Crunchyroll’s panel at Anime Expo unveiled one of its bloodiest cards. The production committee behind the animated adaptation of The Vermilion Mask released its first main trailer, confirming that this intense redemption story will debut on Japanese television in October 2026. To ease international fans, the series has secured simultaneous distribution and will be divided into two consecutive arcs to cover as much story as possible.

100Studio (also known as WOW Studio) takes charge of bringing the brutality of the manga to the screen. Tetsuaki Watanabe directs, supported by Gai Hazako as assistant, working alongside Daisuke Ōhigashi on script composition. The visual aspect promises fluidity thanks to character designs by Hisashi Higashijima, while the tense atmosphere is backed by original music by Arisa Okehazama and impeccable sound direction by Fumiyuki Go.

Voice Cast

• Taihi Kimura (rising industry actor) as Peru d’Arrest.
• Yūki Yamamoto (rising industry actress) as Sonarue Maywood.
• Kazuki Ura (Yoichi Isagi in Blue Lock) as Mok Sharib.
• Takanori Hoshino (Jack Atlas in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s) as Gouon.
• Wataru Komada (Jyuto Iruma in Hypnosis Mic) as Totoque.
• Junya Enoki (Yuji Itadori in Jujutsu Kaisen) as Zent.
• Kazuhiko Inoue (Kakashi Hatake in Naruto) as Gaston.
• Akio Ōtsuka (Iskandar in Fate/Zero) as Mask of the Warrior God.

The weight of guilt and a cursed mask

The premise of this franchise plunges us into absolute tragedy. It all begins with the original manga written by Dr.Poro and illustrated by Nabana Naba, serialized in the pages of Shōnengahōsha’s Young King Ours magazine since February 2021. The story follows Peru, an apprentice mask maker who, under the influence of a cursed relic, loses control and massacres his master and colleagues. Devastated by his actions, the protagonist embarks on a one-way journey to hunt down and destroy each of the legendary creations once forged by his mentor, crossing paths with unlikely allies in a world hanging by a thread.

Do you think the studio can avoid extreme censorship to maintain the graphic brutality that defines this dark revenge journey?