Phantom Busters Anime Officially Announced for 2027 Release: Everything We Know So Far

Okay, I honestly did not expect Phantom Busters to become one of the anime announcements I would get this excited about. Yet here we are. Shueisha has officially confirmed that Neoshoco’s supernatural manga is getting a TV anime adaptation in 2027, and for anyone who has been following the series, this feels like one of those announcements that was only a matter of time. The manga already has a seriously dedicated fanbase, but seeing Phantom Busters finally heading toward animation makes the whole thing feel much bigger.

What immediately caught my attention is that Phantom Busters is not simply another supernatural battle series trying to copy whatever is popular at the moment. Its whole appeal comes from the ridiculous chemistry between its characters, the weird rules surrounding its ghosts, and the fact that its supernatural problems can turn into surprisingly emotional stories. Add a high school club, a ghost-eating exorcist, a skeptic who can see spirits, and a socially anxious teenager who can talk to the dead, and you have a setup that is almost impossible not to remember.

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Phantom Busters Has Finally Reached the Anime Stage

The anime announcement arrived alongside a commemorative illustration from creator Neoshoco, immediately sending manga readers into celebration mode. I have seen plenty of manga announcements over the years where fans react with a quick “nice” before moving on, but Phantom Busters feels different. There has been a steady sense that this series was building toward an anime adaptation, especially after its growing circulation numbers and strong showing in fan-driven polls.

Phantom Busters originally appeared as a one-shot in Jump SQ. Rise in October 2022. The positive response helped turn that initial idea into a full serialization, which began in Jump Square in August 2023. Since then, the manga has continued expanding its audience, with the English release from Viz Media helping international readers discover what Japanese readers had already been talking about.

According to the information surrounding the announcement, the manga has now passed 1.4 million copies in circulation. That is a pretty impressive milestone for a relatively young monthly series. The series also ranked fourth in the 2025 AnimeJapan “Manga We Want to See Animated” poll, which makes the eventual anime announcement feel especially satisfying for readers who were already campaigning for it.

Why the Phantom Busters Premise Works So Well

The easiest way to explain Phantom Busters is probably this: imagine a supernatural school comedy where the solution to a ghost problem is sometimes to literally eat the ghost. That sounds completely ridiculous, and honestly, that is part of the reason I love it. The series knows how strange its central idea is and uses that weirdness instead of trying to hide it behind overly complicated supernatural terminology.

The story follows Eugene Korekishi, a highly intelligent student who has recently moved to Kamakura after living in London. Eugene is practical, logical, and initially has absolutely no interest in believing that ghosts are real. Then he meets Mogari Shishikuno, an eccentric young exorcist whose family has a very unusual approach to dealing with spirits: Mogari consumes them.

There is one hilarious problem, though. Mogari cannot actually see ghosts by himself. Eugene, meanwhile, has the ability to perceive the supernatural. Their abilities essentially lock together, creating the central mechanic behind the Phantom Busters club. Mogari needs someone who can find the ghosts, while the person who can find them needs Mogari to actually deal with them.

That basic relationship already gives the anime an enormous amount of comedic potential. You can practically imagine the arguments, misunderstandings, awkward investigations, and completely unnecessary panic that will happen when these characters start dealing with haunted locations. At the same time, the series does not treat every ghost as a disposable monster. Many supernatural encounters are connected to lingering emotions, regrets, or unfinished business, giving the comedy some surprisingly heartfelt moments.

The Four Characters I’m Most Interested in Seeing Animated

For me, the characters are the real reason Phantom Busters works. The supernatural rules are fun, but the personalities bouncing off one another are what make the manga so easy to keep reading. The main group is basically designed around contrasting abilities and personalities, and that should translate incredibly well to television.

• Eugene Korekishi: The skeptical honor student and resident voice of reason. His logical personality makes him the perfect straight man whenever everyone else starts behaving like complete lunatics.
• Mogari Shishikuno: The energetic exorcist who can eat spirits. He is powerful, enthusiastic about the supernatural, and completely dependent on other people to actually locate the ghosts.
• Kaoru Kanzaki: A teenager who can see spirits extremely clearly but would really prefer not to. His desire for an ordinary school life makes his supernatural ability feel more like a curse than a gift.
• Kotaro Tamon: A socially anxious boy who can communicate with ghosts. The fact that he struggles to speak with living people while having perfectly normal conversations with dead ones is exactly the kind of bizarre character comedy I want from this series.

