Rooster Fighter

Rooster Fighter

Rooster Fighter (Japanese: ニワトリ・ファイター, Hepburn: Niwatori Faitā) is a Japanese web manga series written and illustrated by Shū Sakuratani. It has been serialized on Hero's Inc.'s Comiplex manga website since December 2020. An anime television series adaptation, produced by Sanzigen and Viz Media Hero's, premiered in the United States in March 2026 and is set for April in Japan of the same year.

Plot

Rooster Fighter

Three years ago, mutant demons began appearing in Japan. While some are harmless or helpful towards humans, others are troublesome. Created from humans suffering from extreme emotional distress or unresolved trauma, these mutant demons began to wreak havoc as they began to evolve to be more intelligent and dangerous.

A lone rooster named Keiji wanders around various cities of Japan while defeating mutant demons he encounters. His ultimate goal is to find and kill the mutant dubbed "The White Demon" who killed his sister, Sara, in order to avenge her death.

Characters

Main characters

Keiji (ケイジ): Voiced by: Kenta Miyake (Japanese); Patrick Seitz (English) A self-described "migratory bird" who vows to defeat the demon that killed his sister. He wanders around Japan and has a policy to never stay longer than necessary. Keiji has a strict code of conduct that he follows regarding respect and appreciation. Despite despising children or any youngsters that he deemed disrespectful or annoying, he has a soft spot for some of them, like Piyoko. His abilities include a powerful Cock-a-doodle-doo that induces resonance and great aim when throwing items with his beak. Elizabeth (エリザベス, Erizabesu): Voiced by: Mariko Honda (Japanese); Luci Christian (English) Adopted into a wealthy family shortly after her birth, Elizabeth is a hen who lived a luxurious yet dissatisfying life when she witnessed a demon wreak havoc on her city and nearly killed her and her family. It was Keiji that rescued them and she immediately fell in love with him, only to be abandoned right after their short affair. She ended up resenting Keiji for abandoning her and initially trained herself to get revenge against him; however, as she witnessed more mutant demons kill off her loved ones after Keiji's departure, she began training to defeat them for the next six months. After reuniting with Keiji, she decides to join his efforts in fighting against the White Demon. Elizabeth fights with a lightning staff and is shown to be tech savvy. Piyoko (ピヨコ): Voiced by: Shiori Izawa (Japanese); Kimoy Lee (English) Raised by a yakuza to initially be sold with other chicks, Piyoko became a beloved pet instead before witnessing her owner turn into a mutant demon. Witnessing Keiji defeat and save her owner, she decides to follow him on his journey to defeat the White Demon and Keiji reluctantly let her join him after she helped nurse him back to health. She is attached to him, believing that she will marry him once she is older, and was given the name Piyoko by him after asking for a name. She has the word "Duty" (仁義, Jingi) written on her back after asking her former owner to give her a tattoo similar to his. Morio (モリオ): Voiced by: Mitsuaki Kanuka (Japanese); Roger Rose (English) Keisuke (ケイスケ): Voiced by: Tomohiro Ōno (Japanese); Robbie Daymond (English) Keiji's younger, crested half-brother who matches him in strength. He joins Keiji on his quest in order to rescue their father after he is captured by demons.

Other characters

One-Eyed Silver (片目の銀, Katame no Gin): A one-eyed sea turtle with a personal vendetta against birds after witnessing a flock of gulls eat his siblings after hatching, he is initially hostile towards Keiji. However, he helps him defeat a demon at sea after realizing that Keiji was not like the seagulls he despised. He lets Keiji off to go avenge his sister but makes him promise that they will have a proper battle once he returns. Zena (ゼナ): An elderly toucan taken from his home in Brazil and now overseeing the Southern Birds exhibit in the zoo, he took Keiji into the exhibit after finding him unconscious in the rain. He was a beloved member of the community and protected his bird family from a demon attack before succumbing to his injuries. Keiji took one of his feathers, hoping to return it to Zena's sisters one day. Sara (サラ): Voiced by: Hikaru Tono (Japanese); Erin Yvette (English) Sara is the sister of Keiji. It is Sara's death that led Keiji to avenge her; however, Keiji noted that the bird used by the White Demon resembles her. Gakuma (嶽磨) / White Demon (白鬼獣, Hakkijū): A white-skinned and four-horned demon. The mutant is responsible for killing Keiji's sister, Sara. Known as the "White Demon", he is a giant that also has a fire-like bird that it uses to burn what it wants. He also has a circular mark on its neck, which Keiji uses to identify it. He is later revealed to be the leader of all demons, and to have the human form of a young man named Gakuma. Kugone (クゴネ): Voiced by: Yūko Kaida (Japanese); Anjali Kunapaneni (English) Gakuma's right-hand woman who is creating demons all over Japan on his orders. Yuji (裕二, Yūji): Voiced by: Jun Kasama (Japanese); Alejandro Saab (English) Hikari (ヒカリ): Voiced by: Natsumi Fujiwara (Japanese); Zeno Robinson (English) Keizan (ケイザン): Voiced by: Akio Otsuka (Japanese); Kirk Thornton (English)

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Shū Sakuratani, Rooster Fighter started on Hero's Inc.'s Comiplex manga website on December 18, 2020. The series' first tankōbon volume was released on May 1, 2021. As of January 5, 2026, eleven volumes have been released.

The manga is licensed in North America by Viz Media, with the first volume released on August 16, 2022.

