A Sword Art Online Director Takes On Higashino
Keigo Higashino's mysteries have been adapted into a long list of live-action dramas, many of which U-NEXT already streams. Animation, though, was untouched territory until this film. The Keeper of the Camphor Tree is the first anime adaptation of any Higashino work, and it came with a notable team attached: Tomohiko Itō (Sword Art Online, Erased) directed, working from a screenplay by Taku Kishimoto, with character designs by Tsubasa Yamaguchi and Akiko Itagaki. A-1 Pictures produced the animation alongside Psyde Kick Studio, and Aniplex handled distribution.
The film opened in Japanese theaters on January 30, 2026. Now, roughly six months later, U-NEXT's announcement on PR TIMES confirms the streaming service as its exclusive online home in Japan.
A Voice Cast Pulled From Live-Action
Rather than a bench of career voice actors, the film casts familiar screen faces. Fumiya Takahashi (高橋文哉) plays the lead, Reito Naoi (直井玲斗), in what Animate Times reported as his first lead role in an anime feature. The press release highlights how Takahashi has steadily widened his range with complicated characters in dramas and films, and describes him as confronting Reito's pain and inner conflict head-on.
Opposite him, Yūki Amami (天海祐希) voices Chifune Yanagisawa (柳澤千舟), the aunt who upends Reito's life. Animate Times noted the role marks her return to voice acting after eight years. The release also names Asuka Saitō, Ryubi Miyase, and Takao Osawa among the cast; per the film's official credits, they play Yumi Saji, Sōki Ōba, and Toshiaki Saji, three visitors whose stories intersect with the tree.
A Wish-Granting Tree and a Second Chance
The story follows Reito, a young man who loses his job in an unfair dismissal and gets arrested after a desperate mistake. A lawyer suddenly appears with an offer: follow a client's instructions and walk free. That client turns out to be Chifune Yanagisawa, an executive who helped build the Yanagisawa Group and, as Reito learns, the half-sister of his late mother. Her command is simple and strange. He is to become the keeper of a camphor tree standing on shrine grounds, a tree locals say grants wishes to those who pray to it.
As keeper, Reito meets the people the tree draws in: Toshiaki Saji, a man who keeps returning to pray; Saji's daughter Yumi, a college student suspicious of her father's visits; and Sōki Ōba, a young man torn over inheriting the family business. The synopsis closes on the tree's hidden "true power," a mystery that pulls Reito toward a truth he never saw coming.
The source novel was published in 2020 by Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha and has surpassed 1 million copies in circulation, a figure U-NEXT cites in its release.
Looking Ahead
The rental went live on U-NEXT at noon JST on August 12, 2026, priced at ¥770 (tax included) with a seven-day viewing window. The deal is exclusive to U-NEXT in Japan, and no international streaming release has been announced.
English-speaking fans already have a way in: Higashino's original novel is available in English as The Keeper of the Camphor Tree, translated by Jordan Taylor and published by Abacus, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group. For anyone who wants more Higashino after the credits roll, U-NEXT is also streaming a lineup of mystery dramas based on his novels in Japan.