Kaoru and Kotaro especially have the potential to become fan favorites once the anime arrives. Their abilities are useful, but neither character actually wants the kind of supernatural life that comes with them. That contradiction gives Phantom Busters something more than just another collection of quirky anime characters. There is a genuine sense that these kids are trying to figure themselves out while being dragged into increasingly ridiculous paranormal situations.

Phantom Busters Anime: What We Know About the 2027 Release

Here is where things get frustrating for anyone who wants details right now. The official announcement confirms the 2027 anime release window, but several major production details have not been revealed yet. We still do not have the confirmed animation studio, main voice cast, or full directing staff.

Personally, I am fine with waiting a little longer. Phantom Busters is the kind of manga where animation quality and comedic timing are going to matter enormously. The series has expressive characters, sudden shifts between comedy and supernatural tension, and plenty of scenes where facial expressions are basically half the joke. If the production team understands that rhythm, the anime could be incredibly fun to watch.

The 2027 timeframe could actually work in the anime’s favor. There should be enough manga material available by then to build a properly paced first season without rushing through the story. I would much rather see Phantom Busters get the breathing room it needs than have the adaptation speedrun through its best character moments just to hit a predetermined episode count.

Why Fans Are Comparing It to Other Supernatural Anime

It is inevitable that people will compare Phantom Busters to other supernatural anime. I have already seen the obvious comparisons with series such as Mob Psycho 100, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Mieruko-chan, although I think Phantom Busters has enough personality to stand on its own.

Jujutsu Kaisen obviously leans much harder into large-scale battles and darker supernatural conflict. Mieruko-chan uses its ghosts for horror and uncomfortable comedy, while Mob Psycho 100 mixes psychic action with absurd humor and emotional character development. Phantom Busters sits somewhere around that general neighborhood, but its specific combination of school-club comedy, ghost hunting, and character-driven supernatural stories gives it a different flavor.

What I particularly like is that the ghosts are not always just targets. The characters sometimes have to understand why a spirit is still around. That opens the door for stories that can begin with a ridiculous joke and end with something unexpectedly sad or touching. Those are usually the supernatural stories that stick with me longer than another flashy fight scene.

The Biggest Question: Can the Anime Capture the Manga’s Personality?

This is honestly the part I am watching most closely. A good adaptation of Phantom Busters cannot just animate the manga panels and add flashy effects. The comedy needs timing, the character interactions need energy, and the supernatural scenes need enough atmosphere to make the ghosts feel genuinely strange when the story gets serious.

The manga’s visual identity should also give an animation team plenty to work with. Neoshoco’s character designs are expressive enough to carry comedy, while the supernatural elements can become much more visually impressive once movement, sound effects, music, and voice acting are involved. I am especially curious about Mogari’s ghost-eating ability because that is one of those concepts that could look either brilliantly ridiculous or completely bizarre depending on how the anime handles it.

The Fan Hype Makes Sense to Me

One thing I find interesting about the Phantom Busters fandom is how much of its popularity seems to come from people recommending it directly to other readers. It has that “you seriously need to read this” quality that smaller manga often develop before a major anime adaptation arrives. The AnimeJapan ranking, circulation milestone, fan art, character discussions, and international availability have all helped the series grow beyond its original audience.

Now the 2027 anime gives that existing fanbase something completely new to look forward to. Manga readers can finally start imagining what these characters will sound like, which scenes will become viral clips, and which character will suddenly explode in popularity after the first few episodes. And for people who have never read the manga, this announcement is basically an invitation to discover one of those supernatural series before the anime arrives.

My Take on the Phantom Busters Anime Announcement

I am not going to pretend Phantom Busters was already one of the biggest manga franchises in the world before this announcement. It wasn’t. That is actually part of the fun. It feels like one of those series that has been quietly building momentum, collecting readers one recommendation at a time, and has now reached the point where a much larger audience is about to discover it.

The Phantom Busters anime coming in 2027 has plenty of reasons to be excited about, but I think the character chemistry is still the biggest selling point. Eugene, Mogari, Kaoru, and Kotaro are fundamentally weird people with very different problems, and putting them together creates the kind of chaos that can make a supernatural comedy genuinely addictive.

There is still a lot we do not know. The animation studio, voice actors, staff, exact premiere date, episode count, and future trailers are all things we will have to wait for. But honestly, I would rather have a little mystery right now than get every detail dumped at once. For me, Phantom Busters has already earned a place on the 2027 anime watchlist, and I have a feeling a lot more people are going to understand why once the first trailer finally drops.