Crunchyroll confirmed at New York Comic Con that the webtoon Teenage Mercenary (known as NyΕ«gaku YΕhei in Japan) is currently in production at studio J.C. Staff. The adaptation, which follows the transition of a former child soldier into a high school student, is slated for a 2027 broadcast.
The project features a notable creative team, with Manabu Ono, known for his work on Sword Art Online: Alicization, serving as director and script supervisor. Koji Haneda is handling character designs, while Hiroyuki Sawano has been tapped to compose the series' score. Hayate is credited as the production studio.
Originally launched on Naver Webtoon in 2020, the source material has seen massive international growth, boasting over 2.84 billion views across 10 languages as of September 2026. The series also dominated the LINE Manga annual rankings in both 2023 and 2024, cementing its status as a major title in the webtoon-to-anime pipeline.
Why it matters: The involvement of industry veterans like Ono and Sawano suggests a significant investment in the project's production value, though it remains to be seen how the series will balance its high-octane mercenary roots with the grounded high school setting. Which aspect of the source material are you most looking forward to seeing adapted?
