Akazukin, Tabi no Tochuu de Shitai to Deau TV Anime Announced for 2027

Akazukin, Tabi no Tochuu de Shitai to Deau. (赤ずきん、旅の途中で死体と出会う。) is officially receiving a television anime adaptation scheduled to air in 2027.

The August 10, 2026 announcement revealed its first two cast members, core production staff, teaser visual, and teaser PV. The series follows Little Red Riding Hood as a sharp-minded detective who repeatedly encounters murder cases while traveling through worlds inspired by familiar fairy tales.

Quick Summary

• Japanese title: 赤ずきん、旅の途中で死体と出会う。
• Romanized title: Akazukin, Tabi no Tochuu de Shitai to Deau.
• Official global anime title: not announced
• Format: television anime
• Broadcast year: 2027
• Exact season and date: not announced
• Episode count: not announced
• Japanese broadcaster: not announced
• Streaming services: not announced
• Genres: fantasy and mystery
• Original creator: Aito Aoyagi
• Novel publisher: Futabasha
• Imprint: Futabasha Bunko
• Credited source novels: Akazukin, Tabi no Tochuu de Shitai to Deau. and Akazukin, Pinocchio Hirotte Shitai to Deau.
• Director: Itsuro Kawasaki
• Script: Itsuro Kawasaki
• Character design: Manami Minakata and Yuko Yahiro
• Art directors: Izumi Hoki and Hiroshi Kato
• Color design: Chie Yoshimura
• Director of photography: Rieko Koike
• Editor: Daisuke Hiraki
• Animation production: BENTEN Film
• Akazukin: Yume Miyamoto
• Pinocchio: Akira Sekine
• Teaser visual: released
• Teaser PV: released
• Theme songs: not announced
• Additional cast: not announced
• Series circulation: more than 600,000 copies
• Previous adaptation: Netflix live-action film
• Production status: in progress

Anime Announcement and Teaser Visual

The first teaser visual places Akazukin at its center with a confident grin. Pinocchio sits inside her basket, while objects associated with fairy tales and future mysteries surround the pair.

The artwork immediately establishes that the anime will not present Akazukin as a solitary traveler. Pinocchio, who becomes an important companion in the second novel, is already part of the adaptation’s earliest promotional material.

The Teaser PV Introduces Akazukin’s Signature Deduction

The first PV presents a fairy-tale world that quickly becomes the scene of a mystery.

Akazukin is portrayed not merely as the familiar girl in a red hood, but as an investigator who notices inconsistencies and forces criminals to confront weaknesses in their plans.

The teaser also includes her recurring remark questioning why a criminal plan has been constructed so carelessly, immediately establishing the combination of fairy-tale fantasy and logical murder mystery.

Yume Miyamoto Voices Akazukin, with Akira Sekine as Pinocchio

The first two cast members have already been announced.

Yume Miyamoto plays Akazukin, a highly curious traveler whose observation and intelligence repeatedly lead her into the role of detective.

Akira Sekine voices Pinocchio, who becomes Akazukin’s traveling companion and develops through the unusual events they encounter together.

The anime officially credits both the first novel and Akazukin, Pinocchio Hirotte Shitai to Deau. as source material.

How much material from each book will be included in the television series has not yet been disclosed.

Itsuro Kawasaki Directs and Writes the Adaptation

Itsuro Kawasaki serves as both director and scriptwriter.

Kawasaki explained that he had long enjoyed detective fiction and had wanted to adapt a mystery novel into animation. The project finally gave him that opportunity while also presenting challenges unique to the genre.

Trick explanations, character positioning, scene geography, and the timing of visual information all require careful handling when a prose mystery becomes animation.

Animation is being produced by BENTEN Film, while Manami Minakata and Yuko Yahiro handle character design.

Minakata also created a new illustration celebrating the anime announcement, showing Akazukin and Pinocchio in a lighter, more playful presentation than the main teaser visual.

Aito Aoyagi Turns Fairy Tales into Murder Mysteries

Aito Aoyagi’s series uses stories familiar to generations of readers as the foundation for new mysteries.

