The highly anticipated sixth season of the Kingdom anime has officially announced five additional cast members and confirmed its premiere date for October 4, 2025. The new season will begin airing on NHK General at 24:10 JST (effectively, October 5 at 12:10 a.m. JST).
Expanding the Roster: New Voices for the Qin Military
The newly revealed voice actors will portray key figures within the Qin military, further enriching the historical epic’s ensemble. The additions include:
- Kōji Takeda as Ako
- Dai Matsumoto as Mako
- Shinnosuke Tachibana as Akakin
- Yoshino Nanjō as Kitari
- Masaaki Mizunaka as Katari
These actors join previously announced new cast members Shō Komura as Sojin, Daichi Hayashi as Sotan, and Yuu Hayashi as Kanto, all part of the Hi Shin (Fei Xin) Unit.
The Looming Conflict: Qin vs. Zhao
The sixth season is poised to thrust viewers into the intense “Zhao Invasion Arc,” promising high-stakes battles and strategic maneuvers. The series will depict the all-out war between the Qin and Zhao armies, with protagonist Shin taking up Wang Yi’s spear as he charges into the battlefield. The narrative will also feature a battle of wits between the brilliant strategist Ou Sen and Zhao’s Ri Boku.
Returning Production Team and Musical Talent
The production for the sixth season maintains a consistent team, with Kenichi Imaizumi returning as director. Noboru Takagi is back as the scriptwriter, and Hisashi Abe is once again handling character designs at Studio Pierrot and its subsidiary, St.Signpost. The musical score will once again be composed by Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto.
For opening and ending themes, Ikimono-gakari will perform “Ikite, Sansan” (Live, Brilliantly), while Sora Tomonari will perform “Hōkō” (Roar).
Kingdom Franchise Continues Its Reign
The Kingdom anime adaptation, based on Yasuhisa Hara’s popular historical manga, continues to draw a significant following. The manga, which centers on the slave boy Shin’s dream of becoming a great general for the state of Qin, has been serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Young Jump magazine since 2006 and boasts over 110 million copies in circulation by December 2024.
The anime series first premiered in 2012, with subsequent seasons airing in 2013, 2020 (restarting in 2021 due to COVID-19 delays), 2022, and the most recent fifth season concluding in March 2024. Crunchyroll has streamed previous seasons of the anime and is expected to continue streaming the new season internationally. The franchise has also spawned four live-action films.
