Dodge Danko: Japan's Firebrand Dodgeball Anime
“But is it BASEketball with an All-Girl Squad?”
A sequel to a beloved early-90s CoroCoro Comic dodgeball manga is finally getting the anime treatment it deserves—and the timing might be odder than you think. Honō no Tōkyūjo: Dodge Danko (炎の闘球女 ドッジ弾子, roughly Flaming Dodgeball Girl: Dodge Danko) is locked in for a July 6, 2026 debut on Tokyo MX and BS11 (and MBS on July 7), airing at 11:00 p.m. JST, with a preview screening of the first two episodes set for June 21 at Shinjuku Wald 9. Yes, anime is bringing competitive dodgeball back, and no, this announcement is not a joke.
The official website dropped the main PV on June 1, revealing additional cast members, key staff, and the opening theme. That's a hefty info dump rolling into a summer premiere, which tells you the production team is confident enough to show their hand early. The anime is based on Tetsuhiro Koshita's Honō no Tōkyūjo: Dodge Danko, the sequel manga to his original Honō no Tōkyūji Dodge Danpei. This 47-episode TV series ran from October 1991 to September 1992 on TV Tokyo. The sequel manga launched on the Weekly CoroCoro Comic website in November 2022, with Shogakukan publishing its sixth collected volume as recently as August 2025.
Hiroshi Ikehata is directing at studio CUE, a name that may not ring a bell. Still, his résumé includes two seasons of Dark Gathering and multiple seasons of TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You. Series scripts are handled by Kazuho Hyōdō, with character design and chief animation direction by Narihito Sekikawa, whose credits include Halo Legends OAV—a small but interesting flag. Yasunori Iwasaki and Ren Tsukagoshi compose the music, while Avex Pictures handles the music production. No international licensing or streaming confirmation has been announced yet, but this is firmly a domestic broadcast situation for now.
The cast is stacked with recognizable voice talent. Manaka Nakayama leads as Danko Ichigeki, the protagonist and daughter of the original series' lead, Danpei. The newly confirmed cast includes Sumire Uesaka, Kanna Nakamura, Fairouz Ai, Mariya Ise, Yuka Iguchi, and Satomi Akesaka, rounding out the team roster. In a nice bit of continuity, Noriko Hidaka, who originally voiced Danpei back in 1991, returns to voice him in flashback sequences and also narrates the sequel. That's the kind of legacy casting that actually means something.
Where the original series followed Danpei Ichigeki and his fiery pursuit of dodgeball glory in the Showa era, this sequel flips the script to his daughter, Danko, who's trying to build the strongest dodgeball team in the Reiwa era—present-day Japan. It's a classic generational handoff structure: a daughter inherits her father's fire, forges her own path, faces new rivals, and retains the same burning spirit. Think Star Wars: The Force Awakens energy, but with fewer lightsabers and more rubber balls to the face.
The themes here are very much in the wheelhouse of classic sports shonen/seinen energy—grit, team-building, underdog drive—except centered entirely on women competitors, which gives it a bit of a Shakunetsu no Takkyū Musume or Harukana Receive flavor. This show should feel familiar in the best possible way to the Gen X crowd that grew up watching sports anime featuring characters who trained until they bled and cried.
No detailed animation breakdown is publicly available beyond the main PV. Still, the production pipeline—color design by Ryō Kimura, art direction by Masahiro Satō, and 3D work by Ryōsuke Kimura—suggests a competent mid-tier TV production rather than a prestige project. Think clean, energetic, and functional rather than cinematic. The opening theme, "Kaishin no Ichigeki" (A Masterful Play), features none other than Momoiro Clover Z, a significant get. MomoClo brings a chaotic, theatrical energy to their music that actually fits a fiery sports anime like a glove. The ending theme, "Welcome to Azatosa World," is handled by idol unit i☆Ris—lighter, more playful, classic anime ED energy.
I don’t think my BASEketball comparison is wrong—these stories share a common denouement. Both Dodgeball (2004) and BASEketball (1998) tap into the same absurdist love for a sport no one takes seriously, infused with genuine competitive heart beneath the comedic surface. Parker and Stone played two slackers whose backyard hybrid sport becomes a national phenomenon—a ridiculous premise, but the movie works because it actually respects the underdog mythology while lampooning it. The 2004 Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, starring Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller, leaned even harder into that parody-with-heart formula.
Dodge Danko isn't playing for laughs in the same way—it's a legitimate sports narrative—but the premise of serious, burning-passion dodgeball still carries that same inherent comedy/sincerity tension. Japan has a long tradition of making sports that Westerners associate with elementary school PE feel like life-or-death gladiatorial combat: ping pong in Ping Pong the Animation, karuta in Chihayafuru, and air hockey in Breakers. Dodgeball is just the next one in line.
From a market angle, this adaptation is an interesting move by Shogakukan and the production committee. The CoroCoro brand is synonymous with Pokémon, Doraemon, and kids-first manga culture, but adapting a 2022 web sequel to a 1989 manga for an 11 PM timeslot is clearly aimed at the adults who grew up with Danpei—nostalgia-driven, heritage-title energy. That's the same playbook that brought back Ranma ½ and powered the City Hunter movie. Studios know where the money and the emotional real estate are.
If you came up watching Toonami fire off Dragon Ball Z and Gundam Wing back-to-back, or you remember when sports anime were just accepted as vehicles for screaming about inner fire and the human spirit—Dodge Danko might be worth a curious episode-one watch in July. It's not reinventing anything, but it doesn't need to. Occasionally, you just want to see somebody throw a rubber ball with the intensity of a samurai drawing their sword, and this show looks prepared to deliver exactly that. Keep an eye on the streaming announcement, because a Momoiro Clover Z opening theme alone is usually worth showing up for.
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Retro Collector's Highlight: To experience the raw roots of this dodgeball universe, fans can revisit the legendary 1991–92 parent series. The original Honō no Tōkyūji: Dodge Danpei BD-BOX is currently available for import on CD Japan for ¥27,000 (~US$168).
Music Spotlight: While the opening theme single "Kaishin no Ichigeki" has not yet been listed for physical pre-order, you can bookmark the Momoiro Clover Z Artist Discography Page on CD Japan to monitor their releases and catch the single the moment it drops.
Essential Sports Retrospective: If you enjoy how sports narratives can elevate a simple competition into visceral, stylized visual poetry, this series is highly recommended. You can browse the Ping Pong the Animation Complete Series Blu-ray on Amazon to find the best available physical release.
Read Ahead of the Adaptation: For readers who want to dive straight into the current story arc ahead of the television broadcast, there are six volumes currently available. You can purchase the Dodge Danko Manga Volumes (Japanese Import) on Amazon Japan or search for available domestic imports directly on Amazon.com.
