← all stories
The Vermilion Mask
The Vermilion Mask anime premieres October 10, 2026, with Crunchyroll streaming it as it airs and screening it in U.S. theaters on September 21 as part of the Anime Nights program. Two cours are confirmed.
Synthesized from 5
Yomimono stories · updated
Sep 15
The Vermilion Mask is an anime adaptation of Dr.Poro and Nabana Naba's manga, which launched in Shonengahosha's Young King Ours in February 2021 and had eight compiled volumes as of July 2025. Orange's emaqi publishes it in English. The anime premieres on October 10, 2026, and Crunchyroll will stream it as it airs. The series runs two cours. Tetsuaki Watanabe directs at 100Studio, with Daisuke Ohigashi on series composition, Hisashi Higashijima on character designs, and Arisa Okehazama composing music.
The main cast centers on Taihi Kimura as protagonist Peru d'Arrest, a young mask maker who loses control of a cursed mask and kills his master and comrades. A second trailer added six cast members: Kenji Nojima as Hien, Aoi Koga as Lasgarl, Yuki Shin as Clown, Akihisa Wakayama as Rinne, Aya Endo as The Mask of Necromancy, and Yui Horie as Master. It also previewed the opening theme "Firestarter" by MAN WITH A MISSION and the ending theme "Koe" by yutori.
Crunchyroll will screen the series in U.S. theaters on September 21, nine days before the October 10 broadcast debut. The one-night Anime Nights event at 7 p.m. local time in select U.S. and Canada theaters shows The Vermilion Mask alongside Black Clover Season 2, Overgeared, Firefly Wedding, and PSYREN, all with Japanese audio and English subtitles.
Writer Taichi Kimura described script meetings that run five hours, from 5 PM to 10 PM, with repeated drafts and rewrites, a process he called rare and one he tied to the original creator's deep involvement in the anime production. Taihi Kimura said his first impression of the story was that it is interesting, sad, and painful.
Key facts
- Premiere date
- October 10, 2026 ↗
- Streaming
- Crunchyroll streams the series as it airs ↗
- Theatrical screening
- U.S. screening on September 21 as part of Crunchyroll Anime Nights, nine days before the broadcast debut ↗
- Director and studio
- Tetsuaki Watanabe directs at 100Studio ↗
- Series composition
- Daisuke Ohigashi ↗
- Character designs
- Hisashi Higashijima ↗
- Lead voice actor
- Taihi Kimura as Peru d'Arrest ↗
- Theme songs
- Opening "Firestarter" by MAN WITH A MISSION and ending "Koe" by yutori ↗
- Manga source
- Dr.Poro and Nabana Naba's manga launched in Shonengahosha's Young King Ours in February 2021, with eight compiled volumes as of July 2025; Orange's emaqi publishes it in English ↗
Timeline
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself
sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every
fact links the story it came from.
Facts
- Release
- tv · October 10 · 2026-09-10
- Release
- movie · September 21 · U.S. · 2026-09-10
- Release
- tv · October 2026 · 2026-07-04
- Licensed by
- Crunchyroll (streaming) · 2026-09-10
- Licensed by
- Crunchyroll (global) · 2026-07-04
- Noted
- screened at Anime Nights on September 21 with Japanese audio and English subtitles · 2026-09-02
- Announced
- upcoming anime · 2026-08-17
Connections
Structured graph also available as JSON at /public/entities/the-vermilion-mask.
CC BY 4.0.
Claim activity
When a claim about The Vermilion Mask was confirmed, debunked, or disputed against
open-web sources. The record stays even after a claim drops off the facts list.
- Confirmed tv October 10 Sep 19 · source
- Confirmed upcoming anime Sep 6 · source
- Debunked Taichi Kimura writes The Vermilion Mask Sep 6 · source
- Confirmed tv October 2026 Sep 3 · source
All coverage
Sep 10
The anime adaptation of Dr.Poro and Nabana Naba's The Vermilion Mask manga will premiere on October 10, with Crunchyroll streaming the series as it airs and screening it early in U.S. theaters on September 21. A second main trailer previews the opening theme "Firestarter" by MAN WITH A MISSION and the ending theme "Koe" by yutori. Six cast members were added: Kenji Nojima as Hien, Aoi Koga as Lasgarl, Yuki Shin as Clown, Akihisa Wakayama as Rinne, Aya Endo as The Mask of Necromancy, and Yui Horie as Master. Taihi Kimura leads as Peru d'Arrest. The anime runs two cours. Tetsuaki Watanabe directs at 100Studio, with Daisuke Ohigashi on series composition, Hisashi Higashijima on character designs, and Arisa Okehazama composing music. The manga launched in Shonengahosha's Young King Ours in February 2021, and Orange's emaqi publishes it in English.
