Kagurabachi made a fiery and bloody spectacle during its early screening of Ep. 1 in Anime Expo 2026 as part of its “World Tour”. With a mix of highly detailed depiction of blacksmithing (and young Chihiro’s everyday life) and stylishly violent and brutal swordfighting, this first episode wowed the crowds packed into JW Marriott’s Diamond ballroom. It really turned up the hype for the anime’s eventual debut in April of next year.
Kagurabachi Ep. 1 World Tour Screening: Details in Brief
Kagurabachi Ep. 1 World Tour Screening was an early screening of the first episode of this upcoming dark fantasy action adventure anime series as part of the Los Angeles portion of its World Tour. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the Shonen Jump manga of the same name by Takeru Hokazono.
Cypic (Umamusume: Cinderella Gray, Apocalypse Hotel, The Summer Hikaru Died) is the animation studio behind this upcoming anime. Tetsuya Takeuchi is the director.
Official Teaser Trailer and World Tour Synopsis
Chihiro Rokuhira is a boy who aspires to become a swordsmith,
and took daily training under his father Kunishige, a renowned swordsmith.
Their days, once filled with laughter, are brutally torn apart by an attack
from the mysterious sorcerer organization, the Hishaku.What is stolen from them are the six Enchanted Blades—swords of immense power capable of
shaping the fate of the nation—and the gentle, warm life they once shared.From that day on, everything changed. In a world engulfed in darkness,
Chihiro takes up Enten, the seventh Enchanted Blade left behind by his father,
and sets out on a blood-soaked path of revenge.
Kagurabachi Ep. 1 World Tour Screening: The Good
Kagurabachi Ep. 1 is a masterful blend of masterful storytelling and stylishly brutal action filled with violence and blood. Without going into spoilers, this is why:
The Duality of Light…
The story of Kagurabachi Ep. 1 is a perfect blend of light and dark. Light for all the light-hearted comedy that happens in this episode, especially in the first half where it’s basically a slice of life story about young Chihiro Rokuhira (voiced by Taihi Kimura (JP)) living his life with his single father Kunishige Rokuhira (voiced by Tomokazu Seki (JP)). It’s a life of hilarious comedy as son basically tried to manage his very quirky father, while father in turn teaches son about the art of blacksmithing that makes for an oddly heartwarming story.
This is all complete with some highly detailed depiction of that very blacksmithing, specifically in the context of making katanas. There is a strong focus on the process of swordsmithing itself. From the sparks flying from each hammer impact, to the sounds of steel on steel that reverberates in your ears in an almost hypnotic manner. Cypic really puts a lot of effort into animating these mundane actions, making you feel like you’re in there with them, seeing craftsmen at their work.
And Dark
All that slice of life is then contrasted in Ep. 1 by the second half: which suddenly turns into a darkly violent urban fantasy story. All again starring Chihiro, but apparently much older and noticeably battle-scarred. There’s still something of the old Chihiro in there, but you can tell that life has given him a bit of a rough edge and a jaded exterior. As well as a propensity towards violence in pursuit of his goals, pulled off with brutal style.
I mean it. The action that happens in the second half of Ep. 1 is as stylishly entertaining as it is brutally violent. And yet, the vast majority of that action is highly realistic. Every moment Chihiro makes and every action he takes looks and feels as though a sufficiently skilled fighter could do them in real life. That realism adds to how gripping the action is, because you also can feel from Chihiro’s actions that he’s just as mortal as the enemies are, and that it’s only his skill that’s keeping him from suffering certain death.
That, and an ace up his sleeve, but that would be spoiling the fun until Kagurabachi makes its official debut.
Kagurabachi Ep. 1 World Tour Screening: The Bad
Alas, my few compaints has little to do with the episode itself. Honestly, the only thing about this early screening of Ep. 1 is that I wish they had shown the opening and ending theme songs. For me, the music and visuals in those openings and endings is part of what makes or breaks an anime. Getting to listen to and see that would’ve been a nice treat, but sadly, it was not to be. Not until April 2027 will we get to see that opening and / or the ending theme sequences.
And that leads me to my other complaint. It’s the fact that we will have to wait about nine months as of this writing to finally see the official debut of Kagurabachi. It makes this early screening feel like the world’s worst cliffhanger, and it makes me wonder why they’re choosing to do this early screening so…early. Alas, there’s no official explanation for this, so we can only speculate and wait until the anime gets around to that debut.
Anime Recommendations
Fortunately, if you can’t wait that long for more bloody action, then you have alternatives in the form of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Kaiju No. 8, DDDD, DAN DA DAN, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, Zenshu, Blue Box, Solo Leveling, Black Butler, Nyaight of the Living Cat, May I Ask for One Final Thing?, TRIGUN STARGAZE, and / or Daemons of the Shadow Realm. If you want something calmer or more story-focused while you wait though, then you might like Spy x Family, Senpai is an Otokonoko, Apocalypse Hotel, Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, My Dress-Up Darling, This Monster Wants to Eat Me, Hana-Kimi, Journal with Witch, and / or Witch Hat Atelier.
What do you think of this early screening of Kagurabachi Ep. 1? Were you part of the audience in JW Diamond and want to add your own opinions here? Tell us your swordsmithing and sword-wielding thoughts in the comments section below.
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