Shibuya Scramble Stories finally drops its main cast: five playable archetypes straight out of Shibuya chaos – taxi driver Hanayama Kaiji (Amano Kosei), lawyer Ando Aren (Nakamura Yuto), journalist Mitousuji Mitori (Kitakami Fumi), mystery man Baba Manman (Matsuda Yu), and novelist Ginbara Gin (Kubozuka Yosuke). Announced live at Shibuya Sakura Stage's 404 Not Found, with a mascot SIBLLA stealing the show – suit actress from the old 428 days. Dev Jiro Ishii promises a crowdfunding fix next month, because nothing says 'trust us' like half your 54 million yen vanishing into Ubgoe ether.

This live-action adventure is Ishii's spiritual successor to 428: Shibuya Scramble, that cult VN where one choice dooms the scramble crossing. Backers – 3,522 fools who pledged over 1,000% past the 5 million yen goal last May – are still waiting on their cash while the platform cries 'wrong account lol.' Legal hounds are circling, but dev says dev ain't stopping, filming kicks off 2027 for a 2028 drop. Platforms TBA, because why not keep the mystery alive?

X is buzzing mild hype amid the scam stink – Denfami PV racked views, KaroshiMyriad's preview shots got likes, even Kubozuka dropped a video letter tying back to his 20-year-old Shibuya gig in Machi. 'Hope it becomes timeless,' he says, while whales like me laugh at F2P backers playing VC without the pity system. Ishii's working the resolution; May update better deliver, or it's another JP crowdfunding corpse.