Attack on Titan Day (September 9, 2026): The Livestream, 99 Free Chapters, and What to Collect

September 9, 2026 is the first official Attack on Titan Day. Japan's Anniversary Association has certified the date, and Kodansha is marking it with a franchise livestream, a large free-read campaign, and new merchandise. If you are a returning fan wondering what is actually happening on the day — and a collector wondering what to chase before prices move — this is the short version, with the confirmed facts up front.

Here is what is locked in. On September 9, the series holds an evening livestream in Japan hosted by three of its lead voice actors. Separately, Kodansha's Magazine Pocket app is putting the first 99 chapters free for 99 hours, starting at midnight on September 9 (JST). Series creator Hajime Isayama has drawn a new commemorative illustration, and anniversary goods are on sale. The livestream is billed as delivering "a lot of information" about the franchise's future, so the day doubles as a reveal window.

Attack on Titan Day is an official anniversary, not a fan holiday: the Japan Anniversary Association registered September 9 because that is the day the manga began serialization in Bessatsu Shonen Magazine back in 2009. Below, each section answers one question — what the day is, the livestream, the free-read window, the merch, and what any of it means if you collect figures and Ichiban Kuji prizes from outside Japan.

What Attack on Titan Day Is (and Why September 9)

Attack on Titan Day is a Japan Anniversary Association-certified commemorative day, tied to the exact date the manga debuted. Hajime Isayama's Attack on Titan began serialization in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shonen Magazine on September 9, 2009, so 2026 marks 17 years since chapter one. The registration was announced in early September 2026, which is why the SERP is still mostly same-day news rather than settled reference.

The practical takeaway: September 9 is now a recurring date the franchise can build campaigns around every year, the way One Piece uses July 22. For 2026 specifically, Kodansha stacked the first celebration with a livestream, a free-read window, and new goods on the same day.

Anniversaries like this reliably reactivate lapsed fans, which is exactly when figure and prize demand jumps. Akibato does not run a dedicated Attack on Titan collection, but it ships anime figures and Ichiban Kuji prizes from Japan — the same channel most overseas Titan fans use when a wave sells out at home. More on the collector angle below; first, the day itself.

The September 9 Livestream: Hosts and What to Expect

A franchise livestream airs on the evening of September 9 (JST). It is hosted by three of the series' lead voice actors:

• Yuki Kaji — Eren Yeager
• Yui Ishikawa — Mikasa Ackerman
• Hiro Shimono — Connie Springer

The official sites describe the stream as delivering a large amount of information about Attack on Titan, with the precise start time and viewing details being finalized on the series' official X (Twitter) account. If you are watching from outside Japan, an evening Japan-time broadcast lands in the morning in North America and around midday in Europe on September 9 — so set a reminder for the day, not the night, if you are in the Americas.

What Could Be Announced

Nothing new is confirmed until the stream airs, so treat the following as reported possibilities rather than facts. According to Anime Corner, an Attack on Titan console game is in the pipeline with an opening animation produced by MAPPA (the studio behind the anime's final seasons), and producer Tetsuya Kinoshita has previously hinted at new films and collaborations without specifics. A stream framed as "lots of information" is the natural place for those to surface. The safe read: expect at least one project reveal, and do not assume a new TV season — the main story already concluded.

99 Chapters Free for 99 Hours: How the Read-Along Works

The headline campaign for returning readers is a 99-hour free-read window covering the first 99 chapters of the manga. It runs on Kodansha's Magazine Pocket app and begins at midnight (JST) on September 9. Ninety-nine hours from a midnight start lands the close in the early hours of September 13 (JST), so realistically you have the September 9–12 window to read.

What 99 chapters covers: roughly the first two-thirds of the story — enough to carry a new or lapsed reader from the fall of Wall Maria through the series' major mid-story turns, without touching the finale. It is a genuine catch-up runway, not a teaser. A few practical notes:

• The campaign is app-based (Magazine Pocket), so region and account availability can vary — check the app rather than assuming access.
• The window is short by design. If you want to read along, block out time on September 9–12 rather than the exact minute of expiry.
• The full manga ran 34 volumes and ended on April 9, 2021, so 99 chapters is a large free sample but not the whole thing.

