Ninja and Yakuza Anime Premieres Oct

Key visual

The TV anime Ninja and Yakuza is set to premiere on Nippon TV this October. It has been announced that Chiaki Kobayashi, Katsuyuki Konishi, and Sumire Uesaka will be part of the main cast. Alongside the announcement, the first promotional video, staff information, and key visuals have also been revealed.

Many stills from the first trailer have also been released

The anime is based on the battle action manga by Shinsuke Kondo, currently serialized on Kodansha’s Comic Days. Set in modern times, the story takes place in a world where the centuries-old conflict between ninjas and gangsters, dating back to the Edo period, still rages on. It follows Shino Tanaka, a ninja who has lost his smile due to past trauma, and Kiwami Kimura, a top-tier company employee who secretly rules the criminal underworld. Unaware of each other’s true identities, the two bond over their shared love of shoujo anime, while the clash between ninjas and gangsters escalates. The latest volume, Volume 15, will be released on May 14.

Kobayashi plays the protagonist, a ninja who lost his smile after his family was taken by the Yakuza when he was a child, while Konishi plays Terumura, the secret boss of the Takemoto-gumi, who plots to eliminate ninjas to create a place for lonely Yakuza. Uesaka plays Duct Tape, one of Terumura’s group of eight most powerful Yakuza in Japan, “The Eight Yakuza of Destruction,” who is nicknamed the “Prince of Murder” and leads the group of assassins “Glass Children.”

The first promotional video features a scene where a ninja unleashes his “Anjin” technique against a gangster. It also includes voice-overs of Terumura, Duct Tape, the members of the righteous ninja group Teito Hachinin, to which the protagonist belongs, and the Hakkyokudou of Destruction.

The staff includes director Yasuhiro Watanabe (FAIRY TAIL: 100 Years Quest), series composition by Keiichiro Ochi (The Quintessential Quintuplets), and character design by Noriyuki Matsutake (Dimension W). The series will be produced by Studio Deen, known for Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Wayfarer’s Journey.

The newly released key visual features members of the Teito Eight Ninjas and the Hakkyokudou of Destruction, led by Terumura, with the striking tagline: “Shall we decide… Ninja or Yakuza? Who will live and who will perish!!!”

Full comments from Kobayashi, Konishi, and Uesaka have also been released.

[Chiaki Kobayashi (role of Ninja Tanaka)]

“Ninja and Yakuza” is becoming an anime… I still can’t believe this isn’t just a dream! That’s how shocked and excited I was when I heard it would be airing on terrestrial TV. I’ll do my best to take down evildoers in the underworld, so please look forward to the broadcast!”

[Konishi Katsuyuki (role of Terumura Yakuza)]

“When I first read Ninja and Yakuza, I was instantly hooked by how exciting it was! I thought it was amazing, but honestly, I never imagined it would actually get an anime adaptation—seriously!!!! I hope everyone’s as excited as I am!”

[Uesaka Sumire (role of Duct Tape)]

“It’s a thrilling story full of intense, heart-pounding battles! When I played Gamte, I gave it my all—fighting as if there were no tomorrow! Please support the wild, passionate Gamte and his reckless determination!”