Kindergarten Wars Manga Gets Anime With Atsumi Tanezaki and Kentarou Kumagai

Shueisha has announced a television anime adaptation of Kindergarten Wars, the action comedy manga by You Chiba. The announcement came alongside a commemorative illustration from Chiba and the reveal of the two lead voice actors.

Atsumi Tanezaki, known widely for her role as Frieren in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, will voice Rita. Kentarou Kumagai, who played Laios in Dungeon Meshi, is cast as Doug. Both actors bring strong genre pedigrees and devoted fanbases to the production, which should generate real excitement for the show.

Kindergarten Wars began serialization in Shonen Jump+ in September 2022 and currently runs to 15 volumes. The series has accumulated 1.7 million copies in circulation. Yen Press is publishing the English edition, with the second volume already available.

With two of anime’s most celebrated recent voice actors attached and a lighthearted action comedy premise, the adaptation looks well set up. Readers who have not started the manga yet now have a good reason to before the anime arrives.

My take: Having Atsumi Tanezaki and Kentarou Kumagai share a cast is genuinely exciting — both brought something very special to their most recent major roles, and I cannot wait to see them in something with a completely different energy. This one jumped straight onto my watchlist.