovers that the reality is far darker than the heroic fantasy she imagined. Magical girls must risk their lives battling Witches, while the true nature of their powers and contracts remains carefully hidden.
As Madoka meets other magical girls, including the experienced Homura Akemi, she begins uncovering disturbing truths about their existence. Sayaka’s own wish and her growing involvement in the fight reveal the terrible emotional and physical costs of becoming a magical girl.
Homura desperately tries to prevent Madoka from making the same mistakes, but Madoka cannot understand why she is so determined to stop her. As tragedy after tragedy unfolds, the girls discover that their wishes, hopes and despair are connected to a much larger cycle.
Madoka must ultimately confront a choice that could reshape the fate of magical girls, Witches and the entire world.
Light novel of the Month
The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe: A Bookshop Between Worlds
Kaori has lived in an unusual bookstore since she was three years old. Located in a place where the boundaries between the mortal world and the spirit realm blur, the shop provides books for a colourful collection of supernatural customers. Kaori runs the store alongside her adoptive father, Shinonome, a spirit who has raised her as his daughter.
Her peaceful existence changes when an injured young man named Suimei stumbles into the spirit realm. Unlike Kaori, Suimei is human, and he has become an exorcist after suffering a painful childhood. He considers spirits dangerous enemies and has vowed to take revenge against them.
Despite their opposing backgrounds, Kaori chooses to help the injured stranger rather than abandon him. As Suimei becomes involved with the bookstore and its supernatural residents, his understanding of spirits gradually begins to change. Meanwhile, Kaori discovers that the relationship between humans and spirits is far more complicated than she once believed.
Across the series, the bookstore becomes a meeting place for humans, yokai and other supernatural beings, with each volume exploring a different mystery or adventure. As Kaori and Suimei grow closer, they uncover secrets about their own pasts, the spirit realm and the true purpose of the bookstore.
Blending Japanese folklore, supernatural mystery, gentle humour and emotional drama, the series explores friendship, family, healing and the unexpected connections between two very different worlds.
All about Japan
All About Japan shows you interesting journeys, interviews or just trivia that teach us more about the Land of The Rising Sun and its people. Enjoy the videos as we take a deeper dive into what makes Japan such a beloved country for many from some of our favourite YouTubers.
Cosplay
Lightning Cosplay shows us a creepy Sakuko Cosplay from SILENT HILL f, a perfect cosplays if you want to be creepy this Halloween and Eleanor Does Cosplay takes us on a manic cosplay journey.
Japanese Art Forms
Yabusame: Japan’s Ancient Art of Horseback Archery
Yabusame is a traditional Japanese form of horseback archery that combines horsemanship, archery and ritual. Dating back around 800 years, the practice developed from the martial skills of Japan’s warrior class and later became closely associated with Shinto ceremonies. Today, yabusame continues to be performed at shrines and festivals across Japan.
During a yabusame ceremony, an archer dressed in traditional warrior clothing rides a galloping horse along a designated track. The rider must maintain balance and control while firing arrows at three wooden targets positioned along the course. Successfully striking the targets requires exceptional concentration, timing, horsemanship and archery skills.
Yabusame is more than a demonstration of samurai archery. Traditionally, the ritual was dedicated to Shinto deities with prayers for peace, plentiful harvests and the health of the people. The practice therefore combines martial traditions with religious ceremony and Japanese cultural heritage.
The tradition remains visible at events such as the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Festival in Kamakura and the Tsuwano Yabusame Festival in Shimane. These events allow visitors to experience the skill, ceremony and atmosphere surrounding this remarkable Japanese tradition.
Yabusame offers a fascinating glimpse into Japan’s samurai history while demonstrating how ancient traditions can continue to survive in modern Japan.
Japanese Commercials
Japanese commercials are out of this world sometimes, strange and fun. We share with you a highly entertaining Japanese commercial video and we hope you enjoy it!
Sugoi Shorts
We share fun YouTube shorts about anime, cosplay, music and everything inbetween!