Square Enix recently confirmed that its anime adaptation of Yuu Morikawa's supernatural comedy manga series, Mr. Villain's Day Off (Kyūjitsu no Warumono-san), is all set to grace screens.
Announced earlier this year, the anime's first teaser trailer has been unveiled by Animefly, teasing an enigmatic adaptation with dark comedy elements. The teaser also confirmed a 2024 release, though the exact date has yet to be announced.
Released in its original Japanese language, the trailer teases a brief evil showdown, before swiftly shifting the tone to a more lighthearted theme. Accompanying the visuals is a monologue, which translates to the leader of an evil organization, talking about their everyday attempts to annihilate humanity and make Earth their home planet. However, on a holiday, the General's trip to the zoo introduces him to pandas, thus, beginning a weird obsession to increase their population.
Renowned voice actor Shintarō Asanuma will be taking on the role of Warumono-san (General). Directed by Yoshinori Odaka, known for his work on B-Daman CrossFire and BEM, the anime is produced by the studios Shin-Ei Animation and SynergySP. Midori Gotou, known for Hozuki's Coolheadedness, will be writing the series' scripts, while character designs will be crafted by Tomomi Shimazaki, known for her work on Elegant Yokai Apartment Life. The soundtrack will be composed by Nobuaki Nobusawa (Dagashi Kashi and Steins; Gate 0).
Created in 2018 as a webcomic for the website, Gangam Pixiv, Morikawa's manga has been well-received and found a dedicated fanbase over the years. The series has so far released five tankōbon volumes. Earlier this year, Square Enix licensed the rights to translate the manga for its website, Manga Up!, and will be releasing the volumes.
The series' synopsis on the website reads, "An Evil Organization from another planet is trying to take over Earth. An extraterrestrial from that organization named the 'General' tirelessly fights against Earth's defenders every single day in a battle of life and death! However, today is his day off."
Mr. Villain's Day Off will premiere sometime in 2024.
Source: YouTube