AMC Global Media’s anime streaming service HIDIVE has announced that The World Is Dancing will stream as part of its Summer 2026 simulcast season. The anime was announced earlier this year, set to adapt Kazuto Mihara’s historical manga exploring the origins of Noh theater. Shochiku and CyberAgent are co-producing the series, with animation by Cypic (formerly CygamesPictures).
The series recently received a Special Award at the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2026 (SSFF & ASIA). It will stream exclusively on HIDIVE across the U.S., Canada, and select overseas markets including the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. The first episode will premiere on June 29, while fans will have the first chance to watch Episode 2 at its world premiere during Anime Expo 2026 on July 2.
Coinciding with the announcement, HIDIVE released the main visual and official English-subtitled first promotional video (PV #1) for the series on YouTube, which anime corner has the exclusive opportunity to share first. John Ledford, President of HIDIVE, commented:
“We’re excited to present the highly-anticipated historical drama The World Is Dancing as part of HIDIVE’s Summer 2026 line-up of exclusive simulcasts series. Told through the 12-year-old eyes of real-life Noh co-founder Zeami, The World Is Dancing presents a fictionalized dramatization of the birth of Noh that combines stunning animation together with mesmerizing elements from this classical theatrical art. Audiences will be captivated from the very first frame as they are transported back 600 years and immersed into the medieval world of 14th century Japan. The World Is Dancing is not to be missed!”
You can watch the trailer below.
The main voice cast for the anime was previously revealed, and the complete crew includes:
- Simba Tsuchiya as Ishiya
- Maaya Uchida as Kogane
- Romi Park as Zojiro
- Katsuyuki Konishi as Kan’ami
- Haruki Ishiya as Junigoro
- Takahiro Sakurai as Ashikaga Yoshimitsu
- Nobuo Tobita as Nijo Yoshimoto
- Mamiko Noto as Nariko
- Inori Minase as Chiharu
- Hazuki Seto as Satsuki
- Yoji Matsuda as Inuo
- Miyuki Sawashiro as Shirabyoshi
The production has put a strong emphasis on accurately depicting the traditional performances in the anime. Reijiro Tsumura, a Kanze-school Noh performer and Important Intangible Cultural Property holder, is supervising the Noh choreography. Additional choreography is handled by dancer Kaiji Moriyama, who directed the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics Opening Ceremony, and choreographer Mikiko Kawamura. The main staff for the anime includes:
- Director: Toshimasa Kuroyanagi (The Great Passage, Backflip!!)
- Character Design: Keigo Sasaki (The Millionaire Detective, Lonely Castle in the Mirror)
- Calligraphy/Title Lettering: Satoru Nemoto
- Animation Production: Cypic
Official Synopsis
One does not need dance to live. In 1374, during the turbulent age when the Northern and Southern Courts were locked in conflict, the Northern Court’s shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, was becoming an increasingly dominant force. Born the son of Kan’ami, head of the Kanze troupe of sarugaku performers, Oniyasha drifts through his days with a hazy question lodged in his heart: Why do people dance? His spirit remains clouded, until the day he encounters a dance that is truly “good.” Curious, sensitive, and strikingly beautiful, the boy meets people, laughs, cries, confronts his own weaknesses, and slowly begins to shape a new form of dance for a world steeped in impermanence.
The anime will adapt Kazuto Mihara’s six-volume manga originally serialized in Kodansha’s Morning magazine. The English version of the original manga is available on KODANSHA.
HIDIVE previously announced the acquisition of The Forsaken Saintess and Her Foodie Road Trip in Another World, which will also stream in Summer 2026.
Source: HIDIVE Press Release, The World Is Dancing Official Website
©Kazuto Mihara, KODANSHA/”The World Is Dancing” Production Committee.
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