The Fledgling Demon Lord's Starter Shop adds Yohei Azakami as the hero Ash ahead of its January 2027 debut
A new key visual and second teaser for project No.9's anime of Makoto Morishita's manga bring in the hero who beat the demon lord, and confirm Tokyo MX, MBS and BS11 among its broadcasters.
A world with no demon lord left is bad for business, at least for the young shopkeeper at the heart of The Fledgling Demon Lord's Starter Shop (Sudachi no Maoujou). The TV anime of Makoto Morishita's comedy manga has now introduced the man responsible for that predicament: Ash, the hero who defeated the demon lord, will be voiced by Yohei Azakami.
The casting came on Tuesday, October 6, with a fresh key visual and the series' second teaser video. The visual places Ash alongside the two leads announced earlier, Reiji Kawashima as the shopkeeper known only as Villager and Rumi Okubo as Mao. MyAnimeList lists Azakami's credits as including Kamonohashi Ron no Kindan Suiri 2nd Season.
The premise follows Villager, who runs an item shop called The Nest in the starter town of Beginnerville. With the demon lord gone, adventurers no longer need potions or gear, and the shop is close to shutting its doors until a mysterious girl turns up and changes everything.
The January 2027 premiere has been known since the summer; what is new is where it will air. MyAnimeList reports Tokyo MX, MBS and BS11 among the stations.
project No.9 is animating, with Keiichiro Ochi handling series composition and Katsuyuki Sato designing the characters. Takuro Iga, whose credits include [Oshi no Ko], composes the score. The fuller crew includes Hisato Shioda as art director, Noboru Haraguchi as sound director, and Avex Pictures on music production.
Morishita has been serializing the manga in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine since October 2021. MyAnimeList puts the series at 1.2 million copies in circulation, with a new volume due in Japan on October 16. English readers can follow it digitally through Kodansha's K Manga service.
