A Naoki Prize Winner's Firefighter Epic Goes Binge-Ready
If you missed Oedo Fire Slayer during its Winter 2026 TV run, Netflix just made catching up easy. The streamer dropped all episodes of the historical action anime today, as reported by Anime Anime, giving international viewers a clean binge path into one of the season's most distinctive premieres.
The series — officially titled Hikuidori: Ushū Borotobigumi in Japanese — adapts the debut novel of Imamura Shōgo (今村翔吾), a Naoki Prize-winning author whose other work, Ikusagami, is also streaming on Netflix. The Ushū Borotobigumi novel series launched his career and remains one of his most popular titles, published by Shōdensha with a manga adaptation running in Shōnen Champion Comics.
Set against the backdrop of the historical Great Fire of Meiwa, the story follows Matsunaga Gengo, a legendary Edo-era firefighter once known as the "Hikuidori" — the fire-eating bird. After walking away from the profession, Gengo gets an unexpected offer from the Shinjō domain to rebuild their fire brigade from scratch. The brigade has no funding, no talent, and zero respect. With encouragement from his wife Miyuki, Gengo takes the job anyway, assembling a crew of misfits and earning the mocking nickname "Borotobigumi" — the ragtag hawks. Their motto: save every life, no matter what. But as the squad finds its footing, a wave of mysterious arsons dubbed "Kitsunebi" (fox fires) begins sweeping through Edo.
Imamura himself has expressed deep pride in the adaptation, describing it as a story of "men who never give up" and declaring his confidence that it represents "the greatest anime to come from a period novel."
The Voice Cast Reads Like a Modern Anime All-Star Roster
The series is led by Umehara Yūichirō (梅原裕一郎), best known as the voice of Goblin Slayer, as the stoic protagonist Gengo. Alongside him, Umeda Shūichirō (梅田修一朗) plays Shinnosuke, and Kimura Subaru (木村昴) — the voice of Aoi Todo in Jujutsu Kaisen and Gian in Doraemon — takes on the sumo wrestler Torajirō.
The supporting cast is equally loaded. Ono Kenshō (小野賢章), who voiced Giorno Giovanna in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, plays the swordsman Kaji Seijūrō. Suwabe Jun'ichi (諏訪部順一), the voice behind Sukuna in Jujutsu Kaisen and Aizawa in My Hero Academia, rounds out the brigade as Ōoto Kankurō. Shimazaki Nobunaga (島崎信長) voices Hikoya, and Yusa Kōji (遊佐浩二) plays Orishimo Samon.
In a notable cross-media casting choice, live-action actress Miyoshi Ayaka (三吉彩花) — known internationally for her role in Netflix's Alice in Borderland — voices Gengo's wife Miyuki.
On the production side, Yasumi Hiroshi (八隅宏) directs at SynergySP, with Kamegaki Hajime (亀垣一) serving as head director and Mori Ryūsuke (森龍介) handling series composition. The score comes from composer Takanashi Yasuharu (高梨康治), whose credits include Naruto Shippuden and Fairy Tail.
Looking Ahead
The full series is now available on Netflix, though regional availability outside Japan has not been confirmed. International anime fans can also find the show on Crunchyroll, where it streamed during its original Winter 2026 broadcast window.
The source novel series by Imamura Shōgo continues beyond the events of this first adaptation, and the manga serialization in Shōnen Champion Comics is ongoing — though no English-language release of either has been announced. For viewers who enjoy the author's style, his other novel adaptation Ikusagami is already streaming on Netflix.
Further updates are expected via the official anime website and the Hikuidori project's official X account.
(C) Imamura Shōgo / Shōdensha / Borotobigumi Ichidō