A special new visual and video for the Sentenced to Be a Hero TV anime series were released this past weekend, celebrating Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan on November 23, 2025. The upcoming anime is scheduled to premiere in Japan with an hour-long first episode in January 2026.
The visual spotlights the show’s three main characters — Xylo, Dotta, and Venetim — and their respective voice actors in the short video.
Hiroyuki Takashima (Symphogear XV co-action director, The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls U149 assistant director) is directing the anime series, with Yoshitake Nakaoji (Symphogear XV co-action director) as assistant director and creature designer, Kenta Ihara (Ishura) as series composer and scriptwriter, Noda Takeshi (DAN DA DAN sub-character designer on Episode 1, 5, 6 et al.) as character designer, Nobutaka Ike (Belle background art director) as setting designer, and TRYTONELABO’s Shunsuke Takizawa (Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included) as music composer. Studio KAI is handling the animation production.
Meanwhile, the anime’s main voice cast stars:
- • Yohei Azakami as Xylo Forbartz
- • Mayu Izuka as Teoritta
- • Shizuka Ishigami as Patausche Kivia
- • Shun Horie as Dotta Luzulas
- • Shunichi Toki as Venetim Leopool
The dark fantasy light novel series is written by Rocket Shoukai and illustrated by Mephisto. It began as a web novel on Kadokawa’s Kakuyomu website on October 28, 2020. Kadokawa then published the light novels on September 17, 2021 and has released seven volumes as of January 2025. An eighth volume will be published in Japan on January 17, 2026. Yen Press licensed the light novels for English release under its Yen On imprint.
A manga adaptation by Natsumi Inoue was launched on Dengeki Comic Regulus on March 25, 2022. Two tankobon volumes have been released as of April 2024. The manga is published digitally in English by Kadokawa’s BookWalker website.
Crunchyroll will stream the Sentenced to Be a Hero anime series in select countries and territories worldwide. It describes the main premise as:
In a world where heroism is a punishment, Xylo Forbartz, a condemned goddess killer, battles endless hordes of monstrous abominations as part of Penal Hero Unit 9004. Death is no escape, only a cycle of resurrection and relentless combat. But when Xylo encounters a mysterious new goddess, their unlikely alliance sparks a rebellion that could shatter the chains of eternal punishment.
Sources: Sentenced to Be a Hero Official Twitter, Crunchyroll News