"Clockwork Girl": the episode signed Yasuomi Umetsu for Virgin Punk (Shaft) arrives in digital purchase in September

The episode "Clockwork Girl," part of the original anime Virgin Punk produced by Shaft and entrusted to veteran Yasuomi Umetsu (Kite, Mezzo Forte), finally goes on digital sale in September 2026, one year after its Japanese and American screenings. Good news for fans of authors difficult to see outside of festivals.

Anime News Network announces on July 24, 2026 that "Clockwork Girl", one of the episodes of the original anime Virgin Punk by Shaft, will be available for digital purchase in September 2026. An episode that most French-speaking fans have never had the opportunity to see: it was screened in Japan and the United States in 2025, without any physical or public streaming release since.

The context: Virgin Punk, Shaft's anthology project

Virgin Punk is an original project by the studio Shaft (Bakemonogatari, Puella Magi Madoka Magica), built as an anthology entrusted to different creators. The studio, historically directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, has made these auteur projects an editorial axis: rather than multiplying adaptations of light novels, Shaft periodically tries to break away from the logic of the classic production committee to give free rein to a director.

Who is Yasuomi Umetsu

A name less known to the general otaku public than Shinbo or Yuasa, Yasuomi Umetsu (梅津泰臣) is nevertheless an important figure in Japanese adult animation. Trained on OAVs from the 1980s-90s, he has established himself with:

• Kite (A Kite, 1998), a dry and dark OAV about a young hitwoman, controversial for its violence and very explicit scenes in the original version;
• Mezzo Forte (2000) and the TV series Mezzo DSA (2004), which take up the same stylized polar-action vein;
• Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil (2014), his last TV series as main director before he became more discreet.

His signature: a nervous character design, very recognizable, and a treatment of key animation much more careful than the average of the sector - at Umetsu, one feels the former animator who still puts his hands in the stroke. The collaboration with Shaft on an anthology episode promises, on paper, an interesting meeting point between his sense of dynamics and the very composed aesthetics of the studio.

What ANN knows at this stage

ANN's announcement remains sober: Japanese and American screenings in 2025, availability for digital purchase in September 2026. The site does not yet indicate the sales platforms or availability outside the United States/Japan. Nothing yet, at this stage, about a possible physical release on Blu-ray or a streaming subscription broadcast.

For those interested in France: to be watched on the side of European distributors (Wakanim, Crunchyroll, All The Anime in VOD à l'unité, or independent publishers like @Anime whose editorial line fits this kind of auteur project). Nothing is confirmed for Europe yet.

We will update this article as soon as Shaft or its distributor communicates about the platforms chosen.