Kaya-chan Isn't Scary

Kaya-chan Isn't Scary
First tankōbon volume cover
カヤちゃんはコワくない
(Kaya-chan wa Kowakunai)
Genre
Manga
Written byTarō Yuri
Published byShinchosha
English publisher
ImprintBunch Comics
MagazineKurage Bunch
Original runApril 1, 2022 – present
Volumes8
Anime television series
Directed byHiroshi Ikehata
Written byShigeru Murakoshi
Music by
StudioEast Fish Studio
Licensed by
Original networkTXN (TV Tokyo), AT-X, WOWOW
Original run January 11, 2026 – present
Episodes5

Kaya-chan Isn't Scary (Japanese: カヤちゃんはコワくない, Hepburn: Kaya-chan wa Kowakunai) is a Japanese supernatural horror manga series written and illustrated by Tarō Yuri. It began serialization on Shinchosha's Kurage Bunch manga website in April 2022. An anime television series adaptation produced by East Fish Studio premiered in January 2026.

Plot

Kaya is an infamous problem child in her kindergarten, always causing trouble for her friends and teachers. However, when teacher Chie is put in charge of her, she discovers that Kaya is actually protecting the children from evil spirits that wish to bring harm to others. A story of a misunderstood hero follows.

Characters

Main characters

Kaya Satō (佐藤 神八, Satō Kaya) / Kaya-chan (カヤちゃん)
Voiced by: Azusa Tachibana[3]
A kindergartener with powerful psychic abilities, which she uses to defend her classmates from evil spirits. However, since ordinary people cannot perceive these specters, she often gets misunderstood as a problem child. It is later revealed that her soul has been infused with the spirit of the ancestor of the Ebisumori clan, a result of her mother birthing her using the family's dark rituals.
Chie Hasumi (蓮見 千枝, Hasumi Chie) / Chie-sensei (チエ先生)
Voiced by: Maaya Uchida[3]
A caretaker at the kindergarten Kaya attends. She is the only person at the facility who is aware that Kaya is actually protecting the other children from evil spirits, causing her to defend her whenever she gets scolded by her colleagues.
Osamu Mob (百武 治, Mob Osamu) / Mobuo (モブオ)
Voiced by: Fukushi Ochiai[4]
A supernatural enthusiast who takes an interest in Kaya and the Ebisumori clan. However, this often causes him to get mistaken for a child stalker.
Namu Hirukomori (蛭子守 南無, Hirukomori Namu) / Nam (ナム)
Voiced by: Yuki Kaji[4]
Mobuo's partner and a distant relative of the Ebisumori clan. Like Kaya, he possesses psychic powers that allow him to see and destroy evil spirits. This made him grow up as an outcast until he met Mobuo, causing him to be very protective of him. He is also wary of Kaya, perceiving the spirit of the Ebisumori clan's ancestor within her.

Kaya's family

Shizuo Satō (佐藤静夫, Satō Shizuo) / Kaya-Papa (カヤパパ)
Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa[5] (Japanese); Kevin Andrew Rivera[6] (English)
Kaya's father. He is an ordinary man who has no psychic powers and remains unaware of the existence of evil spirits. Though often having to work long hours, he still tries his best to be there for his daughter and pick her up from kindergarten whenever possible.
Mirai Satō (佐藤未来, Kaya-Mama) / Kaya-Mama (カヤママ)
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto[5]
Kaya's mother. A seemingly ordinary woman with no psychic powers, she is later revealed to be pregnant with a powerful evil spirit. Growing up within the Ebisumori clan, she went mad upon discovering their practice of having non-psychics like her birth evil spirits to eliminate their enemies, prompting her to flee and plot to destroy her extended family using their own dark rituals, with her first attempt failing and resulting in Kaya's birth.
Nana Ebisumori (戎杜七奈, Ebisumori Nana)
Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu[5]
Kaya's aunt and the current head of the Ebisumori clan. Like her niece, she possesses psychic powers that allow her to perceive evil spirits, though not destroy them. She often picks Kaya up from kindergarten whenever her father is unavailable and wishes for her to live an ordinary life, far away from evil spirits and her extended family.
Mutsu Ebisumori (戎杜 睦, Ebisumori Mutsu)
Voiced by: Yoshiko Sakakibara[5]
Kaya's grandmother and the former head of the Ebisumori clan. Like her granddaughter, she possessed psychic powers that allowed her to perceive and destroy evil spirits. Though once an advocate for her family's dark practices, she seemingly came to regret her actions. She is later killed by the unborn evil spirit that her daughter is pregnant with.

Kindergarten

Akira-sensei (アキラ先生)
Voiced by: Azusa Tadokoro[4]
Chihiro-sensei (チヒロ先生)
Voiced by: Shiori Izawa[4]
Sakuya Maenuma (まえぬま さくや, Maenuma Sakuya) / Saku-chan (サクちゃん)
Voiced by: Misaki Kuno[7]
Kentarō Ise (いせ けんたろう, Ise Kentarō) / Kenken (ケンケン)
Voiced by: Mutsumi Tamura[7]
Yuzu Tachibana (タちばな ゆず, Tachibana Yuzu) / Yuzu-chan (ユズちゃん)
Voiced by: Chiemi Tanaka[7]

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Tarō Yuri, Kaya-chan Isn't Scary began serialization on Shinchosha's Kurage Bunch manga website on April 1, 2022.[8][9] The series' chapters have been collected into eight tankōbon volumes as of January 2026.[10]

In November 2024, Seven Seas Entertainment announced that they had licensed the series for English publication beginning in April 2025.[11]

