The World Is Dancing anime premiered on July 2, 2026, and is currently airing. Episode 3 materials and a new cast member have been released, and a collaboration with the Kanze Noh Theater is scheduled for late July.
The World Is Dancing is a television anime adaptation of Kazuto Mihara's manga, produced by Shochiku and CyberAgent with animation by Cypic (formerly Cygames Pictures). Toshimasa Kuroyanagi directs, with character design by Keigo Sasaki. The series is a fictionalized origin story for Zeami, the developer of Noh theater, following a boy named Oniyasha born into a family of sarugaku performers in 1374 Kyoto.
The anime premiered on July 2 on Tokyo MX and KBS Kyoto, with an early streaming debut on June 29 via Prime Video Japan and HIDIVE. HIDIVE streams the series in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, and has announced an English dub. The first episode received a positive review from Anime Feminist, which praised its balance of historical density and family drama.
Cast additions include Yumiri Hanamori as Oniyasha, Simba Tsuchiya as Ishiya, Maaya Uchida as Kogane, Romi Park as Zōjirō, Yoji Matsuda as Inuo, Miyuki Sawashiro as Shirabyoshi, and Yuusuke Kobayashi as Shin'emon. The production enlisted Kanze-school Noh performer Reijiro Tsumura as a supervisor for Noh choreography. Takehiko Inoue, a former assistant to Mihara, drew a congratulatory illustration. A collaboration event with the Kanze Noh Theater is scheduled for late July.
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Episode 6 of The World Is Dancing sees Oniyasha lose his lion-dance competition against Zojiro of the Shinza Dengaku troupe, leaving the shogun ready to give up on his protege. Saved by Zojiro's sportsmanship and a few gracious audience members, Oniyasha still considers abandoning dance entirely, until a reunion with the village boy Kogane reframes his calling.
Otakon announced it will host cast and staff from the television anime of Kazuto Mihara's The World Is Dancing, the anime adaptation of Dr.Poro and Nabana Naba's The Vermillion Mask, and Orange's Trigun Stargaze. The guests will participate in panels at the convention, which runs from July 31 to August 2 in Washington, D.C.
Episode 4 of The World Is Dancing follows Oniyasha as he prepares for his role as the Senzai dancer in the Okina performance, sneaking out at night to practice alone. The episode culminates in his dance on stage, rendered with a locked-in camera and a composited 3D rig that resembles rotoscoped animation. The review notes that Kan'nami's restrained choreography has a powerful emotional effect, though the reviewer expected more from the climactic scene.
Anime News Network's review of the first three episodes of The World Is Dancing praises the show's unity of character, theme, and visual execution. The series follows the young playwright Zeami Motokiyo on his journey to understand the emotional roots of art. Community scores are high, with episodes 2 and 3 earning 4.3 out of 5.
The TV anime World Is Dancing has released advance cuts and the ending video for episode 3, and announced Yuusuke Kobayashi will join the cast as Shin'emon, a bodyguard. The episode, titled 'You Have Your Own Good Points,' sees the Kanze troupe perform at a historic festival. The ED theme 'Namae no Nai Hana' by hockrockb is also out. A collaboration event with the Kanze Noh Theater is scheduled for late July.
Takehiko Inoue, creator of Slam Dunk, drew a congratulatory illustration for the TV anime World Is Dancing, which premiered July 2. The illustration depicts protagonist Oniyasha in Inoue's style. Inoue was a former assistant to original author Kazuto Mihara. The opening video, set to Macaroni Enpitsu's "Shuyo", transitions from black-and-white to color. The anime is directed by Toshimasa Kuroyanagi and produced by Cypic, with Yumiri Hanamori voicing Oniyasha.
Hidive announced English dub release dates for five anime, including The Dangers in My Heart: The Movie, The Forsaken Saintess and Her Foodie Roadtrip in Another World, and The World Is Dancing. The dubs for Hell Mode season 2 and The Forsaken Saintess will premiere at Anime Expo 2026.
