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The World Is Dancing
Synopsis
The story
Born into a life of acting and dance with a traveling theater troupe in 14th-century Japan, 12-year old Oniyasha has one problem—he doesn't know what the point of any of it is. "Why must I step with the left foot here instead of the right? Why is one performance good and another, bad? Why do people dance at all?" It all seems perfectly arbitrary, until a chance encounter in a run-down shack sets him down a path to revolutionizing the art form and influencing much of Japanese culture to come. A fictionalized account of the early life of Zeami Motokiyo (Oniyasha), the founder of modern Noh theater—the world's oldest surviving theater art—this coming-of-age artist's journey vividly brings to life a man far ahead of his time during one of Japan's most culturally and socially vibrant eras. Note: World Is Dancing streamed 3 days in advance of the TV broadcast on Prime Video and HIDIVE beginning June 29th, 2026. Regular broadcasting began on July 2nd, 2026.
Drama
Episode guide
13 episodes
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01Episode 1Unwatched · AiredAired Jun 29, 202602Episode 2Unwatched · AiredAired Jul 6, 202603Episode 3Unwatched · AiredAired Jul 13, 202604Episode 4Unwatched · AiredAired Jul 20, 202605Episode 5Unwatched · AiredAired Jul 27, 202606Episode 6Unwatched · AiredAired Aug 3, 202607Episode 7Unwatched · AiredAired Aug 10, 202608Episode 8Unwatched · AiredAired Aug 17, 202609Episode 9Unwatched · AiredAired Aug 24, 202610Episode 10Unwatched · AiredAired Aug 31, 202611Episode 11Unwatched · AiredAired Sep 7, 202612Episode 12Unwatched · AiredAired Sep 14, 202613Episode 13Unwatched · AiredAired Sep 21, 2026Characters & voices
500 credited
Oniyasha
Main
Ishiya
Supporting
Kogane
Supporting
Zojiro
Supporting
Yoshimitsu Ashikaga
Supporting
Inuou
Supporting
Junigoro
Supporting
Kan’ami
Supporting
Yoshimoto Nijou
Supporting
Nariko
Supporting
Chiharu
Supporting
Satsuki
Supporting
Shirabyoshi
Supporting
Yoriyuki Hosokawa
Supporting
Chourou
Supporting
Mantarou
Supporting
Toshigo
Supporting
Senri
Supporting
Production staff
500 credited
Tetsuya TakeuchiKey Animation (OP)
Hiromasa OguraArt Director (ep 1)
Kyle C. JonesADR Director (English)
Keigo SasakiCharacter DesignKeigo SasakiChief Animation Director (ep 1)
Kazuhiro InoueArt Director
Yukio NagasakiSound Director
Toshimasa KuroyanagiDirectorToshimasa KuroyanagiStoryboard (ED, ep 1)Toshimasa KuroyanagiKey Animation (OP)Toshimasa KuroyanagiEpisode Director (ED)
Kouichi WatanabePlanning
Kazuto MiharaOriginal CreatorKazuto MiharaEndcard (ep 1)
Hikaru MiyazakiKey Animation (ep 1)
Brent MarshallADR Mixer (English)
Masaharu OkazakiPhotography (ep 1)
Yasunori MiyazawaKey Animation (OP)
Daisuke HirakiEditing
Yuusuke Nagara 2D Design (ep 1)Themes & motifs
AniList community tags
HistoricalSetting-Time97%
DancingTheme-Arts-Music93%
Coming of AgeTheme-Drama80%
ActingTheme-Arts68%
Musical TheaterTheme-Arts-Music68%
CrossdressingCast-Traits60%
BiographicalTheme-Other60%
Male ProtagonistCast-Main Cast56%
SeinenDemographic40%
LGBTQ+ ThemesTheme-Other33%
Boys' LoveTheme-Romance33%
Age GapTheme-Romance33%
Primarily Male CastCast-Main Cast26%
NudityCast-Traits20%
DisabilityCast-Traits20%
Community pulse
22.9K members
Score spread
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
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100
Watch status
Current5,447
Planning11,962
Completed3,728
Dropped1,215
Paused519
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What viewers say
1 community reviews