Volumes

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	English release date	English ISBN
1	May 1, 2021	978-4-86468-801-7	August 16, 2022	978-1-9747-2984-5
2	October 5, 2021	978-4-86468-835-2	November 15, 2022	978-1-9747-3388-0
3	March 4, 2022	978-4-86468-872-7	February 21, 2023	978-1-9747-3651-5
4	August 5, 2022	978-4-86468-119-3	August 15, 2023	978-1-9747-3891-5
5	January 26, 2023	978-4-86468-146-9	December 19, 2023	978-1-9747-4112-0
6	August 29, 2023	978-4-86468-193-3	June 18, 2024	978-1-9747-4687-3
7	January 29, 2024	978-4-86468-229-9	February 18, 2025	978-1-9747-5226-3
8	August 5, 2024	978-4-86468-274-9	August 19, 2025	978-1-9747-5553-0
9	January 6, 2025	978-4-86805-028-5	January 20, 2026	978-1-9747-6102-9
10	July 4, 2025	978-4-86805-083-4	July 21, 2026	978-1-9747-1681-4
11	January 5, 2026	978-4-86805-146-6	—	—
12	April 3, 2026	978-4-86805-174-9	—	—

Anime

In July 2024 at San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that the manga would receive an anime television series adaptation in collaboration with Hero's Inc. The series is produced by Viz Media under the production label Viz Media Hero's, while animation is handled by Sanzigen. Sola Entertainment contributes as an associate producer (with CEO Joseph Chou serving as its representative). It is directed by Daisuke Suzuki, with Hiroshi Seko handling series composition, and music composed by Tetsuya Takahashi. The 12-episode series premiered English dubbed in the United States on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block on March 15, 2026, before streaming the same day on Hulu (in the United States) and Disney+ (internationally) shortly after the linear broadcast. The streaming release includes the Japanese subtitled version. It is also set to premiere back in Japan on Tokyo MX and BS NTV approximately three weeks later on April 6, 2026. The opening theme song is "What's a Hero?", performed by Daruma Rollin', while the ending theme song is "We're Loose Stars", performed by Tetsuya Takahashi. Medialink has licensed the series in Asia-Pacific for streaming on Ani-One Asia's YouTube channel and Crunchyroll.

Episodes

<table><thead><tr><th>No.</th><th>Title</th><th>Directed by</th><th>Storyboarded by</th><th>English air date</th><th>Japanese air date</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>"A Rooster Among Cranes" Transliteration: "Gunkeinoikkaku" (Japanese: 群鶏一鶴)</td><td>Daisuke Suzuki</td><td>Daisuke Suzuki</td><td>March 15, 2026 (2026-03-15)</td><td>April 6, 2026</td></tr><tr><td>A rooster is shown rescuing a boy from a three-headed maternal demon before confronting it head-on. One year earlier, a wandering rooster named Keiji goes off into a suburb shortly after an incident in where his sister, Sara, was eaten by a demon. While fleeing from two boys who planned on feeding him to a cat, Keiji takes refuge at an old man's home. During his stay with the old man, a demon is manifested by a desperate car salesman and it begins throwing vehicles around a busy street. When the demon is about to kill one of the boys and the old man, Keiji intervenes and battles it. Keiji manages to kill it with his Kokekokko audible attack, which causes the demon's head to explode. After discovering the demon does not bear the tattoo of the one who killed his sister, Keiji helps the old man and the two boys clean up around the neighborhood before leaving the suburb to continue his quest for revenge. Elsewhere, a transvestite demon terrorizes a city before he is defeated by a mysterious hen armed with a ground rod sword.</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>"The Caged Bird" Transliteration: "Rōchōkanen" (Japanese: 籠鳥檻猿)</td><td>Daisuke Suzuki</td><td>Daisuke Suzuki</td><td>March 22, 2026 (2026-03-22)</td><td>April 13, 2026</td></tr><tr><td>In Tsurukame, a man named Yasuo Oda attempts to make a living selling chicks. One of them, Piyoko, is bullied by the other chicks, but becomes closely attached to Oda. Already owing money to the yakuza, Oda discovers he now has an additional debt of 10 million yen after being tricked by a friend into signing a debt transfer contract. The rage stemming from his childhood memories of his mother abandoning him unleashes a demon that begins wreaking havoc on the town. Keiji arrives to confront the demon, but Piyoko pleads with him not to harm Oda. Despite this, Keiji kills the demon by using Kokekokko. Keiji and Piyoko then discover that Oda is still alive, having been freed from despair in his heart. Piyoko decides to pursue Keiji after Oda urges her to follow her own path. Later, Keiji eliminates a slug demon but is severely wounded after saving Piyoko from a surviving piece of the demon. Piyoko drags Keiji into a back alley and nurses him back to health. A recouped Keiji allows Piyoko to tag along for saving him. Suddenly, the duo are ambushed by a hen named Elizabeth, who intends on killing Keiji.</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>"The Parable of the Three Birds" Transliteration: "Sanchōchūkō" (Japanese: 三鳥虫綱)</td><td>Daisuke Suzuki</td><td>Daisuke Suzuki</td><td>March 29, 2026 (2026-03-29)</td><td>April 20, 2026</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>"Homing in on Desire"</td><td>TBA</td><td>TBA</td><td>April 5, 2026 (2026-04-05)</td><td>April 27, 2026</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>"The Motley Flock Scatters"</td><td>TBA</td><td>TBA</td><td>April 12, 2026 (2026-04-12)</td><td>May 4, 2026</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>"Built Like a Brick Coop"</td><td>TBA</td><td>TBA</td><td>April 19, 2026 (2026-04-19)</td><td>May 11, 2026</td></tr></tbody></table>

Reception

Rooster Fighter

Since its premiere, Rooster Fighter has been popular abroad, especially in Spanish-speaking countries such as Mexico, Spain and Argentina, with the manga receiving translation publication offers from more than 12 countries and regions.

Reviewing the first eight volumes of the series, Bolts of Anime News Network found the story predictable and that it does not do anything new, but praised the art and fight choreography, commenting that the series treats itself very seriously in the best way.