Cygames is taking horror anime into a bold new direction with Necronomico no Cosmic Horror Show , an original series premiering in July 2025 . The anime follows Miko Kurono , a junior high student and rising streamer who stumbles into a mysterious VR game—only to uncover that it is more than just pixels and programming. Within this virtual space lurk eldritch beings, sanity-breaking puzzles, and the ever-thinning line between what’s real and what’s not.
This unique premise combines modern digital culture with Lovecraftian horror , crafting a surreal, anxiety-inducing experience. The show questions not only Miko’s perception of reality, but the broader obsession with escapism through technology, social validation, and content creation.
Cosmic Horror Meets TikTok-Age Anxiety
Necronomico no Cosmic Horror Show
Miko’s story starts innocently enough, with her joining a closed beta for a trendy new virtual reality experience. As she begins streaming her gameplay to a growing online audience, the game slowly mutates into something more sinister. Alien symbols, impossible architecture, and glitch-like hallucinations begin to distort her surroundings—and soon, her own thoughts.
According to early production insights from Cygames , Necronomico no Cosmic Horror Show will explore “what happens when you bring Cthulhu into a livestream.” It’s a commentary on how constant exposure, parasocial relationships, and social media obsession can fray the human mind—now under cosmic duress.
Production and Artistic Vision
Necronomico no Cosmic Horror Show
Directed by a yet-unnamed creative from Cygames Pictures, the anime promises a visually unsettling world filled with shifting dreamscapes, surreal monsters, and sensory-overloading sequences . From what’s been teased, the style evokes a found-footage-meets-VR-glitch-art aesthetic, akin to a fusion of Perfect Blue and Made in Abyss , but steeped in cosmic dread.
With sound design inspired by old vinyl static and digital screeching , and a protagonist losing touch with time and space, Necronomico no Cosmic Horror Show is set to be one of 2025’s most experimental and psychologically intense anime releases.
Following its acclaimed return to theaters, Mononoke: The Ashes of Rage debuted in Japan on March 14, 2025 , marking a new chapter in the eerie and philosophical journey of the Medicine Seller . This second film installment revives the signature blend of supernatural storytelling and avant-garde visual direction , continuing the haunting tales of unresolved spirits and the dark emotions that bind them to the world.
In true Mononoke fashion, the narrative doesn’t shy away from moral ambiguity and psychological depth. The Medicine Seller once again navigates cryptic human conflicts and restless spirits— mononoke —whose origins are rooted in the suppressed traumas and regrets of the living.
A Return to Form and Flame
Mononoke The Ashes of Rage
Titled The Ashes of Rage , the new film goes into a case where anger and repression manifest into a volatile spirit , forcing the Medicine Seller to unravel the layers of guilt and betrayal surrounding a ruined family estate. The visual palette—still vibrant with Ukiyo-e-inspired designs , surreal patterns, and shifting dimensions—amplifies the emotional intensity of each confrontation.
The direction remains experimental and stylized, immersing viewers in a world where reality bends to the logic of memory and emotion. The signature three-part exorcism process— Form, Truth, and Reason —once again guides the narrative, this time pulling the viewer deeper into the psychological decay of its characters.
The Mononoke Franchise’s Artistic Ambition
Mononoke The Ashes of Rage
Produced by Twin Engine and directed by Kenji Nakamura , the mind behind the original 2007 series, The Ashes of Rage builds on the franchise’s reputation for challenging storytelling. The film doesn’t just aim to scare—it provokes, questions, and meditates. It continues the franchise’s legacy as a thinking person’s horror , laced with emotion and visual metaphor.
Fans of Mononoke have praised its return not just for nostalgia, but for how the film reflects the evolving anxieties of a modern world, particularly how inner rage—when denied—can take monstrous form.
