The anime adaptation of Matsurika Kanriden will premiere in January 2027. The anime’s main cast, production staff, Japanese TV networks, theme songs, and main trailer have been released.

Matsurika Kanriden Main PV: Okay, This Actually Looks Pretty Good

I’ll be honest I wasn’t expecting the Matsurika Kanriden PV to grab my attention this much.

The new PV gives us a much better look at Matsurika, Emperor Hakuyo, and the rest of the cast, and it’s already clear that this isn’t going to be just another girl enters the palace and accidentally becomes everyone’s favorite person anime. Well okay, it might still have a little of that. 😂

What caught my attention most is Matsurika herself. Her incredible memory actually feels like an important part of her character rather than just a random “special ability” thrown into the story. She starts out wanting a quiet, ordinary life, but things obviously aren’t going to let her have that luxury.

The visuals are probably the PV’s biggest strength. The palace setting looks beautiful, the character designs are easy on the eyes, and the whole anime has this elegant historical-fantasy atmosphere. It’s not trying to explode the screen every five seconds, and honestly, that works for this kind of story. But based on this PV alone? I’m interested.

It has a good-looking setting, a heroine who actually seems capable, an interesting cast, and enough mystery to make me want to see what happens next.

And then there’s the opening song from KANA-BOON, Hananashi. That was a nice surprise. The song brings a lot more energy to the PV and makes the whole thing feel more lively. My only concern is the adaptation itself.

Matsurika Kanriden has a lot of character and political material to work with, so the pacing will matter A LOT. If the anime rushes through everything just to fit the story into 13 episodes, we could have a problem.

Manga & Light Novel Status

The Matsurika Kanriden anime is adapted from a light novel series (which acts as the primary source material) and it also has a highly active, ongoing manga adaptation. Light Novel Series Written by Rinne Ishida and illustrated by Izumi. It has been actively published since July 2017 under Kadokawa’s B’s-LOG Bunko imprint, reaching 18 volumes.

Manga Adaptation Status Ongoing (Active in Part 2) Illustrated by Waka Takase, the manga has been serialized in Akita Shoten’s Monthly Princess magazine since August 2018. And part 1 completed in October 2025. Part 2 officially launched in May 2026, kicking off the “Sāra Kingdom Arc”.

The manga is currently collected in 12 compiled volumes. The franchise has over 2 million copies in circulation globally, accounting for combined physical and digital copies of both the light novels and manga.

Director And Studio

The anime Matsurika Kanriden is being directed by Yuichi Nakazawa, working alongside chief director Takeshi Mori. The series is animated by Studio Maho a new studio established in 2018.

Yuichi Nakazawa Famous Work :

• Dragon Ball Super: Broly- Worked heavily as a key animator on this globally acclaimed, action-heavy cinematic hit.
• One Piece Film: Red – Contributed key animation to this massive box-office phenomenon.
• JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure – Served as a key animator across four entire seasons of David Production’s hit adaptation.

Maho Studio Famous Work:

• I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss: A massive hit among shōjo and otome fantasy fans.
• Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp: A highly popular medical-fantasy romance adaptation.
• Blue Miburo: Their ambitious, ongoing historical action series set in the Shinsengumi era.
• By the Grace of the Gods: A widely beloved, relaxing slice-of-life fantasy series that successfully ran for two seasons.
• In the Land of Leadale: Another widely streamed, lighthearted fantasy series.

Matsurika Kanriden Anime Story

The story of Matsurika Kanriden is a historical court romance drama described as a “Chinese-style Cinderella story”. Story follows to Matsurika Ko is an ordinary young woman born as a commoner. She works quietly inside the imperial palace of the fictional nation of Hakurou Bai Lou. While she thinks of herself as a plain side character, but Matsurika possesses a profound photographic memory.

She can perfectly retain everything she sees or reads. Matsurika’s boss asks her to fill in for a sick co-worker and act as a fake practice partner for a nobleman’s arranged marriage rehearsal. However, the man who secretly shows up to test the system is Emperor Hakuyo himself. Like i told you earlier our main MC has a great memory so during a sudden incident at the rehearsal, Matsurika’s rare, photographic memory saves the day.

After this incident Emperor Hakuyo gives her a strict directive “Go pass the brutal civil service imperial examination first. Now Matsurika has to study her way into the male-dominated Imperial Academy to earn an official government ranking on her own merit.

Streaming Deatils

The series is officially confirmed to stream and broadcast on major television networks in Japan starting in January 2027. Network Likes: Tokyo MX, MBS, TV Aichi, BS1.

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