At Anime NYC 2025 we had the opportunity to speak with Rooster Fighter creator Shu Sakuratani and Rooster Fighter anime series composer / screenwriter Hiroshi Seko. The Rooster Fighter anime, adapting Sakurani-sensei’s original manga, is airing now and is without question one of the most unique and hilarious anime to land this season. Rooster Fighter takes place in a world where terrifying monsters walk the earth. But, luckily for those in that world, one heroic rooster is destined for greatness. That rooster, Keiji, defends humanity from demonic Kiju and saves humanity from certain collapse. In our interview with Sakuratani-sensei and Seko-san, we talked about the series origins, the process of adapting it into anime, and what makes Rooster Fighter so great.
Portions of this interview have been lightly edited for clarity. This interview was conducted with the assistance of an interpreter.
Q: Sakuratani-sensei, can you talk about your inspirations for the series? When Anime Corner last spoke with you, you talked about having a rooster as a child, but what inspired other aspects of the story and its world?
Sakuratani-sensei: So I had been discussing with my editor about what would be a good hero. A hero that’s never been seen before. We were tossing around dogs, cats — but that’s kind of normal. It’s already been done; it’s just too normal. That’s when the idea of the chicken popped into my head. And of course, as I’d mentioned before, I did grow up with a chicken. You see chickens on TV. So I think there was always some sort of chicken presence in the back of my head. It was just a lightbulb moment, and I ended up with a chicken.
Q: Sakuratani-sensei, how involved are you with the anime adaptation? Are there any aspects that you envision will change significantly as the manga is turned into anime?
Sakuratani-sensei: To address the first part of the question, I had a lot of meetings with the screenwriter, Seko-san, and for the most part everything was in his hands. I would ask to add things here and there. For the anime side, I did do the final reviews of the finished anime. In regards to the part B of your question, with the timing of the anime adaptation being decided, I was definitely conscious that it was becoming an anime because when it was announced, only half of Rooster Fighter, the manga, had been written. For that second half, I actually talked to Seko-san a lot and started figuring out the structure of crescendo-ing to the last boss battle. There was definitely influence on the manga because of the anime.
Q: Seko-san, can you talk about the role of a screenwriter when it comes to adapting manga into anime?
Seko-san: When the project came to me, it was 12 episodes and that was a lot. And I knew I wanted to make those 12 episodes, by the time you watch everything, to be satisfying. And I do believe, overall, with Rooster Fighter, that there should be the last big boss battle. What sensei had mentioned about it all being in my hands, and sensei adding things — I didn’t have a big role, and of course everything is based on sensei’s original work. So I would have to say I didn’t play as big a role as sensei claimed. But, by the time I came onto Rooster Fighter, Keisuke was already in the manga. And so the big battles were starting to begin. So I just said, “Let’s just keep continuing to have those big battles.” That was the only thing I said. I swear, I did not make a massively huge contribution like that. It’s definitely all based on Sensei’s work.
Q: Sakuratani-sensei, what is your process for creating and designing the demons in Rooster Fighter?
Sakuratani-sensei: The base of the monsters that appear actually comes from a comedian named Hitoshi Matsumoto. He has a lot of sketches and skits; there’s one specific one that has stuck with me. Basically “lizard dude” would be the title of the sketch. This lizard goes up to a boy and the lizard is negotiating with the boy to take him home as a pet so he can live in his home. I guess that characterization of a lizard was very funny to me because it stuck with me. And so that’s actually crept its way into the character design. Another thing — and you see this with all the monsters — but one of the first ones is the salaryman. Most bad guys would not be wearing glasses and wearing a tie. Those kinds of touches are there to maintain the humor.
Q: Seko-san, how have you balanced retaining the qualities of the original work while adding places for the anime to shine in new ways?
Seko-san: The world of manga is 2D, it’s on paper, but it’s continuous. Anime is all continuous movement. So for me I always asked myself, “Okay, how can I translate the continuous 2D world into the always moving anime world?” That’s what I’m thinking about the most. And what parts they can really lean into when making it into the anime. As I mentioned before, it’s 12 episodes. And for me I always saw the story being completed within those 12 episodes. And before I even sit down and start writing — and this is a standard procedure for screenwriters — I sit down and think about the series structure generally. I definitely have a lot of influence from foreign media as well when I think of the structure.
