Kill Blue Anime From Kuroko's Basketball Creator Debuts April 11

Kill Blue, the manga by Kuroko's Basketball creator Tadatoshi Fujimaki, is getting its anime debut on April 11, 2026. The series follows a top assassin who is transformed back into a child and forced to attend middle school, blending Fujimaki's proven talent for dynamic action with a high-concept comedic premise.

The Premise

The story centers on Juzo Ogami, a deadly hitman at the top of his profession. During a mission gone wrong, his DNA is mutated, reverting him to his 12-year-old body. Unable to take on his usual contracts in his diminished form, his organization assigns him a new cover: enroll in a middle school and lay low. What follows is a collision between the brutal world of professional assassination and the mundane chaos of junior high, as Juzo navigates school life while concealing his true identity and capabilities.

Fujimaki is best known for Kuroko's Basketball, the sports manga that ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 2008 to 2014 and spawned a massively popular anime. Kill Blue, serialized in Jump Square, marks a sharp departure from sports manga into action-comedy territory.

Production Team

Hiro Kaburagi directs the anime at CUE, a studio founded by former Production I.G producer Kuroki Rui in partnership with DMM.com. Miho Daidoji handles character designs for the adaptation.

The cast includes Yuko Sanpei as the young Juzo Ogami and Shunsuke Takeuchi as his adult self. Fuka Izumi plays Noren Mitsuoka, Shuichiro Umeda voices Kotatsu Nekota, and Takeo Otsuka portrays Tenma Tendo. Atsumi Tanezaki and Yumi Uchiyama round out the main cast as Chisato Shiraishi and Eri Wanibuchi.

Where to Watch

Kill Blue airs on TV Tokyo in Japan starting April 11. International streaming details are expected to be confirmed around the premiere date, with the series likely to appear on major anime platforms given its pedigree.

The anime arrives as one of the more intriguing new entries in the spring 2026 season. Fujimaki's track record with Kuroko's Basketball demonstrated his ability to create compelling action choreography and memorable character dynamics, and Kill Blue gives him a very different canvas to work with. The combination of a seasoned shonen creator with a premise that mixes contract killing and school comedy positions the series as a potential standout among the season's newcomers.

Kuroko's Basketball sold over 31 million copies during its run and produced three anime seasons and multiple films. Whether Kill Blue can replicate that level of success in a completely different genre remains to be seen, but Fujimaki's proven ability to build out ensemble casts and deliver kinetic set pieces translates naturally to an action-comedy framework.