Sparks of Tomorrow Director Shares Video Message Ahead of July Premiere
The series marks director Minoru Ōta's first directorial project and represents Kyoto Animation's latest adaptation of its own award-winning novel, continuing the studio's return to production.
Reporting from 2 sources: Anime News Network, OtakuKart Anime.
Director Minoru Ōta released a video message for the upcoming television anime adaptation of Hiro Yuki's novel Sparks of Tomorrow. The series will premiere on July 5, 2026, streaming worldwide on Netflix on Sundays at 11:00 p.m. JST, and airing on Tokyo MX, BS11, ABC TV, and TV Aichi in Japan. The cast includes Yūma Uchida as Kihachi Sakamoto, Sora Amamiya as Inako Momokawa, Kōki Uchiyama as Yosuke Mizoe, and Daisuke Ono as Seiroku Sakamoto. Ōta, whose previous credits include key animation for Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions and Liz and the Blue Bird, is directing his first project. Tatsuhiko Urahata oversees series scripts, Kohei Okamura handles character design, Takaaki Suzuki is in charge of worldview setting, and Hitomi Kotō composes the music. The novel originally won an honorable mention in the full-length novel category at the 8th Kyoto Animation Awards in 2017. It was published under Kyoto Animation's KA Esuma Bunko label in 2018. The story is set in 1907 Kyoto and follows 15-year-old Inako, who meets the free-spirited Kihachi and searches with him for a book called the Electrical Catalog to avoid an arranged marriage.
Ōta previously worked as a key animator on Kyoto Animation titles such as Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions and Liz and the Blue Bird, and served as episode director for CITY The Animation and Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S. The opening theme song is performed by Luna Goami, while Ginger Root performs the ending theme. The anime will have a world premiere tour with stops in Japan, the U.K., Thailand, and North America; the North American premiere takes place at Anime Expo on July 3. Additional cast members include Shunsuke Takeuchi, Minako Kotobuki, Yō Taichi, Natsumi Kawaida, Kazuki Ura, Daisuke Hirakawa, Hiroshi Yanaka, Mayumi Asano, Daichi Endō, and Ayahi Takagaki playing two roles. The novel won an honorable mention in the full-length novel category at the 8th Kyoto Animation Awards held in May 2017, and was the only entry to win any award that year. Kyoto Animation originally announced the adaptation in July 2018.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.