Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004 is a light novel series from writer Rocket Shokai and illustrator Mephisto.
Yen Press holds the English-language rights to the series and has released 5 out of the 7 novels released to date.
A TV anime adaptation was first announced back on July 16, 2023, from Studio Kai (Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube, Uma Musume Pretty Derby 3rd Season).
The anime was originally slated to premiere in October as part of the Fall 2025 anime season but was delayed to January 3, premiering in the jampacked Winter 2026 season which includes Frieren: Beyond Journey's End season 2, the third season of Jujutsu Kaisen, Oshi no Ko season 3, Hell's Paradise season 2, and more.
Hiroyuki Takashima (Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation episode director) is directing the series from scripts written by Kenta Ihara (Tsukimichi -Moonlit Fantasy-).
Takeshi Noda (DAN DA DAN) is handling character designs while Shunsuke Takizawa serves as music composer.
Sentenced to Be a Hero is a dark fantasy series built around a very intriguing premise: in this world, becoming a “hero” is not a reward, but the harshest punishment reserved for the most dangerous criminals.
The story follows Xylo Forbartz, a member of Penal Hero Unit 9004 who was convicted of the unthinkable, killing a goddess.
As part of his sentence, Xylo and his fellow convicts are thrown onto the front lines of a brutal war against the Demon King’s endless army and a deadly spreading contagion.
Furthermore, there’s a cruel twist to the criminal's punishment. When these artifically-created heroes die in battle, they are immediately resurrected and sent back to fight again, trapped in an endless cycle where even death provides no release.
Shokai and Mephisto's story takes a dramatic turn when Xylo crosses paths with a new goddess and forms an unexpected pact with her, a development that could finally offer a way to alter their doomed fate, and perhaps reshape the world itself.
The TV anime will feature an OP performed by SPYAIR, titled, "Kill the Noise."
Heroism—a punishment for only the worst criminals. Those sentenced to the fate of a hero are forced to fight at the front lines against the demon king's army—and if they die, they can expect to be revived and continue the battle. But when their leader, convicted of killing a goddess, meets another goddess himself, the contract they forge may be enough to change the world...