Akane-banashi is the nest major franchise jumping out of the pages of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine to be making its anime debut, and updates for the now in the works anime will be coming sooner than you think. Yuki Suenaga and Takamasa Moue’s Akane-banashi has been one of the hidden gems in the magazine since it made its debut back in 2022, and has been steadily introducing readers to the art of rakugo. Now it’s about to introduce a whole new world of fans to the art as it gets ready for its own anime adaptation coming next year.
Just this month, Akane-banashi officially revealed that it’s going to be receiving its own anime adaptation and followed it up with a takeover during the Anime NYC 2025 weekend. But while there was not much new to show about the coming project considering it was just announced to be in the works a couple of weeks ago, it was confirmed that new information about the anime will be coming as part of Shueisha’s Jump Festa 2026 event coming later this December along with other big announcements from the magazine’s various franchises.
What’s Next for Akane-banashi?
Akane-banashi will be sharing new updates as part of the Jump Festa 2026 event coming to Japan over the December 20-21 weekend. This event is Shueisha’s biggest of the year overall as they not only share updates about their ongoing manga releases, but it’s also where many of their anime projects share significant updates about their futures. With the Akane-banashi anime preparing to release some time next year, this will also be the perfect time to showcase more of the project in the works such as members of the voice cast or potentially more promotional images. Maybe even a fuller trailer is possible too depending on when in 2026 the anime will actually premiere.
As for what has been revealed about the new anime thus far, Ayumu Watanabe will be directing the Akane-banashi anime for studio ZEXCS. Yu Harima will be serving as assistant director, and Kii Tanaka will be providing character designs and serve as chief animation director. Michihiro Tsuchiya will be overseeing the scripts for the new anime, Kikuhiko Hayashiya will be supervising its rakugo, and Akio Izutsu will be composing the music. The first additions to the anime’s voice cast include the currently confirmed likes of Anna Nagase as Akane Osaki, Takuya Eguchi as Karashi Nerimaya, and Rie Takahashi as Hikaru Koragi.
What Is Akane-banashi About?
Originally created by Yuki Suenaga and Takamasa Moue in 2022, Akane-banashi has been a relatively quiet hit within Shonen Jump. While it definitely has its fans thanks to the strength of the lead character (and even recently came off a three year timeskip with its latest arc), Akane-banashi is likely going to gain a lot more attention from the world with a successful anime adaptation. It’s story about rakugo is built with sound and visuals in mind, so it’s going to be interesting to see it all come to life in that way.
TV Asahi teases the Akane-banashi anime as such, “‘With only your voice and body—master the art.’ Akane Osaki, captivated since childhood by the magical performances of her father, Shinta Arakawa, witnesses a shocking incident during his decisive performance for promotion to shin’uchi (master rank). Six years later, now a high school student, she sets her sights on becoming a shin’uchi herself—pushing forward in the highly competitive world of rakugo. A passionate and authentic rakugo drama begins now!”
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