Anime Expo 2026 has been delivering announcements at a pace that is genuinely difficult to keep up with, and HIDIVE just threw another one onto the pile that the manga community is going to be talking about for a long time. Murciélago, Kana Yoshimura’s wildly popular and deliberately unhinged manga series, is officially getting a TV anime adaptation, set to premiere in 2027 and streaming exclusively on HIDIVE for subscribers across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.
For anyone unfamiliar with the source material, Murciélago has been running in Square Enix’s Young Gangan since August 2013, currently spans 28 volumes in Japan with 26 available internationally, and has surpassed 2.3 million copies in circulation worldwide. Those numbers reflect a fanbase that has been waiting patiently, and in some cases not so patiently, for this property to make the jump to animation for years.
The premise is exactly as chaotic as the reputation suggests. Kuroko Koumori is a former death row inmate who avoided execution by agreeing to work as a state sanctioned killer, tasked with eliminating threats too dangerous or too messy for conventional law enforcement to handle. Her partner is Hinako Tozakura, who looks completely harmless and happens to be one of the most gifted drivers alive. Together they operate as a duo that is equal parts competent and completely deranged, wading into the ugliest corners of society and coming out the other side somehow still functional. The manga has never once apologized for what it is, which is a significant part of why it has earned the following it has.
The production is being handled jointly by Satelight, known for Drops of God and PSYREN, and Staple Entertainment, the studio behind Tales of Wedding Rings and Watari-kun’s work. Chief Director Takashi Naoya, whose credits include Am I Actually the Strongest and Tales of Wedding Rings, is leading alongside Director Matsuo Asami, who has worked on I’m the Villainess, But I’m Being Doted on by the Crown Prince of the Neighboring Kingdom and Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table.
To mark the announcement, a teaser promotional video, a key visual, a commemorative illustration, and a special message from original creator Kana Yoshimura were all unveiled simultaneously today alongside personal comments from both directors. The full scope of what the adaptation will cover and how faithfully it intends to translate Yoshimura’s specific brand of mayhem remains to be seen, but the groundwork being laid looks serious, and 2027 suddenly has one more reason to pay attention to the HIDIVE slate.
