Two new cast members, staff, and other details were also revealed in the new promotional video.
The anime adaptation of Shogo Imamura’s historical novel series Ushūboro Tobigumi’s first book Hikuidori was announced a few months ago.
In the recent update, it was revealed that the series will premiere on 11 January, 2026. Moreover, two new cast members and other details were also unveiled in the show’s first promotional video.
Oedo Fire Slayer -The Legend of Phoenix- anime new cast, staff, and other details
The two new voice actors who have joined the anime’s cast are:
https://x.com/hikuidori_pj/status/1996142948447318356
- Junichi Suwabe as Kankurō Ōto (leader of the Kaga clan’s fire fighting team and Gengo’s rival)
https://x.com/hikuidori_pj/status/1996142841752645789
- Ayaka Miyoshi as Miyuki (Gengo’s wife)
Previously announced cast members of the anime includes:
- Yūichirō Umehara as Gengo Matsunaga
- Shūichirō Umeda as Shinnosuke Torigoe
- Subaru Kimura as Torajiro
- Nobunaga Shimazaki as Hikoya
- Kenshō Ono as Seijuro Kaji
- Kent Itō as Jinsuke
- Naoya Uchida as Rokuemon Hōjō
- Kōji Yusa as Samon Orishimo
- Yasuaki Takumi as Renji
- Shinpachi Tsuji as Kingorō
- Aya Hisakawa as Akiyo
- Shinnosuke Ogami as Moriemon Dategasaki
- Kana Ichinose as Osuzu
- Tetsuo Komura as Heizō Nobuo Hasegawa
- Shinichirō Miki as Tōgorō
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB6qXk2YOYE
As per the new update, Hiroshi Yasumi is directing the anime at Synergy SP with Hajime Kamegaki as the ‘head director’. Ryūsuke Mori oversees the scripts and writes them along with Shōhei Fukuda, Yoriko Tomita, and Kōhei Nishimura. BILBA is designing the original characters for the anime while Takeshi Sanada is the CG director. Akiyoshi Tanaka is the sound director while Yasuharu Takanashi composes the music for the series.
The first two episodes of the anime will get an advanced premiere at the United Cinema Toyosu in Tokyo on 8 January, 2026. The cast will attend this event.
The anime is based on Hikuidori, the first book in Shogo Imamura’s historical novel series Ushūboro Tobigumi. The novel series first began in 2017. A manga adaptation by Shinobu Seguchi also began publishing in April, 2025. The story of the series is described as (machine translation):
The firefighter samurai who stopped the blaze was called the Fire-Eating Bird.
Matsunaga Gengo was Edo's leading firefighter samurai, once known as the "Fire-Eating Bird."
For some reason he had quit his job as a fire brigade man, but suddenly he received an invitation to serve in the Shinjo domain.
The Shinjo domain's fire brigade had no money or manpower and was looked down upon by those around them.
With the support of his wife Miyuki, Gengo decides to rebuild the collapsed fire brigade as its president.
Gengo and his friends gather a group of eccentric companions and, despite being mocked as "rag kites," they strive to "save any life." However, a series of mysterious fires known as "fox fires" are occurring in Edo.
An entertaining action drama begins, with refusing-to-give-up firefighters rushing to fight the approaching disaster!