Happy Kanako's Killer Life Anime: April 2027, PV and Cast

Happy Kanako's Killer Life is getting a TV anime in April 2027. TOHO animation announced the adaptation on October 16, 2026, with a teaser PV, a teaser visual and the three main cast members. Studio Drive is animating it.

The anime adapts Toshiya Wakabayashi's full-color comedy manga Shiawase Kanako no Koroshiya Seikatsu. Kanako quits a draining office job and lands a new one with great pay and weekends off. The catch: her new employer is a company of hitmen.

Happy Kanako's Killer Life anime at a glance

• Premiere: April 2027 (Japan)

• Studio: Drive

• Director and scripts: Shinji Takamatsu

• Character design: Yoshiyuki Okubo

• Cast: Hana Tamegai, Ryota Suzuki, Junichi Suwabe

• Source: Toshiya Wakabayashi's manga (Seikaisha)

When does the Happy Kanako's Killer Life anime come out?#

The anime starts airing in April 2027, according to the official site. That puts it in the Spring 2027 season. The exact date, the TV channels and the streaming platforms have not been announced yet.

See the other shows planned for that season on our Spring 2027 anime page. Houkago no Idol ni wa Himitsu ga Aru is another manga adaptation starting in April 2027.

Happy Kanako's Killer Life teaser PV#

The teaser PV runs 52 seconds and is on the TOHO animation YouTube channel. According to its description, it opens with a commercial styled like a job agency ad, starring a real Asian small-clawed otter.

You can also watch it on YouTube.

The otter is a nod to Kanako's catchphrase. When something shocks her, she shouts animal puns like "Uso uso uso uso kotsumekawauso!", a play on the Japanese word for "no way" and the name of the otter.

Before the reveal, the team posted photos and videos of the animals from these gags on social media as a countdown. The shoots took place at Ueno Zoo, Tobu Zoo, a rabbit cafe and an otter cafe in Ikebukuro.

Happy Kanako's Killer Life teaser visual#

The teaser visual shows Kanako in her suit, sitting on a chair under a spotlight while a ring of hands points guns at her. The tagline reads like a job listing: a starting salary of 600,000 yen, weekends and holidays off, full benefits. Job type: hitman.

Happy Kanako's Killer Life cast#

• Kanako Nishino: Hana Tamegai

• Sakurai: Ryota Suzuki

• President: Junichi Suwabe

Kanako left a toxic company and switched careers for the perks, but her self-esteem is still on the low side. Sakurai is her senior at the firm: a top-class killer who is extremely curt and says "I'll kill you" all the time. The president runs the company and protects its worker-friendly culture.

All three actors sent comments. Hana Tamegai says Kanako is Tamegai's first lead role, and Tamegai also voices the animal gags. Ryota Suzuki has loved Wakabayashi's Tsuredure Children for years and says keeping a straight face as the cool Sakurai is the hard part. Junichi Suwabe notes that the art is cute but the title is anything but.

Happy Kanako's Killer Life staff and studio#

• Original work: Toshiya Wakabayashi (Seikaisha Comics)

• Director and scripts: Shinji Takamatsu

• Character design and chief animation director: Yoshiyuki Okubo

• Animation production: Drive

Shinji Takamatsu has a long comedy track record, including Kochikame, Gintama and Grand Blue. Drive animated KonoSuba season 3 and Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!!. Yoshiyuki Okubo worked on the Symphogear series.

In a comment, Takamatsu says few stories relate so closely to the feeling of "guess I have to go to work again tomorrow", even if this one does it in a dangerous way. The director also jokes that viewers who want to become hitmen after watching are on their own.

The Happy Kanako's Killer Life manga#

Toshiya Wakabayashi first posted the four-panel manga on Twitter and pixivFANBOX. Seikaisha then picked it up for its Twi4 service. Nine volumes are out in Japan, and the series has passed 1.2 million copies in circulation.

Seven Seas Entertainment publishes the manga in English and released volume 8 on July 28, 2026. The story also became a live-action series starring Non and Taisuke Fujigaya (Kis-My-Ft2), which debuted on DMM TV in February 2025, according to Anime News Network. A second season started on September 17, 2026.

Wakabayashi also created Tsuredure Children, which got a TV anime in 2017.

For official updates, follow the official site and the official X account. You can also track the anime on our Happy Kanako's Killer Life anime page.