New Isayama Artwork and Anniversary Merch

Hajime Isayama drew a new commemorative illustration for the anniversary, reportedly featuring Eren, Levi and Erwin in formal attire — a deliberately different look from the Survey Corps uniforms fans usually see. That artwork, along with a new commemorative visual, is being used on anniversary goods sold through Kodansha's official channels.

Two more real-world celebrations are worth knowing:

• A themed café is running from September 3 to October 12, 2026 in Tokyo.
• A symphony concert tour of the anime's soundtrack is set to launch in October 2026, visiting 15 cities worldwide — the rare official Attack on Titan event that reaches fans outside Japan in person.

New official artwork almost always seeds the next merchandise cycle, so the formal-wear visual is the kind of image that tends to reappear on figures, acrylics and prize goods over the following months. That is the bridge to the collector question.

Attack on Titan by the Numbers: 140 Million Copies and Two Studios

If you want the self-contained facts — the ones worth citing — here they are in one place:

• Serialization start: September 9, 2009, in Bessatsu Shonen Magazine.
• Serialization end: April 9, 2021, across 34 volumes.
• Circulation: over 140 million copies worldwide as of November 2023, among the best-selling manga ever.
• Anime studios: Wit Studio animated Seasons 1–3; MAPPA produced the fourth and final season.
• Anime finale: the last part of The Final Season premiered in November 2023.

That scale is why a single anniversary livestream can move merchandise: a completed, 140-million-copy series has a huge lapsed audience that comes back the moment there is a reason to.

How Overseas Fans Collect Attack on Titan From Japan

Because the anime finished in 2023 and the manga ended in 2021, Attack on Titan is now a back-catalog property for collecting — which is good news and bad news. The good: the definitive figures and Ichiban Kuji prizes already exist. The bad: many of the best waves are past their original release, so they sell through overseas retailers first and reappear later at a markup.

Figures and Ichiban Kuji Worth Watching

Practical guidance for a Titan shelf, without overstating anything:

• Levi and Mikasa lead demand. Scale figures of the two most popular characters hold value best and are the first to disappear when interest spikes — exactly what an anniversary does.
• Ichiban Kuji is the accessible entry. Titan has had multiple Ichiban Kuji sets; prize figures and the Last One Prize are cheaper than scale figures and easier to import.
• Watch for a post-livestream bump. If the September 9 stream reveals a game or new project, expect renewed figure announcements to follow — the pattern with anniversaries is reveal first, merch second.

Since there is no dedicated Attack on Titan collection at Akibato, the honest route for Titan fans is the store's Ichiban Kuji collection and its anime figures, both shipped from Japan — the same supply most overseas collectors rely on when a wave is out of stock locally. If you already collect Ichiban Kuji, our guides to the Berserk Ichiban Kuji lineup and the Yu Yu Hakusho Demon World Gate set use the same prize-by-prize format, and if you are new to how these lotteries work, our breakdown of where to watch shonen classics pairs well with a catch-up read.

Attack on Titan Day 2026: Key Takeaways

• September 9, 2026 is the first official Attack on Titan Day, tied to the manga's 2009 debut.
• A franchise livestream airs that evening (JST), hosted by the voice actors for Eren, Mikasa and Connie, and is expected to carry major franchise news.
• The first 99 chapters are free for 99 hours on Magazine Pocket, from midnight September 9 (JST) through the early hours of September 13.
• New Isayama artwork (Eren, Levi, Erwin in formal wear), anniversary goods, a Tokyo café, and a 15-city concert tour round out the celebration.
• For collectors, treat the day as a demand spike on a completed series — Levi and Mikasa figures and Ichiban Kuji prizes are the pieces to secure early.

Watching from a shelf-building angle? Akibato ships anime figures and Ichiban Kuji prizes from Japan, so a Titan wave that sells out at home is still reachable — and worth checking again right after the September 9 reveals land.