Rather than simply retelling fairy tales, Akazukin encounters murders, alibis, locked-room puzzles, and other mysteries in settings inspired by Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Match Girl, and other classics.

Aoyagi welcomed the adaptation by describing Akazukin as a detective traveling alongside the absent-minded Pinocchio and expressed hope that audiences around the world would enjoy its unusual fantasy-mystery concept.

The novel series has surpassed 600,000 copies in circulation and has expanded into manga, a murder-mystery game, and a Netflix live-action adaptation.

The 2023 Netflix film was released internationally as Once Upon a Crime, with Kanna Hashimoto playing Little Red Riding Hood. The 2027 TV anime is a separate adaptation of Aoyagi’s novels rather than an animated version of that film.

Yume Miyamoto Looks Forward to a Different Kind of Little Red Riding Hood

Miyamoto said she was excited to portray a character she had known since childhood.

Aoyagi’s Akazukin, however, exists in a world that differs considerably from the familiar Grimm tale. She repeatedly becomes involved in strange incidents and must rely on observation and reasoning to find a way through them.

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Miyamoto also highlighted how entertaining the cases are and expressed interest in how Akazukin will respond to each new mystery.

Akira Sekine Sees the Journey as Pinocchio’s Growth

Sekine described Pinocchio as a character whose development can be felt throughout the story.

Meeting Akazukin and traveling beside her gives him opportunities to learn, change, and deepen their bond.

Their trip is far from peaceful, however. New incidents continue to appear, forcing both characters to confront mysteries and uncover the truths behind them.

Familiar Fairy Tales, Serious Mystery Rules

One of the series’ defining ideas is that fantasy elements remain part of the logic of each case.

Magic, fairy-tale creatures, kingdoms, and impossible objects may exist, but a murder cannot simply be explained away with “because magic.”

Clues, motives, timing, alibis, and deductions still matter. Fairy-tale rules instead provide material for tricks that could not exist inside an ordinary modern mystery.

The anime will therefore need to balance an illustrated-storybook atmosphere with enough visual information for viewers to follow the deduction process.

A Travel Campaign Celebrates the Anime Announcement

The official account is also holding a travel-themed follow-and-repost campaign.

Three winners will each receive an original card-style JTB Travel Gift worth 10,000 yen. Entries remain open through August 24, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. JST.

The giveaway is a social-media promotion and is separate from the anime’s broadcast information.

Why This Matters

1) Fairy tales become mystery mechanics

Familiar characters and rules are used to construct motives, alibis, and murder tricks rather than serving purely as visual references.

2) Akazukin and Pinocchio are introduced as a duo immediately

Both first novels are credited as source material, and Pinocchio already appears throughout the initial anime promotion.

3) The director also controls the script

Itsuro Kawasaki oversees both direction and adaptation writing, two areas that are especially important when controlling the order in which a detective story reveals information.

4) The series already extends beyond novels

It reached manga, a murder-mystery game, and a Netflix film before receiving its television anime.

Anime Information

The important details currently known are:

• Akazukin, Tabi no Tochuu de Shitai to Deau. will air as a television anime in 2027
• its exact premiere date and season remain unannounced
• Yume Miyamoto voices Akazukin
• Akira Sekine voices Pinocchio
• Itsuro Kawasaki directs and writes the scripts
• Manami Minakata and Yuko Yahiro handle character design
• BENTEN Film produces the animation
• a teaser visual and teaser PV are available
• the anime officially credits the first two novels as source material
• Aito Aoyagi writes the original novels for Futabasha
• series circulation has exceeded 600,000 copies
• broadcasters and streaming platforms remain unannounced
• the episode count remains unknown
• additional cast and theme songs have not been revealed
• updates are available through the official anime website
• production news is published through the official X account
• information about the novels is available through Futabasha’s official series website

Closing

Akazukin, Tabi no Tochuu de Shitai to Deau. will bring its combination of fairy tales and honkaku-style mystery to television in 2027, with Yume Miyamoto and Akira Sekine leading the cast.

Its first teaser establishes the core characters and tone, while BENTEN Film is producing the series under Itsuro Kawasaki’s direction. A more specific broadcast schedule, additional cast, theme songs, and streaming information remain to be announced.