The Princess Knight franchise has two anime projects in production: The Ribbon Hero, a film premiering on Netflix on August 8, and The Kept Man of the Princess Knight, a television anime debuting in January 2027. The film is the first anime project in the franchise in 27 years.
The Princess Knight franchise is returning with two distinct anime projects announced within weeks of each other. The Ribbon Hero, a film based on Osamu Tezuka's original manga, is the first anime project in the franchise in 27 years. It premieres on Netflix on August 8, with a final trailer released on July 30 that previews the English dub and adds five cast members. The film stars Saya of comedy duo Lalande as Sapphire, her first leading role in a feature-length animated production, and is directed by Yuuki Igarashi at his new studio OUTLINE, marking his feature-length directorial debut.
The second project, The Kept Man of the Princess Knight, is a television anime adaptation of Toru Shirogane's light novel series, which won the 28th annual Dengeki Novel Awards grand prize. Kadokawa released the first teaser trailer and visual on June 29, confirming a January 2027 debut. The anime is directed by Chihiro Kumano at BLADE, with series scripts by Deko Akao and character designs by Hisao Ishii based on Saki Mashima's original designs. The teaser features Junichi Suwabe as Matthew and Mikako Komatsu as Arwin, the Crimson Princess Knight.
The two projects share the Princess Knight name but are separate productions with different staffs, studios, and release windows. The film is a direct adaptation of Tezuka's manga, while the television series adapts a light novel spin-off. Both are currently in production, with the film arriving first in August 2026 and the television series following in January 2027.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself
sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every
fact links the story it came from.
Aug 20
Scholastic announced five new titles under its Graphix imprint in partnership with Tezuka Productions, each reimagining a manga by Osamu Tezuka. The lineup: Atomcat/Astro Cat, Princess Knight, The Three-eyed One, Triton of the Sea, and Zero Man. Samuel Sattin returns as writer, continuing from Unico: Awakening, with Japanese artists handling illustrations. Unico: Awakening launched August 6, 2024 with art by Gurihiru and will end with its eighth volume; volume three shipped July 7.
Aug 4
Netflix began streaming the final trailer for The Ribbon Hero, the new anime film based on Osamu Tezuka's Princess Knight manga, on July 30. The trailer previews the English dub and reveals five new cast members who play Sapphire's coworkers at a mining site. Yoshimasa Hosoya voices Rock, Mito Tsukino voices Hecate, Yusuke Tezuka voices Chorogy, Lunlun voices Chick, and Debidebi Debiru voices Tack. Mito Tsukino, Lunlun, and Debidebi Debiru are VTubers affiliated with NIJISANJI, and these are their first roles in a feature-length anime. The film stars Saya of comedy duo Lalande as Sapphire, in what Netflix says is her first leading role in a feature-length animated production. Seiran Kobayashi voices Pine, Koki Uchiyama voices Velvet, Mayumi Shintani voices Zirco, and Haruhiko Jo voices Pope. Yuuki Igarashi directs the film at his new studio OUTLINE, marking his feature-length directorial debut. The film premieres exclusively on Netflix worldwide on August 8. The story follows Sapphire, a princess who loses her homeland of Silverland to a calamity called Nergal, then finds hope in Goldland before Nergal returns.
Jun 29
Kadokawa released the first teaser promotional video and teaser visual for the television anime adaptation of Toru Shirogane's The Kept Man of the Princess Knight light novel series on Monday. The anime is set to debut in January 2027. The teaser trailer features Junichi Suwabe as Matthew and Mikako Komatsu as Arwin, the Crimson Princess Knight. Newly announced staff members include action director Hibiki Yamaguchi, prop and monster design by Recommendation, Inc., art setting by Shingo Kakimoto, art direction by Ryōsuke Kawai, color design by Naomi Nakano, 3D direction by Yoshinori Ban, 2D works by Yumeta Company, compositing direction by Kōdai Washizu, offline editing by Nobutaka Maki and Kiminori Yoshida, music by Taku Iwasaki, sound direction by Satoshi Motoyama, and casting management by Ippei Tomari. Chihiro Kumano is directing the series at BLADE. Hisao Ishii is designing the characters based on Saki Mashima's original light novel designs. Deko Akao is handling series scripts. The light novel series won the 28th annual Dengeki Novel Awards grand prize and has over 200,000 copies in circulation. Yen Press publishes the novels in English.