Red Riding Hood: A Detective Story Anime Announced for 2027 With First Trailer and Cast

A familiar fairy tale has taken a sharp turn. This time, Red Riding Hood is not just walking through the woods. She is solving crimes along the way. The newly announced TV anime adaptation of Akazukin, Tabi no Tochū de Shitai to Deau has unveiled its first teaser, a visual, and the main staff and cast ahead of its debut next year. Yes, the basket is still there. The murder mystery is new.

A fairy tale with a detective twist

The story comes from Aito Aoyagi’s novel, known in English as Red Riding Hood: A Detective Story. The premise is simple and strange in the best possible way. On the edge of town lives a girl called Red Riding Hood. One day, she sets off on a journey for a certain reason. From there, things become messy very quickly.

Instead of a quiet walk, she keeps running into one incident after another. Using her curiosity and a sharp mind, she begins solving each case. The series leans into a playful mystery tone, even throwing out lines like, “Why is your criminal plan so sloppy?” That tells us plenty. This is not a sleepy fairy tale. It is a fairy tale that brought a magnifying glass.

Main cast and creative team revealed

The anime has already confirmed its two lead performers:

• Yume Miyamoto as Red Riding Hood
• Akira Sekine as Pinocchio

Behind the scenes, the production brings together a team with experience across comedy, action, and character-driven projects. Itsurō Kawasaki is directing the series at Benten Film, and he is also handling the series composition and scripts.

Character design is being handled by Manami Minakata and Yūko Yahiro. The visual side of the world will also rely on Izumi Hoki and Hiroshi Katō as art directors, while Tomoe Yoshimura oversees color setting. Rieko Koike is in charge of compositing direction of photography, and Daisuke Hiraki is editing the series.

The staff lineup at a glance

• Director / Script: Itsurō Kawasaki
• Studio: Benten Film
• Character Design: Manami Minakata, Yūko Yahiro
• Art Direction: Izumi Hoki, Hiroshi Katō
• Color Setting: Tomoe Yoshimura
• Compositing Director of Photography: Rieko Koike
• Editor: Daisuke Hiraki

To mark the announcement, Manami Minakata also drew a commemorative illustration. It is one of those small launch details that helps set the tone. The series knows exactly what it wants to be: classic, odd, and just a little bit cheeky.

From novel to manga to anime

The project has had a steady journey before reaching television. Futabasha published Aoyagi’s original novel in August 2020. Later, Tanakanoka launched a manga adaptation in Monthly Action in January 2023.

That serialization changed course when the magazine ended publication in February 2024. The manga then moved to Web Action in April 2024. It eventually wrapped up with its fourth compiled volume, released in June 2025.

Now the story is moving again, this time into anime. We have seen this road before with novels that mix familiar folklore and mystery hooks. Sometimes the result feels forced. Sometimes it clicks because the contrast is the whole point. A detective Red Riding Hood investigating crimes in a fairy-tale world? It is absurd on paper. Which is often where anime starts having fun.

Why this announcement stands out

There is no shortage of fantasy anime, and there is certainly no shortage of stories that revisit classic characters. But this one arrives with a clearer gimmick than most:

• It uses a well-known fairy-tale figure
• It builds the plot around mystery-solving
• It pairs whimsy with crime scenes

That combination gives the adaptation an immediate identity. We do not need a long explanation to understand the appeal. Red Riding Hood. Dead bodies. Investigations. That is the pitch. Efficient, memorable, and a little ridiculous. In other words, anime knows what it is doing.

If the production can balance the fairy-tale aesthetic with solid case writing, the series could carve out a fun niche next season. It already has a title that is impossible to forget, even if we try. And let us be honest, we probably will not.

The teaser is out, the cast is set, and the mystery has begun. Will this unusual fairy-tale detective story make it onto your watchlist? Tell us what you think.