Darwin's Amazing Animals is marking its 20th anniversary with a sixth film adaptation, The Movie: Darwin's Amazing Animals! The World's Feline Friends, set for release on October 2, 2026. The program is also the subject of a collaboration with Kemono Friends, the first between the two since 2019, with goods going on sale from September 12, 2026 at the Ikimono Super World Exhibition in Tokyo.
NHK's nature documentary Darwin's Amazing Animals is in its 20th anniversary year, and the anniversary is being marked on two fronts. The sixth film adaptation, The Movie: Darwin's Amazing Animals! The World's Feline Friends, is set for release on October 2, 2026 and focuses on feline animals worldwide. Characters from the anime The Evening of Manul appear in the film, a first for the franchise. Voice actors Takayuki Yamada and Inori Minase, and singer MISIA, provided comments on the film.
The program has also received the Japan Zoological Society Education Award, the first TV program to do so, an academic recognition of its contribution to zoology education that coincides with the 20th anniversary.
A separate collaboration pairs the franchise with Kemono Friends, the first such tie-up since 2019. Original goods, including acrylic keychains featuring a Friends-ified Higejii, go on sale early from September 12, 2026 at the Ikimono Super World Exhibition in Tokyo.
Across both stories, the anniversary year is defined by the film release and the merchandise tie-up. The film's October 2, 2026 date and the goods' September 12, 2026 sale date are the concrete points of the current picture, with the 20th anniversary and the zoology award framing the program's standing as it reaches both.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every fact links the story it came from.
Kemono Friends and NHK nature documentary Darwin Comes! announced a collaboration, the first since 2019. Original goods, including acrylic keychains featuring a Friends-ified Higejii, will sell early from September 12, 2026 at the Ikimono Super World Exhibition in Tokyo.
NHK's nature documentary 'Darwin's Amazing Animals' will release its sixth film adaptation on October 2, 2026, focusing on feline animals worldwide. The film, titled 'The Movie: Darwin's Amazing Animals! The World's Feline Friends', marks the first appearance of characters from the anime 'The Evening of Manul'. Voice actors Takayuki Yamada and Inori Minase, and singer MISIA, provided comments. The program is also celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2026, having received the Japan Zoological Society Education Award, the first TV program to do so.