The upcoming Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004 TV anime has received a second key visual ahead of its January 2026 premiere. The illustration depicts multiple characters in mid-combat stances and has the tagline, “Fight, even in death.” 

The anime was originally supposed to begin airing in October 2025. It will have a 60-minute premiere.

©2024 Rocket Shokai(Dengekibunko/KadokawaPublished)/KADOKAWA/Project Sentenced to Be a Hero

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…

The light novels are published under KADOKAWA’s Dengeki no Shinbungei label and have a manga adaptation by Natsumi Inoue. The story was originally a web novel that first appeared on Kakuyomu in 2020.

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: Takeshi Noda (DAN DA DAN sub-character designer on Episode 1, 5, 6 et al.)
• Setting designer: Nobutaka Ike (Belle background art director)
• Music composer: TRYTONELABO’s 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