Sentenced to Be a Hero Anime Gets 2nd Season, Game Project

The staff of the television anime of Rocket Shokai's Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004 (Yūsha-kei ni Shosu: Chōbatsu Yūsha 9004-tai Keimu Kiroku) light novel series announced during AnimeJapan on Saturday that the series is getting a second season. The staff also announced a new game project titled Yūsha-kei ni Shosu -Game of the GODDESS- (Sentenced to Be a Hero -Game of the GODDESS-). Kadokawa unveiled an announcement promotional video and visual for the second season, as well as a teaser promotional video for the game:

Image courtesy of Kadokawa

© 2024 ロケット商会/KADOKAWA/勇者刑に処す製作委員会

VIC GAME STUDIOS is developing the game. Kadokawa is publishing.

Image courtesy of Kadokawa

© 2024 ロケット商会/KADOKAWA/勇者刑に処す製作委員会 ©2025 KADOKAWA/VIC GAME STUDIOS

Image courtesy of Kadokawa

©2024 Rocket Shokai/KADOKAWA/Project Sentenced to Be a Hero

The anime debuted on January 3 at 10:00 p.m. on Tokyo MX, with a first episode 60-minute special. The second episode aired on January 15, with subsequent episodes airing on Thursdays. The anime airs on 28 channels across Japan. Amazon Prime Video in Japan started streaming the series on January 3, and other sites started on January 6. Crunchyroll streams the series as it airs, and also streams a same-day English dub.

The anime was originally scheduled to premiere last October, but was delayed.

The anime stars:

• Yōhei Azakami as Xylo Forbartz
• Mayu Iizuka as Teoritta
• Shizuka Ishigami as Patausche Kivia
• Shun Horie as Dotta Luzulas
• Shunichi Toki as Venetim Leopool
• Yōji Ueda as Noragalle Senridge
• Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Tatsuya
• Jun Fukushima as Tsav
• Shōya Chiba as Jayce Partiract
• Yōko Hikasa as Neely
• Yūichi Nakamura as Rhyno
• Saori Ōnishi as Frenci Mastibolt

Hiroyuki Takashima (Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation episode director, The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls U149 OVA assistant director) is directing the anime at Studio KAI. Yoshitake Nakakōji is the assistant director, and is also credited as creature designer. Kenta Ihara (Tsukimichi -Moonlit Fantasy-, Ishura, Nukitashi the Animation) is writing and supervising the series' scripts. Takeshi Noda (DAN DA DAN sub-character designs) is designing the characters. Shunsuke Takizawa is composing the music. Nobutaka Ike is credited for worldbuilding. Kouta Sugawa is the prop designer.

SPYAIR performs the theme song "Kill the Noise."

Yen Press is releasing the novel series in English, and it describes the story:

Heroism—a punishment for only the worst criminals. Those sentenced to the fate of a hero are forced to fight at the front lines against the demon king's army—and if they die, they can expect to be revived and continue the battle. But when their leader, convicted of killing a goddess, meets another goddess himself, the contract they forge may be enough to change the world...

Shokai launched the light novel series on Kadokawa's Kakuyomu site in October 2020, and Kadokawa began publishing the series in print in September 2021 with illustrations by Mephisto. Kadokawa released the eighth volume on January 17.

Natsumi Inoue launched the novel's manga adaptation on Kadokawa's Dengeki Comic Regulus website in March 2022. Kadokawa published the manga's second compiled book volume in April 2024. BookWalker Global is releasing the manga digitally in English. Yen Press will release the manga in English starting in June 2026.

Source: Press release

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.