Anime News Network's Summer 2026 Anime Preview Guide is now live, featuring first-episode reviews from a roster of critics. This season, the guide expands to cover the first two episodes of each show and includes an increased number of reviewers. The guide is sponsored by Crunchyroll and will be updated multiple times daily over the next two weeks.
Anime Feminist reviews the first episode of The World Is Dancing, a historical fiction series set in 14th-century Kyoto. The premiere follows 11-year-old Oniyasha, son of a sarugaku theatre troupe leader, who resents dance due to his father's harsh training. After seeing a woman dance freely, he becomes inspired to explore the meaning of dance. The series is a fictionalized origin story for Zeami, the developer of Noh theatre.
Shochiku unveiled the final trailer, ending theme artist, and new cast members for the TV anime of Kazuto Mihara's The World Is Dancing manga. The anime premieres on Tokyo MX and KBS Kyoto on July 2, with HIDIVE streaming the first episode on June 29.
The television anime adaptation of Kazuto Mihara's manga The World Is Dancing will begin streaming on Amazon Prime Video in Japan on June 29, ahead of its July 2 television broadcast. HIDIVE will stream the first episode on the same day, and the second episode will have its world premiere at Anime Expo on July 2. The anime is directed by Toshimasa Kuroyanagi at Cygames Pictures.
HIDIVE announced it will stream the television anime adaptation of Kazuto Mihara's manga The World Is Dancing as part of its Summer 2026 simulcast season. The series, which explores the origins of Noh theater through the eyes of a young boy who would become the art form's co-founder Zeami, will debut on June 29 with an early premiere of its first episode. A second episode will have its world premiere during Anime Expo 2026 on July 2. The anime is produced by Shochiku and CyberAgent, with animation by Cypic (formerly Cygames Pictures). Toshimasa Kuroyanagi directs, with character design by Keigo Sasaki. The voice cast includes Yumiri Hanamori as Oniyasha, Simba Tsuchiya as Ishiya, Maaya Uchida as Kogane, and Romi Park as Zōjirō. The production has enlisted Kanze-school Noh performer Reijiro Tsumura as a supervisor for Noh choreography, with additional choreography by Kaiji Moriyama and Mikiko Kawamura. HIDIVE will stream the series exclusively in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.
The staff of the television anime adaptation of Kazuto Mihara's manga The World Is Dancing released a music trailer and announced two new cast members on Friday. Veteran voice actor Yoji Matsuda, known for his role as Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke, joins the cast as Inuo, a mysterious man who appears and disappears while influencing the protagonist Oniyasha. Matsuda stated that this is his first regular role in a serialized TV anime. Miyuki Sawashiro, whose credits include Fujiko Mine in Lupin the Third and Kurapika in Hunter x Hunter (2011), voices Shirabyoshi, a woman struggling to survive in difficult circumstances. The trailer also previews vocal insert songs performed by Yumiri Hanamori as Oniyasha and Romi Park as Zojiro. The anime is set to premiere on July 2 on Tokyo MX and KBS Kyoto in Japan, with additional broadcasts on other networks starting July 3. Toshimasa Kuroyanagi directs the series at Cygames Pictures, with character designs by Keigo Sasaki. The story follows a boy named Oniyasha born into a family of sarugaku theater performers in 1374, who would later shape the art of Noh and be remembered as Zeami.
The television anime adaptation of Minoru Toyoda's manga Draw This, Then Die! will premiere on July 3. The first promotional video, released on Friday, reveals and previews the opening theme song "Isho" by Tatsuya Kitani. The series will air on NTV's "Friday Anime Night" programming block at 11:30 p.m. JST. The anime is directed by Hiroaki Akagi at Shinei Animation, with series scripts overseen by Hiroko Fukuda. The cast includes Akira Sekine as Ai Yasumi, Saori Hayami as Rei Teshima, and Inori Minase as Hikaru Sekiryū, among others. The manga, which launched in Shogakukan's Monthly Shonen Sunday in November 2021, won an award at the 70th Shogakukan Manga Awards in January 2025 and the 16th Manga Taisho awards in 2023. Seven Seas Entertainment has licensed the manga for English release.