In short: The Kagurabachi anime premieres in April 2027, simulcast on Crunchyroll worldwide except Japan, mainland China and the two Koreas. Studio Cypic animates it, Tetsuya Takeuchi directs, and five voices have been announced as of 28 August 2026, including Katsuyuki Konishi and Miku Ito. The exact day, the episode count and the dubs are still unannounced.
When does the Kagurabachi anime come out?
In April 2027, with no exact day. That is the window given on 27 April 2026 by the production committee, led by Shochiku and CyberAgent, and repeated on 26 June 2026 by Crunchyroll for the simulcast. The full first episode will only be screened in spring 2027, in Japan, to close the anime's world tour.
April in Japan means the start of the spring season: new series usually begin within the first ten days of the month, but nothing forces Kagurabachi to follow that habit. Until the anime's website shows a date, treat "April 2027" as the only solid information. The rest of the timeline fits in a few dates, all published by the production committee:
| Date | What was announced |
|---|---|
| 27 April 2026 | Series announced, teaser visual and first teaser video, studio Cypic, April 2027 release |
| 29 April 2026 | JUMP PRESS announcement video shown on giant screens in Shibuya, Shinjuku, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo and Fukuoka |
| 12 June 2026 | Chihiro Rokuhira visual and trailer, voiced by Taihi Kimura |
| 19 June 2026 | Tomokazu Seki as Kunishige Rokuhira, character visual and trailer |
| 26 June 2026 | Katsuyuki Konishi as Togo Shiba; Crunchyroll confirms the April 2027 simulcast; Otakon added to the world tour |
| 3 July to 22 August 2026 | World tour: the first twenty minutes of episode 1 screened in Los Angeles, Paris, Mannheim, Washington and New York |
| 28 August 2026 | Miku Ito as Hinao and Miyari Nemoto as Char Kyonagi, character visuals and trailers |
Chihiro Rokuhira in the April 2026 teaser, image published on the anime's website.
Where can you watch Kagurabachi?
On Crunchyroll, simulcast with the Japanese broadcast, worldwide except Japan, mainland China, North Korea and South Korea. In South and Southeast Asia, distribution goes through Muse Communication. No other platform has been announced: not Netflix, not Disney+.
The simulcast will be subtitled from the day of the Japanese airing. No dub has been announced in any language. Crunchyroll dubs most of its big licences a few weeks behind, but I will only write it as a given the day the platform says so. Same caution for Spanish-speaking viewers, in Spain and Latin America, where Crunchyroll is also the announced broadcaster: the subtitled simulcast is certain, the dub is not.
Click the image to watch the teaser on Crunchyroll's YouTube channel.
Who is making the Kagurabachi anime?
Studio Cypic, with Tetsuya Takeuchi directing and Keigo Sasaki on character design, for a production committee led by Shochiku and CyberAgent. The composer, the theme songs and the episode count have not been communicated so far.
Cypic is a recent name for a studio that is not. Founded on 5 April 2016 as CygamesPictures, it came under CyberAgent's direct control on 27 February 2026 and was renamed on 6 April 2026, the day after its tenth anniversary. Its credits include Princess Connect! Re:Dive, Brave Bang Bravern!, Umamusume: Cinderella Gray and, in 2025, The Summer Hikaru Died. Kagurabachi is its most exposed project yet, and CyberAgent presents it as its international bet.
| Role | Name | Previous credits |
|---|---|---|
| Director | Tetsuya Takeuchi | Key animator on Bleach, Hunter x Hunter, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, Devilman Crybaby and Delicious in Dungeon; storyboards and episode direction on Lycoris Recoil and Heavenly Delusion |
| Character design | Keigo Sasaki | Blue Exorcist (series and film), co-character designer on Umamusume: Cinderella Gray, already at Cypic |
| Animation studio | Cypic | Formerly CygamesPictures, a CyberAgent subsidiary since February 2026 |
| Production committee | Shochiku, CyberAgent | Worldwide distribution through Crunchyroll, Muse Communication for South and Southeast Asia |
| Music | Not announced | No composer named as of 29 August 2026 |
Picking Takeuchi says something about the intended tone. He is an action animator before being a director, with a track record on series where swords and close combat matter, including Bleach, whose final part wraps up at the end of September 2026. At Anime Expo in Los Angeles, producer Koichi Yasuda summed up the brief given to the team: draw out "the absolute best of the original work", as reported by Anime News Network. The same outlet's reviewer, who saw the first twenty minutes, singles out a long take with a very mobile camera, sleek designs and a stylised violence he compares to Tarantino.
Who voices the Kagurabachi characters?
