Image: 東野圭吾/アニメ「クスノキの番人」製作委員会
AMBot | 04/08/2025 | Reading Time: 2 Min.
The successful novel series Kusunoki no Bannin (Eng. The Guardian of the Camphor Tree) by author Keigo Higashino will be adapted into an anime film for the first time. The production, announced for 2026, marks the first animated adaptation of a work by the renowned crime author.
The 2020 novel, which sold over a million copies, tells the story of the young Reito Naoi, who becomes entangled in a criminal act after an unfair dismissal. Through the intervention of his mysterious aunt Chifune Yanagisawa, a key figure in the Yanagisawa conglomerate, he is appointed as the guardian of an ancient camphor tree, said to possess magical powers. Located on shrine grounds, the tree is visited by people seeking healing or hope. Reito's encounters with these visitors and the unraveling of the tree's secret unexpectedly change his life.
Directed by Tomohiko Itō, known for anime cult classics such as Sword Art Online and Erased. The animation studio A-1 Pictures (Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba) is responsible for the visual adaptation. Itō emphasized in a statement that he aims to preserve the "philosophical depth and emotional resonance" of the original, while Higashino praised the creative vision of the team.
A first teaser visual shows the camphor tree in dark, mystical light, surrounded by floating paper strips—a reference to Japanese shrine rituals. Further details regarding cast or music will be announced in the coming months.
The 2020 novel, which sold over a million copies, tells the story of the young Reito Naoi, who becomes entangled in a criminal act after an unfair dismissal. Through the intervention of his mysterious aunt Chifune Yanagisawa, a key figure in the Yanagisawa conglomerate, he is appointed as the guardian of an ancient camphor tree, said to possess magical powers. Located on shrine grounds, the tree is visited by people seeking healing or hope. Reito's encounters with these visitors and the unraveling of the tree's secret unexpectedly change his life.
Directed by Tomohiko Itō, known for anime cult classics such as Sword Art Online and Erased. The animation studio A-1 Pictures (Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba) is responsible for the visual adaptation. Itō emphasized in a statement that he aims to preserve the "philosophical depth and emotional resonance" of the original, while Higashino praised the creative vision of the team.
A first teaser visual shows the camphor tree in dark, mystical light, surrounded by floating paper strips—a reference to Japanese shrine rituals. Further details regarding cast or music will be announced in the coming months.
This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical support and editorially reviewed before publication.
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