A TV anime adaptation of The World Is Dancing has been officially announced for broadcast and streaming in Summer 2026. Along with the announcement, the teaser visual, trailer and main staff/cast have been revealed. (Official website.)
The show is based on Kazuto Mihara‘s original manga of the same name, which explores the art of Noh, originally serialized in Kodansha’s Morning. Animated by CygamesPictures, the project is co-produced by CyberAgent and Shochiku (Witch Watch, Violet Evergarden: The Movie).
The English version of the original manga is available online, preview the first chapter for free.
Illustration by Kazuto Mihara
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The new teaser visual features an illustration of Oniyasha (the name assumed by legendary Noh actor and playwright Zeami Motokiyo in his youth) by series character designer Keigo Sasaki (The Millionaire Detective – Balance: Unlimited, Lonely Castle in the Mirror, Umamusume: Cinderella Gray) and elegant calligraphy by renowned artist Satoru Nemoto.
“After reading the original work, I found myself thinking, ‘If I don’t take part in this, I’ll definitely regret it.’ That’s how full of charm this story is. As we work on the anime, questions keep coming to mind — ‘How much of that can we express in animation?’ ‘What does expression even mean in the first place?’” said Sasaki. “While being swept up in the sheer passion Oniyasha pours into his art, I’m spending my days taking on this challenge together with the other creators. We’re doing our very best to deliver something truly touching to you.”
Nemoto commented, “The great master of Noh, Zeami, left behind Fushikaden, the oldest Japanese treatise on Noh and acting, in which he described the movements of the body and the heart, likening one’s outward bearing — fushi — to a flower. In his later years he also wrote Kakyo, and for him, this idea of ‘flower’ held a special meaning.
“When I was asked to create the katakana title lettering for The World Is Dancing and considered how best to express it, I felt that using flowers as the theme was the right approach. Katakana was originally born as a set of marks to help read classical Chinese texts in Japanese, and in that sense, it moves freely between the world of written characters and the world beyond them. That is why, freeing the letters from their literal form, I shaped my brushstrokes to reflect Zeami’s ‘flower’ in this title design. If this anime can be graced with even the smallest blossom through my work, I would be truly grateful.”
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Meanwhile, the announcement trailer aims to depict the beauty and brutality of the Muromachi period, circa late 14th century, highlighting Oniyasha’s fateful first encounter with a revolutionary dance. It also reveals Yumiri Hanamori (Asako Yamagishi in The Summer Hikaru Died, Sagiri Yamada in Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku, Ryuji Ayukawa in Blue Period) as the voice of Oniyasha.
Synopsis: In 1374, amid the turmoil of the Northern and Southern Courts’ long running conflict, a boy named Oniyasha is born into a family of sarugaku theater performers. He spends his days in a kind of quiet gloom, haunted by a simple but persistent question: Why do people dance? Then, one day, he witnesses a dance that he feels to be “good” — and everything begins to change. This is the story of the beautiful young boy who would one day shape the art of Noh and be remembered as Zeami.
“I believe that in this world, there are as many things people consider ‘good’ as there are people. No two people measure things by the same standard. And that’s exactly why, if someone encounters something in this world that they feel is ‘good,’ it will surely become a flower that lights and colors the path they walk,” observed lead voice star Hanamori. “I can’t help but hope for that. In a world where rise and fall come and go like waves on the shore, what shape did the flower he brought into bloom take, and what color did it shine with? Why does it continue to bloom even now, along the paths of so many people? I hope that, somewhere beyond this work, it reaches you too.”
The series is directed by Toshimasa Kuroyanagi, who made his directorial debut with the TV anime series Shounen Hollywood. He has also directed the TV anime The Great Passage, the animated film Love Me, Love Me Not and both the TV and theatrical versions of the Backflip!! series.
“This is the story of a boy named Oniyasha, who continues to challenge himself creatively during an era when Noh — now considered a classical performing art — was still called Sarugaku and was the cutting‑edge entertainment of its time,” Kuroyanagi commented on the announcement. “He isn’t blessed with exceptional talent, nor does he possess any achievements worthy of praise. Even so, he throws himself into Sarugaku day after day, driven by the hope that if he becomes someone, he might be able to change the world. Watching him, we felt it connected to the ‘beginner’s spirit’ that still lives somewhere inside all of us. That feeling inspired the entire crew to work hard to create an anime that everyone can enjoy. Just as the ‘flower’ that Oniyasha discovers has endured for 600 years, we want to craft this story with great care so that it, too, can be loved for generations to come.”
