Shirotan: TV anime premieres October 3 in Japan

The TV anime “Shirotan” premieres on October 3, 2026 on Japanese television. TV Asahi will then broadcast the series every Saturday at 4 p.m.; the individual episodes are also set to be released on the anime's official YouTube channel in parallel.

As Anime!Anime! reports, the main visual was published together with the premiere date. It shows Shirotan and his friends traveling in a hot-air balloon. The character is based on a sea lion motif and was already introduced as an original character by Creative Yoko in 1999.

Cast and Production

Aoi Yuki voices Shirotan. Other roles are voiced by Miyu Hanasaki as Rakkoinu, Rina Hidaka as Shell and Riyo Iwai as Ramune. Arisa Okada directs, and Atsuko Yamamoto serves as assistant director. Sei Yoshizuki is responsible for series composition and scripts, and the music comes from Shota Kowashi.

The animation is produced by Lesprit. According to the published production information, TV Asahi and Shin-Ei Animation handle the project production. The announcement does not mention a German license or a streaming partner for German-speaking regions.

The start joins several other new TV projects that aninew.de has recently reported on. These include the announced TV anime “August 31st Long Summer” by Shaft and the short anime for “Identity V” planned for late November short anime for “Identity V”.

Launch Campaigns

From September 4, Creative Yoko will also set up so-called anime memorial message boards in four stores in the Kanto area. There, handwritten messages from the voice actresses will be displayed, and visitors can add their own messages on sticky notes. From September 11, new Shirotan products specifically themed around the TV anime are also set to appear in the official stores and online shop.

For the series itself, the concrete date is the Japanese premiere: October 3, 2026, weekly on TV Asahi and additionally via the official anime YouTube channel.