The highly anticipated television anime adaptation of kiki’s light novel series, “ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword!” (internationally titled “Roll Over and Die”), recently unveiled its first promotional video, a key visual, and details about its main cast. The series is officially set to premiere in 2026.
Promotional Video and Key Visual Launch
On Sunday, June 29, 2025, the production team behind the “Roll Over and Die” TV anime released its inaugural promotional video. This teaser offers a glimpse into the dark fantasy world of the series, providing fans with a first look at the animation style and atmosphere. Accompanying the promo was the reveal of a captivating new key visual, designed to encapsulate the tone and narrative of the original Japanese title. Both the video and the visual have been widely shared across official channels and anime news outlets, generating significant buzz among fans awaiting the adaptation.
Unveiling the Main Cast
The announcement also confirmed a key casting detail for the “Roll Over and Die” anime. Voice actress Ayaka Nanase has been cast in the leading role of Flum Apricot. Nanase is known for her previous work as Yoshino in “Sakura Quest.”
Ayaka Nanase as Flum Apricot
Flum Apricot is characterized as a girl with “zero stats across the board” and a seemingly useless power called “Reversal.” Despite this, she is chosen by divine prophecy to join the Hero’s Party. However, her journey takes a dark turn when she is betrayed and sold into slavery by a fellow party member, Jean Inteige. Her desperate choice to wield a cursed weapon awakens something new within her, leading to a “grimdark tale about one woman’s blood-soaked quest to reclaim her life.” Ayaka Nanase expressed her enthusiasm for the role, noting her immediate captivation by Flum’s struggle for survival and her love for the story’s dark setting.
The Road to 2026 Premiere
The “Roll Over and Die” anime adaptation was initially announced in April 2025. The latest reveal of the promo video, cast, and key visual confirms a 2026 broadcast date, setting the stage for its highly anticipated debut. An official website and an X (formerly Twitter) account have also been launched to provide further updates on the production.
The Original Light Novel and Manga
The “Roll Over and Die” anime is based on the popular light novel series written by kiki and illustrated by Kinta. The story originally began as a web novel on the Shosetsuka ni Naro platform in January 2018. Micro Magazine later picked up the series for print publication under its GC Novels imprint.
The light novel series has seen multiple volumes released, with Kinta illustrating the first four volumes and kodamazon taking over illustrations from the fifth volume onward. Both Kinta and kodamazon are credited as original character designers for the anime. In addition to the light novels, a manga adaptation by Sunao Minakata has been serialized online on Micro Magazine’s Comic Ride website since December 2018.
Seven Seas Entertainment holds the English publishing rights for both the light novel and manga series, making the “Roll Over and Die” narrative accessible to a wider international audience. The combined circulation of the light novels and manga has reached over 415,000 copies, including digital sales. Seven Seas also offers an audiobook format of the novel series, narrated by Emily Bauer.
