Kadokawa has announced the TV anime adaptation of Rocket Shokai’s Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004 light novel series will premiere with a one-hour special on January 3 at 10:00 p.m. JST on Tokyo MX and Amazon Prime Video. The second episode will air on January 15 across 28 channels in Japan.
In addition, a new trailer was released alongside a new key visual for the Couveunge Forest location. The trailer confirms that SPYAIR performs the theme song “Kill the Noise.”
The new cast members include:
- Yūichi Nakamura as Rhyno
- Saori Ōnishi as Frenci Mastibolt
Originally, Sentenced to Be a Hero was initially planned to premiere in October 2025.
The cast and staff for the anime include:
Cast
- Yōhei Azakami as Xylo Forbartz
- Mayu Iizuka as Teoritta
- Shizuka Ishigami as Patausche Kivia
- Shun Horie as Dotta Luzulas
- Shunichi Toki as Venetim Leopool
- Yōji Ueda as Noragalle Senridge
- Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Tatsuya
- Jun Fukushima as Tsav
- Shōya Chiba as Jayce
- Yōko Hikasa as Neely
Staff
- Director: Hiroyuki Takashima
- Studio: Studio KAI
- Assistant Director: Yoshitake Nakakōji
- Scriptwriter: Kenta Ihara
- Character Designer: Takeshi Noda
- Music Composer: Shunsuke Takizawa
- Worldbuilding: Nobutaka Ike
- Prop Designer: Kouta Sugawa
Rocket Shokai’s hit novel series debuted in October 2020 on Kadokawa’s Kakuyomu site. Since then, Kadokawa publishes the series with illustrations by Mephisto.
Lastly, here’s an overview of the novel series, via publisher Yen Press:
Heroism—a punishment for only the worst criminals. Those sentenced to the fate of a hero are forced to fight at the front lines against the demon king’s army—and if they die, they can expect to be revived and continue the battle. But when their leader, convicted of killing a goddess, meets another goddess himself, the contract they forge may be enough to change the world…
