Murciélago casts Hitomi Ueda as 715-kill executioner Kuroko, with Minori Suzuki and Sumire Uesaka beside her, ahead of its January 2027 debut

Kuroko Koumori has 715 murders on her record and a government license to keep going. On October 21, Japan time, the TV anime of Kana Yoshimura's Murciélago named the three actresses at the heart of its story: Hitomi Ueda plays Kuroko, Minori Suzuki plays her partner Hinako Tozakura, and Sumire Uesaka plays Chiyo Yanaoka, the girlfriend Kuroko keeps testing. A teaser PV and a fresh teaser visual arrived alongside them.

Listeners heard the names first. The trio was announced on Sumipe no Sukima, a program on Tokyo radio station Bunka Hoso, before the official site posted character art, profiles and comments from the cast.

Three women, one car

The official profiles cast Kuroko as an ex-death-row prisoner whom the state now lets loose on violent criminals. She is lethal at close quarters and incapable of ignoring a woman she finds attractive, even in the middle of a job. Hinako rides with her as partner and minder at once; her gift is driving, backed by a road map she carries entirely in her head. Chiyo, the only daughter of the boss of the Yanaoka-kai yakuza family, is quick-tempered and possessive, and stays devoted to Kuroko in spite of her wandering eye.

Their territory is the town of Ryuryuka, and the contracts they take run from serial killers and terrorists to the host of a mysterious death game. The new teaser art frames all three against a skyline split between daylight and night: Kuroko armed, Chiyo just behind her, Hinako pedaling by on a bicycle.

Behind the camera

Satelight and Staple Entertainment share the animation. Matsuo Asami directs, after serving as an episode director on The Villainess Is Adored by the Prince of the Neighbor Kingdom. Above Asami sits Takashi Naoya, chief director and series composer, whose credits include Am I Actually the Strongest?. Kiyoshi Tateishi adapts Yoshimura's designs for animation, while Masanori Akita and Yuichi Tsuchiya split the score.

Where to watch

Three Japanese channels will carry it from January 2027: TOKYO MX, Kansai TV and BS11, with streaming in Japan starting that same month. Abroad, HIDIVE holds exclusive rights across six English-speaking markets: the United States, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. An exact premiere date has not been given.

The manga behind it

Yoshimura both writes and draws Murciélago, which has been running in Square Enix's Young Gangan since 2013 and has passed 2.3 million copies in circulation worldwide. Yen Press publishes it in English. The anime itself was first announced in July 2026, and the January window was confirmed a month later.

To celebrate the casting, the official X account is holding a "Hinako mogumogu" giveaway: five winners receive ¥10,000 meal vouchers, and entries close at 23:59 on October 31 (Japan time).