In a world where anime protagonists range from vending machines to ribs, a muscular rooster with a knack for fighting demons isn’t as unusual as you might think. But Rooster Fighter, a new 12-part anime series premiering on Adult Swim this Saturday, March 14, can at least set itself apart from its bizarro competition by being the straightest shooter of the bunch.
There’s no reincarnation, no curse or magic spell, no divine punishment here—or, at least, none revealed in the first three episodes that were shared with me. No, what you see is what you get with Rooster Fighter, and that’s probably one of the best things I can say about the show.
Adapted from Shu Sakuratani’s manga of the same name, which is published in English by Viz Media, Rooster Fighter‘s titular hero is Keiji, a “cock-about-town” and “humanity’s greatest defender.” When ordinary humans are transformed into huge, destructive demons, Keiji takes them out with speed, strength, and his uniquely powerful battle cry, before wandering off, ronin-style, into the sunset in search of his next battle, a tasty meal, or a hen to cluck down with for the night. All the while, he’s plagued by a past family tragedy.
Rooster Fighter is a very nuts-and-bolts shonen story, which, if the weekly convulated instalments of Jujutsu Kaisen are confusing you as much as they are me, you may find is a refreshing reprieve. Keiji is motivated by base instincts, the fights are relatively quick and straightforward, and the supporting cast consists of your standard played-out archetypes, like ‘cute squeeky sidekick’ and ‘girl fighter slash romantic interest’.
I have to say, in the English dub, I found Kimoy Lee’s vocal performance as said sidekick, Piyoko, to be a few too many octaves above grating, but Keiji’s Patrick Seitz, whom anime fans will recognise as JoJo‘s messy drama king Dio Brande holds the whole thing together almost single-handedly with a Wolverine-aping baritone.
Tonally, Rooster Fighter is neither funny enough to be in the same league as battle manga spoofs like One-Punch Man and Mashle, nor serious enough to inspire the kind of clippable reverance shonen fans have for Viz’s heavier hitters. In fact, the non-spoofs, like One Piece, and the aforementioned JJK, are far goofier when they need to be. Replace every avian character with humans, the USP that the whole thing hinges on, and you’d be looking at an agressively average work, both in storytelling and in its perfuntory animation.
Maybe that’s an unfair assessment. I certainly found the gimmicky premise intriguing enough to be interested in watching Rooster Fighter in the first place, and I’m always willing to give a gimmicky premise a go: Kinnikuman Perfect Origin Arc was one of my surprise favourites of 2025, a legacy wrestling anime that made me emotionally invested in a guy shaped like a spring. Unfortunately, Rooster Fighter doesn’t capitalise on the potential of its ludicrous conceit.
For anyone with limited exposure to anime—and perhaps the more cartoon generalists of the Adult Swim crowd rather than the diehard purists paying for Crunchyroll better fit that remit—Rooster Fighter may be a passable curiosity to wile away 23 minutes per week. But if this ain’t your first non-humanoid shonen rodeo, I’d look for action-comedy gold elsewhere.
