Image courtesy of DMM
©Tadatoshi Fujimaki / Shueisha, KILL BLUE Production Committee
DMM announced on Monday that the television anime of Tadatoshi Fujimaki’s Kill Blue manga will premiere globally on April 11, and will stream on seven streaming platforms in North America. The series will stream on Netflix, Crunchyroll, Amazon Prime Video, Rakuten Viki, Plex, the It’s Anime FAST Channel on Samsung TV Plus and Vizio WatchFree+, and on the It’s Anime YouTube channel in North America. The anime’s official English X/Twitter account adds that it will be streaming on Tubi, DirecTV, Xumo, and It’s Anime on Sling TV.
Viz Media is publishing the manga digitally and in print, and it describes the first volume:
Juzo Ogami’s a legend. Even among hit men, his name sends shivers down spines. There’s never been a job he couldn’t handle—that is, until the day he wakes up as a teenager! But how has his body transformed? To find out, he’ll have to infiltrate the one place he thought he’d never find himself in again…school!
Shunsuke Takeuchi voices the protagonist (adult) Juzo Ogami.
The cast also includes:
Hiro Kaburagi (Great Pretender, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness, My Little Monster) is directing the anime at CUE, and Miho Daidōji (animation director for Kuroko’s Basketball TV anime’s 3 seasons and Last Game film) is designing the characters. South Korean girl group aespa is performing the anime’s opening theme song “ATTITUDE,” while South Korean boy band RIIZE is performing the ending theme song “KILL SHOT.”
This is the first television series for which CUE is serving as the main animation production studio. Internet service and game developer DMM established CUE in 2023 with Production I.G’s former executive officer and production manager Rui Kuroki as president and CEO.
The anime’s official Japanese X/Twitter account announced on April 1 that the anime will premiere on TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TV Setouchi, TV Hokkaido, and TVQ on April 11, and on AT-X on April 17. The anime will also begin streaming in Japan on April 11.
Fujimaki launched the manga in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in April 2023, and ended it on September 1. The manga’s 13th and final compiled book volume shipped on December 4. A novel adaptation titled Kill Ao Secret Report (Kill Blue Secret Report) by Kiyoko Hoshi also shipped on December 4.
Viz Media will release the sixth volume in print on April 7. MANGA Plus is also releasing the manga digitally.
Fujimaki serialized his Kuroko’s Basketball manga in Weekly Shonen Jump from 2008-2014. The manga inspired three television anime series, two compilation anime films, a new anime film, a sequel manga, a light novel, a spinoff manga, and a series of stage plays. Viz Media also published the manga in English.
Source: Press release, Kill Blue anime’s English X/Twitter account