Q: Out of curiosity, what kinds of foreign media?
Seko-san: The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Succession, but also The Bear and Taylor Sheridan’s works as well like Tulsa King, Mayor of Kingstown, and Lioness. Those are the types of series that I watch.
Q: Now for Sensei, you mentioned before how you came up with the idea of a rooster as a protagonist. But how did you come up with Keiji’s personality and fighting style?
Sakuratani-sensei: Actually, the moment that the chicken idea popped into my head, Keiji’s personality was also already in my head. Following that the general hard-boiled theme and his movements being wild went into the manga too.
Q: Seko-san, Rooster Fighter constantly shifts between absurd comedy and serious action. How do you handle those tone transitions in the screenplay?
Seko-san: Actually, it’s not hard for me at all because sensei has already done it for me. In the manga, the balance between comedic moments and serious moments or even moments where characters are having serious introspection, that’s all already well balanced. For example, there’s a chapter of the manga where they’re talking about the dam and it’s a very serious topic — and then you switch right into pigeons and dating. So for me I go with the flow, I don’t go against it or anything, and then also sensei will have a lot of serious battle scenes, and then he’ll sneak in a giggle from Piyoko. It’s already there and I just follow what sensei has laid out in the manga.
Q: The next question is for both of you. What parts of the original source material have been difficult to translate to animation?
Seko-san: I think the most challenging thing was trying to cover 6 volumes in 12 episodes. So everything won’t fit; making those choices. There are two large sections in the manga that unfortunately could not make it in the anime because if we put them in we wouldn’t be able to get to the end, where we wanted to be. So those were probably the most challenging parts. Choosing which parts to cut.
Q: And then conversely, what parts of the original do you think have been most enhanced with animation, visuals, and sound?
Sakuratani-sensei: As was mentioned before, the story structure was so great. When it became an anime I felt like he really captured the depth of the original. It’s also very visually accessible for the audience. And I always thought that it’s almost indistinguishable from the manga. You don’t even really think about the original manga when it became the anime. And also the voice actors. Keiji is played by Kenta Miyake-san. And his chicken cock-a-doodle-doo is so real. His talent is so immense — he’s the lead, but also brought along all the other voice actors. He really helped bring everyone’s level up on this project. The voice over actors really brought their A-game.
Seko-san: I’ve wondered how the chicken movement and the battles will come out. That’s what I’m really looking forward to seeing. Seeing that come off of the page.
Q: Sensei, the series blends elements of action and comedy, though you’ve spoken about wanting the action elements to be emphasized most. Did the blend of genres come naturally or was it something you intended on from the start?
Sakuratani-sensei: It was born during the process. And at first, I thought it would be more comedy leaning. But then in Episode 1, it’s revealed that Keiji is out for revenge for his sister, and it was clear this wasn’t going to end as a comedy. The more serious scenes started entering from there. It happened naturally as the writing process happened. Versus intentionally from the beginning.
Q: Sensei, the series succeeds in simultaneously parodying some tropes of shonen manga. While still delivering a satisfying and impressive shonen story. How conscious were you of creating that balance?
Sakuratani-sensei: It was never intentional to stick to a “shonen structure.” It’s just that as a kid, reading all of the shonen manga out there, anything that I was specifically drawn to just stuck with me. And that’s what’s filtered out into my manga. So it was more like my shonen taste being put out on the page.
Q: What do you most hope that audiences take away from the series? Especially during events like the premiere happening during Anime NYC?
Sakuratani-sensei: Well there’s lots for fans to be looking out for. But I would choose Miyake-san. The voice over actors. His comedic timing and his performance. Fans can look forward to that.
We’d like to thank Shu Sakuratani and Hiroshi Seko for taking the time to speak with us during Anime NYC, as well as VIZ and the staff of the convention for making the interview happen. Rooster Fighter premiered on March 14th, 2026 in the United States. The series is available to stream on Hulu and Crunchyroll.
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