BODY: An anime long thought too extreme to adapt is finally getting its shot. The TV anime version of "Murciélago," based on the manga by Kana Yoshimura, has locked in a broadcast and streaming window of January 2027, with the news breaking during Anime NYC in New York.
Serialized in Square Enix's Young Gangan since 2013, "Murciélago" follows Kuroko Koumori, a convicted mass murderer with a record-setting body count who is spared execution on the condition that she work as a contract killer for the police. The result is a blend of hardboiled action, jet-black comedy, and unapologetically graphic violence that has earned the series a devoted cult following at home and abroad.
Choosing Anime NYC as the reveal stage is a telling move. The series has always skewed toward an international audience hungry for edgier fare, and dropping the premiere date at one of North America's fastest-growing anime conventions signals that distributors are betting on overseas streaming demand from day one.
A simultaneous broadcast-and-streaming rollout in January 2027 places "Murciélago" squarely in the competitive Winter 2027 season. Further details — studio, cast, staff, and streaming partners — are expected to follow in the coming months as the marketing campaign ramps up.
The insider take
From Tokyo, the surprise isn't that "Murciélago" is getting an anime — it's that it took this long. The manga's extreme gore and heavy fanservice have made it a notoriously tricky property for broadcast television, the kind of title that usually only survives via late-night slots and uncensored streaming editions. Announcing at Anime NYC rather than a domestic event suggests the producers already know where the audience lives: overseas platforms where the uncut version can run without the compromises Japanese TV would demand. Expect this to be a streaming-first play dressed up as a broadcast anime.
Originally reported by コミックナタリー - 最新ニュース (Japanese).