Adaptation anime Akane-banashi was officially announced to air in 2026. This information was conveyed through a live broadcast of Shonen Jump Press on the YouTube channel, along with the release of the first teaser trailer and the list of staff and main voice actors involved.
Story and Teaser Trailer
Akane-banashi follows the journey of Akane Sakurazaka, a high school student determined to become a professional rakugoka. She begins her rakugo training with Shiguma Arakawa, her father's former teacher, and works her way up from zenza to shin'uchi. Along the way, Akane must also navigate school life and compete with other students in the rakugo world.
The trailer features early scenes and character voices as an early look at the anime production.
Akane-banashi Anime Production Staff
Studio ZEXCS will handle the animation production for Akane-banashi. The official announcement has mentioned the names of the main staff and seiyuu who will be involved in this project:
Staff:
- Director: Ayumu Watanabe
- Co-Director: Yu Harima
- Character Design / Chief Animation Director: Ki Tanaka
- Series Composition: Michihiro Tsuchiya
- Music: Akio Izutsu
- Rakugo Supervision: Kikuyo Hayashiya
- Animation Production: ZEXCS
Cast:
- Anna Nagase as Akane Sakurazaka
- Takuya Eguchi as Karashi Nerimaya
- Rie Takahashi as Hikaru Koragi
Special panel for anime Akane-banashi is also scheduled to attend Anime NYC 2025 at the end of this month. Shueisha's editor Seisuke Araki and TV Asahi's producer Kazuki Endo will be attending as representatives at the session.
About Akane-banashi
Akane-banashi is a manga by Yuki Suenaga (writer) and Takamasa Moue (illustrator). The series began serialization in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump in February 2022. The 17th volume was published by Shueisha on June 4, 2025.
The manga has received a number of recognitions, including:
- Nominees at the 47th Kodansha Manga Awards
- Nominees at the 16th Manga Taisho Awards
- Ranked #4 in the male readers category by Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2023
- New York Public Library's list of Best Books for Teens 2023
- Selected in the list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens 2024 by YALSA (American Library Association)
The English version of the manga is published digitally by Shueisha through MANGA Plus and Viz Media through the Shonen Jump service, and is available in physical print by Viz Media.
This anime adaptation is one of the latest projects from the Shueisha-published manga series scheduled for release in the coming years.
Source: Anime News Network, Shonen Jump Livestream
