The Vermilion Mask Premieres Today on Crunchyroll

The fall’s most ambitious new series arrives today. The Vermilion Mask premieres October 10 on Crunchyroll, produced by 100studio as a two part series, with German and French dubs available at launch and more expected.

A quest built on guilt

Peru is an apprentice mask maker who should have known better. Possessed by the Mask of the Warrior God, he unintentionally kills his friends and his own master, the legendary Gaston Roux, and vows to destroy every mask his master ever created before tragedy strikes again. The mission takes him around the world, gathering companions, fighting enemies and reckoning with what he did. It is a premise with real weight, closer to Vinland Saga’s guilt driven journey than to a standard adventure.

The two part structure, confirmed back at Anime Expo, tells you the production intends to tell the whole story rather than a sampler. Since then the marketing has been steady: a first main trailer with the cast, then a second trailer with the key visual and theme song, and now the premiere.

Why it might be the sleeper of the season

Original fantasy with a globe trotting scope and a morally compromised lead is rare in a season dominated by adaptations. The premiere date was confirmed in the fall lineup reported by Animation World Network.

My take: Every fall has one show that nobody expected to love. The Vermilion Mask has the premise, the structure and the visuals to be that show.