The upcoming television anime adaptation of Atamoto's Tanuki to Kitsune has released its first promotional video, offering a look at the series' animation and confirming its primary voice cast. The project, which celebrates the franchise's 10th anniversary, features Misaki Kuno as the titular Tanuki and Nao Tōyama as the mischievous Kitsune. They are joined by Toshiyuki Morikawa as Ōkami, while Maria Naganawa and Takuma Nagatsuka round out the cast as Usagi, Kuma, and the narrator.
Production is being handled by Akatsuki Media Studio, with Tommy Hino directing and Rika Kihara overseeing the scripts. The series is scheduled to premiere on October 4, airing as part of the 'Animori' programming block on TV Tokyo and its affiliates every Sunday morning. The story follows the lighthearted, daily mountain life of a slightly scatterbrained raccoon dog and his teasing fox companion.
This television series follows a previous run of web anime shorts that debuted in 2018. The franchise, which began as a series of posts on X, has grown over the last decade to include 10 manga volumes and three picture books with 1.35 million copies in circulation. A new entry in the series, Tanuki to Kitsune Yurutto, is also set to release its second volume on October 15.
Why it matters: With the franchise already boasting a massive merchandise presence and established popularity on social media, this transition to a recurring television slot represents a shift in the property's distribution strategy. It remains to be seen how the episodic nature of the original shorts will translate into the pacing of this new television format.
