Kenshi Yonezu and MAPPA Release Short Anime for Soccer Theme 'Karasu'
The short anime extends a recurring creative partnership between Yonezu and MAPPA, and ties a chart-topping song directly to the World Cup broadcast on NHK, blending music, animation, and live sports coverage.
Reporting from 2 sources: Comic Natalie, Anime Anime.
Kenshi Yonezu and animation studio MAPPA have released a short anime for the song "Karasu," the 2026 NHK Soccer Theme. The video, published on YouTube on June 25, 2026, was produced by MAPPA and marks the third collaboration between the musician and the studio, following the Chainsaw Man opening theme "KICK BACK" (2022) and the theme for the Chainsaw Man - Reze Arc film "IRIS OUT" (2025). The short anime matches the first chorus of the song and uses a pencil-drawn visual style, showing a person earnestly chasing a ball while a crow soars overhead. The song itself was released digitally on June 15 and achieved six chart crowns in its first week, including No. 1 on the Billboard JAPAN Hot 100 and Oricon's weekly streaming and digital single rankings. It is Yonezu's 20th overall No. 1, the most for a solo artist in history. The short anime is timed to the FIFA World Cup 2026, with the song scheduled to air on NHK's soccer broadcasts.
The short anime for "Karasu" was produced by MAPPA, the studio behind Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Attack on Titan: The Final Season. This is the third time Yonezu and MAPPA have worked together; the previous two were the Chainsaw Man TV anime opening "KICK BACK" in 2022 and the theme for the 2025 theatrical film Chainsaw Man - Reze Arc, titled "IRIS OUT." The video uses a pencil-drawn aesthetic that matches the lyric "a world of manga" and depicts a single crow flying powerfully above a person chasing a soccer ball. The song was released on June 15 and dominated Japanese charts: on Billboard JAPAN it reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, Streaming Songs, Download Songs, and Hot Shot Songs charts, while on Oricon it topped the weekly streaming and digital single rankings. Yonezu now holds 20 No. 1 singles on Oricon, the most for a solo artist. The short anime is available on Yonezu's official YouTube channel. NHK plans to use "Karasu" during its World Cup coverage on NHK General and NHK BS Premium 4K.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Comic Natalie 米津玄師「烏」ショートアニメ公開、映像はMAPPAが手がける
- Anime Anime 米津玄師×MAPPA、NHKサッカーテーマ「烏」ショートアニメ公開 3度目のタッグが話題に