Five actors are announced as of 29 August 2026: Taihi Kimura (Chihiro Rokuhira), Tomokazu Seki (Kunishige Rokuhira), Katsuyuki Konishi (Togo Shiba), Miku Ito (Hinao) and Miyari Nemoto (Char Kyonagi). The last two were revealed on 28 August 2026, with their character visuals and trailers.
| Character | Japanese voice | Known for | Visual and trailer released on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chihiro Rokuhira | Taihi Kimura | Takeru Narihira in Onmyo Kaiten Re:Birth Verse; Best New Actor at the 2026 Seiyu Awards | 12 June 2026 |
| Kunishige Rokuhira | Tomokazu Seki | Gilgamesh (Fate/stay night), Rob Lucci (One Piece), Suneo (Doraemon) | 19 June 2026 |
| Togo Shiba | Katsuyuki Konishi | Kamina (Gurren Lagann), Tengen Uzui (Demon Slayer), Laxus (Fairy Tail) | 26 June 2026 |
| Hinao | Miku Ito | Miku Nakano (The Quintessential Quintuplets) | 28 August 2026 |
| Char Kyonagi | Miyari Nemoto | Piisuke (Sakamoto Days), Sazanka (Kunoichi Tsubaki) | 28 August 2026 |
Chihiro's visual released on 12 June 2026. His character trailer is on the SHOCHIKU anime channel, like those of Kunishige and Shiba.
Taihi Kimura is the gamble of this cast: a Ken Production actor, named Best New Actor at the 2026 Seiyu Awards, handed the title role of one of Jump's most anticipated series. Veterans surround him. Tomokazu Seki, the voice of Gilgamesh and Rob Lucci, plays the father, Kunishige, who only appears in memories but carries the whole story. He said at the announcement: "Kunishige is an important presence in the story. I'm doing my best to convey the manga's passion and the feelings of the characters in a way that only anime can."
If Katsuyuki Konishi's name rings a bell, it is because he is Kamina, the man behind the triangular glasses from Gurren Lagann, and Tengen Uzui in Demon Slayer. He plays Togo Shiba, the sorcerer and friend of the father who looks after Chihiro, and he made it known he did not wait for the audition to want the part: "I first read Kagurabachi when the first volume of the manga was released, and I knew right then that if it ever got an anime adaptation, I absolutely wanted to be a part of it."
Togo Shiba, voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi, visual from 26 June 2026.
The two 28 August announcements complete the core of the first arc. Miku Ito, known for Miku Nakano in The Quintessential Quintuplets, plays Hinao, the go-between at Cafe Haru Haru who connects clients with sorcerers. She says she aimed for a performance that was "relaxed and natural", so that the cafe feels like "a comforting place within the anime as well". Miyari Nemoto plays Char Kyonagi, the pursued little girl who crosses Chihiro's path. Her casting story is worth the detour: "When my manager told me in person at the agency that I'd been cast as Char, I let out such a loud noise that one of the staff members had to gently tell me to keep it down."
Click the image to watch Hinao's character trailer, with English subtitles, on the CyberAgent ANIME Global channel.
Click the image to watch Char Kyonagi's character trailer on the CyberAgent ANIME Global channel.
What is Kagurabachi about?
The story of Chihiro Rokuhira, son of a murdered swordsmith, who hunts down with the blade Enten the sorcerers who killed his father and stole the six enchanted swords he had forged. A dark, sharply cut revenge shonen, written and drawn by Takeru Hokazono in Weekly Shonen Jump since 19 September 2023.
The setting is a present-day Japan where sorcery exists and the state has its own sorcerers. Kunishige Rokuhira, the father, forged six enchanted swords during a past war, and they weighed on its outcome. Years later, a criminal organisation of sorcerers murders him and takes the six blades. Chihiro, who grew up in the forge, sets out with the seventh, Enten, the one his father left him. Shiba, a sorcerer and Kunishige's friend, goes with him; Hinao, at Cafe Haru Haru, brings him the clients' requests; Char, a little girl chased by men who, she says, hold "the strongest sword", sets the first arc in motion.
The Rokuhira forge, teaser image published on the anime's website.
What the teaser confirms is the reason the manga blew up: Hokazono draws his fights like storyboards, with wide shots, black silhouettes and blood laid down in flat shapes. The goldfish swimming around Chihiro on his character visual is not decoration, it is Enten's mark, and the studio kept it at the centre of the image. My prediction as a shop owner: Chihiro's high-collar black coat and gold-guard sword will be the most seen male cosplay at conventions in 2027.
What did the Kagurabachi Anime World Tour show?
The first twenty minutes of episode 1, screened at five conventions between 3 July and 22 August 2026: Los Angeles, Paris, Mannheim, Washington and New York. That was part 1 of the tour; part 2 ends in Japan in spring 2027 with a screening of the full episode.
| Date | Convention | City | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 July 2026 | Anime Expo | Los Angeles | World premiere, 4:45 to 6:05 PM local time, JW Marriott Diamond Ballroom; on stage, director Tetsuya Takeuchi, Taihi Kimura, producer Koichi Yasuda and manga editor Takurō Imamura |
| 9 July 2026 | Japan Expo | Paris (Villepinte) | 3:30 to 4:30 PM, Yuzu Stage; panel with Riki Azuma, cross-media producer of the manga, and Koichi Yasuda |
| 1 August 2026 | AnimagiC | Mannheim | 10:30 to 11:00 PM, Mozart Hall at the Rosengarten |
| 2 August 2026 | Otakon | Washington, D.C. | Added to the programme on 26 June 2026 |
| 22 August 2026 | Anime NYC | New York | Main Stage of the Javits Center |
Whether you were in Los Angeles, Paris or New York, you saw the same footage: the opening of the episode, the forge, Chihiro's first action sequences. Anime News Network's report dwells on the fluidity of the camera moves and on the sound work, and notes that editor Imamura, asked which scene he is most looking forward to, answered in two words, "curtain closure", with no further explanation before April 2027. The dates of part 2 of the tour have not been published.