Sep 2
Crunchyroll announced Tuesday that its Anime Nights theatrical program will screen five fall anime on September 21 ahead of their October premieres. The one-night event at 7 p.m. local time in select U.S. and Canada theaters will show Black Clover Season 2, The Vermilion Mask, Overgeared, Firefly Wedding, and PSYREN with Japanese audio and English subtitles. Tickets are on sale now.
Anime Nights is a monthly program held on the third Monday of each month across more than 280 theaters, with participating chains including AMC Theatres, Regal, Cinemark, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Harkins Theatres, Cineplex, and Landmark Cinemas. The September event follows the program's August 17 screening of Your Letter.
Black Clover Season 2 will debut on TV Tokyo in October, with Ayataka Tanemura returning to direct and PIERROT FILMS handling animation. The original Black Clover anime ended in March 2021 with its 170th episode. The other four titles premiere through October: Overgeared on October 2, Firefly Wedding on October 9 on Fuji TV's Noitamina block, The Vermilion Mask in October with two parts, and PSYREN in October.
Aug 17
At Anime Expo, Anime Herald interviewed the two Kimura team members behind the upcoming anime The Vermilion Mask. Taichi Kimura, a writer on the project, described script meetings that run five hours, from 5 PM to 10 PM, with repeated drafts and rewrites. He noted this process is rare and stems from the original creator's deep involvement in the anime production. Voice actor Taihi Kimura, who plays the character Peru, said his initial impression of the story was that it is interesting, sad, and painful, and he wants to convey Peru's attitude of challenging obstacles, his willingness to forgive, and his desire to be forgiven. Taichi Kimura said the story develops quickly and is full of surprises, while Taihi Kimura called it dynamic and dramatic from the start. The interview also covered Taihi Kimura's ten years of restaurant kitchen experience, his interest in vintage clothing from unknown designers, and his path to voice acting through a high school announcing club and a Koshien game announcement. Taichi Kimura mentioned that Dr. Poro, the manga's artist, drew inspiration from Baki for action sequences. Taihi Kimura also noted he is playing Chihiro Rokuhira in Kagurabachi this season.
Jul 4
The staff for the anime adaptation of Dr. Poro and Nabana Naba's manga The Vermilion Mask revealed the first main trailer with English subtitles during Crunchyroll's panel at Anime Expo 2026 on July 3. The announcement also confirmed the main Japanese voice cast. Taihi Kimura voices protagonist Peru d'Arrest, a young mask maker who loses control of a cursed mask and kills his master and comrades. Yuuki Yamamoto plays Sonarue Maywood, Kazuki Ura plays Mok Sharib, Takanori Hoshino plays Gouon, Wataru Komada plays Totoque, Junya Enoki plays Zent, Kazuhiko Inoue plays Gaston, and Akio Otsuka voices the Mask of the Warrior God. The anime is directed by Tetsuaki Watanabe at 100Studio (also called One Double-O or WOW Studio), with Gai Hazako as assistant director. Daisuke Ohigashi handles series composition, Hisashi Higashijima designs the characters, and Arisa Okehazama composes the music. The series will premiere in October 2026 and run for two cours. Crunchyroll will stream the anime as it airs. The manga began serialization in Young King Ours in February 2021 and has eight compiled volumes as of July 2025.
Jul 3
Crunchyroll announced during its Anime Expo panel that it will stream Fate Rewinder, Overgeared, The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All, The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 5, Gacha Girls Corps, Magical Buffs: The Support Caster is Stronger Than He Realized!, The Vermilion Mask, Dengeki Daisy, and Aoashi Season 2. The company also revealed staff for the Ghost of Tsushima: Legends anime and the Here U Are anime and Solo Leveling: Beyond the System film.