Akane-banashi is the next major Shonen Jump franchise making its anime debut in 2026, and now a Spring release window has finally been set with a major update during the Jump Festa 2026 event this weekend. Shueisha is showing off all of their major franchises with the first looks at some of the new releases they have planned for 2026 and beyond, and that includes the highly anticipated debut of Akane-banashi. The Rakugo based series has been a hit with Shonen Jump ever since it made its debut, and now a whole new world of fans is about to find out why.
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The anime adaptation for Yuki Suenaga and Takamasa Moue’s Akane-banashi took the stage during Jump Festa 2026 with the biggest preview for the new series yet. Not only confirming that Akane-banashi will be making its premiere in Japan next April, but also revealing more of the central cast of characters who will be showing up as well. You can check out the newest trailer and poster released during Jump Festa 2026 for Akane-banashi below.
When Does Akane-banashi Come Out?
Akane-banashi will be premiering in Japan some time in April as part of the upcoming Spring 2026 anime schedule, but a concrete release date or international release plans have yet to be announced as of this time. 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.
Joining the previously announced members of the voice cast, Anna Nagase as Akane Osaki, Takuya Eguchi as Karashi Nerimaya, and Rie Takahashi as Hikaru Koragi, are the likes of newly revealed Jun Fukuyama as Shinta Arakawa, Nobunaga Shimazaki as Maikeru Arakawa, Chiaki Kobayashi as Koguma Arakawa, Yohei Azakami as Kyoji Arakawa, and Seiichiro Yamashita as Guriko Arakawa. But this is going to be an anime that fans will want to check out even if they don’t know anything about the world of Rakugo.
Why You Should Watch Akane-banashi
It takes quite a lot to stand out within the pages of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, and even more so when taking on as esoteric of a subject matter as Rakugo. Akane-banashi has somehow defied the odds thanks to the strength of not only its art and writing, but the way it paints Rakugo overall. Tapping into that sports like nature of the titular Akane wanting to make her way through the Rakugo world in order to avenge her father, it’s been a great series to see play out.
If the anime is able to tap into the same magic as Yuki Suenaga and Takamasa Moue’s original manga release, then we’re looking at what could be a generational anime release. It’s the kind of series with the potential to go viral with a successful premiere, now it’s just a matter of hoping it knocks it out of the park when Akane-banashi finally steps up to the plate next Spring.
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