SHAFT Anime Assault Lily Bouquet Premieres October 1st

There are plenty of mixed media franchise projects cropping up in Japan all the time. Despite these projects containing everything from manga and anime to stage performances and cafe crossover events, though, they’re usually always based on one core piece of media. Plenty of them are built around idol groups and music, while others are designed for the sake of selling cool and flashy toys to Japanese children. Assault Lily, though, takes the cake for most intriguing inspiration, as the entire Assault Lily Project mixed-media franchise is based on… dolls. Yes, these deluxe dolls from Azone International have gone on to inspire an anime titled Assault Lily Bouquet, and legendary animation studio SHAFT is bringing it to life on October 1st.

Initially, the Assault Lily Bouquet anime was set to premiere in July. Those plans fell through, though, when COVID-19 forced the anime to be delayed to its new premiere date of October 1st. The show will air first on TBS in Japan, just after midnight, before running on BS-TBS the next day. The series is also set to stream digitally in Japan on Amazon Prime Video beginning October 1st, which might hint at where the series will end up being available globally if it gets localized.

Assault Lily Bouquet is being produced by the animation studio SHAFT, well-known for iconic series like Fate/Extra: Last Encore, Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica, Nisekoi, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, and the Monogatari anime adaptations. The show is set to be directed by Shouji Saeki, who is known for his work on He Is My Master, Mahoromatic: Summer Special, and Medaka Box. Mieko Hosoi of Aiura, Grimgar, Ashes and Illusions, and Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū fame is handling the character designs alongside sub-character designer Kazuya Shiotsuki. Shiotsuki previously worked on Gourmet Girl Graffiti, and is also serving as the chief animation director alongside Sakura Quest and Karakai Jozu no Takagi-san 2 veteran Sota Suwa. Keita Nagahara is the assistant director.