The anime adaptation of Fool Night (フールナイト), based on the manga by Yasuda Kasumi, is set to stream all episodes simultaneously and exclusively on Netflix worldwide on November 26. The announcement comes alongside the reveal of three additional cast members and a second teaser PV.

A World Swallowed by Winter and Night

Fool Night is set in a distant future where thick clouds have blotted out the sky, leaving Earth in a perpetual state of winter darkness. Humanity clings to survival on the scarce oxygen produced through a technology called Tenka — a process that embeds seeds into the bodies of the dying, transforming them into plants. Against this bleak backdrop, a young man living in poverty named Kamiya Toshiro chooses to become a Reika — a plant that was once human.

The series marks the first-ever collaboration between studios Sunrise and Shaft, with Yukawa Atsuyuki directing. Uchiyama Kouki voices Toshiro, while Kotobuki Minako plays his childhood friend Horai Yomiko.

Additional Cast

Three new cast members have been announced:

• Enoki Junya as Yatsutaba Akira, deputy head of personnel at the Fourth Tenka Institute
• Endo Aya as Kano Saeko, Akira’s bodyguard
• Mizuuchi Kiyomitsu as Hirakishi Jin, chief of the “Nashi Division,” who recruits Toshiro as a special temporary employee

Second Teaser PV

The newly released teaser is laden with unsettling imagery: Yomiko confronting Toshiro with a harsh dose of reality about his wish to undergo Tenka; mysterious explosions and raging fire; a severed right hand still clutching a piece of candy; and blood-dripping vines growing from Toshiro’s body. A mysterious character shrouded in tentacles also makes an appearance alongside Akira, Saeko, and Jin.

Staff and Cast Comments

Enoki Junya (Akira)

When I first read the source material, I was captivated by the sight of the characters desperately struggling to live in this world. It has a unique setting, yet somehow it resonates with our own reality.

Endo Aya (Saeko)

The dialogue was so grounded and convincing that I could almost imagine this future actually happening — which was frightening in its own way. Yet there was also something deeply mysterious about it. Saeko is a character without a clear impression: she’s both comforting and slightly unsettling. I’m genuinely excited to see how her movements and sounds come to life in animation.

Mizuuchi Kiyomitsu (Jin)

The moment I picked up the manga I couldn’t put it down. The story swirls with the enormous energy of morally complex characters. As for Jin — he’s a man of the future who somehow smells of the Showa era. He doesn’t hold much power or rank, but he has the spirit to stand as a shield for Toshiro and Yomiko without hiding behind authority.

Tanaka Hitoshi (Series Composition)

With every page turn, the pain of a world covered in night and the people living in it cuts deeper. Nobody is ideal or righteous — they simply desire intensely and live.

Robert Sato (Character Design)

I never imagined I’d end up doing character design work. But once I started reading the manga — just one volume, I told myself — I found myself on volume two, then three. And here I am today, honored to be part of Fool Night.

Shimura Ryo (Assistant Director)

My focus was on making the source material’s rich world and weighty drama even more compelling through the visual medium. I personally hope viewers pay attention to how the characters’ sense of distance and conversational rhythm have been translated to screen.

Kikuchi Ryo (Visual Development)

The light-deprived world of this story isn’t simply bleak and drab — it’s surprisingly diverse. Sterile, ornate architecture coexists with visceral Reika; a dirty city steeped in culture and art emerges only under artificial light. I’ve been working every day to ensure that beauty and richness breathe alongside Toshiro and the others’ lives.

Tsuruoka Yota (Sound Director)

From the start I felt this was a rare, creatively open work. Guided by the director’s vision and a philosophy of stripping away all ornamentation, we’ve arrived at what I believe is a distinctly Japanese and individual soundtrack.

Kato Tatsuya (Music)

What draws me to Fool Night is the delicate portrayal of human urgency and fragility — the search for light even in a decaying, claustrophobic world. Rather than spelling out the sensation of life and death blurring through melody, I aimed to express it through breath, voice, and resonance itself — music from which the characters’ anguish, helplessness, and earnestness can rise.

Production Details

Staff

• Director: Yukawa Atsuyuki
• Series Composition: Tanaka Hitoshi
• Character Design: Robert Sato
• Assistant Director: Shimura Ryo
• Visual Development: Kikuchi Ryo
• Art Director: Takano Maki (J.C.STAFF)
• Color Design: Hibino Hitoshi
• Photography Directors: Ishikawa Kazunari (Animo Caramel), Tokuda Chiaki (Terra Effect), Aizu Takayuki (Shaft)
• CG Directors: Yamamoto Naoki, Hirano Junya
• Editor: Matsubara Rie (Seyama Editing Room)
• Sound Director: Tsuruoka Yota
• Music: Kato Tatsuya
• Animation Production: Sunrise × Shaft

Cast

• Kamiya Toshiro: Uchiyama Kouki
• Horai Yomiko: Kotobuki Minako
• Yatsutaba Akira: Enoki Junya
• Kano Saeko: Endo Aya
• Hirakishi Jin: Mizuuchi Kiyomitsu

The source manga’s first volume was published by Shogakukan in March 2021.