Written by: Ollie Kaplan
Netflix revealed on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, the first teaser trailer and key visual for the anime The Ribbon Hero, based on Osamu Tezuka’s influential gender-bending manga, Princess Knight. It’s set to begin streaming worldwide on August 8, 2026.
Alongside the teaser and key visual, it was revealed that the anime’s lead character, Sapphire, who was born with the “blue heart of a boy and the pink heart of a girl,” will be voiced by Saya, of the comedy duo Lalande. According to Netflix, the role is Saya’s first leading role in a feature-length animated production.
“The way the anime world was created is alien, meticulous, and exceptional, because there was respect for it,” Saya shared on her Instagram. “I think the original ‘Knight in Ribbons’ was the first work of a shoujo manga, featuring a ‘fighting woman’ as the main character. The director told me that there was a part of Sapphire’s birthplace and background that overlaps with me.”
Saya continues, “Now that I’m over 30, I’ve never had a job where I struggled and enjoyed the challenge this much. I’d be so happy if you could watch it!”
The Ribbon Hero will be directed by versatile animator Yuki Igarashi, who is well-known for his work as the key animator on the critically acclaimed ending sequence for Season 1 of Jujutsu Kaisen. He made his directorial debut in 2021 with the eighth episode of the first season of Star Wars: Visions, titled “Lop & Ochō;” however, The Ribbon Hero will be his first-ever feature-length film.
Kei Mochizuki (Fate/Grand Order, Touken Ranbu) will provide original character designs for The Ribbon Hero, with concept collaboration from Mai Yoneyama, who served as ending director on Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and LAZARUS. In addition, Kazunari Arakaki is the animation character designer, and Cedric Herold is the art director.
Animation will be produced by studio OUTLINE, helmed by Igarashi, with TWIN ENGINE also listed as a producer.
“For this film, I poured in my respect for Osamu Tezuka, the creator of Princess Knight; for Ichizo Kobayashi of the Takarazuka Revue, which lies at the root of the work; and for the supreme, classic entertainment they brought into the world,” Igarashi told Netflix’s website TUDUM. “They also created their works while overcoming hardships such as infectious diseases and war, and those works became the very foundation of our culture. To everyone living in this era, I hope you enjoy this blood‑stirring, heart‑pounding piece of what I believe is ‘true’ mainstream entertainment.”
Read Netflix’s official description of the anime, The Ribbon Hero:
Sapphire is the princess of a kingdom that no longer exists. Having lost everything in her homeland of Silverland to the calamity known as “Nergal,” she wanders in despair until she finally arrives in Goldland.
Though burdened by her past, she begins to find a glimmer of hope as she encounters the kindness of the people there. But as if to sneer at her peaceful new life, the calamity Nergal appears once more. The very despair that once reduced her homeland to ashes now threatens to steal the light from this land as well.
“I won’t lose anything ever again. And I won’t let anyone else lose anything either.” Brushing away her tears of sorrow, the girl takes up her sword. This is the story of a lone hero who ties her ribbon and resolves to defy her fate.
Widely regarded as the “Father of Manga,” Tezuka is considered to be one of the most influential artists of all time, and often referred to as the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney. Known for timeless classics, such as, Astro Boy and Princess Knight, the latter series basically invented the template for shōjo manga, with Tezuka applying his action-driven, cinematic style to a gender-fluid protagonist, specifically designed, for the first time ever, for female readers and not the male gaze. Sapphire, who (in case you missed it) is born with both a boy’s heart and a girl’s heart, is raised as a prince, and navigates identity across both genders. In 1950s Japan, a gender-fluid hero was genuinely radical—heck, it still would be genuinely radical, no matter what country the story was created in—and that DNA runs directly through Rose of Versailles, Utena, and the entire magical girl lineage.
Check out the teaser trailer below:
Source: Netflix
