The Dandelion Netflix anime series is officially greenlit! Netflix has confirmed that the Dandelion anime series will premiere in April 2026 worldwide, with seven episodes created by Studio NAZ. It is based on Hideaki Sorachi's one-shot debut, published in 2002.
Earlier this week, a mysterious account on X ran a teaser campaign that created excitement before revealing the cast, crew and release date. The first post on X had approximately 5 million views alone.
Originally created by Hideaki Sorachi, Dandelion first appeared as a one-shot in 2002 as part of Weekly Shounen Jump and was later compiled into Volume 1 of the Gintama series. Despite its brevity, Dandelion provided a window through which readers could discover Hideaki Sorachi's long and successful career as a professional manga artist.
The story revolves around the lives of Tetsuo Tanba and Misaki Kurogane, who were members of the ‘Japan Angel Federation Sendoff Department.” They guide souls who are burdened by unresolved regrets to the afterlife. In the series, Chikahiro Kobayashi will play Tetsuo Tanba, and Megumi Han will portray the role of Misaki Kurogane. Hideaki Sorachi’s first manga ran from 2003 to 2019, and it has more than 55 million copies in circulation.
The Dandelion Netflix anime series will expand significantly on the original short story to seven episodes. Netflix characterises this effort as ambitious.
Daichi Nagatomi, the Anime Creative Executive Producer for Netflix, expressed about the challenges, saying, “The anime Dandelion is a bold and risky move by the editors at Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump… who turned Sorachi-sensei’s debut one-shot manga into a seven-episode series. Netflix was mocked in the promotional video for the Gintama movie, but the entire staff worked hard to create the anime… hoping to provide new sustenance for Sorachi-sensei.”
Hideaki Sorachi used his usual humour to reply, “I’m embarrassed about my debut novel, so I don’t reread it, but they’ve dug it up, made it into an anime, and expanded on it in various ways. It seems Netflix doesn’t have the word ‘delicacy.’ But I might as well take this opportunity to go and see those guys for the first time in 20 years.”
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