Eleceed's anime slips to April 2027, and its hero is Jiwoo in English and Yu in Japanese
The Eleceed TV anime, announced in 2025 as a 2026 show, will premiere in April 2027. The English post published the same day calls its hero Jiwoo. The Japanese side of the site calls him Yu Kazahaya, and Japanese print volumes of the webtoon will be out months before episode one.
The TV anime of Eleceed will premiere in April 2027. When it was announced in July 2025, it was a 2026 show.
The official site posted the new date on October 21 in two lines: broadcast set for April 2027, more news to come. No reason was given. On the same day the site published the English trailer, with a post saying the series "premieres worldwide in April 2027."
The two posts went up side by side. They do not agree on what the hero is called.
Jiwoo in English, Yu in Japanese
The English post introduces "Jiwoo, a kindhearted boy with lightning-fast reflexes, and Kayden, a mysterious cat with a powerful secret." Those are the names the English materials use.
The Japanese introduction on the same site tells the same story with different people. The high schooler hiding his powers is Yu Kazahaya. The battered stray he nurses back to health, who turns out to be the strongest of the Awakened stuck in a cat's body, is Kaido.
Anime News Network matched the cast to both sets of names:
- Junya Enoki: Jiwoo Seo, listed in the Japanese promo as Yu Kazahaya
- Tasuku Hatanaka: Wooin, listed as Jin Tatsuoka
- Hayato Dojima: Jisuk Yoo, listed as Sota Yanagi
- Shizuka Itō: Jiyoung Yoo, listed as Amane Yanagi, leader of Mythos, which ANN's character description calls one of the largest Awakened organizations in Japan
- Setsuji Satō: Dr. Delein, the one name that does not change
The Japanese releases are consistent with each other: the site credits the original to its LINE Manga serialization, and the bonus trading cards for the Japanese print volumes 3 and 4 feature Jin Tatsuoka and Sota Yanagi. One cast, two sets of names.
A full year of promotion for a 2026 show
The delay arrives after the campaign was well underway. The official news page shows what came first:
- July 1, 2025: the anime is announced for 2026, with a teaser visual, a teaser video and the main staff.
- June 26, 2026: the first key visual, plus an official online store.
- June 27, 2026: SJH and ZHENA are announced as guests at Anime Expo 2026.
- July 3, 2026: the main cast and the first promotional video.
- August 8, 2026: a mug for World Cat Day.
- October 21, 2026: the April 2027 date, the English trailer and a sale at the online store, all on the same day.
The books will beat the anime by months
While the broadcast slid into 2027, Japanese print editions of the webtoon kept coming, according to the anime's own news page:
- August 14, 2026: the site announces print editions of the manga.
- October 23, 2026: volumes 1 and 2 go on sale, two days after the delay announcement.
- December 23, 2026: volumes 3 and 4 go on sale, announced on October 20.
- April 2027: the anime premieres.
The book credits read SJH for the original story and ZHENA for the art, the same credits the anime site gives the webtoon. By the time episode one airs, Japanese readers can have four volumes on the shelf.
Who is making it
Amuse Creative Studio announced the adaptation. The main staff:
- Director: Hiroshi Nishikiori (Honey Lemon Soda), at DandeLion Animation Studio, the studio behind The First Slam Dunk
- Series composition and scripts: Yousuke Kuroda (My Hero Academia)
- Character design: Minami Sakura (Gridman Universe)
- Music: Taku Iwasaki
The webtoon started in October 2018. The Japanese site puts its total views at more than 1.75 billion as of May 2026; ANN gives over 1.7 billion. ANN also reports it has been serialized in more than 10 languages and remains a consistent top performer on NAVER WEBTOON's battle-action charts in North America, Asia and Europe.
Son has been adapted before. His webtoon Noblesse got a 30-minute OAV, Noblesse: Awakening, in 2016, and a TV anime by Production I.G in 2020. Crunchyroll streams both.
What is still unknown
- Why the anime moved. The announcement gives a month and nothing else.
- The exact premiere date, the broadcaster in Japan, and the platform behind the worldwide release.
- How many episodes are planned.
- Which names an English dub would use. The English trailer is subtitled, and it says Jiwoo.
When the anime was announced, the official site promised a 2026 TV series. What Japan actually gets from Eleceed in 2026 is a trailer, four paperbacks, and a hero named Yu. The rest of the world will meet Jiwoo in April.