Volumes

No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1August 8, 2022[1]978-4-10-772520-2April 29, 2025[12]979-8-89373-154-5
2December 8, 2022[13]978-4-10-772549-3July 15, 2025[14]979-8-89373-155-2
3May 9, 2023[15]978-4-10-772596-7October 28, 2025[16]979-8-89373-537-6
4October 6, 2023[17]978-4-10-772655-1January 6, 2026[18]979-8-89373-538-3
5April 9, 2024[19]978-4-10-772702-2May 5, 2026[20]979-8-89373-646-5
6November 9, 2024[21]978-4-10-772763-3——
7June 9, 2025[22]978-4-10-772842-5——
8January 8, 2026[10]978-4-10-772903-3——

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced on November 1, 2024.[23] It is produced by East Fish Studio and directed by Hiroshi Ikehata, with series composition handled by Shigeru Murakoshi, characters designed by Taro Yamada and Hiroyuki Moriguchi, and music composed by Kohta Yamamoto and Shun Narita.[3] The series premiered on January 11, 2026, on TV Tokyo and its affiliates, and other networks.[4] The opening theme song is "Maboroshi no Yukue" (まぼろしの行方; 'The Phantom's Destination'), performed by Isekaijoucho, while the ending theme song is "Playmour", performed by Sak and Tao featuring Azusa Tachibana as her character Kaya-chan.[5] Crunchyroll is streaming the series.[24] Medialink licensed the series in Southeast Asia and Oceania (except Australia and New Zealand) for streaming on Ani-One Asia's YouTube channel.[25] An English dub provided by Kadokawa premiered on the same day as the sub.[26]

Episodes

No.Title [27][28]Directed by [27]Written by [27]Storyboarded by [27]Original release date [29]
1"Kaya-chan Isn't Scary?"
Transliteration: "Kaya-chan wa Kowakunai?" (Japanese: カヤちゃんはコワくない?)		HitsuchiseiShigeru MurakoshiHiroshi IkehataJanuary 11, 2026 (2026-01-11)

References

  1. ^ a b カヤちゃんはコワくない　1巻 (in Japanese). Shinchosha. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  2. ^ Tachibana, Momo (March 15, 2024). 開かずのトイレの秘密、ママそっくりのママではないもの… 怪異と戦う園児に中毒者続出！ ホラーマンガ『カヤちゃんはコワくない』. Da Vinci (in Japanese). Kadokawa Corporation. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Dempsey, Liam (June 6, 2025). "Kaya-chan Isn't Scary Anime Reveals Main Cast, Staff in 1st Trailer". Crunchyroll News. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e Hodgkins, Crystalyn (October 6, 2025). "Kaya-chan Isn't Scary Anime Reveals January Debut, More Cast". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e Cayanan, Joanna (November 20, 2025). "Kaya-chan Isn't Scary Anime's 2nd Promo Video Unveils More Cast, Staff, Theme Song Artists, January 11 Debut". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  6. ^ https://x.com/KevinARiveraVO/status/2011909534965743642
  7. ^ a b c Cayanan, Joanna (December 10, 2025). "Kaya-chan Isn't Scary Anime Announces 3 More Cast Members". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  8. ^ 最強の霊能幼女が幼稚園に蔓延る怪異を退治、新連載「カヤちゃんはコワくない」. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. April 2, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  9. ^ 第1話　ブランコはコワくない. Kurage Bunch (in Japanese). Shinchosha. April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  10. ^ a b カヤちゃんはコワくない　8巻 (in Japanese). Shinchosha. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  11. ^ Tai, Anita (November 14, 2024). "Seven Seas Licenses Contrast, Kaya-chan Isn't Scary, 6 Other Titles". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  12. ^ "Kaya-chan Isn't Scary Vol. 1". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
  13. ^ カヤちゃんはコワくない　2巻 (in Japanese). Shinchosha. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  14. ^ "Kaya-chan Isn't Scary Vol. 2". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  15. ^ カヤちゃんはコワくない　3巻 (in Japanese). Shinchosha. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  16. ^ "Kaya-chan Isn't Scary Vol. 3". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved June 14, 2025.
  17. ^ カヤちゃんはコワくない　4巻 (in Japanese). Shinchosha. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  18. ^ "Kaya-chan Isn't Scary Vol. 4". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
  19. ^ カヤちゃんはコワくない　5巻 (in Japanese). Shinchosha. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  20. ^ "Kaya-chan Isn't Scary Vol. 5". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  21. ^ カヤちゃんはコワくない　6巻 (in Japanese). Shinchosha. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  22. ^ カヤちゃんはコワくない　7巻 (in Japanese). Shinchosha. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  23. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (October 31, 2024). "Kaya-chan wa Kowakunai Manga Gets TV Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  24. ^ Mateo, Alex (December 16, 2025). "Crunchyroll Announces Release Schedule for Winter 2026 Season". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  25. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 5, 2026). "Ani-One Asia Streams Tamon's B-Side, Trigun Stargaze, MHA: Vigilantes Season 2, More". Anime News Network.
  26. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 14, 2026). "Kaya-chan Isn't Scary Anime Gets Same-Day English Dub". Anime News Network.
  27. ^ a b c d "Episodes｜Terebi Anime『Kaya-chan wa Kowakunai』Koshiki Saito" EPISODES｜TVアニメ『カヤちゃんはコワくない』公式サイト [Episodes｜TV Anime『Kaya-chan Isn't Scary』Official Site]. kayachan.com (in Japanese). Retrieved January 11, 2026.
  28. ^ "Watch Kaya-chan Isn't Scary - Crunchyroll". Crunchyroll. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
  29. ^ "On Air｜Terebi Anime『Kaya-chan wa Kowakunai』Koshiki Saito" ON AIR｜TVアニメ『カヤちゃんはコワくない』公式サイト [On Air｜TV Anime『Kaya-chan Isn't Scary』Official Site]. kayachan.com (in Japanese). Retrieved January 11, 2026.
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