The premiere of the upcoming Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004 TV anime has been delayed from October 2025 to January 2026. It was also announced that Episode 1 will be a 60-minute affair.
The official reason for the delay is related to the improvement of the anime’s quality.
Sentenced to Be a Hero is based on the light novel series written by Rocket Shoukai and illustrated by MEPHISTO, which began in 2021 and has seven volumes as of January 2025. Yen Press describes the light novels’ premise as:
Heroism—a punishment for only the worst criminals. Those sentenced to the fate of a hero are forced to fight on the front lines against deadly centers of contagion that rot the land and turn its creatures into roving armies of violent beasts. And if a hero dies, their only reward is being brought back to life so they can continue the never-ending battle. But when Xylo Forbartz, a member of Penal Hero Unit 9004 and a convicted goddess killer, comes face-to-face with a new goddess, the pact they forge might just be enough to change the world…
Sentenced to Be a Hero was originally a web novel that debuted on Kakuyomu in 2020. The light novels are published under KADOKAWA’s Dengeki no Shinbungei label and have a manga adaptation by Natsumi Inoue.
While the anime has been delayed, it’d be featured at Anime Expo 2025’s Crunchyroll Industry Panel, where a new clip will be premiered. You can also rewatch March’s trailer and savor again the previewed animation below:
Staff
• Director: Hiroyuki Takashima (Symphogear XV co-action director, The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls U149 assistant director)
• Assistant director and creature designer: Yoshitake Nakaoji (Symphogear XV co-action director)
• Series composer and scriptwriter: Kenta Ihara (Ishura)
• Character designer: Noda Takeshi (DAN DA DAN sub-character designer on Episode 1, 5, 6 et al.)
• Setting designer: Nobutaka Ike (Belle background art director)
• Music composer: Shunsuke Takizawa (Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included)
• Animation production: Studio KAI
Cast
• Yohei Azakami as Xylo Forbartz
• Mayu Izuka as Teoritta
• Shizuka Ishigami as Patausche Kivia
• Shun Horie as Dotta Luzulas
• Shunichi Toki as Venetim Leopool
Source: @yushakei_PJ
