Sekiro: No Defeat Highlights Genichiro Ashina

Sekiro: No Defeat has received a character trailer and visual for Genichiro Ashina (Kenjiro Tsuda). Genichiro is a formidable antagonist who seeks the special blood of the Divine Heir, who is protected by protagonist Sekiro, in preparation for a conflict with the invading Interior Ministry. 

The anime adapts the 2018 action-adventure game Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice from FromSoftware, with Kenichi Kutsuna (storyboarder and director for Magical Destroyers, Vlad Love (“Mitsugu” Version), and The Fire Hunter‘s opening animations) directing at Qzil.la. Its synopsis reads:

The time is Sengoku. Japan is fractured into many independent nations entangled in ceaseless war. At the center lies Ashina, a land of sacred earth and ancient mystery. Two decades after Sword Saint Isshin Ashina reclaimed the region in a brutal coup, a new threat emerges from within: The Interior Ministry. Desperate to protect his homeland, Isshin’s grandson Genichiro turns to forbidden powers. The only hope lies in a kidnapped boy — the Divine Heir — and his silent protector: a loyal shinobi known only as Sekiro. This is the story of a lord and his retainer — and their quest to restore balance to a nation on the edge.

Besides Kutsuna, the staff includes scriptwriter Takuya Sato (selector infected WIXOSS director, Fate/stay night series composer), character designer Takahiro Kishida (Haikyu!!, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Golden Wind), and background art director Yuji Kaneko (Tengoku Daimakyo). Among the voice cast are Daisuke Namikawa as Sekiro (also known as Wolf) and Miyuki Sato as the Divine Heir Kuro.

In August 2025, days after Sekiro: No Defeat‘s reveal, Qzil.la issued a statement denying the use of generative AI for the anime. The accusations were made due to the anime’s aesthetic and the studio’s interest in the technology (Qzil.la has since removed mention of the term “AI” from its website).

Sekiro: No Defeat is set to begin screening in Japan for three weeks on September 4 before getting a streaming release sometime this year. Crunchyroll will exclusively stream the anime outside of Japan, China, Korea, Russia, and Belarus. 

Production credits

• Director: Kenichi Kutsuna
• Scriptwriter: Takuya Sato (selector infected WIXOSS director, Fate/stay night series composer)
• Character Designer: Takahiro Kishida (Haikyu!!, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Golden Wind)
• Deputy director: Shunsuke Fukui (Magical Destroyers opening animation production cooperation, Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Episode 2 co-director)
• Chief animation director: Kaito Moki 
• Action animation director: Takashi Mukoda (Run With the Wind co-main animator)
• Background art director: Yuji Kaneko (Tengoku Daimakyo) 
• Color designer: Azusa Sasaki (Lycoris Recoil)
• Compositing director: Keisuke Nozawa (Vivy -Fluorite Eye’s Song-)
• Sound director: Yasuhiro Nagura (Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc)
• Music composer: Shuta Hasunuma
• Produce: ARCH
• Animation production: Qzil.la

Cast

• Daisuke Namikawa as Sekiro
• Miyuki Sato as Kuro
• Kenjiro Tsuda as Genichiro Ashina
• Shizuka Ito as Emma

Source: Sekiro: No Defeat anime website