Adult Swim unveils new Rooster Fighter anime

Rooster Fighter — an anime adaptation of Shu Sakuratani’s manga of the same name — will debut on Adult Swim this March.

The anime follows the action-packed day-to-day life of “cock-about-town” Keiji, who isn’t your average rooster. I mean, he is, but he’s also humanity’s ultimate protector, fearlessly taking on the evil (and often gargantuan) foes that have mysteriously begun terrorizing his town and pecking them to pieces. If you ever asked yourself the question, “What if Levi Ackerman from Attack on Titan were a chicken?” then this show may be for you.

“Rooster Fighter is the kind of show that immediately answers the question ‘Yes, but what if a rooster did it?’ and then never looks back,” Adult Swim president Michael Ouweleen said of the show. “It’s ridiculous, wildly sincere, and packed with talon-powered action.”

Basically, it’s Attack on Titan but with roosters, which honestly sounds kind of awesome.

Adult Swim unveiled the 12-episode anime adaptation of Sakuratani’s manga via a short teaser trailer showing Keiji in action. He gracefully hops onto an enormous, demonic-looking foe, deftly pecks it right in the cornea, and lands firmly on his little chicken feet before declaring, “Finishing move!” Keiji then unleashes his final form with his signature battle cry: “Kokekokkō!” (The Japanese-language equivalent of “Cock-a-doodle-doo!”)

It’s exciting to see another anime debuting exclusively on Adult Swim and not on major streaming platforms such as Crunchyroll or Netflix. Adult Swim’s latest exclusive anime were a mixed bunch. Uzumaki, an adaptation of Junji Ito’s horror masterpiece, was poorly received due to lacklustre animation and a troubled development process. Lazarus, from anime maestro Shinichiro Watanabe, received positive reviews but many fans believe it ultimately failed to live up to the standard set by Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Space Dandy.

Rooster Fighter premieres (in English dub format) on Adult Swim at 12 AM on March 14, with subsequent episodes airing every Saturday.