Whoever Steals This Book anime movie announced for 2026 with PV and visual

On Tuesday, June 3, 2025, a new website and X account were opened to announce the production of Whoever Steals This Book anime movie. According to the announcement, the film will premiere in 2026. The website also revealed the movie's main staff, teaser visual, and teaser promotional video.

Whoever Steals This Book anime movie serves as an adaptation of the Japanese novel written by Nowaki Fukamidori. Kadokawa Shoten published the novel in October 2020, with a paperback version released in June 2023.

The novel has a manga adaptation with Kakeru Sora's illustrations, serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace magazine from December 2021 to March 2023. The manga's individual chapters were collected into three tankobon volumes.

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Whoever Steals This Book anime movie's teaser trailer and visual confirm the 2026 premiere

On Tuesday, June 3, 2025, a new website and X account unveiled a promotional video and visual, confirming the 2026 theatrical premiere of Whoever Steals This Book anime movie. The short clip features the main character, Mifuyu, who sets out to find the book thief, responsible for triggering an ancient curse upon the town.

The video also focuses on a mysterious girl named Mashiro, whom Mifuyu meets. Unfortunately, the teaser trailer doesn't reveal an exact release date. In addition to the trailer, the official staff unveiled a teaser visual for the Whoever Steals This Book anime. The illustration depicts Mifuyu and Mashiro as if jumping into a glowing book.

Comments from the original author, Nowaki Fukamidori, and other staff members have arrived on the anime's official site. Regarding Mifuyu, Nowaki says she's a girl forced by her family to do things she doesn't like and is burdened with the pain of not being able to live on her own accord. The author is hopeful that more people will see the troublesome protagonist as a result of the anime movie adaptation.

Daisei Fukuoka directs the fantasy anime at Kagokan, with Yasuhiro Nakanishi in charge of the scripts. Keiko Kurosawa is listed as the character designer and the movie's animation director, while Michiru Oshima is the music composer. Kagokan's founder, Yuji Higa, is enlisted as the animation producer, while Kadokawa Animation is the movie's distributor.

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A brief synopsis of the Whoever Steals This Book anime movie

Mifuyu, as seen in the trailer (Image via Kagokan)

Based on Nowaki Fukamidori's novel, Whoever Steals This Book anime movie follows Mifuyu, a high school student, who is left a large collection of books by her great-grandfather. It's a vast library, renowned as the Mikura Hall. While Mifuyu's father is the caretaker, she doesn't have a passion for literature, unlike her family.

Yet, one day, several books are stolen from the library, triggering an Ancient Curse. The curse transforms the town according to the various stories. Mifuyu discovers that the only way to restore the town to its original state is to find the book thief. She sets out on an exhilarating adventure with a mysterious girl named Mashiro.

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