Where does the Kagurabachi manga stand?
At twelve volumes in Japan, the twelfth out on 4 September 2026, and more than four million copies in circulation as of April 2026. In English, VIZ Media publishes the print volumes and MANGA Plus runs the chapters simultaneously with Japan. The manga took a four-week break this summer, as the author needed rest.
| Language | Publisher | Where the release stands on 29 August 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | Shueisha, Weekly Shonen Jump | 12 volumes, the twelfth on 4 September 2026; weekly chapters |
| English | VIZ Media (print), MANGA Plus (simultaneous chapters) | Volume 1 on 5 November 2024 |
| French | Kana | 9 volumes, volume 1 on 14 February 2025; volume 10 on 11 September 2026, with a collector's edition |
| Spanish | Planeta Cómic (Spain), Panini (Mexico), Ivrea (Argentina, Chile) | Ongoing |
The awards explain the anticipation around the anime: the 2024 Next Manga Award in the print category, nominations for the Shogakukan Manga Award, the Kodansha Manga Award and the 2025 Eisner Awards for Best International Edition, Asia, and a spot for Takeru Hokazono in Forbes Japan's 30 Under 30 list in August 2026. For an author on his first series, published for less than three years, that is a rare record.
If you want to read before watching, volume 1 is enough to cover what the world tour showed. The anime should start well before the end of what the published volumes cover, so there is no rush.
What has not been announced yet
Plenty, which is normal seven months before the broadcast. Here is the list I am watching, so that you do not mistake a rumour for an announcement:
- The exact premiere day in April 2027, and the Japanese broadcaster.
- The episode count and the season's structure: 12, 13, 24, nothing has been said.
- The composer and the opening and ending themes.
- The dubs, in English, Spanish or any other language: Crunchyroll has only confirmed the subtitled simulcast.
- The rest of the cast: the first arc's antagonists have no announced voice.
- The stops of part 2 of the world tour, beyond the closing screening in Japan in spring 2027.
This page will be updated at every announcement, the way we do it for the Jujutsu Kaisen seasons 3 and 4 page, with the same rule: we write what is confirmed and say what is not.
Shop-wise, I will be straight with you: we do not carry any Kagurabachi product yet, merchandise licences usually arrive with the anime, not before. In the meantime, anyone who wants a sword on their belt at the next convention will find options in the cosplay section, starting with the Roronoa Zoro costume at 49.99 euros, rated 4.9 out of 5 by 22 customers, the one among our swordsman costumes with the most reviews.
Frequently asked questions about the Kagurabachi anime
When exactly does the Kagurabachi anime come out?
In April 2027. The day has not been announced. Crunchyroll will simulcast each episode on the day of its Japanese broadcast, subtitled. As soon as a precise date is published on the anime's website, it will be added here.
How many episodes will Kagurabachi season 1 have?
It has not been communicated. Neither the episode count nor the broadcast format had been announced as of 29 August 2026. The numbers circulating online are guesses.
Will Kagurabachi have an English dub?
Nothing has been announced. Crunchyroll has confirmed the subtitled simulcast, not a dub. The platform dubs part of its simulcasts a few weeks behind; this page will be updated if Kagurabachi is one of them.
Which studio is animating Kagurabachi?
Cypic, the studio formerly known as CygamesPictures, renamed on 6 April 2026 after its acquisition by CyberAgent. It produced Princess Connect! Re:Dive, Brave Bang Bravern!, Umamusume: Cinderella Gray and The Summer Hikaru Died.
Should I read the manga before the anime?
No, the anime starts from the beginning. If you want a head start, volume 1, published by VIZ Media on 5 November 2024, covers the introduction shown during the world tour. Chapters are available on MANGA Plus as they come out in Japan.
Is Kagurabachi on Netflix or Disney+?
No. Only Crunchyroll is announced, worldwide except Japan, mainland China and the Koreas, with Muse Communication for South and Southeast Asia. No deal with Netflix or Disney+ has been communicated.
Images: ©Takeru Hokazono/SHUEISHA, Project Kagurabachi. Visuals and footage published by the production committee on the anime's website, the SHOCHIKU anime and CyberAgent ANIME Global channels, and by Crunchyroll.
Antoine, founder of Bakashop. Facts checked on 29 August 2026 against the anime's website, CyberAgent's and Crunchyroll's announcements, and the publishers' release schedules. Page updated at every new announcement: date, episodes, dubs.
