Whenever a manga becomes popular, fans eagerly expect an anime adaptation. Usually, this is the case fairly soon, as anime studios rarely pass up a chance to make money. However, some popular manga never get turned into anime, despite fans clamoring for one. However, it was recently announced that one of the most requested anime adaptations is finally happening.
On Monday, Satoshi Mizukami took to social media to announce that his manga Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer would be getting an anime in the summer of 2022. This tweet instantly set social media on fire, with people excitedly posting about the long-awaited adaptation.
Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer began life in the pages of Shonen Gahosha magazine in 2005. The series follows college student Yuuhi Amamiya, who one day meets a talking lizard named Sir Noi Crezant. This lizard tells Yuuhi that Animus the mage plans to destroy the Earth with a massive hammer, and only the Beast Knights and a princess can stop him. Yuuhi thinks this story is silly but is soon attacked by a golem, only to be saved by princess Asahina Samidare. Yuuhi then agrees to become a Beast Knight and pledges allegiance to Asahina. However, he soon learns that Asahina plans to defeat the mage so she can use the hammer to obliterate the world.
The series quickly generated a large fanbase due to its unique fantasy-adventure storyline that subverted many of the tropes associated with the genre. This popularity only grew when the manga was brought to America, first by JManga and later by Seven Seas Entertainment.
Fans started to lament the lack of an anime, but when the series ended in 2010, they likely presumed it would never happen. With every passing year, more and more people gave up hope, as most thought that a company wouldn't make an anime based on a long-finished series, especially one without a sequel or spin-off in the works. In fact, the series became a staple feature on lists of popular manga that never made the jump to anime, with many assuming that it had simply slipped through the cracks.
Satoshi Mizukami's tweet came as a surprise, but it instantly generated a lot of hype. While not much is yet known about the anime at present, Mizukami has confirmed that Nobuaki Nakanishi will be directing the series, while Yuichiro Momose will be helping Mizukami with the script. The announcement also came with a new image of the two leads and a picture of a Japanese residential area with the titular biscuit hammer looming in the sky.
Needless to say, it's fantastic news that Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer is finally getting an anime. This show will introduce more people to the cult-classic series and give long-time fans something they've wanted for over a decade. However, it does raise an important question: if Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer can get an anime 10 years after the series ended, what other long-finished series may make the jump to the screen in the coming years?
