Fist of the North Star Grunts Spin Off Reveals New Cast

The official X account for the short anime based on Hiroshi Kurao’s Fist of the North Star: Elegy of the Fist King Army Grunts shared new cast news on Friday. The anime is set to air and stream in January 2026.

As the title hints, this is a spin off told from the side of the franchise’s lowly henchmen rather than its famous heroes, which gives the grim world a more down to earth and often funny point of view.

The freshly announced voices are Hiro Shimono as Nobu, Shinnosuke Ogami as Zaku, and Masaaki Yano as Buzz, with Shinya Takahashi handling narration.

The story started as a manga that Kurao serialized on the Manga Hot app from November 2017 to February 2020, and Coamix released its third and final volume in March 2020.

My take: Following the nameless grunts instead of the heroes is such a charming idea. I love stories that find heart in the background characters, and this one sounds like a treat.