Sentenced to Be a Hero Anime Reveals January 3 Premiere Date and SPYAIR Theme Song
The television anime adaptation of Rocket Shokai’s light novel series Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004 has unveiled its main promotional video, confirmed its broadcast date, and announced additional cast members and theme song details.
The anime is set to premiere on January 3 at 10:00 p.m. JST on Tokyo MX. The debut episode will be a 60-minute special, followed by episode two on January 15, with subsequent episodes airing weekly on Thursdays. The series will broadcast across 28 television networks throughout Japan.
In Japan, the anime will begin streaming on Amazon Prime Video on January 3 at 10:00 p.m., with availability on other streaming platforms starting January 6. Crunchyroll will stream the series internationally as it airs.
Theme Song
Rock band SPYAIR will perform the anime’s theme song, titled “Kill the Noise,” which is featured in the newly released promotional video.
New Cast Announcements
Two new cast members have been revealed:
- Yūichi Nakamura as Rhyno
- Saori Ōnishi as Frenci Mastibolt
In addition, the production team revealed a new location visual showcasing the Couveunge Forest, expanding the anime’s world setting.
Main Cast
The anime stars:
- 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 Partiract
- Yōko Hikasa as Neely
Staff
- Director: Hiroyuki Takashima (Studio KAI)
- Assistant Director / Creature Design: Yoshitake Nakakōji
- Series Composition & Scripts: Kenta Ihara
- Character Design: Takeshi Noda
- Music: Shunsuke Takizawa
- Worldbuilding: Nobutaka Ike
- Prop Design: Kouta Sugawa
The anime was originally planned for an October release but was delayed to ensure production quality.
About the Series
Yen Press, which publishes the novels in English, describes the story as follows:
Heroism is not an honor—it is a punishment reserved for the worst criminals. Those sentenced to become heroes are forced to fight endlessly against the demon king’s army, revived time and again upon death. When their leader—convicted of killing a goddess—encounters another goddess, the pact they form may be powerful enough to change the fate of the world.
Rocket Shokai began serializing the light novel series on Kadokawa’s Kakuyomu platform in October 2020, with print publication starting in September 2021 and illustrations by Mephisto. The seventh volume was released in January, and volume eight is scheduled for January 17, 2026.
A manga adaptation by Natsumi Inoue launched in March 2022 on Dengeki Comic Regulus. The second collected volume was released in April 2024. The manga is available digitally in English via BookWalker Global, and Yen Press has announced a print English release beginning in June 2026.
Source: Press Release