Image: Yukino Sonoyama, Kodansha/Bless-Produktionskomitee
AMBot | 09/13/2026 | Reading Time: 4 Min.
The TV anime 'Bless' (Japanese 'Buresu') will air starting January 2027 in the Noitamina programming block on Fuji TV, running there on Fridays from 23:30 to 24:00. The start date, main cast, teaser visual, and two character promo videos were announced as part of the 'Aniplex One Focus' event, which was broadcast on September 12, 2026.
The main roles are voiced by Tomohiro Ōno as Aia Udagawa and Chiyuki Miura as Jun Sumisaki. Aia Udagawa is a former model and first-year student who dreams of becoming a make-up artist but has given up this wish because he considers himself untalented. Through participating in a contest at the school festival, he begins to re-engage with his passion for makeup. Jun Sumisaki is in the same class, hides her height of 178.5 centimeters and her freckles at school, but pursues the dream of becoming a model and continues practicing the walking that her mother taught her. According to the information, Aia has his birthday on December 25, is 172 centimeters tall, and has blood type A; Jun was born on July 17 and has blood type O.
The teaser visual designed by character designer Honoka Yokoyama shows Jun Sumisaki in incoming light, with the striking eye makeup applied by Aia standing out. The white casablanca that Jun holds in her hand symbolizes 'purity' and 'blessing' in the language of flowers. The two character promo videos 'Aia Udagawa' and 'Jun Sumisaki' use scenes from the series and let the voices of the two main characters be heard for the first time; further character promo videos are to follow weekly.
The director is Shōtarō Kitamura, assisted by Takayuki Kikuchi. Fukurou Kamiza is responsible for the script and series composition, the character design is by Honoka Yokoyama, who also leads the overall animation together with Tetsuya Kawakami and Reina Iwasaki. Other positions include costume design by Akane Takeda, prop design by Takayuki Kidou, chief animators Yūichirō Iida, Marina Kobayashi, and Mirai Harashima, as well as hair and make-up supervision by Katsuyoshi Kojima of tron. Color design: Mana Hokuto; art director: Risa Wakabayashi; art design: Kiya Hirayoshi; CG direction: Yuki Kuribayashi; cinematography: Hideki Eto of EXPLOSION; editing: Kiyoshi Hirose; music: Ryo Yoshimata; sound direction: Kōhei Yoshida; sound effects: Takuya Hasegawa. The animation is produced by A-1 Pictures, known among others for the 'Sword Art Online' and 'Kaguya-sama' series.
The story is told of two teenagers who hide what they actually want and instead orient themselves to their surroundings. Aia is selected together with his classmate Jun for the school festival contest. Originally, it was planned that Jun would take on costume and hair makeup as a stylist and Aia would walk the runway as a model; at Jun's suggestion, however, the two swap roles, so that Aia does the makeup and Jun models. During the preparations, Aia senses the hidden charm that Jun does not show in the classroom and wants to bring it out with makeup – the beginning of a story about two people who take up a given-up dream again.
The source material is by Yukino Sonoyama and is published by Kodansha: The manga started in January 2022 in the magazine Shōnen Magazine Edge and, after its final issue in October 2023, moved to Monthly Shōnen Sirius in December of the same year. The series has more than 1.25 million copies in circulation, was included in the recommendation list for comics 2024 chosen by bookstore employees nationwide, and is published in English by Kodansha USA as well as digitally via the K Manga service. The ninth volume is set to be released on October 8.
In addition to the anime, a live-action adaptation as a drama is being produced, which Prime Video is to show worldwide in spring 2027; the lead role is taken by Ryusei Onishi of the group Naniwa Danshi. During the 'Aniplex One Focus' event, Ōno and Miura were also made up by hair and make-up supervisor Katsuyoshi Kojima to express the attitude with which they approach their role; a director's cut version of the recordings is to be released later.
The main roles are voiced by Tomohiro Ōno as Aia Udagawa and Chiyuki Miura as Jun Sumisaki. Aia Udagawa is a former model and first-year student who dreams of becoming a make-up artist but has given up this wish because he considers himself untalented. Through participating in a contest at the school festival, he begins to re-engage with his passion for makeup. Jun Sumisaki is in the same class, hides her height of 178.5 centimeters and her freckles at school, but pursues the dream of becoming a model and continues practicing the walking that her mother taught her. According to the information, Aia has his birthday on December 25, is 172 centimeters tall, and has blood type A; Jun was born on July 17 and has blood type O.
The teaser visual designed by character designer Honoka Yokoyama shows Jun Sumisaki in incoming light, with the striking eye makeup applied by Aia standing out. The white casablanca that Jun holds in her hand symbolizes 'purity' and 'blessing' in the language of flowers. The two character promo videos 'Aia Udagawa' and 'Jun Sumisaki' use scenes from the series and let the voices of the two main characters be heard for the first time; further character promo videos are to follow weekly.
The director is Shōtarō Kitamura, assisted by Takayuki Kikuchi. Fukurou Kamiza is responsible for the script and series composition, the character design is by Honoka Yokoyama, who also leads the overall animation together with Tetsuya Kawakami and Reina Iwasaki. Other positions include costume design by Akane Takeda, prop design by Takayuki Kidou, chief animators Yūichirō Iida, Marina Kobayashi, and Mirai Harashima, as well as hair and make-up supervision by Katsuyoshi Kojima of tron. Color design: Mana Hokuto; art director: Risa Wakabayashi; art design: Kiya Hirayoshi; CG direction: Yuki Kuribayashi; cinematography: Hideki Eto of EXPLOSION; editing: Kiyoshi Hirose; music: Ryo Yoshimata; sound direction: Kōhei Yoshida; sound effects: Takuya Hasegawa. The animation is produced by A-1 Pictures, known among others for the 'Sword Art Online' and 'Kaguya-sama' series.
The story is told of two teenagers who hide what they actually want and instead orient themselves to their surroundings. Aia is selected together with his classmate Jun for the school festival contest. Originally, it was planned that Jun would take on costume and hair makeup as a stylist and Aia would walk the runway as a model; at Jun's suggestion, however, the two swap roles, so that Aia does the makeup and Jun models. During the preparations, Aia senses the hidden charm that Jun does not show in the classroom and wants to bring it out with makeup – the beginning of a story about two people who take up a given-up dream again.
The source material is by Yukino Sonoyama and is published by Kodansha: The manga started in January 2022 in the magazine Shōnen Magazine Edge and, after its final issue in October 2023, moved to Monthly Shōnen Sirius in December of the same year. The series has more than 1.25 million copies in circulation, was included in the recommendation list for comics 2024 chosen by bookstore employees nationwide, and is published in English by Kodansha USA as well as digitally via the K Manga service. The ninth volume is set to be released on October 8.
In addition to the anime, a live-action adaptation as a drama is being produced, which Prime Video is to show worldwide in spring 2027; the lead role is taken by Ryusei Onishi of the group Naniwa Danshi. During the 'Aniplex One Focus' event, Ōno and Miura were also made up by hair and make-up supervisor Katsuyoshi Kojima to express the attitude with which they approach their role; a director's cut version of the recordings is to be released later.
By clicking the "Play" button, you agree to the privacy policy.
By clicking the "Play" button, you agree to the privacy policy.
Images
This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical support and editorially reviewed before publication.
Comment(s) 0