Oedo Fire Slayer: The Legend of Phoenix

Matsunaga Gengo was once the greatest fire-fighting samurai in Edo, nicknamed the 'Fire-Eating Bird' for his ability to stop blazes that no one else could. Then he walked away from it all. The story picks up when Gengo gets recruited by the Shinjo clan to lead their fire brigade, except this isn't some elite squad — it's a broke, understaffed, laughingstock of a team called the 'Boro Tobi-gumi,' which literally translates to 'Ragged Steeplejacks.' With his wife Miyuki pushing him to give it another shot, Gengo starts pulling together a ragtag crew: an acrobat named Hikoya, a former sumo wrestler called Torajirou, and other misfits who have something to prove. Meanwhile, mysterious arsons dubbed 'foxfires' are spreading across the city, and nobody knows who's behind them. The vibe here is redemption through teamwork, set against an authentic depiction of Edo-period firefighting — the actual tools, techniques, and culture of it. Takanashi Yasuharu is handling the soundtrack, which should give you a sense of the atmosphere they're going for. If you liked the wandering-warrior-finds-purpose energy of Rurouni Kenshin, or the way Golden Kamuy blends historical detail with a cast of weirdos who somehow become a family, this feels like it's operating in that same space. Based on a novel, animated by SynergySP, coming in 2026.