TV anime adaptation of Akane-banashi confirmed for 2026 broadcast
An anime television series adaptation has been announced for the critically acclaimed manga, Akane-banashi.
The announcement was made on Monday, the 4th of August, by the Japanese television network, TV Asahi.
Akane-banashi, written by Yūki Suenaga and illustrated by Takamasa Moue, is a manga series that has been serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump since February of 2022.
The story is centered on the traditional Japanese art of rakugo, a form of comedic and dramatic monologue storytelling where a lone performer, using only a fan and a hand towel as props, recounts a long and complex story.
The plot follows a high school girl named Akane Osaki, who aims to reach the highest rank of “shin’uchi” in the competitive and traditionalist world of rakugo to avenge her father.
The manga has received numerous accolades and nominations, including for the prestigious Kodansha Manga Award and the Manga Taisho awards, and has been praised for its authentic depiction of the art form.
The new anime will be directed by Ayumu Watanabe at the animation studio ZEXCS.
Kii Tanaka will serve as the character designer and chief animation director, with Michihiro Tsuchiya overseeing the scripts.
The main character, Akane Osaki, will be voiced by Anna Nagase.
She will be joined by Takuya Eguchi as the student rakugo champion, Karashi Nerimaya, and Rie Takahashi as the voice actress, Hikaru Koragi.
To promote the new series to an international audience, a special panel will be held at the Anime NYC 2025 convention later this month.
The panel will be attended by a Shueisha editor and a producer from TV Asahi.
The Akane-banashi anime is scheduled to air in 2026 on TV Asahi’s “IMAnimation” programming block.
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