Gacha game developer Aiming has gradually shifted from their original IPs to anime IPs over the last few years. They shut down the console versions of their original game, Caravan Stories, and since 2022, they’ve released The Eminence in Shadow: Master of Garden (2022), DanMachi: Battle Chronicle (2023), 2.5 Dimensional Seduction: Angels on Stage! (2024), and Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue Saga (2024), and have announced Wind Breaker: Rebel Heroes for 2025. But their most recent financial presentation revealed one more anime game in development with the codename “Project G.” Here, I’ll try to figure out what “Project G” is.
Aiming’s anime game catalog mostly falls into two categories: Kodansha IPs and Kadokawa-adjacent IPs. Their Kodansha catalog includes Wind Breaker, Fire Force collaborations in both Caravan Stories and Master of Garden, and a Shangri-La Frontier collab in Master of Garden. Their Kadokawa and Kadokawa-adjacent (usually via Yen Press) catalog includes The Eminence in Shadow, Danmachi, and Caravan Stories collabs with The Rising of the Shield Hero, Danmachi, KonoSuba!, Oshi no Ko, and more. To get a better idea of what Project G could be, we need to look at what upcoming anime are owned by either Kodansha or Kadokawa. Before we go too deep, though, let’s dig through previous reports to identify trends.
In Aiming’s second quarter report, another anime project was listed alongside Project G: “Project W.” We now know that this game is Wind Breaker: Rebel Heroes. When we go back to Aiming’s third quarter report of 2023, we can see a “Project RI” that was later explicitly confirmed by Aiming to be 2.5 Dimensional Seduction: Angels on Stage!
Going back even further to Aiming’s second and third quarter reports for 2022, we can see that The Eminence in Shadow: Master of Garden was originally codenamed “Project S.”
Each codename has a clear connection to their eventual reveal:
- “Project S” = The Eminence in Shadow; Cid’s alias is “Shadow,” and his organization is called “Shadow Garden”
- “Project RI” = 2.5 Dimensional Seduction’s Japanese name is “Nitengo-jigen no Ririsa” (“Ririsa” is also the main girl’s name)
- “Project W” = Wind Breaker
With this, our search guidelines are in place. We’re looking for a newer anime series that:
- Is a Kodansha, Kadokawa, or Kadokawa-adjacent IP
- Has a main character or something notable whose name starts with G, or a word starting with G somewhere in the Japanese title
With this in mind, some of the more likely choices include:
GACHIAKUTA
In the slums where the descendants of criminals are forced to live, trash-picker Rudo is constantly the object of discrimination. Then one day, he is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and is thrown into the dreaded Pit. At its bottom, Rudo catches a glimpse of the truth of the world and manifests an ability to give an object life and draw out its powers. He faces a world that may be infinitely powerful, but he will not let anyone else decide his worth.
Gachiakuta currently runs in Kodansha’s Weekly Shōnen Magazine, and has an anime coming in 2025. I personally haven’t read it yet, but based on the reception I’ve seen online, I think it has a pretty good chance.
GRAND BLUE
After moving out on his own to a seaside town, Iori Kitahara makes a college debut he never anticipated.
Grand Blue is a manga about diving. Allegedly.
Grand Blue runs in Kodansha’s Good! Afternoon seinen magazine, and a second season was recently announced. However, writer Kenji Inoue stated that it was a miracle that Season 2 was greenlit in the first place, so I wouldn’t put too much hope in this possibility.
THE QUINTESSENTIAL QUINTUPLETS (GO-TŌBUN NO HANAYOME)
Five girls who want to do anything but study, and their tutor: a high school boy who’s got book smarts and not much else. Futaro Uesugi took the tutoring gig because he was desperate for cash, but when his students—the five beautiful daughters of a wealthy businessman—find five times the excuses to slack off, what can he do?!
The Quintessential Quintuplets ran in Kodansha’s Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 2017 to 2020, and has developed into a powerhouse since the manga’s end. With over 20 million copies in circulation as of December 2022, multiple anime that fill in the gaps that the original anime and manga didn’t cover, an upcoming light novel spin-off, a card game, a mobile game with 8 million downloads and two console ports, a visual novel trilogy that has sold over 150,000 copies in Japan, and an ongoing VR game series featuring the individual Nakano sisters, the series has definitely been making waves. It’s worth noting that Aiming recently entered a capital and business alliance with Colopl, who owns MAGES., the publisher of The Quintessential Quintuplets’ visual novels and my sworn enemy.
ISHURA
In a world where the Demon King has died, a host of demigods capable of felling him have inherited the world. A master fencer who can figure out how to take out their opponents with a single glance; a lancer so swift they can break the sound barrier; a wyvern rogue who fights with three legendary weapons at once; an all-powerful wizard who can speak thoughts into being; an angelic assassin who deals instant death. Eager to attain the title of “True Hero,” these champions each pursue challenges against formidable foes and spark conflicts among themselves. The battle to determine the mightiest of the mighty begins.
Ishura seems like the odd one out, but it may have the strongest case here. It ticks every box except the G; Kadokawa publishes the light novel in both English (via Yen Press) and Japanese, and the manga runs in Kodansha’s Monthly Shōnen Magazine (and is also readable online via Magazine Pocket). Additionally, Aiming is part of the Ishura Production Committee.
Ishura has the strongest chance of being Project G, when we factor in the connection to both Kadokawa and Kodansha, as well as Aiming’s direct involvement in the anime.
The Quintessential Quintuplets has the next greatest chance due to the new partnership between Aiming and Colopl. When they’re not filing copyright takedowns for already-approved streams and requiring the person responsible for the existence of their highest-selling licensed game to get permission to stream a game based on their own work, MAGES. has pushed products that helps their and Colopl’s IPs. They published a console version of Pyramid’s Alice Gear Aegis and ported two years worth of content from The Quintessential Quintuplets’ mobile game (unfortunately, without the puzzle game). Additionally, unlike most Shueisha IPs, The Quintessential Quintuplets’ games aren’t unified under a single publisher. Enish operates the mobile game, MAGES. publishes the console games, and NextNinja publishes the VR games. A fourth company getting involved wouldn’t be surprising.
Gachiakuta has the most average chance here, as there’s neither a prior investment nor business relationship to help it stand out. It’s the most “it fits the description” choice here, but I’ve noticed those IPs get picked up regularly. Certain IPs are just so obvious that you just know it’ll get a(nother) game way before the game is officially announced.
Grand Blue’s dead last here. Realistically, a Grand Blue game isn’t going to happen unless I make it myself. But this topic gave me an excuse to talk about one of my favorite series, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Grand Blue is available on K Manga.
ONE LAST POSSIBILITY
When we look at Aiming’s output and focus a little more on their relationship with Colopl, one more possibility arises: ‘Tis Time for “Torture,” Princess, or “Hime-sama ‘Gōmon’ no Jikan desu.”
Both MAGES. and Aiming have worked with Shonen Jump+ titles—Summer Time Rendering and 2.5 Dimensional Seduction, respectively—and considering that other Jump+ titles are getting games now, like SPY×FAMILY and Red Cat Ramen, it doesn’t seem too farfetched that ‘Tis Time for “Torture,” Princess, which has a second season on the way, would be up next in the Jump+ catalog.
Aiming’s “Project G” will likely be revealed sometime in 2025, with a release coming by 2026. With its announcement, all of these questions will be answered:
- Will Gachiakuta get its first game soon?
- Will Jump+ continue to expand into the realm of gacha games?
- Will The Quintessential Quintuplets’ media reign throw another game maker in the mix?
- Will Hell freeze over and will I get a Grand Blue game?
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