One of manga's most notorious action series is almost ready for its TV debut. The anime adaptation of Kana Yoshimura's Murcielago revealed its teaser trailer, a new key visual and its main voice cast earlier this week, ahead of its premiere in January 2027.
The teaser gives fans their first chance to hear the lead characters' voices, as killing requests keep landing on Kuroko's doorstep and the two leads tear through the streets of their city. The new visual shows Kuroko holding a pistol, with Chiyo standing behind her and Hinako riding a bicycle.
Murcielago Voice Cast
The main cast was revealed on the radio show Sumipe no Sukima, and the leads are:
- Hitomi Ueda as Kuroko Koumori
- Minori Suzuki as Hinako Tozakura
- Sumire Uesaka as Chiyo Yanaoka
Uesaka is a familiar voice for anime fans, with roles like Anastasia in The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls and Nonna in Girls und Panzer, and her casting as Chiyo should please longtime readers. Ueda and Suzuki have the bigger job, though, since the teaser makes it clear the series lives or dies on the chemistry between Kuroko and Hinako.
Who Is Kuroko Koumori?
Murcielago follows Kuroko Koumori, a former death-row inmate who killed 715 people. Instead of facing execution, she has been chosen through extraordinary legal measures to work as a state-sanctioned executioner, hunting down criminals the police cannot handle.
She is not alone. Her watchdog and partner is Hinako Tozakura, a seemingly innocent young woman whose driving skills are second to none, and the pair make one of the strangest duos in action manga. Kuroko also has a girlfriend in Chiyo Yanaoka, the only daughter of the boss of the Yanaoka-kai yakuza family.
The official English synopsis sums it up neatly:
Fight evil with evil. Kuroko Koumori, a former death-row inmate chosen through extraordinary legal measures to serve as a state-sanctioned executioner. By her side is her watchdog and partner, Hinako Tozakura, whose extraordinary driving skills are second to none. As one heinous crime after another lands on their doorstep, the strongest duo takes on the darkness lurking within society.
Kuroko's targets range from serial killers to cult leaders and corrupt officials, and the cases often spiral into full-blown action set pieces, with Hinako behind the wheel during chases that put most car movies to shame. Kuroko herself is both terrifying and goofy, flirting with almost every woman she meets one moment and wiping out a room full of armed thugs the next.
The manga is well known for mixing extreme violence, dark humor and yuri romance, and fans will be watching closely to see how much of that edge survives the jump to television.
The Staff Bringing Murcielago To Life
Matsuo Asami is directing the series at Satelight and Staple Entertainment. Takashi Naoya, who directed Am I Actually the Strongest?, serves as chief director and is also handling series composition. Kiyoshi Tateishi is designing the characters, while Masanori Akita and Yuichi Tsuchiya are composing the music.
When And Where To Watch
Murcielago premieres in January 2027 in Japan on TOKYO MX, Kansai TV and BS11. HIDIVE holds the exclusive streaming rights in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, so international fans will be able to follow along as it airs.
The adaptation was first announced in July, and the January window was confirmed during HIDIVE's panel at Anime NYC in August, where art boards from the series were also shown.
About The Manga
Yoshimura launched Murcielago in Square Enix's Young Gangan magazine back in 2013, and the series is still running more than a decade later. Square Enix released the 29th volume in Japan in July, and the manga has more than 2.3 million copies in circulation worldwide.
Yen Press publishes the series in English and released volume 27 last month, so there is plenty to catch up on before the anime begins. Yoshimura also wrote the spinoff Murcielago Byproduct Arana, which focused on the character Reiko Kuchiba and ran from 2018 to 2020.
Will you be checking out the Murcielago anime when it arrives on HIDIVE in January?
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