Red River Anime Debuts After Nearly 30 Years With Kisses and Horror
The long-awaited anime adaptation of a 1990s shoujo manga landmark has arrived, and its first episode signals a faithful but tonally bold take that leans into both romance and horror.
Reporting from 1 source: Anime Anime.
The TV anime adaptation of Chie Shinohara's classic shoujo manga "Red River" premiered on July 7, 2026. Episode 1, directed by Kosuke Kobayashi and produced by Tatsunoko Production, opens with a kiss and includes horror sequences that surprised viewers. The series follows a modern Japanese girl summoned to the 14th-century Hittite Empire.
The first episode of the "Red River" TV anime aired on July 7, 2026, adapting the beloved shoujo manga by Chie Shinohara that ran from 1995 to 2002. Directed by Kosuke Kobayashi at Tatsunoko Production, the episode opens with a romantic kiss between protagonist Yuri and her boyfriend Hikyo, then pivots to horror as a woman's hand emerges from a bath drain and later from a puddle to drag Yuri into the ancient Hittite Empire. The episode's second kiss, between Yuri and Prince Kail, grants her the ability to understand the local language. Voice actors Miyabi Tachibana plays Yuri and Wataru Kato plays Kail. The manga previously won the 46th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shoujo category and was adapted into a Takarazuka Revue stage play in 2018.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.